Chapter 44 - Light and Shadow 23 (131–135: Other Letters from Shiino to Motohashi)
Nishida called Takeshita and Yoshimura to explain the conversation with Kurano. Even if no remarkable results were obtained, Takeshita had an inner hope that the Oshima-as-mastermind theory was slowly but surely closing in on the truth. And when he told Nishida that there were only two days left, and practically only tomorrow, for the investigation in Osaka, he requested an interrogation at the detention house.
"That's not a problem at all, but I should probably ask Section Chief Sugai of the Prefectural Police's Investigation Cooperation Division by today. It's better to coordinate with the detention house through Sugai-san."
"Please do. If I had time to hesitate, I should have taken action. I thought I could manage it in my head, but I've hit a complete wall."
Takeshita bit his lip.
"The schedule for returning was decided suddenly, so it can't be helped."
Saying that, Nishida called Sugai and was told that the results of the negotiations with the detention house would be communicated by night.
"Still, Takeshita, you look haggard."
After finishing the story about Sugai to the two, Nishida looked closely at his subordinate's face and said.
"Is that so... I don't think that's the case. I haven't moved the most among the investigations since June."
"Thinking about things in your head apparently consumes a surprising amount of calories. The calorie consumption of the brain is nothing to sneeze at. They say if you're thinking seriously, you'll lose weight."
When Yoshimura said that, Nishida also had a look of conviction, saying,
"There was a saying that 'a thin Socrates is better than a fat pig.' It must be like that."
"How about it, we're free until night, why don't we do something for a change of pace? When you're at an impasse, you need a change of scenery, right? Our stay in Osaka is almost over. I don't think we'll be punished for enjoying ourselves a little..."
Yoshimura suddenly proposed a way to vent their frustrations.
"No alcohol, obviously! There's the matter of time too."
Nishida snapped at Yoshimura, but he talked back lightly,
"No, I wasn't thinking of alcohol. But karaoke should be fine, right?"
"Karaoke... That's not bad, is it?"
Nishida was surprised that Takeshita was unexpectedly eager. He wasn't unsociable, but he didn't think he was the type to go along with that kind of vibe. Since Nishida took his post, he had gone to karaoke about twice with Yoshimura before things got busy in June with the series of investigations, but his relationship with Takeshita was only to the extent of going for a drink occasionally. And even for those drinks, he had thought Takeshita wasn't very eager. He truly was a man who gave off almost no scent of being a high-ranking kendo practitioner from a physical education background.
"Alright, I got it. Then let's go raise our voices to relieve stress!"
Nishida thought he should be lenient for Takeshita's sake, and the three men decided to go to karaoke.
When they stepped out of the business hotel, Yoshimura immediately pointed with his finger.
"There's a karaoke place over there."
Nishida had thought they would need to wander around the area for a while to find one after leaving the hotel, but as expected, the "proposer" had checked in advance. Yoshimura was a man with an incredibly sharp eye for such things.
"The closer, the better."
Saying that, Nishida and Takeshita followed after Yoshimura.
To be honest, it was a pain to become a member, but since the clerk at the front was persistent, he had Yoshimura make a membership card. When the clerk found out they were people who happened to come temporarily from a place they didn't know in Hokkaido, he had a look of apology, but it was too late now. Even though it was daytime, perhaps because it was Sunday, it was a bit crowded, so they were made to wait for about 10 minutes, but they were shown to a room before they got irritated. It was spacious enough for three people, and after ordering drinks and French fries, Nishida and the others immediately began to immerse themselves in selecting songs.
The first batter was, needless to say, Nishida, who was first in the "hierarchy" among the three. It's natural in general companies, but even more so in "police society." Rank and position are everything. A police force is an organization of top-down command where those who seriously worry about whether that's right or wrong don't last until the end. However, there was no doubt that these three (and probably the other two besides Nishida) didn't believe in that "dogma" in the slightest and were only pretending to be "believers." Even just pretending to believe while treating it as a job allows one to remain until the end. That is also true. Takeshita, in particular, was undoubtedly just a "business believer" on the premise that it was clearly wrong.
As Nishida stood in front of the monitor with a microphone, the intro to Sano Motoharu's "SOMEDAY" began to play.
"Oh? It's my first time hearing the Team Leader's Sano Motoharu."
As Yoshimura said that, he clapped his hands about three times. Takeshita also joined in.
"♪SOMEDAY, in this heart, SOMEDAY~"
Nishida sang with gusto. Since his two subordinates livened things up a bit, even though it was broad daylight, the "temperature" of the room warmed up.
Now, after Nishida, it was naturally Senior Staff Takeshita's turn. Since neither Nishida nor Yoshimura had heard Takeshita's singing voice, they watched the monitor intently to see what he would sing. Then, the title of Terao Akira's "Ruby no Yubiwa" (Ruby Ring) emerged.
"Ho, 'Ruby no Yubiwa' is quite sophisticated!"
Nishida raised his voice in slight surprise with a smile. Along with a heavy intro,
"♪Beyond the frosted glass is the city of wind, a heart that speaks unasked is painful, isn't it"
He began to sing in a quite sophisticated voice. It was a huge hit that achieved the golden feat of being number one for 12 consecutive weeks on the popular song program "The Best Ten" by actor Terao Akira (who was actually active as a musician in his early days). The sophisticated, stylish melody composed by Terao himself and the lyrics by hitmaker Matsumoto Takashi didn't give the feeling of being old at all, even though it was a song from over ten years ago.
When Takeshita finished singing, Yoshimura said,
"Senior Staff, you have a pretty good voice,"
praising him half-seriously and half-teasingly.
"What a noisy guy!"
Takeshita also seemed quite pleased while saying that, but he pushed Yoshimura's back hard and sent him to the stage, saying,
"It's your turn next!"
The title of The Blue Hearts' "TRAIN-TRAIN" was projected on the monitor.
"You like this one too... I recall you sang this first both of the two times we went together."
When Nishida said that in exasperation, he replied with a proud face,
"Starting with this is my policy."
In fact, it is a song that livens up the place, but it takes on a different meaning when it's three "old men" over 30. To put it bluntly, it's "pretending to be young" or "ridiculous." Both Nishida and Takeshita were capable of at least that much self-analysis. That said, they couldn't just leave the excited Yoshimura alone, so the two superiors ended up in a composition where they cheered on Yoshimura, who was shouting while making exaggerated actions and thrusting his arms up along with the shouts.
In that way, 30 minutes, an hour passed, and it's customary for the song selection time to come when they want to sing their own favorite songs in earnest. Nishida performed his specialties, Southern All Stars' "Itoshi no Ellie" and "Manatsu no Kajitsu." After "Ruby no Yubiwa," Takeshita's selections centered on singers who were somewhere between idols and artists, such as Saijo Hideki and Sawada Kenji. Yoshimura, true to his personality, selected light rock with a good tempo and sang Jun Sky Walker(s) with high spirits.
As they were approaching two hours and requested an extension at the front, Yoshimura began to sing J-WALK's (currently THE JAYWALK due to various reasons) "Nani mo Ienakute... Natsu" (I Couldn't Say Anything... Summer). Originally, the album track "Nani mo Ienakute" (without the "...Summer") had been played frequently in commercials on local commercial stations in Hokkaido during the winter of 1990 to 1991 as a tie-up song for a ski resort in Furano, Hokkaido. Because of that, even before it became a hit nationwide, for people living in the prefecture, it was a melody they had heard somewhere, even if they didn't know the song title. Nishida also had a memory of thinking "It's a good song" when the melody flowed from the TV.
After that, in the summer of 1991, the lyrics were partially changed and it was released as a single as "Nani mo Ienakute... Natsu," which began to sell nationwide around 1992 and eventually went almost to a million-seller. Nishida and Takeshita were also humming along with Yoshimura.
When he finished singing, just as the sandwiches they had ordered arrived, the three of them, who had temporarily stopped singing, bit into the sandwiches. Raising one's voice is something that consumes a surprising amount of calories. The plates were clean in no time. After Yoshimura drank his fresh orange juice in one go, he suddenly posed a quiz to Takeshita.
"Senior Staff, by the way, do you know what the group name J-WALK means in English?"
Yoshimura, who might have a slight problem with "intellect" if not intelligence, challenging Takeshita, who was undoubtedly the intellectual type among the detectives, meant he must have some confidence. He had a face full of confidence.
"No, I don't know."
Takeshita didn't look particularly disappointed or frustrated and simply raised the white flag. Well, it might be because he was confident in himself that he had such leeway, and Nishida silently watched the turn of events.
"It seems to mean breaking various traffic rules, like ignoring signals or entering a no-entry area."
"Heh. I didn't know that. How do you know that, Yoshimura?"
Takeshita asked the reason Yoshimura knew, whether it was out of social etiquette or genuine curiosity.
"No, I just wondered what it meant, so I first looked up that the J in J-WALK is J-A-Y, and then it was the dictionary."
He told Takeshita with a bit of pride.
"What is JAY?"
Nishida cut into the conversation.
"It seems to be the bird, the jay. Since its cry sounds like 'jay jay,' the onomatopoeia became the name. However, in the case of this JAYWALK, it seems JAY has a meaning like a 'show-off' among humans."
Nishida was impressed that Yoshimura had actually looked it up, but he couldn't help but interject,
"So that means Yoshimura is a jay."
"I had a feeling you'd say something like that."
Yoshimura had a wry smile.
Takeshita also said with a laugh,
"It's the end of the world when I'm being taught by Yoshimura,"
but like Nishida, he seemed quite impressed. However,
"I feel like I've seen the word jaywalking somewhere recently..."
The word was strangely stuck somewhere in Takeshita's memory.
Since there was also a call from Sugai, the three of them cut the karaoke short at three hours and headed straight for dinner. And immediately after returning to the hotel after eating, there was a call from Sugai saying that permission for Takeshita's re-interrogation at the detention house had been granted. Takeshita didn't show it on the outside, but he was quite fired up on the inside.
After 10:00 PM, as Kurano had predicted, a direct call came to Nishida's cell phone from Criminal Investigation Director Toyama of the Prefectural Police Headquarters. He was told that on the afternoon of the next day, the 16th, Senior Staff Akamatsu and Deputy Senior Staff Tsuaki of the 1st Homicide Investigation Section, 2nd Violent Crimes Unit of the Prefectural Police Criminal Investigation Department would be coming to Osaka with an arrest warrant to escort Motohashi, and that he should attend a joint meeting with the Ministry of Justice, the Prefectural Police, and the Osaka Detention House.
Since the escort was to be on the 17th, the day after next, it was a quite tight schedule, but it was unavoidable considering the rapid development of the situation. Nishida instructed Takeshita to finish everything in the morning. Since he was to accompany the escort, he couldn't not have Takeshita participate in the meeting. Takeshita also understood that meaning well.
"Are we going to be on TV too? Good grief. It's my national debut. I have to make sure my clothes are proper..."
Yoshimura's words were as usual, but in reality, it could be called a grand stage. In the conversation about the escort the day before, Kurano had told Nishida that Director Toyama had "considered" it as a reward for the investigation by Engaru Station, and Nishida also thought that was correct, taking Yoshimura's remark as an opportunity.
Depending on the investigator's personality, there are types of people who actually dislike standing out (due to the impact on investigations or the increased possibility of facing danger), and the pattern of wearing masks and such during investigations often seen on the news is this pattern (at murder scenes, it's also for the purpose of avoiding the smell of decay or preventing saliva from flying), but for the most part, detectives, whose work is plain, tend to welcome it as a place to stand out.
Since investigators from a local station were chosen for that prominent scene, it was clear as day that it was a present from Toyama. Although it was "almost solved" due to Motohashi's own confession, it was clear that if there had been no movement and discovery of Sada's body by the independent investigation of Engaru Station, the verification of the confession would have taken time, or in some cases, would have been quite confusing, so the results of the investigation by Engaru Station had undoubtedly contributed considerably toward solving the case.
At 9:00 AM on October 16th, Takeshita was already in the Treatment Department of the Osaka Detention House. This time, he was shown the exchange of letters during the period when meetings were possible, before the dismissal of the appeal of the death sentence, which he hadn't looked at properly last time. That said, there were only two from September.
The first was stamped with the date of September 5th and delivered on the same day. After being censored, it was delivered to Motohashi on the 6th. (Both were handwritten vertical writing on stationery)
Mr. Motohashi,
As for the title of the book, as we discussed the other day,
"THE CROSS—The Cross Borne from Birth and the False Accusation Forced Upon Me"
Or
"THE JAYWALKING—The Self-Reflection Starting Now and the False Charges Worn"
I am thinking of going with one of these. Which would you prefer?
Please decide by the next meeting.
Shiino Satoshi
It could be taken as just asking for his preference for the title while Shiino was conducting interviews for the publication of Motohashi's tell-all book. It could even be called a business communication.
The second was stamped with the date of September 8th, delivered to the detention house on the same day, and delivered to Motohashi on the 9th.
Mr. Motohashi,
The result of the appeal is finally coming out. I hope to avoid the death sentence and meet you again with a smile. I heard your preference for the title of the book when we met yesterday.
You said you wanted it to be "THE JAYWALKING—The Self-Reflection Starting Now and the False Charges Worn,"
and I have obtained permission from the publisher and decided on that.
Well then,
Shiino Satoshi
"So this was the reason it was so strangely on my mind during karaoke yesterday... But looking at it now, it's a ridiculous title..."
Takeshita was exasperated by himself. Even so, the "jaywalking" that had bothered him for some reason when Yoshimura explained the meaning seemed to be a word that had been placed in a corner of his memory when he skimmed through these letters the other day.
And since Motohashi was ostensibly asserting his innocence, let alone being not guilty, at the time Shiino sent the letters, Shiino, who likely knew the truth to some extent, probably had no choice but to send letters that pretended to be such. After all, the contents are censored by the detention house staff. But now it was so transparent that a dry laugh escaped Takeshita's mouth.
When he came to the Treatment Department to investigate last time, the Treatment Department's own investigation had become quite messy overall because of the commotion over Motohashi's own questioning and such. So, Takeshita began a detailed questioning of the staff at the same time as he had them re-copy the letters (since what he was looking at were copies of the letters).
"The first time Shiino met Motohashi was August 5th, right? I'm sorry if my knowledge is limited, but I heard that when a heinous criminal meets a commoner, the requirements are quite strict, but he's been meeting him quite frequently since the first meeting, hasn't he? Even though the man himself was denying it, isn't it quite unusual for so many meetings to be permitted for an inmate who is likely to be sentenced to death, for the purpose of writing a book?"
When the Senior Staff Watanabe of the Treatment Department, who attended to him, heard that, he said,
"Hmm, certainly that's what's generally said, but well, there are various things..."
He was vague.
"I've heard that this reporter Shiino was originally in the political department of the Tozai Shinbun, so is it related to that kind of involvement?"
Takeshita boldly cut into "politics."
"Eh? Ah... no, you've got me... Detective, your intuition is sharp because of your profession... Well, I'll leave that to your imagination."
Watanabe dodged it by scratching his head, but Takeshita took the fact that he didn't dare deny it as equivalent to an affirmation. He had calculated that if one had the power of the Hakozaki Faction, this much would be possible.
"After Motohashi saw the letter on September 6th, Shiino met him on the 7th. After that, he sent another letter the next day. Even though the verdict of the appeal was to come out on the 11th, is it common for such exchanges to take place right before that?"
"Well, it probably wouldn't be..."
This was also a non-committal answer, but it was also proof that Watanabe admitted this was "unusual." After all, there were various impossibilities in "dodging" it.
Moreover, if he thought about it carefully, September 7th was the day it was officially concluded that the remains Nishida and the others had selected and picked up from the "Remote Grave Marker" were Sada's. The police didn't want it to be reported on a large scale, but they should have made a press release—that is, a press announcement—from the Prefectural Police by the morning. In the first place, at the point the remains were found, it was highly likely they were Sada's, and at least "within the Kitami District Headquarters," such rumors must have been rampant. Before whether there was a malicious "spy" or not, it wouldn't be strange for such information to leak out to the surroundings of local "influential people" to some extent from there.
Even if Oshima was in Tokyo, his offices were in Kitami and Abashiri—in fact, they were his strongholds. Takeshita suspected that it was impossible to conclude that information from the police wouldn't reach the people involved who frequented those offices and then go to Oshima's surroundings. The fact that Shiino's movements were strangely hurried since September was because there was the appeal verdict (and the high possibility of dismissal), but also because the discovery of remains believed to be Sada Minoru's by Engaru Station on August 31st had an impact, Takeshita suspected.
No, in the first place, Shiino himself is a media insider. It wouldn't be strange if Shiino himself obtained information directly from that line. In that case, he had no choice but to verify it along that line. After finishing the questioning and taking the re-copies, Takeshita left the detention house and called the reliable Igarashi before getting into a taxi.
"Takeshita, huh. You were a help the other day. Well, we provided labor too, so it's fifty-fifty... So, what's your business today? It's almost time for me to meet an interview subject, so keep it short."
"Sorry to bother you again. Regarding that Sada murder case, I think there was a press release (press conference/announcement) from the Prefectural Police Headquarters or the Kitami District Headquarters on September 7th, but before that point, had information already flowed to the bunya (T/N: slang for journalists) on the police beat to some extent? I'm thinking it wouldn't be strange if the detectives from the Kitami District Headquarters, where the remains were brought on August 31st, had 'hinted' at such stories to the press... I want you to check with the reporters on the police beat at the Doho."
"I don't mind checking to that extent! I've been told by the Desk that I can cooperate with you as long as it's within my discretion, since you've got a lead on something. Of course, on the premise of give-and-take."
Igarashi emphasized give-and-take, but Takeshita drew the line.
"That's very much appreciated. But I also have to stop at the last minute, so don't expect too much."
"I intend to understand your position. Even if it's not a scoop, it helps us to be one step ahead of other papers. If the story is big, that is. The President praised the last article too. I'm proud of it."
Igarashi's voice was also buoyant.
"That's good to hear. Oops, no time for this kind of talk. To continue the story, a reporter on the police beat for the Hokkaido branch of the Tozai Shinbun, which only has a branch in Sapporo, wouldn't have known before the press release, right?"
"Tozai Shinbun? So it's about Shiino?"
Igarashi spoke of the topic straight out without hesitation.
"Yes. It would make more sense if Shiino had already received information about the discovery of Sada Minoru's murder in Osaka before the press release. In that case, I thought there might be a possibility that he received information from a colleague within the Tozai Shinbun. But it's quite hard to think that a reporter in Sapporo would have information about Kitami... It would be a different story if the information had reached Sapporo..."
"I see. The Tozai Shinbun indeed only has a branch in Sapporo in Hokkaido. Since they have almost no share in the prefecture... As you say, I personally think it would have been difficult to catch stories around Kitami in advance. Well, fine. We're in the same social news department, so I'll try asking the people in charge of Kitami and the Prefectural Police Headquarters. Don't expect too much. See ya!"
Saying that, Igarashi hung up before getting Takeshita's acknowledgment. He was as impatient as ever.
About 20 minutes later, just as Takeshita, who had gotten out of the taxi, was about to enter the Prefectural Police building, a return call came suddenly.
"Hey, sorry about that! I checked through the Desk, and it seems our Headquarters police beat team had caught the information too. Though it seems it wasn't as confirmed information."
"Really!?"
"Yeah, the Criminal Investigation Director is Toyama, right? Apparently, such a story had come from him."
Hearing Igarashi's story, Takeshita was convinced. It's true that Toyama had a high interest in the Sada case, such as being angry about the connection with Nishida and the negligent investigation. In that case, it's not strange that he would normally speak of the information to the reporters who were sniffing around at the point he received word from Engaru or Kitami. This kind of exposure is a common story in Japan, where reporters, politicians, and bureaucrats are directly connected—to put it badly, in collusion. In some cases, it's a common pattern for the media to be used, or allowed to be used, for information manipulation.
"So, what about the possibility that the Tozai Shinbun reporter had caught that?"
"Regarding that, they say Toyama has a relatively equal attitude toward reporters, so I think it's possible he was informed. In the first place, it's the Tozai Shinbun, which is 'intimate' with the administration... There's no way the Director would go out of his way to exclude a Tozai Shinbun reporter."
Igarashi spoke in a way that had some implication. However, Takeshita didn't react for a while even after hearing that. Igarashi became anxious and asked,
"Hey, what's wrong? Can you hear me?"
"Igarashi-san, I'm sorry to ask again..."
Takeshita spoke again, and Igarashi cut him off in advance.
"Again!?"
"Yes. That again... Could you look into that reporter on the Sapporo police beat for the Tozai Shinbun? Even if they're in the same company, I think they need to be quite close. If they're to feed detailed information to Shiino one by one, they'd have to be in that kind of relationship, right? I'm really sorry..."
Takeshita pleaded in a tone that sounded truly apologetic.
"It can't be helped! It'll take some time. Even so, why do you need to look into that guy?"
Igarashi sounded like he understood.
"I don't think information would be passed on just because they're in the same newspaper company, between someone on the Sapporo police beat in the social news department and Shiino, who was almost always in the political department and in the international department for a period. I think it's natural to see that they were probing our movements at the point Shiino started moving to Osaka. In that case, I'm thinking there might have been a quite close relationship."
"Yes, yes, I got it, I got it! I'll look into it for you, just as you said!"
Hearing Takeshita's statement, Igarashi uttered dismissive words, but Takeshita was certain that Igarashi must have been convinced by his explanation in his heart.