“So what happened with the marriage talk?”
“I liked her, but the catch was that she had a child. I’m afraid I’m just not fond of kids. It’s just the way I am, I guess.”
“So you turned her down?”
“Well, not in so many words, but…”
“What was her reaction?”
“It seems it came as quite a shock to her. I think she’d expected me to jump at the chance.”
“You know about her son’s death, right?”
“Of course I do. It’s all over the papers, for one thing.”
“What did you think when you found out about it?”
“Well, it was right after I turned her down, so I did wonder whether she might have killed him because of me. But of course, I’m sure she couldn’t have done that.”
Tasaka was satisfied with Mr. Saijo’s answer. He had found the motive for murder. Kyoko Igarashi had been in financial trouble and had wanted to marry the realtor Mr. Saijo, but her child stood in the way. Furthermore, the child in question had been more attached to his father, who had died in an accident, than he had been to her, his mother. This being so, she would not have felt such trauma at the idea of killing him. Parents are not always full of affection for their child. They can also be cruel to them.
Lost in thought, Tasaka recalled his own wife and grimaced. Misako had also abandoned her own two-year-old daughter, who was in the way, in order to shack up with some TV star, and because of that Mika had died. She and Kyoko Igarashi were really similar. No, they were the same, he decided.
Ono caught Tasaka on his return to Akasaka police station.
“Go straight to K—— Hospital,” he told him. “Your wife attempted suicide.”
“Misako?” Tasaka paled.
“That’s right,” Ono spoke forcefully. “She wants to see you. Go there now—the hospital in Aoyama.”
“No, I won’t.”
“What do you mean, you won’t?” Ono’s voice was unusually sharp. “Why not?”
“I haven’t got time. I have to go and see Kyoko Igarashi right away. I found the motive. She had a man interested in her and her son was in the way of them getting married. So she killed him. That’s proof of murder,” Tasaka replied without pausing for breath. His eyes shone. Ono felt it was more than the usual excitement at cornering a criminal. It was as if Tasaka was whipping himself into a frenzy.
“May I give you bit of advice?” asked Ono. Tasaka didn’t say anything. “You should leave this case. Look, I’m worried about you. You’re going to end up hurt. Forget about Kyoko Igarashi, and instead go along to the hospital. Your wife needs you.”
“No. There’s no way I can leave this case knowing that it’s murder.”
“Do you really believe it’s murder? Aren’t you just trying to convince yourself of it?”
“What are you trying to say?” Tasaka bristled.
Ono was not of a mind to back down. “You are hurling all the hatred you feel towards your wife onto Kyoko Igarashi, aren’t you?” he said. “I have some idea of what went on between you and your wife. I understand why you’re angry. But in the end it’s your own personal problem. You should not be projecting it onto Kyoko Igarashi.”
“Well I’m not.”
“Are you sure of that?”
“Yes. This is a murder case. That’s why I’m going after her.”
“No. You’re going into this case with your own preconceptions. If that’s not so, then why are you so afraid?”
“Afraid? What the hell have I got to be afraid of?”
“That’s why you won’t go to the hospital. You’re frightened you might end up forgiving your wife. And if you forgive your wife, you won’t be able to pursue Kyoko Igarashi either. That’s what you’re afraid of.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“In that case, go and see your wife right away. She is full of regrets, and even tried to kill herself. Forgive her! There are times when, rather than being hard on people, it’s necessary to show leniency. This is one of them.”
“It’s none of your business!” spat Tasaka. His face twitching, he turned his back and marched out of the room.
Ono sighed. His words had had the opposite effect of what he had intended, and he had ended up merely hardening Tasaka’s resolve, he thought ruefully.
Attempted suicide, huh? muttered Tasaka to himself as he walked to NTV. Had Misako really intended to die, or had she just put on a charade thinking he would more easily forgive her?
Tasaka felt himself getting more and more worked up.
By the time he caught up with Kyoko Igarashi in the corridor of the TV station, he was in a rage. When she saw his face, she shrank back.
“Please, don’t bother me anymore,” she said, her voice tired. Tasaka stood, blocking her way, and stared hard at her. “How about putting a stop to all these lies? You killed your child because he was in your way, didn’t you?”
“What—”
“He was in the way of you getting married, so you killed him.”
“That’s nonsense!”
“Stop lying. I’ve investigated it thoroughly. You were in financial trouble, and asked that realtor to marry you. Isn’t that true?”
“But—”
“But he passed on marrying a divorcée with a kid in tow. This is also a fact.”
“B—”
“So you killed your son who was standing in your way.”
“No, you’re wrong! He killed himself!”
“Whoever’s going to believe a six-year-old would kill himself? You had the motive. And you didn’t even love the child. The day after he died you calmly took yourself off to work—that’s proof enough. You killed him!”
“It’s a lie! A lie!” she screamed hysterically. Just at that moment, there was a sudden bright flash to one side of them. Two young paparazzi were there.
“Ah!” exclaimed Kyoko, covering her face with her hands. The reporters ran off, excitement glowing on their faces.
“That’s really gone and done it!” she groaned, leaning shakily against the wall. “You’ve ruined my life. Have you any idea what you’ve done? Tomorrow, the rumor that I am a cruel mother who killed her child will have spread all over Japan. I finally became a star only to be dragged down again.”
“That’s what happens when you commit murder.”
“Murder?”
“That’s right. You killed your child.”
“Ah, so I did. I killed my son. I’m an evil, bloodsucking monster. Now are you satisfied?” Kyoko Igarashi suddenly shrieked with laughter.
The next day, there it was in the society pages of the morning paper: “Kyoko Igarashi suspected of murder.” The headline was small, but the report stated that the police were investigating the actress on suspicion of having murdered the son she claimed had committed suicide. In the same section, there was an even briefer report that Misako Tasaka had attempted suicide.
Ono read both reports with mixed feelings. Tasaka had finally driven Kyoko Igarashi into a corner. Ono had no idea what would happen next. What he did know was that Tasaka was in a dangerous fix.
Ono glanced over at Tasaka. He too was reading the paper, but before long he threw it down, got to his feet, and left the room.
Is he going to the hospital? Ono hoped he was. He followed him out, but the taxi he hailed outside the police station was headed in the opposite direction from the hospital.
He was evidently on his way to further harass Kyoko Igarashi. In other words, he was driving himself into an even tighter corner.
That night, what Ono had feared would happen, did happen.
Called in to see the Chief, he was immediately aware of a tense atmosphere in the room. The Chief was normally seated, his bulk squeezed into his swivel chair, but today he was pacing restlessly around the room.
“Detective Tasaka not back yet?” he queried, still pacing.
“Not yet.”
“I don’t suppose you know where he went?”
“I think he’s probably out there investigating that case.”
“Go find him and bring him here.”
“Has something happened?”
“Kyoko Igarashi has committed suicide. She gassed herself. There was a call from the local station.”
“Suicide?” Ono felt a chill run down his spine.
The Chief stopped pacing and looked sourly at Ono.
“Unfortunately, she left a suicide note complaining about the police. Her lawyer held a press conference and read it out to the assembled reporters.”
“That’s bad.”
“It’s more than bad,” the Chief ’s raised his voice. “By tomorrow, the entire media will be attacking the police. Did Detective Tasaka find his proof?”
“He said he found the motive.”
“A motive’s no good without evidence. You know that.”
“Isn’t it possible Kyoko Igarashi killed herself because she realized there was no escape?”
“I wouldn’t try consoling yourself with that if I were you.”
Ono didn’t answer. He himself knew it was a hollow comfort. After all, Kyoko Igarashi had left a suicide note laying the blame squarely on the police. And now that Kyoko was dead it would be difficult to pin anything on her.
“I think I’d better put Detective Tasaka on leave for a while,” said the Chief weakly.
Tasaka walked along in the rain, weighed down by a sense of defeat.
Kyoko Igarashi’s suicide had been widely reported on TV. The reports stated that she had been cornered into suicide after the TV drama she was working on was cancelled once it became known that the police suspected her of murder. It was rich for the TV station that had cancelled the drama to place all the blame on the police, but it couldn’t be helped.
The Chief had told him to take a break. It had sounded like a declaration of Tasaka’s failure.
He still believed Kyoko Igarashi had killed her son. Now that she had also killed herself, however, there was no possibility of pursuing it further. He knew very well that everyone would stand up for her and censure the police.
Her lawyer had lodged an official complaint; Tasaka had gone from being the accuser to being the accused.
Tasaka felt his resolve weakening.
Before he knew it, he found his legs taking him in the direction of K—— Hospital. On the way he stopped at a florist and bought a small bunch of flowers—the first in two years.
By the time he arrived at the hospital, he was soaked through from the rain. He asked at reception which room Misako Tasaka was in.
The young nurse looked at Tasaka with sleepy eyes. “That patient has already been discharged,” she said drowsily.
“Where has she gone?”
“How should I know?”
“Oh…” said Tasaka vacantly, and walked listlessly back out into the rain.
The flowers were left behind, forgotten, in the hospital.
The Isle of South Kamui and Other Stories Page 18