A Midsummer's Equation

THIRTY-NINE

Kusanagi whistled as his eyes followed the polished curves of the navy-blue hybrid. It was a two-wheel drive, got 15.8 kilometers to the liter, and cost a cool six million yen.

If I had that kind of money to drop on a car, I’d think about moving first.

He tried opening the driver’s-side door. It had a good weight to it and shut with a nice, solid sound.

“Feel free to get in,” said a voice from behind him. He turned to see a woman in a light gray suit with short-cut hair smiling at him.

“That’s okay, I didn’t come to see the car, actually,” Kusanagi said. He looked down at the badge on the woman’s lapel. “Ms. Ozeki?”

“Yes,” she said, still smiling. “And you are Detective…?”

“Kusanagi,” he said, quickly flashing his badge.

Her eyes widened for just a moment, and she said, “Right this way,” leading to him to a table with some chairs.

“Would you like something to drink?”

“No, that’s fine. Save it for the customers.”

“It’s quite all right,” she said. “Some coffee? Or iced tea?”

“Iced tea, then.”

“Great,” she said, bowing curtly before walking off.

At least she seems cooperative, Kusanagi thought, sighing a little as he checked out the catalogs featuring the latest models on the table.

It was a little after one in the afternoon. Kusanagi had come to a car dealership in Tokyo’s Koto Ward to talk to one Reiko Ozeki, Narumi’s former classmate.

Earlier that morning he’d visited Narumi’s old middle school and taken a look at the yearbooks. Kusanagi then tracked down three of the girls who’d been in tennis club with Narumi and set out to pay each of them a visit. The first was out when he dropped by. At the second house, the girl’s parents told him she’d gotten married and moved up north to Sendai. At the third house, he had found Ozeki’s parents. Her mom had been kind enough to call her at the car dealership so she would know he was coming.

Reiko returned with a tray and a glass of iced tea, which she placed in front of him before sitting down with her own glass.

“Sorry to bother you at work like this,” Kusanagi apologized.

“My mom called back after you left, you know,” Reiko said. “She wanted me to find out what kind of investigation it was. She loves those mystery shows on television.”

“Can’t say I watch them.”

“She was very excited about meeting a real detective. Which, I guess I am too, a little.” She smiled and drank some of her tea. “So, what kind of investigation is this?”

“Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to talk much about it.”

“I was afraid of that. Too bad,” she said, still smiling.

“Actually, I came to talk to you about your middle school. You were in tennis club, correct?”

“Oh, wow, that was a long time ago. Yes, I was.”

“Do you remember a Ms. Narumi Kawahata?”

Reiko’s smile grew brighter and her eyes sparkled. “Narumi? Of course I remember her. Boy, it’s been ages since we talked.”

“Were you in touch after graduation?”

“Oh sure. She didn’t go to my high school, though. Her family had to move away. But we talked on the phone now and then. It’s been about ten years, I think.” Reiko looked off, reminiscing, before quickly turning back to Kusanagi, her mouth open. “Wait, was Narumi involved in something?”

“Not at all,” Kusanagi said, remembering to smile. “My case doesn’t directly involve her, actually. I had a few questions about the place where she was living.”

“You mean her house?”

“Yes. At the time the Kawahatas’ address was in Oji, but I understand that Ms. Kawahata commuted to school from a different house. Were you familiar with her living arrangements?”

A wrinkle formed between Reiko’s eyebrows as she thought. Kusanagi knew it was a long shot. She might have forgotten in the last fifteen or so years, if she even knew in the first place.

He was on the verge of telling her it was okay and leaving, when Reiko looked up. “Well—”

“You remember where she lived?”

“I went to her house a few times. I know it wasn’t in Oji.”

“Where was it?”

“I don’t remember the place exactly. Except, I remember the station we got off at.”

“Which was?”

“Ogikubo.”

Ogikubo, where Nobuko Miyake was murdered. Kusanagi’s heart thudded in his chest. He made an effort not to let it show on his face. “Ogikubo, right. Do you remember anything more? For example, what direction you walked from the station?”

Reiko frowned and shook her head. “It was a bit of a hike. Narumi used her bike to get to the station from home, I remember that,” she said, not sounding particularly confident.

“Did she live in a house or an apartment?”

“A small house, I think.”

“Do you think you could show me on a map?”

“Sure, one moment.” Reiko stood.

Kusanagi watched her walk off and drank some of his tea. He loosened his necktie and tried to cool off a little.

Reiko returned a few moments later, carrying a laptop computer. “It’ll be quicker if we check on this,” she said, going online and pulling up a map of the area around Ogikubo Station.

“Do you have any idea where the house might have been?” Kusanagi asked.

Reiko started the screen for a while, but then shook her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t think so. I was always following Narumi, so I never really paid attention to the route.”

That was unsurprising. At least Kusanagi wasn’t leaving empty-handed.

“I was thinking,” Reiko said. “You could ask Narumi yourself. I have her number. At least, that is, if she hasn’t moved.”

“Oh, no, that’s fine.” Kusanagi shook his head. “We’re just starting by talking to people here in Tokyo. I’ll be speaking with Ms. Kawahata at some point, and I do have her number. She’s currently in Hari Cove, I believe.”

“That’s right. Her father’s from there originally, right? That’s where they went after Tokyo.”

Kusanagi nodded. “Actually, I wanted to ask, do you remember if the move was a sudden decision, by any chance? Had they known about it for some time before?”

“Well, for us, it did seem pretty sudden. I mean, Narumi thought she’d be going to high school with us. And we knew about the family business, but she said she wouldn’t go, even if they left—even if it meant staying in Tokyo all by herself. That’s why we were all so surprised when she just up and left for Hari Cove.”

“Did you talk to her about that on the phone?”

“No, not really. I think there must’ve been something going on, you know, something personal.” Reiko’s eyes narrowed as she looked at the detective. “You said this didn’t have anything to do with Narumi, right? Does her moving have something to do with your case?”

“No, not particularly.”

“Well then, I have no idea what you’re after. Could you at least tell me what kind of case it is? This is really going to bug me.”

“I’m really sorry,” Kusanagi said, bowing his head, “but it’s against the rules.” He stood from the table. “Thank you again for your time and for your help.”

“Was it? A help, I mean.”

“Absolutely.” Kusanagi began to walk toward the door, but stopped halfway and turned around. “Actually, there’s one more thing I’d like to ask you. A favor. I am going to go talk to Ms. Kawahata, eventually, but if you could, please don’t mention this to anyone. Word travels fast, and there’s a chance she might hear about it before I get a chance to sit down with her.”

Reiko nodded, then a mischievous smile came to her face. “I can tell my mom, right? She knows I’m meeting with you, after all.”

“I’d prefer it if you didn’t, honestly.”

“What? You know she’s going to give me a thorough questioning when I get home.”

“Well, you’ll just have to think of something to tell her,” Kusanagi said.

“Something to tell her. Right.” Reiko frowned.

He walked out through the sliding doors onto the street. He was pondering his next move, when a voice from behind called out, “Detective?”

He turned to see Reiko running over to him. “I just remembered something. I went over to her house once in early April. There was a park really nearby, and we all went there to see the cherry trees.”

“A park with cherry trees? Are you sure?”

“Yes—that was the only time we went cherry blossom–viewing in middle school, so I remember it really well.”

Kusanagi give it some thought, then nodded and smiled at her. “Thank you, that’s very—”

“Helpful, I know. You’re sure I can’t talk about it?”

Kusanagi shook his head. “Sorry, no.”

“Right,” she said. She wished him good luck with the investigation, then went back to the showroom. Kusanagi watched her leave, then set off again, taking big strides in his excitement.

Both Ogikubo and a park featured prominently in the crime scene details surrounding Nobuko Miyake’s death. It was looking more and more like the Kawahatas were involved with the Senba case after all.

He was just thinking he should call Yukawa and tell him, when his phone began to buzz. He checked the display. It was Utsumi. She had gone to talk to Tsukahara’s widow to see if she might know where he would’ve taken a homeless man to receive medical care.

“You get anything?” he asked, picking up.

“I can’t say for sure, but what I did hear is very intriguing.”

“The widow told you something?”

“No, not from her, it was from the prefectural detectives.”

“What, you ran into them?”

“They were at the house when I got there. Two guys, both in homicide. They let me observe.”

“What were they there for?”

“They wanted to know if Tsukahara had any connections out in Chofu.”

“Chofu? This is the first time I’ve heard anything about Chofu.”

“Yeah, me too. Apparently he mailed something from the post office by the station.” She explained the attendance voucher and the hearing in Hari Cove.

“What did the widow say?”

“She gave it some thought, but in the end, she said she didn’t know. She thought he might’ve gone there while he was still on duty, but he never talked about work at home.”

He pictured Sanae Tsukahara’s face, that look of determination in her eyes. If she had never asked her husband about his work, it wasn’t due to a lack of interest. It was because she knew there were things she was better off not knowing, just as there were things he was better off not having to share.

“The prefectural guys want to know anything else?”

“Nothing new. They asked again whether she’d thought of any connection to Hari Cove, things like that. Of course she had nothing for them.”

“Did they ask you anything?”

“They wanted to know why I had come to visit the widow.”

“You tell them about the hospital?”

“Should I have?”

Kusanagi grinned. “What’d you say?”

“I told them I came to borrow family albums—that I was looking for a photo that might show Tsukahara in Hari Cove.”

“Did they buy that?”

“It took the wind out of their sails a little. They knew that the Tokyo Police Department was involved, but I don’t think they were very impressed with that particular line of inquiry. Nor with the fact that Tokyo had put a single detective on the case—young and female, at that. Incidentally, there weren’t any photo albums in the house. Someone from the prefectural police took them all the last time they visited.”

Utsumi spoke very matter-of-factly, and Kusanagi had to strain to detect the slight hint of irritation in her voice.

“Don’t let it get to you,” he said. “Besides, you got something out of it.”

“It didn’t get to me. And I’m glad you think the trip was useful.”

“Of course it was. If Tsukahara mailed his application from Chofu, it probably means he was out there meeting someone with a deep connection to Hari Cove.”

“I agree, and I’m already on it. Sorry to tell you after the fact.”

Kusanagi steadied his grip on his phone. “You’re going to Chofu?”

“I went back home and got my car—the plan is to check in with every hospital in the area.”

“Good call. Shizuoka prefectural police will start asking questions around there sooner or later, but you’ve got a leg up on them with the hospital lead. Make it count.”

“Will do. How are things on your end?”

“Well…” He licked his lips. “I’ve got a few leads. I’ll tell you about them when you’re done. I don’t want to distract you while you’re on the beat.”

“Now you’re getting my hopes up.”

“As they should be. Later,” he said, and hung up. Normally, he would’ve told her about the house in Ogikubo by the park—except he didn’t feel ready yet. He was still turning it over in his mind, trying to figure out what it all meant.