Kusanagi nodded twice, slowly and deeply.
“I understand how you must be feeling. For our part, we’re very conscious that this case comes with a lot of questions. And our investigation will address precisely that point: Why was the body found where it was?”
“Saori...,” began Machiko Namiki. “She was murdered, wasn’t she?” Her voice was faint and had a slight quaver.
“That is a possibility,” replied Kusanagi in a somber tone. “I hope that our investigation will uncover the truth of what happened.”
Machiko’s eyebrows shot up.
“What else could it be, if not murder? You’re not seriously going to tell me that — what? — she went to some stranger’s house in Shizuoka, got sick, and died there?” She was speaking with such fervor that spittle was flying from her lips.
“Come on,” Yutaro chided her. “Calm down.”
Machiko glared at her husband, then silently dropped her eyes. She was breathing so hard that her shoulders were heaving.
“You’re quite right, Mrs. Namiki.” Kusanagi did his best to sound conciliatory. “The circumstances suggest with a high level of possibility that Saori was the victim of some sort of crime. That’s why I would like to ask you whether you noticed anything unusual before your daughter went missing. Did she get any strange phone calls? Did you see anyone suspicious hanging around the house?”
The couple looked at each other. Yutaro then turned to Kusanagi and tilted his head to one side.
“The police asked us the same questions when she went missing. Nothing came to mind then, either. We saw no sign of her associating with bad people; she seemed to be living a completely normal, ordinary life...”
“Did she have a boyfriend?”
Machiko frowned thoughtfully, then looked over at Natsumi, who was sitting beside her.
“My sister asked me to keep it a secret,” began Natsumi, speaking with reluctance, “but she was actually going out with one of the restaurant customers.
“His name was Tomoya Takagaki,” Natsumi said. “He was a little older than Saori, about five years, and he had some sort of an office job. Saori was convinced that our parents would disapprove of her dating a customer, so she didn’t tell anyone about it, except me.”
“Does he still come to the restaurant?”
“Oh, I don’t think he’s been here for about a year now. He used to pop in from time to time after Saori went missing.”
“Do you happen to have his contact details?”
Machiko glanced over at her daughter.
“I can tell you where he works,” said Natsumi. It turned out to be a printing company, not far from the station, four stops along the line.
“Was there anyone else with whom Saori was especially close? Male, female, it doesn’t matter.”
“I can think of several people: school friends and the like. She had an address book. Shall I fetch it for you?” Machiko replied, getting to her feet.
“You can get it for us another time. There is something I would like you all to take a look at now,” said Kusanagi, giving Utsumi a meaningful look.
The female detective slid a photograph out of her bag and laid it flat on the table. It was actually an enlarged color copy of the driver’s license photo for Kanichi Hasunuma. The three members of the Namiki family all craned forward for a closer look.
Machiko was the first to react. She gasped and her big eyes widened further.
“Does the picture mean anything to you?” Kusanagi asked.
Machiko picked up the photograph, scrutinized it closely, then nodded.
“I recognize him. I recognize this man,” she said and handed the photograph to her husband.
Yutaro looked grim. There was an extraordinary intensity in his eyes as he contemplated the picture.
“Yeah, I remember him. It’s that fellow.” He spat the words.
“Who is he?” Natsumi asked innocently. Unlike her parents, she didn’t seem to recognize the man.
“He used to come here a lot. Always on his own and always grumpy... He was a weirdo.” Machiko thrust the picture back at Kusanagi. “So, was it him? Did he murder our Saori?”
“We don’t yet know. All I can say is that we think he may have a connection to the case.” Kusanagi reached out and took the photograph from Machiko’s hand. He held it up so that both the parents could see it. “Clearly, neither of you have very positive feelings toward this man. Did you have some sort of run-in with him?”
“Not exactly a run-in.” Machiko looked to her husband for support.
“We banned him,” Yutaro said.
“You mean, from the restaurant?”
“Yes,” Yutaro said. “The way he behaved — it was intolerable.”
“Why? What did he do?”
“He kept trying to get Saori to pour his drinks for him.”
“Pour his drinks?”
“That’s right.” Yutaro pulled his chin into his neck with an air of distaste. “We’re a small restaurant, so we have lots of regular customers who are more like family friends, really. Saori was very relaxed and comfortable with people like that; she was happy to top off their glasses from the bottle on their table.” Yutaro paused briefly, glared at the photograph in Kusanagi’s hands, then went on. “When he saw her doing that for other people, he was like, ‘Come on, give me a top-off. Oh and come here and sit down next to me.’ He was a customer, so Saori reluctantly did what he asked. And then it went on, the same thing, gradually getting worse and worse. What he said to her, how he treated her, it was uncomfortable... inappropriate. In the end, I had to take a stand. ‘We’re a restaurant, not a hostess bar. We don’t like the way you’re carrying on, so please leave and don’t come back again.’ If I remember right, I didn’t charge him for that final evening.”
“Did he say anything?”
“No, he left without a word.”
“What about after that?”
“After that?” said Yutaro, twisting around to face his wife. “He didn’t come back, did he?”
“No, he never came back.” Machiko shook her head.
“And roughly when did these incidents take place?”
“When would it have been?” Yutaro cocked his head to one side. “Oh, yes. The first time he asked Saori to pour his drinks for him was the day of the big local parade. It went on for more than a month afterward... So that would take us to December, a little over three years ago, I guess.”
“Not long before Saori disappeared,” whispered Natsumi.
“Thank you.” Kusanagi handed the photograph back to Utsumi.
“Who is that guy?” asked Yutaro. His voice had an edge to it. “He came here often enough, but I never knew the first thing about him.”
Kusanagi gave him a conciliatory smile. “I’m very sorry. I can’t share any information with you yet.”
“Can’t you at least tell us his name?” Machiko had a beseeching look in her eyes.
“Please, try and understand. The investigation is only just getting underway. I promise to be back in touch as soon as we have anything to tell you.”
Kusanagi glanced over at Utsumi, then got to his feet and faced the Namikis.
“Thank you all for your help today. We are completely committed to finding out what happened. I sincerely hope that we can count on your support. Thank you and goodbye.” As he said this, he gave a deep bow. Beside him, Detective Utsumi did the same thing.