A Midsummer's Equation

FIFTY-ONE

My aunt’s cooking is way better than this, Kyohei thought as he bit into the fried scallop. The food was piled high on a fancy plate, but from the taste it could have come from any restaurant chain back in the city. What was the point of coming all the way out to the ocean to eat this?

Kyohei had come to the hotel restaurant with his father. It looked like they would be spending the night after all. He’d assumed that meant they’d be leaving first thing in the morning, but his father said, “With what’s going on with your uncle, I might have to stick around and do some paperwork and things. You know how it is.” He gave Kyohei a smile. “Hang in there, buddy.”

Kyohei had nodded, but he didn’t agree that delaying their departure for Osaka constituted “hanging in there.” It would be worse to leave without knowing what was going to happen to his aunt and uncle.

They’d just finished dinner when his father’s phone rang. He looked at it and frowned as he lifted the phone to his ear. Covering his mouth with his hand, he spoke quietly for a few moments before hanging up. He was still frowning.

“What is it?” Kyohei asked.

“The police say they want to talk to you,” his father said, a wrinkle forming across his brow. “They say a detective is waiting in the hotel’s tea lounge. They want you to come out once you’re finished eating. You okay with that?”

“Yeah, sure, fine,” Kyohei said, eating the rest of the scallop and taking a bite of his tomato salad. He hadn’t eaten much, but he already felt full.

There were two men waiting for him in the tea lounge, Detective Nonogaki and Detective Nishiguchi. He had a feeling he’d seen both of them around, but this was the first time he’d ever talked to either of them.

Kyohei sat down across the table from the detectives. His father took the seat next to him. Nonogaki asked if they wanted anything to drink, but Kyohei’s father said no, so Kyohei shook his head.

“How’s it going?” his father asked. “Are they still in questioning?”

Nonogaki sat up a little in his chair. “I’m afraid these things are never so simple. Frankly, they never are when a death is involved. And … well, there were several aspects to what the Kawahatas told us that don’t exactly mesh. I’m sorry for the trouble, but you understand we need to do things by the book here.”

“I’m sorry, mesh? What doesn’t mesh?”

“I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to talk about that. Let’s just say that people other than Mr. and Mrs. Kawahata were involved.”

“Accomplices? You don’t mean Narumi—”

“No, not her,” the young detective named Nishiguchi blurted out. Nonogaki gave him a glare, and he went back to taking notes.

Nonogaki turned a cold smile onto the father. “We actually aren’t here to answer your questions, sir, so if you don’t mind?”

“Right, of course,” Kyohei’s father said, then gave Kyohei a look to see if he was ready. Kyohei nodded and turned back to the detectives. The one named Nonogaki was staring right at him. His face reminded Kyohei of a fox.

“You remember lighting fireworks with your uncle? It was about six days ago,” the detective asked.

“I remember,” Kyohei said.

“Was that your idea, the fireworks?”

“No. I was watching TV in my room, and Uncle Shigehiro called me from downstairs.”

“Around what time was that?”

“Eight o’clock … I think.”

The detective’s questions were all pretty much what he had expected. They didn’t care about him, they wanted to know about Uncle Shigehiro. What time did he go back inside? What time did he come back out to set off more fireworks? How late did they stay out? Kyohei hadn’t been checking his watch that night, of course, so he only had a vague idea. When they asked him if anything unusual had happened, all he could do was shrug and say no, they’d just lit some fireworks. Still, that appeared to satisfy the detectives.

He told the detective that after the fireworks, he’d gone to his aunt and uncle’s apartment, eaten some watermelon, and fallen asleep watching TV. At that point in his story, Nonogaki turned to look at Nishiguchi and nodded.

“Thanks for your time,” Nonogaki said, standing. “If we have some more questions for you later, we’ll get in touch.” He gave a little bow with his head and walked off toward the exit. Nishiguchi hurried after him.

Kyohei’s father gave a little sigh and stood.

“Dad?” Kyohei asked, still in his chair. “It was an accident, right?”

His father got an angry look on his face. “Of course. What else would it be?”

“I … I don’t know, I just, you know. I wondered why they’re so serious.”

“It’s like the detective said. When somebody dies, even if it’s an accident, they have to check every little detail. Don’t worry. Your aunt and uncle did do something bad, and they’ll definitely get punished for it, but it won’t be too harsh.”

Kyohei’s head drooped. His father took it for a nod and walked off with another, “Let’s get going.” Kyohei stood to follow him, but in his head he could still hear Yukawa’s voice echoing.

“This isn’t a good place for you to be. I should think you’d know that better than anyone else.”