Chapter 207 - Name and Reality 130 {158 Alone} (375-376 To Kitamura's Bereaved Family: Father and Son 1)
Although there were no after-effects from the Boss's suicide attempt, a precision check-up conducted during his emergency admission discovered an abdominal aneurysm. Since it would be life-threatening if it ruptured, he remained hospitalized for removal surgery.
The Boss had accepted that he must live to atone for his sins, but he made a request to Nishida and Yoshimura: "Once I'm safely discharged, arrest me at Engaru (Station)." His desire to entrust himself to Engaru Station was likely born from his feeling that he couldn't allow himself to depend on the two of them any further.
Of course, since he was neither fleeing, hiding, nor destroying evidence, according to the letter of the law, he could have been interrogated voluntarily without the need for arrest. However, in the Japanese judicial process, an arrest for crimes above a certain severity functions as a "sentencing penalty" in a sense, so the two accepted the Boss's will. Thus, it was decided that Engaru Station would handle the warrant procedures just before his discharge, and he would be arrested immediately after leaving the hospital.
Coincidentally, Nishida had already suggested to the Prefectural Police Headquarters—after Oshima's interrogation at the Sapporo Detention House—that current Engaru Station detectives should accompany the interrogation of Takigawa in Osaka regarding Sada's murder. Combined with his pre-existing relationship with Masui, the Section Chief of the Engaru Station Criminal Investigation Division, the arrangements were made with considerable consideration.
With the necessary preparations, the surgery was expected to take place around November 10th. If it went well and the post-operative progress was good, the outlook was that he could be discharged about ten days after that.
Meanwhile, Nishida was in Osaka at the end of October, accompanied by Yoshimura, other members of the investigation headquarters, and young detectives from Engaru Station—the jurisdiction originally in charge of the case—who were there as trainees. This was because the interrogation of Takigawa, the leader of the Aoi-ikka, regarding his involvement in the murder of Sada Minoru was finally beginning.
Takigawa was being held until October 31st for the first murder committed by Motohashi. The plan was to re-arrest him for the Sada case on October 31st when the detention period expired, then send the case to the prosecutor and request further detention on November 1st, which would be granted by a judge to start the first formal detention period.
He had already maintained complete silence regarding the first murder, and Nishida and the others were prepared for him to say nothing about the Sada case either. As expected, he remained unfazed no matter what evidence was presented. They were impressed, in a bad way, that he was indeed a man who stood at the top of one of Japan's largest anti-social organizations. However, with the cooperation of the Prefectural Police, they had completely hemmed him in with evidence and knew there would be no problem maintaining the public trial, so they felt no great rush.
Furthermore, hearings were being conducted with those involved at the time regarding Motohashi's murders in cases where the statute of limitations had already expired. Naturally, they questioned Shiino, the former Tozai Shinbun reporter. Although he did not refuse the questioning itself, he stated exactly the same things as Oshima. Since Secretary Nakagawa's confession was the same, unfortunately, the possibility of holding him criminally liable at this point had vanished, including the issue of the statute of limitations.
In the first place, even the fact that Shiino knew Oshima and others were involved in Sada's murder would likely have been difficult to prosecute as harboring a criminal even before the statute of limitations (Author's Note: Simply knowing who the culprit is and remaining silent is generally not considered to meet the constituent elements of a crime). It seemed that, overall, building a case was more impossible than expected. It was frustrating, but as it was the opinion of the prosecutor, a legal expert, it couldn't be helped. Shiino had likely acted with that well in mind.
Furthermore, he completely denied any involvement in the subsequent Kitami Kyoritsu Hospital shooting incident. Since this also matched the statements of Oshima and Nakagawa, the possibility of criminal charges vanished.
After coordinating with the investigation headquarters in Kitami, Nishida decided there was no point in staying in Osaka. Leaving Yoshimura as the lead officer in Osaka, Nishida returned to Kitami during Takigawa's first detention period. However, Nishida's own wishes had influenced this decision.
November 11th was the anniversary of the late Detective Kitamura's death, and Nishida felt a strong desire to report the de facto resolution of the series of incidents before his grave.
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The afternoon of November 11th, the day after his return. Nishida had been granted permission by Mitani to leave the investigation headquarters midway through the afternoon. His purpose was to visit Detective Kitamura's grave and report to the bereaved family; it was, for all intents and purposes, "official business." However, it seemed that Headquarters Chief Yasumura had already visited the family that morning as the person in overall charge to pay his respects. This time, Nishida went to pick up Kosaka at his home by car, and they stood together before Detective Kitamura's grave.
Kosaka seemed deeply moved by the reports of Nishida and the others' achievements. Both when invited to the grave visit over the phone and in the car on the way to the cemetery, he repeatedly said, "You did well." Thinking back, it had been fifteen years since the Sada case, which Kosaka had expressed regret over during the 1995 investigation. Even though he had already retired, it was only natural that he was heartfully happy that his juniors had cleared that resentment. Nishida also shared the details of the investigation within the limits of what he could disclose.
"I wonder what kind of detective (deka) he would have become if he were still alive..."
At Kosaka's words, spoken poignantly while pressing his hands together before the grave, Nishida replied while clenching his teeth.
"He would have undoubtedly become a mid-career detective devoted to investigation. That's exactly why it's so regrettable."
"If we had been more persistent fifteen years ago without yielding to pressure from Oshima or the higher-ups, Kitamura wouldn't have died as a result, and no unnecessary lives would have been lost... In that sense, I have regrets I can never fully overcome. On the other hand, seeing Nishida and Yoshimura take up our regrets and report the results before the grave like this, I think it's a blessing in disguise. From what I hear from the current Headquarters Chief, it's enough if the new generation builds a new police force."
When he said this, Nishida felt that Kosaka was expressing his true feelings, not just social pleasantries.
Nishida was scheduled to head to Kitamura's family home next, so he naturally invited Kosaka in the car, but Kosaka told him:
"At the time Sada went missing, I was among the investigators who ultimately abandoned the search... As I said earlier, I think that was the root cause that led to Kitamura's death. In other words, I don't have the right to go to Kitamura's parents to report the case's resolution... As the investigator who solved it, you go alone, Nishida."
It was likely Kosaka's way of settling things. Nishida didn't push him further and drove alone to the Kitamura residence.
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At the Kitamura home in Kitami City, Nishida was welcomed by the father, Motoo, and the mother, Yukie, and shown into the living room. In the relatively spacious room, there were two large bookshelves lined with many paperback books. He reported that the shooting incident had been resolved and that the series of events, including the murder of Sada—which Kitamura had also been pursuing—had been almost entirely clarified.
However, it seemed they had already heard the details of Nishida and the others' efforts from Headquarters Chief Yasumura, who had visited earlier. Nishida was repeatedly thanked to the point of feeling embarrassed.
Both parents felt older than when he had seen them at the wake, but the loss of their only son had likely accelerated that more than the passage of years.
"To have the case my son was investigating until the end resolved... Though, I never imagined that Oshima was involved in both... I don't know if you're aware, but I was a police officer myself. I'd heard vague rumors through acquaintances for a while that some terrible person was involved, but honestly, I was surprised."
Motoo shared his honest feelings with Nishida.
"Regarding Oshima, we had been investigating whether he was involved in something since back when Kitamura-kun was still with us. Even so, I suppose vague rumors did leak out... I knew that you yourself were our senior, although I didn't hear it directly from him; I knew because I'd heard it mentioned. However, I only learned this year that you were in Forensics from Kawakita-san... you know him, right? He's in Forensics at the Kitami Headquarters now. I heard it from him (Author's Note: Foreshadowing 1 below)."
At Nishida's confession, Motoo laughed.
"Ah, Kawakita... Now that you mention it, is that fellow at the Kitami Headquarters now? He was my junior back at Nayoro Station... He's quite skilled, isn't he? I trained him thoroughly myself."
Nishida nodded with a polite smile.
"But, for my son to become a police officer and then die in the line of duty... it's ironic when I think about it. There must have been a time when he was rebelling against me and the job..."
At this comment from Motoo, Nishida recalled hearing from Kawakita that "there was a period when (Kitamura) clashed with his father," and guessed that was what he meant.
"Pardon me, but did something happen? If you're comfortable, I would appreciate it if you could tell me."
Nishida honestly thought it might be rude, but he dared to probe because he wanted to know the details.
"Well, it's nothing major. It was nearly thirty years ago... When my wife's health broke down and she was hospitalized long-term. As you probably understand, Nishida-san, with this kind of work, I was busy and couldn't look after her properly..."
Saying this, he exchanged a brief look with Yukie and gave a wry smile. Then, he continued.
"Because of that situation, he probably developed a distrust of his father... From then on, we clashed quite a bit... After all, he was at a sensitive age; he couldn't forgive a father who seemed to be neglecting his mother. I also couldn't handle a son who wouldn't listen... Well, though there was work stress, I failed as a father..."
He confessed the general outline.
"I see. I'm sorry for making you remember all that."
Nishida bowed his head, but Motoo replied.
"It's fine. But that son of mine, when he was in his third year of high school, he wouldn't say whether he was going to get a job or go to university. I lost my patience and asked him sternly, 'What are you going to do?' He said without even making eye contact, 'I don't have anything I want to do. If it's the police, it'll be easy to get in with my old man's connections, right?' I told him, 'Well, if you get a certain score on the exam,' and in the end, he went to a vocational school for civil service exams the following year and joined the force... It's not like that now, but as you know, in the old days, it really was easier to get in if a relative was a police officer. On top of that, he was unexpectedly suited for it, even becoming a detective, which is what I actually wanted to be. It's ironic. But in the end, he died in the line of duty... Fate is irrational, or something..."
His words trailed off at the end.
"Oh, so you originally wanted to be a detective, Mr. Kitamura?" Nishida asked again.
"Yes, I'm embarrassed to say. But I wasn't good at martial arts; I was originally a humanities type. So, I figured if I couldn't be a detective, I'd go into Forensics where I could work at the scene... The reason I wanted to be a detective was that I'd loved mystery novels since I was in middle school, and I was influenced by them. Look, most of the books on these shelves are mysteries."
Saying so, Motoo looked back at the bookshelves behind him.
Looking at the books on the shelves again, there were Sherlock Holmes, Edogawa Ranpo, and Yokomizo Seishi's works, followed by a vast number of mystery novels leading up to the modern day.
"What an incredible collection," Nishida marveled, then asked, "Did Kitamura-kun read these too?"
"No, I won't say he never read them at all, but given our conflict and the fact that he probably didn't have a good impression of the police profession, he never showed any interest in them."
"I see..."
It was an unexpected answer, but Nishida chose not to react specifically.
After that, Nishida shared memories of the time he spent investigating with Detective Kitamura with the parents. When he confirmed it was time to return to work, he said:
"I've overstayed my welcome. I must return to the investigation headquarters soon."
He stood up.
After being seen off by the parents at the entrance and putting on his shoes, Nishida suddenly turned back.
"About Kitamura-kun... It was the autumn of '95, when I was escorting that man Motohashi—who murdered Sada—from Sapporo to Engaru with him. Motohashi asked us, 'Why did you guys become detectives?' (Foreshadowing 2 below)."
The parents looked puzzled, not knowing what he was trying to say, but Nishida continued regardless.
"When I honestly said, 'The civil servant benefits were attractive,' Motohashi mocked me."
Nishida gave a self-deprecating smile once, then said:
"Then Kitamura-kun said this: 'I liked mystery novels, and that influenced me.' He also mentioned, 'I got hooked on the works of Sherlock Holmes, Edogawa Ranpo, and Yokomizo Seishi.'"
He continued.
"The idea that Kitamura-kun joined the police expecting his father's connections and became a detective because he happened to have an aptitude for it is just what you think, Mr. Kitamura. I believe he undoubtedly joined the force because he wanted to be a detective from the bottom of his heart. Certainly, there was a rift between you two. I never heard from him that his father was a police officer either... However, I think the relationship between a father and son is one where they clash but also recognize each other somewhere. I believe he must have been influenced by you, Mr. Kitamura."
He said that much in one breath. Naturally, the parents before him were stunned, but Nishida didn't mind at all. Leaving only a word, "Well then, excuse me," he gave a slight bow and stepped out of the entrance.
In the midst of such a hectic time, perhaps it wasn't something he should have confessed to the parents of his late son. However, if he had told them this while facing them in the living room, the two would have been at a loss as to what kind of expression to wear in front of Nishida afterward. If that were the case, it was Nishida's way of being considerate: to tell them all at once as he left, so that the couple could spend time thinking about their son by themselves afterward.
"Maybe from your perspective, I said something unnecessary, but forgive me in light of the case being solved..."
As he started the car, Nishida naturally spoke to one of his late partners.
※※※※※※※ [Author's Note]
Foreshadowing 207-1
The fact that Kitamura's father was a police officer in Forensics and that there was a rift between father and son was described in Chapter 22, when Nishida asked Kawakita in Forensics to compare the thumbprint on the "Kuwano Kinya" contract remaining at Sanyu Metal Mining with the blood seal on the deed.
Chapter 11 (about 4/5ths of the way down)
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n5921df/88/
Foreshadowing 207-2: Chapter 30 (near the end)
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n5921df/51/
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