Кэйго Хигасино - A Midsummer’s Equation

Narumi felt her hands clench into fists. Ever since she had heard about the plan to visit the boat, her head been filled with ways to find problems with the development. It had never once crossed her mind to try to appreciate the technology for what it was.

“Kyohei tells me that your father used to work at a company in Tokyo?” Yukawa asked, changing the subject.

“Yes?” Narumi said, lifting an eyebrow.

“What was the company called?”

“Arima Engines.”

“A leading manufacturer of engine components. With him for a father, I’d think you’d have a healthy appreciation for technology.”

“I don’t see how the two are related, honestly.”

“It’s related because it’s part of your experience. Observation won’t get you anywhere if you don’t bring all of your experience to bear.” Yukawa’s eyes shifted to look behind her and his face brightened. “Good morning!”

Narumi turned to see Kyohei walk into the dining room. He was carrying a cup of yogurt in his hand.

“Morning, Kyohei.”

Kyohei looked between her and Yukawa, then asked, “What are you two talking about?”

“Narumi was considering joining me today on an expedition of sorts. I was just giving her some pointers,” Yukawa said.

“An expedition? Can I come too?”

“It’s on a boat,” Yukawa said.

Kyohei’s face fell. “Oh.” He pulled a cushion over and sat down next to them.

Narumi stood. “I’ll see you later, then,” she said to Yukawa.

“I thought you might have reconsidered going.”

“After you’ve given me such wonderful advice? I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Yukawa smiled at that, but said nothing.

Narumi started to leave, then a thought occurred to her. “What exactly did you talk about with your friend from Tokyo?”

Yukawa’s chopsticks stopped in midair. “You’re referring to the phone call?”

“Yes. He was calling about Mr. Tsukahara, I’m guessing. Detective Kusanagi, wasn’t it?”

“You’re curious.”

“A little, sure. He was our guest. And I heard that Mr. Tsukahara used to be a homicide detective.”

Yukawa looked up at her. “Curious and well informed. That bit of information hasn’t been in the newspaper.”

“An old classmate is a local detective. He’s been on the case from the very beginning. He was here around lunchtime yesterday — I think he was still in the lobby when you came back.”

“Ah, I do recall a young detective there.”

“So how did you learn about Mr. Tsukahara being a detective? Your friend?”

“Indeed,” Yukawa replied. “Kusanagi is a homicide detective himself, so he knew Tsukahara, even though they were many years apart.”

Kyohei sat looking between the two of them, a mystified look on his face. He didn’t appear to be following the conversation.

“So what does Tokyo think about what happened?” Narumi asked, ignoring her cousin for the time being. “And why did Detective Kusanagi call you about it, Professor?”

A wry smile came to Yukawa’s lips. “Well, I could tell you why Kusanagi called me, but it’s a bit of a long story. Suffice it to say he just called to see how things were going. Of course, Kusanagi often has ulterior motives for the things he does. Actually, often isn’t quite right. Always is the word I was looking for. He always has an ulterior motive.”

Narumi furrowed her brows and shook her head. “I don’t follow.”

“I rarely do myself,” Yukawa said with a smile. “At any rate, with regards to what Tokyo thinks about this case, I’m afraid I can’t say, because they didn’t tell me. Still, I get the feeling that there are concerns. For example, there’s the question of why Mr. Tsukahara came to Hari Cove. Was it to attend the hearing on undersea resource development, or did he just stop by the hearing, having some other, primary reason for being here?”

“Like what?”

“Maybe your classmate hasn’t told you, but just before Mr. Tsukahara attended the hearing, he paid a visit to some summer homes in East Hari. Apparently, a murderer who Mr. Tsukahara once arrested had a house there.”

“A murderer?” Narumi tensed. “Who?”

“I didn’t get the name. I’ll ask next time I hear from him, if you really want to know.”

“No.” Narumi shook her head. “It’s okay.”

“Very well. As for me, I hope that they clear this case up quickly. It’s hard to focus on my work with the local police nosing around and friends from Tokyo calling me all the time. Do you know what accounts for most research delays? Interruptions that have nothing to do with the research whatsoever.”

He directed the last half of what he said toward Kyohei.

Out of the corner of her eye, Narumi saw Kyohei nod, as though the professor had spoken some deep truth. Shrugging, she left the dining room and headed back toward the kitchen.

At the Hari Cove police station, the investigative task force was meeting. An investigator from the local prefectural headquarters stood and opened his notebook. “We visited Mrs. Tsukahara last night at her home to ask if she’d noticed anything unusual about her husband’s behavior in the past few months. She repeated what we already have on file about movies he likes, books, and his occasional travel. She also mentioned that she couldn’t be entirely sure how he spent most of his days, because her job as a dressmaker kept her out of the house. We did confirm that there hadn’t been any altercations with anyone from his past or present, nor was the couple experiencing any financial difficulties. She also claims there was never any possibility of an affair.”

Section Chief Hozumi butted in with a chuckle. “Well, if his wife says so, it must be true.”

“Er, right,” the investigator continued, “we’re going to be checking on that with his former colleagues, of course. Regarding Hidetoshi Senba, she again confirmed what we already know, that Tsukahara tended to remember everyone he had ever caught, but rarely talked about them. Senba was no exception. We also checked the study, with the widow’s permission, but didn’t find any materials relating to past cases, Senba’s included. It’s worth noting that detectives from the Tokyo PD had spoken to her before we arrived, but she said she told them nothing she hadn’t told us, nor did they take any evidence with them.” The investigator gave a sort of half-bow to the room and took a seat.

The conference room was lined with desks. In the middle, with their backs to the wall, sat the detectives from the prefectural homicide division. Commissioner Tomita and Chief Okamoto from Hari sat near Hozumi. Neither man looked particularly comfortable surrounded by detectives from the prefectural police.

Facing them sat several dozen investigators, their desks neatly arranged side by side — the official task force for what they were calling the “Hari Cove abandoned body case.”

Nishiguchi sat toward the back of the room, listening to the proceedings and occasionally taking notes. It was his first time being involved in such a large-scale operation, and he hadn’t quite grasped yet how all the parts were supposed to work.

Sitting next to Hozumi, Isobe leaned forward in his chair and scanned the faces in the room. “Any results from East Hari?”

An investigator from prefectural homicide sitting next to Hashigami stood and related what Hashigami had told Nishiguchi the day before — that Senba’s late wife’s old neighbors didn’t have a bad word to say about the man. He also noted for the record that, though Senba’s sentence had been served, no one had seen him in East Hari after his arrest.

Isobe turned to Hozumi. “Well? Is Senba still important to our case?”