The Devotion of Suspect X - Keigo Higashino [67]
Kudo talked as if this was nothing special, but Yasuko’s eyes were frozen on him. “And? Where’d they go?”
“Who knows?” He shrugged. “They were too far away for me to see a face, and they were gone before I knew it. To tell the truth, I’ve been watching everyone in here since I arrived, but I haven’t noticed anyone particularly suspicious. Of course, they could be watching in a way that I wouldn’t notice. Still, I think they might have left.”
Yasuko looked around at the other people in the tea room. Everyone seemed perfectly normal.
“So you’re a suspect now?”
“I think they’ve come up with a scenario in which you were the leader in some plot to kill Togashi, with me your willing accomplice. The detective yesterday was very up front about wanting an alibi from me.”
The waitress arrived with the milk tea. While she was standing at the table, Yasuko cast her eyes around the room a second time.
“If they’re still watching us now, won’t they suspect something if they see you meeting with me like this?”
“What? No problem. Like I said, I want this—us—to be out in the open. Trying to hide it would make us look even more suspicious. We were never the kind to sneak around in any case.” Kudo leaned back on his sofa seat and spread his arms as if to demonstrate that he didn’t care who saw him. Then he took a long sip from his coffee cup.
Yasuko reached for her own teacup. “Well, I’m happy to hear you say that, but I don’t want to be the cause of any trouble for you, Kudo. It’s just not right. I think, maybe, we shouldn’t meet for a while. Just until things calm down.”
“I figured you’d say something like that,” Kudo said, setting down his cup and leaning forward. “That’s why I wanted you to come here today. I knew you’d hear about the detective coming to my place sooner or later, and I didn’t want you to worry about it. Frankly, I’m not worried about it at all. I told you they asked about my alibi. Luckily, I was with someone else at the time, and if they decide to pursue it, there are records to prove it. The detectives will lose their interest in me eventually.”
“Well, I hope so, for your sake.”
“Look,” Kudo said, “what I’m more worried about is you. They’ll figure out I wasn’t an accomplice sooner or later. But that doesn’t mean they’ll stop treating you like a suspect. It makes me downright depressed to think about how pushy they’re going to get with you.”
“Well, there’s no helping that. After all, Togashi was looking for me at the time.”
“There is that, isn’t there? What the hell did he want with you? Even dead, that guy is still a pain in the ass.” Kudo grimaced. Then his eyes turned back to Yasuko. “You really didn’t have anything to do with it, right? Don’t get me wrong. I’m not doubting you. I’m just saying if you had any contact with Togashi at all, it’s safe to tell me about it, and it might help.”
Yasuko returned Kudo’s look, noticing his fine features. So this is why he suddenly wanted to meet. He did suspect her, if only a little.
She smiled faintly. “Don’t worry. I had nothing to do with him, really.”
“That’s what I thought. Still, it’s nice to hear it from your mouth.” Kudo nodded and looked at his watch. “Well, since you’re here, how about dinner? I know a great yakitori place.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t tonight. I didn’t tell Misato I’d be out.”
“Oh, right. Well, I don’t want to make things difficult for you, then.” Kudo grabbed the check and stood. “Shall we?”
While he was paying, Yasuko took another look around. No one in the tea lounge looked even remotely like a detective.
She felt bad admitting it to herself, but while Kudo remained under suspicion, she felt easier about getting together with him. After all, the more the police suspected him, the further from the truth they were. But that seemed bound to change. In any case, she wasn’t sure she should let her relationship with Kudo continue to progress as quickly as it had. She wasn’t afraid of becoming intimate—she wanted it, in fact. But she was afraid that doing so would upset the tenuous balance