The Devotion of Suspect X - Keigo Higashino [20]
“Sorry for dropping in like this, but are you Ms. Yasuko Hanaoka?” Kusanagi asked as gently as he could.
“I am,” the woman replied. She seemed ill at ease.
“We’re from the police department. Actually, I have some bad news.” Kusanagi pulled out his badge, flashing his ID. Beside him, Kishitani did the same.
“The police?” Yasuko’s eyes widened. A ripple passed through the pools of black.
“Can we come inside?”
“Oh yes, please, come in.” Yasuko shut the door, undid the chain, and opened the door again. “May I ask what this is all about?”
Kusanagi stepped into the apartment. Kishitani followed behind.
“Ma’am, do you know a Mr. Shinji Togashi?”
Kusanagi noticed Yasuko’s face tighten in response, and he chalked it up to surprise.
“Yes, he’s my ex-husband … has he done something?”
So she didn’t know he’d been killed. She probably hadn’t seen it on the news or read it in the papers. The story hadn’t garnered too much attention from the press, after all.
“Actually,” Kusanagi began, and his eyes wandered back into the room behind her. The sliding doors toward the rear were closed tightly. “Is there someone else home?” he asked.
“My daughter, yes.”
“Ah, right.” He noticed the sneakers by the door. Kusanagi lowered his voice. “I’m afraid Mr. Togashi is dead.”
Yasuko’s expression seemed to freeze while her lips made an open circle. “He—he died? Why? How? Was there an accident?”
“His body was found on an embankment by the Old Edogawa. We don’t know for sure, but there is suspicion of murder,” Kusanagi said. He figured that breaking the news to her straight would make it easier to ask questions afterward.
For the first time, a look of shock passed over Yasuko’s face. She shook her head. “Him? But why would anyone do that to him?”
“That’s what we’re investigating now. Mr. Togashi didn’t have any other family, so we thought you might know something. I’m sorry to drop in so late.” Kusanagi bowed stiffly.
“No, of course, I had no idea—” Yasuko put a hand to her mouth and lowered her eyes.
Kusanagi’s gaze shifted again to the sliding doors at the rear of the room. Was Ms. Hanaoka’s daughter behind there, listening in on their conversation? If so, how would she take the news of her former stepfather’s death?
“We did a little looking through the records. You divorced Mr. Togashi five years ago, is that correct? Have you seen him since then?”
Yasuko shook her head. “I’ve hardly seen him at all since we separated.”
Which meant they had met. Kusanagi asked when.
“I think the last time I saw him was over a year ago…”
“And you’ve received no contact from him since? A phone call, or letter?”
“Nothing,” Yasuko said, firmly shaking her head.
Kusanagi nodded, glancing casually around the room. It was a small apartment, done in the Japanese style with tatami mats on the floor. The unit was old, but the woman kept it clean and orderly. A bowl of mandarin oranges sat on the low kotatsu table in the middle of the room. The badminton racket leaning against one wall brought back memories for the detective; he had played the game in college.
“We’ve determined that Mr. Togashi died on the evening of March 10,” Kusanagi told her. “Does that date or the embankment on the Old Edogawa mean anything to you? Even the slightest connection could help our investigation.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t think of anything. There’s nothing special about that date, and I really don’t know what he’s been up to.”
“I see.”
The woman was clearly getting annoyed. But then, few people cared to talk about their ex-husbands. This was getting nowhere fast.
Might as well leave it here for now, he thought. There was just one last thing he needed to check.
“By the way,” he asked, trying to sound as casual as possible, “were you home on the tenth?”
Yasuko’s eyes narrowed. She was clearly uncomfortable. “Do I need to know exactly where I was that day?”
Kusanagi laughed.