Togakushi Legend Murders (Tuttle Classics)

by Yasuo Uchida

  "Plain, huh? Must be talking about you, Miyuki," said the girl first in line, making a malicious pun as she started out again. She took one step and fell down with a little scream.

  "See? Say things like that and you get what's coming to you," said the leader, coming over to help her up.

  "Over there, over there," whispered the girl, pointing at something as she reached for the hand offered.

  Just twenty or thirty meters ahead of them, against the base of a thick tree, a man was sprawled as if dead drunk, in a sitting position on the bare ground. He was dressed in a well-tailored summer suit, but it had gotten all wet and hadn't had time to dry out.

  The leader gasped. One by one, the other girls froze in their tracks as they reached the spot. Taking strength in numbers, though, they did not flee.

  "He's dead, isn't he?" whispered one of them.

  "He can't be!"

  "Ssh, he'll hear you!"

  But the man could not hear them. His hearing, along with all of his other senses, had long since ceased to function.

  "He is dead!" declared the leader, her voice hushed.

  The girl on the ground pulled herself slowly to her feet, her legs very weak.

  "Don't run!" appealed the leader feebly, as one of the girls started to do so. But the rest of them panicked and followed suit. The girl who had just gotten up fell again as soon as she started down the slope. Her comrades left her sitting there covered with mud, cursing through her tears at their retreating backs.

  Contacted from the campground office, the local patrolman rushed there. Reassured by the sight of him, the girls managed to collect themselves after their headlong flight and lead him and the two men from the office back to the scene. Even the mud-smeared girl, who had finally come in, sulking, joined the others at the last moment, afraid to be left alone.

  The patrolman requisitioned all the rope in the office and asked the other two men to carry it. Some distance before they reached the body, he stopped everyone, then went on alone, his billy club at the ready. Having made sure the man against the tree could do him no harm, he bent over for a closer look.

  The suit was certainly out of place for the scene. Though a soaked mess, it and the tie both were obviously very expensive. The man looked like he had been all dressed up for a night on the town. He appeared to be about sixty. His head was sunk on his chest and his thinning hair was hanging down over his forehead. His face, the nape of his neck, the backs of his hands—all exposed skin was blotched with death, and the odor of decay was already about him. It was obvious that he had been dead for some time.

  The patrolman came back to the others and cordoned off the area by looping the rope around the surrounding trees. Leaving the two men from the campground on guard, he took the girls back to the office.

  Nagano prefectural police headquarters received the first report at 10:20 A.M. Inspector Takemura was about to get into the car with his usual driver, Kinoshita, when he was stopped by Miyazaki, his superior, the head of Investigative Section One.

  "Takemura, you ride with me, will you?"

  "Oh? Are you going too, sir?" Takemura thought it strange that the head of Section One himself should be going out on the first report of the discovery of a body. Something must be up, he figured, but he got in beside Miyazaki without asking what.

  As soon as they started, Miyazaki got on the radio to Nagano Central Station, in whose jurisdiction the body had been discovered. "Get this to all investigators headed for the scene in Imai, Togakushi Township. When they get there, they are not to approach the body, but are to see to it that the area is not disturbed. Under no circumstances is anyone to do anything until Inspector Takemura and I arrive."

  The bewildered Takemura finally asked, "Something up?"

  "Yeah." Miyazaki's long, narrow face became even longer and narrower as he pursed his lips and wrinkled his forehead in a deep frown before continuing. "You see, this body that's been found in Togakushi, there's a possibility that he may be a VIP."

  "A VIP? Who?"

  "We're only going by his age and the clothes he's wearing, but there's probably no mistake."

  "Oh?"

  "We think it's Kisuke Takeda."

  "Takeda!" exclaimed Takemura. "You mean, the Kisuke Takeda?"

  Even Takemura, unfamiliar as he was with politics and finance, had heard of Takeda, one of the top two or three businessmen in the northern part of the prefecture, a man who was sure to have his hand in any big real estate deal there. Takemura recalled hearing that Takeda had recently been involved in the promotion of a golf course near the Togakushi Ski Slope, and he supposed also that the man must be active behind the scenes in politics.

  "Then there's been a missing persons search request out for Takeda?" continued Takemura.

  "Yes, unofficially."

  "But we haven't heard a thing about it where I am."

  "That's because the chief decided that only the department heads and me and the head of Section Two needed to know. Of course, it looks like the head of Section Two had to put several people on it to begin making private inquiries."

  "Which means, in other words, that we're going to have to work with Section Two on the murder, I take it?"

  "Now let's not get ahead of ourselves! We don't know yet that it is a murder," said Miyazaki hastily.

  * * *

  It was on the morning of July 5th that the prefectural police had been informed of Kisuke Takeda's apparent disappearance. At home that day, Chief Shoichi Nagakura had received a telephone call from Governor Masagi, requesting that he pay a visit to the governor's mansion on his way to work, on a matter of the greatest urgency. The subdued voice had sounded quite unlike that of the normally frank, unaffected governor. Guessing it would take a while, Nagakura had a scheduled conference put off an hour.

  He had hardly expected to find Representative Hirofumi Shishido at the governor's mansion. Shishido was a member of the ruling party, but not someone Nagakura thought much of. He was the very picture of a man one respected out of fear alone, a man not only publicly active in politics, but rumored to wield considerable power behind the scenes as well.

  "Ah, Chief Nagakura, terribly sorry to have called you out so early in the morning." It was Shishido, all smiles as he stood up with extended hand, who greeted Nagakura in the reception room. For Shishido, that was hardly imaginable behavior, and Nagakura was on instant guard.

  "Then this matter concerns Representative Shishido?" asked Nagakura, looking past Shishido to Governor Masagi just behind him.

  "No, it doesn't, really," replied Masagi, "but Representative Shishido thought it would be better if we got you here."

  Masagi would be seventy-two this year. Now past the middle of his fourth term, he was a mainstay of prefectural politics, widely supported by conservatives and liberals alike. Blessed by nature with an elegant head of silver hair, a strong, well-tanned face, and a tall muscular build, he added to those charms a reputation as a man of integrity, who could be counted on to be fair to everyone.

  Shishido, on the other hand, was a man of such a different stamp that Nagakura could not imagine what he was doing there. Although he could not have been much past sixty, he looked as old as Masagi actually was. Of short build, with a considerably receded hairline and deep wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, he spoke suavely, but there lurked about him something so ominous that even his smile was chilling. He was a man quite capable of parting from someone with a smile and then making contemptuous threats behind the person's back.

  "Actually, you see, I just heard about this myself last night," said Shishido softly, leaning forward as Nagakura sat down on the sofa, "but it seems that Kisuke Takeda has been missing since the night before last."

  "Takeda? Missing?" said Nagakura hesitantly, wondering about the other man standing behind Shishido. "And this gentleman is... ?"

  "Oh, don't worry about him. This is Izawa, Mr. Takeda's secretary. It was he who told me the news. Oh yes, Izawa, I guess it would be better
if you told the Chief all about it yourself," said Shishido, giving his chair facing Nagakura up to Izawa and sitting himself down deep in the sofa beside Nagakura.

  Nagakura could tell that Izawa was extremely tense, apparently not just because he was in the presence of three big shots, but with genuine concern about his employer's disappearance.

  "Er, uh, where should I begin?" asked Izawa. As Takeda's secretary, he had to be a capable man, but his voice was shaking pitifully.

  "Well, just tell me everything in order from the beginning," said Nagakura. "When did Mr. Takeda disappear, and where did he disappear from?"

  "He hasn't been seen or heard from since he left the Koshimizu Plateau Hotel in Togakushi around 7 P.M. on the evening of the 3rd."

  "You were in Togakushi with him, then?"

  "Yes, for a meeting and party from three that afternoon, to get preparations started for the construction of the Togakushi Plateau Golf Club. The first hour and a half or so was spent in presenting the aims of the builders and the plan for the layout of the course. Then, after a short break, a dinner party began a little after five. Some time after it began, though, Mr. Takeda said he wasn't feeling too well and was going to his room. I went with him as far as his door, but he said he would be all right and I should return to the party. I confirmed the next morning's schedule with him briefly, and then joined the party again. That must have been a little after six. That's the last time I saw him."

  "Did anyone else see him after that?"

  "Yes, the desk clerk said he saw him leaving the hotel a little before seven, so I guess the desk clerk must have been the last person to see him."

  "Did he go out alone?"

  "Yes, apparently."

  "Do you have any idea where he might have been going?"

  "None at all, I'm afraid."

  "Had he said anything about going out?"

  "No, not a thing."

  "So when did you realize that something was wrong— that he had disappeared, I mean?"

  "He was supposed to come down to the restaurant at eight the next morning. When he didn't, I waited thirty minutes and then phoned his room, because he had an appointment that required leaving the hotel by 8:50 at the latest. But he didn't answer the phone, and that's when I began to think that something must be wrong. Of course, it never occurred to me then that he could have just disappeared. I was afraid he might have been taken so ill that he collapsed, so I hurried up to his room, but it was empty."

  "What did you do for a key? Wasn't the door locked?"

  "No, it wasn't. His key was lying on the table."

  "Then that means he must have left the hotel without bothering to lock his door, right?"

  "Yes, but all he ever kept in a hotel room were personal effects. Anything else, like papers and so on, he always left with me in an attache case. He never kept anything with him that he couldn't put in his pockets, so I don't think he would have worried about locking the door."

  "I see. Go on, please."

  "After that, I asked the desk clerk whether he had gone out, and I was told that he had been seen going out the night before, but not coming in again. So I had to assume that he had spent the night elsewhere, and all I could do was wait for him. But he never came back." Izawa finished with head bowed, as if in apology.

  "And that's the story," said Shishido unhappily. "I wouldn't have thought anything could be seriously wrong myself, but Izawa tells me nothing like this has ever happened before, and he's terribly worried. So I thought it best we consult the police, and Governor Masagi agrees."

  "By 'seriously wrong,' may I take it you are referring to the possibility that Mr. Takeda may have been the victim of some kind of crime, Representative Shishido?"

  "Er, uh, well, I wouldn't like to put it quite so directly myself, but yes, I guess you can take it that way."

  "Do you know of anything in Mr. Takeda's affairs that would suggest that possibility?" asked Nagakura, turning back to Izawa.

  "No, I don't. Nothing at all."

  "If that's the case, we can act on that assumption. For instance, he might have been involved in a traffic accident. But if there are any indications whatsoever, then we will have to consider the possibility of a premeditated crime. Now how about it?"

  Izawa was ill at ease, the perspiration beginning to appear on his forehead. "Well, uh, I still can't think of. . ."

  "I'm sure there are some things that Izawa just doesn't know about his employer," interposed Shishido with a smile, to relieve the tension. "I'm afraid Mr. Takeda was no saint, and when you're in business, you can't help but make a few enemies. Some people just take things the wrong way, so it's always possible that somebody had a grudge of some sort."

  "Then do you know of any particular possibilities, Representative Shishido?"

  "Me? No, no, if Izawa can't think of any, how would I know? I've been acquainted with Mr. Takeda for a long time, but I really don't know that much about him."

  "I see." Nagakura sat up straight. "Well, I'll send out orders right away for a search all over the prefecture."

  "I'm afraid that won't do, Chief Nagakura," said Governor Masagi. "Representative Shishido thinks the investigation should be kept secret for the time being, and I agree with him. After all, it's hardly been two days, and what if Mr. Takeda suddenly turns up after we've made a big thing of it? Besides, I do think we'd better be awfully careful, just in case he's been kidnapped for ransom, you know."

  "You think there is that possibility?" Nagakura frowned, gazing up at the ceiling with his keen eyes. Turned forty-six this year, he had been one of the most promising members of his graduating class at Kyoto University. In a sense, his stint as chief of the Nagano prefectural police was a test, on the results of which his future career would depend.

  Unlike the self-governing regions of Tokyo, Osaka, and Kanagawa, with all their big cities, Nagano Prefecture may be thought to be simply a peaceful region blessed with natural beauty and made for tourism, but there are in fact quite a few difficulties involved in its administration. For one thing, there is the great area it covers, fourth in size behind Hokkaido, Iwate, and Fukushima. Moreover, there are differences in the living conditions in the three distinct areas of the northern, central, and southern parts of the prefecture, differences which sometimes give rise to conflict.

  In addition, no other prefecture is contiguous to so many others—eight of them, in fact: Niigata, Gunma, Saitama, Yamanashi, Shizuoka, Aichi, Gifu, and Toyama. Thus anyone using a car to commit a crime can cause the police a lot of trouble. Three years ago, for instance, there had been a series of kidnap-murders of female office workers, masterminded by a woman, in which the kidnappings had taken place and the bodies had been left in various places in the three prefectures of Toyama, Nagano, and Gifu, necessitating a widespread investigation with which sectional rivalries had seriously interfered.

  With all of the tourists flowing in, the majority there for mountain climbing, there is a never-ending string of mountaineering accidents to be dealt with, too. Nagakura's predecessor, who had suffered through the series of kidnap-murders, had been quite right in telling him, after turning over his duties, that this was an uncommonly troublesome place.

  Nagakura thoroughly agreed. And this case would involve one of the most prominent people in the prefecture. He had a premonition that it was going to turn into a big mess. "I don't think there's much chance that he could have been kidnapped for ransom," he said, half to convince himself. "If he had been, we should have been contacted by the kidnappers by now."

  "I suppose not," agreed Masagi, "but if not, then what could have happened to him?"

  "Well, what bothers me is that he left the hotel of his own accord. If his disappearance is somehow connected with his departure from the hotel, or else, if perhaps he engineered it himself, then..."

  "What do you mean?" broke in Izawa, offended. "Are you suggesting that he's absconded with something?"

  "No, I didn't say that. But what if he just got tired of
work and decided to take off somewhere for a rest for two or three days without telling anyone?"

  "I can assure you that Mr. Takeda would never have done a thing like that."

  "That's right. He wouldn't," agreed Shishido. "He just isn't the kind of person who would do such an irresponsible thing."

  "Then I'm afraid the police will have to assume the worst," said Nagakura, in as casual a tone as possible, which nevertheless caused Izawa to begin trembling. Shishido shook his head most unhappily.

  After leaving the governor's mansion and returning to the police station, Nagakura immediately summoned his top-ranking officers and explained the situation to them, ordering a secret investigation to be conducted by Section Two, and instructing his men to be prepared for the worst. At the meeting, he had made a point of telling Miyazaki that if they should be unfortunate enough to discover the worst, he should be sure to put his very best man in charge of the on-site investigation.

  "And that's why I want you on this case," said Miyazaki, trying to make it sound like he was doing Takemura a favor.

  "Oh," said Takemura, pulling a long face.

  "What's this? You look like you don't much want it."

  "I don't. I don't know the first thing about business or politics."