The Silent Dead

by Tetsuya Honda

  Interviewing people who knew the victim and the results of the forensic tests seemed more likely to generate meaningful results. She was happy to have a new angle from which to approach the case.

  There is one thing I can’t figure out.…

  They were walking down the lane beside the pond to get back to the main thoroughfare when Reiko abruptly swung around for a second look at the spot where the body had been dumped. A narrow patch of green right by the pond and a hedge with small, dark, and densely packed leaves. Why had the perpetrator put the body there specifically?

  The sky was cloudy. The surface of the pond was a thick inky black.

  * * *

  “I’ve called this meeting because a call just came in from a dentist in Nakano. He has a patient whose dental work is a match. The patient is Taiichi Kanebara, thirty-one years old. Works at an outfit called Okura Trading, an office equipment leasing company. His current address is Apartment 707, Grand Heights Heiwadai, Nerima ward. He’s married with no children. His wife filed a missing persons report at the local station last night.… Himekawa and Otsuka, I want you to get to Nakano to double check our X-rays against the dentist’s records. After that, go to the office of Okura Trading and start asking some questions. Ishikura and Kikuta, you go and check out the victim’s apartment. And take the crime scene techs with you. Yuda, you stay here on standby. The Mobile Unit can take over the neighborhood canvass. Ikegami, you take sectors one and two. Hagio, you do three and four. Sectors five and six can be handled by…”

  Although the meeting was not yet over, Reiko got up and made a beeline to the front left corner of the room, where the desk sergeant was handling the case documentation. She was handed a brown folder containing the dental X-rays of the corpse, a printout of Taiichi Kanebara’s personal data, and a handwritten note with the addresses of the dentist and Kanebara’s company.

  Reiko headed for the door. Ioka and Otsuka were right behind her, followed by Lieutenant Kitami, the “fast-track glory boy” Kikuta had spoken about the night before. Reiko was under no obligation to pay him any special attention, and she wasn’t interested in making a good impression. All she wanted was for him to stay out of their way. She hadn’t reckoned on having an extra investigator on her team and had to suppress the urge to tell him not to slow them down.

  “How was last night, Lieutenant?” asked Otsuka as they hurried down the stairs. He lowered his voice to be discreet.

  “How was what?”

  “Oh … er, nothing. Sorry.”

  Reiko hadn’t meant to be quite so sharp, but it had the desired effect. Otsuka slowed down and fell in step with Kitami at the back.

  Damn Kikuta! Making me go halves with him like that. Reiko blew air impatiently through her nose.

  Ioka slipped in beside her.

  “Should start getting busy now.”

  “As long as we’re making progress, I’m happy.”

  “We’ll need to change trains twice to get to Nakano.”

  “Thanks for telling me. I was planning on taking a taxi, but with the traffic I guess it could take a long time.”

  They took the Joban line to Kitasenju, then switched to the Chiyoda line as far as Otemachi, then transferred again, to the Tozai line to Nakano. Reiko checked her watch as they passed through the turnstile at Nakano. It was exactly 11:00 a.m.

  Their first port of call was the victim’s dentist. The Nakano Dental Clinic was three minutes’ walk from the station on the fourth floor of a slightly dilapidated building. The clinic itself was bright and clean inside.

  Someone at the task force HQ had called ahead to say they would swing by, so all the relevant documentation was waiting for them.

  They talked to the clinic director’s son, who looked after the bulk of the patients.

  “I knew who it was when your fax arrived first thing this morning. There’s something unusual about the alignment of Mr. Kanebara’s wisdom teeth. Plus he’s got cavities, as you can see. I told him that he should take the plunge and have them out, but he was too frightened. Your X-rays show that the cavities have grown much bigger since I last examined him.”

  Comparing the X-rays of the corpse with those on file in the clinic proved beyond a doubt that Kanebara was their man. They got word to the task force HQ, and Captain Imaizumi immediately ordered the forensics team, who were on standby near Kanebara’s apartment, to go in and dust for fingerprints.

  The investigation was finally developing some momentum.

  * * *

  The task force HQ had also contacted Okura Trading to let them know a couple of detectives were on their way. Like the dental clinic, the company was based in Nakano, in its own ten-story office building. The woman at reception was well briefed. Reiko only had to flash her badge for her to spring to her feet.

  “Mr. Asada from Sales is waiting for you in meeting room three on the sixth floor. Please go down this hall and take the left-hand elevator.”

  A man in a suit was waiting for them as the elevator doors slid open.

  “Good morning.”

  He was tall, around forty years old, with thinning hair.

  “Hi, I’m Reiko Himekawa from the Metropolitan Police.”

  “Hello,” replied the man gruffly. “My name’s Asada. I’m head of Sales. I was Kanebara’s boss. Why don’t you come in here so we can talk?”

  They must have heard he was murdered. All the higher-ups—seven or eight of them, from the CEO on down—were assembled in one room with anxious expressions plastered on their faces. Asada started to introduce them one by one with their fancy job titles. Reiko refused to go down that road. She interrupted him midflow.

  “Sorry, but due to the nature of the case, there are limits on what we can tell you. At the moment, all I’m at liberty to say is that someone we believe to be Taiichi Kanebara was murdered. It’s a little inconvenient, but we’re going to have to talk to all of you one at a time. Either you can vacate this room for us, or we can move to another, smaller room. Which shall it be?”

  The man who had been introduced as the CEO instructed Asada to get another room ready, then turned to face Reiko.

  “You said your name’s Himekawa?”

  “That’s right. Himekawa from Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Homicide Division.”

  “Would I be correct in assuming that you’re the person in charge of this investigation?”

  “That’s correct.”

  Asada returned to let her know that the new room was ready. Reiko told Otsuka and Kitami to keep an eye on the executives and stop them from talking to each other about the victim. Reiko would call whomever she needed into the other room for a one-on-one. She didn’t expect the top managers to be of much use; the people she wanted to talk to were the ones who’d worked with Kanebara every day.

  Reiko could feel someone’s eyes on her. Which of them is it? Glancing around the room with feigned casualness, she realized it was the CEO. That guy creeps me out, she thought to herself.

  As she left the room, she treated him to a curt little bow.

  * * *

  The new room was a meeting room big enough to accommodate ten people. It felt hot and humid. The air conditioning must have just been switched on.

  The first person Reiko interviewed was Asada, Kanebara’s direct boss. Asada said he’d been at home the Sunday night Kanebara was thought to have been murdered. His family were the only people who could back up his alibi, but he didn’t strike Reiko as suspicious.

  According to Asada, Kanebara’s wife had called him Monday morning, looking for her missing husband. When he checked, he found that Kanebara was a no-show. Kanebara’s wife had asked whether she should call the police and report him missing. He told her to sit tight for a while. The wife eventually filed a missing persons report at Nerima police station on Tuesday evening.

  “Kanebara was a serious fellow, but he wasn’t stiff or stuffy. He was very good with people, easy to get along with. The bulk of his work was making sales calls. He was
smart, so I also put him in charge of handling all the trade shows and events we took part in.” Asada paused. “You’re quite sure it was Kanebara who was murdered?”

  From his manner, Asada was having trouble accepting that Taiichi Kanebara had been killed. If he was putting on an act, he was an amazing performer.

  “Did you notice anything suspicious in his recent behavior?”

  “No,” said Asada, cocking his head. “I don’t think so.”

  “Was there anything different about him? Had he started doing anything new? It could be anything—maybe someone new he’d met.”

  Asada hesitated. “I’m sorry, nothing comes to mind. I really can’t think of anything.”

  “Could he have done something to make enemies?”

  “Enemies? Oh no, he’d never do anything like that. He wasn’t that sort of person.”

  “You seem very sure. How come?”

  “How come? He was a good family man. He worked twice as hard as anyone else on the team.”

  “So no friction or conflict connected to his job?”

  “Look, we’re in sales here. Sometimes we might poach a client from a competitor, but that’s hardly the end of the world. I mean, heck, if my sales guys got killed every time they won an account from another company, there’d be no one left on the team.”

  “Okay, how about internally? Was there anyone inside the firm he didn’t get along with?”

  “Absolutely not. Kanebara was popular with everyone. His bosses, his teammates, his subordinates—we all liked him.”

  “Was there anyone he was especially close to?”

  “Someone he was close to?” Asada thought for a moment. “I can’t think of anyone in particular. I know I’m repeating myself, but I just want to stress that Kanebara didn’t have any enemies and wasn’t a loner or anything like that. With regard to close friends, well, as far as I know, there wasn’t anyone here.… To be honest, the man never really opened up to me. Maybe that’s just the way he was. I don’t mean to speak ill of the dead, but our relationship was superficial. It sounds coldhearted, but yes, superficial would be the word.”

  Asada didn’t have the faintest idea what went on in Kanebara’s mind.

  In the business world, when people paint their colleagues in glowing colors it’s usually because it helps the corporate wheels run smoother and it’s good for the collective. When they paint one of their number as black, it usually comes down to a direct conflict of interest at the individual level. With people as people, rather than as employees, relationships fall into more of a gray, ambiguous area.

  Her interest in Asada was waning fast.

  “I see. Did Kanebara have people working under him?”

  “He did, yes. He headed a team of six.”

  “Men?”

  “Yes, all men.”

  “Which of them was closest to him, or had known him longest?”

  “The answer to both of those questions is Ozawa. Ozawa’s about five or six years Kanebara’s junior. The two of them worked at the same branch office before coming to the head office here. The sales guys usually look after their own client accounts, but for a while in the branch office Kanebara took Ozawa with him for on-the-job training. I think Ozawa was his favorite.”

  “Could you send him in to see me?”

  A grave-faced Asada left the room. A minute or two later, a somewhat younger man came in, his face also taut with worry.

  “Was Mr. Kanebara really murdered?” were the first words out of his mouth.

  Ozawa was speaking too loudly. At this rate, everything he said would be audible in the corridor outside.

  “I’m afraid so.”

  “But why? Why Mr. Kanebara? Where did it happen? Who did it?”

  “To start with, I need you to sit down.”

  Ozawa didn’t move. The boy was obviously going to be a handful, and the first order of business was to get him to calm down. Reiko crossed her arms and looked up at him.

  “Listen, Mr. Ozawa, we want to catch whoever killed your boss. Right now we’re busy gathering information. What I’d like you to do is tell me everything that you know about Mr. Kanebara, leaving nothing out.”

  “But how was he killed?”

  Someone needs to teach this kid to listen!

  “I’m not at liberty to tell you that.”

  “What about … when was he killed?”

  “Around eight on Sunday evening. Where were you at that time?”

  Ozawa gasped and gave her a poisonous stare. Did she suspect him? It took him a second to realize that the police are obliged to ask everyone connected to the victim to provide an alibi. Ozawa exhaled heavily and sank into a chair.

  “I was at a friend’s place in the country from Friday evening to Sunday evening. We were stuck in traffic on the way home all Sunday evening. There was an accident that caused a huge traffic jam on the expressway.”

  “Who was driving?”

  “My friend with the house.”

  “Have you got your toll receipts?”

  “Guess my buddy should have them, provided he’s not thrown them away.”

  “I’ll need his name and phone number.”

  Ozawa had left his cell phone at home that morning and his address book was in his desk. Reiko told him to go and fetch it, sending Ioka with him to make sure he didn’t phone or text his friend. When Ozawa returned, she jotted down his friend’s contact information and resumed her questioning.

  “What sort of man was Mr. Kanebara?”

  “He was very serious. He worked hard, played hard; he was a good husband too. He always called to let his wife know when he’d be home late, and he often bought her little presents.”

  “Had he done anything likely to make him enemies?”

  Ozawa hesitated so briefly it was almost imperceptible.

  “Make enemies? No, that’s not Kanebara.”

  Ioka, who was sitting beside Reiko, inhaled loudly through his nose. Reiko took this as a signal telling her to pile more pressure. She ignored Ioka and tried a new angle instead.

  “Did you notice anything different about Kanebara recently?”

  “Different? What do you mean?”

  “Think about the people he knew, bars or restaurants he frequented, his general behavior, his appearance—it could be anything. Did you notice any change?”

  Ozawa was at a loss.

  Ioka discreetly snapped his notebook shut. Another one of his “Let’s press this guy harder” signals.

  Ioka’s right. Let’s push this up a notch. Reiko refolded her arms, rested them on the table, and leaned forward. She deliberately changed her tone.

  “Listen, Mr. Ozawa. I can’t go into much detail, but Kanebara’s murder was … let’s say … unusually gruesome. Certainly not normal.”

  “Not like a random street stabbing or anything?” asked Ozawa.

  Reiko just shook her head.

  “For the moment, we really don’t know what sort of information we’re looking for, what could constitute a clue. See what I’m saying? So think again. Was there anything different about Kanebara recently? There must be something you can give us—why somebody might have a grudge against him, anything.”

  “He wasn’t the kind of person to make enemies.” Ozawa sighed heavily and slumped in his chair.

  Reiko could see there was something on his mind, but he couldn’t decide whether to share it with them. He was probably worried about soiling Kanebara’s reputation or upsetting the bereaved family.

  After a pause to order his thoughts, Ozawa began to speak timidly. “This is just my own personal opinion, but, to be perfectly honest, I found Kanebara so gung-ho and intense that just being with him wore me out. I’m not saying he used to give the rest of us lectures about pulling up our socks and working harder. He didn’t need to; the way he carried on himself sent a loud and clear message. That was how he put pressure on us. Starting … I don’t know, maybe early spring this year, he was especially bad…”

 
Ioka’s discreetly tapped his fingertips on the table. The phrase “early spring” had caught Reiko’s attention too.

  “I’m not sure quite how to say this. He just seemed to be, like, trying too hard. The difference between branch- and head-office sales is that here at the HQ nearly all our clients are large corporations. Mostly firms with over a thousand employees. We lease or sell them everything they need—not just copiers, faxes, and phones but desks, lockers, shelves, stationery, you name it. We each handle several of these big accounts. You can lose a client in a heartbeat, especially when the leasing contracts come up for renegotiation. If you don’t get in there with your proposal well ahead of the competition, they can sneak in and grab the account from under your nose. What I’m trying to say is that in this job we work our asses off just to hang on to our existing clients. Our bosses don’t expect us to be bringing in new business. But starting sometime this year … I can’t say exactly when … Kanebara really threw himself into trying to win new clients. And I’m not talking about just any old company here.” Ozawa paused. “He was trying to get something going with East Tokyo Bank.”

  East Tokyo Bank? That’s one of the top five banks in Japan.

  “You’re talking about a blanket lease deal for East Tokyo Bank?”

  “No. A comprehensive agreement to supply their national branch network would be about as big it gets in our business. At the moment, East Tokyo spreads its business around. They lease a lot from an office equipment leasing company in which they own a big stake, as well as from the subsidiaries of that firm. They also deal directly with an office equipment manufacturer that’s a major client for their banking services. To win away all that business in one go is just a pipe dream, a fantasy. There’s no way on earth it’s going to happen. Still, even a fraction of it coming our way would mean a massive revenue boost. It would be a major coup for us.”