At any rate, I was stuck on Sugimoto’s last line. Indeed, Juri’s death must have streamlined the Katsuragis’ complicated situation. Of course, how the Katsuragis themselves saw it was a mystery.
Chiharu Katsuragi, the fake Juri, hadn’t made an appearance at the vigil. No explanation was given for this, but they must have told relatives and close friends that she wasn’t handling the shock well. She was even skipping school, so it wasn’t as though that explanation wasn’t persuasive.
However, I suspected there was a different reason Chiharu hadn’t shown herself. In short, she didn’t want to see me. What I might say to her scared her.
Katsutoshi Katsuragi, or rather, the Katsuragi family was hiding something. And they were plotting. That was something I didn’t doubt.
Juri Katsuragi’s remains had been on a hill on the Miura Peninsula. A local resident had found her buried in the ground. Despite the advanced state of decay, from a partial fingerprint, her dental impression, and so on, it became clear that she was the missing Juri.
It was judged to be a murder based on the traces of a sharp object piercing her heart and causing massive blood loss. Some of her clothes had been removed and they couldn’t find her personal belongings.
The place where her remains had been unearthed was something I couldn’t help thinking about. Wasn’t it that spot? I’d been invited by Juri, no, Chiharu to that hill where you could see the stars so well. The news didn’t give the precise location, but I felt it couldn’t be anywhere but there.
If that was the case, then why had Juri’s remains been there? Why had Chiharu wanted to go to that place with me?
It was right when I was finishing my beer. I felt someone’s presence and looked to the side. Katsutoshi Katsuragi was standing at the entrance. He was staring.
When I turned to look at him, he averted his gaze. Then he came inside. Everyone in the room had noticed by then and was beginning to sit up straight.
“Ah, as you were. Please make yourselves comfortable. Please.” With a restraining gesture, Katsutoshi Katsuragi looked around the room. Then he bowed. “Thank you for everything regarding my daughter. I truly am sorry for causing you trouble at such a busy time for your work. The police have promised to do whatever they can to apprehend the culprit. That day isn’t far away, I trust. However, what has to do with my daughter has to do with my daughter and is a private matter of the Katsuragi household when all is said and done. The daily work of Nissei Automobile and its business partners absolutely cannot be obstructed by what has happened. Please, everyone continue with your various plans, without undue concern. I intend to resume work as quickly as possible as well. Thank you very much for today.”
Katsutoshi Katsuragi bowed his head deeply once again.
Returning a bow like everyone else, I thought about Katsuragi’s earlier gaze. He had been looking in my direction. No, without a doubt, he had been looking at me.
—
That night, accessing the internet and reading a flash news headline, I couldn’t but gasp.
“Juri Katsuragi Actually Kidnapped,” it said. I double-clicked with my trembling fingers.
According to a police spokesman, the disappearance of Nissei Automobile EVP Katsutoshi Katsuragi’s first-born daughter, Juri, who was recently found dead, was in fact a kidnapping. The culprit had contacted the family shortly after her disappearance, but Mr. Katsuragi had refrained from notifying the police to avoid endangering his daughter. The ransom was paid, and a police investigation was launched, but the facts were withheld from the public for the sake of Juri’s wellbeing—
I was dumbfounded in front of the computer screen for some time. Katsutoshi Katsuragi really hadn’t notified the police. That meant those feints meant for our opponents, the police, during that elaborate ransom exchange were all for nothing.
Why had Katsuragi not told the police? The talk of keeping his daughter safe just wasn’t credible. Juri and Chiharu changing places, Juri getting murdered—all of it had to be connected.
Katsuragi’s gaze from the vigil was burned into my eyelids and wasn’t going away.
That man knew that I was the kidnapper. Of course he did, having heard everything from Chiharu, no doubt. What was his aim?
When the next day came, reports with even more details flooded in. Communicating via the CPT Owners Club bulletin board, the ransom exchange on the Metropolitan Expressway, and almost everything else I had done started going public. The Nissei Mukojima branch manager, in particular, was all over TV getting interviewed. The Juri Katsuragi kidnapping and murder was the hottest topic around.
“What a guy.” A coworker rapped his knuckles against the sports daily he was reading. “Three hundred million yen, they’re saying. Even in this age, three hundred million is a lot of money. Just by making a few calls on a cellphone, he got his hands on that marvelously. This culprit has got a good head.”
“Nah, he was just lucky,” the guy who sat next to me said. “If the police had actually been on the case, it might not have gone so well. They’re saying if they’d been notified earlier, things would have played out differently.”
“Well, of course they’d say so. They’re not going to say, ‘With this method, the money would’ve been theirs, even if we were on scene.’ I bet they’re kind of glad they weren’t notified in advance. Imagine if they’d been notified and were totally staking places out and the ransom had been taken from under their noses. How’d they look? On that point, thanks to finding out only after it was over, no matter what clever methods the culprit used, the police aren’t embarrassed or anything. Besides, the hostage is dead, so they can investigate without worrying about that.”
“Hey, hey, you’re being too loud.”
The two were facing each other with grins.
I picked up the receiver. Looking at a number recorded on my cellphone, I placed a call. It connected to a direct work extension. “This is the local news section,” a familiar voice said.
“Hello, this is Sakuma.”
“Ah, Mr. Sakuma. It’s me, Yuguchi. Thank you for taking the bill the other day.”
“About that case—have you found out anything since then?”
“You mean about Juri Katsuragi.” Yuguchi’s tone grew less jovial. “It’s gotten intense, hasn’t it? I think those remains were found not long after we saw each other. Well, I kind of expected that she was dead. Our people on the case have been staying up working all night lately.”
“Any results?”
“Dunno. The Katsuragis’ guard is super-tight, so we probably haven’t learned anything beyond what’s being reported. I’ll try asking later.”
“I’m counting on you. And, sorry for this all of a sudden, but can you see me tonight?”
“Uh, that is very sudden.”
“I’m supposed to see Mr. Katsuragi soon. I want to have as much info as possible.”
“I understand. I’ll work things out. Is the same place as last time good? I think I can hop over at around seven.”
“Got it. Seven.”
After putting down the receiver, I went over the call I had just made. Would it be my downfall? Had I said too much? Had he found it unnatural?
But I quietly shook my head. There was no point in worrying about it now.
I thought about how I would use my time until seven. There was no way I’d be getting any work done.
When I went to the café, Yuguchi was already waiting at a table by the window. He found me and raised his hand.
“Sorry for doing this when you’re busy.”
“No, it must be worse for you, Mr. Sakuma.”