Nocturne of Remembrance

by Shichiri Nakayama

  “Who taught them to take care of things?”

  “That was all Akiko, I believe. And it wasn’t just housework. Even from this old man’s point of view, the girls were well-taught and had good manners.”

  “So she more than carried out her responsibilities as a mother. How about Shingo, on the other hand?”

  “He did nothing. He just stayed in his room, staring at the computer screen, and hardly talked to his family. Such a man cannot educate his children.”

  “So he wasn’t working, and he wasn’t taking care of the children at all.”

  “He was just idle.” Denouncing his son in court was, of course, unpleasant for Yozo, and he had a bitter look on his face. “He’d gotten a taste of making money readily and didn’t want to do so by the sweat of his brow. An unlikely comeback sounds nice, but he was a big fool who dreamt of turning things around with a home run and became obsessed with making amateurish little bets.”

  “Was there any strife in the household?”

  “It wasn’t so much strife as Shingo’s one-sided violence. It didn’t stop with Akiko, he also raised his hand against my grandchildren.”

  “Could you give us the particulars?”

  “At first he just yelled at his family … The violence came after Akiko began going out to work. Probably because it hurt his pride. Slapping became routine, and at times he apparently punched her in the face. Whenever I would go to check on things, Akiko usually had marks on her face from being struck.”

  “How bad were these injuries?”

  “She had bruises, so she must have been hit quite hard.”

  “Badly enough that she might have felt endangered?”

  “Your honor,” Misaki immediately raised his hand. “That is a leading question. Whether or not the accused felt endangered is no more than the witness’ guess.”

  “Obvious external injuries help gauge the degree of violence that took place. The testimony is valid material for surmising it.” Sanjo looked at Mikoshiba and nodded. “Acknowledged. Please continue the questioning.”

  “Witness. You said a moment ago that the violence spread to the children. To what extent did it?”

  “The younger one, Rinko, just turned six, but I remember how the skin on her cheek had peeled off. When I asked her, she said she’d been pinched badly by Shingo.”

  “He pinched her so hard that her skin peeled off.”

  “The older one Miyuki had it worse. She was struck too, and had a cut lip.”

  “You didn’t consider talking to the police about this?”

  “I was concerned about exposing such an embarrassment to the family, but the real reason was that Akiko stopped me. She cried and said that she didn’t want to turn her husband into a criminal. In that case, my hands were tied. All I could do was ask their neighbor the Saitos to keep an eye on them and sometimes go there, myself, to see how things were.”

  “With Shingo’s violence escalating and it spreading to the girls, would the accused try to protect them?”

  Misaki interrupted before Yozo could open his mouth. “Objection, your honor. The defense is just trying to get impressions from the witness, not the facts.”

  Seeing Misaki’s expression, Mikoshiba chuckled to himself. Shingo’s violence had also come up when the police had taken Yozo’s disposition, but the precinct investigator hadn’t dug into the details. For Misaki, an overlooked unexploded shell had just gone off.

  “Objection sustained. Defense, please confirm facts only.”

  “Sure, then I’ll just state them. To summarize what the witness said, the victim’s violence became everyday occurrences, and the young children were bearing the brunt of it, too. If it escalated, not only her own life but also that of the children would be in danger. Despite being occupied with work, the accused devoted time to her children’s education and upbringing and was without any faults as a mother. Moreover, with all her day-in day-out labors, the accused was exhausted in both mind and body, and her judgment dissipated. Even if she did commit a violent act, it was not because she selfishly felt her husband to be a burden. It was highly likely to have been legitimate self-defense, in order to protect her and the children. I assert that it was natural behavior, in keeping with that of mothers at large, and nothing that should be considered a crime.”

  With that declaration, Mikoshiba took his seat. Yozo uttered a short sigh.

  “I would like to cross-examine the witness, your honor.”

  “Permission granted.”

  Misaki stood up slowly. He looked like he was preparing to pounce on some prey. “The witness said that the accused and her children were exposed to everyday violence, but is that a fact?”

  “Yes, it is a fact. Exactly as I just said.”

  “Excuse me, I misphrased the question. You said that you often went to the victim’s house, but did you see the victim actually commit violence against the accused and her children?”

  Damn it, Mikoshiba cursed silently. Misaki intended to invalidate the testimony itself.

  “No, I was not there when he hit them … But Akiko and the children would never tell such lies. There was no need to.”

  “The witness will please only reply to my questions. I will ask you once again. Did the witness ever once confirm actual instances of such violence?”

  “Shingo always feigned innocence with me and would never show such—”

  “Witness. Only the facts, please. Did you, or did you not, witness it?”

  “Actually witness … No.”

  Mikoshiba immediately intercepted, “Your honor. The prosecutor’s question just now is a play on words. No matter how much the violence was a daily occurrence, the probability of coincidently being there just at that time is nearly zero.”

  “Yet the witness said he went there often. If the violence was a frequent occurrence, then never actually seeing it in progress is unnatural.”

  “Prosecutor, do you know how many auto accidents occurred the year before last?”

  “… What’s your point?”

  “Nationwide, there were 725,773 auto accidents that year. In other words, they occurred at the rate of once every forty-three seconds. But have you, prosecutor, ever witnessed an auto accident as it occurred?”

  “Now that is what I’d call a play on words. The auto accidents rates vary considerably depending on the prefecture. And to begin with—”

  “Defense and prosecution, is this subject relevant to the case?” interrupted Sanjo, a little appalled, from up on the bench. “If you are going to talk about probability theory, I want you to do it outside of court.”

  “Excuse me, your honor,” Mikoshiba complied.

  “Remove the prosecution’s last question from the court record.”

  Having apologized in form only, Mikoshiba sat back down. He was well aware that it had been a farce. It was worth it if he could deflect Misaki’s questioning and give Yozo some time. And indeed, he seemed to have regained his composure.

  Misaki cleared his throat and continued. “Well then, witness. When the crime occurred, you came across the accused in the midst of disposing the body. At that time did you confirm any new wounds caused by violence on either the accused or your two grandchildren?”

  “At that time?”

  “Yes. Not in the past. Exactly then.”

  Oops. Mikoshiba bit his lip.

  “No, I don’t think that there were any new bruises on them at that time.”

  “That is what I thought. Neither the inspectors nor the forensics team that rushed to the scene reported any fresh bruises on the accused or the children. In other words, the accused’s actions were not, as the defense has claimed, an instance of legitimate self-defense. The fact is that there was no violence towards them just prior to the incident.”

  “I object, your honor. The prosecution is clearly interpreting legitimate self-defense in a very narrow sense. Besides a reflex action at the moment of violence, it also includes protection from chronic violence.”
r />   “Defense. In order to claim that the crime was committed in legitimate self-defense, it will be necessary for you to demonstrate that there was imminent danger. Can you do so?”

  Mikoshiba hesitated momentarily, recalling the requirements for legitimate self-defense:

  (Circumstantial)

  An imminent violation;

  The violation was unjust;

  It was in defense of one’s own or another’s rights.

  (Behavioral)

  There was no choice;

  Its intent was defensive.

  The imminence in these conditions required confirmation of whether some violation had been impending. Of course, this didn’t concern the subjective judgment of the violated, namely Akiko, but had to be objectively true, and the possibility of excessive self-defense arose if the violation was used as an opportunity to aggressively harm the other party. Akiko’s assault had been with a sharp tool, whereas Shingo’s violence had been unarmed; moreover, the supposed self-defense had taken place in the bathroom when he had been helpless. Sticking blindly to legitimate self-defense as the point at issue might not be so advantageous.

  Backing up seemed like the best option.

  “Right now I do not have anything to substantiate that, and I would appreciate some time until the next session.”

  “That is acceptable. Does the prosecution have any other cross-examination items for the witness?”

  “One more. Witness, when you arrived at the scene of the crime, the accused was in the process of disposing the body. Is that correct?”

  “Yes. However, as soon as I saw it, Akiko immediately seemed resigned …”

  “Just what are you saying she was resigned over?”

  “That …”

  “You mean not being able to dispose of the body and cover up the crime, yes?”

  “Well …”

  “Please answer clearly, not with ‘That …’ or ‘Well …’ ”

  “Your honor. The prosecution’s comment just now is coercive.”

  “I only wish to confirm, not coerce. At the time, the accused had gone so far as to spread a blue tarp on the dressing-room floor and was washing off the blood in the bathroom. Witness, if you had not coincidentally visited the house, do you think the accused would have continued her efforts to conceal the crime?”

  No way, don’t you dare say it.

  “The prosecution is posing a hypothetical to the witness!”

  “Well, witness?”

  “She probably would have continued. But covering up a crime is something that anybody—”

  “I have nothing more to ask the witness,” Misaki cut Yozo off and ended the cross-examination.

  Mikoshiba cursed silently again. He’d put Yozo on the witness stand this time to lower the court’s opinion of Shingo and to raise Akiko’s by as much. It was precisely why he was focusing on the abuse, which hadn’t been pursued at the first trial. People’s impressions were affected by third parties. Mikoshiba had assumed that the victim’s father, Yozo, testifying sympathetically about Akiko would appeal to the judge’s emotions.

  Misaki, however, had caught on and canceled any sympathy points by making Yozo himself discuss Akiko’s attempts to conceal the crime.

  Damn it. Prosecution, one.

  “Your honor. I would like to call the next witness.”

  Yoshiwaki came to the witness stand next. He, too, was tensed up by his unfamiliar surroundings, and it showed on his face—not that there were many ordinary citizens who were accustomed to them.

  “Witness, please state your name and occupation.”

  “Kenichi Yoshiwaki, CPA at the Midorikawa Accounting Firm.”

  “You were a coworker of the accused.”

  “Yes, I was.”

  “Have you read the judgment from the first trial?”

  “No. I have heard about it, but the actual text …”

  “That document purports that the accused’s intimate feelings for you, a coworker, were part of her motive. Did the accused ever reveal anything along those lines to you?”

  “Absolutely not,” replied Yoshiwaki, shaking his head. “The only thing that Ms. Tsuda ever discussed in private was her daughters. There was never a mention of anything romantic. We did go to an eatery together a few times, but it was only during lunch break, and we never did more than gripe about work.”

  “So there were no such signs. But perhaps you just didn’t notice?”

  “I’m not some middle schooler. If a woman gave you looks with a mind to even kill her husband over you, most people would notice.”

  “Did the accused ever make any reference to her husband?”

  “That … doesn’t ring any bells.”

  “Do you consider your memory to be better than average?”

  Yoshiwaki replied with a sarcastic smile, “To say the least, I think that being a CPA would be tough with a bad memory.”

  “In other words, can we assume that the accused said absolutely nothing about her husband to you?”

  “Yes. If she did, I’d remember, but, really, I never heard a thing even about his age or occupation.”

  “Then, in fact, didn’t you think it was odd that this co-worker with whom you’d barely chatted in private had killed her husband out of a desire to be with you?”

  “Yes, of course I did. It was something out of the blue. It was totally unexpected.”

  “Do you feel like the motive was fabricated?”

  “Your honor! That is a leading question,” Misaki immediately objected, but that was as expected.

  “Objection sustained. Defense, please phrase your questions more carefully.”

  Apparently, Akiko’s questioning had been recorded in its entirety. Knowing from the outset that everything would be recorded naturally made the suspect tense, but the same went for the interrogator. Coerced confessions and leading questions would also be recorded as is, so you had to proceed with caution.

  In the end, all of the measures implemented under the banner of preventing false accusations owed to a backdrop of dishonorable conduct by the prosecution and the police. Any suggestion that a deposition they’d written up a little shamefacedly might still contain fabrications frayed their nerves. Unsettling the prosecution led to the defense scoring points.

  “In that case, I will reformulate the question. Does the witness find it hard to believe that he was the accused’s motive for murdering Shingo?”

  “Yes, exactly as you stated.”

  “Your honor. Here the defense would like to use Evidence A-7, provided earlier by the prosecution.”

  Murmurs rippled in the visitors’ gallery, and Misaki looked nonplussed.

  “Evidence A-7 is a summary of forensic materials collected at the scene of the crime by the Setagaya Police after Yozo Tsuda summoned them. The main part concerns the bathroom that was the scene of the crime, but naturally it also considers all the items that would have been touched by the suspect and the victim. The investigation went into minute detail and was extremely careful. They did not miss one strand of hair or a speck of insect feces. The commendable tenacity with which they approach criminal investigation is apparent in between the lines.”

  The over-the-top praise instantly put a frown on Misaki’s face. Though not something that Mikoshiba did often, it was provocations like these that worked best on guys like Misaki.

  “Of particular interest is the third page: the contents of the kitchen garbage basket. No, more correctly, inside the kitchen was a 45-liter plastic bag where trash from the other rooms was deposited once those baskets became full. Used tissues, rubber bands, packaging from instant noodles and frozen food, four days’ worth of ad inserts including from the day of the crime, a milk carton, hair, bread crumbs, eraser scraps, lettuce cores, onion skins, a banana peel, a plastic food container, dead bugs, and … the wrapping from a contraceptive device.”

  Mikoshiba waved the sheet at Misaki.

  “We can conclude, from the wrapping’s presence in the same
garbage basket as four days’ worth of ad inserts, that the accused and Shingo’s conjugal relationship continued until just before the incident. And combined with Kenichi Yoshiwaki’s testimony, it seems most unnatural to conclude that she carried out a premeditated plan to get rid of her husband despite an ongoing conjugal relationship and her lack of a single notable move on her coworker. Accordingly, the defense reiterates that her action against Shingo was an instance of impulsive, legitimate self-defense.”

  An uppercut from a blind spot, it seemed to have hit the mark. Sanjo looked troubled, and as for Misaki, he was glowering at Mikoshiba. But the counterattack came immediately.

  “Your honor, I have an opposing opinion.”

  “The prosecution may proceed.”

  Misaki stood up and stared directly at Mikoshiba. The man looked like a boxer who was looking forward to trading blows to the bitter end.

  “I’m taken aback by the defense’s arbitrary argument … I must wonder, is the attorney single? He seems not to understand what a couple actually is like.”

  Ah ha, thought Mikoshiba, impressed. He had expected Misaki to counter-punch right away, but the veteran prosecutor knew how to have fun with light jabs.

  “I hesitate to discuss vulgar matters in this sacred courtroom … but the quality of a couple’s relationship does not correlate with their evening life together. In fact, as the phrase ‘nighttime duty’ implies, there are couples that no doubt continue with it as a sort of obligation, while others are fulfilled and happy with each other just to hold hands.”

  Someone in the visitors’ gallery burst with laughter.

  “Moreover, from the viewpoint of premeditated murder, the accused’s having consented to sexual relations can be interpreted as a way to lower the victim’s guard. If she attacked him right after having sexual intercourse, that does remind me of the female praying mantis … No, my words are getting the better of me. I beg your pardon.”

  Crap. Mikoshiba bit his lip. Misaki was taking that route.

  “Also, about the romantic feelings stated by the defendant in her testimony not being real—it makes me shake my head, too. Somehow I get the feeling that the defense is not well versed in the workings between men and women. Love is not always shown in words and conduct. While it is not so common nowadays, there is also the concept of platonic relations. And indeed, the accused may have gotten the wrong impression all on her own. In other words, there is a possibility that she made too much of his casual gestures. That, actually, is typical of the stalker incidents becoming common nowadays.”