Chapter 74: The Deal
Ōkawa Terakado… is missing?!
For a brief, jarring moment that seemed to stretch into an eternity, Yomikawa’s carefully constructed composure cracked. Her eyes widened in genuine, uncomprehending disbelief. The man she had identified as her primary suspect, the central, tangible figure in her own private and deeply personal investigation… had now, by some bizarre, impossible twist of fate, transformed into a victim himself?
What in the world is going on? she thought, her mind a chaotic whirl of conflicting data points. Can this truly be a coincidence?
But no. The location of his disappearance, the strange, almost comically fraudulent lottery that had lured him there… no matter how she looked at it, no matter which analytical lens she applied, it was clear that someone had deliberately, and with a great deal of effort, enticed him to Mie Island.
But for what purpose? Why would anyone go to such elaborate and costly lengths to target a simple, insignificant locksmith?
“No wonder you don't believe Ōkawa Terakado could have been the one who broke into my house,” she said, her voice a smooth, cold mask that betrayed none of her internal turmoil. She quickly followed up, her tone shifting to one of sharp, analytical curiosity, “So, has the local police investigation on the island made any progress? He disappeared on June 24th. It’s been several days now, hasn’t it?”
Kishida Masayoshi shook his head, a wry, bitter smile on his face. “Mie Island has a resident population of only about fifteen thousand people. Their entire police force is comprised of less than a hundred officers. And of those hundred, many are assigned to non-investigative roles – traffic cops, beat patrols, administrative staff. So, the number of actual, experienced detectives they can deploy at any given time is less than fifteen. And those fifteen officers are spread across three different and quite remote villages. Homicide cases… they’re not exactly a common occurrence for them.”
Yomikawa Tsuko, who had absolutely no time for his long-winded, bureaucratic excuses, cut him off, her voice sharp with a sudden, brutal impatience. “In other words, you’re saying the police on Mie Island are even more useless than you are. So, despite Ōkawa Terakado being missing for several days, the investigation has made absolutely no progress whatsoever. Is that correct?”
“More… or less…” Kishida stammered, silently, and with a great deal of empathy, apologizing to his beleaguered colleagues on Mie Island as he forced himself to admit the truth.
“So, then, what is your department’s official position on the Ōkawa case? He’s a resident of our city. Your precinct has clear, undeniable jurisdiction, does it not?” Yomikawa Tsuko crossed her arms, a new, cold, calculating light in her eyes. Perhaps this fool can finally be of some tangible use. Her instincts, that cold, analytical part of her that was still untainted by these new, chaotic emotions, were screaming at her that the disappearance of Ōkawa Terakado was no simple matter.
“We do have jurisdiction, yes,” Kishida said, a note of extreme caution entering his voice. He seemed reluctant to say more. He tried to offer a placating smile. “Since you’ve already had the locks on your house changed again, the immediate security issue should be resolved. If you’re still concerned, I can arrange for an officer to come and inspect your home for any vulnerabilities. And if anything like this ever happens again, please, do not investigate on your own. Come to us. It’s a much more efficient and far safer process.”
“As for the Ōkawa case,” he continued, his tone becoming firm, almost condescending, “the police will handle it. If this man is truly as malicious as you suspect, then I, on behalf of the police force, will see to it that you get justice.”
Hearing these words, these empty, patronizing platitudes, Yomikawa Tsuko’s expression instantly turned to ice. She stared at him, her eyes cold and hard, and let out two soft and deeply contemptuous snorts. “Is that so? You truly are a kind and caring person, Officer. A paragon of public service. In that case, I can only say, on behalf of Kagehara-kun, that although he may be a suspect in the eyes of the law, his personal privacy should still be protected. No one should be allowed to view his private diary without his explicit permission. And I, a mere high school student, must, of course, abide by the law. I cannot, under any circumstances, privately share his diary with anyone else.”
“Eh? Eh?!” Kishida Masayoshi was stunned, completely blindsided by her sudden, and total, reversal. “But… but…” But you already agreed! You were willing to provide the diary! We had a deal!
“There are no ‘buts,’ Officer. In any case, thank you for the coffee. Goodbye.” With that, Yomikawa Tsuko stood, gave a slight, almost mocking, bow, picked up her school bag, and turned to leave.
“Wait… wait! Please, wait a moment.” Kishida Masayoshi quickly stood, his hand shooting out as if to block her path, before he thought better of it. He let out a long, heavy sigh, a sound of complete and humiliating defeat. “Alright, alright. What do you want to know? I’ll tell you everything. We can… we can make a deal. An exchange of information. Will that… satisfy you?”
That’s more like it. This foolish, incompetent cop… he still doesn’t seem to understand his own, rather pathetic position in this game.
Yomikawa Tsuko sat back down, a look of cold, triumphant satisfaction on her face. “It’s not what I want to know, Officer. It’s what I intend to do.”
Kishida Masayoshi frowned, a feeling of profound, surreal absurdity washing over him.
“Regardless of the circumstances, I must know the final outcome of the Ōkawa case. And the sooner, the better.”
“However, neither the police on Mie Island, nor your own, apparently more competent, department, are likely to solve this case in the short term, are you?”
“And so,” she continued, her voice a calm, even, and utterly implacable statement of fact, “I have decided that during the summer vacation, I will travel to Mie Island and investigate the matter myself.”
“But, if I go alone, the local police on Mie Island will certainly not provide me with any sensitive information. They will see me as a mere child. And that, Officer, is where you come in. The rest… the practical, logistical details… I’ll leave it to you to figure out a suitable solution.”
Just as I feared.
This was exactly what he had been afraid of. Why is she so obsessed with Ōkawa Terakado? What is her real stake in this? Kishida Masayoshi looked up, and met Yomikawa Tsuko’s serious, unyielding, and completely unreadable gaze. The question died on his lips.
The only other time he had worked with her on an active investigation was when they had gone to interview Ōshima Mana. And that experience had been… far from pleasant. Although, he had to admit, the end result had been surprisingly positive. It had been her sharp, insightful, and inhumanly perceptive questioning that had first led him to suspect the existence of the mysterious, phantom-like ‘A’.
And now, she was proposing they do it again.
He could feel the sheer, unshakeable force of her will. He knew that if he agreed to this, he couldn't just take her along for a few token interviews and hope to placate her. This girl was far too intelligent for that. If she sensed for a single, solitary moment that he was just humoring her, that he wasn’t taking her seriously, the consequences would be… severe.
Kishida Masayoshi was torn. To take a high school girl along on a potential homicide investigation… it was absurd, reckless, a flagrant, career-ending violation of every professional protocol. But Kagehara Tetsuya’s diary… it was a prize he was desperate to obtain.
Finally, with a sigh that seemed to come from the very depths of his soul, he conceded. “The department has, in fact, already assigned me to travel to Mie Island to investigate the Ōkawa case. I was planning on leaving in a few days. If you are truly determined to do this, then… then we will go to Mie Island together.”
“However,” he added, his voice firm, a desperate attempt to reclaim some small, pathetic semblance of control over a situation that was rapidly and terrifyingly spiraling beyond him, “I must state my conditions clearly. Once we arrive on Mie Island, all of our investigative activities will be under my command. You will not, under any circumstances, act on your own. The most I can do is to allow you to be present when I interview witnesses, and to show you the official case files. If a body is discovered, I can, after the forensics team has finished their work, take you to the scene. But that is it. Nothing more.”
In short, he would exclude her from anything truly dangerous, and he would not allow her to officially present herself as an investigator, or anything other than a civilian observer, to the local police.
“Then we have a deal,” Yomikawa Tsuko said with a cold, satisfied nod. Only then did she push the small, silver USB drive to the center of the table. She watched as Kishida Masayoshi, with an desperate, childish eagerness, snatched it up. And then, a small, malicious smile touched her lips. “And to ensure that our esteemed officer does not… go back on his word. This, too, contains only a portion of the diary’s contents. As for the rest… you will receive it, piece by piece, after we have arrived on Mie Island, and after I am satisfied with your… cooperation.”
With that, ignoring the look of stunned, almost comical disbelief on Kishida’s face, she picked up her school bag and walked out of the café. The time was still early, but she had to get home. She had to prepare herself for Hanako’s sixth wish.
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