The Devotion of Suspect X - Keigo Higashino [54]
“Mom, your cell.”
“It’s on.”
A few minutes later, Yasuko’s phone began to ring.
* * *
Ishigami used the same public phone he always did when he made his third call that evening. The first two times he hadn’t been able to get through to Yasuko’s cell phone. He was worried that something might have happened—he’d always gotten through to her before—but when she answered he realized immediately from her tone that his fears were misplaced.
Ishigami had heard the doorbell at the Hanaokas earlier—and as he’d suspected, it had been the police. Yasuko told him that the detective had asked her for the ticket stubs. Ishigami knew what they were after. They would try to match the stubs to their other halves, presumably in storage at the movie theater. If they found stubs that matched the ones they got from Yasuko, they would check the fingerprints. If Yasuko’s fingerprints were on them, that would prove that she and her daughter had at least been at the movie theater that night—whether they had actually seen the movie or not. If there were no fingerprints, the police suspicion of the Hanaokas would go up a notch.
And the detective had asked about the kotatsu. This, too, Ishigami had predicted.
“I think they’ve determined the murder weapon,” Ishigami said into the receiver.
“The murder weapon?”
“The kotatsu cord. That’s what you used, isn’t it?”
The phone went silent on the other end. Maybe Yasuko was remembering the moment it had happened, when she had strangled Togashi.
“In any strangulation, marks from the murder weapon remain on the skin of the neck,” Ishigami explained. It felt harsh to lay it out so plainly, but this was no time for euphemisms. “Forensics is quite advanced these days. They can usually tell the murder weapon used by looking at the marks it leaves.”
“So that’s why the detective asked about the kotatsu?”
“I’d assume so. But there’s no need to worry. I’ve already made arrangements.”
He had expected the police to identify the murder weapon. Which was why he had exchanged the Hanaokas’ kotatsu with his own. Their old kotatsu—the real murder weapon—was packed away in his closet. As luck would have it, the cord on his old kotatsu was different from the one on theirs. If the detectives came back and examined that cord, they would immediately realize it was a dead end.
“What else did the detective ask you?”
“What else…?” Yasuko’s voice faded into silence.
“Ms. Hanaoka? Hello?”
“Y-Yes?”
“Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing at all. I was just trying to remember what else he said. There wasn’t anything, I don’t think. He mentioned that if they could prove that I went to the movies then I would no longer be a suspect, or something to that effect.”
“Yes, the movie theater alibi is very important to them. That was part of my plan, of course. There’s really nothing to be worried about.”
“Thank you. It’s a great relief to hear you say that.”
Yasuko’s words lit a fire somewhere deep in Ishigami’s chest. For a brief moment, the tension he had been feeling pretty much around the clock eased a little.
It occurred to him then that he might ask about the man. The man who had dropped her off—the customer who had come into Benten-tei when he was there with Yukawa. Ishigami knew that he had given her a ride home tonight, too. He had seen them from his window.
“That’s about all I have to report. What about you, Mr. Ishigami? Is everything all right with you? Is something wrong?” Yasuko asked abruptly. Ishigami realized he hadn’t said anything for some time.
“No, nothing at all. Please, try to live life as normally as possible. I’m sure the police will be back with more questions, but what’s most important is that you don’t panic.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Great. Please give my best to your daughter. Good night.”
He waited for her reply, then hung up the handset. The phone spit out his telephone card from the slot below the receiver.
* * *
When Mamiya heard Kusanagi’s report, the chief’s despair was written on his face. He rubbed his shoulders and rocked in his chair. “So