The Devotion of Suspect X - Keigo Higashino [78]
“Mr. Yukawa, I…”
“I’m sorry, I know I’m not making myself very clear.” Yukawa smiled wryly. “Did you meet Ishigami for the first time when you moved into your current apartment?”
“Yes, when I went around to meet my neighbors.”
“And you told him you were working at the lunch shop then?”
“I did; but why do you ask?”
“I guess that’s when he started frequenting Benten-tei?”
“I suppose it was, yes.”
“I know you didn’t talk with him much, but did anything he said make a lasting impression on you? Any little thing?”
Yasuko was confused. This was the last sort of question she had expected to hear.
“May I ask why you want to know? Maybe if I knew, I could give you better advice.”
“Well,” Yukawa shot her a sidelong glance as they walked, “it’s because he’s my friend. He’s a very important friend of mine, and I want to know how he’s been lately.”
“I’m afraid we speak so little, there’s really nothing much to say.”
“Yet for him, that connection to you was far more important than you make it out to be. I think you understand why.”
Yasuko caught the serious look in Yukawa’s eyes, and it made her skin prickle. It suddenly occurred to her that this man knew about Ishigami’s interest in her and wanted to know why it had started.
Yasuko realized for the first time that she had never given a moment’s thought to that herself. She knew from years of experience that she wasn’t the kind of beauty with whom men fell head over heels in love at first sight. It had to have been something else.
She shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t think of anything. Really, I could count the number of times we’ve spoken on one hand.”
“I see,” Yukawa replied, his tone softening. “I suppose that makes its own kind of sense, doesn’t it?” Ishigami’s friend was mostly talking to himself, but then he turned to her again and asked, “What do you think of him?”
“What?”
“Surely you noticed his interest in you? What do you think about that?”
Yasuko was taken aback by the directness of the question. She wished she could just laugh it off in embarrassment, but somehow that wouldn’t work in this conversation. “I’m afraid I don’t feel anything in particular—I mean, I’m sure he’s a good person. And he seems quite smart.”
“Ah, so you do know him.” Yukawa stopped his feet.
“Well, I wouldn’t say ‘know’ so much as that’s the impression I have of him.”
He nodded. “Very well. Sorry to take up your time.” Yukawa handed off the bicycle. “Say hi to Ishigami for me.”
“Oh, but I might not see him—”
But Yukawa only nodded with a smile and turned away. Yasuko watched him as he left, wondering how a man could make the simple act of walking away feel so intimidating.
FOURTEEN
Ishigami sat staring at a line of unhappy faces. Some of them were beyond unhappy—they wore looks of outright pain. A few had gone even further, and drooped in despondant resignation. One member of the dismal class—Morioka—hadn’t even glanced at the test sheet after Ishigami gave the go-ahead to start. He was staring vacantly out the window, head propped up on one hand. It was a nice day outside, with an endless expanse of blue sky stretched high over the school complex. Morioka was probably thinking about how he could be riding his motorcycle if he didn’t have to be in here, wasting time.
The school and most of the students were already out on spring break. There was just this one group of students, with one final, depressing hurdle to jump. Too many kids hadn’t passed even the make-up tests after finals and had been required to do remedial class work. Thirty of Ishigami’s students were in these special classes—a far larger number than for any other subject. And after they were done with the extra coursework, another test awaited them: the re-make-up test.
The head teacher had stopped by while Ishigami was writing