The Devotion of Suspect X - Keigo Higashino [29]
“To Benten-tei?”
“Yes.”
“What did he ask this time?”
“He was asking whether Togashi had come to the shop at all.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I said no, he hadn’t, of course. The detective said that maybe he had been there when I wasn’t in, and he went back to talk to the owners. The owner told me that the detective showed him a picture of Togashi, and asked about him. You know, I think the detective suspects me.”
“That’s nothing we didn’t expect. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Is that the only thing the detective asked?”
“No, he also asked about the club I used to work at—the bar in Kinshicho. He wanted to know if I’d been in contact with the people there. I told him no, just like you said. Then I asked him why he wanted to know where I used to work, and he told me Togashi had been there recently.”
“Ah yes. Of course.” Ishigami nodded, the receiver pressed to his ear. “So Togashi was at your old workplace, asking after you.”
“It seems so. That must be where he heard about Benten-tei. The detective said that since it sounded like Togashi had been looking for me, it would have made sense for him to drop in at Benten-tei next. And I told him, ‘Well, I suppose that’s true, but he didn’t, so I can’t help you.’ ”
Ishigami called to mind the detective named Kusanagi. He seemed like a personable man. Soft-spoken, not too imposing. But if he was a detective in Homicide, that meant he had the requisite information-gathering skills. He wasn’t the kind to scare a witness into revealing something, but the sort who casually drew the truth out of them. He had noticed the letter from Imperial University in Ishigami’s mail, too, which meant he was observant. And all of this made Kusanagi someone who required caution.
“Did you ask him about anything else?”
“That was the only thing I asked. But Misato…”
Ishigami’s grip tightened on the receiver. “They went to her school?”
“Yes, I only just heard about it myself. They caught up with her on the way home after classes. I think it was the same two detectives that came here.”
“Is Misato there now?”
“Yes, hold on.”
Misato was on the phone immediately. She must have been standing right next to her mother. “Hello?”
“What did the detectives ask you?”
“They showed me his picture, asked if he’d been by the apartment…”
“Togashi. You told them he hadn’t, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What else did they want to know?”
“They wanted to know about the movie. If I’d really gone on the tenth or not. They thought maybe we’d got the date wrong. I told them I knew it was then, absolutely.”
“What did the detectives say then?”
“They wanted to know if I’d told any of my friends about the movie, or texted them.”
“And?”
“I told them I didn’t text anybody, but I did tell a friend. Then they wanted to know who my friends were.”
“Did you tell them?”
“I only gave them Mika’s name.”
“Mika’s the girl you told about the movie on the twelfth, correct?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Good. You did good. Did the detectives want to know anything else?”
“Nothing big. They wanted to know if I was enjoying school, how badminton practice was, that kind of stuff. I wonder how they knew I was on the badminton team? I didn’t have my racquet with me.”
Ishigami surmised that Kusanagi had seen her racquet when he visited the Hanaokas’ apartment. This detective was turning out to be formidable.
Yasuko got back on the phone and asked, “Well, what should we do?” Her voice sounded faint on the other end of the line.
“Nothing, for now. This isn’t a problem,” Ishigami said with conviction. He wanted to put her at ease. “Everything is going according to my calculations. I should expect that the detectives will be back again soon. Just follow my instructions and everything will be all right.”
“Thank you, Mr. Ishigami … you know I don’t have anyone to turn to but you.”
“That’s all right. Good luck. This will soon be over. I’ll speak with you again tomorrow.”
Ishigami hung up the phone and took out his phone card, already slightly regretting his final words. He shouldn’t have told her it would be over soon. Just