‘Second—and I already mentioned this last night—is the missing left hand. Why would Seiji cut off the left hand of his wife? And where did he take it to?
‘Third is the time gap between the murders. He killed his wife first on the 17th and finally the gardener in the early morning of the 20th. What was Seiji doing during those three days?
‘And finally, how did Seiji flee from the island after committing these crimes? And where has he been hiding since then?’
‘I had been thinking along almost the exact same lines on our way over here,’ said Shimada.
‘And I think that, of the questions you just listed, I can at least provide an answer to the first.’
‘A motive for killing Kazue?’
‘Yes. Of course, as you said, this is nothing but a wild guess.’
‘Jealousy?’ tried Morisu carefully. Shimada pursed his lips and nodded.
‘Even normal emotions can turn into madness if they manage to dwell long enough in the heart of a genius like Seiji.’
Shimada turned to Conan.
‘What do you mean?’ asked the latter.
‘Do you remember what Yoshikawa Masako said about Nakamura Chiori?’
‘Yes, of course.’
‘She said that Chiori seldom returned to the island. She also said that Kazue adored her daughter, but when we asked about Seiji—.’
‘She said something about Seiji not being fond of kids.’
‘Precisely. Seiji didn’t love his daughter very much.’
‘And I remember that, at Chiori’s funeral, he wasn’t the chief mourner.’
‘You understand what I’m trying to tell you, don’t you?’
Kawaminami looked alternately at Morisu and Shimada. The latter nodded gently. Morisu frowned and looked away.
‘You suspect that Chiori wasn’t Seiji’s daughter.’
‘That’s correct, Conan.’
‘But then whose daughter was she?’
‘Nakamura Kōjirō’s. According to Masako, Kō occasionally visited the island when she was working there and before she married Yoshikawa. That means there hadn’t always been bad blood between the brothers. And I think the period when Kō stopped going to the island dates from the time Chiori was born. What do you think, Morisu?’
‘I’ve no idea.’
Morisu reached out for the cigarettes on the table.
‘So that’s why we went by Mr. Kōjirō’s house on the way back.’
‘Yes. I wanted to see what I could get out of Kō.’
‘Mr. Shimada,’ interrupted Morisu, who couldn’t stand much more of it. ‘I think you had better reconsider that.’
‘Oh, why all of a sudden?’ Shimada was taken aback.
‘It might be none of my business, but even if you and Mr. Kōjirō are good friends, I don’t think that much good can come of you prying into rather private affairs.’
Morisu looked silently at Shimada.
‘There’s nothing wrong with us talking about the case here. But I don’t think it’s right to act purely on guesswork and invade other people’s privacy, especially when it involves a secret as delicate as that.’
‘But Morisu, it was you who suggested we visit Yoshikawa’s wife,’ retorted Kawaminami. Morisu sighed gently.
‘All day today I’ve been regretting saying something as careless as that. But even I make mistakes when my curiosity clashes with my conscience. And last night, I was caught up in the moment. But I shouldn’t have said that, simply because I thought the case was interesting. I felt even worse thinking about it while facing the stone Buddhas.’
He looked at the easel near the wall. Thick colour had been applied to the picture on the canvas with a palette knife.
‘It might be selfish of me, Mr. Shimada, but I’m getting out of the game at this point. I’ve explained my deductions and I’m now resigning as “armchair detective,”’ said Morisu.
Shimada didn’t seem to be offended at all. ‘So your final conclusion is that Seiji is still alive?’
‘Conclusion is too strong a word. I merely pointed out a possibility which may not have been given enough attention before. If you ask me whether I really think Seiji is still alive, then I’ll have to answer with a no.’
‘And the letter? What do you make of that?’
‘Probably just a joke by one of those who’ve gone to the island—would you like some more tea?’
‘No, thanks.’
Morisu poured himself a fourth cup.
‘Suppose Seiji were really still amongst the living, would he be making accusations about the death of Chiori, a daughter he didn’t love, and possibly even hated?’
‘Hmm.’
‘And I also think that keeping an extreme feeling—like the urge to murder someone—burning for a long time is much more difficult than you make it out to be.
‘If Seiji had been responsible for the incident six months ago and he wanted to kill not only Kazue, but also the persons responsible for Chiori’s death, as well as his brother Kōjirō, wouldn’t he have gone after Kōjirō and the others right after killing Kazue? I don’t think that someone’s intent to kill can be all that strong if he goes into hiding for six months first, and then starts his revenge by sending a bunch of threatening letters.’
‘….’
‘Do you have some more hot water for me?’ asked Kawaminami, trying to help Shimada, who seemed at a loss for words.
‘There’s no more left. I’ll boil some.’
‘No, that’s okay. I’ve had enough anyway.’
Kawaminami lay down with his face up and crossed his arms.
‘Mr. Shimada and I have too much free time, so while you might have your policy about this, I think we’ll continue digging a bit more.’
‘Look, I’m not telling you to stop.’
Morisu’s face softened.
‘But I do think you should avoid trampling over the secrets people have been trying to keep hidden, without any regard for their feelings.’
‘All right.’
Kawaminami yawned and muttered.
‘I wonder how the guys on Tsunojima are doing.’