Chapter 92 - Name and Reality 15 {Combined 28/29} (61-62, 63-64: Kuwano's Cousin, Onodera Michitoshi, Had Died in the Naval Mine Accident)
"Hey! I looked through to the end, but what on earth does this mean?"
Nishida questioned his subordinate after finishing a quick confirmation.
"Did you look at it properly!? Team Leader! Get it together! It's right here, here!"
Yoshimura, who had stepped out of the car, snatched the booklet back from Nishida as if stealing it, flipped through the pages, and pointed to a specific section. Nishida turned his gaze there once more.
After staring for a few seconds, he finally understood Yoshimura's intent. In that section was the name "Onodera Michitoshi."
"I'm sure you remember, but if my memory serves me right, the name of Kuwano Kinya's cousin on the family register transcript we received in Ofunato was Onodera Michitoshi, right? Moreover, the date of death on the register was Showa 17, May... it should have been the 20... 26th!"
"Oh! Now that you mention it, that's right! Up until the 20-something of May, Showa 17, it should be exactly as you say... I see! Back then, I wasn't even conscious of the date the Yubetsu Mine Accident occurred! Even so, you noticed it well! If I had sent this off to Takeshita without reading to the end, we would have remained ignorant of this fact!"
As Nishida spoke, he gripped Yoshimura's shoulders with both hands and shook him vigorously.
"It's thanks to that sudden squall earlier. I didn't even intend to look at the contents of the booklet from the start!"
"A blessing in disguise, or whatever you want to call it! Let's get back and check the family register immediately! Drink this!"
This time, Nishida repeatedly thrust the cola in front of his subordinate's face.
"I get it! I'll drink it right now!"
Yoshimura spoke as if soothing his superior, who was now more excited than he was.
Once Yoshimura finished gulping down the cola, the two hurried back into the car and sped off from the narrow station road toward the national highway.
Just as Yoshimura had declared, he drove so fast from there that one might think it better to have a red light attached, sliding into the Area Headquarters parking lot in just under thirty minutes.
The two shoved their suit jackets, the booklet, and the empty can into the cardboard box and ran up the stairs of the Area Headquarters building. Entering the Investigation Division 1 room, they tossed the box onto the desk haphazardly and rushed straight to the cabinet containing the records.
They pulled the door open roughly and took out the family register transcript they had received at the Ryori branch office from among the files of investigative materials.
"Ah, it's a perfect match!"
Looking at the family register transcript, they instantly confirmed that Onodera Michitoshi's date of death matched the date of the Yubetsu Mine Accident, May 26, Showa 17, and shared a high-five.
"It's not a coincidence, is it? Without a doubt, Kuwano's cousin was at that site. And Kuwano was at that site too!"
Nishida nodded silently to his subordinate, who was peering into his face.
"Alright, I'm calling Takeshita now to confirm!"
Nishida said this and tried to contact Takeshita via mobile phone. However, it went to voicemail.
"Tch, not connecting at a crucial time like this."
He sat down while clicking his tongue, trying to calm his excitement for the moment. Yoshimura also sat in a chair and, as if to hide his restlessness, took the empty can out of the cardboard box and threw it into the recycling bin.
From among the colleagues who had been watching the two in silence, Team Leader Kusaka called out.
"Did something happen in Engaru?"
"A little something. It's not directly related to the shooting incident, though."
"I see... Could it be about Sada Minoru?"
Among the subordinates under Nishida's command, everyone except Yoshimura was not directly investigating the Sada Minoru case from fifteen years ago. However, perhaps because they knew Nishida and Yoshimura were investigating the shooting incident with that in mind, they seemed to grasp the situation to some extent just from Nishida's phrasing.
"Yeah, that's right. Either way, it's not like it links directly to that either, but..."
"I see... We don't know the details, but I hope it clears things up. If there's movement over there, it'll probably have a good influence here too."
After saying that, Kusaka returned to looking through the materials from back then, scouring the Hokkaido-based organized crime groups that likely participated in the shooting incident against the construction company that was probably used as a dummy.
Since there was information on a large number of people, he had been made to look through it during idle moments since April, but he still hadn't finished reviewing everything. It seemed like it was about to be completed, though...
"Team Leader! By the way, regarding the Onodera matter, if Kuwano was an employee of the Konomai Gold Mine, in what capacity would Onodera have been at the site? Thinking common-sensically, the probability of them happening to encounter the accident together by mere chance would be astronomical, so I can only think there was some reason they were together."
Seeing that the conversation with Kusaka had ended, Yoshimura brought the topic back.
"In other words, you're saying that like Kuwano, Onodera was also working at Konomai, and they were caught in the explosion accident there?"
"Exactly!"
"Now that you mention it, that flow is the most natural..."
Nishida's mind had stopped at the fact that the cousin, Onodera, was at the same accident site as Kuwano, but it seemed Yoshimura was also thinking about the reason he was at the site. Nishida had always thought he possessed a unique flash of inspiration or luck, but even as a subordinate, he certainly felt his growth.
"But if that's the case, it means Kuwano vanished after only confirming the death while his younger cousin was being blown to pieces, right? Isn't that a bit cruel? Since the fact seems to be that the man named Kuwano was as upright as his reputation suggests, the point where he suddenly disappeared by himself in the midst of such an accident already feels quite strange... On top of that, if a blood relative died, isn't that an even more terrible story?"
Now that it was mentioned, if Kuwano was indeed a person of character, leaving the scene after only providing information about the deceased to the police from a site that had become a scene of agonizing cries—while not entirely irresponsible since he did report to the police—was certainly somewhat irresponsible. When he discussed Kuwano's actions with Takeshita the other day, they couldn't reach a conclusion, but Yoshimura's story seemed to make it even more difficult.
"Hmm, it's exactly as Yoshimura says."
Nishida groaned.
At that moment, Nishida's mobile phone suddenly rang. It was from Takeshita.
"Yeah! It's me."
"Sorry, I was in the middle of an interview at the Monbetsu City Hall until just now, so I couldn't answer immediately. What is it?"
"Oh, I see. Actually, I got the investigative materials you asked for in Engaru."
"Ah, sorry about that. So, how was it?"
The tone of Takeshita's voice gave the impression that he had somehow inadvertently forgotten that he had asked for it. That said, this was no time to worry about such things.
"Well, the materials from back then hadn't been found because I contacted them just this morning... Since it couldn't be helped, I got the booklet for the 60th anniversary of the explosion accident made by the Engaru Station..."
"Ouch, that one... Actually, I was also covering the day of the memorial ceremony this year, and I've already obtained that on-site... To begin with, there wasn't anything particularly new in there either, was there?"
Takeshita reacted with disappointment before Nishida could finish speaking.
"Was that so... Well, I had also seen the articles Takeshita wrote and recognized that it didn't change much from those, so I didn't not consider that possibility."
"No, I'm really sorry. For that reason, you can just dispose of it. Well then."
To Takeshita, who announced this and tried to end the conversation on his own,
"Wait a minute, I'm not finished yet!"
Nishida hurriedly restrained him.
"Is there something else?"
Perhaps because he had no inkling, he raised a bewildered voice, but
"When you contacted me about the story that Kuwano worked at Konomai, I told you about how Yoshimura and I went to Iwate, right?"
When Nishida conveyed this,
"Ah, yes. What about it?"
Takeshita still seemed not to understand the meaning of Nishida's statement.
"So, at that time. Do you remember the story about getting the family register of what is likely the family of Kuwano's mother's older sister in Ofunato, his mother's birthplace?"
"Yes, of course."
"A name identical to the person who corresponds to Kuwano's cousin in that family register was listed in the victim list of the booklet I got today. Yoshimura noticed it."
"Heh! That's very interesting! If it's the same person, that's an amazing probability! But if it's not a rare name, there's also the possibility it's someone else. Well, if you tell me the name, I still have that here too, so I'll check it right now."
Takeshita conveyed this lightly to Nishida, but
"The guy's name is Onodera Michitoshi. The usual Onodera, with the 'Michi' from Hokkaido and the 'Toshi' from profit."
The moment he heard that from Nishida's mouth, the situation on the other end of the phone changed completely.
"W-Wait a minute! It's Onodera Michitoshi!? That's definitely the name of the colleague who went from Konomai to Yubetsu with Kuwano and was blown to death!"
He shouted.
"I thought so! Since the date of death is exactly the day of the explosion accident, I thought there was likely no mistake!"
Nishida said this and made an OK sign with his fingers to Yoshimura, suggesting that the deduction was correct. Meanwhile, Takeshita, regardless of Nishida's joy, began talking to himself as if in a monologue.
"Kuwano was working with his cousin at Konomai... When I wrote about the Konomai dynamite technician being involved in this newspaper article, I didn't put out the individual names of the victims, and when I met Nishida-san and Yoshimura in Kitami and was asked, I wrote the summary of the interview in Nishida-san's notebook centering on the Boss's matter, so regarding the fact that I talked to the bereaved families and the university professor, I shouldn't have written specific detailed names... Even if Nishida-san had looked at both the article and the notes properly, noticing it from there would normally have been impossible... This time, noticing it by looking properly as far as the victim list in the booklet was truly a great catch. It's almost like it was guided by God!"
Indeed, it could be said that this discovery was only established because Yoshimura had firmly remembered the cousin's name and, moreover, checked as far as the victim list.
"No, actually, the element of luck was quite strong, to be honest. Explaining the details is a pain, but not only did we get the booklet, noticing that part was nothing but a kind of luck... Of course, Yoshimura's feat is a feat, but coincidences also overlapped!"
Nishida was reflecting on the events on the way back from Engaru.
"Well, that guy has that kind of strong pull... In my memory, the victim list in that booklet was in syllabary order, and it didn't even say what kind of position the person held, right? I'll check now..."
After saying that, and after the sound of searching through a drawer or something for a while,
"I found it! It was just as I thought."
He said.
"But since Yoshimura firmly remembered the date of death recorded in the family register transcript, it's not such a common name, and I was convinced that the one listed was definitely the cousin. And thinking common-sensically, he also guessed that the two were likely involved in the incident in the same capacity."
"That too! Yoshimura does it once in a while! Tell him, 'It'll snow tomorrow.'"
Takeshita made a light spiteful remark, but his voice was bright.
"However, if that's the case, and this was also told to me by Yoshimura, combined with what I talked about with you the other day, various strange stories will come out."
In contrast, Nishida's voice had become somewhat dark.
"Eh—, I suppose it's about what the reason was for Kuwano to suddenly vanish even though his colleague and cousin had died?"
"As expected of Takeshita. Bingo. What do you think?"
"If we include the previous story, the idea that he was shocked would at least be consistent. However, if the one who died was his cousin, the degree of shock might be too strong to even feel like running away, or alternatively, a pattern where a sense of responsibility as a blood relative to stay until the end comes out is also possible. Besides, it's a bit late now, but I feel like Kuwano isn't the kind of irresponsible person who would run away after a major accident. This is based on a thorough scrutiny of the information so far."
"Regarding that point, Yoshimura also said he was strangely too cold-hearted."
"I see... Yes, that's right... If he really just vanished like that, it would be as Yoshimura says... but something still bothers me."
"Other than that, the idea that he originally intended to vanish somewhere and it just happened to overlap with the accident, or that some reason to vanish arose due to the explosion accident, came up when we talked before. But regarding the last one, if we consider that Kuwano had moved his luggage in advance, a contradiction of spontaneity comes out, and I think it's quite weak. In the first place, I don't really understand why he would need to run away because of an explosion accident."
Nishida strengthened his tone, perhaps because he was becoming irritated.
"Whether it's the story that he originally intended to vanish, or that some reason was created by the accident and the need to run away arose, the connection to the man named Kuwano leaving his cousin to run away while he was being blown to death has become harder to make than before, including the character evaluation. Rather, the flight due to shock has also become suspicious here, but by comparison, it still makes more sense. I denied it before, but if a blood relative died, the theory of suicide somewhere after running away has gained a bit of ground, though only a very little."
Takeshita also seemed to be pondering while going in circles over the same point, but in any case, it could be said that the situation had deepened in confusion.
In the midst of that, Nishida remembered something important.
"Wait a minute! The scrap of cloth from Oshima that Koshiba sent!"
"There was that scrap... I see! That way of tearing and the bloodstains!"
Takeshita said that much and then suddenly became silent.
"If that was something generated during the naval mine explosion, and moreover, the bloodstains belong to the cousin Onodera who died in the explosion accident, then up to that point, it's consistent!"
There was a meaning to Nishida saying "up to that point." Takeshita also recognized that.
"The problem is that the vanished Kuwano is not Oshima, that's the point."
"That's it! Oshima and Kuwano's fingerprints don't match. If Kuwano had matched Oshima, the story would connect beautifully with Oshima having the scrap in Tokyo as a memento of Onodera, but the reality was different..."
"However, to put it extremely, that's the only problem... It was the same seven years ago, but the only thing that becomes strange is that Kuwano's fingerprints and Oshima's fingerprints don't match. If Oshima were Kuwano, everything would be consistent!"
It was an unusually forceful way of speaking, but Takeshita's strain was well-conveyed to Nishida, and at the same time, he understood that feeling painfully well. Because the only problem was too large a barrier.
"What about the story that Oshima was also a matrilineal relative of Kuwano and Onodera?"
It was a desperate measure, but Nishida proposed a new idea based on the fact that in the undercover investigation at Onneyu Onsen at the end of 1995, the mitochondrial DNA of the blood on the scrap matched Oshima Kaiji's (regarding the DNA of the blood seal, at the time the degree of oxidation was strong, and it was impossible to appraise, including the mitochondrial DNA).
"Hmm... Because of the influence of the tsunami, not only Kuwano's but also the Onodera side's family registers were reconstructed, and it was impossible to trace back further than that, right? If so, we don't know from the family register at this point whether the person who took that scrap, namely the actual person thought to be Oshima Kaiji, is connected to the two through the matrilineal line... Appraisally, such a deduction is not impossible, but..."
Recognizing that Takeshita was at a loss for words, Nishida added a more specific idea.
"Kuwano and Onodera were working together at Konomai, but Onodera was blown to death in the naval mine accident, and Kuwano fled the scene with a piece of clothing as a memento. And somewhere, Kuwano met up with the actual person of Oshima and came to possess the memento... Even so, too many arbitrary scenarios have entered into this."
Nishida chuckled to himself before hearing an opinion.
"Regardless of that, the problem of the part where Oshima has switched places as Kuwano will follow us around in the end. We don't know if he was murdered or what happened."
Takeshita also spoke in a way that suggested he was giving up.
"Honestly, it doesn't seem like a conclusion will come out even if we keep agonizing over it here."
Nishida broached the subject without much delay.
"Yeah. Unfortunately, nothing comes to mind right away."
Takeshita agreed.
"Alright! Then let's put it on the shelf. If no ideas come out no matter how much we think, it can't be helped. Even so, the investigation is also slightly deadlocked, so maybe I'll take the plunge and go to the NPA in Tokyo."
"What do you mean by stopping by the NPA?"
"You know about the Kagami matter, right? Various information might come out again regarding the accomplice at Kyoritsu Hospital."
"Eh? Is that so! That's something to look forward to."
Takeshita said this and was happy for a moment, but
"That said, I'm not a police officer anymore, so it was useless to hear it."
He switched to an abruptly cold way of speaking.
"Hey now, you might not be a detective anymore, but to me, you're not a complete outsider! In a sense, I'm counting on you! Even this time, didn't you go out of your way to let me know about the Kuwano matter! Of course, it's not like I can reveal everything."
Nishida said this, trying not to let Takeshita lose heart.
"It's a natural story for me to let you know. It's not on the level of a detective or a newspaper reporter! In a sense, it's on the level of a citizen's duty to report."
Takeshita, whether he knew Nishida's feelings or not, brought up a matter of principle.
"Stiff as always."
Nishida laughed lightly, but
"That stiffness of yours is also the reason why, even after leaving the police, you're still worth trusting and I rely on you in the investigation, so it can't be helped, right?"
He continued in a serious tone.
"I am honored to receive such an excessive evaluation."
He replied as if joking on purpose, seemingly taking it as a mere social pleasantry, but
"It's an appropriate evaluation, from your former superior. Besides, even after quitting being a detective, you still have some lingering regrets about this case, don't you?"
Nishida asked once more.
Takeshita remained silent throughout regarding that, but as his former superior, Nishida was convinced that was an affirmative answer. There was no doubt that the reason he quit included a "quiet anger" at not being able to investigate as he wished.
"If anything bothers that brain of yours, don't hesitate to tell me anytime! I intend to provide information within the range I can provide at any time as well."
Before hearing an answer, Nishida had blurted that out.
"Well, if anything bothers me, I will report it to you, Nishida-san. No, that said, as expected, if there's a problem in terms of ethics as someone involved in reporting, I can't make a commitment there."
Takeshita added a "reservation" typical of him, but there would probably be almost no need to worry about the existence of such a case.
"By the way, regarding Kuwano, it seems you were able to investigate various things at the Sanyu headquarters in Tokyo, but can you also investigate Onodera? If it's possible, there's a way to get that done in Tokyo too."
"There should be materials, and I think it's possible. Ah, that's right! Please wait a moment. At least regarding the accident investigation report, it should naturally be the same as the one I got for the Kuwano matter, so I think it'll be written about Onodera there too, so I'll check it since I have it on hand now!"
Takeshita said that, and the conversation between the two was interrupted for a while.
"Sorry to keep you waiting! Regarding the situation at the time, the three people who died, including Onodera, were, according to the testimony Kuwano gave to the police, monitoring nearby while the vigilante corps and the police were moving the naval mine. It seems he did give advice like 'It shouldn't be moved too much,' but he didn't seem to give strong instructions. Well, between a naval mine and dynamite, the former is made to explode and the latter is made to be used safely, so if he were considered to be skilled in handling them just because of the commonality of being explosives, he would have been troubled."
"Come to think of it, why on earth was Kuwano not participating in that work?"
"As far as it's written here, it seems that by chance, at the instruction of the person in charge, he went to get some kind of tool from the place where they had put their belongings together, and it exploded at that exact moment. This is what you call a narrow escape from death."
"I see, that guy has strong bad luck. Even so, did Onodera work at Konomai before Kuwano? Or was it after?"
"Common-sensically, isn't the story where Kuwano was first and got Onodera the job easier to understand? Regarding the accident report, it's detailed about the circumstances of the hiring for Kuwano, who went missing, but for Onodera and the others who died, it doesn't write about those kinds of things... For Kuwano, they had to think about the reason he went missing, so I think they described that much. Therefore, I think it's better to investigate those areas properly too."
"After all, to look at other materials, would it be better to go to the Sanyu headquarters in Tokyo while I'm at it for the NPA?"
"If you can go, by all means."
Receiving Takeshita's immediate response, Nishida's mind was made up.
"Understood. I'm in the middle of requesting an investigation from the National Police Agency too, and I want to investigate that story directly as well, so I'll go to Tokyo!"
Nishida said this and checked with Onga. Naturally, the general content of the conversation must have reached Onga's ears as well.
"I'm going to Tokyo, can I leave the rest to you?"
Since their eyes met, Nishida asked for permission from his older subordinate without hesitation, moving his face away from the mobile phone once.
"Can't be helped, can it?"
Onga, the clerk-like figure, spoke a bit more bluntly than usual, but perhaps he inwardly felt, "You guys are going on too many business trips!" In fact, even if it was a big step forward for Nishida and the others who had been involved in the investigation from the beginning, it wouldn't be strange if it looked like there were no concrete results from the perspective of Onga and the others. This is because no discovery that would lead directly to the arrest of the culprit had been found yet from Nishida and the others moving around.
However, from the perspective of Nishida and Yoshimura themselves, the situation was steadily progressing. They believed that the accumulation of these "trivial" facts would function as a fuse for the explosives that would suddenly destroy the wall in front of them. And, suddenly remembering what he had talked about with Yoshimura in the car, he put his face back to the phone and
"By the way, if you went to the memorial ceremony for coverage, didn't you meet the Boss there?"
He checked with Takeshita.
"No, I didn't see the Boss's figure at all. I met various people because I was doing various interviews, but I'm sure he didn't come."
Takeshita denied it flatly.
*
Before noon on June 10, Nishida and Yoshimura arrived at Haneda Airport by air from Memanbetsu Airport and were having lunch at an airport restaurant. When they left Kitami, the temperature was about 10 degrees, an unbelievably low temperature compared to just recently, but Tokyo was a comfortable 24 degrees.
Nishida was checking the schedule while drinking post-meal coffee. First, stop by the Sanyu Metal Mining headquarters to receive materials related to Onodera Michitoshi, and then arrange for an investigative consultation at the National Police Agency.
Originally, on the morning of the next day, the 11th, he intended to stop by the Mejiro Station, which was conducting a preliminary investigation on "Oshita," who was seen as the most suspicious accomplice of Kagami, and hear the detailed story, but on the morning of the day, he was politely refused by the Organized Crime Department of the Mejiro Station, saying that since they were following the instructions of the NPA's Organized Crime Department, it would be a double effort even if he came. For that reason, the schedule for the next day suddenly opened up. He could have used that for a night out under the name of information exchange, but Takagaki refused, saying he was busy with work, so he had to think about how to kill time.
On the other hand, although it was only inside Haneda Airport even if it was Tokyo, it was wrapped in a strange atmosphere, to put it exaggeratedly. The previous night, Japan had defeated Russia in the World Cup group stage and was getting excited about breaking through the league. Yoshimura was also rejoicing at Japan's victory while looking at a sports newspaper. Nishida was a baseball fan, so he didn't have as much joy as the public or Yoshimura, but since the first-ever breakthrough of the World Cup group stage in the history of the Japan national soccer team would be certain if they won against Tunisia on the next June 14, he might have been a little elated.
After lunch, they headed to Hamamatsucho by monorail, and from there, they hesitated between the Keihin-Tohoku Line or the Yamanote Line, but got off at Shinbashi Station on the Keihin-Tohoku Line. From there, they headed to the Sanyu Metal Mining headquarters in Shiodome.
The one who welcomed the two was a Senior Staff member named Kusumi from the Public Relations Department. From what he had heard from Takeshita about Igarashi's dispatch to Sanyu, Nishida thought that this man must have been the person in charge at that time as he received the business card.