Chapter 74 - Light and Shadow 53 {Combined 64/65} (256–257, 258–259: Operation Fingerprint Collection Begins 1)
"I think I understand the Section Chief's position in my own way."
Nishida kept his eyes downcast. He felt a sense of guilt, as if he were saying something he understood lightly.
"No, wait a minute! It's obvious, but if we're going to execute it, you also need to make up your mind, you know? You understand that, right?"
Seeing Nishida like that, Sawai seemed to fear that Nishida might be feeling as if it were "someone else's problem."
"No, I understand! Or rather, I'm prepared to take responsibility as the specific 'person responsible for instructions.' More than the Section Chief, I, like Takeshita, have made my position clear that we're going to somehow haul Oshima in."
"If you've thought that far, then it's fine... Sorry for saying something rude."
Sawai placed a hand lightly on Nishida's shoulder.
"No, since I'm making an unreasonable request of the Section Chief, I don't have the right to say such a thing..."
At Sawai's apology, Nishida instead looked down and shook his head in embarrassment.
"Now we both understand each other's determination. However, the problem is who to make the 'perpetrator'..."
"I haven't told him yet, but in the talk with Kosaka-san, we thought it would be Takeshita."
"Even if you're his superior, that's not something you should decide on your own! Looking at Takeshita's thoughts until now, there probably won't be a refusal, but proceeding on your own without the person's consent is not fair no matter how you think about it!"
For the gentle Sawai, he unusually strengthened his anger.
"It's certainly not a decided matter. Certainly..."
Nishida could only make that excuse, but it was clear as day that Sawai's words were entirely in the right. Of course, he didn't intend to decide on his own, but the fact that he could talk about such things nonchalantly might mean that, along with Kosaka, he was placing a bit too much emphasis on clarifying the facts and becoming unable to see various things.
"If it's Takeshita, I think he'll rather volunteer... but it's strictly 'voluntary.' Never forget that."
Sawai returned to his normal tone and instructed Nishida.
"I know. If no one wants to do it, I'll do it. Either way, I'll make it so that I was the one who ordered it, so it's almost the same!"
"If you're that determined, then you're something else! Let's have a meeting with everyone first thing tomorrow morning. Even if it's the weekend, considering various things, time is also short. Also, you should contact Takeshita today. He'll probably volunteer anyway, but he should be given a certain amount of time... No, even as I say this, I'm just as guilty as Nishida, aren't I? A failure as a superior."
Sawai said that with a wry smile, tapped Nishida's back lightly two or three times, and left the break room first. Nishida stood there for a while, then sat down heavily on the hard bench next to the vending machine as if he had come to his senses.
Nishida felt that if he waited until he got home to call, it would become harder to bring up, so after finishing a smoke, he called Takeshita on the spot as if pushed by something. When he laid out everything from Kosaka's talk to Sawai's talk, Takeshita indeed volunteered. However, perhaps because he felt a pang of conscience that a "dirty" thought of utilizing Takeshita's temperament was at the root, Nishida expressed his feelings frankly.
"I'm grateful that you volunteered for the role of executioner, but to be honest, both I and Kosaka-san had a conviction somewhere that you, being the vanguard, would volunteer. Earlier, the Section Chief gently warned me, 'You're dirty,' and I think that's actually true. I didn't want to say it, but if I don't say it honestly, I feel like I won't be able to sleep well..."
"Is that all? That's ridiculous."
Takeshita laughed it off.
"Even if you say that..."
"Because, it's in the form of the Team Leader giving instructions, right? Then the Team Leader will also eventually be made to take some big responsibility if anything happens... And it's not decided yet whether it'll become a responsibility issue. If we do it well, it won't be found out by Oshima's side at all."
Whether it was intentional or natural, Nishida couldn't judge, but Takeshita's voice was bright. If it was natural, he might be happy that the opportunity to "settle it clearly" was about to arrive. Or was it an act out of consideration for Nishida...
"Of course, I don't know what kind of decision Kitami (Regional HQ) will make. However, Kosaka-san seemed confident."
"Really, I think it's an idea that could surprisingly work. There's no point in being indecisive at this stage. By the way, please contact Kosaka-san now. The sooner the better, right? I can even do it myself if you want."
"No, I'll do it. I'll tell him we're all set over here."
When he finished saying that, he himself began to strongly realize that he was "getting pumped up."
The next day, December 5th, Kosaka and Nishida, who had finished their meeting last night, were negotiating directly with Kurano. He probably hadn't expected in the least that a detective who had conducted an unauthorized investigation without receiving instructions would further slam down a demand.
However, Kosaka's reading was spot on. Otomo and Kurano formally blamed them for the unauthorized investigation at first, but more than that, they were happy about the fingerprint mismatch... No, they had a face that said they were troubled on the surface, but Nishida and Kosaka had seen through that it was definitely not so deep down. Even if that were an exaggeration, it could be said that a feeling close to that existed simultaneously with the agony that the investigation would become muddled again.
Oshima's actions until now in putting pressure on the investigation, the hidden relationship with Motohashi, and Matsushige's testimony tape. And the family register history and the testimonies that Takeshita and Kurosu had grasped in Iwate and Tokyo that supported those. A mere fingerprint mismatch had greatly disturbed all this circumstantial evidence. While being confused by that fact, the plan to take them directly in front of their eyes to put an end to that confusion was adopted quite smoothly, including the means of "repayment of a favor" from the Security Section Chief to Kurano. Even if Kosaka hadn't specifically said that to him, he would have probably thought of utilizing the favor himself.
At the same time, as expected, neither Otomo nor Kurano had forgotten what to do about responsibility in the unlikely event that something happened. In the way they created a flow to make the proposing side take responsibility implicitly, even if they were the types without much of a personality problem, as expected of Otomo being from the National Police Agency career track and Kurano being a Hokkaido Prefectural Police elite. To put it poorly, it could be said they were adroit at avoiding responsibility, but since this was on the premise that they would take it on, it couldn't be helped whatever they said. Since they needed to negotiate with the security team, they didn't make a promise, but the two must have thought that this level would probably work.
And by evening, it was successfully decided to add Takeshita to the security and protection of Oshima Kaiji's "return" over the weekend. Needless to say, it had no direct relationship with the case investigation, so it was a decision by the Security Division of the Kitami Regional HQ. Upon receiving that, Nishida immediately contacted Sawai and Takeshita. In Engaru, as planned, the Section Chief had already told all the investigators about the talk with Nishida yesterday since morning, and Engaru Station was also moving toward the time to decide the outcome.
On Wednesday, December 6th, Nishida, who had been instructed by Otomo and Kurano to make "advance preparations," went to see the owner of Hotel Shochikubai, Matsushige, where Oshima's party was scheduled to stay. This was because they would enter analysis immediately after taking fingerprints from Oshima, so it was necessary to have investigators and forensics personnel stay at the same hotel secretly, and it was necessary to get permission in advance for that. It was the first contact with Matsushige since he had called to have him give up on this year's investigation by the Jomon Tunnel Research Group.
"At that time, I caused you various troubles."
"Since there was such an incident, it couldn't be helped. However, from the time you first came, things have progressed in an unthinkable way, one after another. On top of that, for Kitamura-san to even die in the line of duty... I couldn't even have imagined it when I first met him. I truly felt sorry for him."
Matsushige must have known from the news, and he offered his condolences for Kitamura, who had fallen to a stray bullet. It must have been from the heart, not just a social formality. And as Matsushige said, at that time, at least Nishida... no, which means almost everyone, had not yet thought they would go as far as the murder of Sada Minoru eight years ago. Matsushige, of course, shouldn't know that the incident at Kitami Kyoritsu Hospital seemed to be related to that, but for Nishida, including that, he was reflecting on how things had progressed all at once in an unthinkable direction.
"So, about that. Since Diet Member Oshima is staying, I believe personnel for security are also supposed to stay here, right?"
"Yes, we've already heard from the Kitami Regional HQ, Kitami Station, and also from Oshima-sama about half a month ago."
"About that, actually, there's some unsettling movement, and we're planning an increase in personnel. Engaru Station has been asked to help with that..."
"Uh, I haven't received any prior contact about that from the Kitami side..."
The reason Matsushige hadn't heard about the "unsettling movement" was because this operation was something that hadn't been conveyed to the Security Division at all. The reason Otomo and Kurano had made the Security Division accept Takeshita's participation was based on the "convenient excuse" that "there is an excellent precinct staff member, and since he wishes to be assigned to the Security Division, we want to see his aptitude." Even if it was a push, they hadn't conveyed the true purpose. This was because it would be a problem if such a thing leaked.
"Actually, it's a completely secret investigation... The flow is that because information might be leaking internally, the request came to our station, which is a complete outsider, as to why Engaru Station is moving."
Nishida said that, but if he thought about it carefully, if he wanted to manage information that much, he shouldn't even tell Matsushige. Furthermore, for the sake of Nishida and the others' own plan, it would have been better not to tell Matsushige originally. However, since Nishida would also participate in the investigation, he had the awareness that if he happened to run into Matsushige on the day because they already knew each other, it would become complicated and troublesome. So, he had also made Otomo and Kurano approve the "prior false notification."
Even so, it couldn't be helped that an amateur wouldn't have the means or the head to pick apart a "plausible but flawed logic" one by one. Matsushige completely accepted Nishida's bluff.
"I understand. How many people will be staying? We have plenty of room, so there's no problem in that regard. I will cooperate."
"That helps. A confirmation is impossible at this point, but it should be within eight people."
In his head, he was keeping in mind that some members of the Violent Crimes Unit, forensics personnel, and in some cases, Section 1 Head Kurano or Manager Hiruma from the Kitami Regional HQ, and Forensics Lead Shibata would also be added.
"Then, would it be alright if I set aside about three rooms? They will be Japanese-style rooms."
"Yes, please. The payment will be handled by the Violent Crimes Unit of Engaru Station."
"It seems to be part of your duties, but what should we do about the meals?"
At Matsushige's unexpected question, he couldn't answer instantly. Certainly, it wasn't official, but since it was an investigation, it was work. However, since they were staying at a hot spring inn, it wouldn't hurt to at least eat the hotel's food.
"Then, the same as a normal stay."
"Is that so? Since I've heard the same from the Kitami security people, I think that would be better. Our hotel is confident in its cuisine, so look forward to it."
Matsushige said that and smiled.
In the end, including Forensics Lead Shibata from the Kitami Regional HQ, who knew the circumstances, and Manager Hiruma, who would take on a supervisory role, and excluding Takeshita, who would participate in the security itself, a total of eight people—Section Chief Sawai, Nishida, Yoshimura, Kurosu, Oba, and Forensics Lead Matsuzawa from Engaru Station—ended up doing the undercover investigation. The reason for including Oba was the somewhat anxious thought that since he hadn't been in and out of Kitami recently, even if he ran into the security personnel, he wouldn't be seen as acting suspiciously.
Regarding the fine details, the command was left to Sawai, Takeshita had meetings with the Security Division, and Nishida and Yoshimura were basically engaged in the investigation of the shooting incident until the day of the plan's execution. Also, information had come in from somewhere that the reason Isaka Masamitsu would not participate in the meeting was apparently because he would be on a business trip to Sapporo on Saturday and Sunday for company matters.
The cleanup of yakuza-related individuals by Otomo, Kurano, and Hiruma extended to all members and associates nationwide who had the surname "Abe" and had a relationship with the Aoi-ikka. However, they were having a hard time narrowing down the candidates. There were several people with the same surname who were possibilities, but all of them had clear alibis for either the day before, the day of, or the day after the crime, and it was judged that the crime was physically and temporally impossible for them. With such a flow, it seems an idea even emerged among the leadership that the "Abe" statement might have been a hoax spread for the purpose of disturbing the investigation.
However, whether the two perpetrators knew that Kitamura was recording the audio was an impossible story even from Nishida's perspective. This was because if that were the case, he didn't think they would have halfway hinted at the existence of the planted bug. In the first place, if they had known, leaving the tape at the scene as it was would be nothing but a "trap" for the police investigation, but such an impression of a dynamic criminal didn't seem to fit the manner of the crime either.
And probably, Hamana's suicide should suggest the eavesdropping by the bug he was thought to have installed. However, since not all the investigators grasped the entire contents of the tape, they were still unable to make those inferences public. Whether it would become a situation to disclose everything was not Nishida's exclusive prerogative.
On the other hand, the approach to the Kyoritsu Hospital shooting murder case from the Sada Minoru murder case had transformed into almost two separate investigations after finishing the inquiries around Isaka and Matsushige.
First, the investigation cooperation for the cleanup of the yakuza. For those who knew the information about the "Abe surname" like Nishida and Yoshimura, this was a re-check of the already investigated list of Otomo and the others, and for general investigators who did not, it was a check centered on overall information of Aoi-ikka-affiliated yakuza within the prefecture and nationwide.
Second, based on the idea that there might have been something like a hideout in the vicinity considering the range of action of the fugitives, it was to wash out rental properties for single-person households within a two-kilometer radius of the vacant lot where the stolen car used for the escape was found. In fact, the setup of checkpoints immediately after the incident was quite rapid, but the criminals had effectively escaped (or so it was seen).
Since the setup of checkpoints on that day was done in a way that narrowed from the suburbs toward the city center, it was safe to assume that the possibility of them having escaped by car and passed through the checkpoints to get out of the city was low in terms of time. Of course, the possibility of passing through back roads or forests, or escaping on foot, was not impossible...
If that were the case, there was a possibility that they had carried out a "time-lag attack" by waiting somewhere until the movement of checkpoints by the police subsided once and then executing the escape. In that case, the possibility of being caught at a hotel was quite high, and in fact, the police side had also been checking, so that point could be ignored. Also, considering the temporal proximity from when Kitamura visited Matsushige's hospital room for an inquiry to the murder, and the fact that they couldn't have killed him at the same time as handing over the "Written Statement" unless they had prepared quite far in advance, it also matched the point that they must have been in Kitami for a certain period before the incident occurred.
As might be expected, about five days after the incident, the investigation headquarters had actually already checked rental properties within a one-kilometer radius of the vacant lot. They were re-checking by expanding that to two kilometers to see if there were any corresponding persons at the time.
In the end, they were just busy with investigation cooperation for those two, and the investigation from the Sada Minoru case continued to be in a state where it was practically impossible to move. Most of the cause was that there was no evidence directly linking to Oshima Kaiji, and the outer moat they had been filling was becoming strange due to the fingerprint mismatch. It could be said that what would happen to the investigation policy from now on depended on the "final battle" at Onneyu Onsen.
On the afternoon of Saturday, December 9th, men in plain clothes who, at first glance, didn't look like detectives, were waiting in the hotel lounge. Nishida, who had returned from the front desk, arrived there.
"I wonder how we should do the room assignments... Shall we divide them into Hiruma-san, Shibata-san, Matsuzawa, and the others?"
In response to Nishida's proposal, Sawai confirmed,
"That's fine for our Engaru Violent Crimes Unit, but what about Hiruma-san?"
Actually, just before, they had changed the plan to take three rooms to two rooms. There was the issue of the budget, but there was also the fact that if they divided into many rooms, it would be troublesome for each investigator to move.
"Is it okay not to have half and half? If it's okay, I don't mind."
Hiruma was looking at a newspaper, but he turned his face toward Nishida once, said that, and turned back to the page again.
"Then, let's go with that. Let's go to the rooms after taking a breather. Here, Hiruma-san."
Keys were handed from Nishida to Manager Hiruma and Section Chief Sawai respectively. At that time, Hiruma left the newspaper spread out on the desk, and the page was an article about the sodium leak accident at the fast breeder reactor the previous day, December 8th. Nishida also knew about it from the news last night. With Takagaki's story about the cover-up of the nuclear accident the other day, he had a vague impression that "as I thought, it's not safe."
A fast breeder reactor is a "dream nuclear power plant" that can obtain more fuel than the energy consumed by using MOX fuel (a mixed oxide of plutonium and uranium). However, it involves great danger, such as having to use "liquid sodium" for cooling. Sodium is highly flammable and shows a rapid reaction even to water, making safety management difficult, and while it is a "dream nuclear power system," it is one of the major reasons why various countries have hesitated to introduce it (although there are many other factors, I will omit them). In Japan too, the fast breeder reactor "Monju" caused a sodium leak accident on December 8, 1995. At present, the policy is expected to be changed toward decommissioning.
After a while, Hiruma finished reading the newspaper, so the group headed for the elevator together at a good time.
Oshima arrived at Memanbetsu on the first flight of the morning, finished visiting supporters in Abashiri from there, had a meeting with supporters in Kitami in the afternoon, and was scheduled to have a social gathering at Onneyu Onsen as it was. Takeshita had already entered Kitami since yesterday and was already at work on security. Overall information seems to be coming in from Section 1 Head Otomo through the Security Section Chief. The pretext is for the purpose of checking Takeshita's work performance, though...
The two rooms were naturally next to each other and were Japanese-style rooms, but they were wider and cleaner than expected. The next room was the same size, but perhaps because of the three large bags for forensics work, it felt a bit narrow. As expected, it was good not to have made the numbers half and half. With this, a simple investigation headquarters was completed within the hotel.
However, right now, both rooms exuded a relaxed feeling before a job. In a few more hours, things will become busy in various ways. For now, they relaxed and prepared for the prior confirmation meeting two hours later.
After 6:00 PM, Oba, who was waiting in the lobby, contacted Nishida to say that Oshima Kaiji, his local resident secretary Nakagawa, a group of over a dozen supporters, as well as the Security Division of Kitami Station and Kitami Regional HQ, and Takeshita had finally arrived at the hotel.
Incidentally, Secretary Nakagawa was the head local secretary, called a manager, who had been in charge of Oshima's base in the Abashiri and Kitami districts since the 80s. Oshima's base was originally Abashiri, his true home, but since the Kitami district was larger as a vote-getter, he was also a secretary who mostly worked at the Kitami office. He is a so-called "yes-man" who listens to whatever Oshima Kaiji says, but at the same time, based on that influence, he is in a position to have quite a lot of clout locally.
And while the "party" is staying, Takeshita is scheduled to skillfully seize an opening, obtain an object that Oshima touched and that fingerprints adhered to, and provide it to this side at any time.
Takeshita tried to get the teacup Oshima was drinking from while Oshima took a breather and went to the bath, but since the secretary was waiting in the room as he was, he gave up on the first chance. Regarding that, a short phone report that he "failed" came in to Nishida and the others, watching for an opportunity.
The next chance is dinner. If he misses this, there probably won't be an opportunity until breakfast the next morning. Takeshita was fired up after being spurred on by Nishida, but considering the opponent and the surrounding situation, he didn't know if it would go so easily. Of course, before that, if there were an opportunity where fingerprints adhered and he could take and secure it, he would just execute it without hesitation.
On the other hand, Nishida and the others were savoring an early dinner in preparation for the later work. No, they were certainly savoring it, but they were not in a state of mind to enjoy it from the heart. Since they had heard the rough "execution schedule" from Takeshita, they thought it could be finished before Oshima and the others had dinner, but since they didn't know when Takeshita would secure the fingerprints, they were in a restless state. Even in such a situation, Yoshimura seemed to be smacking his lips with ease; was he a big shot or just insensitive...
"Yoshimura, Oba is staking it out now without eating, so don't have such a carefree face and think a bit about your junior while you eat."
He said that as a light sarcasm, but,
"Even if you say that, I'm just in this situation because it would be bad if I met those guys since I've been in and out of Kitami recently, so I can't be in a place where I'd be noticed..."
He made a sulky excuse. However, that excuse was not a sophistry but a proper one, so,
"That's true, but..."
Just as he was about to say that,
"Don't argue about trivial things before an important matter! Even the delicious food will taste bad."
He was lightly rebuked by the Section Chief.
Around the time Nishida and the others were finishing dinner, Oshima and the others, who had come out of the bath, started dinner in a small banquet hall. Since it was a banquet, the security just firmed up the area near the entrance from the outside, but since the sliding doors were left open, they could always check the situation inside. However, since they couldn't enter the room directly, it was impossible to obtain used dishes, beer bottles, or sake carafes with their own hands. The maids were moving busily without even time to be stopped, and there were the eyes of other security personnel. Takeshita was made to realize only now that it was unexpectedly difficult. If it came to it, he was prepared to stop a maid and take things other than Oshima's all together, but a chance came from an unexpected place.
"Hot!" "Ah-ah." "I did it." "Are you okay?" "Give me a cloth!"
Multiple voices echoed from the banquet hall. Observing the situation, the chairman of the Shari branch of Oshima Kaiji's supporters' association had gotten drunk and overturned a small pot on his tray. Since he was sitting diagonally opposite Oshima, Takeshita rushed over, seeing a golden opportunity. It was also lucky that Secretary Nakagawa had apparently gone to the toilet and was not there, and there was only one maid in the room at that point.
"Are you alright?"
Takeshita said that while taking a cloth from the maid who had brought one,
"Please bring more," he instructed, and made her leave the spot. Other maids would probably come soon anyway, but even if temporarily, he wanted to manage the scene with a small number of people. Along with another security person, while wiping the tatami, he glanced toward Oshima. As expected of a big-shot politician, Oshima was watching the situation steadily without rushing around, but next to Oshima was the sake carafe he had just finished drinking. Since he had already confirmed that Oshima had definitely touched it with both hands many times as if holding it, Takeshita, while pretending to clean up various things, took advantage of the confusion and asked Oshima,
"It's dangerous, so may I clear this away?"
This was the first conversation they had directly exchanged.
"Ah, I don't mind."
Perhaps because he had been drinking, he was answered in a voice higher than the one he had heard on TV—no, than the voice in the conversation until they arrived at the hotel. And, as Takeshita had intended from the beginning, he succeeded in hiding it in a large bag he had set inside his jacket so as not to stand out. Originally, touching it directly would be hesitated, but it couldn't be helped since wearing gloves for security would be clearly unnatural. Since Takeshita's fingerprints had already been submitted to the two forensics personnel, they should exclude them. And, after finishing the processing with the maid who had come as he was, he returned to security with a nonchalant face.
For about 30 minutes after that, Takeshita was engaged in security for the banquet, but since a replacement for him to have dinner came, he watched for an opening and contacted Nishida. Oba immediately went to pick up the sake carafe and successfully returned to the temporary investigation headquarters. Everyone was already waiting in the room on Hiruma's side.
"It's this!"
Even though he had used the elevator, Oba, who was out of breath due to the tension, handed over the sake carafe in a plastic bag, and Shibata, along with Matsuzawa, entered forensics work.