Chapter 57 - Light and Shadow 36 (190–193: Consulting Kosaka)
"To think Oshima Kaiji was actually Kuwano Kinya... I still can't believe it!"
As they stepped out into the hallway and headed toward the Kitami Station—located on the same grounds as the Kitami District Headquarters—Yoshimura still seemed unable to contain his excitement.
"Yeah, it really was the surprise of surprises. But if Kuwano is Oshima Kaiji, the broad strokes make sense. The murder of Sada Minoru was Isaka and Oshima... at this point, though I'm not sure who brought it up, unlike Takeshita's 'Oshima as Mastermind' theory, based on the tape, it looks like it was Isaka... Anyway, the reason Oshima cooperated with Isaka, at least using the Aoi-ikka route, should be almost clear now. If we can verify Oshima's identity as Kuwano, and consider what Kuwano and Isaka did in the past, that's more than enough grounds for his involvement in Sada's case. After all, he's a big-shot Member of Parliament. Even a minor incident from long ago that's past the statute of limitations—like skimming someone else's share—would be a sufficient scandal. Plus, while he wasn't directly involved, he's linked to the retaliatory murders committed by his associates Isaka and Houjou. And if this current incident was an attempt to stop Matsushima from revealing that truth, the possibility of Oshima's involvement is high."
The two broke into a light jog while talking along the connecting corridor, making sure no one was around as they spoke.
"But did Sada Minoru know that Oshima Kaiji was Kuwano Kinya? I feel like we can't read that from Sada's actions at the time or the detective agency matter. At the very least, wasn't he unaware?"
Yoshimura was skeptical on that point.
"Regarding that, the information we've gained so far certainly doesn't show it. Rather, I feel like if he knew, the first person he should have blackmailed was Oshima Kaiji. As I said earlier, while Oshima wasn't involved in Mende's murder, the fact that he made off with gold dust that originally belonged to someone else is more than enough to tarnish the 'honor' of his current position. He has a lot to lose. So, if he didn't press that point, we can assume Sada Minoru didn't know."
Nishida accepted Yoshimura's opinion as reasonable.
"Ah, by the way, what are we doing after this?"
"For now, I'm going to confide in Kosaka-san. I'll let him hear the tape and discuss what to do next."
"Don't you need to tell Section Chief Kurano?"
"Kurano-san, huh... I trust him fundamentally, but Kosaka-san, who's been chasing Sada's case for years, is a safer bet right now, isn't he? If I tell Section Chief Kurano, there's a risk the information will spread to the entire investigation headquarters. At this stage, it's more appropriate to only confide in Kosaka-san, at least while we're in Kitami. Whether there's an 'S' (T/N: spy) or not, if information leaks to the other side naturally, it'll be a mess."
Nishida's face twisted as if he had bitten into a bitter bug.
"True, given Kurano-san's position as the chief officer of the case, it would be difficult for him to keep it secret once he knows. This isn't just a matter of trust; it could be a violation of internal regulations."
Yoshimura, on the other hand, seemed more worried about that.
"That's exactly why I want to keep it limited to Kosaka-san for now. As for our violation... there's no point worrying about that now."
"Understood."
It was a reply that sounded like he had confirmed his superior's intent and steeled himself to follow it.
"And..."
"What is it, Team Leader?"
Since Nishida remained hesitant, Yoshimura asked for the rest.
"No... there's something bothering me, but I haven't organized my own thoughts yet, so later..."
Perhaps because of Nishida's vague way of speaking, Yoshimura swallowed his dissatisfaction with a simple "I see..." In the meantime, they entered the Kitami Station building where the investigation headquarters was located.
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"Kosaka-san, can we talk outside for a moment?"
Finding Kosaka at the investigation headquarters, Nishida whispered to him.
"Wait a second, I'm in the middle of talking to Suenaga. I think I'll be done in five minutes, but is it an important matter that needs to be handled now?"
"Yes. Of course."
Seeing Nishida's expression and convinced there was no falsehood in his words, Kosaka said briefly, "Understood. Wait a moment," and resumed talking to his direct subordinate, Suenaga.
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"I'm done. So, what's the talk?"
Kosaka said as he jogged up to the two who were watching from near the entrance of the meeting room.
"Is there a radio cassette player or something? I want to talk somewhere out of sight."
"There's one in the small meeting room next door, and no one's there now. You two were at the Forensics unit at the Kitami District Headquarters next door, right? Did something happen there?"
"Yes, well, let's get into the details after we move. It's a bit much here..."
"Understood."
Kosaka gave an emotionless reply, but he seemed to sense from their attitude that something had begun to move.
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In the small meeting room, Kosaka, who had been briefed and played the tape by Nishida and Yoshimura, naturally could not hide his surprise.
"This has become a massive situation... I know we should report this to the investigation headquarters, but we also have to consider if your 'read' is correct... Police information can easily leak through the media, the Public Safety Commission, or political connections, so there's a high possibility such information would reach Oshima normally. There's no doubt we should be careful."
Kosaka also seemed lost in thought about how to handle this information.
"Setting that aside for a moment, most Diet members keep their residency registration in their hometowns, so if Oshima falls into that category, his residency should be in Abashiri. If so, his permanent domicile should be listed on the residency certificate, so we should check it. If his permanent domicile is also here, I'd like to privately verify his family register and confirm his original name if possible..."
"Then we can go without a warrant, right?"
Yoshimura confirmed.
"Of course (Author's Note: In 1995, residency certificates and family registers could be checked relatively easily even by third parties. Regulations became stricter after the 2006 amendment to the Basic Resident Registration Act and the 2008 amendment to the Family Register Act). It's better to do it while hiding our status as detectives... It would be quickest if both his residency and permanent domicile are in Abashiri..."
"Kosaka-san, but there's no guarantee that the fact we checked Oshima's residency won't leak to him. The local city hall is completely under Oshima's influence!"
"Hmm, now that you mention it, Nishida's right... Even if we don't reveal our identities, information that some group is moving might reach them. After all, if Matsushima's story on the tape is true, they might be very sensitive about family register information... What should we do?"
Kosaka's expression grew even more troubled as he crossed his arms.
"If there's someone trustworthy who works at the Abashiri City Hall and can secretly access family registers or residency certificates as part of their normal duties, we might be able to get the information without Oshima finding out, right?"
"Well, as Yoshimura says, if such a person exists, we might manage. If they exist!"
Kosaka, who was seriously worried, replied half-exasperatedly to Yoshimura's "convenient" suggestion.
"Actually... my cousin works at the Abashiri City Hall. And his wife works at the same place, and if I remember correctly, she was in the department handling family registers and residency certificates. I haven't seen them in over a year since I met them right after I transferred to Engaru, so I don't know where she is now."
At this unexpectedly convenient story that sounded almost like a fabrication, Nishida and Kosaka both blurted out at the same time, "You have someone like that!?" Then, while Nishida thought, "You should have told us sooner," he reconsidered that he should simply be glad such a perfect condition had arisen.
"No, what I just said isn't a lie."
Yoshimura snapped back, getting a bit defensive.
"That doesn't matter! Will they cooperate? Otherwise, it's meaningless."
Nishida threw the words out quickly, not showing what he had just thought.
"Team Leader Nishida, probably... I'm acquainted with the wife too... though I think it's better not to say it's for investigation purposes..."
"Move immediately! We don't have much time!"
Kosaka gave the order before Yoshimura could finish, and before Nishida could.
"Understood. Unfortunately, I don't know their cell phone number—I don't even know if they have one—but I'll try calling the department where my cousin likely works!"
Saying so, Yoshimura hurried toward the public phone where a directory was located.
"With this, regardless of where the family register is, it'll be great if we can get to the residency certificate with the permanent domicile listed soon... After that, it comes down to how Oshima was involved in this incident. Since they even planted a wiretap, there's no doubt there was a collaborator among the hospital staff. We've already investigated the people who could enter and leave the patient's room to some extent, so it should be possible to narrow it down from there."
Kosaka spoke to Nishida after Yoshimura left. In response, Nishida said,
"Kosaka-san, I'm also concerned about something else," and prepared to state his opinion.
"What is it?"
"Actually, around mid-October, there was an article in a weekly magazine called 'FREE' about how infighting between yakuza groups backing construction companies was occurring in the Okhotsk region over the shrinking pie of future public works projects. However, at that time, such information shouldn't have been shared within the police yet, so I thought it was strange. But the very things in that article started manifesting at the end of October. It was like a prophetic article. Something smells fishy. Of course, the conflict between the construction companies themselves certainly existed..."
"Mid-October?"
"Yes. This is just my hunch, but I suspect it might have been part of a sort of alibi-making process..."
"What do you mean by alibi-making?"
Kosaka asked suspiciously at Nishida's statement.
"It lacks evidence and my imagination might be running wild, so..."
Nishida hesitated to speak, but Kosaka urged him, "Just say it."
"I'm thinking that perhaps this series of shootings involving construction companies was a massive setup staged to kill Matsushima. The story is just too convenient. Even for Matsushima's murder, we—the police—see it as retaliation in a conflict. In that sense, if that was the goal, I think it's going quite well. Assuming the setup is a fact, I don't know how much of it was staged at this point, but if yakuza groups who misunderstood the initial staged shooting started a real conflict, it would be exactly what they wanted. In the chaos, the fact that the beginning was a setup would be buried in the reality before our eyes. Furthermore, if Kitamura hadn't recorded it on a whim, the matter of the Written Statement would likely have been buried in the dark, wouldn't it?"
"Wait, wait, you're suspicious to that extent..."
Kosaka stared intently at Nishida's face. He might have thought Nishida was overthinking.
"The bidding dispute between Taihei Giken, run by Matsushima's nephew, and Murayama-gumi was in August. Likely, by August, in the construction industry around Abashiri and Kitami under Oshima Kaiji's influence, it had already been decided that Taihei Giken would be the one pushed out. Regardless of when Matsushima became certain of that, by mid-October, he revealed to Kitamura the existence of the contract for the bond exchanged between Isaka, Sada, and himself. At this point, I think Matsushima was quite wavering on whether to 'take the matter of Oshima and Isaka to his grave.' He didn't say everything that happened, but since he admitted the existence of the contract, he must have been pessimistic about the future of his nephew's company. He mentioned on the tape that the management crisis had become concrete around September."
Having said this much, Nishida took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a breath.
Then he continued in one breath, "At the same time, probably... I feel like the wiretap was already planted at this stage, so if that's the case, the other side would have recognized the danger that 'this guy might spill everything.' If so, the Oshima side might have needed to 'dispose' of Matsushima. However, a normal murder would likely lead to an investigation of the background. So, the time came to actually use the 'conflict' without substance that had been carefully prepared beforehand... If that was the weekly magazine article and the subsequent series of shootings, the story fits together surprisingly well."
However, Kosaka countered after hearing that.
"No, wait a minute! That idea is interesting, but it has several problems! First of all, Matsushima didn't have long to live. Was there a need to go so far as to fabricate such a complicated thing to kill him?"
Having said that, Kosaka also took out a cigarette, so Nishida lit it for him with a lighter.
"Certainly, it's true Matsushima didn't have long. However, isn't it unclear whether Matsushima's condition became certain before or after his hospitalization? Since it was lung cancer, I think it was quite bad, but until it was clearly diagnosed, it's unknown if it was recognized externally as lung cancer that would lead directly to death. I think they probably considered the possibility of a counterattack from Matsushima regarding the illegal bidding in August even before his hospitalization. And while they were thinking of execution, Matsushima happened to be hospitalized and didn't have long... While the possibility of him dying on his own had emerged, you can't rely on when he'll die, after all! He might die tomorrow, or he might last two months. And no one can guarantee he won't say something before he dies! Even if it's a risky move, it's more certain to dispose of him before he talks or leaves a document. And Matsushima himself told Kitamura that the approaching death itself was what made him make that confession!"
Nishida spoke passionately.
"Ah, certainly, you don't know when he'll die, and it's meaningless if he talks before he dies... But one more thing. If this 'operation' is a fact, wouldn't executing it during the 'preparatory stage (meaning the faking of the conflict)' actually push Matsushima to confess? In fact, based on the tape, didn't Matsushima say that the conflict incident, which Taihei Giken shouldn't have been involved in, was the trigger for giving the Written Statement to Kitamura?"
Kosaka was almost convinced once, but he voiced a further doubt.
"Since Matsushima said so as a fact, that must be it. However, even if that became the final ultimatum, it's also a fact that Matsushima, facing death, already thought he had been betrayed by Oshima. That alone posed a significant risk of him talking. 99 percent and 80 percent... Even if 'executing' it was the final push, ignoring the already existing 80 percent risk is quite a gamble in terms of probability, isn't it? Oshima is already involved in Sada's murder. I don't think a small difference matters if he's going to lose what he's protected this far!"
Nishida realized he had unconsciously closed in on Kosaka and took a step back.
"Hmm... that's true. Then, one last thing. Setting Taihei Giken aside, how were the other involved companies handled?"
"Probably, they were companies to be discarded if necessary. Since the Isaka Group isn't involved in this matter... other powerful general contractors in this region shouldn't be the targets of this incident. Well, Murayama-gumi might have originally been on that side, but it's possible their special circumstances of being strong in port-related matters led to future management anxiety..."
It's fair to say there was no room for Kosaka to argue further against Nishida's heated explanation.
"...I haven't seen the article, so I don't know, but what are you going to do?"
"The one who wrote the article is apparently a famous freelance journalist named 'Takagaki Shinichi,' and I'm thinking of approaching him directly."
"Where is he?"
"Seems to be in Tokyo."
"There isn't much time we can keep quiet from the investigation headquarters. Are you okay?"
"Shibata-san from the District Forensics also told me about the time constraints. I wonder..."
Confronted with the facts, Nishida couldn't help but give a wry smile. Certainly, time was insufficient. If it could be settled over the phone, nothing would be better, but if the opponent is an anti-establishment journalist, I don't think he'll comply with a police interview so easily. The painful circumstances remained unchanged. However, if the anti-establishment journalist's article was favorable to the side of those in power, that would also be a strange contradiction. The story was moving in a troublesome direction.
"If it comes to it, even if our move is exposed to the opponent, we might need the resolve to clash head-on with the higher-ups."
Kosaka murmured, yet clearly showed his strength of will to Nishida.
"Indeed."
Saying just that, Nishida took the tape out of the radio cassette player.
"The problem is the link to Abe. It's powerful information, but if we keep the contents of the tape hidden, we'll have to explain to the higher-ups separately why this story came up. If so, it really becomes a matter of 'resolve.' This is a quite difficult hurdle..."
In fact, it was certain this information had to be brought "up" as early as possible, but they faced the dilemma of having to worry about leaks as well.
"For now, it might be better to worry about leaks first."
"If we don't move early, the probability of them escaping also increases!"
Kosaka voiced a natural caution.
"However, if investigation information leaks, the possibility of them escaping also increases. Both have their risks."
"Hmm."
Even though he was a veteran, he had been going back and forth for a while now. He was wavering. It was obvious that even for Kosaka, this wasn't a story he could decide on immediately.
"Understood... Let's endure for now. It's likely to be quite a gamble, but it can't be helped..."
His lips pressed into a thin line, he finally seemed to have made up his mind for that path.
"Anyway, I'll have Engaru Station move secretly on this matter. We have better footwork... I want to have a meeting, so I'll return to Engaru for a bit. If the higher-ups say anything while I'm gone, please deceive them well."
"Understood. Regarding that, I'll say you went back to Engaru on my orders to check investigation materials, but make sure to be back by the night meeting, seriously."
Kosaka thumped his fist against his chest, showing a "leave it to me" gesture. Then he asked, "Did you tell Yoshimura about this?"
"No, not yet. But I'll tell him on the way back. Well, it might not resonate much even if I tell him."
Nishida's face brightened a bit.
"Ah, that's... But he's your partner, so trust him properly."
Saying so, Kosaka crushed his cigarette, which was about to burn out without him having smoked much of it, into the ashtray.