Kusanagi gulped and stared at the physicist. “You’re saying it was a ploy to draw our attention to Shinozaki?”
“That’s one possibility.”
“We did spend a lot of time and manpower questioning people around the station here. If your theory’s right, that was all wasted time.”
“Not a waste, per se. After all, the bicycle was stolen from here. But I don’t think this case is simple enough that knowing that fact will do you any good at all. No, our little caper was constructed far more craftily and with greater precision than that.”
Yukawa turned abruptly and began to walk away.
“Hey—” Kusanagi hurried after him. “Where are you going now?”
“Home. Where else?”
“Wait a second.” The detective grabbed Yukawa by the shoulder. “There is one more question I wanted to ask you. Why are you so interested in this case?”
“Was I not supposed to be interested?”
“That’s not an answer.”
Yukawa shrugged Kusanagi’s hand off his shoulder. “Am I a suspect?”
“A suspect? Hardly.”
“Then I can do as I please, can’t I? I’m certainly not trying to obstruct your investigation.”
“Okay, then let me be frank. You mentioned my name to the mathematician living next to Yasuko Hanaoka, didn’t you? And you lied to him. You told him I wanted his help with the investigation. I think I have the right to ask what that was all about.”
Yukawa turned to face Kusanagi, his body suddenly tense, and behind his sunglasses, he stared at the detective coldly. “You went to talk to him?”
“I did. Because you wouldn’t tell me anything.”
“What did he say?”
“Now just hold on a minute. I’m the one asking the questions here. What was that all about? Do you think the mathematician is involved?”
Yukawa turned away and resumed walking toward the station.
“Hey, wait—” Kusanagi called to his back.
Yukawa stopped and peered back over his shoulder. “Now it’s my turn to be frank. I’m afraid I can’t give you my full cooperation with this case. I’m looking into it for personal reasons. So don’t expect me to be of much help.”
“Then don’t expect me to give you any more information.”
Yukawa’s eyes dropped to the pavement, then he nodded. “Fair enough. We’ll just each have to go it alone this time around.” He began walking again.
Kusanagi sensed a rare determination in Yukawa’s gait, and he refrained from calling after him again.
After pausing for a cigarette, the detective headed for the station himself. He had decided to delay his departure so he wouldn’t end up on the same train as Yukawa. For reasons Kusanagi couldn’t fathom, his friend had some personal connection to this case and seemed to be determined to solve it on his own terms. Kusanagi didn’t want to do anything to distract him.
What is Yukawa so worried about? Kusanagi wondered as the subway car swayed along the tracks.
Could it really be the mathematician, Ishigami? But if Ishigami was somehow connected to the case, why hadn’t his name come up at all, except as the lead suspect’s neighbor? What was it about him that bothered Yukawa so much?
Kusanagi thought back over what he had seen a couple of evenings before at the lunch box store. Yukawa was there with Ishigami—and Ishigami had told him it was Yukawa’s idea to go there.
Yukawa wasn’t the type to go out of his way to do something without a good reason. He had been after something when he went to that shop with Ishigami. But what?
And then Kudo had shown up right after that … But surely Yukawa would have had no way of anticipating that.
Kusanagi thought back on his discussion with Kudo, but he couldn’t remember the man having said anything about Ishigami. Kudo hadn’t given any names at all, for that matter. In fact, he had plainly stated that he wouldn’t offer any names even if he knew them.
A thought crossed Kusanagi’s mind. What had they been talking about when he said that? He pictured Kudo’s face, the man suppressing his irritation as he spoke of the people who visited Benten-tei just to see Yasuko.
Kusanagi took a deep breath and straightened his back. The young woman sitting in the seat across from him shot him a dubious look.
The detective glanced up at the subway map above the door. Think I’ll make a stop in Hamacho.
* * *
It had been a while since Ishigami last sat behind the wheel of a car, but it only took him about thirty minutes to get used to driving again. Still, it took him a while to find a suitable place to park on the road near his destination. Every spot he checked seemed like it would put him in someone else’s way. Finally he found a small truck that had been sloppily parked across two spaces and managed to squeeze in behind it.
It was his second time in a rental car. He’d been obliged to pick one up once while he was a university assistant in order to ferry students around on a field trip to a power plant. That time he drove a large van that seated seven, but today he was in a small economy car, which he found much easier to handle.
Ishigami’s eyes went to a small building ahead of him on the right. The sign on the building read “Hikari Graphics, Ltd.” It was Kuniaki Kudo’s company.
It hadn’t been difficult to track the place down. He had the name Kudo from the detective, Kusanagi, and he knew the man ran a printing company. Ishigami had gone online, found a site with links to printing companies, and checked every single one in Tokyo. Hikari Graphics was the only one with a CEO named Kudo.
Ishigami had gone to the rental car office directly after finishing up at school and picked up a car he had reserved in advance.
There was danger involved in renting a car. The transaction would leave a trail. But he had weighed the risks for a long time before deciding to act.
When the digital display on the dashboard read 5:50 P.M., several men and women emerged from the front entrance. Ishigami spotted Kudo amongst them, and his body stiffened.
Eyes fixed on the group, he reached for the digital camera in the passenger seat. Flicking it on, he looked through the view-finder. There. He adjusted the focus and zoomed in as far as the lens allowed.
Kudo was dressed impeccably. Ishigami didn’t even know where one would go to buy that kind of clothes. Again, it occurred to him that this man was Yasuko’s type. Of course, not just Yasuko, but most women, if given a choice between him and Kudo, would have chosen Kudo.
Ishigami snapped a picture, feeling a pulse of envy course through him. He had set the camera not to flash, but even so Kudo showed up beautifully on the LCD. The sun was high enough and angled well so as to light his subject clearly.
Kudo was going around to the back of the building where, Ishigami had already ascertained, the company’s private parking lot was located. The mathematician waited, watching. After a few moments a single Mercedes rolled out into the street. It was green. Spotting Kudo in the driver’s seat, Ishigami hurriedly started his own engine.
He drove, eyes fixed on the Mercedes’s brake lights. Driving was difficult enough, but following someone else made it even harder. The worst part was timing the traffic lights. Luckily, Kudo was a conservative driver. He drove at or under the speed limit, and always stopped at yellow lights.
Ishigami began to worry that he might be driving too close to his mark and would be noticed. Still, now that he had started, he had to keep following.
As he drove, the mathematician occasionally glanced at the car’s GPS. The roads were mostly unfamiliar to him, but he could see on the map that Kudo’s Mercedes was heading for Shinagawa.
The number of cars on the road increased, and it became harder and harder to keep up the chase. Ishigami let himself get too far behind, and a truck got between him and Kudo. He couldn’t see the Mercedes at all, and while he was debating whether or not to switch lanes, the traffic light turned red ahead of him. It looked like the truck was at the front of the line—which me
ant that the Mercedes had driven on ahead.
I lost him already? Ishigami swore under his breath.
But when the light turned green and he started up again, he saw a Mercedes waiting up at the next light with its turn signal on. Without a doubt, it was Kudo. He was turning into a hotel.
Without hesitating, Ishigami followed. It might look suspicious, but he couldn’t turn back after having almost lost him once.
When the next light changed, Kudo made his turn with Ishigami right behind him. Passing through the hotel gates, the Mercedes headed down a sloping ramp into an underground parking area. Ishigami followed.
When he reached out to take a ticket for the parking lot, Kudo glanced behind him, and Ishigami had to hunch down in his seat. He couldn’t tell whether the businessman had seen anything or not.
The parking lot was mostly empty. The Mercedes pulled into a spot close to the hotel entrance. Ishigami stopped some distance away. He turned the key and lifted his camera.
Kudo got out of the Mercedes. Click. Kudo was looking in his direction. He suspects something! Ishigami shrunk down even farther.
But Kudo turned and went into the hotel. Once he was out of sight, Ishigami started up his car again and drove out.
I suppose two pictures will have to do for now.
He had been in the parking lot for such a short time that he didn’t owe anything when he left. He turned the wheel carefully as the car climbed back up the narrow ramp.
Ishigami contemplated the note he would include with the two pictures. In his head, it went something like:
As you can tell by the enclosed pictures, I have discovered the identity of a man you see frequently.
I must ask, what is this man to you?
If you are having a relationship, that would be a serious betrayal.
Don’t you understand what I’ve done for you?
I believe I have the right to tell you what to do in this matter. You must stop seeing this man immediately.
If you do not, my anger will be directed at him.
It would be a simple thing for me to lead this man toward the same fate Togashi suffered. I have both the resolve and the means to do this.
Let me repeat, if you are engaged in a relationship with this man, that is a betrayal I cannot forgive, and I will have my revenge.
Ishigami repeated the words of his statement to himself, considering whether it was too threatening, or perhaps not threatening enough.
Then the light changed, and he was about to drive out through the hotel gate when he saw something that made his eyes go wide.
It was Yasuko Hanaoka stepping off the sidewalk, into the hotel.
TWELVE
Yasuko walked into the hotel tea lounge, and a man wearing a dark green jacket beckoned to her from the back. It was Kudo.
About a third of the tables in the place were filled. There were some couples, but most of the patrons were businessmen in expensive suits, leaning toward each other as they discussed their deals. Yasuko made her way across the room, her face slightly downcast.
“Sorry to call you out here so suddenly,” Kudo said. He was smiling. “Would you like something to drink?”
The waitress came over, and Yasuko ordered a milk tea.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
“No, nothing so serious,” he replied, lifting his coffee cup to his lips, but before drinking he said, “A detective came to my place yesterday.”
Yasuko’s eyes opened wide. “They found you…”
“Did you tell them about me?”
“I’m sorry. They came right after I had dinner with you the other day, and they kept asking me questions about where I’d been and with whom. I thought they’d be even more suspicious if I didn’t say anything—”
Kudo waved a hand dismissively. “No need to apologize. I don’t blame you at all. If we’re ever going to meet like normal people, the police should know about us. In fact, I think it’s a good thing you told them.”
“Really?” Yasuko looked up at him.
He nodded. “Just know that they’ll be keeping a close watch on us, so be ready for that. You know, I was followed on my way here.”
“Followed?”
“I didn’t notice it at first, but it became pretty obvious the more I drove. There was a car behind me the whole way from Hikari. They even followed me into the parking lot of this hotel. I don’t think I was imagining things.”
Kudo talked as if this was nothing special, but Yasuko’s eyes were frozen on him. “And? Where’d they go?”
“Who knows?” He shrugged. “They were too far away for me to see a face, and they were gone before I knew it. To tell the truth, I’ve been watching everyone in here since I arrived, but I haven’t noticed anyone particularly suspicious. Of course, they could be watching in a way that I wouldn’t notice. Still, I think they might have left.”
Yasuko looked around at the other people in the tea room. Everyone seemed perfectly normal.
“So you’re a suspect now?”
“I think they’ve come up with a scenario in which you were the leader in some plot to kill Togashi, with me your willing accomplice. The detective yesterday was very up front about wanting an alibi from me.”
The waitress arrived with the milk tea. While she was standing at the table, Yasuko cast her eyes around the room a second time.
“If they’re still watching us now, won’t they suspect something if they see you meeting with me like this?”
“What? No problem. Like I said, I want this—us—to be out in the open. Trying to hide it would make us look even more suspicious. We were never the kind to sneak around in any case.” Kudo leaned back on his sofa seat and spread his arms as if to demonstrate that he didn’t care who saw him. Then he took a long sip from his coffee cup.
Yasuko reached for her own teacup. “Well, I’m happy to hear you say that, but I don’t want to be the cause of any trouble for you, Kudo. It’s just not right. I think, maybe, we shouldn’t meet for a while. Just until things calm down.”
“I figured you’d say something like that,” Kudo said, setting down his cup and leaning forward. “That’s why I wanted you to come here today. I knew you’d hear about the detective coming to my place sooner or later, and I didn’t want you to worry about it. Frankly, I’m not worried about it at all. I told you they asked about my alibi. Luckily, I was with someone else at the time, and if they decide to pursue it, there are records to prove it. The detectives will lose their interest in me eventually.”
“Well, I hope so, for your sake.”
“Look,” Kudo said, “what I’m more worried about is you. They’ll figure out I wasn’t an accomplice sooner or later. But that doesn’t mean they’ll stop treating you like a suspect. It makes me downright depressed to think about how pushy they’re going to get with you.”
“Well, there’s no helping that. After all, Togashi was looking for me at the time.”
“There is that, isn’t there? What the hell did he want with you? Even dead, that guy is still a pain in the ass.” Kudo grimaced. Then his eyes turned back to Yasuko. “You really didn’t have anything to do with it, right? Don’t get me wrong. I’m not doubting you. I’m just saying if you had any contact with Togashi at all, it’s safe to tell me about it, and it might help.”
Yasuko returned Kudo’s look, noticing his fine features. So this is why he suddenly wanted to meet. He did suspect her, if only a little.
She smiled faintly. “Don’t worry. I had nothing to do with him, really.”
“That’s what I thought. Still, it’s nice to hear it from your mouth.” Kudo nodded and looked at his watch. “Well, since you’re here, how about dinner? I know a great yakitori place.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t tonight. I didn’t tell Misato I’d be out.”
“Oh, right. Well, I don’t want to make things difficult for you, then.” Kudo grabbed the check and stood. “Shall we?”
While he was paying, Yasuko took ano
ther look around. No one in the tea lounge looked even remotely like a detective.
She felt bad admitting it to herself, but while Kudo remained under suspicion, she felt easier about getting together with him. After all, the more the police suspected him, the further from the truth they were. But that seemed bound to change. In any case, she wasn’t sure she should let her relationship with Kudo continue to progress as quickly as it had. She wasn’t afraid of becoming intimate—she wanted it, in fact. But she was afraid that doing so would upset the tenuous balance of her life. Ishigami’s masklike face flitted across her mind.
“I’ll give you a lift,” Kudo said after paying the bill.
“It’s all right. I’ll take the train.”
“No, let me give you a ride.”
“Really, it’s okay. I need to do some shopping.”
“Hmph,” Kudo grumbled, but in the end he saw her off cheerily. “All right, well, I’ll see you later, then. It’s all right if I give you a ring?”
“Of course, and thanks for the tea.” Yasuko returned his smile before walking away.
She was at a crosswalk making for Shinagawa Station when her cell phone began to ring. Still walking, Yasuko pulled out her phone and looked at the display. It was Sayoko at Benten-tei.
“Yes?”
“Hey, Yasuko? It’s Sayoko. Can you talk?” There was a strange tension in her voice.
“Sure, what’s wrong?”
“I just wanted to tell you that the detectives dropped by again after you left today. They were asking some strange questions. I thought you should know.”
Gripping her cell phone tightly, Yasuko closed her eyes. Those policemen were at it again, weaving a spiderweb around her wherever she went.
“What do you mean, ‘strange’?” she asked uneasily.
“They were asking about that guy. The high school teacher? What was his name again? Ishigami?”
Yasuko almost dropped the phone. “What about him?” Her voice was trembling.