Inspector Imanishi Investigates

Imanishi Eitaro listened to the speech with his eyes on the floor. The division head was speaking forcefully, as if he were trying to encourage them. But after all, it was a speech about failure.

Imanishi felt more responsible than the other investigators. Now he even wondered if, as first suspected, “Kameda” was a person’s name after all. After going all the way to Kameda in Akita Prefecture, it seemed that “the strange man” had nothing to do with the case. When an investigation folded, every uncertainty hounded the detectives. But there was no use going all over it again.

The main speech ended and the local police station chief said a few words. After that the detectives drank the sake in their teacups and broke into conversation. The talk was unenthusiastic. The dismal gathering soon broke up.

Imanishi started for home alone. He would no longer be coming to this station every day. As of tomorrow, he would return to headquarters. Imanishi walked toward Kamata Station. The street lights were on. Clear blue twilight lingered in the sky as the evening turned to night.

“Imanishi-san.”

He heard a voice calling him. He turned around and saw Yoshimura.

“Hey, it’s you, is it?” Imanishi stopped.

“Since we’re going in the same direction, I wondered if we could go together.”

“Sure.”

Side by side, they walked toward the station. The platform was crowded, as was the train. It was the middle of rush hour, and they couldn’t stand together inside the train. Still, Yoshimura managed to grab a hand strap not far from Imanishi. From the window they could see the city of Tokyo below them. Neon lights were starting to shine across the stark cityscape.

“Yoshimura,” Imanishi yelled across the crowded car when they reached Shibuya Station. “Let’s get off here.”

Imanishi had pushed his way off the train and to the top of the stairs by the time Yoshimura caught up with him.

“What happened to you all of a sudden?” Yoshimura asked.

“I just wanted to talk to you some more. Let’s have a drink somewhere nearby,” Imanishi said as they struggled down the crowded stairs. “I hope that’s all right.”

“It’s fine with me,” Yoshimura said and smiled. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you some more, too.”

“That’s perfect. I just can’t go straight home the way I feel now. It was like a funeral at headquarters. Let’s go drown this bitter aftertaste in some beer.”

“Sounds good to me.”

The two men crossed the square in front of the station and turned down a narrow side street. This area was full of small bars with red lanterns hanging from their eaves.

They entered a narrow bar that served steaming hot oden, vegetables and dumplings simmered in a flavorful broth. It was early in the evening and there were few customers. They took two seats in the corner.

“Could we have some beer?”

The owner of the bar, who was tending the simmering pot with a pair of long chopsticks, nodded her head and said, “Coming right up.”

The two men toasted each other with glasses nearly overflowing with foam.

“That’s better,” Imanishi said, drinking half the glass in one gulp. “I’m glad I ran into you.”

“I was thinking the same. We won’t be working together anymore, so this is good-bye, Imanishi- san.”

“Thanks for all you’ve done.”

“No, no, I’m the one who should thank you.”

“Why don’t we order something?”

“I’d like some skewered maruten, please.”

“You like maruten, too?” Imanishi smiled. “It’s one of my favorites.”

Imanishi finished his beer and let out a big sigh; Yoshimura looked over at him. They weren’t supposed to discuss their cases in public, but inevitably their conversation drifted back to it.

“You’ll be at central headquarters starting tomorrow, won’t you?” Yoshimura asked, tossing off his beer.

“Yes, I’ll be going back to my home base,” Imanishi said, as he nibbled at the skewered maruten.

“You’ll probably be assigned to another case right away, no?”

“Probably. One case after another, the work keeps coming. But even though you’re assigned to something else, this kind of case stays on your mind. I’ve been a detective now for a long time, and I’ve been involved with three or four cases that were never solved. They’re old cases, but they’re always in a corner of my mind. Every now and then they pop up. It’s strange. I don’t remember anything about the cases that were solved, but I can recall clearly the faces of each of the victims of the unsolved cases. Well, now there’s one more to give me bad dreams.”

“Imanishi-san,” Yoshimura put his hand on Imanishi’s arm. “Let’s not talk about it anymore. Today is our farewell to working together. Let’s drink to that.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“You know, I have fonder memories of the time we went out of town together than of all those times we trudged around this city. It was the first time I’d ever seen the Tohoku area. I really liked the color of the sea.”

Imanishi smiled. “It would be a good place to visit again just for pleasure after I retire.”

“I was just thinking the same thing.”

“What are you talking about? You’re still young.”

“I’d like to walk around Kameda alone, without a care, with no worries.” Yoshimura’s expression turned nostalgic, as if he were seeing the scenery again in his mind. “That’s right, Imanishi-san, you showed me three haiku that you wrote then. Have you come up with any more since that time?”

“Hmm, well, I did write a few more, about ten, maybe…”

“I’d like to hear them.”

“No.” Imanishi shook his head. “Listening to lousy poetry would ruin the taste of this beer. I’ll recite them for you another time. Well, shall we order one more beer before we go?”

By this time the bar was full and noisy. This made it easier for the two men to talk privately.

“Imanishi-san,” Yoshimura turned and leaned toward Imanishi. “About the Kamata case…”

“Hm,” Imanishi glanced quickly right and left. No one seemed to be paying attention to them.

“Your theory that the suspect’s hideout is not too far away… I think that must be right.”

“You do?”

“Yes, I do. The murderer had to have been covered with blood. So he couldn’t have gone far. I think his hideout has to be somewhere nearby.”

“I’ve looked around with that in mind,” Imanishi muttered.

“The murderer couldn’t take a taxi looking like that,” Yoshimura continued. “The witnesses said he wasn’t dressed well. In fact, you can tell he wasn’t well off by the fact that he was drinking cheap whiskey in an out of the way place like Kamata. He wouldn’t have the money to own a car.”

“Probably not.”

“Then, if he couldn’t take a cab, he must have walked home. The streets would have been dark, so he could have walked without being noticed. If he could walk home, he had to live within a certain distance of Kamata.”

“That’s true. Even if he walked till dawn, he still couldn’t have gone very far. At most maybe five or six miles.”

“Here’s what I think: If he went home looking like that, he would have to be living alone.”

“I see.” Imanishi poured Yoshimura some more beer and filled his own glass as well. “That’s a new idea.”

“Imanishi-san, you thought that the man lived somewhere else, and used a hideout after committing the crime, right?”

“I’m not confident about my deductions anymore.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. If there was a hideout, it would most likely be his mistress’s or a close friend’s place. Since he isn’t well off, I could go along with the friend theory; I can’t see that he could afford a