Lisa Atkinson - Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. Vol. 131, No. 5. Whole No. 801, May 2008

Kaoichi’s really caught a cold now.

He went into the children’s room and placed the covers over them. Noiselessly he turned his body around. It was then.

Ah.

Kaise stood stock-still.

It came.

The sensation he’d had. Again.

It was last night. Yes, he had heard it last night. He had definitely heard something. Something important...

Kaise rushed back to the living room.

“Aiko, what was it?”

“What?”

“You were saying something yesterday...”

“Well, Mr. Fuwatari sent some apples...”

“No. That’s not it.”

“Oh, about Kao-chan’s class? There was a kid who spilled some paint...”

That was it.

In order to cover up the fact that he had spilled paint, he had doused it with a bucket of water.

That was the setup.

In order to hide the fact that one ID had disappeared, twenty-nine others were stolen.

Say — Owada lost his ID. Though it was not obvious from his outward appearance, there was some disturbance in — Owada’s mind as he faced imminent retirement. He was absent-minded. He was careless. He lost his ID, the very soul of a police officer. Take that as an assumption.

He couldn’t report that he had lost his ID. Even if his lips were pried open, — Owada couldn’t admit this. This man who had lived strictly according to rules and regulations would be fully disgraced. His forty years of life as a police officer would burst like a bubble. That was his motive. That was the sole thing that could be the motive that pushed — Owada to commit this crime. His retirement date was soon. — Owada valued his “Army Sergeant” moniker. Wasn’t that what was at the root of this incident?

Kaise looked at the clock. Ten-fifteen.

He saw the motive. But he had no proof.

What should I do?

If — Owada was the culprit, the IDs were no doubt safe. Kaise couldn’t fathom him throwing them away. He would return them after he retired. He must be thinking along those lines.

They were hidden somewhere. His house. His garden. A park. A coin locker...

Should Kaise contact Internal Investigations? Or should he collaborate with the Criminal Investigation Department to deal with this?

That would be useless. His idea would be laughed off. Even if the higher-ups moved on this, what if the culprit wasn’t — Owada? It would be accusing a police officer who had lived strictly by the book of being a burglar. Kaise’s word would smear mud on the last moment of — Owada’s life as a police officer.

I’ll have to make him admit it myself. Kaise made up his mind.

But his opponent was “Army Sergeant.” If he approached him directly, he would probably be rebuffed. If — Owada was guilty, he must have committed the crime under duress. He would hardly admit at this point that he was the one.

No...

It wasn’t necessary to make him admit it. What was at stake was the IDs. It was all right as long as twenty-nine IDs were returned. Then, what could be done...

Kaise fell into deep thought. He didn’t hear Aiko speaking.

Eleven o’clock. Kaise stood up. “I’m going out for a bit.”

The two-story house was small for a single-family dwelling.

With no hesitation he rang the doorbell. Three times... four times... five times...

“Who’s there at this hour?”

He heard the voice first as — Owada burst out the door.

“Superintendent?... What is it that you want of me? And at this hour!”

Kaise apologized for his rudeness and said, “I found out who stole the IDs.”

— Owada’s large eyes opened wider. He tried to say something in response, but his lips only trembled a bit and no words came forth.

Kaise’s conviction was confirmed. It is this man after all.

He was led into the living room.

There was a framed photograph of — Owada’s three sons. One worked for an apparel manufacturer. Another was a hair stylist. The third was a video-game software designer. Kaise had heard this from Tomoyo. It appeared that the occupations chosen by the sons were witness to a long history of family discord. A negative role model. No doubt — Owada had been the “Army Sergeant” at home as well.

“Thank you for waiting.” —Owada appeared, neatly dressed. He had regained his composure, but he couldn’t hide his stiff expression.

They sat formally facing each other.

“Inspector, who is the perpetrator?” —Owada started off, in the tense atmosphere.

Kaise spoke slowly, “I don’t have a name.”

“What do you mean? You just said you knew...”

“I had a telephone call from the culprit. Anonymously.”

“Yes?” The muscles of — Owada’s face slackened. “But why did you come here?”

“Because it is related to you.”

“To me?”

“Yes.” As he gauged — Owada’s response, Kaise continued to read the script he had in his mind. “The culprit didn’t give his name. But he did state his motive. He was full of hatred toward you. If he stole the IDs, it would cause hardship for you as the one in charge of the storage. He said that is why he did it.”

— Owada sank into silence. He probed Kaise’s eyes.

Kaise gave force to his words. “But he has become afraid. He wants to return the documents. That is what he said. However...” his voice became even firmer, “he tore up your ID. So he can only return twenty-nine of them.”

“...”

Listen to me carefully, Kaise thought, as he continued in a prayerful way. “I told the culprit to make certain he returns them by noon tomorrow to a place where a police officer can find them.”

— Owada nodded. Or Kaise had this illusion.

“That is all. I ask that you keep this matter a secret. I don’t intend to report this to my superiors.”

“You’re not reporting it?”

“No. If it causes a commotion and the culprit is scared off from returning the IDs, all this will be futile. As long as the IDs are returned, the rest doesn’t matter. That is the way I feel.”

Their gazes locked onto each other.

It’s all set, Kaise thought. He believed it.

As — Owada saw Kaise out, he took a breath and said with deep emotion, “Your father was a fine man, but you’ve become a fine police officer just like him.”

Kaise couldn’t fathom — Owada’s intent.

He looked once more into — Owada’s eyes.

Tomorrow. You must.

The Headquarters Police Affairs Section was bustling from early morning.

On orders from the Headquarters Department Chief, Police Affairs Department Head Kamoike would be in charge of the press briefing at 1 p.m. Section Chief Kosuga was off the hook, but learning that Kaise had not drafted the briefing text, he flew into a rage. But that was only his way of posturing to those in the section. No doubt thinking that there might be a problem, as usual he had given a second order for the text. The announcement that Subsection Chief Ioka had prepared on the word processor had already been printed out and had received the approval of the Headquarters Department Head.

Kaise sat at his desk without moving. He was fretfully waiting for news of the discovery of the IDs.

I beg of you. All he could do was to pray for the result.

Time passed quickly. All of a sudden it was past 10:30, and when he next looked up it was close to 11:00.

The promise was for morning. Wasn’t that it?

The telephone rang. “Yes, Kaise here.”

“Hello, dear.” It was Aiko.

“What is it?” His voice was mixed with irritation.

“There was a call from the hospital... Your father’s condition is worse.”

Father’s condition...!

“How bad is it?”

“I don’t know. They said he suddenly collapsed in the hallway.” Aiko was upset.