Chapter 75 - Light and Shadow 54 {Combined 66/67} (261–262, 262–263: Fingerprint Mismatch and Re-examination of the Case 1)
During the work, everyone except the two forensics personnel was watching their work with bated breath, as the final conclusion of the investigation so far depended on it. However, it didn't take that much time for Shibata to stop his work.
"How is it?"
Hiruma couldn't help but ask for an answer.
"As I thought, it's no good!"
At Shibata's sudden words, everyone showed two kinds of reactions: "What!?" and "As I thought..." but Nishida was the latter.
"There's no mistake?"
At Sawai's insistence, Shibata replied regretfully, "There's no mistake! The fingerprint type is different from the one on the blood seal. There isn't even the ulnar loop from the blood seal itself. Even if you lump together the ones from Takeshita, who touched it before, or the maids who probably touched it."
"I see... By the way, Takeshita said this had all ten fingers of both of Oshima's hands on it, right?"
Matsuzawa confirmed with Oba.
"Yes. The Senior Staff explicitly stated that he had firmly grasped the 'target' and the surrounding movements."
"Understood. Then there's no mistake..."
To Matsuzawa, who sighed, Nishida confirmed, "Kuwano's fingerprint on the blood seal was a left ulnar loop, right?"
"That's right," he said, taking out and showing the sample taken from the deed. In response, Shibata began taking photographs of the fingerprints while showing and explaining to the detectives, who had no choice but to be convinced, the fingerprints that had adhered to the sake carafe and emerged after being dusted with aluminum powder.
"Is this tented arch the same as the one taken from the sample Takagaki sent?"
When asked by Nishida, Matsuzawa said simply, "Yes," but when asked again, "Then, is it highly likely that it matches this fingerprint of Oshima's?" he was told calmly, "I'll do that now, but I'll refrain from making any assumptions at this point." Nishida also couldn't find any words to say against such a sound argument.
However, despite the scenario so far being easily denied, everyone's disappointment was not as great as expected. Or rather, since the results for the portion provided by Takagaki had already come out, it was more accurate to say they were prepared, or that a kind of mitigating effect had occurred. In any case, it was certain that an undeniable conclusion had been reached. Nishida could think of nothing else but sipping tea while sitting cross-legged on a cushion.
While Shibata and Matsuzawa were conducting a close examination, Takeshita called to hear the results, so Nishida gave him the report.
"It was no good..."
At that one sentence, he only uttered, "As I thought... I bet on a sliver of hope, though." Takeshita also seemed to have been prepared.
"I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but just in case. It's definitely Oshima's, right?"
Nishida confirmed, and Takeshita asserted flatly, "There's no mistake. I took it after grasping the 'target' and the surrounding movements from beginning to end. The banquet hall was in full view even during security."
"Well... I guess so. You're not the type to slip up on something like that."
Nishida could only heave a sigh.
"By the way, if that's the case, did it match the one Takagaki-san sent?"
As expected of Takeshita, he was concerned about that point this time.
"They're checking if it matches that now."
Just as he was about to say that, Shibata raised his voice so that even Nishida, who was a little distance away, could hear.
"It needs a close examination, but it almost matches. Unfortunately, there's no mistake."
"Did you hear that? That's how it is."
Nishida said that sullenly, and then confirmed, "It seems that's how it is. Then, the collection related to breakfast tomorrow morning won't be necessary, right?"
"Yeah, that's how it'll be. Good work on your duty. Everything this past week was in vain, but for now, it seems it hasn't been found out by the other side, so at least that part went well... Well then, see you tomorrow," he said and hung up abruptly.
After confirming the conversation had ended, Kurosu lamented, "Fingerprint surgery was said to be impossible in the first place because of the entanglement with the handprint from three years ago, and since dinner was right after coming out of the bath, a trick is also impossible, so they're completely unrelated after all, aren't they?"
Sawai cut him off as if it were useless to say anything, "That's already at a level where there's no point in thinking about it, right?"
"If that's the case, I guess the only thing left is to drink ourselves into a stupor!"
When Yoshimura spoke desperate words, Sawai suddenly raised a loud voice to caution him.
"No, wait a minute!"
And then he said, "The fact that Oshima's fingerprints and Kuwano Kinya's blood seal didn't match in this investigation has unfortunately been confirmed, but as for drinking ourselves into a stupor, wouldn't it be better to do that after properly looking back and verifying the entire case anyway? It's a painful point, but if I dare to change the way I put it, the only thing of our thoughts that was denied is that the current Oshima is a different person from the Kuwano on the deed."
He made a statement that tightened things up like a superior should. Hiruma also heard that and checked his watch. It was not yet 9:00 PM. Then, he backed up the proposal, saying, "It's exactly as Section Chief Sawai says... It's better to think about why it turned out like this here for the sake of the future. We're not here for fun!"
"Nishida, you're the most knowledgeable, so explain the big flow while involving the timeline for a review!"
At Sawai's instruction, Nishida said, "Understood. Shall we do a review for about an hour?" and tried to start immediately. But Sawai immediately ordered, "Wait a minute! Yoshimura! Ask the front desk if they have a whiteboard, and if they do, go borrow it. This place is probably used for training and such, so I think they'll have one. It'll be easier to understand if we have one, right?"
When Yoshimura confirmed by phone, it seemed to exist as expected, and when he asked the hotel side if it was okay to bring it, Matsushige the owner happened to be there and said he would lend the meeting room for free. So, the members decided to conduct the review in the meeting room.
Nishida began writing on the whiteboard the two had brought the flow of facts and conjectures that had become clear through the investigation before it was determined that Oshima's and Kuwano's fingerprints did not match.
○ At the end of September '87, Sada Minoru, who had come to Kitami to negotiate with Isaka Daikichi for a "loan of funds," was murdered and buried in the mountains of Ikutahara by Motohashi, who had probably received a request through Oshima's Hakozaki Faction/political route, and Kitagawa and Shinoda, employees of the Isaka Group who had been "bought" by Isaka.
Sada had failed in managing the company he was running and needed a large amount of funds. Just around that time, triggered by his biological mother's death, he came to know about the stories of the time in addition to a certain letter and deed that the Sada family had inherited from his older brother "Toru," who had died in the war, and it is thought that he was blackmailing Isaka using that as material. That story was about the pre-war inheritance of gold dust by Isaka and the others from their employer.
Immediately after Sada's murder, Kitagawa and Shinoda began to climb the ladder of success at the Isaka Group by using the fact that Isaka had committed murder in the past as material for blackmail?
○ Prefectural Assemblyman Matsushige, who had met Sada with Isaka at this dinner, was shot and killed by two unknown persons immediately after giving several testimonies of the time to Kitamura. The summary of the contents of the testimony at that time is as follows:
1) Isaka had made a statement to Matsushige that sounded like a notice of murder after Sada had left the dinner table.
2) Sada had told Isaka that he had found the orphan of Mende Shigeyoshi (identified as the younger brother of Hojo Masato, one of the members who inherited the employer Senzaki's estate, Masaharu, through a letter from Masato to Masaharu), so he was also demanding a response to that. It is seen that this was also to make Isaka stop inflicting harm on himself.
However, it is highly likely that Isaka took that as a bluff. Since it is an absurd story, it is unknown if Sada had actually found the orphan, but it also cannot be concluded that it was just a fabrication from the stories of the detective agency Sada had commissioned.
3) Long ago, Isaka "had a hand in evil deeds" along with Oshima. Because of that, Isaka said Oshima had no choice but to cooperate with him. The content of that evil deed is thought to be that they snatched away even the gold dust that should have been inherited by people other than Isaka and Kuwano.
4) Oshima Kaiji's real name is currently "Tadokoro Yasuo," but his true original name was "Kuwano Kinya."
○ Regarding this (4), it was also supported by the subsequent investigation of the family register history. And through inquiries in Tokyo, the process of the Kuwano Kinya on the family register transforming into Oshima Kaiji was recognized. Kuwano Kinya → Kuwano Yasuo → Tada Yasuo → Tadokoro Yasuo.
○ August 10, '92? Due to blackmailing? of Isaka Daikichi by an unidentified person, there is a strong probability that Yoneda Masatoshi, who is seen to have happened to encounter Shinoda at the scene when Shinoda presumably came to confirm the murder site of Sada Minoru's body, was murdered. It is seen that Yoneda's body was buried in the place where Sada's body had previously been buried.
○ Sada's body, which should have been there, was sealed away by being mixed in with the monuments and grave markers where the victims of the tako-beya labor of the Jomon Tunnel were placed and enshrined, which Shinoda presumably judged to be a place where it would more certainly not be found, or even if found, it would be overlooked.
The origin of that idea of Shinoda's, if my (Nishida's) reasoning is correct, was a hint from the fact that at the memorial ceremony for the victims of tako-beya labor in the fall of Showa 52 (1977), three bodies that were unidentified at the time, which Shinoda, Kitagawa, and others had happened to discover during a previous collection of remains, had also been enshrined together before anyone knew it (they didn't notice that fact on the day of the memorial ceremony, but later, a maintenance worker named Tanemachi, who had discovered the unidentified bodies with Kitagawa and Shinoda, was told that fact when he went to pray at Ko-on-ji in Ikutahara where they were supposed to have been placed, and he presumably told both of them)?
○ Immediately after that re-burial of the body, because Shinoda had lost Kitagawa's watch (it had actually been stolen) while Kitagawa was on a business trip to the United States, Kitagawa himself ended up having to search for Yoneda's body and the watch after 1995, after Shinoda had already died (because Kitagawa learned of the start of the full-scale collection of remains by the Jomon Tunnel Research Group, and in the unlikely event that Yoneda's body was discovered in that work, and furthermore, a watch with his own name on it was discovered with it, he would certainly be suspected in the initial stages. That said, as for the murder itself, Kitagawa had a clear alibi, so there was no problem, but there was a fear that they would search as far as the Sada Minoru matter in connection with it, and it would be troublesome in various ways).
In that process, Yoshimi Tadayuki, who had come to take railway photos near the Jomon Tunnel, mistook? the movements of Kitagawa, who was working hidden late at night, for a ghost, and died in an accident by falling (strong probability). However, after that, the stolen watch returned to his hand by the hand of the police at a good time, so Kitagawa must have been relieved.
○ Kitagawa was arrested on another charge and interrogated, but due to a mistake in consideration for hydration, etc., he became unconscious (later died after life support was removed). Regarding that matter, Oshima Kaiji presumably exerted pressure on the Doho through a political route, and at the same time tried to exert pressure on the investigation.
○ Motohashi's sudden confession. With Kitagawa's death, Motohashi is the only survivor among the perpetrators of the Sada Minoru murder case. To put it the other way around, if Motohashi died, the perpetrators would completely disappear from this world, and there was also a kind of silencing effect.
While the situation was suspicious with Kitagawa's arrest (at this point, it has not been identified that Sada Minoru had been murdered), Shiino, the Hakozaki Faction's beat reporter for the Tozai Shinbun, began to move to contact Motohashi. Ultimately, it is seen that he urged Motohashi, whose death penalty had also been finalized, to confess at the end of September when Sada's remains were discovered, using a code hidden in a letter.
○ At the same time, it is seen that they used Takagaki to create a fabricated article in Weekly FREE. The purpose was to provide a false scenario to "general society" and the police side when they got rid of Matsushige, who might testify in the Sada Minoru murder case. If it went well, there was a possibility that the provoked yakuza would start a real conflict. If that happened, the "manipulation" would become even harder to understand.
○ Matsushige, claiming he was betrayed by the Oshima side, was to testify to Kitamura about the facts of the dinner eight years ago (this was probably anticipated by the Oshima side), but immediately after, he was murdered along with Kitamura. At the same time, the Written Statement that was scheduled to be submitted to the police was taken away by the perpetrators. However, Kitamura had recorded the testimony on a portable tape recorder he had brought for karaoke (excluding already mentioned matters).
In that, it was also found that there was a person with the surname Abe, although the kanji is unknown, among the two perpetrators, and that they apparently grasped through a plug-type bug that Matsushige was going to testify.
After that, with the suicide of the Union Leader Hamana, who was thought to have sneaked into Matsushige's hospital room, there is a high probability that Hamana was involved in the eavesdropping in some form.
"For now, is the general flow and factual relationships something like this?"
Nishida asked for Sawai's and Hiruma's opinion after writing a considerable amount of text all at once. He was a bit tired after writing so much. Looking at the watch, it seemed more than 30 minutes had passed as he wrote while thinking and remembering.
"Well, isn't it something like this? You did well. However, it might be better to review the deed and such in a bit more detail for Manager Hiruma's sake, since that became a problem in the fingerprint comparison."
When Sawai said that, Hiruma also nodded, saying, "I'd definitely like that."
"Understood. Since I don't have the materials on hand because I brought the blood seal separately as a sample from the deed, I'm sorry, but I'll keep this rough."
While thinking to himself, "They're really working me hard," he made that preamble and began explaining by writing on the back of the board.
○ In 1941, an old man named Senzaki, who had employed five young men?—Isaka Tasuke (later Daikichi), Kuwano Kinya, Hojo Masato, Mende Shigeyoshi, and Takamura Tetsuo—to pan for gold, died of illness. Before Sada Toru, the second older brother to Sada Minoru, could tell them about the hidden gold dust that was to be divided among the five as an inheritance as commissioned by Senzaki before his death, Takamura killed Mende while trying to take away other money and goods. In retaliation, Isaka and Hojo found and killed Takamura.
As a result, the inheritance was to be divided among four people: Isaka, Kuwano, Mende's orphan (identified as a male through Masato's letter to Hojo's younger brother Masaharu), and Hojo. However, despite Sada Toru warning his parents that Isaka was "problematic," the location of the gold dust was told to Isaka and Kuwano after the war (it wasn't supposed to be told to Isaka alone, but Kuwano is seen to have appeared together), and that gold dust was all snatched away by the two. Masaharu, the younger brother of the late Hojo Masato and a legitimate heir, ended up living an unfortunate life thereafter.
Furthermore, regarding the deed stating that relationship of rights, one that Sada Toru had left to explain the circumstances was kept by the Sada family, and another that the younger brother Hojo Masaharu had been given by his older brother Masato, the first heir who was called up for wartime service, and then later entrusted to the Sada family, certainly existed at the time, and a "blood seal" was stamped on both.
In the letter Sada Toru left with the Sada family, the blood seal on the deed is stated to be stamped with the right index finger for Kuwano only, and with the right thumb for all other persons.
The deed for Hojo's portion was also kept by the Sada family for a long time. However, for some reason, Sada Minoru brought it to Kitami, and at the time he was murdered, it had apparently passed from Sada Minoru's belongings into the hands of Shinoda and Kitagawa, and Kitagawa had kept it in a bank safe deposit box until now. It is highly likely that it was used as material for the two to blackmail Isaka Daikichi.
On the other hand, since there is a strong probability that Sada Minoru had handed a fake deed to Isaka Daikichi in exchange for a loan agreement, it is currently unknown for what purpose he brought the "real deed" as far as Kitami.
○ Considering the flow of the family register and Matsushige's testimony, Kuwano Kinya should be the same person as Oshima Kaiji, alias Tadokoro Yasuo; in other words, the blood seal of Kuwano on the deed and Oshima Kaiji's fingerprints should have matched, but in reality, they didn't.
Since the fingerprints Takagaki collected in Tokyo and the fingerprints of Oshima collected this time matched, Oshima's fingerprints and the fingerprints of the blood seal are definitely different things.
"Well, is it something like this..."
Nishida looked around at everyone after he finished writing. The last sentence was content he didn't want to add...
The Engaru team basically grasped the content sufficiently, so it was especially necessary to see Hiruma's level of understanding. Since Hiruma was involved in the investigation, he should understand to some extent, but as far as he could see, there seemed to be no problem at this level once he wrote this much.
"Section Chief! Takeshita isn't here, but Kurosu is, so since we're at it, let's properly do the talk related to the inquiries about Oshima Kaiji's youth in Tokyo once more. Since the Kuwano on the deed and the Kuwano of Oshima didn't match, that's also going to be a key."
Sawai agreed with Nishida's proposal and ordered Kurosu to give a brief explanation. In response, Kurosu tried to start writing on the board in place of Nishida, but said,
"You said in Tokyo, but just in case, let me start from the story of Taro in Iwate Prefecture where he was born. Since the fingerprints didn't match, it's a bit much to put it this way, but..." he prefaced.
And then,
"Uh, Kuwano was born in 1915, 80 years ago, in what was then a village called Taro in Iwate Prefecture. In March of Showa 8, or 1933, after that, it seems the entire clan was caught in a great tsunami following an earthquake, and not only Kuwano's local relatives but also many of the local residents died. This also seems to be a major factor in why testimonies about Kuwano do not come out. To put it the other way around, it's also convenient for Kuwano, that is, Oshima, who presumably wants to hide his identity."
He said it all at once.
"About that, the family register was washed away along with the village office, and the surviving Kuwano recreated the family register, was that the story?"
Sawai put in a confirmation.
"Yes, that's right! Of course, it's at the level of a story that it might be so."
"What about the possibility that Kuwano had been replaced by someone else at that point?"
Hiruma poked at it as if he had thought of it, but,
"Manager, it's meaningless to link that with the fingerprint mismatch! Looking at it chronologically, the blood seal on the deed was pressed far after that... If the tsunami was in 1933, the deed was written in 1941. Even if something happened in 1933, it shouldn't have affected the fact that it didn't match the blood seal."
He was countered by Nishida from the side.
"That's true too..."
Hiruma easily retracted his own theory, but it couldn't be helped since it didn't make sense no matter how one thought about it. Kurosu, without paying attention to that, began writing on the board with a marker.
○ The first trace of Kuwano in Tokyo appears in October, Showa 22 (1947), when a new family register was created in the form of a removal from Taro to Chiyoda Ward. It is seen as a removal at a time not so different from the time of his move to Tokyo.
○ February, Showa 25 (1950): Notification of name change from Kuwano Kinya to Kuwano Yasuo.
○ March of the same year: Transfer to the household of Tada Sakura. Presumably at the same time as moving into the lodging.
○ April of the same year: Entered the Faculty of Law at Meiho University.
○ November, Showa 26 (1951): Became the adopted son of Tada Sakura.
○ March, Showa 29 (1954): Graduated from the Faculty of Law at Meiho University. Upon graduation, he became a secretary to House of Representatives member Kaito Takumi, whom he had been helping for some time under the introduction of Koshiba, a Metropolitan Assembly member belonging to the Minyu Party.
○ July, Showa 31 (1956): Married Tadokoro Yoshiko, an influential supporter of Kaito in Abashiri, and entered a new family register with Tadokoro Yoshiko as the head in the form of becoming a son-in-law, becoming Tadokoro Yasuo.
○ September, Showa 35 (1960): Adoptive mother Tada Sakura died. Furthermore, before this, he had handed a blood-stained piece of cloth to Koshiba and was told, "If Oshima ever goes astray, show him this." It is unknown what that cloth means.
Oshima donated the land and buildings of the inherited property from Sakura to Chiyoda Ward, and that became the previous community center.
○ November, Showa 38 (1963): Ran for the House of Representatives election as the successor to Kaito Takumi. Won for the first time and became a Diet member.
Kurosu finished writing and put down the marker, then began to give a supplementary explanation.
"Kuwano apparently was not called up for the war due to illness. There is testimony from the old man Koshiba, whom I asked various things this time, that he himself mentioned that at the time. Also, as for the name of the illness, I don't know, but it seems he once tried to join the track and field club, so at least it probably wasn't tuberculosis, which was prevalent at the time, he said. Well, but even if you say track and field, there are field events and short distances, so it might be a bit dangerous to make that a decided matter as a reason."
"There's a story that he didn't go to war, but that was only his own account, right?"
"Section Chief, it's just hearsay."
Immediately after he answered,
"In Oshima's supporters' association, there was a story that he had suffered from an intestinal obstruction or some other intestinal-related illness for a long time back then, so he didn't go to war. I didn't learn this through the investigation, but just overheard it from an acquaintance in the supporters' association."
Hiruma put in new information.
"Well, if you falsely claim you went to war, it'll be found out immediately by which unit you were in... You shouldn't be able to lie about this kind of story."
Nishida said that and concluded that it was probably true that Kuwano did not go to war.
"Even checking like this, since he was always being watched by the old man Koshiba after he started lodging with Tada Sakura, we should be able to certainly see this Kuwano 'Yasuo' and the subsequent Oshima Kaiji as the same person. The problem is still the contradiction with the result of the fingerprint comparison, that the Kuwano Kinya in the blood seal of the deed and the Kuwano Kinya who is the true identity of Oshima Kaiji on the family register are different people."
Saying that, Yoshimura began to mention the topic that touched upon the core of the problem on his own.
"On the other hand, according to the testimony in Matsushige's tape, at the dinner the day before Sada's murder, Isaka Daikichi stated, 'Oshima Kaiji is the Kuwano Kinya from the deed' (T/N: To be precise, it was 'The name of Oshima before he became Tadokoro Yasuo, that is, the name Kuwano Kinya, is written in the deed as the one who snatched away the gold dust with Isaka,' but at this point, Section Chief Sawai does not understand the meaning of that complicated phrasing, so...). If there is no mishearing or misunderstanding on both sides in Isaka's statement in Matsushige's testimony, it becomes inconsistent with the fact that the blood seal on the deed was not Kuwano's. Is it a statement that shouldn't be taken straight, or is it after all a misunderstanding by Isaka or Matsushige... However, since there was the backing of the family register at least, it's also quite impossible to make it a simple misunderstanding..."
Hearing this opinion of Section Chief Sawai, Nishida made a new proposal.
"Let's try thinking about that by dividing it into several patterns."
"What do you mean?"
"Section Chief! If we exclude the point that Isaka or Matsushige was misunderstanding something, there should be about three reasons why the blood seal and the current Oshima's fingerprints don't match."
Nishida said that and stood before the whiteboard again, beginning to write. Looking at the watch, it was already almost 10:00 PM.
A) Oshima Kaiji is undoubtedly the same person as the Kuwano Kinya on the deed, but only the blood seal on the deed is not Kuwano's (Oshima's).
B) The Kuwano Kinya of the blood seal and the Kuwano Kinya who is the true identity of Oshima Kaiji are completely different people with the same name.
C) The real person of Oshima Kaiji, who is a different person, later impersonated the Kuwano Kinya of the blood seal.
"Is it something like this, the ones I can think of at the moment... The point that the fingerprint of the blood seal was the left or right, or a different type of finger, contrary to Sada Toru's letter, is also rejected by the fact that we confirmed all the fingers of both of Oshima's hands today, so there should be no need to consider it."
Oba, who saw the points Nishida had written out, said,
"About the first theory, there's something that seems like it could be a basis for it."
"What is that?"
"Only Kuwano's blood seal was somehow a thumbprint with the right index finger, right? The others were thumbprints with the right thumb, as Sada Toru wrote, putting aside that Mende's child's portion isn't there. It's a bit strange, isn't it?"
"Just in case, I said it before too, but it's not strange to press a thumbprint with the index finger as well as the thumb, you know?"
Nishida reconfirmed that, but,
"However, to go out of your way to have only one person do that... If everyone was doing it together on the spot, you wouldn't go out of your way to change it, right? If we assume he pressed it at a different place and time for some reason, it might make sense in its own way?" he shot back.