The Honjin Murders

by Seishi Yokomizo

  Kosuke continued to grin.

  “Like I said, Uncle, this is the key to the trick. The big reveal, and yet still only the beginning. That night—Oh, hello there. Come on in.”

  Ginzo turned towards the engawa, where a timid-looking Suzuko had just appeared, dressed in a long-sleeved kimono.

  “Perfect timing, Suzu-chan,” he said warmly. “We hope you can answer a question for us. Is this a bridge from the Lovebird koto?”

  Suzuko nervously entered the room. She took a look at the item in Kosuke’s hand, and nodded.

  “There was already a bridge missing from the koto before you played it at the wedding, wasn’t there?” said Kosuke. “Do you know when that bridge went missing?”

  “I don’t know exactly. It was gone when I got the koto out.”

  “And when did you get it out?”

  “The day the bride arrived. That morning I got it out of the storehouse. I saw there was one bridge missing so I took one off my practice koto and put it on the Lovebird.”

  “So the koto was kept in the storehouse. Could anyone go in and out of this storehouse?”

  “No, usually it’s not open. But because the bride was coming we needed loads of stuff out of it, so it had been open for a while.”

  “I see. So lots of people were going in and out?”

  “Yes, everybody was going in and out. They needed plates and bowls and zabuton cushions and folding screens. They had to get them all out of the storehouse.”

  “Thank you. You’re a smart girl, aren’t you, Suzu-chan? By the way—”

  Kosuke put a gentle hand on her shoulder and looked into her childlike face.

  “Suzu-chan, why are you so worried about your dead cat?”

  Later Kosuke Kindaichi would say he had no idea this question would turn out to be so significant. He was just curious to discover what distressing secret a simple girl was holding in her heart that would cause her to go roaming at night around the grave of her dead pet.

  However, the question seemed to terrify Suzuko. Her expression immediately clouded over.

  “Tama?…”

  “Yes, Tama. Do you remember doing anything bad to Tama?”

  “No, no. Of course I didn’t.”

  “Then why are you so upset?… Suzu-chan, when did Tama die?”

  “The day before the wedding. He died early in the morning.”

  “I see. And then the next morning you held his funeral. Is that right?”

  Suzuko didn’t reply. But then all of a sudden, she burst into tears. Kosuke and Ginzo exchanged a look but then Kosuke suddenly seemed to have remembered something and his breathing quickened.

  “Suzu-chan, is it possible that you didn’t hold Tama’s funeral on the morning of the wedding ceremony? Have you been telling a lie?”

  Suzuko began to cry even harder.

  “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. But I felt sorry for poor Tama. Going in a cold grave all alone. Poor Tama. So I put him in his box and hid it inside a closet, and then… my big brother was killed.”

  “Hm. Your big brother was killed… And then?”

  “I got really scared. Because Sabu-chan told me that if you leave a dead cat lying around, it’ll turn into a ghost. He threatened me saying that something bad would happen. So I got scared and while everybody was all upset about Kenzo dying, I went and buried Tama.”

  That was Suzuko’s secret. The one that had been haunting her so badly that she had started sleepwalking.

  “So Suzu-chan, the box that you put Tama into, the coffin—during the wedding ceremony and when that terrible thing happened to your big brother, it was in your room the whole time?”

  “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. If I’d told my mother, she’d have been so angry with me.”

  “Uncle!”

  Kosuke suddenly jumped up and moved away from Suzuko, as if something had just occurred to him.

  “Never mind, Suzu-chan,” said Ginzo kindly. “It’s all right. You told the truth and now there’s nothing more to worry about. Come on, dry your tears and go back to the others. Kiyo-san’s been looking for you, you know.”

  Wiping her eyes as she went, Suzuko scurried out onto the engawa. Kosuke listened a moment to the pitter-patter of her footsteps, then grabbed Ginzo by the arm.

  “Uncle, let’s go and look. We have to check the cat’s grave.”

  “Ko-san, what are you—?”

  But Kosuke wasn’t listening. Holding up the hem of his worn-out old hakama, he shot off towards the front door, Ginzo of course rushing to keep up.

  They went straight to the end of the garden where the grave was located. As luck would have it, the shovel that had been used to dig up the grave the previous day was still lying there. Kosuke seized it and began to dig.

  “Ko-san, why on earth are you—?”

  “That girl’s naive lie had me completely blinkered. At the time of the murders, the cat’s coffin was still in Suzuko’s room.”

  “You’re saying the killer hid something inside? But we just dug up this grave yesterday.”

  “Y-yes. But th-that means afterwards would be the safest time to hide something in it.”

  It took no time at all to dig down to the wooden box. Its lid had been pried off just a day earlier, so the nails were already loose, and this time it was easy to remove. Inside it looked just as before. The tender-hearted Suzuko had wrapped the tiny body of the kitten in a silken blanket.

  Kosuke took a stick and used it to poke open the blanket, then reached down and with one finger and thumb carefully extracted something from underneath—a parcel wrapped in oilpaper and tied up with string. It was about the same size as the kitten.

  Ginzo was amazed. The parcel definitely hadn’t been there in the coffin when they’d checked the day before.

  Kosuke tore off a corner of the oilpaper and peered inside. Then he immediately held it up for Ginzo to see.

  “L-L-Look, Uncle. It w-was here after all.”

  Ginzo looked through the tear in the oilpaper, and all at once the ground seemed to sway under his feet. In all his years on this earth he never had and never would again experience a shock like this one. Even though in this case alone there were still many more grisly discoveries to come, nothing would come close to the sheer horror of this moment.

  CHAPTER 13

  Inspector Isokawa is Shaken

  “Hey, where have you two been?”

  Inspector Isokawa was sitting on the veranda of the main building, watching Kosuke and Ginzo walk back from their visit to the cat’s grave.

  “Just went for a walk.”

  “A walk? Around the garden?”

  “Yep, that’s right.”

  Isokawa looked the two men up and down. Ginzo’s ashen face was unmissable.

  “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

  “No, what do you mean? We’re fine.”

  “Seriously. What have you got there?”

  “Oh, this?”

  Hanging from Kosuke’s hand was an object wrapped in a bundle inside a large handkerchief. He swung it nonchalantly.

  “A souvenir,” he announced, a grin on his face.

  “Souvenir?”

  “Right. But, Inspector, perhaps you shouldn’t ask so many questions. How about a few answers? What’s happened with Saburo?”

  “Yes, well… I think you’d better sit down. Kubo-san, are you feeling all right? You’re looking very pale…”

  “What? Oh, we’ve been talking about Katsuko’s murder; of course he’s feeling miserable right now. So, what did Saburo tell you?”

  “Well, he was rambling rather, but I really think that this time you have to share the blame, Kindaichi-san.”

  “You’re joking! Me? How on—?”

  “Yesterday you were having a heated discussion with Saburo about detective novels. Well, it seems that provoked him. You were talking about locked room murders, weren’t you? Saburo decided to try to solve this locked room case himself, so last night he sneaked into the ann
exe house.”

  “I see. So that’s what he—Anyway, what then?”

  “Well, he locked all the doors completely from the inside. In other words, he was trying to recreate the conditions exactly as they were the night of the murders. But as he was doing that, he got the feeling that there was someone in the closet behind the tokonoma alcove. There wasn’t really any noise; it was just a feeling. He thought he could hear someone breathing. So eventually he couldn’t help it—he had to go and take a look. So…”

  “Yes, yes. So he?…”

  “So Saburo opened the closet door and a man jumped out, brandishing a sword. Of course, Saburo screamed and tried to run away, but he only got as far as the large tatami room before his shoulder and the screen were sliced open. After that he was in a daze and he doesn’t remember any more. He doesn’t even recall making his way to the genkan door.”

  “I see. And what did this attacker look like?”

  “He only got a glimpse of him as it was dark, and on top of that he was startled, so he says he didn’t get a proper look at his face. I think that’s very likely under the circumstances. But he did say that he appeared to be wearing an oversized surgical mask… Well, that’s about it.”

  “I suppose he didn’t get a look at the man’s fingers either, then?”

  “Of course not. He didn’t have time to check something like that. However, from the bloody fingerprints left behind I think we can conclude that it was none other than the three-fingered man for sure.”

  Kosuke and Ginzo exchanged glances.

  “And then?… Was that all Saburo had to say?”

  “Well, yes. That was about it. I’d really hoped to hear a more precise account, but I was disappointed. Kindaichi-san, this case is really beginning to weigh heavily on me. There’s this other man, Taya, to deal with too. I can’t even tell whether he has any connection to the three-fingered man. It makes my damn head ache.”

  “Come on, please don’t take it so hard. There’ll be some good news any time now.” Kosuke got to his feet. “I’d forgotten all about it, but the detective that was here before, what’s-his-name, I sent him off to H—village.”

  “You mean Kimura? What business did you have for him in H—?”

  “There was something I needed him to look into for me. Anyway, Uncle, shall we be going?”

  “Where are you two off to?”

  It sounded almost like a challenge.

  “Oh, just for a walk. We’re going to take a little stroll over that way. Inspector, you’ll be here for a while, will you?”

  Isokawa looked suspiciously at Kosuke.

  “So if you are,” Kosuke continued blithely, “would you mind asking Ryuji-san something for me? He claims to have arrived here on the morning after the murders. However, just after midday the day before—in other words on the 25th, the day of the wedding—he was seen getting off a train at N—station. The witness appears to be telling the truth. Would you mind asking Ryuji-san why he lied to us?”

  “Wh-what did you say?” Isokawa stammered.

  “Now, now, Inspector. There really is no call to impersonate me. Uncle, let’s go.”

  With that, Kosuke and Ginzo left the inspector sitting on the veranda, dumbstruck. They made their way around the house to the back gate.

  This back gate was on the west side of the property and was where the mysterious three-fingered man had apparently entered the grounds on the day of the wedding. The two men went through it and found themselves at the stream that ran along the west side of the residence. They followed the path that ran along the riverbank towards the north.

  “Ko-san, where are we going?”

  “I’m not sure. But the dog that trots around finds the bone. Let’s try trotting around this area.”

  Kosuke’s handkerchief-wrapped bundle still swung from his hand.

  They followed the stream in a northerly direction until they reached the mill with its waterwheel. The wheel was not currently turning.

  Right after the bridge by the mill, the path became extra narrow, made a sharp bend to the east and began to climb up the cliff edge. Kosuke and Ginzo rounded the bend and came face to face with a sizeable pond.

  This part of Okayama Prefecture was famous for its rice cultivation, and many ponds had been created for irrigation purposes, so this kind of feature was not at all unusual. However, at the sight of this particular pond, Kosuke stopped dead and stared into its depths. Then he called out to a passing farmhand:

  “Excuse me, do you drain this pond every year?”

  “Yes, we do.”

  “Has it already been done this year?”

  “No, not yet… It’s meant to be done every 25th of November but this year—well, what with everyone busy helping with the big event at the Ichiyanagi place—it got put off until the 5th of next month.”

  Kosuke looked disappointed.

  “Ah, I see. And the Ichiyanagi family knows about this of course?”

  “Yes, they know. This pond was dug by the old head of the family, Sakue-san. So whenever we’re going to drain it, we go and ask permission at the Ichiyanagi house. No real meaning to it, but it’s become the custom.”

  “I see. Thank you.”

  They left the farmhand behind and continued up the path along the cliff edge. Ginzo didn’t ask, but it was clear that Kosuke knew exactly what he was looking for, so Ginzo just followed silently behind. After a while, there was a visible curve in the line of the cliff edge up ahead.

  “Ah! There it is,” Kosuke called out as they arrived at the curve in the path. Just beyond, there was a narrow patch of flat land, and on it was a small semi-cylindrical structure made from clay, just over twenty square feet in size. It was a charcoal kiln.

  There were no professional charcoal makers out there in the country. The local folks were quite canny at saving money and would make charcoal for their own personal use. Farmers would construct their own kiln from bricks and clay. Each one was built on a very small scale; it could manage no more than six or seven bags at a time, or at the most about twelve. A typical kiln was scarcely bigger than this one, and heightwise came up to about chest-level on a man.

  Kosuke and Ginzo had come across one of these kilns. From the carbonized stick that was protruding from it, it seemed that someone had just finished making a batch of charcoal. Kosuke ran over and bent down to peer in through the narrow opening. Inside was a man with a handkerchief wrapped around his head, down on his hands and knees, scraping up the fragments of charcoal. It looked as if he had almost got all the pieces out.

  “Hey, there!”

  At the sound of Kosuke’s voice, the man stopped and looked around.

  “I have a question for you. Could you come out a moment?”

  The man continued to rummage in the kiln awhile, but eventually emerged, still on all-fours. He brought with him two bamboo baskets filled with charcoal. The man’s face and hands were black with ash; his eyes two bright points in the middle.

  “What do you want?”

  “When did you light the fire to make this batch of charcoal? It’s a very important question, so please answer truthfully.”

  In the countryside whenever something unusual happens, news spreads very quickly. It had been common knowledge since the previous day that this short, unremarkable youth in the shabby hakama was a famous detective from the city. The farmer, slightly flustered by the appearance of the famous detective at his charcoal kiln, began to count on his knobbly fingers.

  “Let’s see. I must have lit the furnace on the evening of the 25th. Yes, without a doubt. It was the day of the Ichiyanagi wedding.”

  “And the wood? When did you put that in?”

  “Hmm, yes, the timber. I put that in the day before—so the 24th. But I’d only got about half of it done before nightfall, so I went home. Then the following evening I stuffed in the rest of the branches and lit the furnace.”

  “Between the two visits did you notice anything had changed? Anything that struck yo
u as strange?”

  “Now that you mention it, after I set the fire on the evening of the 25th, I came back later that night from time to time to check on it. Yes, that was it—definitely the 25th—it was snowing heavily. Anyway, I could have sworn there was a strange smell coming from the kiln. A foul stink like burning skin. I thought a dead cat or something had got mixed up with the firewood, but no, someone had been playing a prank. They’d stuck some dirty old clothes and a pair of shoes in through the chimney. See, I pulled them out.”

  The pile of clothes he indicated was burnt beyond recognition, but despite having turned completely black, the shoes had kept their shape. Kosuke poked at them with a stick.

  “May I take a look inside the kiln?”

  “Yes, but there’s nothing left in there.”

  Oblivious to his hakama trailing in the charcoal ash, Kosuke stooped down and entered the kiln. He could be heard scrabbling about in the darkness awhile before emitting a wild shriek.

  “Q-quick! C-come here!”

  “Y-yes?” said the charcoal maker, running to the kiln entrance.

  “Hahaha! Everyone’s impersonating me today… Please, could you run down to the Ichiyanagi place and get the police inspector to come up here right away? If any of the local police or our detectives are there too, could you have them join him? Oh, and get them to bring some shovels with them too.”

  “Wh-what shall I tell them—?”

  “They’ll find out soon enough. But please hurry!”

  After the man had shot off like a pitch-black pebble thrown from the cliff, Kosuke emerged from the kiln, the tip of his own nose covered in soot.

  “Ko-san, inside that kiln, is it?…”

  Kosuke nodded briefly, confirming Ginzo’s suspicions. He gulped and didn’t ask anything further. Kosuke also kept silent. Above them in the late autumn sky, they could hear birds singing.

  After a while, Inspector Isokawa turned up with one of his junior detectives and a local police constable, the latter two with shovels in their hands. They were all slightly out of breath and very curious.

  “Kindaichi-san, what’s going on?”

  “Inspector, please dig up the ground in the bottom of this kiln. There’s a corpse buried underneath.”