by Nick Tanner
'Nothing yet, which is why I've asked for her picture to be circulated to the papers. We should have some coverage in the evening editions.'
'That'll make grim reading,' said Mori sighing.
'I got an undertaker in to... you know... work their curious kind of magic-'
Saito was cut off from what further thoughts he might have as surprisingly they were interrupted by the Chief Super poking his head around the door. He looked at all three, dismissed Mori and Junsa Saito from his gaze and then indicated to Inspector Saito that he was needed in his office.
Once settled back into the comfortable surroundings of his own office the Chief Super opened up. ‘There’s been another murder,’ he said quietly.
‘Where?’
‘Do you know anything about this?’ The Chief Super threw down the newspaper from the previous Friday with the story detailing Watanabe’s affair.
‘I’ve seen it – what of it?’
‘That’s our new victim – Junko Iida. Shinagawa section are looking into it, but when they saw the cause of death they notified us. I think you need to get along there, don’t you?’
‘Any witnesses?’
‘Only one. A neighbour spotted a stocky man with curly hair and a wispy moustache leaving the victim's apartment block. Sound like anyone you know?’
‘Could be anyone.’
‘Could be anyone, indeed.’
*
Thirty minutes later Sergeant Mori and Inspector Saito pulled up outside a modern-looking apartment block in Omori. They were immediately met by the investigating officer.
‘Imanishi san. Long time no see,’ beamed Inspector Saito bowing low. He was pleased that it was his old colleague that he was to liaise with. Imanishi was a kind, calm and patient man and one who tended to think on the same lines as him.
Imanishi also bowed and then slapped his old colleague on the back. ‘How are things with you? Straight back into it, I see. I of course heard about your… er… difficulty. But it’s good to see you. I can’t recall the last time we met.’
‘Shinoda!’ reminded Inspected Saito.
‘Oh, yes. Of course! How could I fail to remember that one?’
‘Exactly! Well, lead on. We’re in your hands.’
‘I was thinking the opposite. I suspect you know more about all this than I do, but anyway, we’re on the second floor.’
They followed Imanishi silently up a series of concrete steps and then down an outside corridor passing the doors of the apartments as they went.
‘What sort of area is this?’ asked Saito looking around him.
‘I couldn’t really tell you,’ replied Imanishi. ‘It’s not a hot bed of crime if that’s what you're asking. This apartment block tends to be occupied by young, single professionals. The apartments are rented.’
They entered and saw in front of them a short hallway. As he went Inspector Saito turned round to view the genkan they had just come from. A row of coats and hats hung on pegs near the front door beneath which there were several umbrellas in a stand, itself situated next to a shoe holder. For a few seconds he stood staring at the scene.
‘What’s the matter?’ asked Mori.
‘Nothing! Probably nothing,’ replied Saito, preferring to keep his council. ‘Come on. Let’s see what we have.’
They entered the main room of the apartment.
‘We haven’t moved anything. I wanted you to see the scene. Forensics have done their bit so we’re fairly free now,’ explained Imanishi.
Saito bent down and examined the young woman – another beautiful woman, cut down in her prime. He lifted her skirt – no knickers. ‘Tallies!’ he said. He looked closely at her neck. He was no expert but the marks were almost identical to those of Eri Yamada and the Sanyoshinko victim. He looked up to Imanishi. ‘There’s no doubt about it. It’s our man. What did the pathologist say?’
‘Aside from the cause of death - nothing much! Time of death - sometime after twelve-thirty on Friday.’
‘The pathologist told you that?’
‘No. A neighbour saw her come home around twelve-thirty and then another neighbour, after hearing some strange banging saw a stranger leaving the apartment block.’
‘Thank the Gods for inquisitive neighbours. And what time was this?'
‘About five-thirty.’
‘On Friday.’
‘That’s correct.’
‘But this neighbour didn’t think to immediately check if everything was alright after what they'd heard?’
‘I’m afraid not. No.’
‘Pity! That body’s been lying here for a few days and the evidence has been getting cold.’
‘But they did get a description of a man making his way down the corridor outside towards the stairs – a stranger she confirmed. No-one she recognised.’
‘Curly hair, thick-set, moustache. Yes, I heard.’
‘So what do you think?’
‘One thing puzzles me. With our other two victims they were left outside or moved outside and yet this one was left here…’ he suddenly stopped short and then quickly went from room to room opening every cupboard and wardrobe he could find.
‘Interesting,’ he said. ‘Something’s missing.’
‘What.’
‘I don’t know,’ Saito answered enigmatically. He then moved over to the balcony windows. ‘They’ve dusted here, right?’
‘Yes.’
He slid the door back and had a quick look outside taking a peremptory examination of the outside of the building. He could see a series of drainpipes and the balcony of the apartment on the lower floor. He also glanced across at the building opposite seeing only a barrier of concrete in front of him. There were no over-looking views into the apartment he was in. ‘And this window – it was open?’ he asked, referring to the sliding windows that opened onto the balcony.
‘I’m not sure that anyone has touched it bar you.’
‘Fine, fine. So it was open. Could you get the men to dust round here, please,’ he said pointing to the balcony railing outside.
He then made a final, almost casual, cycle of the room and then picked up a handbag that was sitting on the sideboard. ‘Mind if I look inside?’ he asked Imanishi.
‘Be my guest,’ replied Imanishi looking on as if he was witnessing a grand master at work.
Saito rifled through the bag and took out a purse. ‘I’ll take these cards if you don’t mind. I’ll return them later of course.’ He looked over to his sergeant who like Imanishi had been watching Saito with intrigue. Rarely had he seen him move around a scene of crime with such intent. ‘Right then Mori, we’ll be on our way. I think some things are beginning to make sense to me at last.’
‘They are?’ replied Mori quizzically.
‘Of course they are!’ Inspector Saito said as he made his way back to the door. For a final time he eyed the coats and hats in the genkan and then pulled a wry smile as he left the premises.
63 - In which Watanabe finds solace in the rituals of Sumo
Thursday 6th January 2:30pm
Compared to the previous few days Hiro Watanabe had spent a relaxing day. He’d scored a few tickets for the New Year Sumo tournament and with unusual kindness had invited his wife to join him. As ever she had dutifully acquiesced despite the fact that she detested the sport.
After entering the main hall, instead of making his way to his reserved box as asked, he'd reported to his assigned teahouse stall, the concession stand, responsible for taking his food and drink orders. He'd opted for his usual - bento boxes with yakitori (grilled chicken skewers) and, of course, beer and placed his order with relish in his eyes.
A staff member then showed him to his box, a cramped space clearly meant for those more petite individuals from former generations. Watanabe though, as was his habit, had paid double, reserving a four-seater box to himself and his wife meaning that they had room to spread out.
Before the key matches began he'd carefully viewed each wrestler, clad only
in their silk mawashi (belt), as they stamped their feet in a wide stance – a gesture reported to drive away evil spirits. The crowd chanted and cheered as the wrestlers then proceeded to sip the special power water intended to purify their bodies and as they tossed salt high into the air to prepare the ring.
Pairs of wrestlers came and went, some bouts lasted minutes rather than seconds and though it all he managed to lose himself in the rituals and ceremony that surrounded the whole event. The solemnity was only broken by men parading around the ring, holding flags with sponsors' logos. He couldn’t help noticing one sporting the name of Niigata Kyubin and smiled ruefully.
To accompany the wrestling he’d then eaten well and drank even better. The yakitori, the sumo hall's specialty, was succulent with just the right touch of smokiness. He also had a pot of chanko, the hearty stew of vegetables, meat and fish that the sumo wrestlers ate to gain weight.
It was on occasions like this that he could almost believe that all was well with the world.
64 - In which Sergeant Mori lays out his case
Thursday 6th January 2:45pm
On arriving back at head-quarters Sergeant Mori was just in time to see Junsa Saito place the phone down with an exultant look on her face.
‘That was Inspector Imanishi. He said he was just with you in Omori-’
‘He was. What of it?’
‘They’ve had an instant result from the finger-print analysis. Fujiwara’s prints are all over the door frame!’
‘Fujiwara! Are you sure?’
‘That’s what he just said, sir. You can ring Imanishi san yourself, if you like.’
‘That won’t be necessary. I trust you to have got all the necessary details.’
‘But he said Fujiwara’s prints were only on the door frame, nothing else. Either he didn’t enter or he didn’t touch anything or else what he did touch they couldn’t get a decent print from.’
‘Hmm…’ Mori was thinking about the new information and from what he was hearing, yet again Fujiwara seemed to be placed right at the centre of all the action. ‘The witness statement saw a thickset man with curly hair leaving the apartment building? Is this Fujiwara, then?’ he asked. ‘I thought he had cropped hair. We couldn’t really miss it, could we?’ He opened up a folder next to him and scanned the photo of the dead Fujiwara within.
‘No we couldn’t,’ interrupted Junsa Saito excitedly. ‘But from my interviews with Rumi Park she gave a description of Fujiwara which matches the one from the witness statement. It seems at some point he must have shaved his head.’
‘When did she tell you this?’
‘Just this morning.’
‘So! This all looks like more and more that everything is beginning to cluster around Fujiwara, doesn’t it? Pity he’s now dead. It robs us of a certain justice.’
‘Where’s Inspector Saito, by the way. Didn’t he come back with you?’
‘No. I dropped him off at Omori station. He said he had some checking to do himself and if I’m not mistaken he had a real glint in his eye.’
‘Did he say why?’
‘No. Not really.’
‘So Fujiwara is our main suspect now?’
‘It’s exactly as I see it, but like we said earlier it’s Ozawa that’s behind all this.’
‘And you believe that he’s employed the use of the Yakuza to do his dirty business?’
‘I think it’s the only possible solution. Add to that we have evidence of Fujiwara now being at this new scene and also presently his lack of an alibi for last Thursday night. Like Inspector Saito said – it’s all beginning to make sense.
'But what have the Sanyosinko woman and Junko Iida got to do with Fujiwara?'
'I'm not sure at the moment. We still obviously don't know much about Sanyoshinko but Junko Iida sounds like the sort of disreputable character who might have crossed Fujiwara's path - even worked for, who knows? Anyway the three crimes may not be linked, of course. There may be no connection at all between them save the time fame in which they've been committed. Same man with different motives. We may not yet understand all the story but I'm certain Fujiwara is our man.' Mori spoke with a rare degree of certainty in his voice.
Twenty minutes they were joined by Inspector Saito red-faced and flushed from his activities. It appeared he was quite ready to open up about his own recent thoughts about the case. He settled himself down in his black leather chair, placed his hands together as if in prayer with his finger tips resting just below his lips and then launched in.
‘Here’s something I’ve been thinking about over the past few hours,’ he started. ‘In fact it’s something I’ve been chewing away at over night and most of the day. I think our murderer made a mistake, a huge mistake, a fatal mistake-’
‘Mistake? How so?’ asked Sergeant Mori.
‘I think he killed the wrong woman! I don’t think he intended to murder two people on the same night at all. That just doesn’t sit right with me – I mean think about it. Why would you do that?’ he looked at the others expecting a response.
Mori was the first to reply. ‘Well, usually it’s to take care of a witness who’s spotted you.’
‘Or someone on a mad killing spree like in the States,’ suggested Junsa Saito.
‘Exactly, but then why have the two bodies left at different locations? In a witness scenario, or even on a spree, the bodies would be pretty much at the same location, wouldn’t they? No! I think he made a mistake!’
‘Okay, I’m with you,’ said sergeant Mori hesitantly but still sitting silently pleased with himself. His statement of half an hour ago to Junsa Saito concerning ‘same man, different motive’ appeared to be highly accurate. ‘But aside from the body locations do you have any other thoughts,’ he added knowing full well that he needn’t have asked the question.
Inspector Saito leaned forward in his seat. He was quite clearly enjoying himself. ‘Then there was something I spotted last night - the distinct similarity between Yamada Eri and our Sanyoshinko victim and while you two were carrying out your own enquiries this morning I double-checked on my suspicions. They do look similar, not identical but similar. Also the way the coats and hats were hanging in Junko Iida's apartment just now. They reminded me of a living person and it just struck me at how similar everyone's clothing is. I think he made a mistake. He went for the wrong woman!’
‘Okay, so what are you saying – in terms of chronology?’ said Mori – another hesitant look spreading across his face.
‘I think he murdered our Sanyoshinko victim first, realised his mistake and then went after his real intended victim – Yamada Eri!’ Inspector Saito sat back in his chair and sat with his hands behind his head looking expectantly at the other two.
Mori and Junsa Saito merely looked back with their mouths agog although Mori for one was not surprised. It was quite in character for Inspector Saito to leap to fantastic theory.
‘And your evidence for all this is?’
‘I’ve just told you!’
‘You’re going to have to spell it out for me.’
‘Our killer waits at Kamioka station or has tracked her on the trains. He then follows his victim, that is to say he follows a woman wearing a long brown coat and hat, someone who he has mistaken for Yamada Eri. Don't forget Deguchi also made a similar error in his identification of the woman on the CCTV in the convenience store.'
'So he did! That's right!' exclaimed Sergeant Mori.
'Our man murders her only to find he has made a mistake. Again, remember that strangulation using a ligature usually involves an attack from behind. Another cause of the mistake! Anyway, he hides victim number one and then hurriedly makes his way back to the station. This time he makes no mistake and does away with Yamada san in the park near her house. For a reason I don't know, and may never know, he then returns to the first victim but this time makes a better job of disposing of her body by dumping her in the Sanyoshinko canal.
'It all sounds a bit far-fetched, sir,’ said Ju
nsa Saito. ‘And wouldn’t it involve a huge amount of luck? I mean this business of going back to the station and following Yamada Eri. How would he know that he would see her at all? You know how crowded the stations get!'
‘'Yes, well... It's all fairly theoretical, I admit.’
‘Don’t you think you are over-complicating things a bit, sir?’ she continued.
‘I agree with Inspector Saito,’ interrupted Sergeant Mori. ‘With three bodies, not just one, a more complicated story lies in here with Fujiwara right in the middle of it. Also if our murderer is Fujiwara, and I realise it’s a big if, then he’s recently been instructed to do ‘Yubitsume’. He’d obviously made a mistake or messed up in some way and my betting it’s because of this mistake, as you suggest sir, with the victims.’
