Chapter 30 - Light and Shadow 9 (49–57: Visiting Sada Yuzuru's House, Existence and Loss of the Second Deed, and the Second Visit to Minoru's House)
September 12th, noon. Nishida and Yoshimura were having lunch at a ramen shop in the Zenibako district of Otaru, along National Route 5. They had left the Hokkaido Prefectural Police Headquarters in Sapporo early to make it in time for their 14:00 appointment. The reason they had stopped by the headquarters was that Nishida had received an emergency contact from Director Toyama that morning and had visited the Criminal Investigation Director's office. The news Toyama shared was unexpectedly good.
"I just got word from the Kitami SIL (T/N: Scientific Investigation Laboratory). It seems they've nearly identified Sada's cause of death!"
Hearing this, Nishida let out a cry of admiration.
"They figured it out! I heard it was supposed to be nearly impossible."
"You knew the SIL was checking the DNA, right?"
"Yes."
"In that process, while they were returning the bones to forensics and re-examining everything in detail, a staff member named Shibata apparently discovered something like a graze mark on a fragment of the rib. When they investigated that graze, they detected a minute amount of metallic components. The SIL analyzed it and found it matched the metallic composition of a bullet's jacket. They can't definitively say if the gun was a handgun, but they say it's almost certainly a pistol."
"Regarding that metallic powder... since Shinoda put the bones in an urn, he would have had to break them into a certain size. I assume they've distinguished it from marks left by a shovel or a pickaxe?"
Yoshimura's suspicion was reasonable. Nishida also thought they should be careful about that possibility.
"The brass used for bullet jackets isn't used for pickaxes or shovels. It's a relatively soft alloy."
Hearing that, the two were satisfied, and at the same time, they were impressed by Shibata from forensics, who had spotted such a localized mark on a mere fragment of bone. He had a foul mouth, but his skills were top-tier.
"Shibata-san's skill is as sharp as ever," Yoshimura remarked.
"Yeah, he's a piece of work, but he's the real deal. Though, I wish he'd noticed it at the initial stage instead of now," Nishida replied with a hint of spiteful regret. Toyama then asked, "Do you know this Shibata?"
"Yes, he was particularly helpful this time," Yoshimura answered without a moment's delay.
"I see. Everything is decided by whether or not you have capable staff. We have to make good use of people like that..." Toyama said, as if talking to himself. "To get back to the point, considering the positioning of the ribs, the bullet likely passed near the heart, and that's presumably the cause of death. As for the type of handgun, they can give a general idea, but final identification will be difficult."
The fact that the cause of death was identified was one thing, but the use of a gun in the murder was something they hadn't even considered until now.
"Neither Shinoda nor Kitagawa had a gun license, right?" Nishida confirmed with Yoshimura.
"I don't think that ever came up during the investigation."
"Hmm."
Nishida didn't look convinced. Seeing this, Toyama checked with him.
"Is there a problem?"
"I wouldn't call it a problem, per se... I believe Shinoda killed Yoneda, and if he killed Sada, well, that would have been his first offense. But to commit a murder using a handgun, I'd think one would need to be somewhat proficient with firearms. In Yoneda's murder, it was a chance encounter, and we speculate he was killed with a pickaxe that happened to be there. I just can't quite link a gun to Shinoda or Kitagawa."
"The possibility that those two killed Sada is high, but it hasn't been proven yet, has it?"
"No. So, if my thinking is correct, this might actually slightly increase the possibility that those two weren't involved in the killing. Regardless, having too much prejudice leads to errors, so I'll accept the fact that a gun was likely used as a reality."
"Indeed, prejudice is no good... It's common sense, but it's something I've felt deeply this time." Toyama muttered, looking down.
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After finishing their meal, Nishida and Yoshimura arrived at Sada Yuzuru's house in Temiya, Otaru, about 30 minutes from the ramen shop in Zenibako. However, they had nearly an hour before their appointment. Since it was a long time to spend in the car, they decided to visit the Railway Memorial Hall (now the Otaru City Museum) in Temiya to kill time. However, when they arrived, they found it was closed for renovations (it was actually closed from '92 to '96), so they visited the nearby Temiya Cave Preservation Museum, which preserves ancient carvings in the Temiya Cave. It seemed the facility had just been completed this year.
The house of Yuzuru, the eldest brother of the Sada family—in other words, Minoru's childhood home—was a fairly old Western-style building. It was stylish and much larger than expected, bordering on a mansion. It gave the impression that the family had been quite wealthy when it was built. The interior was spacious, and the decor seemed to have been renovated, looking modern compared to the exterior. However, a large chandelier shone brilliantly in the drawing room, and that room alone certainly evoked the atmosphere of the time it was built. Yoshimura looked restless, his eyes darting in all directions. Nishida, too, felt his investigative mindset slipping away as he was served black tea and cookies.
"This is quite a magnificent home you have here."
"No, no. My father ran a small fisheries company since before the war. I closed it twenty years ago when I took over, so this is just a remnant of that. It wasn't a bankruptcy like my brother's, but I suppose neither of us brothers had much of a head for business, ha ha ha ha."
Yuzuru laughed loudly at Nishida's comment, but it didn't seem forced. Since he maintained such a grand home, he was at least not in financial trouble.
"But I never thought it would come to this... To be honest, I had already given up, thinking Minoru was probably gone, but facing the reality is something else. If our family had been doing well, we might have been able to help Minoru's company... If we had, Minoru might not have died... When my mother died, I talked to my brother about the inheritance, and he told me I didn't have to sell the house. Perhaps he felt it would be painful to lose the house he was born in, but things were already getting bad back then. It might have been better to tear it down and sell it if it could have helped even a little. Moving to a smaller house wouldn't have been much of a hardship for me or my wife..."
His expression darkened, a complete reversal from a moment ago, but he quickly pulled himself together.
"This is no time to be wallowing in sentiment. You came to ask me about the letter and the deed I gave Minoru, didn't you? To be honest, I vaguely remembered they existed, but when Minoru went missing, I hadn't received any information that a man named Isaka was involved. Even if I had, I'm not sure if the name 'Isaka' would have clicked... It was only four years ago when Minoru's family showed me the letter and pointed it out that I realized... but it was too late. Well, even if I'd known right after he disappeared eight years ago, based on what I hear from Akiko, if you hadn't investigated properly like you are now, telling the police wouldn't have meant anything... Anyway, I've heard a lot from Minoru's family about how much we owe you. I'm truly grateful. So please, don't hesitate to ask anything today. Now, where should I start?"
Nishida took out the letter and the deed he had brought and said, "Then let's begin immediately. First, regarding this letter and document—or rather, the deed—when did you first become aware of their existence?"
"Before the war, I got married and was with a trading company in Manchuria. I was drafted there near the end of the war, and after the Soviet invasion, I was taken prisoner and interned in Siberia. My wife and child managed to escape back to Japan with their lives and returned to her parents' home in Muroran. Well, it was terrible; it's a page of my life I don't want to remember..."
He made a face as if he'd swallowed a bitter bug, but quickly continued.
"I was repatriated in the summer of Showa 24 (1949). It was then I finally learned that my eldest younger brother, Toru, who wrote this letter, had died in the war... The youngest, Minoru, had been drafted but returned to Japan right after the war. Everyone thought I was dead, so my father and mother were overjoyed at my survival."
The stories of war survivors are heavy. The two detectives felt it was hard to say they were listening as part of an investigation.
"Oh, I've gone off on too much of a tangent. Naturally, I had no idea about this letter around the time it was written, and even after I returned, I didn't know about it for a while. Well, later, a man named Hojo Masaharu, the younger brother of Hojo Masato mentioned in this letter and deed, came to visit, and that's when I first learned of its existence. If my memory serves me right, that was around Showa 26 (1951). I had already called my wife and child to Otaru and was living with my parents, helping with my father's company."
"Hojo's younger brother came? What happened to Masato himself?"
"According to Masaharu, he died in the war on the southern front. Like our Toru, he seems to have entrusted the letter and deed to his younger brother before being sent out."
"Did Masaharu come regarding the distribution of his brother's share, as mentioned in the letter?"
To Yoshimura's series of questions, Yuzuru gave an unexpected answer.
"No, that was Masaharu's second visit to our house. Although he was physically weak, he was eventually drafted due to the worsening war situation. He managed to survive and, after being repatriated, returned to Takikawa where he had lived since before the war. He made his first visit from there. My parents accepted that he was Hojo Masato's brother and told him the location of the gold dust. He said back then that when he went to the place he was told, the gold dust was already gone. By the way, the first visit was while I was still interned in Siberia. It seems to have been around Showa 22 (1947). I heard that from him and confirmed it with my parents later."
Nishida and Yoshimura were confused by this.
"In other words, when you met Hojo Masaharu, he didn't come for the distribution of the gold dust?"
"That's right. When I met him, it was... how should I put it... like sharing old stories. He talked about how he is who he is today precisely because the money wasn't there back then. Though, from my perspective, I felt he was putting on a brave face... And at that time, he left his own deed with us, saying, 'I want to break away from such things, but it would be wrong to my deceased brother to just tear it up and throw it away. I want to entrust it to you, the family of the witness.' So there should have been two deeds in total... Naturally, I gave Minoru two deeds as well. After Minoru's death, his wife and child found this and asked me about it, so I confirmed it then. However, at that time, there was apparently only this one piece."
The two were even more surprised, as they hadn't heard this story at all.
"What? There were two of the same thing? I'm shocked because I hadn't heard that from Minoru-san's family."
At Nishida's words, Yuzuru said calmly, "I'm not lying. You can check later. Also, I've been shown the remaining deed, and that's the one Toru left at home. The one Masaharu left was much dirtier."
"Well, we were excited about the contents of the letter last time, so we didn't do a very detailed confirmation. Maybe the family just missed the chance to say it? They only saw one piece themselves, after all," Yoshimura followed up. In the flow of the conversation back then, there probably wasn't a good timing to bring it up. However, if there were two and now there's only one, it naturally means one was lost or exists somewhere else.
"I'm sorry, but did the other two—Isaka Tasuke and Kuwano Kinya—ever visit?" Nishida decided to start from there to organize things properly.
"Yes, I heard they did. I learned about the contents of this letter from my parents after Masaharu's visit. It was before Masaharu. First, Isaka came alone, and as per Toru's instructions, they refused him on the spot. Later, Isaka didn't come alone; he came with Kuwano, so they told them the location as per the letter. Of course, they told them to make sure to leave the shares for Hojo and the children. However, considering the circumstances that Masato himself had died in the war and that Masaharu had brought the deed, my father and mother dared to break Toru's instructions and told him the location. But when Masaharu went there to look, as I said before, it was no longer at the written location. Well, he did say during his second visit that perhaps there never was an inheritance from a man named Senzaki to begin with, but even then, it looked to me like he was just desperately trying to convince himself. In reality, I suspect those two took everything first."
"I see... By the way, when Isaka and Kuwano came, did they confirm the fingerprints on the deed against their own, as instructed in the letter? Since Hojo Masaharu's brother had died, there was no point in checking him, of course."
"I didn't hear about that either. But I wonder... I remember Toru wrote that, but they weren't the police; would they have known even if they checked? My parents weren't the type to be overly suspicious of people, so if they brought the deed and their appearance and characteristics matched what was described, I think they just believed they were the real deal." Yuzuru answered Nishida's question uncertainly.
"And what other conversation did you have when Masaharu came the second time?" Yoshimura asked for the rest of the story.
"In the story from his second visit, he said that after the hope of the money he'd heard about from his brother vanished, he had moments of despair. But he persevered, drifted from Takikawa to Noshiro in Akita, worked at a fisheries factory, and started a family. He said he came to apologize for the lack of contact after being told the location. It happened to be a factory we had business with at the time, so he found out and came by because he had business in Otaru and felt nostalgic. He must have had a strangely dutiful side..."
"And that's when he left the deed?"
"Yes. As I said before, I think it was his way of breaking with his past self. I didn't have enough conviction to be certain of his inner thoughts, but that's how I felt."
The two were able to grasp the flow of the story clearly up to this point. However, the problem of the missing second deed remained unsolved.
"So, for a while after that, the letter and the deed were a topic shared only between you and your father and mother? Is that correct?"
"That's right. And after my father died, and then my mother, Minoru and I completely divided the mementos. I saw the letter and deed for the first time in a long while and showed them to Minoru. Since Minoru showed interest, I gave them to him. At that time, there were definitely two deeds. Toru's and Hojo's. Minoru's company was already starting to fail, so I wonder if he pinned a sliver of hope on that gold dust story... Even though Masaharu had told us it was already gone. How foolish..." Yuzuru said regretfully in response to Nishida's confirmation.
"No, that's not it..."
Just as Yoshimura was about to argue, Nishida held his arm out in front of him to stop him and asked, "By the way, do you know Masaharu's contact information?" Yoshimura likely wanted to say that what Minoru relied on wasn't the gold dust, but rather trying to extract money directly from Isaka. Nishida changed the subject out of consideration, thinking there was no need to treat Minoru as a villain in front of his bereaved family. Yoshimura seemed to understand the intent and cut off his words.
"No, I never heard that back then, I'm sorry to say." Yuzuru hesitated for a moment at the exchange between the two, but answered immediately.
"Then, do you know the company Masaharu was working for at the time? You mentioned earlier that you used to have business with them?"
When Yoshimura asked again, Yuzuru stood up to check the ledgers he kept. It took quite a while, but he eventually found it.
"This is it. Kumazawa Fisheries in Noshiro City, Akita Prefecture. I'm sure we had business with them until the Showa 50s (1975-1984), but since we closed our company, I don't know what's happened to them now."
"I see. Let me try calling this number now to see if it's still active." Nishida said this and called on his mobile, but it connected to a completely different individual.
"I guess the company is gone after all." Yuzuru had a look that said 'as I thought,' but Nishida explained while taking notes from the ledger that he didn't need to worry.
"The phone number might have changed, and I'll look into what's happened now if necessary. It's just a matter of possibly confirming things with the person named Masaharu, so it's not absolutely essential."
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On the way back from Otaru to Sapporo after hearing the circumstances from Yuzuru, Nishida first called Akiko to confirm if she had ever heard from Yuzuru that there were two deeds, and he got a solid confirmation. Then, the conversation with Yoshimura in the car was devoted entirely to what happened to the single deed brought by the now-missing Masaharu.
"It's the kind of thing that would have been kept in a safe, so I can't imagine it was handled carelessly. Therefore, it's hard to believe it was just lost." Yoshimura's reasoning certainly made sense.
"In that case, is it stored somewhere? However, it's hard to imagine Sada Minoru moved it to another location. There would be no problem if it were in the safe."
"Yeah, I also don't think it's under the Sada family's control anymore. Well, isn't there a possibility it was handed to someone and that person disposed of it?"
"What you're saying, Yoshimura, is that Sada Minoru intentionally gave it to someone, and the person who received it erased it?"
"Yes."
At this point, Nishida understood Yoshimura's intent.
"You think the one who received it was Isaka Daikichi..."
"Of course. That makes the most sense."
Indeed, assuming he was threatened by Sada regarding the Takanashi murder, the only things to back up that absurd letter's story would be the deed with Isaka Tasuke—that is, Daikichi's—blood seal, or the matter of the three unidentified bodies found later. Since that story was to be handled internally at the Engaru Station, a deed would be necessary to threaten Isaka. And if Isaka were to accept it, it would be logical to do so in exchange for that deed.
"However, Sada was killed before he could get the money. That's how it would go."
"Umu. That seems to fit. After that, the question is how Sada linked Isaka Tasuke and Isaka Daikichi eight years ago."
"When I first saw the letter, I thought Isaka Tasuke and Daikichi were just relatives at most, but now the punchline is that they're the same person..."
As Yoshimura said, things were moving in an unexpected direction.
"Could it be—and this is just a 'maybe'—that Sada Minoru saw through the fact that Isaka Tasuke and Daikichi were the same person at an early stage?"
"Ehh? We still don't even clearly know why Sada thought Isaka Tasuke and Daikichi were related, so I can't think of a logic where he'd suddenly think they're the same person. Sada didn't even have any contact with Isaka until then; would he suddenly realize something like that?"
"True, they might not have had direct acquaintance, but they share the commonality of both being business owners."
"Well, the Isaka Group is a seriously big company, though."
"It seems Sada's company wasn't so small as to be called a micro-enterprise either."
"Well, that's true, but... isn't that still too much of a leap?"
"I suppose it is a bit of a wild idea." Nishida fell silent.
The conversation broke off for a while after that, but Yoshimura spoke up again.
"By the way, I wonder what kind of person Kuwano Kinya was. We've started to understand Isaka Tasuke—no, Daikichi—and Hojo Masato, but he's the only one in the deed we don't know. Well, to be precise, there's also Mende's child whose name is unknown, but we have no choice but to exclude that."
"If we trust the contents of Toru's letter as they are, he was a man of trustworthy character and education. Looking at the childhood home of the three Sada brothers, the eldest was a trading company employee, the second, Toru, did accounting at a gold mine, and Minoru became a businessman, so they likely had a certain level of education for that time. Since he felt the man was educated from that perspective, he must have been somewhat refined, don't you think?"
"Would such a man be panning for gold in the middle of the mountains back then? It just doesn't sit right with me."
"No, you can't be sure. I've heard that even university graduates of that time were occasionally among the Tako-beya Laborers, and besides, there was the Great Depression in the early Showa era. Given they went through such a difficult era even with an education, it's not so strange for the times."
"I see. The Great Depression. Uh, was that from the US stock market crash in 1929?"
"To be precise, Japan's depression should be slightly shifted. Around 1931. It was a time when even university graduates—back when ordinary primary school was the compulsory education—faced job shortages, as in the phrase 'I graduated from university, but...' (T/N: reference to a 1929 Ozu film). And that's for university grads of that era."
"I feel like I've heard that phrase before, but even so, you're quite knowledgeable about history, Team Leader." Yoshimura was impressed, likely from the heart and not just out of social courtesy.
"I just took Japanese history in high school and liked it enough to be relatively good at it," Nishida humbled himself. Or rather than humility, it was a statement born from the realization that it wasn't anything so great as to be praised by others.
"However, the letter was written in Showa 19... 1944, since the war ended in 1945, and the deed was written in Showa 16, so that's... uh, 1941? Era names are really a pain. Anyway, what was it... oh, right, so it was ten years after that depression. I wonder if he was affected back then and reduced himself to such a position."
"It's possible, isn't it?"
The sea breeze coming in from the passenger side window was starting to feel chilly due to the season and the time, so Nishida closed the window.
Entering Sapporo city, on the right side in the direction of travel on National Route 5 where traffic was starting to increase, the gentle ridgeline of Mount Teine stood out clearly. Perhaps curious about Nishida's gaze, which had been fixed on Mount Teine during the break in conversation, Yoshimura asked, "Is something on your mind?"
"No, I was just looking at Mount Teine over there." Nishida pointed toward Mount Teine and then consciously turned his head to the opposite left. And there, in the direction of Nishida's gaze, a billboard on the roof of a building suddenly caught his eye.
"Zaikai Hokkaido." It was a monthly magazine that covered topics related to companies within the prefecture. He didn't know how well it sold, but it was not only read among companies and businesspeople but also had TV commercials, so the name was somewhat known even to the general public. However, its reputation was that it made money by making companies "buy" it in exchange for not publishing scandals—in reality, he had heard bad rumors that it was a type of scandal rag. That Zaikai Hokkaido advertisement billboard was mounted on a building along National Route 5. Nishida watched it blankly as it passed by the car window, but then a thought occurred to him.
"Sada's mother died in May of '87, right?"
It was a sudden remark from Nishida, but Yoshimura didn't ask for the meaning and said mechanically, "I'm sure that was it."
"And he went missing in September of that year... During this time, or before that, there must have been a hint that allowed Sada to sniff out something linking Isaka Tasuke, the gold panner mentioned in the letter and deed, with Isaka Daikichi, the corporate manager..."
"Probably."
"From the contents of the letter, from Toru's perspective, it was written that Isaka Tasuke had a round face and large eyes. Looking at Daikichi in the photos from the investigation files earlier, he certainly had a round face and large eyes."
"No, but he wasn't that distinctive, was he?"
What Yoshimura said was certainly true; perhaps it was due to age, but no clearly prominent features could be felt from the photos of Isaka after he became a business figure.
"And apparently, he had a large mole on his left elbow."
"Right. We haven't seen it, so we can't be sure, but that might be more distinctive."
"Is there a possibility that a photo showing that existed within Sada's reach? For example, magazines that cover famous economic figures often have articles introducing their personalities, right?"
As Nishida said this, he reached his own conclusion and contacted Akiko on his mobile again.
"Madam, sorry to bother you again. Let me just confirm something. Did your husband, Minoru-san, subscribe to a magazine called Zaikai Hokkaido at home or at the office?"
"Pardon?"
Akiko seemed unable to gauge Nishida's intent and asked back, so Nishida repeated himself.
"I mean, you know the magazine Zaikai Hokkaido, right? Did Minoru-san read it when he was alive?"
"Well... now that you mention it, I feel like he might have taken it at the office..."
"I see. That helps." When Nishida said this in a bright voice, Akiko hesitated, saying, "No, well, I only mean I have a feeling..."
"That's fine. I don't need absolute proof. If anything else comes up, I'll be in touch." After saying that briefly and hanging up, Nishida gave an instruction to Yoshimura.
"Hey, take us to the Zaikai Hokkaido office."
"Zaikai Hokkaido? I've heard of it, but I don't know where the company is."
"You don't even know that?" Nishida clicked his tongue, but when he thought about it, he realized he didn't know either, but it was too late. He ended up having to call Director Toyama to have him look it up, all while glancing at Yoshimura, who was trying to hold back laughter next to him.
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Because detectives suddenly showed up and produced their police badges, the Zaikai Hokkaido office was in a bit of an uproar. Since what they did was on the edge, they might have misunderstood it as a raid for "defamation" or "extortion" or something, to put it exaggeratedly, but naturally, Nishida had no such intention.
"Is there something the police need?" A man named Souda, the General Affairs Manager, responded timidly.
"Sorry to bother you. You keep back numbers of Zaikai Hokkaido here, don't you?"
"Back numbers? Oh, of course, since it's our own magazine, we have them."
"I'd like to see at least from eight years ago, September 1987—no, since it's a magazine, it would be a month ahead... I want to see from the January issue to the October issue of that year, and maybe the whole year of 1986 before that."
Yoshimura, behind him, finally seemed to understand the meaning of Nishida's actions. "Ah, I see, so that's it..." his monologue reached Nishida's ear.
"Is there some kind of problem?" Souda looked at Nishida suspiciously.
"No, I just want to confirm if certain information is published as part of an investigation. There's no problem with your company." When he told him that, the other party finally seemed relieved and showed the two into a reception room.
After waiting a while, Souda and a female clerk brought the back numbers. Nishida thanked them and immediately began flipping through the issues from January to December 1986. Although he hadn't received any instructions, seeing this, Yoshimura also began checking from the January 1987 issue in the same way. After they had each been reading for a while without conversation, Yoshimura's hand stopped first.
"How about this?" He pointed to the relevant spot and showed it to Nishida, looking uncertain. It was the July 1987 issue, published on June 10th, and it was an article about a golf tournament hosted by the Kitami Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The color photo showed the top three participants from the front, and Isaka Daikichi, who had come in second with a handicap of 5, was pictured. From the short sleeves of his polo shirt, a fairly large mole was visible on the side toward the front of his left elbow.
"Bingo!" Nishida exclaimed. Yoshimura was happy to hear that, but Nishida ignored him and asked Souda, who was watching the situation without understanding the meaning.
"If I give you the name of a company, can you tell if they were a subscriber back then? It's from eight years ago, a company called Kanemi Shokusan?"
"Eight years ago... I think I can find out." Souda didn't hide his attitude that he'd been caught up in something troublesome and left the reception room.
However, it didn't take as much time as expected. When Souda returned in about 10 minutes, he reported to Nishida the fact that they had a contract with the company, just as Akiko had said. "So it was as I thought. Oh, while I'm at it, could you sell me this?"
"That's certainly welcome." Souda readily accepted Nishida's request, and Nishida took a thousand-yen bill from his wallet and handed it over. Then, receiving the change from the clerk who had gone out once to get it, he rolled up the July issue he was holding in one hand, gave a brief thanks, and the two quickly left the office building. For the other party, it would be more appreciated if an uninvited guest left quickly rather than being thanked profusely. There was no send-off, as if they were glad to be rid of a nuisance.
While getting into the car in the parking lot, Yoshimura said with a bright face, "Now we know the reason why Sada linked Isaka Tasuke with Daikichi. No, just as you thought, Team Leader, he knew they were the same person after reading the magazine. I'm truly impressed."
"For Sada, after that, he just had to find a way to investigate that Isaka Tasuke had changed his name to Daikichi. This could be done easily by using a private investigator, and I also doubt how much Isaka himself was hiding the fact of his name change from those around him. I won't know until I ask around, but I don't think it was something so important that Isaka didn't want it known. The surname Isaka remained the same, and Tasuke and Daikichi don't feel that different in terms of nuance. I don't think he was highly conscious of hiding it. And the greatest strength for Sada was that he had the deed with the blood seal that had fingerprints left on it. Of course, Sada wouldn't have had a way to check if they matched, but if he showed it to Isaka, he would have known by the reaction. That must have been what hurt Isaka the most." Nishida "explained" with satisfaction.
"But as all these things come to light, I wonder what happened to Kuwano, who appeared with Isaka... is he dead or alive? It's still on my mind," Yoshimura said softly.
"First, we take it step by step with what we can find out," Nishida said as he clicked his seatbelt shut, and Yoshimura, seeing that, put the car in gear. Leaving the parking lot and driving along the road built on the embankment of the Toyohira River, an early dusk was starting to cover the streets of Sapporo, as if symbolizing the passing summer.
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Having finished the day's investigation, Nishida and Yoshimura returned to the Prefectural Police Headquarters once to report to Criminal Investigation Director Toyama first, and then reported to Section Chief Sawai in Engaru by phone. Along with the fact that Sada had two deeds and the process by which he realized Isaka Tasuke and Daikichi were the same person, the fact that Sada's cause of death had been nearly identified naturally became the center of their conversation.
"Still, it's a good thing the SIL ended up checking the DNA. Re-examining the bones carefully once more led to this result."
"But I wish Shibata-san had found it on the first try. If the remains had been returned just like that, they might have ended up cremated again and in a grave." Nishida chose to phrase it as a complaint, but of course, his initial impression that he had done well was no lie.
"The problem is whether Kitagawa and Shinoda were capable of committing a murder using a gun. Takeshita and Komura were also concerned about that."
"I thought so too. I just can't link those two with that method of killing. They put it right near the heart, so even at close range, it would require a certain amount of familiarity. Based on the information we have so far, those two have no experience handling guns."
"Umu. That's why things are getting complicated. We've been proceeding on the premise that Kitagawa and Shinoda are the primary suspects for the murder, after all. I was planning to request a search warrant for the Isaka Group tomorrow, though..."
"Ah? Since the relationship between Sada and Isaka has become clear, are you moving on the investigation into Isaka? The man himself is already a 'Buddha' (T/N: deceased), so will anything come out now?"
"No, rather than Isaka, on the premise that Kitagawa and Shinoda are involved in Sada's murder, I want to see what those two were doing on September 26th eight years ago, the day Sada went missing—if any records of their work status remain. Well, I want to investigate including about two days after that. Since Isaka had something like an alibi, he wasn't directly involved in the killing, at least."
"That's true. Uh, September 26th back then was a Saturday, right? The question is whether it was a day off or not... But even if the Isaka Group hasn't destroyed the evidence, is there a way to confirm work status from eight years ago now? It might be quite tough."
"Don't say that. There really is a high and massive wall called 'years'... Regarding the Saturday point, it seems they were working if there were properties under construction even on Saturdays. The Civil Engineering Section of the Construction Department they belonged to back then, that is."
Sawai also seemed concerned about the "change" in the Isaka Group's surroundings and the number of years that had passed. In the first place, if the evidentiary documents don't exist, there's no need to attempt to destroy them, so this can't be blamed on the other party.
"I don't know if the respective bereaved families will answer honestly if we ask them, and I don't think they'd remember properly anyway, so it's a difficult thing to prove."
"I guess four years ago was the limit." Sawai's point was valid, but since neither Sawai nor Nishida were in Engaru four years ago and had no investigative authority, saying it didn't change the fact that it solved nothing.
"Do you have enough people? You're down two with me and Yoshimura?"
"The whole Detective Division will do it. Though, talking to Nishida has made me a bit hesitant about the raid."
"No, but if we're going to do it anyway, earlier is definitely better. Why not request it tomorrow as planned? The time spent thinking about the result is a waste itself. The raid would be the day after tomorrow due to timing. If anything, we can leave Sapporo on a night train tomorrow night and be in Kitami by the morning of the 14th. We can meet up there for the raid; that's fine with us. I think we've finished what we need to do in Sapporo for now."
"Understood. For now, I've decided to request the warrant. Also, I'll decide by noon tomorrow if I need backup from you two, but I probably won't. You can take your time coming back."
"If that's your instruction, Section Chief, I'll follow it..." Nishida was careful not to sound dissatisfied.
"Either way, I'll be back there by Friday night. I'd feel bad since I have nothing special to do."
"Understood. In any case, there's been considerable progress with this Sapporo dispatch, so I think you've done well." Sawai thanked Nishida, and their conversation ended there.
"So, in the end, are they doing the raid on the Isaka Group without us?" Yoshimura confirmed with Nishida after he finished the call.
"Yeah, basically in that direction."
"It's a bit frustrating, like being left out."
"Well, it can't be helped. We were sent out to Sapporo, so there's no ill intent." In reality, the Section Chief probably didn't have any ulterior motives, but emotionally, it didn't feel quite right.
"How about it? The work has settled down, so why not a light drink in Susukino for a change of pace? A middle school classmate of mine is the manager of an izakaya. I think he'll give us a discount."
"You have an acquaintance like that? I suppose... then just a light one. In that case, let's leave the rented car here." Nishida readily accepted Yoshimura's invitation. Since the investigation was going well, he had a bit of mental leeway.
In a multi-tenant building a bit in from the main street of Susukino, that shop, "Iyomante," was located. It seemed to be taken from Iyomante, which is one of the Ainu festivals or rituals, but the shop wasn't particularly related to Ainu people; it was apparently just taken from the image that Hokkaido means Ainu. Since it was just after the 6:00 PM opening, there were no other customers, and the manager, Yoshimura's acquaintance, immediately came to greet the two who had taken a seat in the back tatami area.
"This is Tsuneta, the guy who was my classmate. And this is my boss, Team Leader Nishida," Yoshimura introduced his friend to Nishida.
"It seems Yoshimura is always in your care. Thank you for coming today. By the way, this guy has been scatterbrained since way back, so aren't you having a hard time as his boss?"
"I knew it. It's not just a hard time; I'm actually troubled. That aside, nice to meet you, I'm Nishida." Nishida exchanged greetings with Tsuneta, half-serious and half-joking. Yoshimura laughed, saying, "Hey, hey, that's not right," but whether he realized it was not far from the truth, even if it wasn't to the extent of causing great hardship...
"We have fresh octopus in from Rishiri (Island) today, so I'll give you 'tako-shabu' (octopus shabu-shabu, a local Hokkaido dish) on the house."
"If it's Rishiri, then Okhotsk atka mackerel is also a specialty, right?"
"Of course, the mackerel is here too! It's just in season now."
"Then grill a whole one and bring it out." Yoshimura was making requests of the manager without hesitation since they were acquaintances.
As it passed 7:00 PM, quite a few customers who looked like salarymen on their way home from work started coming in, and the shop began to get lively. Nishida and Yoshimura had already been eating and drinking for nearly an hour, so they were getting a bit tipsy. Although it wasn't as good as "Yusen" in Engaru, the food was quite good for a public izakaya, so they kept ordering without getting bored. Yoshimura, in particular, was persistently ordering butter-grilled potatoes for some reason. He seemed to have taken a liking to them.
"Is your palate that of a child?" Even at Nishida's half-exasperated, half-complaining jab, he didn't care and continued eating according to his appetite, saying, "Yeah, a child is fine with me." Watching him, Nishida quietly drank whiskey with squid sashimi as a snack.
※※※※※※※
"But man, your place isn't getting any work either, right?"
"Yeah, there's criticism about wasting tax money, so public works themselves are decreasing, and they're getting strict about bid-rigging... Since we've been getting hammered by the media lately, we have no choice but to exercise restraint. It's the same trend no matter which municipality you go to."
"We also lost the bid for the renovation of the Sunagawa City Hall. (Author's Note: The Sunagawa matter is a fictional story within the novel.) The dumping by the big firms is blatant, isn't it?"
The whispered conversation of two veteran employees in the seats next to them naturally entered Nishida's ears. Judging from the talk, they seemed to work in construction.
"Ranbash Construction is doing bid-rigging behind the scenes using their connections with Diet members, right?"
"Yeah, they're blatant. They're a major player in the prefecture and do whatever they want." The middle-aged man wearing glasses placed his mug on the table with enough force to make a sound, perhaps out of anger.
"Having connections with the political world really makes you stronger. A small general contractor is no match." The thin middle-aged man was grumbling while sipping what looked like shochu.
"The ones backing Ranbash are Masukawa and Oshima, right?"
"I'm pretty sure that's it." The one with glasses gave a disinterested reply to the thin man's question.
"I hear Oshima is scary if you make him angry, too. If he sets his sights on you, it's the end for you, whether you're a company or a government office. Apparently, he actually got one person in charge of dam construction at the Development Bureau (Hokkaido Development Bureau) transferred."
"They're doing whatever they please..."
Nishida thought that Masukawa and Oshima, based on the flow of the conversation, certainly referred to Masukawa Tatsuzo and Oshima Kaiji, Diet members elected from within the prefecture. Oshima, who was involved in the case, went without saying, but Masukawa was also a powerful, heavyweight member of the ruling Minyu Party, not just in the prefecture but nationwide. Both had strong influence in construction.
"Masukawa is still in his 60s, but I wonder how long Oshima will keep being a Diet member. He's quite old too, isn't he? Must be over 80. He should just quit already."
"He won't quit. Once you've tasted the sweetness, only a saint or a fool would give it up of their own accord. He has no son, and his daughter's husband is apparently an elite bureaucrat or something, but there's no talk of him running for election."
"Kaito-san, whom Oshima studied under, seemed to be a fine man in that regard. I was just a kid, so I only know his later years. I heard he quickly handed over his position to Oshima, who wasn't even a blood relative."
"Kaito-san, huh. Was 'Kaiji' a common name he took to mean he would succeed the path and constituency of his mentor, 'Kaito Takumi'?"
"Ah, that wasn't his real name?"
"You didn't know? No, in the first place, the surname 'Oshima' is also a common name used for elections."
The conversation between the two had shifted to Oshima Kaiji before they knew it. As if drawn in, Nishida was also eavesdropping before he knew it.
"Aren't you going to order something, Team Leader? It looks like you've finished all the squid sashimi." Yoshimura spoke to him without reading the room, so Nishida put a finger to his lips and made a 'shh' gesture. Yoshimura didn't know why, but he followed the instruction and silently began stuffing his cheeks with potatoes again. The conversation of the two middle-aged employees continued.
"I heard 'Oshima' was taken from former Prime Minister 'Oshima Kenichi,' who was the chairman of the old Otori-kai, the faction Kaito belonged to. It's the Hakozaki Faction now, but it used to be the Otori-kai."
"Heh. Then what the hell is his real name?"
"I think it was 'Tadokoro Yasuo.'"
"What, it has nothing to do with his original name at all. It's like a stage name." The one with glasses showed an attitude as if mocking him, unlike his tone until then.
Nishida learned for the first time from the conversation of lowly salarymen that Oshima Kaiji's real name was "Tadokoro Yasuo." He knew that one didn't need to run in an election under their real name, but he hadn't had that realization regarding Oshima.
"There's no point of contact between the names Tadokoro Yasuo and Oshima Kaiji at all..." Nishida had been feeling the alcohol until a moment ago, but while listening to the talk about Oshima, his mind began to turn toward the investigation, and he felt his intoxication fading.
To Yoshimura, who was a mass of appetite, he said, "Tomorrow is the last full day we can use in Sapporo. Since there's nothing special to do, should I explain the investigation status to Sada's bereaved family?"
"Wouldn't tomorrow be bad for the son and daughter?" Yoshimura said, so Nishida replied, "Just the wife would be fine, right?"
"Since the culprit hasn't been caught yet, I guess that's enough."
"Also, I'll tell Kutsukake-san about the investigation status. He'd be interested, that man."
"Kutsukake-san too? You're quite dutiful, Team Leader..." The red-faced Yoshimura smiled strangely and suddenly raised his hand to call a staff member and ordered a salmon roe bowl.
"Are you still going to eat even at this point?"
"It's the closer, the closer. A closer to prepare for tomorrow." To Yoshimura, who was repeating it like a delirium, Nishida also called back the staff member who was about to return after taking Yoshimura's order and asked for a sea urchin bowl.
"In the end, you're going to eat too, aren't you, Team Leader!" To Yoshimura, who was getting a bit argumentative due to the alcohol, he justified it with the same words: "It's the closer, the closer."
※※※※※※※
September 13th. The next day was the final day of investigation in Sapporo before returning to Engaru. First, Nishida told Nagumo at the Prefectural Police Headquarters that they would be returning to their station tomorrow. While thanking Nagumo for his hard work as a liaison so far, they both confirmed that the contact system with the Isaka family's bereaved would be completely taken over by the investigation headquarters in Engaru. Then, he went to give a status report to Kutsukake at the Nishi Station as a greeting.
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"I don't know the details, but I heard a rumor that there's been some progress?" Kutsukake spoke as he welcomed the two.
"You already knew? Yes, quite a bit, thanks to you," Nishida answered.
Kutsukake urged them to sit on the sofa and said, "Ho. Is that so..." as he placed an ashtray on the table and lit a cigarette. Because a strange silence followed, Kutsukake, who had been observing Nishida and Yoshimura's hesitation, spoke first.
"So, if it's not a problem, could you tell me what you've found out? I'm curious myself, so as much as you're able to share is fine."
"Well then, as much as we can. First, regarding the materials—or rather, the letter—that was with the bereaved family... It seems that was the reason Sada Minoru made contact with Isaka. From there, bit by bit..."
"Materials, a letter?" Kutsukake didn't seem to immediately understand Nishida's statement.
"Yes. There was a letter Sada Minoru's brother left for the family, and it contained information about Isaka's pre-war days. It was only just the other day that we determined it was written about Isaka himself, though."
"Back then, the relationship between Sada and Isaka wasn't clear, but I see, it's been determined. Even so, if such a thing existed, I wish they'd somehow brought it forward..." Kutsukake seemed dissatisfied that such evidentiary material hadn't come out when he was in charge of the investigation.
"Kutsukake-san, apparently that came to light four years ago. It seems the bereaved family noticed it four years ago and reported it to the police," Yoshimura explained the details.
"Ah, is that so? Then there's nothing we could have done since we were already off the investigation... I'd heard rumors that the Criminal Investigation Director was furious about the old investigation, so if that was the reason, I thought I'd have something to say on our behalf."
"The Director is furious at the Kitami Regional Headquarters from four years ago. You weren't there then, were you, Kutsukake-san?"
"Right, I had already returned to the Prefectural Police Headquarters. In that case, I know nothing and can't take any responsibility..." Hearing Nishida's words, Kutsukake exhaled a deep cloud of cigarette smoke as if relieved.
"Also, what seems to be Sada's cause of death has newly come to light. This is something the Kitami Regional Headquarters investigated, independent of our own investigation."
"The cause of death was found? That news hasn't reached us here." Kutsukake leaned forward and took the cigarette from his mouth.
"Yes. It's likely a shooting."
"A shooting?" Without hiding his surprise, he crushed his cigarette in the ashtray and asked rapidly, "What was the type of gun?"
"We're not entirely clear on that yet. Based on the possible types of bullets, the talk is that it was likely a handgun..."
"Was a bullet found?"
"No, no bullet was found. However, as a result of the investigation, a new mark of a bullet graze was found on the rib portion of Sada's remains, and metallic powder thought to be from a bullet's jacket was detected there. Well, based on the type, the talk is that it might be a handgun."
After hearing all of Nishida's answers, he put another cigarette from the ashtray into his mouth and said, "A handgun, huh. I wonder if a guy who was supposedly a civilian would use one..."
"Do you think so too, Kutsukake-san? Actually, we also have some slight doubts. In particular, the suspects we're assuming don't seem to have any outward experience with guns. We just can't quite picture it." Yoshimura spoke for Nishida's opinion. Hearing that, Kutsukake nodded and said, "When you came before, I mentioned we'd looked into the yakuza groups related to the Isaka Group, right?"
"Yes, I heard. Was it the Souryuu-kai?" Nishida reacted immediately.
"Right. Souryuu-kai. And a handgun. It's concerning..."
"But in the investigation back then, no relationship with the case surfaced, right?"
"Of course. I'm confident about that. Or rather, I should say I was... Oh... I'm starting to get a bad feeling. If it turns out like that, this time the Director's anger will really be directed at us." Kutsukake showed a grinning face to Nishida, but it also appeared to Nishida as slightly twitching.
※※※※※※※
After finishing the report to Kutsukake and having lunch, the two visited Akiko in the afternoon as promised. Across a table set with even more luxurious tea cakes—no, cakes—than the other day, Nishida and Yoshimura faced the elderly lady.
"Thanks to this letter and deed from the other day, the investigation has progressed all at once. I can't thank you enough."
"No, no, it's I who am constantly in the care of you, Nishida-san and Yoshimura-san. You contact me every time you find something out."
"No, not at all. As the police, at the point you submitted this to the police four years ago, to speak frankly, we believe there was a way to investigate. Looking at the result, it can't be helped if it's called a mistake." Yoshimura, who had been listening in silence until now, showed a surprised expression. As a member of the police, it's common sense in a way not to admit the mistakes of one's own organization. Of course, neither Yoshimura nor Nishida thought that was "right," but from the perspective of organizational common sense, it was undeniably an outlier statement. Nishida also honestly thought to himself, "Is it okay to go this far?" but the words had moved naturally from his mouth.
"Even so, we never even imagined that Isaka Tasuke, who appeared in this letter, was exactly Isaka Daikichi. Regarding Minoru-san—and this is just our speculation—we believe he thought Tasuke and Daikichi might be the same person because the characteristics of Isaka Daikichi pictured in the Zaikai Hokkaido he subscribed to matched the characteristics Toru-san had described regarding Isaka Tasuke. And we think he contacted Isaka to ask for financial assistance, something like that."
"...My husband wasn't the type of person to do such yakuza-like things, but I suppose when one is destitute, one becomes dull-witted..." Akiko didn't hide her disappointment at Nishida's "roundabout" theory, perhaps because she hadn't been directly spoken to last time. However, she didn't deny Nishida's idea either. Yoshimura thought from the side that she was a woman who made calm judgments.
"Of course, it's just speculation at this point."
"But although I don't want to believe it, I think so too." Nishida didn't know what words to say to the lady, so he remained silent without saying anything in response.
In the midst of that, "Ah—sorry, could I use the restroom for a moment?" Yoshimura suddenly spoke up, looking awkward.
"Yes, leave the room and it's in the back by the stairs on the right." Yoshimura stood up and left the room hurriedly.
"I'm really sorry. I think he drank too much oolong tea during lunch." Nishida laughed apologetically to cover it up, but Akiko only gave a cool smile.
Nishida fell silent again, and after a while of drinking tea, a light shout from Yoshimura came from outside the room. Hearing it, Nishida and Akiko went outside to see what was happening, and books were scattered in the hallway.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Akiko said this and began to tidy up the scattered books. Nishida and Yoshimura also helped.
"Since my husband's matter has settled down, I thought I'd renovate his study on the second floor, which I'd left as it was until now, and make it into an atelier for my hobby of painting. So I brought down the books that were in the study for the time being. But since I'd stacked them without tying them properly, I've caused trouble for Yoshimura-san."
"No, no, it's our Yoshimura's carelessness. I'm sorry." Along with Nishida's apology, Yoshimura also bowed his head many times.
"Even so, Minoru-san certainly had a lot of books." Nishida conversed while picking up a book.
"Yes, he read quite a lot, regardless of whether they were light or serious."
"There are many novels and economics books, but there are also many books on things like onomancy (T/N: fortune-telling based on names) and how to name people. There's even an Ainu dictionary." Yoshimura also chimed in.
"My husband was like that, but apparently his father-in-law was someone interested in names and such, and it seems my husband inherited that hobby. The fact that his older brothers are 'Yuzuru' and 'Toru' and my husband is 'Minoru' is because his father named them based on the belief that 'a man's name should be a single character.' Following that, our son became 'Kakeru.'" Indeed, all the males in the Sada family had single-character names.
"Because he was so obsessed with that, when an acquaintance had a child, he'd give them quite a bit of advice. Not just to people who asked, but he'd speak up even to those who hadn't, so I often warned him gently to 'please stop,' but he never stopped meddling where he wasn't wanted." Akiko seemed to be reminiscing with a faraway look in her eyes.
"He was that kind of person?" Nishida also felt a gentle feeling and joined the conversation.
"That's right. Also, when talking to someone for the first time, it seems one of my husband's conversational techniques was to ask the other person's name and expand the conversation from there. My own conversation with him started with onomancy when I first met him through an acquaintance's introduction."
"Something like that happened?" Yoshimura also naturally smiled as he heard Akiko recall her first meeting with Minoru and their happy days.
"But I don't have any memory of him being interested in Ainu, so I wonder when he bought that dictionary. I thought it was strange when I saw it while organizing." To Akiko, who said this, Yoshimura, who had been flipping through the dictionary, said, "Ah, there's a receipt from when he bought this tucked in here. He must have used it as a bookmark," and showed the receipt from the opened dictionary to Akiko and Nishida. Indeed, the receipt had the product name of the Ainu dictionary, "Shinkai Ainu-go Jiten," the name of the store where it was purchased, and the date.
"August 20th, '87... About a month before he died. Why would he buy something like this?" Akiko's expression darkened slightly as she took it in her hand.
"Well, no matter how much of a couple you are, it's impossible to know everything about the other person. No matter how good the relationship is..." Nishida comforted her, daring to use his own experience from his married life, even though he was much "younger" than her.
"Well, I suppose that's true." Akiko also seemed to have pulled herself together. When she returned the receipt, Yoshimura tucked it back into its original place and stacked the dictionary. However, with three people working, the pile of scattered books was quickly tidied up, and Akiko's old stories didn't last that long before they returned to the drawing room. Once back in the room, Nishida chose to change the subject to the case, although he wasn't keen on it. The necessary things still had to be conveyed.
"So, regarding this, it's the first time I'm telling you, but regarding Minoru-san's cause of death, it seems he might have been shot..." This was again a difficult topic to say straight out, and he was at a loss for words.
"You mean he was shot?"
"Well, that's likely the case."
"I see. It's a shock, but it doesn't change the fact that he was killed." She behaved bravely.
"Of course, I'd like to think that doesn't change anything, but a slight... how should I put it... discrepancy or difference has arisen from what we had assumed, and it might affect the investigation. I'm praying that won't be the case, though."
"What do you mean?"
"It means there's a discrepancy—or rather, a part that's hard to link—between the multiple people we think might be the culprits and the way harm was inflicted on Minoru-san."
"I see..." To Akiko, who let out a sigh, Nishida added a supplement to comfort her.
"It's just a slight discrepancy, after all. The possibility remains high. And in the unlikely event that the discrepancy is correct, the suspects—or rather, the culprits—we're currently assuming are in a state where they cannot be prosecuted, as we discussed the other day, so if the true culprit is in a situation where they can be prosecuted, it might actually be a good thing."
"I see, one can think of it that way too." Akiko seemed to have brightened up a bit, and Yoshimura, feeling relieved, put his fork to the cake again.
"So, we'll be leaving Sapporo tomorrow and returning to Engaru to continue the investigation. Of course, if there's progress in the investigation, we might contact you, Akiko-san, again. In some cases, we might visit again to speak with you directly. I think there will still be things we'll need your cooperation with. I look forward to your continued help in that regard." Nishida said this and bowed his head. Yoshimura also hurriedly followed suit, although he was in the middle of eating.
"I also look forward to your help until the end. Now, Nishida-san, if you don't dislike it, please have some cake." At Akiko's word, Nishida finally put his hand to the cake. Although it was while glaring sideways at Yoshimura, who had eaten first...
Yoshimura was a fast eater as usual, and having quickly finished, he was drinking tea when he asked Akiko as if he'd just remembered. "Um, by the way, I heard last time that it was discovered that Sada-san had stayed at an inn in Engaru about a month before he disappeared, thanks to the flyers you distributed at Engaru Station and Ikutahara Station. Do you know the name of that inn? I think it would be good for us to look into it."
Nishida had been exasperated by his impolite attitude earlier, but he had to evaluate this action of Yoshimura's. Last time, they had been so surprised by the major "discovery" that they had neglected this story. It was a story that the family's discovery of the two documents four years ago had resulted in their only independent investigation success because the police hadn't taken them seriously.
"Yes, please wait a moment. I think the name was Shino-something Inn, but my forgetfulness has become terrible lately due to my age, so I'll go look for the memo since I'm not certain." Akiko said this and was about to go to the back, so Nishida called out to her and asked, "By the way, when exactly were the flyers and posters put up at Engaru Station and Ikutahara Station?"
"The letter was found in the safe around November 1991, and we contacted the police... I think it was already December. Snow had already piled up."
"I see. Understood. I missed the chance to ask before. Sorry for interrupting. Please go ahead." Urged by Nishida, Akiko left the room.
"Still, you remembered the flyer thing well. I'd completely forgotten." When praised by Nishida, Yoshimura answered bluntly, "No, it had just been on my mind."
"I found it. Here it is." In the hand of the returning Akiko was a piece of memo paper. When they were shown it, it said "Shinoyama Ryokan."
"I thought it might be since it had 'Shino' in it, but it really is that place!" Yoshimura let out a high voice, though it wasn't quite surprise. According to Yoshimura's story, it was an inn located in a place quite close to where Boss's "Yusen" was, and it had a bit of a run-down feel as an accommodation facility. However, Yoshimura seemed to have an image of it as a reasonably old inn.
"Do you know it well?" When asked by Nishida, Yoshimura replied, "I know it's near Boss's shop, but I wouldn't say I know it well..."
"Hmm, once we're back in Engaru, let's go ask around if we have time."
"Right. It wouldn't hurt to ask." Yoshimura agreed.