‘Now Chief Inspector Mori and I discussed this particular case at length and we both felt that, because of the state of the body, because of the shortage of manpower, the shortage of resources, our efforts were better directed towards other cases…
‘And so, ultimately, it was my decision to roll the banner back up again and close this case.’
Chief Inspector Adachi has his head bowed. Inspector Adachi does not look up. Adachi says, ‘I am sorry. Please excuse my rudeness and my presumption. I am sorry. It was not my intention to cast aspersions or make insinuations about the competence of Chief Inspector Mori. We all worked with him and we all learned from him. We all valued him and we all miss him…’
‘Thank you, chief inspector,’ says Chief Kita. ‘Inspector Kai, is there anything else you would like to add about the case?’
Inspector Kai closes his mouth. Kai nods. He says, ‘Her umbrella and twenty yen in cash were also reported missing.’
‘Kodaira Yoshio always had gifts on him … Proper gifts for ladies like jewellery, watches, umbrellas, you know …?’
‘Thank you, inspector,’ says the chief. ‘Right, as you all know, at the time of Shinokawa’s murder, Kodaira was living in Wakagi-chō in Shibuya Ward. And, as Chief Inspector Adachi stated, the age of the victim and the cause of death are the same as both those of Midorikawa Ryuko and Abe Yoshiko. So I want Inspector Kai and his Room to reopen this case, to reinterview the original witnesses from the original investigation as well as Kodaira’s wife and his immediate family living here in Tokyo…
‘Unfortunately, we will also have to make use of the Shibuya police station again as Inspector Kai will need officers from the Shibuya precinct to question local residents about Kodaira and Shinokawa. Hopefully a lead or a witness will quickly turn up that will again prompt Kodaira Yoshio to make another confession…’
More legwork. More questions. More reports …
‘Finally,’ says the chief. ‘Inspector Minami…’
There are things to say. Things not to say …
I wipe my neck. I stand up. I tell them about Kodaira Yoshio’s mistress, Okayama Hisayo. I tell them about the rumours of a murder in Kanuma in Tochigi Prefecture –
There are things to say …
‘Baba Hiroko, aged nineteen, found raped and strangled with her own scarf on the third of January this year, in Nishi Katamura, Tochigi. This fell in the jurisdiction of the Kanuma police, Tochigi. As you all know, Kodaira is originally from Nikkō in Tochigi Prefecture. His mistress, the widow Okayama Hisayo, has told us that Kodaira accompanied her on a visit to her mother’s house which is located one mountain away from Kanuma station. Okayama also told us that Kodaira has been back to the area on numerous occasions ostensibly for kaidashi and supplies and so on…
‘I think there is a strong possibility, given the age of the victim, the cause and circumstances of her death, the proximity to Kodaira Yoshio’s known haunts and the timeframe, that Kodaira should be questioned about this murder…’
There’s no applause here either …
I do not tell them about Tominaga Noriko’s landlady and the clothing. I do not tell them about visiting Murota Hideki. I do not tell them about seeing Tominaga Noriko –
Things not to say …
But Adachi is waiting for me. Adachi is always waiting –
‘But are you any nearer identifying the second Shiba body? What about this missing friend of Abe Yoshiko? What about the statement by her landlady? You said there was a possibility that the body might be this missing girl? This friend of Abe?’
But I told you nothing. I told you nothing…
‘I am very sorry,’ I tell him now. ‘But we no longer believe that to be the case, Chief Inspector Adachi, sir.’
‘Is that right?’ asks Adachi. ‘And yet only yesterday you seemed so very, very sure…’
‘And I’m very, very sorry,’ I tell him again. ‘And we are equally disappointed, sir.’
‘So are you now saying this friend of Abe is alive?’ he asks. ‘You’ve actually found her? Eliminated her?’
Tell him nothing …
‘No, sir,’ I lie. ‘I just mean that her landlady failed to identify the clothing as hers…’
Nothing …
‘So she is still missing, then? This friend of Abe Yoshiko?’
I nod. I say, ‘She may be missing, but she’s not our body.’
But Adachi doesn’t give up. Adachi never gives up …
‘And what about all the other girls?’ he asks me –
I shake my head. I ask, ‘What other girls?’
‘All the other girls aged fifteen to twenty years old reported missing in the past two months. These other girls that you have had your own men combing the streets of Tokyo for…’
I curse him. I curse him. I curse him …
‘The enquiries are still ongoing, sir.’
I curse him and I curse myself…
‘So are you then any nearer actually identifying the body?’
I meet his eyes now. I stare back at him. I say, ‘No.’
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no …
‘That’s enough,’ says Chief Kita –
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no …
Now the chief stands up –
It’s finished. It’s over …
And we all stand up and all bow and now all start to leave –
‘Chief Inspector Adachi,’ says the chief. ‘Please wait.’
Chief Inspector Adachi bows and sits back down.
‘And Inspector Minami, please wait outside.’
I bow my head. Then I step outside.
*
Thirty minutes later Chief Inspector Adachi steps out of Chief Kita’s office into the corridor. Chief Inspector Adachi stands in front of me and says, ‘The chief would like to see you now, Inspector Minami.’
I nod and I thank him. But I sit and I wait until he is gone –
Now I open the door. I step back inside the chief’s office –
The blood-flecked scroll on the wall behind his desk –
‘It is time to reveal the true essence of the nation …’
‘Please sit down,’ he says. ‘You look tired…’
I bow. I apologize. I thank him. I sit down –
Then he asks, ‘What happened at Keiō?’
‘The landlady believes that the clothes found on the body in Shiba Park are not the same as those worn by Tominaga Noriko.’
‘So you said,’ says the chief. ‘And so?’
I shake my head. ‘And that’s it.’
‘But you were convinced that this missing girl could be the body at Shiba Park,’ says the chief. ‘You know the landlady could be mistaken about the clothes. You must have found out more?’
I shake my head again. I say, ‘I’m sorry. No.’
‘You’ve nothing else to say, then?’
I say again, ‘I’m sorry. No.’
Things not to say …
‘So why were you down at Mita police station last night?’
I have no answer. I say nothing. There is nothing to say.
‘You went there to try to find the name of the officer who was dismissed over Abe, didn’t you, detective? Didn’t you?’
I bow my head now. I say, ‘I am sorry, sir.’
‘You went there even after I told you now was not the time, didn’t you, detective? You still went there, directly disobeying me.’