Chapter 68 - Light and Shadow 47 {Combined 52/53} (228-229, 230-232 Takagaki to Kitami, and the Questioning)
Kurano called Kosaka, Nishida, and Yoshimura and told them that fact. The three of them naturally became excited. This was because they could say the line between Hamana and Oshima was specifically connected, not just as fellow members of the Minyu Party. However, evidence that Hamana had asked Oshima and Oshima had lobbied the administration would likely be thin if it relied on testimony from those involved. Kurano's opinion was that for now, they should focus on the significance that Oshima's involvement had become more certain.
However, because of this, Otomo suddenly decided to give the green light to the request for cooperation from Takagaki, which he had been unable to decide on in the morning. Based on the new information about the relationship between Hamana and Oshima, he judged that the time had already come to investigate even the slightest possibility of a link to Oshima, even at the risk of involving Takagaki in internal police information. However, Otomo set one condition.
"Nishida! Ask Takeshita if he can create a written pledge between us and Takagaki stating that 'he will not disclose any information regarding this matter unless the case is completely resolved.' Only if that is possible will we ask for the lineup. If that's not possible, this whole story will be treated as if it never happened."
Hearing this, Nishida immediately blurted out,
"I wonder about that..."
Because the other party was a die-hard anti-establishment journalist, Nishida thought it was a quite harsh condition, so he conveyed his clear view that it would be difficult. That said, he couldn't say what Otomo was saying was wrong. This was because unless the successful conclusion of the investigation was a premise, Otomo and Kurano would actually face a huge risk if the information were to be disclosed by any chance.
"Whether it's possible or not, isn't that up to the persuasion of you and the others, Nishida!"
Otomo forced a decision. It was fair to say that Nishida had no choice but to accept and instruct Takeshita.
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To Nishida, who contacted him saying, "Director Otomo says to check if Takagaki can accept the condition of absolute silence regarding investigation information unless the case is resolved," Takeshita commented,
"They moved suddenly, didn't they?"
but he welcomed it even with the bad conditions. He didn't seem very surprised to hear about Hamana's "debt" either. Apparently, as a personal opinion, he had anticipated that "there might have been some kind of entanglement beyond just being fellow party members."
"Can you make him sign a written pledge?"
In response to a quite skeptical Nishida, Takeshita said with confidence,
"I can't say for certain, but I think it'll probably be okay."
Nishida listened to Takeshita's words with anxiety.
"I'll try to get in touch with Takagaki-san right away. I really think it'll be fine, though..."
Takeshita's confidence came from his belief that Takagaki's pride would act more toward his "anger" at being used for a false report and his "desire" to pursue the "truth" than toward a "sense of defeat" in cooperating with the police. He was certain that even if creating a written pledge would undoubtedly wound Takagaki's pride, he would prioritize the fact that there was an enemy he should stand against even more.
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As soon as he contacted Takagaki and told him that if he would write a pledge, they would have him do the lineup, Takagaki groaned,
"Hmm..."
and was silent for about ten seconds, but then said,
"Alright, I understand... I'll accept the condition this time! It's completely against my will to just be used by the police, but clarifying the facts is more important! Casting aside small differences to join for a greater cause is what's being asked right now..."
He spoke as if convincing himself, and accepted it much more readily than Takeshita had thought.
With this, things progressed all at once, and with Otomo's permission, Takeshita and Kurosu were to return to Kitami with Takagaki the following day, November 20th.
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Initially, they considered the first flight in the morning, but Takagaki refused, saying he was "not a morning person," so it became an afternoon flight to Memanbetsu. Takeshita had warned him,
"Please be sure to prepare winter clothes,"
so Takagaki appeared in front of the ticket gates at Hamamatsucho Station wearing a down jacket.
"Last week was warm Okinawa, and this week it's Hokkaido, which is probably damn cold..."
He grumbled, but they couldn't afford to pay attention to every little thing like that.
The group took the monorail to the airport, finished the procedures at the Haneda check-in counter, went through the security check, and watched the 11:00 AM NHK news in the lounge. It seemed the weather in the Kitami region was light rain, and the high temperature was around 8 degrees. Well, it was on the warmer side for Kitami at this time of year, but Takagaki watched it and grumbled,
"There's a temperature difference of nearly 10 degrees..."
After a light lunch, they boarded immediately and landed safely at Memanbetsu Airport after 2:00 PM. As of yesterday, it had been decided that Nishida and Yoshimura would pick them up at the airport, and after finishing the pickup of their checked luggage and exiting, they saw the two raising their hands in the distance.
"This is my superior, Nishida, and my subordinate, Yoshimura."
As soon as Takeshita introduced the two to Takagaki, he exchanged a curt greeting.
"Hello, I'm Takagaki."
Basically, he probably disliked "police power." Even though he tried to hide it, it came out in his attitude, but well, it couldn't be helped. Nishida and Yoshimura had anticipated this to some extent and didn't make particularly unpleasant faces. With Yoshimura in the driver's seat, Nishida in the passenger seat, and Takeshita, Takagaki, and Kurosu sitting in that order from behind the driver's seat, they headed for Kitami.
"Please stay at the hotel we've booked for you today and relax. We'll have you do the lineup tomorrow."
When Nishida told him that, Takagaki asked bluntly,
"I was told by this Takeshita-san that it's planned for about four days at the longest, but is that okay? I have deadlines because of my job."
"Yes. If you start from tomorrow morning, we can manage with that much time..."
He couldn't make easy promises, but it wasn't a good idea to offend him either, so Nishida glossed it over.
"I see... Even so, what is this? Riding in a car sandwiched between detectives like this, I feel like I've been arrested and am being escorted..."
He said this looking back and forth between Takeshita and Kurosu with dissatisfaction.
"Then do you want to switch to the window side?"
To Kurosu, who was being considerate, he flatly refused.
"No, it's fine, it's too much trouble now."
Then Takagaki fell silent with his eyes closed.
As expected, the inside of the car was filled with an awkward atmosphere, but there was no way to deal with it. The four who were "left behind" didn't have a lively conversation either, and they delivered Takagaki to a business hotel called "Kitami Mint Inn" near the Kitami Regional HQ and Kitami Station.
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During the short time on the way back to the investigation headquarters at the Kitami Station from the hotel, Nishida confirmed with Takeshita in the car.
"Will he really cooperate with that? Hey!"
"He's mad about being used, so he'll probably cooperate... It might be more like it's for his own revenge than cooperation, though..."
Takeshita's mind was on that, partly because some uneasy aspects had appeared in Takagaki's behavior since arriving here. Because of that, it sounded somewhat half-hearted, and Nishida seemed to take offense.
"That won't do!"
he said sharply.
"Now, now. I think it'll be fine. He's just on guard because he's dealing with the police."
Because Kurosu intervened, the bud of a small argument was nipped, and finally the silhouettes of the Kitami Station and the Kitami Regional HQ appeared by the roadside.
Looking at the result, Takeshita and Kurosu had been dispatched to Tokyo as members of the investigation headquarters, but in reality, they were not members of the investigation headquarters, so led by Nishida, Takeshita and Kurosu entered the Kitami Regional HQ instead of the Kitami Station where the investigation headquarters was located.
There, they submitted the written pledge they had Takagaki sign in advance to Criminal Investigation Director Otomo (head of the investigation headquarters), Section Chief Kurano, and Manager Hiruma, and reported on the status of the investigation. Although Nishida had told the investigation headquarters' upper management that he was dispatching the two on his own judgment, many of their subsequent specific actions were reported after the fact, so the three superiors did not break their stern expressions while listening to Takeshita's report on the investigation in Tokyo from Iwate. However, because the content was quite close to the core of the case, they gradually began to receive the report while asking serious questions. When the report, which lasted a full hour and more, was finished, it was such a dense time that both the side explaining and the side listening were exhausted.
"It's fair to say that Oshima's true character has become quite clear through the investigation of you two. You didn't have direct instructions, but you did well... And if Takeshita's reasoning is correct, he reunited with Isaka during his first election campaign, and from there, their inseparable relationship of politics and construction began..."
Criminal Investigation Director Otomo said this, stood up from his chair, and looked out the dark window through the gaps in the shades.
"Even so, to think there was such a story before he became a member of parliament... I had the recognition that he was a person with a strong desire for power even before the case, but it's a feat made possible by the greed of a social climber."
He spoke while moving away from the window and sitting back in his seat.
"So, will that freelance journalist named Takagaki really cooperate? It won't do if he just gets into our inner circle and takes information. We've had the written pledge submitted, so we can be somewhat relieved on that point, but still!"
Manager Hiruma did not drop his attitude of distrust, staring at the faces of the three.
"There is no problem regarding his cooperation! However, I am more worried about whether there is a person he met among the information on organized crime members. That depends on the intuition he has cultivated through his past experience as a journalist."
Takeshita voiced both conviction and anxiety. However, that anxiety was objective, and subjectively it was accompanied by a strange sense of security that it would be fine. And he thought that if the person was a yakuza, they would need to be familiar with local circumstances when being interviewed, so they would be a yakuza with some connection to the Kitami region to some extent.
"I see... However, this investigation, not just this time, is a series of risky gambles. Will this tightrope-walking state continue all the way? At the same time, it's not like we're failing because we're getting results in our own way. I keep thinking, 'if only there were evidence that Oshima himself was directly involved...', but the reality is that the outer moat of circumstantial evidence is being filled in more and more. It's a very frustrating situation, but I suppose we have to be prepared to be forced to move..."
Otomo said this, and perhaps his shoulders were stiff, as he rotated his neck and stretched.
"In the first place, Takagaki was deceived by the editorial department of the weekly magazine, right? From that perspective, isn't his 'eye for people' quite suspicious?"
Hiruma continued to grumble about Takagaki, but...
"That may be so, but isn't it only natural that the check on the interview subject and the check on the publisher who is the client would result in the latter being more lax? He's a famous person in that field, so I think we can trust his eyes in that regard."
Nishida offered a helping hand and settled the matter.
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Once they left the room and it was just the members from Engaru, Nishida's weak side suddenly showed its face.
"I said that, but I wonder if it'll really be okay..."
"That's not like you, Team Leader."
Kurosu said teasingly, but Nishida was seriously worried.
"How about it, Takeshita? Looking at his attitude earlier, I can't help but feel like it won't go well."
When asked, Takeshita said,
"It's too late to worry now. He wouldn't have come all the way to Kitami if he wasn't going to cooperate. His curt attitude is probably because it's not in his nature to flatter the police. Let's just brace ourselves!"
He said only that and tried to look forward.
Just in case, the investigators from Engaru invited Takagaki to dinner that day, but he refused, saying,
"I want to write today, so I'll pass."
As expected, even Takeshita was a little worried that night. The four of them, including Yoshimura, were refused by Takagaki, and at the same time, Otomo allowed them to be released from duty early, so they decided to return to Engaru in the evening.
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Early in the morning on November 21st, Nishida, who was looking at the morning edition of the Doho while having an early breakfast at his apartment, stopped at a small article on the third page.
"A man requested for voluntary questioning in the Kitami Kyoritsu Hospital shooting murder case committed suicide." It was an article that simply stated the facts without any particular opinion, and while the real name was naturally withheld, the occupation was also completely hidden. He felt a bit solemn, thinking that it had finally become public knowledge to some extent.
As he waited in front of the apartment, the car that arrived had Kurosu in the driver's seat, and Yoshimura was in the passenger seat today. It seemed the youngest, Kurosu, was playing the role of driver today. Takeshita was reading the newspaper in the right rear seat. Nishida quickly opened the rear door and put his upper body into the car, and before sitting down, he asked,
"Takeshita, did you see the article?"
When asked, Takeshita seemed to understand the meaning immediately, and without confirming what it was about, he said,
"Yes, I saw it. It was actually a bit late. Was the investigation headquarters doing a press release on this?"
"There was no official press release, but well, I think they were leaking it. I haven't heard from the higher-ups."
"I see... Well, it's just an article stating that he committed suicide, and it's just the facts and not a critical tone, so it can't be helped."
Saying that simply, Takeshita flipped through the newspaper noisily.
"Unlike with Kitagawa, where something happened during interrogation, this is just a person who was scheduled to respond to a voluntary questioning dying on his own. There's no fault on the police's part. We should just stand tall!"
Nishida shook his shoulders and made a statement close to defiance.
"Well, there are no elements to be attacked for, right?"
Yoshimura also responded to that.
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As promised the day before, they stopped the car in front of the "Kitami Mint Inn" at 9:00 AM, and as they walked into the small lobby of the business hotel where they were to meet at the front desk, they saw Takagaki reading the newspaper.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
When Takeshita spoke, he was met with an unexpected response.
"Are you guys okay?"
Takeshita stood there blankly, only his head jutting out toward Takagaki.
"Haven't you seen this?"
Saying so, he stood up and showed the third page of the Tozai Shinbun to the four of them.
"Kitami Kyoritsu Hospital Shooting Case, Person of Interest Suicide; National Police Agency Investigates Circumstances."
It had become a quite large article. This left not only Takeshita but everyone else dumbfounded.
"What the hell is this!?"
Kurosu raised his voice involuntarily, but the other three felt the same way.
"What, so you really haven't seen it?"
Takagaki said as if disappointed, but...
"We've seen the article in the Doho... Almost no one in the Kitami region reads the Tozai Shinbun. It's certainly the number one newspaper company in the country, but... This is a hotel, so they have all the major papers, which is why you can see it."
Takeshita replied simply.
"I see, Hokkaido has the Doho being strong, and on top of that, it's not Sapporo but a regional area, so even more so... There probably wouldn't even be an evening edition for Tozai here."
Takagaki said this, and then...
"But certainly, not just the Doho, but the Mainichi and the Nippo also have similar small articles. Only the Tozai has this strange treatment."
He said this while picking up the morning editions of the other newspaper companies on the desk one by one with his hands.
"What does it say?"
When Nishida asked, Takagaki bluntly handed the Tozai Shinbun to Nishida.
"I think it's faster if you read it yourself."
When Nishida read the article, the summary was: "The investigation by the Kitami Regional HQ has resulted in another victim. During the interrogation when a suspect was arrested on a separate charge in the summer, a situation was created where they were not given sufficient water, resulting in death from a subarachnoid hemorrhage. And this time, in the shooting case at Kitami Kyoritsu Hospital, Mr. H was scheduled to be voluntarily questioned as a key person of interest, but Mr. H committed suicide on the morning of the day. It is unknown under what circumstances the questioning was requested, but considering the possibility that it was high-handed, the National Police Agency and the Hokkaido Police Inspector's Office may intervene."
"What on earth is this..."
Nishida muttered this and weakly returned the newspaper to Takagaki.
"Seeing as only the Tozai is writing it so exaggeratedly, from the perspective of you guys who are actually investigating, is this article close to a 'fabrication'?"
"Takagaki-san, it's a fact that there was such a scandal related to a separate arrest in early August..."
When Takeshita started to explain, Takagaki interrupted as if remembering.
"Ah, I remember! That did happen. It was even on the national news."
Takeshita started over.
"However, unlike that case, this time we requested a voluntary questioning and it happened right after the other party accepted it, so the investigation headquarters shouldn't have done anything like that pressure. That said, I wasn't attached to the investigation headquarters..."
he said and confirmed with Nishida. In response, Nishida also said,
"Yeah, there was absolutely no fault in that regard."
"Thinking common-sensically, it's certainly more reasonable to think that committing suicide before a voluntary questioning means he had something to hide rather than there being a problem with the police. And yet, the fact that it became this kind of article means we should assume there's some kind of 'agenda' at play..."
Takagaki said this, frowning and thinking about something.
"Either way, it'll be a nuisance to others if we talk here, so why don't we head over to the station for now?"
Yoshimura, who had been silent, made a calm proposal.
"That's true. Takagaki-san, then let's continue the story over there."
Nishida said this and guided Takagaki to the car outside.
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When they arrived at the parking lot of the joint government building for the Kitami Station and the Kitami Regional HQ, Nishida left the guidance of Takagaki to the small conference room in the Regional HQ building for his questioning to Takeshita and Kurosu, and he headed for the investigation headquarters, the 'office,' inside the Kitami Station. He thought he should obtain information there, as the news report would probably have already reached the investigation headquarters.
As expected, the investigation headquarters had become hectic. However, even though it was hectic, it was also true that it was relatively calm within that range. Nishida spoke to Tamaki, a detective from the Kitami Station who was in front of him.
"I heard there was a news report about Hamana's suicide?"
"Ah, yes! Right now, Investigation Headquarters Chief Otomo, Section Chief Kurano, our Detective Division Section Chief, and Station Chief Egashira have been called to Regional HQ Director Sonoyama's office. I don't think it'll become that big of a deal, though..."
Looking at Tamaki's expression, he didn't get a very serious impression. It might have been because only the Tozai Shinbun, which is hardly circulated within the prefecture, was making a fuss.
"Ah, I see. Then that's fine... Oh, by the way, I'm sorry, but when Kurano-san and the others return, could you tell them 'we're questioning him over at the Regional HQ for that matter'?"
Leaving that message, he headed for Takagaki's questioning with Yoshimura.
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In the small conference room of the Regional HQ building, the lineup had already begun. A detective named Mano from Division 4 was also present, and Takagaki was looking through a list of organized crime members. The two sat quietly in nearby seats so as not to be a nuisance. Although he said the possibility of it being a lie was high, they first checked the Nissho-kai, which Takagaki said the yakuza had claimed to be from, and as expected, no corresponding person was found there. After that, Takagaki was slowly and carefully examining each one while comparing them with his memory, and he was in the middle of that work right now.
That work continued for about twenty minutes, when Takagaki suddenly looked up from the materials, then looked back down at them, and after flipping through the pages in the back once, he said,
"The one I met as a yakuza is definitely this guy,"
he reported after returning to the original page. When the five of them swarmed to look at the corresponding part of the materials, the name and photo of a senior member of the Soryu-kai, "Kuriyama Takayasu," were there.
"Are you sure it's Kuriyama?"
When Sudo confirmed, Takagaki said with conviction,
"Yeah, it's this guy."
"This guy is one of the executives of the Soryu-kai."
Mano received that and told the remaining four detectives.
"Is he a big shot?"
When asked by Nishida, Mano replied,
"I don't think he's done anything particularly flashy. His record is at the level of assault or injury from when he was young. However, he's the type who has a good nose for money. Apparently, he's the type who rose through the ranks as an economic yakuza."
"Since he's Soryu-kai, is he involved with the Isaka Group?"
Takeshita asked quickly.
"Of course! There are two construction companies that are front companies here, and both of them should have a lot of orders for work from the Isaka Group,"
he stated.
Nishida nodded with satisfaction upon hearing that, and said to Takagaki,
"Well, thank you for your cooperation! I didn't think it would go this smoothly."
He thanked him in a way that was halfway an apology for his doubts until now. In response, Takagaki showed a reaction as if he were disappointed.
"Hey! Is this really all you need?"