Chapter 60: The First Confrontation (Part 4)
Kishida exhaled a long breath after delivering his comprehensive explanation.
He looked at the refined young woman across from him, sincerely wishing she would simply confess. Doing so could open the possibility of arguing for leniency based on self-surrender, potentially resulting in a more lenient sentence. Yomikawa Tsuko was only seventeen; perhaps this incident wouldn't irrevocably damage her life.
But when he glanced up, she merely gestured for him to continue.
He retrieved his notebook, starting with excerpts from the investigation records.
“Victim: Hasebe Koichi, male, 35 years old. The body was discovered in the living room of the Kagehara residence on the first floor. The location was confirmed as the primary crime scene.”
“State of the body: lying face down on the living room sofa, oriented west to east. The head was severed and removed from the scene. There were no obvious external injuries besides the neck, and no signs of struggle.”
“Time of death: between 11:15 PM and 11:45 PM on June 14th.”
“Cause of death: cardiac arrest induced by an intravenous injection of potassium chloride. He had also inhaled a large amount of unknown substance prior to his death, rendering him unconscious.”
Closing the notebook, Kishida said, “The incident occurred on June 14th. It was also on that night that Hasebe Koichi returned to his family home and placed a letter written by Kagehara Tetsuya in the mailbox.”
“The letter stated that they would meet two days later and demanded Hasebe hand over the ‘video,’ or he would be killed. Working backward from the time of death, the letter was likely written around June 10th or 11th.”
“I believe that by this point, you had no intention of letting Hasebe Koichi live. He possessed something that could be used to coerce ‘A,’ and ‘A’ likely harbored deep resentment towards him. Therefore, whether for revenge for past blackmail or for future security, Hasebe Koichi had to die.”
“However, killing Hasebe Koichi was significantly more challenging than killing ĹŚshima Masaki. First, you had to know Hasebe Koichi’s hiding place. Second, Hasebe Koichi, having learned of ĹŚshima Masaki’s death, would be highly wary of you.”
“To overcome this, you needed to gain Hasebe Koichi’s trust to some degree, to lower his guard. For example, by fabricating some incident that occurred in room 216. You also needed to ascertain his whereabouts, ideally luring him out directly.”
“I believe this is the reason for the ‘letter’.”
“In the early hours of June 10th, after returning home from giving statements, you, Kagehara Tetsuya, and ‘A’ roughly outlined the subsequent plan. Kagehara then wrote the letter, which was relayed to Hasebe through ‘A’s previous communication channels with him. This time, you must have received a reply.”
“This would have been before the police released information about the murder. Hasebe Koichi, realizing he couldn’t contact ĹŚshima Masaki, was undoubtedly both angry and terrified. Therefore, upon receiving the letter, he immediately replied, inquiring about ĹŚshima Masaki’s situation. After all, the inn room was booked under his name, and he feared being suspected by the police.”
“At the same time, he made a demand for his diary. Kagehara then contacted him again with another letter—this second letter was what Hasebe Koichi believed would be highly advantageous to him if he handed it over to the police.”
“The fact that he didn’t immediately attempt to deliver the letter to the police suggests that your plan, while not entirely successful, had some effect. Otherwise, he would have done so much earlier, instead of waiting until the late hours of June 14th.”
“Of course, you didn’t place all your hopes on the letters. While attempting to lure Hasebe Koichi out with the letters—a task Kagehara was responsible for—you were also preparing a backup plan, which you were in charge of.”
“As you planned, ĹŚshima Masaki died in Hasebe Koichi’s room, making Hasebe Koichi a prime suspect and subject to police investigation.”
“Therefore, your backup plan was to locate Hasebe Koichi’s hiding place through the police investigation. However, this required someone to be in contact with the police and find a way to obtain information about their investigation’s progress.”
“‘A’ was not in a suitable position to directly interact with the case, and Kagehara, due to the previous incident, had already become a suspect. Therefore, you were the only one who could execute this plan.”
“To your considerable surprise, on June 10th, I visited your home for a conversation and suggested the possibility of a romantic relationship between you and Kagehara. With your intelligence and adaptability, you immediately recognized an opportunity.”
There was another possibility Kishida didn’t mention. Perhaps, during her questioning by Matsushita Makoto, the girl before him had already planned to use the police to gather information. This was why she deliberately made her relationship with Kagehara seem ambiguous, leading the police to misunderstand their connection.
This conjecture was too disturbing, so he kept it to himself.
“During that conversation, you deliberately blurred the lines of your relationship with Kagehara and, under the guise of concern for him, became involved in the investigation to obtain the information you wanted.”
“At the time, you were likely suspecting that Hasebe Koichi was hiding at ĹŚshima Mana’s house. Therefore, upon hearing that I intended to meet with ĹŚshima Mana, you expressed your desire to accompany me.”
“At that time, I was indeed deceived. In an attempt to glean information about Kagehara, I agreed to take you to see ĹŚshima Mana, inadvertently helping you eliminate one incorrect possibility.” Kishida offered a wry smile.
He had been manipulated by a high school girl. No wonder she frequently commented that Japanese police were useless. Ironically, he had attributed her remarks to the influence of fictional works.
“Looking back, on June 12th, I must have inadvertently disclosed a considerable amount of information, helping you eliminate several incorrect possibilities. Given ‘A’s familiarity with Hasebe Koichi, after narrowing down the search area, they likely quickly realized his hiding place.”
“Because after that, you didn’t actively contact me again. I imagine it was partly out of fear of arousing suspicion by doing too much, and partly because you had already pinpointed Hasebe Koichi’s approximate location. All that remained was to check each place individually.”
“Returning to June 12th, after we parted at the onsen inn, you went to the Hasebe residence, posing as a private investigator hired by Tanaka Erika’s father. You easily gained Hasebe’s father’s trust and, during the subsequent conversation, successfully obtained the information you sought.”
Hearing this, Tetsuya couldn’t help but interrupt. “Please wait. If I needed information, why would I go to the Hasebe residence instead of contacting ‘A’? Given ‘A’s familiarity with Hasebe Koichi, wouldn’t it have been more convenient to ask her?”
Kishida shook his head. “That’s because there was one piece of information that could absolutely not have been obtained from ‘A’.”
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