As Reiko put the tray down on the table, something white caught her eye. It was the string for the top. What was it doing on the table? How had Kaga managed to spin the top without it?
Kaga bent down and plucked the still-spinning top off the floor.
“You were out?” he asked, strolling back to the sofa and putting the top back on the table. He wasn’t holding string.
“Yes, seeing a friend. I haven’t yet had time to change. I only just got back.”
“Really? You did your shopping after seeing your friend, then?’
“Huh?”
“I saw you with a whole armful of shopping bags.”
Kaga sat down and picked up his glass of tea.
So the detective hadn’t just happened to drop by. He’d been lurking nearby, waiting for her to return. He’d said it was “nothing terribly major.” But was he telling the truth? Reiko felt herself growing tense.
“Where did you go shopping?”
“Ginza.”
“Do you ever go to Nihonbashi?”
“Occasionally. Mitsubishi Department Store is around there.”
“How long does it take to get there by taxi?”
“Nihonbashi? Probably about... uhm... fifteen minutes.”
“Gosh, this is such a convenient place to live.”
Although the apartment wasn’t all that close to the local subway station, you could get to Ginza or Nihonbashi in no time by cab. That was the reason Reiko had chosen this particular neighborhood.
“Excuse me, Detective, but why are you here today?”
Kaga put down his tea and sat upright on the sofa.
“I want to ask you about June the tenth. Can you talk me through the whole thing again?”
“The whole thing? I don’t think there’s anything more I can tell you.”
“Yosaku Kishida, your father-in-law, came by to discuss the arrangements for the anniversary of his wife’s death. Was that an urgent matter?”
Reiko tilted her head to one side and exhaled through her teeth. “I’m probably not the best person to ask about that. The anniversary is still two months away, so my husband was pretty relaxed about it. My father-in-law seemed to be taking it more seriously.”
Reiko herself couldn’t have cared less.
“So they discussed that. Then what?”
“I wouldn’t say they discussed it. It was more like they agreed to start thinking about what to do.”
“Is that all? Hardly seems worth getting together in the first place.”
“I suppose not,” murmured Reiko.
She frowned and peered at the detective.
“Anyway, why are you asking me about this? Does it really matter what they discussed? Is it a problem?”
“No, it’s not.”
“What the heck are you investigating here anyway? How is my father-in-law involved? Come on, tell me. I won’t say another word until you do. I’m under no obligation to talk to you.”
There was an edge to Reiko’s voice. If it came to a shouting match, she was confident of winning.
Kaga scowled, then gave an emphatic nod.
“I guess you’re right. The least I can do is to tell you the nature of the crime we’re investigating.”
“It’s some sort of corporate accounting fraud, right?”
“Wrong. This is a murder inquiry.”
“What!”
Reiko’s eyebrows shot up. That was the last thing she’d expected to hear.
“On the evening of June the tenth, a murder was committed. We haven’t yet identified the perpetrator. We are currently checking the alibis of everyone associated with the case. Yosaku Kishida is one of those people. When we interviewed him, he told us that he was here that night. I’m here to confirm that.”
Reiko had been holding her breath. Her heart was still pounding like a jackhammer even after she released the air from her lungs.
“Is that what this is all about? My father-in-law didn’t say anything about a—”
“He probably didn’t want you to worry. You’d be alarmed if you heard that he was involved in a murder case. And naturally so.”
“You’re not kidding. My heart’s racing.” Reiko looked at the detective.
“Anyway, if that’s what this is really about, let me make myself as clear as possible. My father-in-law came here. He arrived at about eight and left a little after half past nine. I’ve no idea what he did after that, though...”
Kaga smiled.
“Mr. Kishida told us that, after leaving here, he went to a bar in Shinbashi and drank there until late that night. We’ve confirmed that.”
“I’m glad to hear it. So his alibi holds up.” Reiko felt a sudden twinge of doubt in her chest, and her face clouded over. “But I’ve watched my fair share of crime shows on TV. No one ever believes the family members.”
“I wouldn’t say no one believes them,” replied Kaga, with a rueful grin. “More that as evidence, it carries somewhat less weight. There’s always a chance that family members are covering for one another.”
Reiko now understood why Kaga was being so persistent in his questions about June the tenth. He thought she might be lying. If she and her father-in-law were coordinating their stories, then the more questions he asked, the more likely she was to slip up.
“Trust me, Detective Kaga. My father-in-law was here in this apartment on that night. That’s the God’s own truth.”
Reiko spoke passionately. What would the neighbors think if they heard that her father-in-law was a suspect in a murder? Would little Shota get bullied at school?
“The best thing would be if you could somehow prove that to me,” said Kaga.
“Prove it?” Reiko cast her mind back to the evening of June the tenth. There had to be a way of proving that Yosaku really had been here.
“You told me that Mr. Kishida brought this with him on the twelfth?” said Kaga. He was holding up the top, which was decorated with a pattern of green and yellow circles. “What I can’t figure out is why he didn’t bring it on the tenth, if he came then anyway.”
The question seemed reasonable enough. It would be a disaster if the top ended up serving as proof that Yosaku hadn’t been there on the tenth. Reiko could feel the panic mounting.
“No. You’re right. He actually did bring it with him on the tenth.”
“On the tenth? But you said the twelfth the other day.”
Reiko shook her head.
“No, he brought it with him on the tenth. The thing was, he’d forgotten the string.”
“He forgot the string?”
“Because he’d left the string behind, at first my father-in-law didn’t mention that he had the top with him. Then Shota — my son — opened up his granddad’s briefcase and found it there. When I asked my father-in-law what on earth he was doing with a spinning top, he explained that he’d been given it by a friend.”
“And he brought it here, intending to give it to his grandson as a present, until he realized he’d mislaid the string — is that it?”
“Yes, that’s right. He thought he’d left it on his office desk. He took the top with him, promising to bring it back with the string as soon as he could.”
“So he brought the top back with him — this time with the string — on the twelfth of June?”
“Precisely. Shota was really excited about his new toy, so I pestered my father-in-law to bring it back soon.”
“I see,” Kaga agreed. “I think I understand.”
“Detective Kaga, you’ve got to believe me. My father-in-law was here with us on the evening of the tenth.”
Reiko was looking at the detective with desperation in her eyes. Why anyone would suspect her father-in-law she didn’t know, but he had a proper alibi, and she was determined to get that point across.