3
All in all, they talked for almost two hours.
They left the Yoshikawa residence in Ajimu after five. On the way back they stopped for dinner, so by the time they got back to Beppu it was already past nine.
Shimada was naturally tired because of the long ride. From time to time he would click his tongue at the lights of the oncoming traffic.
‘Is it all right if we make a detour through Kō’s place?’ he asked suddenly.
‘I don’t mind,’ answered Kawaminami, although he didn’t really feel like it. He’d felt dispirited ever since they’d left Ajimu.
This was mostly because of lack of sleep and physical fatigue. But he was also feeling disappointed and his mind felt exhausted, too.
Even though they’d gone all that way, they hadn’t managed to discover anything significant, he thought. He hadn’t expected to find a clear-cut answer, but he’d hoped for at least some new information.
For example….
And he hated himself for hoping so.
I would have been satisfied if Yoshikawa Masako had also received a letter signed by Nakamura Seiji.
He knew he was quick to get fired up, and quick to lose interest. In a way, he was still just a child. Like a child who always wanted new toys, he too was always on the search for some new stimulus. And when the initial excitement wore off, he would get bored and give up.
They finally arrived at Kōjirō’s home in Kannawa.
It was a quiet night. The sky was filled with thin clouds. The moon shone as pale as bone in the darkness.
Shimada rang the bell. They could faintly hear it ringing inside, but even after a long wait, there was no reply.
‘That’s strange. The lights are still on.’
Shimada coughed and rang the bell again a couple of times and also knocked on the door once or twice.
‘Maybe he’s already gone to bed?’
Shimada started to go round to the back entrance, but, seeing Kawaminami leaning with his back to the gate post and his head hanging down, he changed his mind.
‘Oh, forget it. We’ll come back another day. Sorry, Conan, for bringing you all this way for nothing. You look very tired. Come on, let’s go.’
✦ ✦ ✦
They got back on the National Route heading for O—City.
Shimada opened the window a little. The evening wind blew into the car, carrying with it the smell of the sea.
‘Cold, Conan?’
‘Not, not really.’
He was still feeling dispirited and upset with himself.
‘Sorry I’ve had you going up and down since this morning.’
‘No, I’m the one who’s sorry…Slumped like this.’
‘That’s okay. You’re just tired.’
Shimada indeed didn’t seem to mind him at all. He took his left hand off the steering wheel and massaged his temple.
‘I think that, on the one hand, it didn’t turn out quite as we’d hoped, but on the other, we did manage to get hold of some significant information.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Of course we’d hoped to learn more about the whereabouts of Yoshikawa Sei’ichi. If he was still alive somehow, it would be natural to assume he’d been in contact with his wife. But that didn’t seem to be the case.’
‘But Mr. Shimada, don’t you think that there’s something strange about the fact they already held a funeral ceremony, even though only six months have passed?’
‘Maybe, but I don’t think that Masako is the type who would lie. She appeared to be a nice, honest woman.’
‘Oh.’
Shimada grinned.
‘I’ve a good eye for people, you know. Call it a priest’s instinct. Anyway, that didn’t turn out as we wanted, but—Conan, could you pass me a cigarette?’
‘A cigarette?’ Kawaminami reacted in surprise. He hadn’t seen Shimada smoke even once until now.
‘I’ve got Seven Stars,’ he said and passed Shimada the pack. Keeping his eyes on the road ahead, Shimada skilfully retrieved a cigarette out of the case using just one hand.
‘I was a heavy smoker up until a few years back. But my lungs got bad and I practically stopped smoking then. One a day. I may lead a loose and lazy life, but that’s the one rule I try to protect.’
He lit the cigarette and blew some smoke into the air contentedly.
‘As for the fruits of our labour: first of all, the fact that not much of Seiji’s fortune was left. If that’s true, then yes, the “Yoshikawa equals Murderer” theory is seriously weakened.’
‘And what about him being in love with Mrs. Kazue?’
‘I didn’t believe in that theory from the start. It felt forced. I once talked with Kō and he said that Kazue wasn’t the kind of woman who would go around seducing gardeners. He was also of the same opinion as Masako, that the gardener was an honest man who would never even think of falling in love with a married woman.’
‘So you don’t think that Yoshikawa is the murderer.’
‘I don’t think it’s very likely.’
With some regret, Shimada crushed the cigarette he had turned into ash in no time into the ashtray.
‘And from what we heard today, I have the feeling that the reason the two brothers didn’t get along was Kazue.’
‘Mrs. Kazue?’
‘If Kazue was having an affair, maybe she wasn’t having one with the gardener, but with Kō.’
‘Mr. Kōjirō and Mrs. Kazue?’
‘Yes. I remember now: last year, after the incident happened, Kō stayed cooped up in his house for one or two weeks and was a total wreck. I suspect now that it wasn’t because of the death of Seiji, but because of the death of Kazue.’
‘But Mr. Shimada, that would mean that the murderer is—.’
‘I have a little idea. I’ll tell you later, but first you’ll have to report today’s progress to Morisu, right?’
‘Now you mention it, yes.’
Kawaminami took a look at the dashboard clock. 10:40 p.m.
The number of cars on the seaside National Route in the direction of O—City had diminished. Among the scattered red tail lights was the black body of a truck. And on the railway running parallel to the road was the extended illumination of a train.…
‘He told us to call, but since we’re driving anyway, let’s just go round there.’
Shimada’s suggestions had perked Kawaminami up a little. As if sensing that, Shimada smiled.
‘Morisu. Yes, he has a wonderful name too.’