“No, it’s Sawamura. One of the guys went to talk to him, and it sounds like he’s claiming he was the one who helped them get rid of that body.”
“What?” Narumi said, sitting upright in her chair.
“They’re bringing him in for questioning now, but from the sound of it, his story’s a lot tighter than the one your parents have been telling. I think we might just have figured this out,” Nonogaki said, sounding a little relieved. Apparently, Narumi’s interrogation was over.
FIFTY
Isobe was quick to claim the right to question Sawamura, sensing an opportunity to earn some points with upper management. He brought along his own men, of course, but surprisingly, chose Nishiguchi to take notes. Nishiguchi walked toward the interrogation room, wondering why he’d been picked, but he didn’t have to wait long to find out.
“Nishiguchi here is from town,” Isobe said. “He knows your family’s appliance shop, and he knows about the Green Rock Inn. He was classmates with the Kawahatas’ daughter and knows the parents, so he knows what kind of folks they are and what they’re liable to do or not do. Keep that in mind when you tell us exactly what happened.”
In other words, he brought along Nishiguchi for some local cred. However, Nishiguchi didn’t think any of that was really necessary. He could tell by the look in Sawamura’s eyes that the man was ready to talk.
“I’ve no intention of hiding anything,” he began. “Yes, Mr. Kawahata turned himself in, and I didn’t, which is a little awkward, but if he’d told me beforehand, I would’ve been here with him.”
“Okay, well, why don’t you tell us what happened, in as much detail as possible.”
Sawamura took a deep breath. “As I think you’re already aware, I was with Narumi and the others at a bar that night. We ran into Narumi’s mother out front, and I offered to give her a ride home in my pickup truck, which I’d left parked out in front of the station.”
“And you had no idea what was going on at the Green Rock Inn at that time?”
“Of course not. I was with the other people in Save the Cove the entire day.”
“Fine,” Isobe grunted. “Go on.”
“When we got to the inn, Mr. Kawahata was out in the lobby, just standing there. His wife asked him what was wrong, and he said he’d let one of the guests die.”
Nishiguchi paused his typing and looked up at Sawamura, but a glare from Isobe sent him back to his keyboard.
“So what you’re saying is that at the time you got there, it was already over?”
“That’s right. Mr. Kawahata said he’d found their guest lying on the floor in one of the rooms and knew immediately that the cause had been a boiler malfunction.”
“And what did Mr. Kawahata say he would do about it?”
“Well, he said we needed to tell the police.”
Isobe raised an eyebrow. “And yet he didn’t. Why not?”
Sawamura took a quick, pained breath before saying, “I stopped him.”
“Why?”
“Because…” He paused, chewing his lip before continuing, “If word got out about what had happened, it would destroy Hari Cove. People would think everything in town’s falling apart, and what’s left of our tourism industry would die.”
“I see. You’re one of the activists working against the undersea development, aren’t you? That why you took such an, er, proactive stance?”
“I just wanted to save our town.”
“Right. So, what did Mr. Kawahata have to say about your idea? He changed his mind on the spot?”
“No, he was torn at first. But I told him this wasn’t just about his inn. I told him if word got out about this, it would affect the entire town and everyone living in it, so he asked me what he should do. That’s when I told him we should move the body to a different place.”
“So it was your idea?” Isobe asked, leaning forward and speaking clearly to drive home how important this particular point was.
“That’s right. And it was my idea to drop him on those rocks.”
“And the Kawahatas went along with this idea?”
“Not at first, no. They seem very troubled about it. But I told them that if we spent too much time up there, making it look like it had happened somewhere else would no longer be an option. That got them moving.”
According to Sawamura’s story, he carried Tsukahara entirely by himself. Putting the body on the flatbed of his truck, he drove down to the seawall with Shigehiro. With his leg, Shigehiro hadn’t been much help when it came to dropping Mr. Tsukahara over the seawall, either.
After bringing Shigehiro back to the Green Rock Inn, Sawamura went back home, dropped off his truck, then headed to the bar. He managed to act like nothing happened in front of his friends, but he admitted he hadn’t really been able to follow the conversation at all.
“That’s what happened. I know there are criminal charges for abandoning a body, and I won’t deny my guilt. So please—” Sawamura took another breath before continuing, “please let Narumi go. She knew nothing of any of this. She had nothing at all to do with it.”
As he listened to this final, impassioned plea, it dawned on Nishiguchi why this man had been so eager to admit his culpability. He must’ve heard that Narumi was a suspect—and hoped he could get her off the hook.
Because any man who spends enough time around her starts to love her, Nishiguchi thought, glancing at Sawamura out of the corner of his eye as he typed.
FIFTY-ONE
My aunt’s cooking is way better than this, Kyohei thought as he bit into the fried scallop. The food was piled high on a fancy plate, but from the taste it could have come from any restaurant chain back in the city. What was the point of coming all the way out to the ocean to eat this?
Kyohei had come to the hotel restaurant with his father. It looked like they would be spending the night after all. He’d assumed that meant they’d be leaving first thing in the morning, but his father said, “With what’s going on with your uncle, I might have to stick around and do some paperwork and things. You know how it is.” He gave Kyohei a smile. “Hang in there, buddy.”
Kyohei had nodded, but he didn’t agree that delaying their departure for Osaka constituted “hanging in there.” It would be worse to leave without knowing what was going to happen to his aunt and uncle.
They’d just finished dinner when his father’s phone rang. He looked at it and frowned as he lifted the phone to his ear. Covering his mouth with his hand, he spoke quietly for a few moments before hanging up. He was still frowning.
“What is it?” Kyohei asked.
“The police say they want to talk to you,” his father said, a wrinkle forming across his brow. “They say a detective is waiting in the hotel’s tea lounge. They want you to come out once you’re finished eating. You okay with that?”
“Yeah, sure, fine,” Kyohei said, eating the rest of the scallop and taking a bite of his tomato salad. He hadn’t eaten much, but he already felt full.
There were two men waiting for him in the tea lounge, Detective Nonogaki and Detective Nishiguchi. He had a feeling he’d seen both of them around, but this was the first time he’d ever talked to either of them.
Kyohei sat down across the table from the detectives. His father took the seat next to him. Nonogaki asked if they wanted anything to drink, but Kyohei’s father said no, so Kyohei shook his head.
“How’s it going?” his father asked. “Are they still in questioning?”
Nonogaki sat up a little in his chair. “I’m afraid these things are never so simple. Frankly, they never are when a death is involved. And … well, there were several aspects to what the Kawahatas told us that don’t exactly mesh. I’m sorry for the trouble, but you understand we need to do things by the book here.”
“I’m sorry, mesh? What doesn’t mesh?”
“I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to talk about that. Let’s just say that people other than Mr. and Mrs. Kawahata were involved.”
“Accomplices? You don’t mea
n Narumi—”
“No, not her,” the young detective named Nishiguchi blurted out. Nonogaki gave him a glare, and he went back to taking notes.
Nonogaki turned a cold smile onto the father. “We actually aren’t here to answer your questions, sir, so if you don’t mind?”
“Right, of course,” Kyohei’s father said, then gave Kyohei a look to see if he was ready. Kyohei nodded and turned back to the detectives. The one named Nonogaki was staring right at him. His face reminded Kyohei of a fox.
“You remember lighting fireworks with your uncle? It was about six days ago,” the detective asked.
“I remember,” Kyohei said.
“Was that your idea, the fireworks?”
“No. I was watching TV in my room, and Uncle Shigehiro called me from downstairs.”
“Around what time was that?”
“Eight o’clock … I think.”
The detective’s questions were all pretty much what he had expected. They didn’t care about him, they wanted to know about Uncle Shigehiro. What time did he go back inside? What time did he come back out to set off more fireworks? How late did they stay out? Kyohei hadn’t been checking his watch that night, of course, so he only had a vague idea. When they asked him if anything unusual had happened, all he could do was shrug and say no, they’d just lit some fireworks. Still, that appeared to satisfy the detectives.
He told the detective that after the fireworks, he’d gone to his aunt and uncle’s apartment, eaten some watermelon, and fallen asleep watching TV. At that point in his story, Nonogaki turned to look at Nishiguchi and nodded.
“Thanks for your time,” Nonogaki said, standing. “If we have some more questions for you later, we’ll get in touch.” He gave a little bow with his head and walked off toward the exit. Nishiguchi hurried after him.
Kyohei’s father gave a little sigh and stood.
“Dad?” Kyohei asked, still in his chair. “It was an accident, right?”
His father got an angry look on his face. “Of course. What else would it be?”
“I … I don’t know, I just, you know. I wondered why they’re so serious.”
“It’s like the detective said. When somebody dies, even if it’s an accident, they have to check every little detail. Don’t worry. Your aunt and uncle did do something bad, and they’ll definitely get punished for it, but it won’t be too harsh.”
Kyohei’s head drooped. His father took it for a nod and walked off with another, “Let’s get going.” Kyohei stood to follow him, but in his head he could still hear Yukawa’s voice echoing.
“This isn’t a good place for you to be. I should think you’d know that better than anyone else.”
FIFTY-TWO
“Good thing the kid could talk. Some kids these days, the things they say, you wonder if they’re even speaking the same language,” Nonogaki said as they left the lounge. “Other than hiding the fact that Sawamura helped them, it sounds like the Kawahatas’ story checks out. That just leaves their guest, Yukawa. Who, it turns out, is at this hotel, too. Too bad his phone’s busted or we’d be done with all this by now.”
“I’ll ask which room he’s in,” Nishiguchi offered.
Nishiguchi headed toward the front desk. Over the last few days, he’d gotten so used to taking orders from the guys in prefectural homicide that it was second nature now.
He found Yukawa’s room number quickly and called from the front desk, but there was no answer. Only after Nishiguchi frowned and put the phone back down did the desk clerk speak up.
“If you’re trying to reach Mr. Yukawa, he asked that any calls for him be directed to the bar on the tenth floor.”
“Oh, thanks,” Nishiguchi said, resisting the urge to add, “You could have told me sooner,” and went back over to Nonogaki.
“This physicist guy is the one here doing research on the undersea development project, right?” Nonogaki laughed. “They haven’t even started mining yet, and he’s already living large in the resort hotel bar?”
Nishiguchi kept his opinion to himself.
There were only a few patrons scattered throughout the large bar. The side facing the sea was all glass, but they could see nothing because the sun had already set and it was pitch black outside. Nishiguchi imagined the bar probably got pretty busy on the nights when they had fireworks shows.
Yukawa was sitting at a table against the window. His glasses were resting on the table in front of him. Next to them was a bottle of red wine and a single wineglass. He was listening to something on a pair of headphones.
Yukawa slowly looked up at the two detectives when they approached. He noticed Nishiguchi and removed the headphones from one of his ears. “Is he a detective too?” he asked, indicating Nonogaki with his eyes.
Nonogaki introduced himself and sat down across the table from Yukawa. “Could we have a moment?”
“What if I said no?”
Nonogaki frowned, and Yukawa’s lips curled upward. “I’m kidding, of course. Are you going to keep standing?” The question was directed at Nishiguchi, who quickly sat.
“You should order something,” Yukawa suggested. “It’s a little odd drinking alone,” Yukawa said to Nonogaki, removing his headphones completely.
“We’re fine. But please, go ahead.”
“Right, well then,” Yukawa said, picking up his wineglass and taking a leisurely sip.
Nonogaki cleared his throat and announced, “We’ve arrested Mr. and Mrs. Kawahata.”
Yukawa set down his glass. “Okay.”
“You’re not surprised?”
“Well, this morning they did tell me they wanted me to move to another hotel, and they didn’t ask me to pay for my stay, which gave me fairly good warning that something was up. Later I heard rumors that a number of police cruisers were spotted up at the inn, so I assumed there’d been an arrest. On what charges were they arrested?”
“Right now, professional negligence resulting in death and the abandonment of a corpse.”
Yukawa picked his glasses up from the table and wiped the lenses with a paper napkin. “Right now? Do you mean to suggest that the charges might change?”
“I can’t say. We’re still in the process of looking into everything—a process that includes talking to you.”
“I see. So, what should I say?” Yukawa asked, putting on his glasses.
“Just the facts as you saw them. I know you’ve given a statement already, and you’re probably tired of repeating it, but I’d like you to begin with your first day at the Green Rock Inn.”
The physicist snorted. “I am sick of it, but here goes,” he said, and began his story, the same one he had been telling from the very beginning. There was nothing in Yukawa’s account that contradicted Sawamura’s confession. Nishiguchi was relieved. If Yukawa was telling the truth, the chance of any blame falling on Narumi was slim.
“How was Sawamura when he came into the bar?” Nonogaki asked.
“How do you mean?”
“Well…” Nonogaki paused. He had probably been hoping for something like “He looked nervous,” but suggesting that would make it a leading question. “Anything is fine. Whatever you sensed at the time.”
Yukawa shrugged. “Then I suppose I should say I sensed nothing. It was my first encounter with the man.”
“So when you went back to the inn, did you notice anything unusual about the Kawahatas’ behavior that night or the following day?”
“Nothing that I noticed,” Yukawa replied simply. “I didn’t speak directly with him that much, however. And most of my meals were served by the daughter, Narumi. She’s not involved with this, is she?”
Nishiguchi resisted the urge to blurt out Of course not.
Nonogaki ignored the question and stood up from the table. “Thank you for your time. We’ll let you get back to your wine.”
“What? That’s all?”
“That’s all,” Nonogaki said, already turning to leave. Nishiguchi was standing up when Yukawa
asked, “Did they try to reproduce what happened?”
Nonogaki stopped and turned. “Excuse me?”
“You mentioned negligence. I’m assuming that meant that there was an accident of some sort at the Green Rock Inn, probably involving carbon monoxide poisoning. I would expect that forensics would be trying to reproduce what happened by experiment.”
“Carbon monoxide poisoning? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Nonogaki said.
“Oh? Then whence the negligence?” Yukawa asked, scratching his chin.
Nonogaki’s eyes widened and his nostrils flared. He took a deep breath, said, “Thank you for your cooperation,” and strode swiftly out of the room.
Nishiguchi nodded to Yukawa and started to follow Nonogaki. Behind him, he heard Yukawa said, “They’re not going to be able to reproduce it, you know. The carbon monoxide.”
Nishiguchi stopped. “Why’s that?”
But Yukawa didn’t respond. Instead, he slowly poured himself another glass of wine. Nishiguchi was about to ask again when the physicist said, “I know the men and women in your profession have something they call detective’s intuition.” He picked his wineglass up and swished the liquid around, staring at it. “Well, you might say I have physicist’s intuition.” He took another sip.
Nishiguchi shook his head. It didn’t sound like Yukawa was making fun of him, but he didn’t understand what the man was driving at. Unable to think of anything to say, he turned and left.
Outside, Nonogaki was talking on his phone. He hung up, a sour look on his face, and pressed the elevator button.
“Glad we won’t have to talk to him again. Are all scientists like that?”
“He’s particularly eccentric, I hear.”
“Right, well, I won’t miss him. And it looks like the case is closed anyway.”
“Was there some new information?”
Nonogaki nodded. “Tokyo found Senba. He’s hospitalized out in Chofu. Turns out that the victim used to pay him visits out there. So, our prime suspect’s not a suspect at all.”
The elevator door opened, and the two detectives got in.