4
Naoya worked for a large construction company. His main responsibility was providing after-sales service to residential home buyers. Having completed the ninety-day post-sale inspection of a detached house in Toyocho, he decided to swing by the family home, which was on his way back to the office. Parking his little van on Ningyocho Boulevard, he peered into the shop. Suzue was on the phone, but there was no sign of Maki.
“Have you got a brochure? Could you mail me one? What sort of product line do you have?... What’s that? Japanese spiny lobster? You’ve got some interesting things in stock. Anything else? Matsusaka beef?... What? Oh, I see. Yes, I’d buy that in a jiffy. You’ve been very helpful. Thank you.”
Suzue didn’t notice Naoya coming in, and she jumped when she hung up the phone and turned around.
“What are you doing here at this time of day?”
“I was passing by, so thought I’d drop in. Did that call have something to do with your trip?”
“In a way...”
“Uhm, what about...?”
“She’s at the hairdresser, if that’s what you’re about to ask. Heaven only knows what color she’ll dye her hair this time.”
Suzue’s mouth turned down at the corners.
Naoya was mystified at how the two women managed to communicate when he was away. Given that they didn’t actually talk to one other, how could Suzue have possibly known where Maki had gone?
“Oh, good afternoon.” Suzue smiled warmly to someone behind Naoya.
Turning around, he saw the detective from the day before walking in to the shop. He was holding a small paper bag.
“Thanks for your help yesterday, Mr. Yanagisawa.”
“Detective Kaga, was it?”
“That’s right. Well remembered.”
Suzue cast an inquiring glance at Naoya.
“This gentleman is the policeman who spoke to Maki and me yesterday,” he explained.
“Oh, I heard you visited the folks at Kisamiya, too.” Suzue looked at the detective.
“Word travels fast, eh. That should make my job easier. Did the people at Kisamiya tell you that the murder victim bought a pair of kitchen scissors there?”
“Yes, they did. Is that important?”
Kaga smiled broadly, paused a moment, then asked, “Do you have any kitchen scissors here?”
“What!” exclaimed Suzue and Naoya in unison.
“We have a pair, yes,” Suzue said.
“Could you show them to me, if it’s not too much trouble?”
“Certainly, but may I ask why?”
Kaga scratched his head sheepishly.
“A precinct detective like me has to do all sorts of little jobs involving things that may or may not have any significance. In this particular case, I’m looking into the question of kitchen scissors. I therefore need to get everybody even vaguely connected to the case to show me their scissors. I know it’s a bore. Sorry.”
Kaga had couched his request in such humble terms that he won Suzue over. “Just wait a minute.” She disappeared into the back of the shop.
“Tough gig, huh?” ventured Naoya.
“Tell me about it.” Kaga gave a rueful grin.
Suzue came back carrying a pair of kitchen scissors.
“They’re completely plain, ordinary scissors. Nothing like the handcrafted ones they sell at Kisamiya,” Suzue said, holding them out to the detective.
“They’re on the new side. Did you get them recently?”
“A couple of years ago, I think. They don’t get a whole lot of wear and tear.”
“Thanks,” said Kaga, returning the scissors to Suzue.
“And your wife?”
“She’s out,” replied Naoya. “At the hairdresser’s.”
“I see. Oh yes, one more thing. Do you like rice crackers?” Kaga pulled a packet of rice crackers out of the bag in his hand and proffered them to Suzue. “Here, take these. I actually bought them a couple of days ago, I’m afraid.”
“Are they from the shop over in Amazake Alley? I used to love their crackers, but my teeth have been acting up recently...” Suzue looked at Naoya. “However, I’m sure the younger generation will be happy to step into the breach. Thank you very much.”
“Yes, you’ve got to be careful with your teeth. Thank you for your help, and I’ll be on my way.”
Kaga nodded at the two, then turned and left the store. Naoya went after him.
“Excuse me, Detective, but something’s been bugging me since yesterday.”
“Oh yes?” Kaga stroked his chin. “Shall we go and get something cold to drink?”
The two men went to a local coffee shop and settled themselves at a table on the second floor that overlooked the street.
Without beating about the bush, Naoya asked Kaga how he knew his wife’s first name. Kaga thumped the table in exasperation, though his expression remained cheerful.
“You’re right. I did use your wife’s first name. I didn’t think she was involved. I was careless.”
“What do you mean?” Naoya leaned in toward Kaga. “Is Maki involved somehow? Now you come around, asking to see our kitchen scissors — there’s something off about this. Tell me what’s going on.”
As Naoya became increasingly excited, Kaga made soothing gestures with his hands.
“It’s all right. It’s nothing important. I can understand your concern, so let me explain. It all goes back to a pair of kitchen scissors we found in the victim’s apartment.”
“What, more kitchen scissors?”
“Yes, but hers were brand-new and still wrapped in Kisamiya paper. That was what made us curious. The victim already had another pair of kitchen scissors in her apartment, which weren’t that old. So why buy a new pair? For a present, perhaps? The fact that the price tag was left on suggests otherwise. Normally, when you’re giving someone something, you take the tag off.
“At the same time, we found something interesting in the email folder on the victim’s computer. Examining the time stamps on her emails, we discovered she’d sent one just before she was killed.” Kaga pulled out his notebook. “I can tell you the exact words. ‘I bought them. They cost me 6,300 yen. I’ll bring them around to the store soon.’ I didn’t make the connection with the kitchen scissors right away. I mean, you wouldn’t normally think of scissors costing so much! But when I went to Kisamiya, I saw that was what their kitchen scissors cost: 6,300 yen. I took another look to see whom the mail was addressed to, and it was—”
“Maki Yanagisawa.”
“Precisely,” Kaga confirmed. “We also found a receipt from Yanagisawa’s in the victim’s apartment, so it was reasonable to assume that your wife or your mother was the intended recipient. I should point out that the mail never actually reached your wife. It looks as though her cell phone isn’t set up to receive email, only texts. My guess is that this was the first time the victim had tried emailing your wife. I think the two of them only got to know each other recently.”
“You think that my Maki asked this Mitsui woman to buy her a pair of scissors?”
“That was what I thought when I came to see you yesterday. Your wife, however, didn’t mention it at all. That’s what I meant when I said I didn’t think she was involved.”
“Maybe you’d be better off asking her directly.”
Kaga chuckled meaningfully and took a sip of his iced coffee.
“A policeman never likes to show his hand. If we think someone’s concealing something, we hang back to see how things play out. It’s quite possible your wife had a valid reason for not saying anything — a family issue or something.”
At the words “family issue,” a light went on in Naoya’s head. “Ah!” he exclaimed.