“So you hadn’t yet discussed the matter with them?”
“That’s right. Lately, when my wife and I meet the Namikis, we seldom discuss Saori. It’s just too painful for both sides.”
“And that was the case even after Hasunuma reappeared in Kikuno?” Kishitani asked, inspecting Niikura with his eyes.
Aware that he needed to be careful, Niikura tried to focus. “I didn’t actually know anything about that.”
“Sorry, ‘that’?”
“‘That’ being the fact that Hasunuma was back here in Kikuno; or rather, that he was back in Kikuno and had showed up at Namiki-ya. The first I heard of it was last night; the other customers at Namiki-ya told me about it after we got the news of Hasunuma’s death. I’d not actually been to Namiki-ya for quite a while, you see.”
Naoki Niikura hadn’t actually known that Hasunuma was back in Kikuno until Tojima alerted him. No one else had mentioned it to him since then. His story would be inconsistent if he said that he knew anything about it before the fuss at Namiki-ya last night.
“Aha. I see.”
Kishitani’s lips parted in surprise and he started writing in his notebook. He seemed like a genial fellow, but from certain angles his face could also look quite sly. Niikura couldn’t tell if Kishitani believed him.
His pen stopped moving across the page. Kishitani looked up.
“Could you tell me how you feel now? What were your emotions when you heard that Hasunuma was dead? Be honest.”
“How do I feel now?” Niikura paused and looked down. His mind was racing. What was the most appropriate response in this situation? He looked up at Kishitani. “How I feel would depend on how he died.”
“What do you mean?”
“If Hasunuma was murdered, then I’d say the bugger got what he deserved. I’d like to thank the killer for taking revenge on our behalf. If it was disease or some kind of accident, if Hasunuma died just like any other normal person, then I’d feel a bit... no, I’d feel very bitter and angry. I’d have to try and think of it as divine retribution.”
Kishitani gave a grunt, then turned his attention to Rumi. “And you, Mrs. Niikura? How do you feel?”
“Me, too... uhm... let me see. I’ve not fully processed it yet. The whole thing’s a bit bewildering...” Her words just petered out.
“Tell me, Detective.” Niikura looked hard at Kishitani. “What did actually happen? Was Hasunuma murdered? I’m guessing he was, otherwise a detective from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department would hardly be on the case, would he.”
Kishitani listened stone-faced, then grinned at them both.
“We’re still in the middle of our investigation. Now, there’s something else I need to ask you.” He picked up his pen. “Where were you yesterday?”
Here we go. Naoki Niikura steeled himself. Time to confirm our alibis.
“We both went to the parade. It only comes around once a year.”
“If possible, I’d appreciate as much detail as possible. Try and break things down for me: where you were, what you were doing, who you were with. Oh, and give me times.”
“The precise times?”
“As precise as memory permits.” Kishitani smiled self-deprecatingly. “It’s just one of those bureaucratic hoops we detectives have to jump through.”
“We were here at home all morning. We left the house at—” Niikura looked over at Rumi. “Was it after midday?”
“I’m not quite sure. All I know is that the Heidi, a Girl of the Alps float went past the minute we got there.”
“So it did.”
“Where did you watch the parade from?”
“Just a little bit past the start. There’s this raised section in front of the post office and you get a good view from there.”
“Did you watch the whole parade from there?”
“No, not the whole thing. We moved a few times, but we couldn’t find anywhere else as good, so we eventually went back.”
“Did you run into anyone you know?”
“Oh yes. Quite a lot of people.”
“Who were they? I’d like you to tell me their names, if you can.” Kishitani held his ball pen poised above his notebook.
“I’m afraid I don’t recall the exact times and places.”
“That doesn’t matter. We’ll check the details.”
To Niikura that sounded like: We’ll know if you’re lying to us.
Niikura listed several names. They were all people he and his wife had actually bumped into. Kikuno wasn’t a big place and Niikura knew everyone. People were always coming up to say hello.
The last name he gave was that of Maya Miyazawa.
“Miyazawa’s the leader of Team Kikuno. I’m involved with the performance, so I went to wish her luck and have a last-minute chat before the team set off.”
“What’s the nature of your involvement?”
“I’m the music supervisor for their songs. I help them avoid any copyright problems and I composed the theme song for the local mascot that comes after them in the parade.”
“I see. Most impressive,” Kishitani said with slightly insincere admiration. “Where did you go after the parade?”
“We went to Kikuno Park where they hold the singing contest. Rumi and I are on the judging panel. The contest probably wrapped around six, after which we went to Namiki-ya. We were completely stunned by the news of Hasunuma’s death, but we still ate our dinner and left around eight or so, then came back here. That’s the whole day,” Niikura said, rounding things off.
Kishitani muttered to himself as he stared down at his notebook. Niikura wondered if he was reading his notes back to himself. He shut the notebook with a snap.
“That’s all very nice and clear. Thank you for making the time to speak to me.” Kishitani got to his feet and put his notebook and pen into his bag.
Niikura accompanied the detective to the front door and saw him off. When he got back to the living room, Rumi hadn’t moved. She was pale and staring intently at the dining table.
“Any problems?”
“What?” She looked up at her husband.
“The answers I gave the detective. Did I do okay? I didn’t screw up?”
Rumi looked uncomfortable as she tilted her head to one side. “You did okay... I think.”
“I think I did, too.”
Niikura was heading for the sofa when he noticed Rumi’s hands. He came to a stop.
It was very subtle, but they were trembling.
He went and placed his hands on her shoulders.
“It’s all right. There’s nothing to be frightened about.”
Rumi looked up at him. Her eyes were bloodshot.
“Hasunuma killed Saori,” Niikura said. “He deserved to be punished. No one would ever blame us, if they found out what we did.”
20
“You should come out with us just once in a while,” one of her girlfriends had said. Tonight, apparently, there was a big party. A change of pace might be just the thing to cheer me up, Natsumi thought. In the end, she turned her friend down, making an apologetic gesture as she did so. “I’m sorry, I just can’t.” Her mother took over front-of-house duties at the restaurant whenever she took time off, but Natsumi knew it wasn’t easy for her. On top of that, the news of Hasunuma’s death was still a weight on her mind. She wondered if the police were making any progress.
It was after five when she got home. Her parents were already hard at work in the kitchen. She dashed up the stairs and got changed. The stylish clothes she wore to university weren’t suitable for waitressing.
Back downstairs, she gave the dining area a good cleaning, then hung the noren curtain over the front door on the stroke of five thirty.