‘Haneda? What’s in Haneda?’
‘The airport, stupid. Mrs Mashiba will be coming back from Sapporo, and I want you to meet her there and bring her back to the station.’
‘I assume she knows about this already?’
‘She should. I want you to go with Utsumi. She’ll be driving. The flight gets in at eight.’
‘Eight A.M.?’
Kusanagi dropped the phone and jumped out of bed.
As he hurried to get ready, his mobile phone rang. It was Kaoru Utsumi; she was already waiting in front of his apartment building. Kusanagi grabbed his wallet, put on his shoes, and ran out to meet her.
Utsumi was waiting at the kerb. Kusanagi climbed into her Pajero and they headed off towards Haneda airport.
‘Looks like we pulled the short straw again. I’ll never get used to meeting the bereaved family,’ he said, putting on his seat belt.
‘But the chief says you’re the best at handling them.’
‘The old man said that?’
‘He said your face puts them at ease.’
‘Nice.’ Kusanagi snorted. ‘He’s just saying I look like an idiot.’
They arrived at the airport at five minutes to eight and stood in the arrivals lobby, scanning the crowd for Ayane Mashiba while passengers streamed past. She was supposed to be wearing a beige coat and carrying a blue suitcase.
‘Think that could be her?’ Utsumi said, nodding towards an approaching figure.
Kusanagi followed her gaze to find a woman who matched the description. Sorrow hung around her slightly downcast eyes; there was an air of something grave and stark about her – solemnity, perhaps.
‘That’s her all right,’ Kusanagi said, his voice suddenly hoarse.
It was as if his heart had suddenly leapt into his throat. He stared, unable to take his eyes off her, completely at a loss as to why the sight of Ayane Mashiba should affect him so strongly.
FOUR
Once the detectives introduced themselves, the first thing Ayane Mashiba asked about was her husband’s body.
‘There’s been a court-ordered autopsy,’ Kusanagi explained. ‘I’m not sure exactly where the body is at this very moment, but I’ll check on it later today and let you know.’
‘So I won’t be able to see him.’ Ayane blinked. Her eyes were sunken, her skin rough; she was trying to hold back tears.
I doubt she’s slept a wink since the call came. ‘Once they’re done, we’ll return the remains as quickly as possible.’ Kusanagi’s words sounded strangely leaden to his own ears. He was never completely relaxed when talking to the families, but somehow, this time felt different. Everything was harder than usual.
‘Thank you,’ Ayane replied.
She had a deep voice for a woman – adjectives like sultry and bewitching came to his mind.
‘We’d like to talk to you a little at the Meguro City Police Station, if that’s all right?’
‘Yes. They told me that on the phone.’
‘That’s good. If you’re ready, we’ll take you to the car.’
Kusanagi helped her into the back seat of Utsumi’s SUV, then climbed into the passenger seat.
‘They were having trouble locating you last night. Where did they reach you?’ he asked, turning to look back at her.
‘I was at a hot springs near my hometown – I went there with an old friend. I’m afraid I had turned off my mobile phone, so I couldn’t hear it ring. I picked up my messages just before going to bed.’ She paused, letting out a long breath. ‘I thought it was some kind of prank call at first – I mean, who expects a call from the police?’
‘These things happen without warning,’ Kusanagi agreed.
‘That’s just it,’ she said. ‘What sort of things happen? No one’s told me anything, except that he’s …’ Ayane’s voice faltered, and Kusanagi felt an ache in his gut. He knew that the question she most wanted to ask was also the question whose answer she most feared.
‘What did they tell you over the phone?’ he asked.
‘They told me that my husband was dead, and that there was some concern about the cause of death, so there would be a police investigation. That’s all.’
Which was all the officer calling her would have been able to say. Kusanagi felt a tightness in his chest as he imagined again the night she must’ve spent after hearing the news, and what it must’ve been like for her getting on the plane that morning. ‘Your husband died at home,’ he told her. ‘The cause is still unknown, but there were no visible injuries. Hiromi Wakayama discovered him collapsed in the living room.’
‘Hiromi …’ Kusanagi sensed Ayane’s gasp more than heard it.
Kusanagi glanced over at Utsumi in the driver’s seat. For just a moment, she glanced back and their eyes met.
We’re both thinking the same thing, Kusanagi realized. It was less than twelve hours since they’d discussed the possibility of a relationship between Hiromi Wakayama and Yoshitaka Mashiba. Ms Wakayama was, by all accounts, Ayane’s favourite student. If they were in the habit of inviting her to parties at their house, she was a friend of the family, too. If she’d been sleeping with Ayane’s husband, it would be a classic case of the dog biting the hand that feeds it.
The question was whether Ayane had been aware of what was going on. They couldn’t assume that, just because she was close to her apprentice, she would’ve known. In fact, Kusanagi had seen several cases where just the opposite was true, when people didn’t know because they were too close.
‘Was your husband suffering from any illnesses?’ he asked.
Ayane shook her head. ‘Not that I knew of. He got regular checkups and there were no problems. He didn’t even drink that much.’
‘And he’s never collapsed before now?’
‘No. Nothing of the sort. I just can’t imagine it happening.’ Ayane put a hand to her forehead, as though trying to stave off a headache.
Kusanagi decided it would be premature to bring up the idea of poison. In fact, until they had an autopsy report in hand, it was best not to mention the possibilities of suicide or murder at all.
‘Because of the unusual circumstances,’ he said,‘we have to record every aspect of the place where the body was found – whether it turns out to be a crime scene or not. We’ve already done a bit of this last night with Ms Wakayama’s help. We would have preferred it to be you, of course.’
‘Yes, they mentioned that on the phone as well.’
‘Do you go back to Sapporo often?’
Ayane shook her head. ‘It was my first time since getting married.’
‘Your parents live there, correct? Is everything all right?’
‘My father isn’t doing as well as he could be, so I thought it was about time to visit. Of course, when I arrived he seemed to be doing much better than I’d been led to believe, thus the trip to the hot springs.’
Kusanagi nodded. ‘And why did you leave your key with Ms Wakayama?’
‘I thought it would be prudent, in case something came up while I was away. She helps me a lot with my work, and I keep a lot of materials and finished pieces at home that she might need to use in class.’
‘Ms Wakayama tells us that she was concerned about your husband and, when he didn’t answer his phone, she went over to make sure everything was all right. I was wondering’ – the detective chose his words carefully – ‘had you at any point specifically asked her to check in on him?’
Ayane gave a little frown. ‘I don’t think so, but maybe I did give her that impression. She’s always so thoughtful, and it was my first time leaving him on his own since we got married … Did I –’ She paused a moment before saying: ‘Was it wrong of me to leave my key with her?’