Chapter 45 - Light and Shadow 24 (136–139: Motohashi's Escort)
When Takeshita entered the conference room, Nishida, Yoshimura, and the others were already there, including Akamatsu and Tsuaki from the Hokkaido Prefectural Police Headquarters, Hiramatsu, the Section Chief of Investigation Division 1 from the Osaka Prefectural Police, and both Tamaru and Sugai, the Section Chiefs of the Investigation Cooperation Divisions from Hokkaido and Osaka respectively. It seemed that Danda, the Vice Director of the Detention House, the Councilor from the Ministry of Justice's Correction Bureau, and the prosecutor in charge from the Criminal Affairs Bureau had not yet arrived. Although he wasn't late, being the last among the police side, he couldn't help but apologize.
"I'm sorry, I'm late."
"No, there's still plenty of time before we start, so don't worry about it," said Hiramatsu, who had been chatting with everyone, easing the tension for the apologetic Takeshita.
Akamatsu showed the late-arriving Takeshita the arrest warrant for Motohashi issued by the Sapporo District Court. Normally, an arrest warrant should be obtained by the time of a press conference (in the sense of being officially suspected), but since Motohashi was already a condemned criminal on death row and incarcerated in a detention house, an irregular decision had been made that the warrant could be obtained at the time of the escort.
Furthermore, considering jurisdiction, the warrant should have been issued by the Kitami Branch of the Kushiro District Court, where Engaru Station is located. However, because an irregular disposition was being made to detain him at the Kotoni Detention Center in Sapporo, the home turf of the Hokkaido Prefectural Police, the request for the warrant had been made to the Sapporo District Court. In any case, even though he was currently incarcerated in a detention house, they could not escort him to Hokkaido without this. Looking at it, the awareness that the investigation was finally beginning under the leadership of the Hokkaido Prefectural Police intensified, whether they liked it or not. However, the reality that the investigation had effectively moved far beyond the scope of a single unit like Engaru Station also grew stronger.
The government officials, except for Vice Director Danda, arrived a few minutes later than the appointed time, apparently having been caught in traffic within the city. The Councilor from the Correction Bureau introduced himself as Matsumura, and the prosecutor from the Criminal Affairs Bureau as Tokumaru.
Once the meeting actually began, only the police and the Vice Director of the Detention House were speaking seriously. Despite the arrival of people in such high-ranking posts, the central bureaucrats participated in the meeting with an attitude that could be described, at worst, as sightseers, and the temperature difference between them and those directly involved in the escort was striking.
Basically, the media would be informed in advance about tomorrow's escort to Hokkaido, and it was said that some confusion was expected, which was troublesome for Nishida and his team. While "appearing on TV" could be welcomed in a sense as a "grand stage" (though there were disadvantages), confusion that hindered the escort was nothing but an interference with their duties. Akamatsu and Tsuaki seemed quite concerned about that point.
On the other hand, Tamaru reported that the Traffic Division and Security Division were planning to set up a cooperation system for Itami Airport and the roads leading to it. Tamaru also explained the security arrangements from New Chitose to the Kotoni Detention Center. Although it was necessary to escort him to Engaru for an on-site investigation, discussions on that point did not make it onto the agenda as the outlook was still uncertain.
"This is the pattern where the media follows us all the way into the cabin."
Tokumaru said with a laugh, as if it were someone else's problem. Regardless of the speaker's attitude, Nishida also thought they would almost certainly intend to film the escort inside the plane. At that moment, Hiramatsu snapped,
"Did you two from the Ministry of Justice come here today just to check up on us?"
"Yes, we're essentially like observers for today," Matsumura replied with a cool face. It seemed Hiramatsu's sarcasm didn't affect them at all. As a matter of fact, it could be said that aside from the police and the detention house side who handled the practical work, there was no job left for them at this point other than grasping the situation and monitoring. In the first place, Hiramatsu himself was likely part of the National Police Agency career bureaucrat group seconded to the Osaka Prefectural Police. But even for Hiramatsu, he probably felt the need to say a word about the bureaucrats' attitude.
After the general meeting to confirm the flow of the escort ended, a meeting was held among only the Hokkaido Prefectural Police group. The plan was to take a flight leaving Itami after noon, arrive at New Chitose after 2:00 PM, use the Do-O Expressway and Sasson Expressway to the Shinkawa Interchange, and then drive into the Kotoni Detention Center.
Since the distance from the highway exit to the detention center was quite short, they discussed that it shouldn't take even an hour from New Chitose. However, Tamaru said that if media cars surrounded them, even with police escort cars in front and behind, it might take a bit longer than expected. After the meeting, Akamatsu and Tsuaki headed to the detention house, led by Sugai and Tamaru, to have a face-to-face meeting with Motohashi. Nishida and the others decided to wait at the hotel until the dinner party, which would also serve as a social gathering hosted by Tamaru in the evening.
Later, after Nishida returned to his hotel room, he received a phone call from Akiko, the widow of Sada Minoru. He wondered what it could be.
"Nishida-san, obandesu (T/N: A greeting meaning 'good evening' used by older generations in Tohoku and Hokkaido)."
"The same to you. Thank you for your help with the book the other day."
Nishida offered his thanks.
"Don't mention it, but I have something to consult with you about. Actually... I think you know about the talk of renovating the house..."
"Yes. If I recall, it was your husband's room... I remember hearing about it the last time I visited. Did something happen?"
Nishida had no idea what Akiko was trying to say.
"About that, the construction work started yesterday, and today, the contractors worked on the ceiling of the room..."
Akiko spoke more slowly than at first.
"Yes..."
Nishida didn't follow the story, so he gave a non-committal acknowledgment for the time being.
"And, while they were stripping the ceiling boards, something strange seems to have come out from behind the ceiling, or rather the attic, and the contractor handed it to me... That's why I'm calling you."
Nishida felt a slight sense of unease at her strangely hesitant way of speaking.
"What happened?"
When he asked that,
"It seems to be the investigation results from an inquiry agency in the city? Or rather, a detective agency! It's from a place called Kataoka Detective Agency. It's dated August of Showa 62 (1987), just before my husband went missing, and it looks like the results of looking into the whereabouts of a person named Masaharu, who I think I heard a bit about before from my brother-in-law Yuzuru—the younger brother of that Hojo Masato person!"
She replied.
Nishida was speechless for a while at the response he hadn't even imagined, but then he asked a standard question as a stopgap:
"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but do you know what is written in those investigation results?"
Even if it was standard, it was the right move given the flow of the conversation, so it was the correct procedure either way.
"As far as I can see, it seems they couldn't find his whereabouts."
Nishida and his team had used the police information network to its full extent to find the relatives of the Hojo brothers. However, for a general detective agency, it was inevitable that they would get a harsh result if there were only very old "traces."
"Does it say when the investigation request was made?"
"It seems the request was made on July 24th of Showa 62 (1987), and the investigation was conducted for 15 days from July 27th to August 10th. That's what it says in the results."
"I see. Your husband requested an investigation in July... Even so, it was found in the attic?"
Nishida couldn't fully grasp the situation over the phone, so he asked Akiko for a detailed explanation on that point.
"...Yes. Even if I say attic, it's not like there's a proper wide space, so it's a place we've never even looked at until now... I thought we had checked everything after my husband disappeared, but it seems it was right under our noses... But this doesn't have much meaning, does it, between this and my husband's case?"
Akiko checked with Nishida while choosing her words carefully.
"Well, I can't really judge based only on what I've heard in this call... Did anything else come out?"
Nishida also didn't have a good grasp of the situation, so he had to avoid making a definitive judgment.
"...That was all..."
Nishida felt like Akiko was hesitating to say something, but he didn't press her further.
"Understood," Nishida said, and then confessed, "Ma'am, I didn't say it when I called about the book, but Yoshimura and I are currently on a business trip to Osaka."
"Eh? Was that so... I'm sorry for relying on you when you're so busy..."
Akiko's voice went slightly high, as if she were taken by surprise.
"No, no, being relied upon is good for our investigation as well, so it's fine... So, about that. It just so happens that we're scheduled to return to Hokkaido tomorrow. Moreover, we plan to stop by Sapporo once before returning to Engaru. If it's alright with you, would it be okay if we stopped by your house tomorrow evening to see the actual item?"
After all, he couldn't do anything without seeing the actual item. If they were staying in Osaka longer, there was the option of having her send it by fax, but if he could see it tomorrow, there was no need to trouble Akiko.
"...That's perfectly fine, but since we're in the middle of remodeling, things are a bit unsettled..."
It was a hesitant tone, but it wasn't quite a rejection, and he thought there was no reason to reject it.
"That's perfectly fine, please don't worry about it. We're just going to look at it... However, I think we will probably end up taking it into custody as usual."
"If that's the case, it's fine... You said evening, but around what time will you come?"
"Either way, it will probably be around dinner time. I can't say for sure since I don't know what might happen, but once we arrive in Sapporo, I'll give you a call. Depending on the time, if it's too late it would be rude, so it might even be the following day. Would that be alright?"
Nishida couldn't clearly say "what time" because he wasn't sure if the escort would go smoothly. It was a natural thought, as they probably wouldn't be released immediately after the escort was finished. To that, Akiko gave him generous words:
"For my part, it's more convenient after the construction work is finished, so as far as being late goes, you can come up until about 11:00 PM."
"Thank you. I'll try to get there as early as possible... I look forward to seeing you."
"Understood. Well then, I'll be waiting."
With that, Akiko hung up the phone.
Nishida immediately told Takeshita and Yoshimura, who were in their respective rooms, about the content. Yoshimura showed an attitude focused entirely on his appetite.
"Ah, are we going to Akiko-san's place again? I wonder if I can eat that delicious cake again."
"She said they're in the middle of renovation work, so it's not the time for that. We'll be heading back as soon as our business is done!"
Nishida offered a word of caution, but it seemed to him that Yoshimura was somehow "attached" to Akiko. Well, knowing Akiko, Nishida himself had a feeling that she would look after them one way or another...
On the other hand, immediately after hearing Nishida's story, Takeshita showed normal interest, saying, "Heh... That's interesting." But when he heard that it came out of the attic, he confirmed, "Hmm? The attic?" and then took on a very suspicious expression.
"What is it? Is there something bothering you?"
When Nishida saw that and pressed him, Takeshita prefaced his words by saying, "Well, no, it's just to the extent that it's bothering me..."
"It came out of the attic, right? And the story was definitely that Sada Toru's bond and letter originally came out of the safe at the company, right?"
He confirmed persistently.
"Yeah, that's right."
"And this time it's the attic of the house..."
Takeshita tilted his head many times. Then he started saying,
"Being in the company safe means the bond and letter were probably put there as a result of Sada Minoru's desire to keep them securely stored. For Minoru, they were things that could become his 'last resort' for raising funds, so it's natural in a sense. Of course, he might have also had a feeling of not wanting his family to see them... In contrast, when it comes to the attic of the house, I think the consciousness of 'not wanting the family to see it' was overwhelmingly stronger than the desire to keep it securely stored... If it were something he wanted to keep securely, he would have put it in a safe along with the bonds and such, wouldn't he?"
Nishida also agreed, saying, "Umu, there's normally such a possibility." However, Takeshita continued,
"But the reality is that it wasn't so, right? Therefore, the importance wasn't that high, but he placed it where only he would see it—couldn't that logic hold up? But if that's the case, it bothers me a bit. Is an investigation into the whereabouts of Hojo Masaharu something that would be bad if seen? Or is it not?"
He bit onto the topic strangely. Nishida clearly understood that something was bothering him.
"Hmm... Thinking only about that, it's a delicate point, but since Sada Minoru had a plan for the evil deed of blackmail, didn't he have a sense of guilt behind it after all? I can understand the feeling of wanting to hide it somehow."
Nishida could only say that.
"I thought so... Isn't that exactly it? I'm sorry for asking and then worrying that my own thinking might be wrong... That's why I checked with the Team Leader... Sorry for the trivial thing... As I thought, he didn't want it to be seen, I think that's it. And so he hid it in the attic..."
After saying that to Nishida, Takeshita went back to the far side of the room, but the afterimage of his face after he finished speaking seemed to Nishida to still be harboring something unsettled.
Afterward, they attended the dinner party, but rather than a social gathering, it became a time for serious consultation regarding the next day's escort, and they finished the day's work without their spirits being able to rest.
Nishida also contacted Section Chief Sawai for a report after the dinner party. At that time, because they had been without rest for a while after the escort to Sapporo, and because the investigation would reach a temporary lull since Motohashi would be detained and held in Sapporo, he received a reply that he would be given a special day off the next day, and they should return to Engaru on the Okhotsk No. 1 early in the morning of the day after next, October 19th. With this, he would be able to spend a full day relaxing at home. Yoshimura could also stay at his own home since his parents' house was there, but since only Takeshita needed a hotel, Sawai said he would contact the Hokkaido Prefectural Police Headquarters to make a reservation. Then, when he told his wife Yuka in Sapporo about it over the phone, he ended up being demanded a new Osaka souvenir despite having already sent a Kurashiki souvenir.
That night, although a sense of tension continued throughout, he went to bed early to prepare for the next day, and perhaps due to mental fatigue, Nishida was able to sleep soundly until early morning.
At 8:00 AM, Nishida and the others were at the Osaka Detention House with their belongings, completely finished with their preparations. Since it was a business hotel, they hadn't eaten breakfast and had come to the detention house, finishing it here with bento boxes bought at a convenience store. Yoshimura was checking the tightness of his tie in the mirror of the waiting room, but since the focus of the TV cameras and press photographers would surely be on Motohashi inside the van, there should be no need to worry that much. Although it was a grand stage, it was undeniable that their appearance would be merely as "accessories."
Nishida, Takeshita, and Yoshimura naturally had experience with escorts, but it was their first time escorting a criminal of a major case that would be on TV, and moreover, it was their first time escorting across prefectural borders. This was because their experience had basically been escorts between the station and the prosecutor's office.
Akamatsu and Tsuaki, who came from the Hokkaido Prefectural Police Headquarters, also had experience with long-distance escorts, but they had said the day before that their experience with things that appeared on TV was only to the extent of transfers from stations to prosecutors within the prefecture, and they had no experience of this form.
Perhaps because of that, an unsettled air drifted throughout the waiting room, but even within that, Yoshimura's restlessness stood out even to Nishida's eyes.
"Yoshimura, calm down a bit. Why don't you sit?"
When Nishida said that, he shook his head, saying, "No, but I'm still nervous." Seeing that, Senior Staff Akamatsu laughed.
"Being involved in such a case at your age is an experience you don't often get. You're lucky, kid! Even people working on the front lines at Headquarters don't get this very often."
Tsuaki, for his part, expressed his frank feelings: "It's not exactly 'learning from others' mistakes,' but I'm nervous too."
And at 10:30 AM, they finally came face-to-face with Motohashi, who was brought in by prison officers for the escort. He didn't look like a heinous criminal, but on the other hand, Motohashi, whose face as usual exuded a sense of audacity from within, sneered as soon as he saw the faces of Nishida, Takeshita, and Yoshimura.
"So you guys are participating in the escort too. I thought it would only be with these two stiff-necks I met yesterday, but it looks like it'll be a fun time then," he said, shifting his gaze once to Akamatsu and Tsuaki.
At 11:30 AM, the van carrying Motohashi, an Osaka Prefectural Police officer as the driver, and five Hokkaido Prefectural Police detectives for the escort, departed from inside the detention house, escorted by two patrol cars each in front and behind, while being seen off by the detention house "higher-ups," Hiramatsu, and Sugai. Although it was a restricted area, they could already see a large number of media personnel and cameras lined up within the detention house grounds through the windshield.
However, even among them, Motohashi himself was seated so that he could be clearly seen by the media through the windshield. Flashes went off all at once, and through the windshield, they could see reporters who looked like they were from TV stations talking into microphones toward the cameras.
The planned "formation" was Akamatsu in the passenger seat, Tsuaki and Nishida on both sides in the front, and Takeshita and Yoshimura sitting directly on either side of Motohashi. However, since Yoshimura said he wanted to be clearly seen, with Akamatsu's permission, Nishida sat beside Motohashi. Of course, if Akamatsu had been seen as a stubborn detective, he would never have made such a request... However, after being bathed in the storm of flashes, Yoshimura grumbled for a while after they got onto public roads, "That's too bright. Is there any point in using that many flashes..."
Thanks to the patrol car escort, they reached Itami Airport in about an hour, but media motorcycles for tracking were constantly following them along the way, and they frequently encountered scenes where the driver officer muttered, "That's dangerous." Along the way, Nishida tried to ask Motohashi something about the case, but Motohashi countered with, "I won't undergo interrogation while moving. Follow the proper procedures," so he had to give up on questioning during the escort.
At the airport, they drove directly into a gate used for special occasions and waited in a special room, so they were able to escape the media for a moment. However, when boarding, they had no choice but to pass through the waiting area where other passengers were. There were media personnel who had obtained air tickets for that time slot and had moved into the waiting area so they could properly cover the story.
Normally, it might have been possible to shut them out, but that was the implicit understanding or rather the collusive relationship between the police and the media; preparations were complete to make a public spectacle of the rare killer. The only ones who were simply inconvenienced were the other passengers, the airport, and the airline staff.
Inside the aircraft that departed Itami after 1:00 PM, there were naturally media people everywhere. They were also around Motohashi and Nishida's group, pointing cameras and handheld video cameras this way the whole time. Even the media people who seemed to have taken distant seats were coming near Motohashi to observe while pretending to go to the restroom.
The flight ended in about two hours almost on schedule, and after all the passengers had disembarked, Nishida and the others passed through the boarding bridge and landed at the New Chitose terminal building. It was cloudy in Osaka, but at New Chitose, it was raining softly as the weather forecast had predicted.
Passing through the corridor that overlooked the waiting area where media personnel were still waiting, the leaves of the trees in the forest around the airport, visible in the distance beyond the runway, appeared quite reddish. Since New Chitose Airport is close to Sapporo, about 50 kilometers away, but like Engaru, it is a place with a severe temperature difference between morning and evening, the autumn colors seemed to be progressing a bit early for central Hokkaido.
"I feel like it's been a very long time since I was in Hokkaido. I feel like it's been more than a month since I left Engaru..."
Yoshimura spoke to Nishida while leading Motohashi. It was October 5th when they left Engaru for Tokyo. Today was October 17th. Not even two weeks had passed, but Nishida also felt as if he had been in Honshu for nearly a month. During this time, they had faced dizzying developments, which were now passing through his mind like a revolving lantern.
Passing through an employee passage midway and exiting through an inconspicuous doorway, a Hokkaido Prefectural Police patrol car and a van were waiting in front of them. After exchanging brief business greetings with the waiting investigators, they departed immediately as soon as everyone had boarded. Perhaps they had immediately spotted the lead patrol car and the escort vehicle carrying Motohashi, as several motorcycles began tracking them right away.
"Oh, it looks like we've already been found," the Hokkaido Prefectural Police officer acting as the driver said under his breath.
"What, it's a given that things have been leaked to the media from 'this side' to some extent..." Akamatsu spat out cynically.
After passing through public roads for a while from New Chitose, with the Self-Defense Force garrison on their left, the escort group got onto the Do-O Expressway from the Chitose IC. Both on the plane and in the car, unlike before, Motohashi, who had been acting dignified toward the media but hadn't said a word, only muttered,
"As expected, Hokkaido is colder than Osaka."
"I also feel it's cold since I've returned after a while," Nishida responded.
"It's not like it's been 'after a while' for you guys! For me, it's since that incident," he said with a smirk.
The car passed through the Do-O Expressway and merged into the Sasson Expressway from the Sapporo Junction on the outskirts of Shiroishi Ward. The Sasson Expressway passes over the Sapporo Shindo, which is a public road, for a while. When they passed near Fushiko, Yoshimura said,
"Come to think of it, I have to go to Sada-san's place later..."
Since Sada's house was right in this vicinity, he probably remembered it suddenly.
"The escort seems to be going smoothly, so maybe we can get there earlier than I thought," Nishida told him.
"Is that Sada the one I killed?" Motohashi confirmed as if inquiring.
"That's right. It's the house of Sada Minoru-san's family."
When Nishida stated this coldly and in a monotone, Motohashi uttered a line as if it were someone else's business: "I see... Give them my regards."
"What do you mean, 'regards'... Good grief."
Nishida felt exasperation before anger, but Motohashi kept his eyes closed and didn't react to it at all.
However, that figure seemed to Nishida to have an atmosphere like a state of selflessness, rather than his usual audacity. It was unlikely he was reflecting on himself now, but it was certain that he looked different from the Motohashi they had seen at the Osaka Detention House.
After entering the Sasson Expressway, they exited at the Shinkawa IC in no time and entered public roads again. The motorcycle gang that had followed from the airport was still tracking them, but it was almost time to part ways with them. Passing through a narrow, winding road between a large park and an apartment complex and turning left at the end of the JR Hakodate Main Line elevated tracks, they saw a large crowd of media like the one they had seen at the Osaka Detention House beyond the road, which was narrow for Hokkaido. They had finally arrived at the Kotoni Detention Center.
They were hit by a rain of flashes again near the entrance, but as soon as they pulled up to the entrance, they quickly led Motohashi into the building. Shortly after 4:30 PM, the escort was completed safely. From there, there was also a handover involving Hokkaido Prefectural Police executives such as Criminal Investigation Director Toyama, so it took another hour before Nishida and the others were released.
"Well, good work. How about a drink after this? There's no interrogation today, and I'd like to give you a little something back for your contribution to the case."
Toyama offered words of appreciation to the three from Engaru Station immediately after the handover was finished.
"We appreciate the kind thought, but we still have one more job to do after this..." Nishida said apologetically.
"A job? From now? What is it?"
Toyama pried quite a bit, but perhaps he suspected that Nishida and the others were declining out of politeness.
"Actually, it's about something from yesterday. There was a story from the bereaved family of the victim, Sada, that something new was found and they wanted us to see it, so we're heading there now."
"I see... You're dedicated to your work. But it won't take that long, will it?"
"Yes, I think we can be back by 8:00 if we go now."
"Really? In that case, I've reserved a good sushi restaurant in Susukino, so come here afterward. I want to introduce you to the other executives as well. You know my phone number, right?"
Toyama said that, wrote the restaurant's phone number and address on a piece of paper, tore it off, and handed it to Nishida.
"Thank you. Also, while I'm at it, could you lend us a Headquarters car? It's a hassle to go back and forth by taxi every time, and since there are probably things I want to bring to Forensics, it's convenient because I have to return to Headquarters once."
"That's easy. You can return to Headquarters in my car now, and after dropping me off, you can go to Sada's house. Since you guys must be tired, it comes with a driver, so please use it!"
The three were humbled by the unexpected permission to use the Criminal Investigation Director's private car. However, they didn't have time to spend on long words of politeness. Immediately accepting the proposal, Nishida made a fresh appointment with Sada Akiko.