The Inugami Curse

by Seishi Yokomizo

Be that as it may, Kindaichi at the outset found himself in a rather awkward position. He was not, after all, Sherlock Holmes: his renown had not reached every far corner of the earth—including this one. It was therefore quite difficult for him to explain his situation to the chief of the Nasu police and the detective in charge, both of whom had rushed to the inn upon hearing the news. Moreover, he had some scruples about making the contents of Wakabayashi’s letter public immediately, and for that reason especially, he hesitated to let the police know his real reason for coming to Nasu.

  As a result, the detective in charge was vaguely suspicious of Kindaichi. He interrogated him regarding every minor detail of his relationship with Wakabayashi. Kindaichi finally hedged by saying that he had been commissioned to conduct an investigation, but that now, with the client dead, he had no way of finding out what it was about. The detective made it clear, although he took pains to phrase it discreetly, that Kindaichi was to remain in Nasu for the time being—something to which Kindaichi had no objections, for he himself had firmly resolved not to leave town until he had solved the case.

  An autopsy was conducted on Wakabayashi’s body that very day, and the cause of death was confirmed. He had indeed been poisoned. Oddly, however, the poison had been detected not in gastric tissue but in lung tissue. In short, Wakabayashi had not drunk the poison, but had smoked it.

  With this revelation, the cigarette butt the victim had left in the ashtray instantly commanded attention. It was a foreign brand, and tests showed that the poison had been mixed in with the tobacco. Curiously, too, although several cigarettes still remained in Wakabayashi’s cigarette case, none of them had been tampered with, and only the one in the ashtray had been lethal. In other words, the murderer had not decided to kill Wakabayashi on a specific day or at a specific time; all that mattered was that he die sooner or later.

  This method seemed extremely casual, yet for that reason it was all the more subtle and ingenious. The killer did not need to be in the victim’s presence when the death occurred and so would be much less likely to fall under suspicion than with other means of poisoning. Kindaichi could not help but marvel at this devious plan. The person who had thrown this challenge in his face was no easy foe.

  On the day after Wakabayashi’s death, Kindaichi received a visitor at the Nasu Inn. The card the maid brought up read “Kyozo Furudate.”

  Recognizing the name with a start, Kindaichi narrowed his eyes. This Furudate must be the head of the Furudate Law Office, the man who was the Inugami clan’s family lawyer and who was charged with the safekeeping of Sahei Inugami’s will. With some apprehension, Kindaichi told the maid to show him up immediately.

  Furudate was a middle-aged gentleman of swarthy complexion and a rather stern countenance. All the time observing Kindaichi cautiously, with a lawyer’s sharp, shrewd eyes, he nonetheless used the politest of terms to introduce himself and to apologize for visiting unannounced.

  Kindaichi, as was his habit, scratched his head briskly. “I must say, I was quite shocked yesterday. But it must have come as a big blow to you, too.”

  “Yes, it’s so extraordinary, I still can’t believe it’s true. I came here today because I wanted to ask you about it.”

  “Yes?”

  “The police told me just now that Wakabayashi intended to commission you to investigate some matter.”

  “Yes, that’s right. But he was killed before he had a chance to tell me what it was, so I’m afraid I’ll never know what he wanted me to look into.”

  “Surely you must have some idea. I mean, he must have contacted you by letter or something.”

  “Well, yes…” Kindaichi fixed his gaze intently on the lawyer. “Mr. Furudate, you’re the Inugami clan’s attorney, are you not?”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “In that case, you wish to protect the family’s honor?”

  “Of course.”

  “To tell the truth, Mr. Furudate,” Kindaichi abruptly lowered his voice, “I kept this from the police since I, too, did not want to damage their honor, and I thought it best not to say anything unnecessarily—but I received this letter from Mr. Wakabayashi.” Kindaichi took out the letter, passed it to Furudate, and carefully studied his expression as he read it.

  Profound surprise swept rapidly over the lawyer’s face. Deep furrows lined his dark brow, and he began to perspire freely. His hands trembled as he held the letter.

  “Mr. Furudate, do you know anything about what is written in this letter?”

  Furudate, who had sat stupefied for some time, started when Kindaichi spoke. “Well, no…”

  “I find it quite strange. I mean, even if there were indications that something might happen to the Inugamis, why would Mr. Wakabayashi know about it? From this letter, it seems that he was quite certain. Do you have any idea why he felt so sure?”

  An expression of utmost agitation had appeared on Furudate’s face. He obviously knew something.

  Kindaichi leaned forward. “Mr. Furudate, weren’t you aware that Mr. Wakabayashi had sent this letter, that he had asked me to investigate something?”

  “Not at all. Thinking back, though, he was acting strange. He seemed jumpy, afraid of something.”

  “Afraid of something?”

  “Yes. Of course, I realized this only after he was killed.”

  “What could he have been afraid of? Do you have any idea?”

  “Well, in regard to that…” Furudate seemed to be debating something with himself. Making up his mind, he went on, “Actually, that’s what I came to discuss with you today. It’s about Sahei Inugami’s will.”

  “What about the will?”

  “I have the will locked inside my office safe. Yesterday, after what happened to Wakabayashi, I felt uneasy, so I looked inside the safe. There are indications that someone has opened and read it.”

  “Someone’s read the will?”

  Furudate nodded gravely. Kindaichi asked somewhat breathlessly, “And would there be a problem if someone has read the will?”

  “Well, it would have been opened and read sooner or later anyway. Now, of course, since Kiyo has finally returned, it will be read in a few days. But I have always been concerned that it might cause big trouble.”

  “Is there something unusual about the will?”

  “Extremely!” Furudate spoke with emotion. “It is so unusual as to be somewhat irrational. I tried my best to dissuade the old man—I told him it would make the members of his family hate each other—but he was so stubborn.”

  “Can’t you tell me what it says?”

  “Oh, no,” Furudate refused with a gesture of his hand. “That wouldn’t be right. According to the wishes of the deceased, the contents of the will are not to be released, on any account, until Kiyo returns to the family home in Nasu.”

  “I understand. In that case, I won’t press the matter. But the only people interested in its contents would be the members of the Inugami clan, so if the will appears to have been read, that means one of them must have opened…”

  “But that’s impossible. I can’t see how any of the Inugamis could have had a chance to open that safe. No, the way I see it, someone must have bribed Wakabayashi. He would have been able to open the safe, so one of the Inugamis must have asked him to make a copy of the will. Then when strange things started happening in the household, Wakabayashi must have become scared.”

  “What do you mean by strange things?”

  Furudate peered at Kindaichi’s face searchingly. “I think you’ve probably guessed. Yesterday, for instance, I heard that something strange happened out on the lake.”

  Kindaichi jerked. “The boat…”

  “Yes. I heard you examined the boat.”

  “I did. Someone had bored a hole in the bottom and plugged it with some kind of putty. So, that woman, Tamayo, is mentioned in the will?”

  “Oh, yes. The whole will revolves around her. She is in a position of absolute advantage as regards the Inugami inheritance. Unless she d
ies, she alone will decide who inherits the family fortune.”

  All at once, memories of the lovely woman of yesterday flooded over Kindaichi. What destiny had Sahei Inugami prepared for that rare beauty, that radiant goddess? In his mind’s eye, Kindaichi saw the boat again, sinking rapidly in the afternoon sun, Tamayo inside, desperately waving her arms above her—and a huge, shadowy black hand looming threateningly behind her.

  Kiyo’s Return

  November 1, 194_. Two weeks had passed since Kindaichi’s arrival. From the morning hours, the town of Nasu, nestled on the shores of Lake Nasu in the Shinshu region, buzzed with a portentous air. The news was all over town: Kiyo Inugami, the heir apparent to the Inugami throne, who for reasons unknown had been lingering in Tokyo after his repatriation from Southeast Asia, had finally returned late last night to the family home in Nasu with his mother, Matsuko, who had gone to meet him.

  The prosperity of Nasu depended entirely on the fate of the Inugami clan. As the clan prospered, so did the town. Formerly an impoverished lakeside village in mountainous terrain, buffeted by a harsh climate and poorly endowed agriculturally, Nasu had grown to its present population of more than one hundred thousand only because the Inugami Group, with the power of its vast capital, had sown its seeds there. As the seeds had sprouted, grown, and flowered, the surrounding region also had flourished, giving rise to the present-day community of Nasu.

  For this reason, there was no one living in Nasu or its environs, whether directly connected with the operations of the Inugami Group or not, who had not benefited to some degree from its presence. In one way or another, they all lived off the crumbs thrown to them by one of the family enterprises, so that the Inugamis were in fact the true lords of Nasu.

  No wonder, then, that the good people of Nasu were immensely curious about the Inugamis. It would be no exaggeration to say that after old Sahei’s passing the fate of the clan was a matter of concern for each and every resident of the region. Holding the fate of the Inugami clan in his hands was Matsuko’s only son, Kiyo, whose homecoming, as everyone knew, would finally allow Sahei’s will to be read. Therefore, they had awaited Kiyo’s repatriation as eagerly as—no, perhaps even more eagerly than—the family members had.

  Finally, the people had heard that Kiyo had returned to Japan. The news that he had landed in Hakata had zipped through the town like an electrical current through wire. They had longed impatiently for the man who would perhaps be their new lord and master, wanting him to rush back to Nasu without delay.

  Wait as they had, however, Kiyo had not come home. He and his mother, Matsuko, who had gone to meet him in Hakata, had stopped off at their city house in Tokyo and had shown no signs of leaving it. A delay of a couple of days, the people of Nasu could understand, but as their sojourn had lengthened to a week, then to ten days, the people had become concerned.

  Why didn’t Kiyo come home? Why didn’t he hasten back at top speed and demand that his grandfather’s will be read? His mother, Matsuko, would be more aware than anyone how the entire situation depended on him.

  Perhaps, someone had proposed, Kiyo was ill and convalescing at the Tokyo house. No, others had countered, how could that be the case? If he were convalescing, the country air of Nasu would be much more suitable than Tokyo’s. Besides, if he had had the strength to make his way back from far-off Hakata to Tokyo, there should be no problem in extending the journey the short distance to Nasu. As wealthy as the Inugamis were, if a train trip was difficult they could always rent a car. As for doctors, too, the family surely had the means to summon the finest from Tokyo to Nasu. Besides, Kiyo had never liked living in the big city, even as a boy. He dearly loved the Lake Nasu area—its nature, climate, and people—and he was intensely attached to the lakeside villa where he had been born. If the long war and subsequent detention had exhausted him and ruined his health, what better place for him to rest and recuperate than the main family home by Lake Nasu? So, the people had said, it was hard to attribute Kiyo’s and Matsuko’s extended stay in Tokyo to illness.

  No one, in the end, was able to explain adequately what could be detaining the mother and son in Tokyo. Why on earth were Kiyo and Matsuko tormenting the other family members and the people of Nasu like this?

  If the townspeople had felt this way, imagine the impatience of the other family members. Having gone alone to Hakata to meet her son, Matsuko had wired her two half-sisters through their husbands, telling them to await her and Kiyo in Nasu. Takeko, Umeko, and their families had rushed to Nasu from Tokyo and Kobe, respectively, and had been waiting irritably, day after day, for Matsuko and Kiyo to return.

  Strangely, though, having unpacked their bags at their city house in Tokyo, Matsuko and Kiyo had remained there, dropping out of touch, for more than two weeks. When the family had sent messages urging their speedy return, they had wired back saying they would set out that day, then the next, but in fact they had shown no signs of stirring.

  Even more oddly, when Takeko and Umeko, no longer able to stand the suspense, secretly arranged for a detective to investigate the comings and goings of mother and son, he had reported being unable to ascertain anything at all. Matsuko and Kiyo had remained secluded in their private quarters and had not shown themselves to anyone. Thus, their stay in Tokyo had drawn increasing suspicion and, together with the murder of Wakabayashi, had cast a dark shadow over the entire town of Nasu.

  On the morning of November 1, Kindaichi had overslept, and now, at past eleven, he had just finished brunch. He dragged a chair onto the balcony overlooking the lake and was absentmindedly cleaning his teeth with a toothpick when he was surprised by an unexpected visitor, the Inugami clan’s attorney, Kyozo Furudate.

  “Well, hello! I’m rather surprised to see you today.” Kindaichi greeted him with his characteristic, affable grin. Furudate, as usual, looked troubled and dour.

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Why? Well, I heard that he has come home. If that’s true, I supposed that the Inugamis would arrange to have the will read immediately, so they’d have you in their clutches and be keeping you insanely busy.”

  “Oh, so you’ve heard about it already.”

  “Of course. It’s such a small town. Besides, the Inugamis are like lord and master to the people around here. Word of anything that happens to them, big or small, spreads like wildfire through the town. The maid came in this morning, as soon as I awoke, and shouted, ‘Extra! Late-breaking news!’” he explained, laughing heartily. “Oh, where are my manners? Please sit down.”

  Furudate nodded slightly, but remained standing on the balcony gazing at the Inugami villa. Then, raising his shoulders with a shudder, he noiselessly seated himself across from Kindaichi.

  Kindaichi noticed that Furudate was in morning dress and held a large portfolio under his arm. Laying his portfolio down softly on the wicker tea table, the lawyer sat for a while without speaking. Kindaichi studied him silently. But finally, grinning and scratching his head, he asked, “What’s wrong? You seem totally lost in thought. Where are you going in those clothes?”

  “Well,” Furudate cleared his throat as if jerked back to reality, “to tell the truth, I’m about to go to the Inugamis’ villa. But I suddenly felt the urge to see you before that.”

  “Is there something I can do for you?”

  “No, I’ve nothing in particular to ask you, but…” Furudate mumbled. Soon, though, he continued more strongly, as if angry, “Of course, I don’t need to tell you why I’ve been summoned to the Inugamis’ villa today. As you yourself just said, it’s to read Sahei’s will. So my sole duty is to go straight there and read the will in front of the assembled family. My job is over then. I shouldn’t have any qualms. So why, then, am I hesitating like this? Why am I vacillating so? And why have I come here to you to say these idiotic things? I don’t understand. I don’t even understand myself any more.”

  Kindaichi, who had been staring at the lawyer’s face dumbfounded, presently sighed audibly and said, �
��Mr. Furudate, you’re tired. I’m sure it’s fatigue. You really ought to be more careful. And,” his eyes twinkled impishly, “as for why you’re here—I know the reason. This proves that whether you’re aware of it or not, you’ve gradually begun to trust me.”

  Furudate raised his eyebrows and glared at Kindaichi, but soon contorted his face in a wry smile. “You know, you may be right. Actually, Mr. Kindaichi, I owe you an apology.”

  “An apology?”

  “To tell the truth, I asked a fellow attorney I know in Tokyo to investigate your background.”

  At this, Kindaichi widened his eyes in surprise. He sat staring open-mouthed for a while, but then exploded in a roar of laughter.

  “W-w-well, well! Th-the famous investigator is investigated! No, no, you don’t have to apologize, Mr. Furudate. In fact, you’ve taught me a very good lesson. You know, I might not look it, but I’m actually quite vain, and I was confident that everyone in Japan knew the name of Kosuke Kindaichi. Ha!” he chuckled. “No, no, I’m just kidding, of course. But, anyway, what did your friend tell you?”

  “Well, as a matter of fact,” Furudate squirmed on his seat as if the chair was uncomfortable, “he gave you his unconditional seal of approval. He said that I could trust you completely, both professionally and personally.” Having said that, though, the lawyer still seemed unable to erase the expression of doubt from his face.

  “Thank you. I’m honored that you would say that.” And, as was his habit when something delighted him, Kindaichi vigorously scratched his head, with its unruly mop of hair. “So that’s why you came to me before this family conference that you’re not sure how to handle.”

  “Yes, you could say that. As I told you before, I dislike this will. I shouldn’t make any comments, positive or negative, about a client’s wishes, but this will is just too outrageous. It will be like hurling the remaining members of the Inugami clan into a maelstrom of conflict, kin against kin. What an uproar there will be when this is announced—I’ve had that vague, uneasy feeling ever since I was first asked to prepare the will. Then, Wakabayashi is murdered. And now, with the case still unsolved, Kiyo returns—which is not to say that’s not a good thing. Whether Kiyo’s homecoming turns out to be a cause for celebration for the Inugamis or not, it’s certainly a happy occasion that a man who has suffered overseas for so long has finally come home. But why did Kiyo have to return home so surreptitiously, avoiding everyone? Why does he so dislike for people to see his face? That just makes me uncomfortable.”