Inspector Imanishi Investigates

“It was quite a while ago, so you may not remember. Did a tall man in a beret come here to eat some sushi toward the end of last month, late at night?”

“A beret, you say.” The sushi master thought a while.

“A tall young man.”

“What did he look like?”

“I don’t know what his face looks like, but he may be an actor.”

“An actor?”

“Not a movie actor, a stage actor. In modern dramas.”

“Ah.” When he heard that, the sushi master nodded energetically, indicating that he understood. “Yes, yes, there was someone like that who came in. I definitely remember an actor who wore a beret. It must have been toward the end of July.”

“Hm. Did he eat some sushi?”

“Yes. It was around eleven. He dropped in alone. There were three other young customers already eating. One of them, a girl, went right up to the fellow with the beret and asked him for his autograph.”

“Did you get his name?”

“It was Miyata Kunio. He’s known as a young leading man in the Avant-Garde Theater.”

“He’s not a leading man,” the young worker put in from the side. “He’s a character actor, he plays any kind of part.”

“I see, Miyata Kunio.” Imanishi noted it down. “Does he come here often?”

“No, that was the only time.”

Imanishi got off the streetcar at Aoyama Yonchome. The Avant-Garde Theater was located less than two minutes from this stop. In front were posters announcing its current production. The front door was the main entrance to the theater. Imanishi asked for directions to the office at the ticket booth.

Inside, the office was cramped, barely room enough for the five desks. The floor was covered with boxes. Colorful posters from the theater’s productions plastered the walls. There were three staff members in the room, one young woman and two young men.

Imanishi went to the counter and said, “I’d like to inquire about something.”

Hearing this, the girl stood up.

“Is Miyata Kunio-san here?” Imanishi asked.

“Is Miyata-san here now?” The girl turned around and asked one of the men.

“Yeah, he showed up a little while ago. He should be in the rehearsal hall.”

“Could I give him your name?” she asked.

“Please tell him it’s Imanishi.”

“Wait a moment, please.”

The girl left the office by going through a glass door that separated the office from the rehearsal area. Imanishi took out a cigarette and began smoking. The two staff members worked on their abacuses and examined the ledgers, ignoring Imanishi. Imanishi waited, gazing at the words “People from the Underground” on one of the posters.

After a while the door at the back of the office opened. The girl reappeared, followed by a tall man.

Imanishi studied him closely as he came nearer. He was about twenty-seven or -eight. His hair was long, and he wore a short-sleeved print shirt and a pair of slacks.

“My name is Miyata,” the actor said and bowed. His attitude was that of someone used to dealing with people he did not know.

“Sorry to bother you when you’re so busy,” Imanishi said. “My name is Imanishi. I came because I want to ask you something. Could you step outside with me for a minute?”

Miyata Kunio looked displeased at first. But when Imanishi discreetly showed him his police identification, his expression turned to surprise.

“I just want to ask you a few questions, and this is probably not the right place,” Imanishi said, looking around the office. “So shall we go to a coffee shop?”

Miyata Kunio nodded submissively and followed Imanishi outside. They went to a nearby coffee shop together. As it was still morning, there were no other customers. An employee was washing the windows. The two men took seats at a table toward the back of the shop. Miyata Kunio’s face, lit by the sunlight streaming in from the window, was apprehensive.

In an attempt to make him relax, Imanishi started off by making small talk. “I know absolutely nothing about contemporary drama,” Imanishi began. “Do you play leading roles?”

“No, I’m only a beginner.”

“I see. It must be hard.”

Imanishi offered him a cigarette. The two drank their coffee.

“Miyata-san, I’m sorry to have disturbed you during your work. Were you in the middle of rehearsing?”

“I’m free right now.”

“Good. Excuse me for being so abrupt, but do you know a young woman named Naruse Rieko, a staff member at the theater?”

It seemed that Miyata’s face twitched when he heard the question. Imanishi had thought when he visited the theater office that the theater members, including Miyata, must not have heard yet about Naruse Rieko’s suicide. But Imanishi thought Miyata flinched for a different reason.

“Miyata-san, Naruse-san has committed suicide.”

“What?” Miyata’s eyes opened wide. After staring at the detective for a while, he stammered, his face changing color, “Is… is that the truth?”

“Yes, last night. I was there this morning. There’s no mistake. Hasn’t the theater been notified yet?”

“I didn’t know anything… Oh, yes, I did hear that the staff director went rushing out for some reason. I wonder if it was because of this?”

“It could be. Were you close to Naruse-san?”

A fly crawled up the window.

Miyata Kunio looked down and took a while to answer.

“Well, were you?” Imanishi repeated.

“I certainly knew her well.”

“I see. What I wanted to ask you, Miyata-san, is whether you might have any idea as to the reason behind Naruse-san‘s suicide.”

With a mournful expression, the actor put his fingers to his chin. Imanishi watched his expression intently.

“This isn’t a murder, so it may not be my place to inquire. Even though it may be impolite to the deceased, we would like to know any hidden reason for Naruse-san’s suicide. I say this because there is some connection with another case. I’m sorry I can’t go into details about that, but I can tell you that is why I’m asking you these questions.”

“But, I…” Miyata answered in a low voice, “I don’t know why Naruse-san would commit suicide.”

“We have found a journal that gives some explanation. I don’t know if you’d call it a suicide note. From what she had written, it seem that she was in despair over a love affair. She had written some tragic lines to that effect.”

“Is that so. Did she write the man’s name?” Miyata looked up at Imanishi.

“As a matter of fact, she gave no name. Probably Naruse-san didn’t want to cause any embarrassment after her death.”

“So that was it, after all.”

“What do you mean ‘after all’? Is there something else you know about?” Imanishi watched intently so as not to let any change in Miyata’s expression escape him.

Miyata Kunio did not answer. Looking down again, he bit his lip to keep it from trembling.

“Miyata-san, I think you know the reason behind Naruse- san’s death.”

“What do you mean?” Miyata looked up.