The roads were quiet. It didn’t take long for Mikami to reach his destination, the residential district of Midoriyama. Keeping an eye on the house numbers, he navigated through a couple of corners before catching sight of his target washing his car outside the front of his house, his back to Mikami. He turned around, looking like a man enjoying his day off, but his expression reverted to the familiar downcast one the moment he realized it was Mikami in the driver’s seat.
‘Long time no see,’ Mikami called out from the car window.
Tsuchigane’s eyes drifted down to the tip of his hose. ‘It’s just as you see Mikami – I’m out here, washing my car in the freezing cold so I can take my wife to the department store to pick out some year-end holiday gifts.’
He was saying he wanted to be left alone. Quite apart from their intended meaning, the man’s words drove home to Mikami just how much the case had faded into the background. A two-day weekend. Even for the team working on Six Four, it was no longer the exception.
Mikami got out of the car and held up the box of udon he’d bought on the way. He knew the tradition between detectives: you couldn’t turn someone down once they’d brought you a gift.
Begrudgingly, Tsuchigane showed Mikami through to his Western-style reception room. They sat facing each other on cotton couches. Mikami started to talk, acting like they were both detectives. Despite Mikami’s efforts, however, it was clear from the way Tsuchigane continued to avoid eye contact that the Iron Curtain was in place between them.
‘I’m sorry to barge in like this, on your day off.’ Mikami started by making a respectful bow of his head. Tsuchigane was ranked Police Inspector. This made Mikami the senior officer on paper but, once set, the relationship between two detectives never changed.
‘I’m here because I have something to ask you. It’s about Six Four.’
‘Go on, then.’
‘Yoshio Amamiya. Did something happen between him and us?’
The look on Tsuchigane’s face changed.
‘You went to see him?’
‘That’s right.’
‘When?’
‘Two days ago. Caught me off guard, I have to say. He’s really turned against us.’
‘And . . .?’
‘I wanted to ask what caused him to change like that?’
‘Couldn’t say.’
‘I seriously doubt that. You’re sub-chief of the Six Four Investigative Team.’
‘Look – I can’t tell you what I don’t know.’
Until this point, Mikami had been trying to test the limits of the gag order. He paused before launching into his first real question.
‘What the hell’s up with Criminal Investigations?’
‘Nothing’s up,’ Tsuchigane replied, becoming testy.
‘Okay, can we be honest here? Just tell me why Criminal Investigations has decided to shut out the whole of Admin?’
‘What about you? What were you doing, anyway, going to see Amamiya like that?’
‘That came from Tokyo. The commissioner wants to visit Amamiya in person, pay his respects. It’s my responsibility to get everything in order.’
‘Huh, the commissioner?’
‘Don’t pretend you don’t know. Seems pretty safe to assume the two things are related.’
‘Like I said, I don’t know anything. Go and ask Arakida if you really want to know.’
‘Right. Seems he imposed the gag order?’
Tsuchigane gave a quick nod of his head. ‘Exactly, so you’ve got no reason to hound us underlings. Leave me alone.’
‘Sub-chief, are you telling me you’re an underling?’
Mikami hadn’t meant to provoke him, but Tsuchigane snapped all the same.
‘What if I am? Anyway, why bother asking? It’s obvious Arakida’s blown a fuse because you guys have been poking around in things.’
Poking around in things. Mikami shuddered, again seeing an image of Futawatari.
‘Just calm down a second. What do you mean, “you guys”? You’re including me in all this?’
‘You’d deny it? It’s my responsibility to get everything in order. Well, that’s a fucking joke. Didn’t you think you should come through us first, if you wanted to talk to Amamiya? But no, you do it in the bloody dark . . .’
‘Why do you think I came to see what you had to say?’
‘To make a mess of my weekend, no doubt. Shouldn’t you be out buying some holiday gifts yourself? Isn’t brown-nosing your seniors the best way to get ahead in Admin?’
Tsuchigane was taking every opportunity to stop this being a conversation between two detectives.
‘Stop changing the subject. And look, I seriously doubt the gag order was imposed because I went to see Amamiya.’
‘Maybe not, but you’re not the only one working for Akama.’
‘Futawatari came to see you?’
‘Why the hell would he do that? You’re here, aren’t you?’
‘Unrelated. I don’t know what he’s up to.’
‘And you expect me to believe that?’
‘So . . . he didn’t come to see you?’
‘Not to see me. But my staff keep sending things up the chain. He’s been asking around the rest of my staff – right down to the new recruits.’
‘Down to the new recruits . . .’
‘Don’t act so fucking surprised. You Admin bastards, are you really so glad Amamiya’s severed all connections?’
Severed all connections?
Mikami only just managed to keep his surprise from showing. So it was more than merely a falling-out. Tsuchigane had just told him the relationship had completely broken down.
‘So what’s the next move? Report in to the boss? Sure. Do it. No skin off my bloody nose.’
‘Was that what Arakida told you?’
‘What?’
‘Akama’s minions are sniffing into Six Four. He wants to get the press to cover the break with Amamiya. Keep your mouths shut around Admin. Is that it? Is that what he told you?’
‘What else could it be? You tell me if you bloody know.’
Tsuchigane looked genuinely interested. He was speculating, that was all. It had been the same with Itokawa back in Second Division – he hadn’t been let in on the background to Arakida’s imposition of the gag order either.
‘So all connections were severed?’
‘Huh?’
‘Us and Amamiya.’
‘Still pretending you don’t know . . . Wasn’t that why you went to see him, to get to the bottom of it?’
‘Why did things get so bad?’
‘There isn’t any bloody reason. It’s just time. Atrophy, whatever. Just you wait – if we catch the kidnapper, he’ll be here thanking us, all teary-eyed.’
Because they hadn’t found the kidnapper. Mikami acknowledged that had to be one of the reasons. But was it the only one?
‘You brought Motoko Yoshida in for questioning, in the beginning.’
‘Excuse me?’
‘I heard she’d had a bad time of it, that Amamiya took her under his wing afterwards.’
Tsuchigane clicked his tongue, his mouth contorting.
‘You were a detective, for god’s sake. You’d have treated her as a potential accomplice, too, if you’d heard she’d answered a call from the kidnapper in the office.’
‘No need to emphasize the past tense, please.
‘Oh, really? Yeah, well, maybe if you stopped grilling a fellow fucking detective . . .’
‘So there’s a chance he came to bear a grudge because of the questioning.’
‘See, you’re losing your touch over there in Admin.’
‘Losing my touch? What are you—’
‘Just listen. Amamiya wasn’t in love with Motoko Yoshida. He loved Shoko, his one and only daughter. He treasured her. And she was kidnapped, murdered. I can tell you right now – the only person he didn’t consider a suspect back then was his own fucking wife.’