A Midsummer's Equation

FIFTY-TWO

“Good thing the kid could talk. Some kids these days, the things they say, you wonder if they’re even speaking the same language,” Nonogaki said as they left the lounge. “Other than hiding the fact that Sawamura helped them, it sounds like the Kawahatas’ story checks out. That just leaves their guest, Yukawa. Who, it turns out, is at this hotel, too. Too bad his phone’s busted or we’d be done with all this by now.”

“I’ll ask which room he’s in,” Nishiguchi offered.

Nishiguchi headed toward the front desk. Over the last few days, he’d gotten so used to taking orders from the guys in prefectural homicide that it was second nature now.

He found Yukawa’s room number quickly and called from the front desk, but there was no answer. Only after Nishiguchi frowned and put the phone back down did the desk clerk speak up.

“If you’re trying to reach Mr. Yukawa, he asked that any calls for him be directed to the bar on the tenth floor.”

“Oh, thanks,” Nishiguchi said, resisting the urge to add, “You could have told me sooner,” and went back over to Nonogaki.

“This physicist guy is the one here doing research on the undersea development project, right?” Nonogaki laughed. “They haven’t even started mining yet, and he’s already living large in the resort hotel bar?”

Nishiguchi kept his opinion to himself.

There were only a few patrons scattered throughout the large bar. The side facing the sea was all glass, but they could see nothing because the sun had already set and it was pitch black outside. Nishiguchi imagined the bar probably got pretty busy on the nights when they had fireworks shows.

Yukawa was sitting at a table against the window. His glasses were resting on the table in front of him. Next to them was a bottle of red wine and a single wineglass. He was listening to something on a pair of headphones.

Yukawa slowly looked up at the two detectives when they approached. He noticed Nishiguchi and removed the headphones from one of his ears. “Is he a detective too?” he asked, indicating Nonogaki with his eyes.

Nonogaki introduced himself and sat down across the table from Yukawa. “Could we have a moment?”

“What if I said no?”

Nonogaki frowned, and Yukawa’s lips curled upward. “I’m kidding, of course. Are you going to keep standing?” The question was directed at Nishiguchi, who quickly sat.

“You should order something,” Yukawa suggested. “It’s a little odd drinking alone,” Yukawa said to Nonogaki, removing his headphones completely.

“We’re fine. But please, go ahead.”

“Right, well then,” Yukawa said, picking up his wineglass and taking a leisurely sip.

Nonogaki cleared his throat and announced, “We’ve arrested Mr. and Mrs. Kawahata.”

Yukawa set down his glass. “Okay.”

“You’re not surprised?”

“Well, this morning they did tell me they wanted me to move to another hotel, and they didn’t ask me to pay for my stay, which gave me fairly good warning that something was up. Later I heard rumors that a number of police cruisers were spotted up at the inn, so I assumed there’d been an arrest. On what charges were they arrested?”

“Right now, professional negligence resulting in death and the abandonment of a corpse.”

Yukawa picked his glasses up from the table and wiped the lenses with a paper napkin. “Right now? Do you mean to suggest that the charges might change?”

“I can’t say. We’re still in the process of looking into everything—a process that includes talking to you.”

“I see. So, what should I say?” Yukawa asked, putting on his glasses.

“Just the facts as you saw them. I know you’ve given a statement already, and you’re probably tired of repeating it, but I’d like you to begin with your first day at the Green Rock Inn.”

The physicist snorted. “I am sick of it, but here goes,” he said, and began his story, the same one he had been telling from the very beginning. There was nothing in Yukawa’s account that contradicted Sawamura’s confession. Nishiguchi was relieved. If Yukawa was telling the truth, the chance of any blame falling on Narumi was slim.

“How was Sawamura when he came into the bar?” Nonogaki asked.

“How do you mean?”

“Well…” Nonogaki paused. He had probably been hoping for something like “He looked nervous,” but suggesting that would make it a leading question. “Anything is fine. Whatever you sensed at the time.”

Yukawa shrugged. “Then I suppose I should say I sensed nothing. It was my first encounter with the man.”

“So when you went back to the inn, did you notice anything unusual about the Kawahatas’ behavior that night or the following day?”

“Nothing that I noticed,” Yukawa replied simply. “I didn’t speak directly with him that much, however. And most of my meals were served by the daughter, Narumi. She’s not involved with this, is she?”

Nishiguchi resisted the urge to blurt out Of course not.

Nonogaki ignored the question and stood up from the table. “Thank you for your time. We’ll let you get back to your wine.”

“What? That’s all?”

“That’s all,” Nonogaki said, already turning to leave. Nishiguchi was standing up when Yukawa asked, “Did they try to reproduce what happened?”

Nonogaki stopped and turned. “Excuse me?”

“You mentioned negligence. I’m assuming that meant that there was an accident of some sort at the Green Rock Inn, probably involving carbon monoxide poisoning. I would expect that forensics would be trying to reproduce what happened by experiment.”

“Carbon monoxide poisoning? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Nonogaki said.

“Oh? Then whence the negligence?” Yukawa asked, scratching his chin.

Nonogaki’s eyes widened and his nostrils flared. He took a deep breath, said, “Thank you for your cooperation,” and strode swiftly out of the room.

Nishiguchi nodded to Yukawa and started to follow Nonogaki. Behind him, he heard Yukawa said, “They’re not going to be able to reproduce it, you know. The carbon monoxide.”

Nishiguchi stopped. “Why’s that?”

But Yukawa didn’t respond. Instead, he slowly poured himself another glass of wine. Nishiguchi was about to ask again when the physicist said, “I know the men and women in your profession have something they call detective’s intuition.” He picked his wineglass up and swished the liquid around, staring at it. “Well, you might say I have physicist’s intuition.” He took another sip.

Nishiguchi shook his head. It didn’t sound like Yukawa was making fun of him, but he didn’t understand what the man was driving at. Unable to think of anything to say, he turned and left.

Outside, Nonogaki was talking on his phone. He hung up, a sour look on his face, and pressed the elevator button.

“Glad we won’t have to talk to him again. Are all scientists like that?”

“He’s particularly eccentric, I hear.”

“Right, well, I won’t miss him. And it looks like the case is closed anyway.”

“Was there some new information?”

Nonogaki nodded. “Tokyo found Senba. He’s hospitalized out in Chofu. Turns out that the victim used to pay him visits out there. So, our prime suspect’s not a suspect at all.”

The elevator door opened, and the two detectives got in.

There had been a number of question marks left over after the Kawahatas gave their first testimony, but after Sawamura turned himself in, the remaining contradictions had disappeared. That only left the question of why Tsukahara had come out to Hari Cove in the first place, but from what Nonogaki said, it sounded like they had an answer for that now, too. Maybe the case really was closed.

But what Yukawa had said as he was leaving the bar stuck in Nishiguchi’s mind.

While they were questioning the Kawahatas down at the police department, forensics had indeed been up at the Green Rock Inn, trying to reproduce what had happened the night Tsukahara died. The first report to the task force had confirmed the cracks in the wall of the Ocean Room and the presence of exhaust from the boiler pipe. Next, all they would have to do would be to make the boiler malfunction and see if it pumped enough carbon monoxide into the room.

But it had been hours, and the only word from the team was, “We don’t know what happened.”