The Devotion of Suspect X - Keigo Higashino [60]
“On your way home?” the man asked, smiling. “When you weren’t at your apartment I thought I might find you here.”
Ishigami recognized the man’s face. It was the homicide detective.
“I’m sorry, you are…?”
“Ah, you’ve probably forgotten.”
The man reached for his coat pocket, but Ishigami held up his hand and nodded. “No, I remember you now. You’re Detective Kusanagi.”
The light turned green and Ishigami began to walk. Kusanagi followed.
What’s he doing here? Ishigami thought as he crossed the street. Was it about Yukawa’s visit two days ago? Yukawa had told him that they wanted him to help with their investigation, but he had refused, hadn’t he?
“Do you know a Manabu Yukawa?” Kusanagi asked.
“I do. He came to see me. He said you’d told him about me.”
“Actually, that’s true. I told him that you’d gone to Imperial University—the same department he was in. I’m sorry if it was an imposition.”
“Not at all. I was glad to see him again.”
“What did you two talk about, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Old times, mostly. That was about all we talked about the first time he visited.”
“The first time?” Kusanagi lifted an eyebrow. “Has he been back?”
“He’s come to see me twice. The second time, he told me that you’d sent him.”
“I sent him?” Kusanagi blinked. “Um, what exactly did he say I sent him to do?”
“He said you wanted me to help with your investigation, and that you thought it might be better if the request came from him.”
“Oh, right, help with the investigation.” Kusanagi scratched his head as he walked.
Ishigami noticed his uncertainty at once. The detective seemed confused. Perhaps he didn’t ask Yukawa to come talk to me after all?
Kusanagi grinned sheepishly. “I talk to him about a lot of things, so I get a little confused about exactly which cases he knows about and which he doesn’t. What kind of help did he mention?”
Ishigami considered the detective’s question. He hesitated to say Yasuko’s name, but of course, he couldn’t exactly play dumb. Kusanagi would surely cross-check whatever he said with Yukawa.
Ishigami told him about Yukawa’s request that he spy on Yasuko Hanaoka.
Kusanagi’s eyes went wide. “He asked you to do that, did he?” he asked, sounding flustered. “Right, right—ah, I guess I did talk to him about that, yes. About whether you might be able to help us. He must have thought he could help out by asking you, since you two have a connection. Right, that makes sense.”
To Ishigami, the detective’s explanation sounded like a last-minute improvisation. Which meant that Yukawa had come on his own to prod Ishigami about the case. So what had he been after?
Ishigami stopped and turned to face Kusanagi. “And you came out here today to ask me that? Or was there something else?”
“No, sorry, I was just getting to it.” Kusanagi pulled a photograph from his jacket pocket. “Have you seen this man? I’m sorry the picture isn’t very good, I had to take it with a telephoto.”
Ishigami looked at the photograph and swallowed.
The man in the photograph was the person who had been foremost in his thoughts these past few days. He didn’t know his name. He didn’t know who he was. All he knew was that this man was close to Yasuko.
“Mr. Ishigami?”
Ishigami wondered how to respond. He could just say he didn’t know him and leave it at that. But then how would he ever find out who the man really was?
“You know, he looks somewhat familiar,” Ishigami said slowly. “Who is he?”
“Can you think where you might have seen him?”
“Well, I’m not sure. I see a lot of people every day. If you told me his name or where he works, I might be able to come up with something.”
“His name is Kudo. He runs a printing company.”
“Kudo?”
“Yes. Like this—” Kusanagi described the Chinese characters used to write Kudo’s name.
Kudo … Ishigami stared at the photograph. So why were the police checking him out? He must be involved with Yasuko somehow. In other words, the police suspected a connection