Chapter 89 - Name and Reality 12 {Combined 23/24} (50–52, 53–54: Consideration of the Reason Kuwano Left the Explosion Site; Returning to Okuda During the Investigation)
◯ Satake Daisuke
Aoi-ikka Affiliate, Secondary Organization: Kantou Takatou-gumi (Nerima Ward), Headquarters Chief (Rank-and-file member in 1995)
Born January 20, 1960. From Mizusawa City, Iwate Prefecture.
"Alibi around November '95 unknown."
◯ Toudate Akira
Aoi-ikka Affiliate, Secondary Organization: Sunpu-gumi (Taito Ward). Already left the group (around January 1996; Rank-and-file member in 1995). Born June 10, 1959. From Otsuchi Town, Iwate Prefecture.
"Alibi around November '95 unknown. (Investigation of surroundings failed partly due to him leaving the group). Current location unknown."
◯ Nakatani Hisashi
Aoi-ikka Affiliate, Tertiary Organization: Munesue-gumi (Mito City), Headquarters Chief (Rank-and-file member in 1995). Born September 21, 1958. From Tono City, Iwate Prefecture.
"There are reports he didn't show his face at the group for a while in early November '95, claiming to go on an overseas trip, but there is no record of immigration entry/exit."
◯ Ooshita Eiichi
Aoi-ikka Affiliate, Tertiary Organization: Kyokkei Kougyou (Toshima Ward), Boss's Aide (Assistant Young Head in 1995).
Born May 31, 1955. From Kuji City, Iwate Prefecture.
"It seems there were many days from October to November '95 when he did not show up at the affiliated front company where he served as an officer."
These four were the Iwate-born organized crime members listed by the National Police Agency's Organized Crime Department as having a high possibility of conspiring with Kagami. Each of their affiliated organizations was said to have a certain level of relationship with the Shiun Association to which Kagami belonged, though the strength varied.
However, it had not been confirmed at this point whether they actually knew Kagami personally. Since they had accomplished a "big job," the selection seemed to focus on members who had "risen in rank" under the assumption that there had been some kind of "reward."
The only one among them, the member called Toudate, had left his group quite early after the incident. However, the relationship between the Shiun Association and the Sunpu Group was the strongest, as the bosses of both groups were close allies who had exchanged sakazuki (T/N: ritual cups of sake to seal a bond) as sworn brothers since their youth, so he was kept on the list just in case.
Furthermore, the Shiun Association and the Sunpu Group were in a cooperative relationship regarding everything from the procurement to the sale of shabu—that is, stimulants—and possessed abundant funds because of it. Within the Aoi-ikka secondary organizations, both were treated merely as general shatei (T/N: younger brothers/underlings), not even shatei-gashira (T/N: senior underlings), yet they were said to have some of the highest shinogi (T/N: income-generating) power within the organization.
Normally, given their contribution to funding, it was expected that one of them should have entered the executive board as a shatei-gashira. However, the current situation seemed to be that the Boss, Takigawa, originally did not think well of money related to shabu, and they were only treated as shatei because of their massive financial contributions. If he truly hated shabu, Takigawa could have maintained his integrity by refusing the money entirely, but the fact that he accepted it readily could be said to represent the pitch-black nature of the yakuza world.
Regarding the list, however, there was a note stating that because it concerned events from seven years ago and was a secret investigation, they had not approached the individuals directly. The indirect inquiries made in their surroundings meant that the alibis, except for Nakatani's, lacked a certain degree of credibility.
"It says here in the notes that the alibis aren't reliable, but is it fairly clear for the other guys?"
After checking the list, I asked Sudo.
"Basically, it's impossible for a mid-level or lower yakuza not to show his face at the group for nearly a week. So, not showing up becomes 'unusual' in itself, and people around them often feel something is off. Looking at the nature of the incident, there's no doubt they were gone for a certain period, right? The problem is the reliability of whether that was around November 11, 1995, the day the incident occurred."
"Ah, I see. That part is difficult after all..."
Nishida could only nod at that reasoning.
"It might become necessary to approach the individuals directly. In that case, we'd use the pattern of... another case..."
Sudo hinted that approaching them directly meant they were considering an investigation via separate-charge arrests. While that was unorthodox, as a practical matter, it was a sufficiently plausible method.
"If we can't flush them out by investigating those outside the Shiun Association connection..."
"Well, if you folks want it, I'm not unwilling to cooperate that far..."
Sudo gave a hesitant reply despite his words, but he surely had anxieties or complaints about not knowing how far the scope of the investigation would expand. Nishida fully understood that expanding the scope would be a massive undertaking. That said, there was no point in discussing hypothetical future scenarios.
"Understood. For now, please continue the investigation into these four."
Nishida had no choice but to say that.
"But if we can get DNA samples from these four in some way, and they match the hair samples from that getaway car, it's a one-shot deal."
Yoshimura, who had been waiting for Nishida to finish the conversation, spoke up with a smile while looking at the list.
"That's true, but it's not guaranteed that the other person besides Kagami definitely dropped any hair... though Kagami's was a perfect match. Hair from seven people was found, but the unknown portions—excluding the owner of the stolen car, their family, and associates—aren't necessarily the culprits themselves."
"Was it six people, excluding Kagami? Well, since people leave their cars at gas stations or auto parts stores, it's entirely possible the hair belongs to someone other than the culprit... But if Kagami dropped his because he took off his balaclava or something, I think there's a high chance the accomplice did something similar."
"I hope so..."
Nishida gave a half-hearted reply, but it wasn't because he disregarded Yoshimura's comment; it was because he was preoccupied with the need to report the match to Takeshita.
Ignoring Yoshimura, who looked a bit miffed at being brushed off, Nishida informed Takeshita of the fingerprint match. Takeshita was naturally pleased, but he then voiced the next question that surfaced.
"However, if it's a match, then the question arises: why did Kuwano leave the scene immediately? What do you think?"
Since it was an unexpected turn of events, Nishida was at a loss for words, but he managed to deflect for the moment.
"Hmm, you're right. I guess we need to think about that mystery now."
"Ah, no, sorry... I'm not a detective anymore, so I shouldn't be butting in."
He seemed to have suddenly come to his senses and reconsidered his position, but to Nishida, Takeshita's reasoning was worth hearing and not an unnecessary comment.
"No, no, if you have thoughts, I'd like to hear them."
"Is that so? I'm honored you'd say that."
"No, I mean it, really!"
Nishida felt a bit of a sting in Takeshita's tone, so he hurriedly explained, fearing it had been taken as sarcasm.
"Eh? I'm taking it at face value, is that too presumptuous?"
Takeshita replied with a laugh, so Nishida hurriedly repeated,
"No, no, just like that! Take it just like that!"
Since he felt he had been misunderstood by Yoshimura just a moment ago, he might have had a desire to avoid being misunderstood twice in a row.
"That doesn't really matter, though... Well then, let me list a few possibilities."
Takeshita prefaced his words and continued.
"What I'm thinking of at the moment is the pattern where he wanted to flee the scene due to the shock of seeing his colleague die in an explosion. Psychologically, this isn't an impossible story. However, if it means he abandoned his job and never returned, it seems excessive. From the wording of the letter left by Sada Toru, we can see he was a person with a strong sense of responsibility."
"True. In that case, what about the possibility of suicide right after?"
"I wonder... I don't think it's impossible, but to go as far as suicide from the shock..."
Takeshita didn't say it, but it was clear he felt there was no need to consider it that far. That said, Nishida himself had only mentioned it as a hypothesis and thought the probability was quite low.
"Then I'll move to the next one, okay? Well, this is a bit bold, but he was actually involved in the explosion itself in some way, so he needed to run."
Takeshita chuckled as he said this. He likely thought it was impossible.
"Realistically, you think the possibility is low?"
"Well, yes. It seems the accident happened during the foolish act of manually moving the naval mine, so I don't think anything was rigged. I don't know if it was a coincidence, but he probably survived because he was far away at the time of the explosion, and I don't think remote control was possible back then. I doubt it happened."
Without even waiting for Nishida's opinion, he completed the thought from proposal to denial himself.
"Is there anything else?"
"Yes. This also seems like a bit of a leap, but it's just that the accident and his own flight happened to coincide."
"Hmm?"
Nishida asked back, not understanding the meaning.
"It's about when I requested Senior Igarashi to interview for the correction article... According to the reports at the time, after Kuwano went missing, Sanyu Metal Mining checked Kuwano's quarters and found that his belongings had already been taken out. Unless he had hidden and returned after the accident, it means he had taken out the necessary items before heading to that accident site in Yubetsu. In that case, my thought is that he intended to disappear at that point. From another perspective, you could say he used the opportunity of leaving the mine for work to flee, rather than it being a coincidence."
"Umu, certainly that last story might make quite a bit of sense."
Immediately after Nishida finished saying that, the words of the old man Amai in Kamaishi suddenly crossed his mind. The fact that Kuwano was actually leaning toward socialism and communism. At that moment, Nishida suddenly reconnected that with the theory Takeshita had just dismissed—that he was "intentionally involved in the explosion." Could it have been an act of terrorism against the police by Kuwano? Had he intended to flee from the start after causing the explosion? Such suspicions rapidly reared their heads.
After explaining the detailed story of Kuwano's student days he had heard from Amai to Takeshita, Nishida brought up the previous theory again. Even though it was a theory Takeshita had laughed off himself, he seemed to be reconsidering Nishida's idea. Then he spoke slowly.
"I see... It was exactly the era when the left wing was becoming radicalized under the pressure of the government's Red Purge, so that itself might not be far-fetched. However, even if he was an intellectual, I still doubt whether Kuwano had acquired the technology for such a remote detonation. And above all, the decision for the public detonation was made less than a week before the scheduled date. If the request for engineers was sent to the Konomai Mine after that, it would have been just a few days before. It seems quite a stretch to think Kuwano planned and executed an act of terrorism against the police or whatever it was in that time... Besides, the records from back then clearly show they were moving the mine in a sloppy manner, so the cause of the explosion is far more likely to be that, right? Well, the idea that there was 'sloppy guidance' regarding the intentional movement of the mine by Kuwano is also unlikely, considering he was in an 'apprentice' state as an engineer..."
"I see... the time issue is especially big..."
Nishida lightly tapped his own head.
"Besides, if Kuwano were to commit a red terror act, I think he would have already blown up the gold mine itself, which was the capitalists' money tree. He must have used dynamite daily in his work. Also, immediately after the explosion, he did things like informing the police of his colleague's death—things he probably wouldn't bother doing if he had pulled off something like that. I think you're overthinking it. Besides, based on that story from Amai-san I just heard from you, Nishida-san, regardless of his ideology, Kuwano doesn't seem like the type to become a radical who would involve even his colleagues..."
Takeshita's tone was a gentle denial, but Nishida felt as though his content had completely dismissed the idea.
"I see... understood. In that case, in your mind, the most likely theory is that he had originally planned to disappear by using the dispatch to Yubetsu, right?"
As Nishida tried to conclude, Takeshita hesitated.
"No, there is one more thing, though..."
"What, there's more?"
"Yes, just in case."
"Since you're at it, say it."
"Is that so... well then."
Takeshita projected an air of reluctance over the phone, but as if making up his mind, he began to speak rapidly.
"It's going to be a rather abstract story, so please forgive me for that... To put it simply, by not being accidentally caught in the explosion, Kuwano suddenly had a reason to flee. That's what I mean."
Hearing this, Nishida thought it was a very un-Takeshita-like idea.
"Wait a minute. But if that's the case, wouldn't it fail to explain at all why Kuwano had prepared and taken his luggage?"
"No, you're exactly right. Exactly right!"
Takeshita repeated "exactly right" for emphasis.
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"Then what is it!"
Nishida asked, not hiding a bit of irritation.
"I'm sorry, but honestly, I can't explain that part logically. That's why I didn't want to say it..."
It was a response at a level beyond being un-Takeshita-like; it was as if something was wrong with him.
"Hey, hey! You're supposed to be the type who hates saying things that don't make sense!"
It wasn't that he saw a rare chance to corner Takeshita, but Nishida pressed him all at once.
"I'm really sorry..."
That was all he would say.
However, now that it had come to this, Nishida wanted to probe the intent behind the statement. No matter what, he shouldn't be the type to state a theory with absolutely no merit. Even if intuition had crept in, he felt it wouldn't hurt to hear Takeshita's hunch.
"Alright, I get it. It's fine if it's incomplete, just tell me the reason you're thinking that way. I won't complain about every little thing."
At the coaxing tone, Takeshita began to speak as if he had made up his mind.
"Understood. Then I won't hold back... Based on Senior Igarashi's story from interviewing Sanyu Metal Mining and my own research, at the very least, Kuwano's work environment at the time didn't seem that bad. It might have been tough when he started as a miner, but he quickly switched to being a blasting engineer. Even if he was an apprentice. I heard the pay was good for the time. I don't have knowledge of the market rates back then, so it's hard to say for sure."
"But Kuwano himself held political ideologies that conflicted with such capitalists. No, there's no guarantee that continued at the time... In that case, regardless of the treatment, isn't there a high possibility that he didn't feel comfortable in a true sense?"
Nishida stuck to the approach based on Kuwano's ideology.
"Naturally, there might have been that aspect. However, even considering the story of that man Amai, who was Kuwano's junior, Kuwano was a relatively mild-mannered person, and his awakening to such ideologies might have been because he saw the impoverished local people given the social conditions of the time. Conversely, I doubt the situation at the Konomai Mine was so uncomfortable that he had to run away."
"But he's a man who might have traveled around for 'practice,' specifically to see places with poor treatment for workers firsthand. Regardless of treatment, it's entirely possible that a large-scale gold mine, which is like a lump of capitalism ideologically, was uncomfortable."
Nishida was refuting him a bit stubbornly.
"I won't completely deny that. However, since it was a leftist ideology he had been leaning toward since his student days, quite a few years must have passed by the time Kuwano was panning for gold in Ikutahara. Yet, the character evaluation of Kuwano matches perfectly between what Amai felt back then and what was in the letter Sada Toru wrote. As long as we take your story as a premise, considering the reason he leaned toward leftist ideology, I think it's highly possible he still had doubts about hardcore capitalism and totalitarianism back then, but since he went so far as to join Sanyu Metal Mining, I don't think he hated it so extremely at the time that he would cause a terrorist act."
"But isn't it possible he had the purpose of seeing society from the same position as people in such weak positions—meaning, people like mine workers—as I said earlier?"
Nishida persistently applied Amai's theory.
"Well, that might have happened... However, in either case, I believe he probably wasn't the type to do something destructive or impulsive."
"Alright... Let's set that point aside for now. There's no doubt he was an intellectual. Well, intellectuals can run wild in their own way, though..."
Nishida added the last part under his breath.
"Then on top of that... In that case, directly, no reason for Kuwano to suddenly flee from the Konomai Mine can be found before the accident. He seemed to be doing his job properly, and there was talk of him being promoted to engineer."
"I suppose."
"However, when the explosion occurred, while taking the somewhat responsible action of properly informing the police of his colleague's death, he himself disappeared without meeting his superiors at the Konomai Mine or reporting to them... I feel a considerable discrepancy, a sense of wrongness here. Could some significant meaning be hidden in that? Could it be related to the reason Kuwano disappeared from the scene? That's what I mean. But combined with the matter of the luggage, I can't explain it well, which is frustrating..."
"Hmm... As a theory, it's insufficient, but it's certainly not impossible that what you're concerned about exists. On the other hand, it's a shame the story doesn't come together as a whole..."
Nishida limited himself to saying that. He was aware that if Takeshita didn't understand it, he wouldn't be able to figure it out so easily, frustrating as it was. However, as long as it couldn't be explained, he couldn't keep dwelling on it. For now, they tentatively concluded that the two theories—that he fled from shock, or that he had planned to disappear from the start using the departure from Konomai as a trigger—seemed "reasonably" possible.
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June 6th. While keeping in touch with the Organized Crime Department of the National Police Agency and monitoring the investigation of the four individuals, an unexpected situation suddenly befell the dedicated team. In the early hours, a convenience store robbery occurred within the jurisdiction of the Kitami Station in Oketo Town. It hadn't resulted in murder; it was a robbery-assault where a night-shift part-time clerk was slashed with a knife. However, since the initial investigation was crucial, the First Investigation Division of the Regional Headquarters also needed to provide early support. Therefore, even though they were a dedicated team, Nishida and the others were called out to the investigation.
Based on information that the culprit had headed north on Route 242 (the same national highway Nishida and the others used between Engaru and Rubeshibe when traveling back and forth between Engaru and Kitami) in a white or silver passenger car, it was thought they had either continued toward Rubeshibe or escaped toward Kunneppu or Kitami via Hokkaido Road 50, which branched off midway.
Also, since the license plate had not been confirmed, it was unknown whether they were caught by the N-system near the Kitami city boundary without scrutinizing the relevant time slots. For that reason, Nishida's team was tasked with door-to-door canvassing in a part of Kunneppu Town from early morning.
Even so, although it was early June in Hokkaido, it became rapidly hot from the morning, and the weather exceeded 25 degrees before noon. The eastern Hokkaido region is basically cool except in midsummer, but the Abashiri-Kitami region is sometimes hit by weather like the Foehn phenomenon across the Daisetsuzan mountain range, causing temperatures to jump suddenly. Although it happens about once a year, it is not a rare region to have the highest temperature in all of Japan.
It is a region with very large swings in temperature, where it can snow even in May, while at the same time, it can exceed 30 degrees in that same May. Of course, Kitami and Engaru, where they were before, have the characteristics of a basin, so the rise and fall of the temperature is even more intense.
Under such circumstances, Nishida and Yoshimura took off their jackets and drove with the windows fully open while moving by car. Using the air conditioning was an option, but Nishida disliked the smell of it, and fortunately, even if the temperature rose in Hokkaido, the humidity was low, so it was more pleasant to cool off with the wind coming into the car (Author's Note: Since the "Name and Reality" chapters, I have been checking past weather conditions on the Japan Meteorological Agency's website, so the weather conditions are basically written based on historical facts).
Now, while Nishida and Yoshimura were doing inquiries in the assigned area for a while, Nishida eventually came around a house he recognized. It was near the house of Okuda Mitsuru, who had provided several pieces of quite important information during the investigation back in '95.
Naturally, since the investigation target was a part of Kunneppu Town, he also recognized it as Okuda's local area, and since he was aware beforehand that the assigned district was where Okuda's house was if his memory was correct, he wasn't particularly surprised.
However, seeing it in person, a sudden sense of nostalgia welled up. Of course, he was there for the investigation, but he felt like making an intentional "detour." Since Nishida's partner at the time had been Kitamura, Yoshimura had not visited for inquiries together, and even when Okuda visited the Engaru Station, he happened not to be at the station, so he had no direct acquaintance. However, since Okuda's existence had been an important key point in the investigation, he naturally knew of him well. When Nishida told him it was Okuda's house,
"Come to think of it, he was a person from Kunneppu, wasn't he?"
He nodded.
After first "clearing" the other houses in the vicinity, they visited the Okuda residence last. When they rang the chime and announced they were the police, Okuda appeared sluggishly at the entrance. As expected, he gave the impression of having become somewhat smaller than seven years ago. However, when he confirmed with his own eyes that the policeman was Nishida, he was more pleased than surprised. This was partly because Nishida had a mind to surprise him a bit and hadn't introduced himself directly at the intercom.
"Whoa, it was Nishida-san, right!? It's been a long time, hey! Has it been seven years? Since Kitamura-san's funeral?"
"That's right... I think it's definitely been since then. The person next to me is my subordinate, Yoshimura. He was working with me at the Engaru Station back then too, but this is his first time meeting you, Okuda-san."
Nishida introduced Yoshimura for the time being, and then,
"Nice to meet you. I have often heard of your name from Nishida, as you provided important investigation information, so I know you well,"
Yoshimura offered an unusually polite greeting.
"Ah, I see! Oh, it's no good here, come on in! I can't offer much hospitality, though."
Nishida had anticipated this development in his heart, but even if it wasn't a major incident, they were in the middle of an investigation, so he hesitated on what to do. However, they were going to do inquiries anyway, and he leaned toward the feeling that about ten minutes wouldn't be a big problem.
"Actually, as you might know, Okuda-san, we're doing inquiries around here regarding the convenience store robbery that happened in neighboring Oketo, and that's why we've come to visit. It's a kind offer, but we can't stay long."
He tried to decline lightly as a matter of form. At the same time, it was a refusal made while thinking it would probably be ignored anyway.
"If it's just drinking a bit of tea and talking, you can fudge it as part of the investigation, right?"
Laughing like that, Okuda half-forced the two from the entrance into the house.