The Devotion of Suspect X - Keigo Higashino [57]
“Well, she told me she hadn’t seen Mr. Togashi at all,” Kudo stated, a look of defiance growing in his eyes.
“Have you talked to her about the murder?”
“I have. I mean, after all, that’s why I went to see her.”
Which fits with Yasuko Hanaoka’s testimony.
“So you had Ms. Hanaoka on your mind, even before the incident?”
Kudo frowned. “I’m not sure what you mean by ‘on my mind.’ Given that you came to me here at my apartment, I’m guessing you already know about my relationship with her. I was a regular at the club where she used to work. I even met her husband once, though that was by accident. That’s when I found out his name was Togashi. When he was killed, I saw his name and photo on the news, so I got worried and went to see how Yasuko was doing.”
“I’ve heard you were a regular at her club, yes. Just, it’s a little hard for me to imagine you going so far out of your way to see her just because of that. You run a business, don’t you? I’d think you’d be rather busy.” Kusanagi knew how his questions sounded—cynical and leading. He didn’t like talking like this, even though his job frequently demanded it.
Admittedly though, the technique worked. Kudo blanched. “I thought you were here to ask about Yasuko Hanaoka. So far, all your questions have been about me. Am I a suspect?”
Kusanagi smiled and waved a hand. “Not at all. I’m sorry to pry. I merely wanted to find out more about you, since it seemed like you were particularly close to Ms. Hanaoka.”
The detective had spoken as gently as he could, but Kudo’s glare only hardened. He took a deep breath, then nodded.
“All right. As I’d prefer to not have you poking around further, I’ll be as frank as I can. I’m fond of Yasuko, romantically. When I heard about the murder, I thought it might be my chance to get closer to her. How’s that? Does that satisfy your curiosity?”
Kusanagi chuckled wryly. It was an honest chuckle—not an act or an interrogation technique. “There’s no need to be defensive.”
“But that’s what you wanted to know, isn’t it?”
“We just need to understand who is connected to Yasuko Hanaoka, and how.”
“That’s what I don’t get. Why do the police suspect her?” Kudo shook his head.
“Togashi was trying to find her just before he was killed. Which means there’s a chance they did meet,” Kusanagi told him, hoping the revelation would do more good than harm.
“What, so that means she killed him? Isn’t that a little simplistic, even for the police?” Kudo snorted and shrugged.
“Sorry we’re not very sophisticated. Of course, we have suspects other than Ms. Hanaoka. It’s just that we can’t afford to remove her from the list at this point. Even if she isn’t the key to solving this murder, someone around her might be.”
“Someone around her?” Kudo raised an eyebrow, then shook his head as though he had just realized something. “Is that so,” he said.
“Is what so?”
“You think she went to someone and asked them to kill her former husband for her, don’t you? That’s why you came here. So now I’m a suspected assassin!”
“We’re certainly not saying anyone is an assassin, yet…” Kusanagi protested, purposely letting his voice trail off. If Kudo had any bright ideas he wanted to share, Kusanagi didn’t want to discourage him.
“If it’s an accomplice you’re looking for, you’ll need to talk to a lot more people. I wasn’t the only customer infatuated with her, that’s for sure. She’s quite a beauty. And I don’t just mean when she was a hostess, either. To hear the Yonazawas tell it, they get customers at the lunch shop who come just to see her. Why don’t you go talk to all of them, too?”
“If you have any names or contact information, I’ll be happy to question them.”
“Sorry, but I don’t. Nor would I wish that on anybody. It’s against my policy to squeal on innocents,” Kudo said, chopping his hand through the air with finality. “And even if you did manage to meet with all of them, I don’t think you’d turn up much. She’s not the kind of person to go looking for someone like that. She