Ishigami looked back at him and raised an eyebrow.
“It fills me with regret to think that that brain of yours, that wonderful brain, had to be used like this. It saddens me, truly. Like it saddens me to think that I will be losing a companion—and a competitor—like no other in this world.”
Ishigami’s mouth formed a single straight line across his face, and he lowered his eyes, as if he was resisting the urge to reply.
After a moment, he looked back up at Kusanagi. “I believe he’s done talking. Can I go back to my cell now?”
Kusanagi looked at Yukawa. The physicist nodded quietly.
Kusanagi opened the door. Ishigami left first; Yukawa followed more slowly.
Once outside the room, Yukawa stood aside while Kusanagi led Ishigami back toward the holding cell. Then two figures appeared approaching down an intersecting hallway. It was Kishitani, with a woman following behind him.
Yasuko Hanaoka.
“What’s this all about?” Kusanagi inquired of the junior detective.
“Sir, I … that is, Ms. Hanaoka contacted the station and said she had something to tell us, and you won’t believe what she said—”
“Wait—did she tell this to just you?”
“No, the chief was there, too.”
Kusanagi looked at Ishigami. The mathematician’s face was the color of ash. His bloodshot eyes stared at Yasuko. “What are you doing here…?” he said in a voice barely more than a whisper.
Yasuko stood frozen behind the detective. Then, gradually, her expression began to fall apart. Tears came streaming from her eyes. She stepped out in front of Ishigami and suddenly threw herself to the floor, bowing.
“I’m sorry. I’m so very sorry. What you did for us … that thing you did for us—” Her back shuddered as she spoke.
“What are you saying? What the hell do you think you’re doing? What the hell…” Ishigami droned, his voice unearthly, as if he were chanting the words to some spell.
“I know you wanted us to be happy, but that’s … that’s impossible. I should pay for what I did, too. I’m to blame, too. I’ll take the blame with you, Mr. Ishigami. That’s the only thing I can do for you. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so very, very sorry.” Yasuko crouched with both hands on the floor, her head resting against the tiles.
Ishigami stepped backward, shaking his head convulsively. His features were twisted with pain.
Then he whirled around, pressing his fists to his temples, and howled—a long, roaring howl like that of a beast. A cry of confusion and desperation. A cry that tore at the hearts of all who heard it.
Two guards ran over to restrain him.
“Leave him alone,” Yukawa barked, appearing between them and Ishigami. “The least you can do is just let him cry.”
Yukawa turned toward Ishigami, laying his hands gently on the bigger man’s shoulders.
Kusanagi watched as Ishigami screamed, and it seemed to him as if the mathematician was shouting out his very soul.
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE DEVOTION OF SUSPECT X. Copyright © 2005 by Keigo Higashino. English translation copyright © 2011 by Alexander O. Smith. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Higashino, Keigo, 1958–
[Yogisha X no Kenshin. English]
The devotion of suspect X / Keigo Higashino; [translation by Alexander O. Smith] — 1st U.S. ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-312-37506-5
1. Japan—Fiction. I. Smith, Alexander O. II. Title.
PL871.I33Y6413 2011
895.6'36—dc22
2010039022
Originally published in Japanese as Yogisha X No Kenshin by Bungeishunju Ltd. English translation rights arranged with Bungeishunju, Ltd. through Japan Foreign-Rights Centre / Anna Stein.
First U.S. Edition: February 2011
eISBN 978-1-4299-9231-2
First Minotaur Books eBook Edition: February 2011