I got off the elevator. Ken, who’d been left waiting outside Interrogation Room Six, immediately pounced.
“Is Shota really dead?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“How?!”
“They’re still looking into it.”
In fact by now the forensics team was pretty sure of the cause of death, but there was no need for me to tell him that. Ken had on a poker face, but he was starting to sweat.
And I knew why. Shota had been killed for helping Reina take revenge, and now Ken was wondering if he was next. Based on the taped interrogations, Shota didn’t seem to know, but Ken also must have been involved in Reina’s scheme.
Koichiro Myoko stood behind Ken, looking haggard. It was 3:05 A.M., but it wasn’t only the late hour that made his face so pale.
Koichiro glanced to his left. “Who’s she?”
In contrast to the other two, the woman was elegant and poised. She bowed deeply.
“My name is Otoha Tamachi. I was fortunate to be close with Reina when we were in school.”
“I see…” Koichiro said. He looked confused.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
Koichiro hesitated before responding. “I realize I’m saying this as Reina’s father, but she looks so much like Reina. Forgive me…I know that’s kind of a weird thing to say, isn’t it?”
Ken wiped the sweat from his face and agreed, “No, Koichiro, I know what you mean. I realize this Tamachi-san is a different person, of course, but…It’s not just how she looks. It’s also how she carries herself, her whole air.”
The two of them looked suspiciously at the woman, who was unfazed.
“Tee-hee,” she laughed. “It’s such an honor to be compared to Reina. She was amazing.”
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We gathered again in Interrogation Room Six. The six of us made the interrogation room, which was one of the larger ones in the police station, cramped. Ken sat on the sofa, and Koichiro and the woman calling herself Otoha stood to the side. Yamaji sat in a chair behind a desk facing them all, and Dr. Higano and I stood next to him. Dr. Higano’s familiar tablet PC and glass cube puzzle lay on the desk.
Noi-tan had apparently completed Dr. Higano’s previous request and discovered newspapers with the articles he was looking for:
✦ ✦ ✦
Central Construction Names Ken Nakahigashi, Third Son of Founder, Next President
✦ ✦ ✦
I read the article that followed:
✦ ✦ ✦
In a press release, major construction contractor Central Construction announced that current president Heiji Nakahigashi would be stepping down from his position as president this year due to health concerns. The company also announced that Ken Nakahigashi, the former president’s third son, would succeed him in his position. Previously, the current Vice President and Director Tateki Nakahigashi, Nakahigashi’s eldest son, had been expected to succeed, but Nakahigashi Sr. reversed his decision and chose Ken Nakahigashi instead. The decision was approved by the Board of Directors, but the sudden change does appear to have sparked some confusion within the company. Ken Nakahigashi is 27 years old and a graduate of Teito University’s economics program. Though he is Nakahigashi’s third-born son, he was the child of an extramarital affair and is not biologically related to Nakahigashi’s wife, Yoko. Ken Nakahigashi has served as head of R&D at the Yokohama Branch of Central Construction and is well respected within the company for his work. However, a promotion from section chief to president is a nearly unprecedented move.