Chapter 52 - Light and Shadow 31 (167–173: Interrogation of Motohashi at Engaru Station)
The van carrying Nishida and the others got off the Asahikawa-Takasu Interchange, went through Route 39, and entered Route 333 at Kamikawa Town. From there, they drove through the vast sea of trees in the mountains, crossed the Kitami Pass—famous for the 'Prisoner Road'—and arrived at Engaru Station before noon. It might have been ironic to transport Motohashi, who was a prisoner, over the Prisoner Road.
Although it wasn't the scene of the crime, a small crowd of media had pushed their way here as well. Having grown somewhat accustomed to it this time, they ignored them and escorted Motohashi into the station as if nothing had happened, then took a break that included lunch. That said, since they were heading to the scene in Ikutahara in about an hour, Nishida didn't feel like he had 'returned and settled in.'
Meanwhile, inside the station, because the notorious serial killer was coming to this remote countryside, the atmosphere was more unsettled than usual. However, perhaps because everyone was making an unnatural effort to hide it, the air felt even more out of place, and Nishida felt this acutely.
Since he was only stopping by temporarily, Motohashi wasn't put in a holding cell but ate lunch under the supervision of detectives. When he spotted Takeshita and Yoshimura, he raised one hand in 'greeting.' In response, Takeshita gave a small nod, and Yoshimura responded by raising his hand. For Takeshita, it was the minimum necessary reaction, but Nishida thought that was likely due to his preparation for the 'battle' that would begin after they returned from the scene verification.
And finally, when they headed to the scene in Ikutahara, the space that was effectively a parking lot was already crowded with a large number of media, and bloodthirsty people were wandering around, trying to film the upcoming investigative reenactment.
Police officers from the Security Division who had come from Engaru Station to help held them back, and the van and other police vehicles carrying investigators from the Prefectural Police HQ, Kitami District, and Engaru Station parked there. The thought vaguely floated through Nishida's mind that the victims of the tako-beya labor who slept in that 'Remote Grave Marker' might also be feeling the irony of history—that the mountains, usually devoid of people, were now overflowing with them because of a murder case, for the first time since the Jomon Tunnel construction.
The investigative reenactment that began then involved verification based on Motohashi's testimony, with forensics also participating. However, as had been predicted to some extent, parts of Motohashi's memory were clearly not distinct, given it was in the mountains where the scenery was uniform and the incident had occurred eight years ago. It didn't seem like this verification would immediately lead directly to proving the case. Although a reenactment was scheduled for the following day as well, Section Chief Kurano, who had come to oversee the investigation, told Sawai and Nishida that they would ultimately prioritize the chemical analysis of the bullets and other 'revelations of secrets' (T/N: facts known only to the perpetrator) as the basis for indictment.
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After conducting the reenactment until evening amidst the clamor, everyone returned to Engaru Station. Motohashi was sent to the holding cell for the time being, and while all the investigators, including those from outside Engaru Station, were taking a break, footage of the investigative reenactment was being broadcast on the news. Some investigators were exchanging lighthearted remarks like,
"Oh! You're on TV!"
But most of them, perhaps due to the fatigue of walking through the mountains—even though the verification hadn't taken that long—didn't seem in the mood for cheerful conversation.
In the midst of this, Kurano whispered to Sawai,
"I've set aside time for Engaru Station's own questioning after we finish the hearing regarding the investigative reenactment."
Engaru Station's independent questioning was merely a 'side dish,' but it was also true that they were grateful just to be given the time. When Sawai conveyed this to Nishida and Takeshita, Takeshita said,
"Understood," in a small voice and began changing from his investigative work clothes into a suit on the spot.
After the hearing by the HQ investigators regarding the investigative reenactment was over, Nishida and Takeshita faced Motohashi. Any ordinary suspect would have been exhausted to the point of collapse by the previous hearing, but Motohashi was as nonchalant as ever. He was showing his toughness, for better or worse. Since it was a formal post-arrest hearing, they should have normally included a clerk, but they had decided to face him with just the two of them, deeming it unnecessary until a concrete statement actually began. It went without saying that the judgment that it was better not to involve extra people was at the root of it.
"It's you... I was looking forward to talking again," he suddenly told Takeshita with a smirk, but Takeshita was unresponsive.
"Unfriendly as always."
"Don't say that. So, did you respond properly to the hearing just now?"
Nishida cut in while pulling out a chair.
"Yeah. It wasn't much. Just confirming what we talked about at the scene. Since some parts of my memory are fuzzy, they wanted to nail those down."
"I see, that's fine then."
While speaking like a teacher, Nishida offered a cigarette and asked with a gesture, "Want one?"
"Ho, that's quite thoughtful of you! I'm in your debt!"
Motohashi took the cigarette and held it between his fingers, and Nishida lit it for him with a lighter.
Normally, such a thing would be impossible, but knowing that the HQ group, except for Kurano, wasn't watching from behind the one-way mirror, he had provided this generous service. However, the reason he took such action was that this hearing was to be led mainly by Takeshita, with Nishida strictly in a supporting role. It also meant he was humoring Motohashi for the sake of his subordinate. It was because he knew Takeshita wasn't the type to do things that way by bypassing his superior. Takeshita watched in silence, but he began to speak at the timing when Motohashi once placed the cigarette in the ashtray.
"How is it? It's colder here than in Sapporo, isn't it? In another two weeks, it wouldn't be strange for snow to start piling up..."
Nishida felt a sense of incongruity at the way he started, like a 'humanitarian' detective, and Motohashi seemed to have the same feeling.
"What's this? You're talking about gloomy things."
He took the cigarette again and stared at Takeshita. Then he said nonchalantly,
"Well, it certainly was cold in the mountains... But the inside of the Osaka Detention House in the middle of winter gets normally chilly too," and he blew out a puff of cigarette smoke.
"Then, I'll start asking various things right away!"
Watching him, Takeshita spoke up as if to psych himself up, aligning the edges of the materials like Shiino's letters on the desk with a thud.
"Go ahead."
Motohashi straightened his back slightly, put out the cigarette in the ashtray, and braced himself with both arms on the desk. He was strangely polite, and Nishida wanted to say something, but Takeshita, as if he didn't want to spend time on such trivialities as usual, cut to the heart of the matter.
"If we take your story at face value, you decided to confess to the murder of Sada Minoru because you were sentenced to death and felt like coming clean about everything. Of course, at the very least, the Team Leader next to me and I don't believe that."
Motohashi wore a relaxed smile at Takeshita's words.
"When I heard various things in Osaka, to be honest, I didn't grasp the circumstances yet, so I didn't ask the crucial things. That's why I'm going to focus on that here in Engaru."
"Even if you say that, facts are facts. Whether it's Osaka or here, the same thing is the same."
Takeshita said nothing to the expected answer and stepped in all at once.
"In truth, someone asked you to confess, didn't they?"
"Someone asked me? Who on earth? For what?"
Motohashi talked back, leaning his upper body toward Takeshita with a faint smile. It was clearly a provocative gesture. Nishida said,
"Hey!" and ordered him to sit in the chair, lightly pushing Motohashi's shoulder with one hand.
"I'm going to listen to that carefully from now on," his calm subordinate said quietly to the formidable opponent in front of him.
"I heard there was a proposal from a certain newspaper company to publish a book claiming your innocence. Well, it seems the plan itself has been scrapped due to your recent series of confessions..."
Takeshita had heard from Igarashi that the book publication plan had been nominal from the start, but he likely phrased it that way on purpose.
"Ah, there was, certainly."
"I heard in Osaka that you and a reporter from the newspaper company were meeting at the detention house for that purpose."
"That's right. He certainly came to see me several times."
"What did you talk about?"
"What... about my life and the cases I was indicted for. Well, claiming I was innocent was a lie, though. Hahahaha!" Motohashi laughed loudly and artificially.
"That newspaper reporter is a guy named Shiino from the Tozai Shinbun, right?"
"Yeah."
"It seems the one who introduced that reporter was a lawyer named Umeda, who belongs to your legal office but is different from your lead counsel. Apparently, he suddenly appeared around the beginning of August, but did your two lead counsels say anything about that?"
"Yeah, they said another lawyer would come to help because they were busy."
Motohashi seemed to be giving more serious answers than before. Here, Nishida spoke up for the first time.
"How did he introduce Shiino to you? Did he actively recommend that you meet him, or was it just a feeling like 'there's this kind of proposal'?"
"Umm... I think it was something like, 'If you want to claim your innocence to the world, why not meet him?'..."
"And you felt like meeting him?"
"Yeah."
Up to this point, of course, they didn't believe for a second that Motohashi was telling the truth, but Nishida also understood the plan was to cut in after hearing the story through. Without particularly interrupting, the two detectives proceeded with the conversation.
"After meeting him, it was decided to publish the book, and the topic of deciding the title came up, right?"
"Yeah."
"Did you decide the title? Are these the candidates?"
Takeshita showed a copy of the letter Shiino had sent to Motohashi from the materials.
"..."
"That's a copy of the letter Shiino sent to the detention house, and it seems there were about two candidates. Did you decide after thinking of the ideas yourself?"
Since he didn't answer Takeshita's question, Nishida pressed further.
"I should have sent a letter after choosing from the ones Shiino proposed..." Motohashi replied somewhat dismissively. Takeshita, looking at the copy of the letter, said,
"So you decided on 'THE JAYWALKING: Reflection Starting Now and the False Charges I Wore' as the book title? What was better about it than the other one, 'THE CROSS: The Cross Borne Since Birth and the Framed Guilt Forced Upon Me'?"
"Rather than what was better, it was just a feeling, a feeling!"
Motohashi answered Nishida, emphasizing 'feeling.'
"Both are, how should I put it, titles that smell like they're trying too hard. If it were me, I wouldn't choose either because I wouldn't like them."
Takeshita made a sarcastic comment without emotion, but Motohashi talked back as if he were exasperated.
"I'm telling you, I wasn't thinking about whether the sense was this or that, as long as the book came out!"
Takeshita didn't react to that and suddenly changed the subject.
"By the way, I heard you used to go to the Philippines frequently when you were young. Is that true?"
Nishida felt Takeshita's strong will not to be drawn into Motohashi's pace.
"Hey, don't just change the subject on your own! ...Well, fine... Yeah, that happened too. Who'd you hear it from?"
"The Organized Crime Department of the Osaka Prefectural Police. Was the purpose for smuggling handguns or drugs?"
"Well, something like that..."
"In the Philippines, they use Tagalog and English. Which one did you use?"
"What, you've suddenly started asking strange questions!" He was suspicious again of Takeshita's sudden change of topic.
"If you don't want to answer, you don't have to." Takeshita spoke in a businesslike tone and pushed him away.
"Phew... Fine! I'll answer! English, it was English!"
"Are you quite good at English?"
"Well, enough for daily conversation. It's not like I have a certain grade in an English proficiency test or anything."
"Then you also know the meaning of JAYWALK, don't you?"
"JAYWALK? I don't know it at all."
"That's strange. Was your 'feeling' such that you didn't even understand the meaning of the word?"
"Yeah, it was something like that!"
He was becoming unable to hide his irritation at Takeshita's probing. Up to this point, it was Takeshita's flow.
Takeshita took the materials on the desk in both hands and asked,
"The Aoi-ikka you previously belonged to—you were expelled because of a problem with the group's money, weren't you?"
"Changing the subject again... Yeah. An underling ran off with the tribute money. The Boss tried to help me somehow, but I couldn't just rely on that. So, expulsion! If anything, it was more like I half-asked them to do it. It wasn't a problem that could be solved just by cutting off a finger."
"I heard that with expulsion, there's actually a possibility of being forgiven in the future?"
"Ho, you know a lot for someone who's not in Organized Crime... But now that all this has come out, I won't be able to go back."
"That's true. However, I doubt whether the group only found out after you confessed..."
Saying that, Takeshita stared at Motohashi as if peering into him.
"It's a problem if you say that to me!" Motohashi said in response, leaning back exaggeratedly against the back of the chair.
Nishida just watched his subordinate continue the interrogation from the side, but he cut in again.
"Your series of murders... In fact, wasn't the Aoi-ikka involved in all of them behind the scenes? That would make it consistent that the Aoi-ikka didn't take further action beyond expulsion. There's also the idea that the Aoi-ikka mediated everything from the request to the handing over of money!"
"That's a base suspicion. I was expelled! What kind of group would deal with an expelled member!"
At the transparently brazen smile, Nishida almost clenched his fist under the desk, but when he saw Takeshita take out the copy of the last letter that had arrived from Shiino and line it up in front of Motohashi, his attention turned there rather than to his anger, thinking, 'Finally.'
"You've seen this before, haven't you?"
"The one we were talking about earlier? Of course."
"At least the first two, unlike this one after the death sentence was finalized, seem like things that could have been settled during an interview, but they were sent as documents on purpose..."
"You might not know, but interviews are surprisingly short. So you can't always finish all the talk!"
"Hmm. I see. But even if there was time to talk, it's possible that you documented it properly because it would be a problem if you forgot the content during a short exchange, right? Well, let's set that aside for now... And this is the letter after the death sentence was finalized... I'll read it for a bit."
Takeshita said that and began to read the third letter aloud. Motohashi listened in silence.
When he finished reading, he placed the piece of paper in front of Motohashi again and tried to press him with a strong tone for the first time.
"This text is actually a dummy, isn't it?"
"A dummy? What is?"
To Motohashi, who talked back, he pointed to each character on the page one by one.
"I-ma-ga-ji-ha-ku-no-ta-i-mi-n-gu-ke-me-te-ku-re (T/N: Now is the timing to confess, decide it)."
He emphasized it while reading diagonally and breaking it up, then he slammed both hands on the desk.
"Isn't this the true meaning of this letter? Am I wrong?"
"Huh? You're just reading it the way it's convenient for you! Especially that 'ta-i-mi-n-gu' (T/N: written with ateji in the source), that's a stretch! Hahaha..."
He let out a forced laugh. From Nishida's perspective, he couldn't instantly tell whether that was because he was flustered after being hit where it hurt, or if it was a result that happened to come out of acting while trying to calmly avoid the pursuit. It felt artificial, but he didn't know if it had come out unconsciously or intentionally. His previous brazenness affected the inability to judge. However, it might have been Nishida's misunderstanding, but the moment Takeshita read out the true intention hidden in the letter, he felt as if the corners of Motohashi's mouth had relaxed for an instant. It could be said he just felt that way...
"Certainly, if you only take this, you can make that counterargument. But, you know, considering the two previous letters, I don't think so..."
He again presented the copies of the letters written earlier in front of Motohashi.
"'CROSS,' 'JAYWALKING.' They seem to have no commonality, but I feel that's not the case..."
Takeshita stared intently at Motohashi with a piercing gaze. Motohashi took it head-on, and for a moment, Nishida felt a serene atmosphere that contradicted the 'staring contest' where sparks seemed to fly, and he was bewildered. He speculated that the reason he felt that atmosphere was because the inner substance of the staring contest was concentrated on searching for the other's move, but even Nishida had no confidence at all in that answer.
"I'm! Telling! You! I don't know the word JAYWALK!"
Whether he had no intention at all of picking up the spat-out line, Takeshita didn't wait for the other to finish speaking.
"Both title proposals contain words that include the meaning of crossing, CROSS and JAYWALK. Especially 'JAYWALK' has the meaning of 'crossing diagonally.' I have information that not only you but also Shiino is proficient in English. That's not all. Shiino has an indirect connection to the Aoi-ikka you were in through a certain route, doesn't he? And I've also heard this—that in the yakuza world, there's long been a means of informing someone of different content by reading the ordinary vertical text of a letter in a horizontal direction. If there was such a 'tacit understanding' between you and Shiino, wouldn't it have been possible to have important exchanges with only minimal interaction during interviews, without the detention house noticing? If the subtitle that followed the title instructed 'where to start reading,' everything would be connected!"
Takeshita shouted in a voice that was unusually menacing for him. However, Takeshita must have naturally taken into account that the opponent was not the type to be unfazed by such things.
On the other hand, Motohashi seemed rather more composed than before at this point. Nishida began to search for the reason.
"That's a well-made story, but from beginning to end, it's all your suspicion... Well, since the world is made up of necessity and chance, sometimes coincidences happen in succession. And people often tend to misunderstand that as necessity."
Motohashi's tone was slow, but he countered flatly. As soon as he heard that, Nishida hurriedly offered a helping hand. No, rather than wanting to be a help, he might have just purely wanted to say such a thought.
"There's no way such a convenient thing could happen by chance! In the first place, immediately after this letter was handed to you, you suddenly confessed to the murder of Sada Minoru, which no one even imagined you were involved in, along with the cases that had gone to trial. If you start saying all this is a coincidence, then the word necessity will no longer be needed in this world!"
"You actually know who is behind Shiino, don't you? People who at first glance seem to have nothing to do with the yakuza world!"
"I don't know anything about a 'behind'."
Takeshita continued to interrogate him, but Motohashi neatly evaded the pursuit and maintained his ignorance. Since he had been doing this all along, it was a predictable turn of events, but Nishida gradually felt he could understand the transition of Motohashi's attitude during the interrogation.
Until a moment ago, he had the sensation that the area around the core was being gradually poked, and there was some agitation. But once the core was struck directly, did he reach a state of mind of a certain kind of resignation? He was beginning to conclude that such emotional ups and downs led to his return to the usual Motohashi when it came down to it. However, it would be much later when he would learn that Motohashi had no reason to be truly agitated from the start. That said, it couldn't be helped that Nishida had no way of knowing his thinking was wrong at this point.
Meanwhile, Takeshita, who was completely a 'party involved,' was undeterred by such things and was desperate to draw some kind of lead from Motohashi. Although Takeshita was usually calm, since there was currently no concrete evidence other than the letter that could prove the relationship with the political side, he seemed truly impatient. Such a state is rarely seen in Takeshita, but once a person of that type shows such a state, in a sense, it can come out more clearly in their attitude than in an ordinary person. In other words, seeing that Takeshita was in a bad state, in contrast to Motohashi's attitude, Nishida felt like he should intervene a bit more.
"Takeshita, let me do it for a while."
Nishida said that and requested a 'player substitution.'
"Ah, yes..."
He didn't seem dissatisfied, but he did look unconvinced. As a superior, this was likely a scene where Nishida should assert his will. He entered the interrogation regardless.
"I didn't think you'd answer properly from the start, so it's a predictable development, but..."
While prefacing it that way, he continued.
"Regarding the murder of Sada Minoru that you confessed to, we were already investigating it from the investigation of a certain other murder case. The victim was a young man... We believe that one was the work of Shinoda, who buried Sada with you. This is just speculation, but five years after the Sada incident, in the summer, Shinoda, who went to the scene to check on Sada's body, happened to encounter that victim youth right after digging up the body, and we think he killed him on the spot to silence him. A son from a family of a single mother and her only child was killed. Even you can understand a mother's feelings, right?"
"Are you planning to try a sob story? What's the point of doing that to someone who's telling the truth. Besides, that matter isn't my fault at all."
Motohashi tried to laugh off the introduction of the story.
"Of course, I don't think for a millimeter that such a thing will work on you. But, you know, if that case where the victim was not at all at fault was entirely caused by the cases you were involved in, I think it's at least a tribute to settle that properly on our end... Unfortunately, the direct culprit, Shinoda, has already gone to the other world and there's no place for him to be judged. That's why I want to settle your case properly."
Nishida brought his face close to Motohashi's and spoke quietly, contrary to the content of his words.
"If it's that tribute, I've already properly told the story that Isaka instructed me, I killed him, and Shinoda and Kitagawa buried him, so that should be enough, right? I don't know why you're doubting further! You're the only ones saying such things!"
Motohashi emphasized 'only' and spoke menacingly.
"If we only look at the murder, your story might be enough. But, you know, when we also consider the surrounding things, there are still parts that don't make sense! There are many aspects of this case that haven't been clarified yet. We believe it's our duty now to clarify those properly. Besides, if there's someone who's trying to get away by pinning the responsibility on you and the dead guys, can you forgive that? In the first place, they're trying to use your death!"
Immediately after this statement, Nishida didn't miss that the corners of Motohashi's mouth distorted slightly for an instant. However, he returned to normal in a fraction of a second.
"That's why, even if you say that, facts are facts, so there's nothing I can do! Are you guys trying to fabricate the case on your own?" he countered in a calm tone this time.
"I can understand the feeling of wanting to repay a debt to the group if I force myself, but the group is just using that! That's the reality of the yakuza world, isn't it? No duty or humanity! If you're going to die anyway, why not show some real duty and humanity?"
Takeshita, who had left it to Nishida for a while, joined in here. However, the only 'change' the two saw in his words was that one instant earlier, and after that, Motohashi remained unfazed whether they pushed or pulled. The two detectives had no further means, and they finally ended the hour-and-a-half hearing.
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After everything was over, Kurano and Sawai, who had been watching from behind, thanked Nishida and Takeshita, who were more exhausted than Motohashi.
"The rest is tomorrow morning. Thirty minutes before going to the scene. That will put an end to your investigation this time. Make sure you have no regrets."
Kurano's words were meant as consolation, but it went without saying that for the Engaru Station investigation team, they were synonymous with a 'death sentence.' Nishida and Takeshita just bowed their heads slightly and didn't say a word, then withdrew to the Detective Division office. Although they had known it, the shock was undeniable when they were faced with the reality that they couldn't get any further results.
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The next day, October 31st. Nishida and Takeshita, who were given a short time after breakfast for the final hearing, had the will, but their energy wasn't keeping up. Perhaps that was clearly conveyed to Motohashi.
"What's this, an interrogation that's gone soft, quite a change from yesterday," he even went so far as to mock them. But since it was Motohashi himself who was making them think that nothing could be done in about thirty minutes, the irony was extreme. Time passed steadily while they were thinking that, and when there were only ten minutes left until the limit, Motohashi himself brought up a topic to the two who were interrogating him.
"By the way, if I hadn't confessed, were you guys confident you'd realize I was the perpetrator?"
At the sudden cross-examination, the two looked at each other, but Nishida signaled with his eyes for Takeshita to speak.
"I hate to say it ourselves, but it probably would have been impossible... There's no way we'd take the initiative to do a chemical analysis of the jacket of the bullets you were using... It's a fact that linking you to the case itself was quite difficult. However, even if that could have been analyzed, I don't think for a moment that you would have confessed under police-led interrogation."
To Takeshita, who spat that out, he smiled fearlessly.
"Well, if I didn't intend to tell, it would have been extremely difficult to even draw out a confession."
At this point, rather than being irritated by that, Nishida was even impressed in a way.
"Ah, only a few minutes left. It's a pity to think I won't be talking to you directly anymore."
At first, he thought it was sarcasm, but he realized from the next words that it wasn't necessarily so.
"Now then, Takeshita-han! Why did you become a detective? I asked the superiors here when I came yesterday, but I hadn't asked you, so I want to ask!"
Takeshita had a blank look on his face at the unexpected question. Nishida also couldn't understand why Motohashi was fixated on that.
"What, are you joking around!?"
He showed anger, his face flushing slightly, but the man of the world was unfazed.
"Your superior told me even during the escort. You could at least tell me as a parting gift, couldn't you?" he said, without looking apologetic.
Nishida also instructed weakly,
"It's fine, just tell him..."
Normally there was no obligation to say such a thing, but he might have thought that if he didn't answer now, it would only make the other person more stubborn. It was a behavior he didn't quite understand himself. Either way, there was no time left for a proper hearing, so it was meaningless...
Takeshita showed an expression of dislike for his superior's instruction, which was rare for him, but he told him bluntly.
"Originally, I wanted to be a journalist or something in the media, but I didn't pass. Also, partly because I achieved good results in kendo during my university days, I was recommended to take the police exam through those connections," he said, as if mumbling.
"Media? You went into something with a completely different direction."
It went without saying that Motohashi, who laughed with his eyes wide open, provoked Takeshita further. He slammed the desk, but Motohashi didn't care.
"If you wanted to be a reporter, were you good at Japanese? From yesterday's talk, it seems you're also decent at English?"
To the further question, Takeshita answered irritably,
"Yeah, Japanese was a relatively strong subject. English is decent too, but I'm better at Japanese."
"Ho, is that so... You must have been able to do modern literature, of course, but how about classical Japanese or classical Chinese?"
Motohashi repeatedly asked about things that were obviously trivial.
"You're persistent! I'm good at both classical Japanese and classical Chinese!"
He didn't hide that his irritation was at its peak, but it was typical of Takeshita to answer properly.
"That's quite something."
After showing a reaction as if it were someone else's business despite having asked himself, he said,
"Let me return the topic to the reason for becoming a detective. That detective Kitamura said Sherlock Holmes was the trigger. It might be simple, but his motive is more straightforward than yours!"
Looking at Nishida, who already knew the circumstances, Motohashi stated his impression, then asked Takeshita again,
"Do you know Sherlock Holmes?"
"Yeah, as much as the next person..."
Perhaps having reflected a bit, Takeshita answered more calmly than before to the question that seemed to mock him considerably.
"As much as the next person, huh... I see, I had a selfish image that someone like you would know quite a bit."
Motohashi scratched his head as he said that, but Takeshita made a self-correction, perhaps having his pride piqued a bit.
"Although I said as much as the next person, I've read a fair amount."
"Hmm. Then do you have a favorite story?"
"A favorite story..."
Takeshita thought for a bit, then answered.
"If I had to say, maybe 'A Study in Scarlet'... Ah, what am I saying at a time like this!" After answering, he shook his head violently from side to side as if he had fallen into self-loathing, but either way, it was also a fact that he had no choice but to raise the white flag.
"The first story, then. The one where Holmes and Watson met."
Motohashi said that and glanced at the clock.
"Well, time's up. Good work, both of you."
At the same time he said that, the HQ detectives came to take Motohashi out. To the two who were just staring at Motohashi as he was led away, he shouted unusually cheerfully over his shoulder, including a pun.
"My favorite Holmes story is 'The Adventure of the Norwood Builder'! Remember that! Well, I'll probably be a guy you'll never be able to forget for the rest of your lives."
"Hey, that's different from what you said yesterday!" Nishida instinctively called out, but the 'winner' left down the hallway, raising one hand.
"That's your misunderstanding!"
To the 'losers' left behind, Sawai, who had come out from the back while watching the situation, spoke to them unusually kindly.
"Now then, we also have to head to the scene and help with the verification."
"Yes, sir," Nishida replied weakly, but at the same time, he muttered to his subordinate.
"That guy, he's saying something different from yesterday. He's as untrustworthy as ever."
"You said that to Motohashi too, but what is it? What's different?" Takeshita asked back.
"Yesterday in the escort car, he said, 'My favorite work is Blue...' that was..."
To the superior who hesitated, Takeshita confirmed.
"Is it 'The Blue Carbuncle'?"
"Ah, that's it. But now he says 'The Norwood something'."
"Maybe he just has multiple favorite works?"
"Maybe... But if so, I wonder why he said it was my misunderstanding..."
Nishida felt that what Takeshita said was likely true, but he also felt something that didn't sit right. However, he said nothing more, returned to the Detective Division office, changed into work clothes, and prepared to head to the scene.