Chapter 80: Second Diary Analysis (Part 5)
The thought, once it surfaced, felt absurd. A wild, desperate leap in logic.
How was that even possible? To be at this stage of the investigation, after all this time, and suddenly consider the possibility that even Kagehara Tetsuya might be innocent of those two murders… that would mean finding a new, compelling reason for why he was so deeply and damnably entangled in those cases in the first place. Was there really any point in chasing such a phantom theory, in tearing down the entire foundation of his case?
Sometimes, in a criminal investigation, choosing the right path forward is far more critical than being clever or professional.
“We've only just concluded that the first half of this May 2nd entry is likely artificial, a performance,” Suzuki Koji mused, a look of profound intellectual frustration on his face. “And yet, the ending contains what feels like a textbook and deeply authentic example of a psychopathic mindset. It's a paradox…” Not that it was his problem to solve, of course. That was Kishida’s job.
“For me, any discovery, even a contradictory one, is better than no discovery at all,” Kishida Masayoshi said with a weary shrug. He lit a cigarette, the flare of the match briefly illuminating his tired, drawn features. “I remember an old-timer once said that's the essence of police work, isn't it? Just endless trial and error. The detective who can identify and discard all the dead-end paths the quickest is the one who solves the case.”
“Sounds like a line straight out of a cheap detective novel,” Suzuki Koji said with a smirk. He made no move to look at the next diary entry. Instead, he asked, a new, almost mischievous glint in his eyes, “Speaking of which, you're heading to Mie Island soon. Aren't you the least bit curious about the bizarre and famously unsolved case that took place there?”
“It's a decades-old cold case that even the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department couldn't crack. What difference does my interest make?” Kishida said with a dismissive shake of his head. “My priority is to solve this Ōkawa Terakado case, get a result, and get back home as soon as humanly possible.”
“Murphy's Law,” Suzuki Koji said cryptically, a strange, knowing smile on his lips. He then explained, “Maybe the more you try to avoid it, the more entangled you'll become. In any case, I'm telling you, no matter what, there's one person on that island you absolutely must visit.”
“Who?”
“Ōgami Seiji.”
Ōgami Yōsuke's father?
Kishida Masayoshi frowned. To be honest, he'd never had a very high opinion of folklorists. They were an odd, almost theatrical bunch, always speaking in riddles and vague, historical pronouncements, especially the true believers who saw supernatural forces lurking behind every shadow. If the world was really that full of ghosts and ancient curses, what was the point of having detectives at all?
Suzuki Koji, seeing the look on his friend’s face, knew exactly what he was thinking. “Ōgami Seiji is different from the others. He’s not a staunch believer or a hardened skeptic. It’s not that he’s indecisive; it’s that his vast experience has taught him to judge each case on its own merits, based on the cold, hard facts. And he’s helped the police crack more than a few tough, otherwise unsolvable cases. Even our own Makeup Hunter case… he’s been keeping a very close, and very professional, eye on it.”
“Is that so? Well, if I get the chance, I'll definitely have to pay him a visit,” Kishida said with a noncommittal shrug, stubbing out his cigarette. “Rested enough? Let's get back to work. Time for the next diary entry.”
Suzuki shrugged and opened the next file.
Just the first few lines of the entry made him sit up straighter in his chair, a new, more serious focus in his eyes.
May 11th. Weather: Light rain.
Today, in front of the whole class, I had a fight with Tanaka Erika.
The next three lines had been completely, violently redacted, scribbled over with black ink so thick and aggressive that it had almost torn through the paper, making it utterly impossible to make out what had originally been written beneath.
As if anticipating his question, Kishida spoke first. “The timing matches. I’ve already investigated. Tanaka’s classmates all remember the incident. Vividly.”
Suzuki turned to look at him. “The details?”
“It was a Wednesday. Halfway through the last study hall period of the afternoon, Tanaka Erika suddenly and very loudly lost her temper with Kagehara Tetsuya. Their seats were near the front of the class, and they were desk mates, so most of the students witnessed the whole, shocking event.”
“Naturally, Kagehara Tetsuya, being yelled at, responded in kind, his voice just as loud. Many of the students in the class were startled. Tanaka and Kagehara were known to be childhood friends; they sometimes even walked to and from school together. Everyone knew this. So for them to suddenly start fighting, and so publicly… everyone was very surprised.”
“What was even more surprising, what no one could quite believe, was that Tanaka Erika was the one who had started it. The general sentiment among the students, the consensus, was something like, ‘Wow, Tanaka-san actually has a temper. And when she’s angry, she’s actually kind of terrifying.’”
Suzuki Koji shrugged, a faint, analytical smile on his lips. “That’s to be expected, isn’t it? Tanaka Erika was clearly the more popular of the two. I can guess the reasons: she was gentle, good-natured, had a cute smile. From Kagehara’s own, almost clinical descriptions in his diary, she seemed to have this attitude of indulgently ‘playing along with everyone’s childishness.’ So even if she wasn’t at the absolute top of the social hierarchy, her social standing would have been quite high.”
He continued, “In comparison, a person like Kagehara Tetsuya, in the eyes of his classmates, probably had an image of being aloof, weird, a bit neurotic, and sometimes laughing at strange, inappropriate things. In short, the type of person that makes people reluctant to approach. As for his popularity, while he might not have been actively bullied, he certainly didn't have many friends.”
“So, in that situation, everyone would have naturally assumed that it was that awful, strange Kagehara guy who had done something terrible to make the sweet, gentle Tanaka Erika angry. Whispers of ‘Being childhood friends with someone like that, poor Tanaka-san’ must have been circulating through the classroom, right?”
Kishida stared at him, a look of grudging admiration on his face. “You can deduce all that from a single redacted diary entry huh? What’s left for me to tell you?”
“What happened next, of course,” Suzuki said, a glint of professional curiosity in his eye. “The fight was started by Tanaka; that, in itself, is a very valuable piece of information. But what did they say during the fight? What was the reason for it? That’s the important part.”
Kishida recalled the witness statements. “The first thing Tanaka said, the thing that started it all, many people remember it vividly. She said, ‘Tetsuya, can't you just help me think for a second?’”
“After that, Kagehara Tetsuya immediately raised his voice, basically saying something along the lines of ‘Don't bother me, go away’.”
“And then, Tanaka Erika got really, truly angry. She said, ‘Then I have no obligation to keep your secrets for you anymore.’ Something to that effect. Afterwards, everyone in the class analyzed that the ‘secret’ she was referring to was probably Kagehara Tetsuya's… hobby of torturing dogs.”
“Hearing her say that, Kagehara Tetsuya became genuinely enraged. His voice suddenly became even louder than hers, and he said something like, ‘I never asked you to keep any secrets for me. You can try telling everyone and see what happens.’ It was a clear, and very real, threat.”
Suzuki leaned forward, his eyes shining with a morbid curiosity. “And then? And then?”
“And then, Tanaka Erika ran out of the classroom, crying. Some said she was scared by Kagehara’s threat. Others said it was because she was heartbroken, to finally realize that her childhood friend was such a terrible, monstrous person.”
“Anyway, that’s the long and short of it. As for the real reason for the fight… nobody knows.” Kishida sighed, a familiar weariness in his voice. “Of course, I asked Kagehara Tetsuya about it myself. He told me the whole thing started because Tanaka Erika had asked him to sharpen her pencil. He was clearly just messing with me.”
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