by Nick Tanner
‘The Yamada case, sir?’ he asked instead.
‘What about it?’
‘Sakamoto’s got it all wrong!’
The Chief Super expressed a deep sigh. ‘And what do you know about it?’
‘I’ve been reading the case file – what there is of it anyway. The whole thing is completely half-baked. There’s not a shred of evidence that Yamada had anything to do with the murder of his wife and without an investigation of the other possible avenues it’s ridiculous to attempt to pin the whole thing on the husband.’
‘What other avenues? Sakamoto hasn’t mentioned anyone other than Yamada.’
‘Of course he hasn’t!’ Saito become more animated. ‘But I think it’s a mistake not to look into who she’d been sleeping with on the day she died or at least to piece together her final movements and build up a better picture of her life and activities. From what I can see we hardly know anything about our victim’s background. There are any amount of possible motives surrounding what may or may not have been going on at her work, for example-’
‘Such as?’
‘Well, I don’t know any specifics as such, sir, but it can’t be discounted and certainly not in the way that Sakamoto has approached this.’
The Chief Super stroked his chin. He was weighing up various factors. On the one hand he was unsure that he wanted to precipitate a situation where he had a split team, where his officers were competing against each other, sniping away, instead of being one cohesive unit. On the other he was loathe to expose the department to ridicule. If another case failed to be supported by the public prosecutor or failed to gain a conviction, what the press would have to say he didn’t want to think about and he was also all too aware that the tendency to rely on confession as the basis of prosecution was one that was being increasingly questioned by many different pressure groups across the land within and without the police force.
‘Okay, Saito. I’ll give you three days. If you can find anything to cast serious doubt on Yamada’s confession or uncover any worthwhile leads then…well…’
Saito was completely taken aback by the Chief Super’s about turn. He really must be going for a promotion, he thought. The action he had just condoned was completely unorthodox. He’d never known the like of it before. For the first time in a long time he allowed himself a prolonged smile.
‘Thank you, sir. I won’t let you down.’
‘It’s not a question of letting me down,’ the Chief Super growled. ‘It’s a question of having a properly functioning section and… perhaps like you said, having a section that no longer entirely relies on confession. Perhaps it is time for a new broom.’
‘And the filing – what do you want me to do, about that?’
‘You need me to tell you?’
‘You’ve felt the need to tell me everything else, sir.’
‘Get out!’ barked the Chief Super finally losing his temper.
Inspector Saito quickly removed himself from the Chief Inspector’s office clutching his fist in victory. One last job and then possibly he might pack it all in.
27 - In which the first visit takes place to the good people at Niigata Kyubin
Monday 3rd January 10:00am
‘I don’t understand. Where are we going?’ Mori grabbed his trusty winter coat and dutifully followed Inspector Saito out of the office towards the elevators. In his haste he left his gloves and scarf in his desk drawer.
‘I’m not sure yet,’ said Saito hurriedly over his shoulder. ‘I’ll tell you more in the car.'
Four minutes later the two men could be seen exiting the building, some might say ever so slightly furtively, at least as so could be said of the second man, and making their way into the cold and the grey. The parking bays that were on the basement floor of police head quarters matched the colours and mood of the weather completely. They picked out their usual motor. Neither men actually owned a car so they were typically reliant on those at the station – that or public transport. Saito suspected they would have to make a lot of journeys that day even though he had no idea, as yet, where they were going.
‘I don’t understand,’ repeated Mori. ‘What’s going on?’ He was quite breathless in his attempt to keep up with Saito who was himself as equally as breathless in his intent not to waste a single second of the time that had been bequeathed to him.
‘We’ve got three days to rustle up an alternative to the farce that’s going on in there. I hope you’re up for it?’
Mori quickly considered two things – his continuing declining health and whether or not this exercise was condoned by the higher authorities. ‘You’re not telling me that the Chief Super is okay with this, are you?’
‘He is!’ said Saito with a knowing look. ‘Politics, Mori, politics! Thanks to that we have got our own way. I may have been away for the last three months but some things never change. Surely you must have noticed something, too?' He glanced across to his Sergeant. 'The Chief being a little more concerned for the minor details of procedure, the fact that he’s a little more careful with whom he associates-’
‘Well actually, now you mention it-’
‘Our noble Chief Super seems even more concerned for his own image and his own personal promotion prospects than ever before, and a forced confession based on not very much is probably not what he is looking for at this precise moment in time in order to further ease him into the securer positions of senior management. I also suspect that although up-to-now he’s been content to have Sakamoto on the team, he probably also sees him as a threat. Sakamoto's no idiot despite his short comings and no-one has failed to notice his ambitions – not even the Chief Super.’ He threw Mori the car keys.
‘You gleaned all that after just one meeting.’ said Mori amazed
‘You think I’m wrong?’
‘No, but-’
Saito smiled inwardly. ‘I’ve known him a lot longer than you – and a lot longer than I care to admit but he’s always acted the same when a promotion is in the offing, even when he first moved from constable to sergeant. I can spot it a mile off.’
‘Okay, so where to?’ Mori turned the ignition but still looked uncomfortable. Despite his reservations about Sakamoto and his decision-making on the case he was unused to operating so blatantly in opposition to a senior officer. But with the say so of both Saito and the Chief Super he merely pulled a wry smile content in the knowledge that others would take the flack if any problems arose. He wasn’t a shirker of responsibility by nature but at the same time he was grateful to be able to hide behind the excuse of ‘following orders’ on this particular occasion, in preparation for the inevitable time when Sakamoto would come calling, demanding answers – and loyalty!
Mori pulled out into the quiet side streets that surrounded HQ and Saito fiddled with the heating controls attempting to get warmer but failed miserably. They’d only been going two minutes and the engine was still cold and still intent in blowing out cold air.
‘My father’s car has heated seats,' explained Mori noticing Saito’s discomfort. ‘Maybe the service should consider investing in some of those.’
Saito merely grunted in response and wrapped his coat tighter around himself. ‘I think we should start with Niigata Kyubin, don’t you? It’s important that we find out exactly what Yamada Eri’s movements were on her final day. And I must say,’ he said looking across to Mori. ‘I find it quite unbelievable that Sakamoto didn’t do that straight away - most irregular for such a seemingly regular officer.’ He sat back in his seat with his arms still folded.
Saito felt good to be back on a case. It felt right to have Mori by his side and for the first time in a long time he felt alive. He felt cold, but he felt alive. It was a bit of a cliché but already he could feel his mind, which had been dormant and sluggish over the last three months, already he could feel it stretch out as if it had been kept in a particularly harsh kind of solitary confinement.
‘Do you mind if I check one or two things first, sir?’ said
Mori. ‘Just to tidy up a few thoughts I’ve been having myself. I just want to be sure that Yamada definitely had no motive. I would like to check out Yamada Eri’s doctor – just to be sure she hadn’t had a termination or anything like that.’
‘I don’t suppose it can do any harm.’ Saito was feeling generous - after all it was only an hour ago that he had felt redundant and reduced to Junsa-type duties of filing.
They drove over to Kamioka thankful that the traffic was relatively light and equally thankful that they could park in the one remaining slot outside the surgery.
‘I won’t be a second,’ said Mori leaping out.
Once they’d stopped the temperature in the car dropped rapidly and Saito thrust his hands deeper into his coat pockets as, like Mori, he had left his gloves in the office. He wasn’t one who could tolerate the cold very well and typically found he could manage much better with the humid heat of summer. But in the cold he could never get comfortable. Somehow icy fingers always managed to find a way to touch his skin, no matter how many layers he wore.
Ten minutes later Mori was back with a frown written all over his face.
‘Well, that muddies the waters. It appears she had been pregnant and did have a termination – about a month ago.’ He scratched his head as he got back into the car. 'And so perhaps Sakamoto is right. There’s a good motive there.’
Saito gave Mori a stern look. ‘Don’t be ridiculous. What you’ve found doesn’t amount to anything at all. According to Yamada his motive was revenge for his wife having an affair. He’s said nothing about her having an abortion. Don’t you think he might have mentioned it! Now come on let’s get moving. I’m freezing!’
‘Well, I suppose so.’ Mori restarted the ignition feeling both equally reassured and a little stupid. It had taken Inspector Saito less than two hours to completely take control of the case and Mori, although immensely pleased that the ‘old’ team were back together again, wanted to come up with something to demonstrate to Saito that it was worth his tagging along. So far all he’d managed to do was to ferret around in the undergrowth whilst failing to come up with anything useful at all. He reversed out and they headed off to the central office of Niigata Kyubin. The two men sat in silence. Mori knew this was the way Saito liked to play it. Saito preferred to think before he spoke and when he did speak he was typically economical with what he said. Others found him a difficult Inspector to work with as he was often taciturn and melancholy and prone to bouts of prolonged depression that came from being too immersed in a case. Mori didn’t mind - too much. He'd come to know the Inspector well.
By temperament Saito was a loner, only thrust into other’s company on account of the way the culture dictated - where group talk and group decisions were paramount. However, whilst not being completely comfortable in his own company - he couldn’t ever contemplate going on holiday by himself for example, over recent years he had found that he was invariably more discontented when around others. They constantly reminded him of what he didn’t have! There were a few exceptions, of course, Mori being one. Exactly why he tolerated Mori’s company so much Saito had never really stopped to question. Mori was neither particularly erudite, nor witty, nor incisive, but he was good-natured, methodical and honest and above all he allowed others around him breathing space to be themselves. In essence Mori allowed Saito to be Saito and that, if nothing else, was what he appreciated about him.
Thirty minutes later they approached the south-eastern edge of Yokohama - a district of low-rent housing crisscrossed by murky canals and dusty motorways, parking lots the size of several football pitches and a maze of warehouses, some operational, some disused - each accompanied by their attendant office building. The Niigata Kyubin complex appeared like a shining beacon in comparison to its more long-in-the-tooth brothers standing next to it which had allowed themselves to become a bedfellow for weeds, wall moss and the occasional broken bottle. Niigata Kyubin was spotless and polished with even the grey metal fencing that bordered the compound appearing to be pristine and sparkling new.
They entered the four storey main building and were asked to wait in a pleasantly furnished foyer. Mori idly browsed through the trade magazines that were laid out on the coffee table in front of them but found nothing of interest between the glossy pages. Pictures of Suzuki trucks did nothing for him. They were soon joined by Yuu Takeda – Eri Yamada’s line manager.
‘We’ve all been quite shocked by Yamada san’s death. I assume you’re here in connection with that. To be honest I was expecting you to call on us a lot earlier than you have. But anyway how can I help you?’ he asked, speaking in jerky, disconnected and nervous sentences that prevented anyone else from getting a word in. Whilst he appeared to be harmless enough Mori recalled that Hideki Yamada had said that his wife had never really got on with him - the words ‘creep’ sprang back into his mind.
‘We’re keen to know about her movements on her last day and we’re hoping you can help us with that,’ stated Saito. ‘We understand that you were her line manager.’
Takeda sat down beside them, wiping his hands on his trousers before he did so. ‘I don’t think I’ll have much to tell you. From what I can recall she spent most of the day in her office. She’d been quite busy recently as the boss was keen to involve her in the merger talks.’
‘Yes. We’re aware that there were some talks going on.’
‘We were hoping to get a deal with YBP, but sadly they decided to pull out at the last minute.’
'YBP? Who are they?' asked Mori.
'Another logistics firm - Yokohama Black Panther. I'm surprised you haven't heard of them, their trucks are quite recognisable.'
Mori simply looked blankly back. ‘So this merger. It fell through. Do you know why?’
Takeda shrugged and once again wiped his hands on his trousers. ‘From what I understand they didn’t think that our management practices would compliment theirs - something like that, anyway. I wasn’t party to the final round of talks so I wasn’t privy to the final reasons and the intimate detail. Yamada san was invited though, and attended with Ozawa san - just the two of them.’
Just the two of them. Saito wondered whether there was any resentment behind his words.
‘We’re quite modern in our ways here,’ continued Takeda. ‘Whereas Yokohama Black Panther are rather traditional. That’s what I understand anyway.’
‘Was that usual - for Yamada san to represent this section? Shouldn’t you have gone in her place? You are the senior man, aren’t you? I don’t quite understand.’
‘I’m not sure what relevance this has to anything.’ Takeda sounded slightly annoyed. ‘It just so happened that Yamada san’s expertise was more valuable on this occasion.’
‘Right, right… I’m just trying to get more of a feel for our victim, that’s all.' Saito scratched his chin. 'Presently I have precious little. Up to now I'd assumed her to be a fairly unremarkable Office Lady, but now you’re telling me she was a privileged player in important merger talks.’
Takeda just looked back impassively.
‘So!' Inspector Saito leant back in his seat. 'How would you describe her?’
Takeda paused for a moment. ‘Would you like a coffee, tea?’ he suddenly asked standing up. ‘I’ve been rude not to offer this before.’ He nodded to a member of the reception staff who came over and bowed to the three gentlemen.
‘Yuki, can you get us some coffees? Black for me - Inspector Saito, Sergeant Mori, what would you like?’
Saito played along with this little side show wondering if it was an avoidance strategy or just the action of someone who was remiss at not having offered refreshments before. His question had seemed innocent enough. There was no need for evasion as far as he could see.
‘She was a hard worker,’ Takeda eventually said. ‘Dedicated to her field and a great asset to the company. I think it’s fair to say that she had energy and drive. She was ambitious, I think, but not so much that she was pushy or worked beyond her l
imits. She was a good team player. I was actually quite proud of her. She was employed at my suggestion.’
Mori, like Saito listened intently. He was becoming quite interested in the exact nature of the relationship between Takeda and his ‘protégé’, as he now seemed to be billing her.
‘What about her personality? Was she serious, vivacious, steady… what?’ he asked.
‘She had confidence, that’s true. She had an attractive figure and a pretty face.’
‘I wasn’t really asking about how attractive she was physically,’ interrupted Mori.
‘No, no, you weren’t, were you?’ apologised Takeda once again wiping his hands on his trousers. ‘She was pleasant to work with,’ he finally added.
Saito looked across to Mori and they exchanged a knowing look. ‘Okay, what about her movements on her last day. What do you know?’
‘Like I said before, from what I can recall she was in her office most of the day. I’ve obviously thought about it a lot since she died. I still find it completely unbelievable. She was just so…’ He trailed off to silence, lost in his own thoughts.