Lady Joker, Volume 1 Kaoru Takamura (ereader ebook .TXT) 📖

had lost a son. And there was a slightly unusual twitchiness to the way his eyes moved.

Nevertheless, it was clear that his life had disintegrated, his vast, luxurious living room strewn about with discarded clothes and permeated by the mustiness of a space long deprived of fresh air and the sour stench of alcohol. Hatano sat down on a sofa at the center of this room, and the first words out of his mouth were, “It was my mistake.”

According to the account that began to spill forth from Hatano, he had been wrong to suspect that there had been any kind of discriminatory action by Hinode Beer against his son, who had taken the company’s recruitment exam, and the fact of the matter was that his son had become mentally and physically unstable from the shock of the opposition from the parents of a school friend he had been dating, saying it was too soon for them to marry. Hatano spoke in a clear and coherent manner, as if he was talking about someone else, and there was no detectable amplitude in his emotions whatsoever.

“Then, are you saying that you’ve calmed down now that the parents of your son’s girlfriend came to pay their respects?” Inspector Takahashi prodded, but Hatano made no response.

Takahashi went on to explain that Hinode had filed a complaint on the basis of defamation and obstruction of business, and that, formally, participation in this investigation was voluntary, so Hatano did not have to talk about anything he did not wish to. The expression on Hatano’s face, though, made it hard to tell whether he was even listening.

The inspector assumed a businesslike manner toward the dentist and began to ask the necessary questions. First, regarding the contents of the tape, did he or did he not make a tape recording of a letter addressed to Hinode’s Kanagawa factory from a man named Seiji Okamura in 1947? The letter had no rightful business being in Hatano’s possession, so how did he obtain it?

Hatano told them that he received the letter from two men who had paid him a visit on the night of November 5th. One of them identified himself as so-and-so Nishimura, an executive committee member of the Tokyo chapter of the BLL, but since he had thrown away his business card, he could not remember his name precisely.

“Could you describe the features of this Nishimura?”

“He was about a hundred and sixty-five centimeters tall. Medium build. Around fifty years old. Dark complexion. He had thin fingers. A mole about ten millimeters in diameter on his right jaw.”

Hatano listed the characteristics robotically, and Takahashi recorded them in his notebook.

“And, what did Nishimura want?”

“I had used the BLL name in my second letter, so he came to ask me about that. As for the issue of my son’s being rejected during Hinode’s screening process for new employees, Nishimura said something about how Hinode had their own reasons and then, suggesting that it could be useful, he left behind a copy of the letter.”

“Did he mention specifically what Hinode’s reasons might be?”

“He said something about the financial situation of a company called Ogura Transport and its main bank. I told him I didn’t understand.”

“Was that bank by any chance Chunichi Mutual Savings?”

“I think so, yes.”

“What specifically did he say about it?

“Something about bad loans and bypass loans. I don’t remember exactly.”

“How did Nishimura say those issues are related to Hinode’s screening process for new employees?”

“Seiji Okamura refers to a person in his letter, someone who happens to be investigating the problems with Ogura Transport. He was apparently one of three men from a segregated buraku community who were fired from Hinode’s Kyoto factory in 1946.”

Takahashi’s hand continued to move rapidly across his notebook pages. Handa sat idly next to him.

“By the way, doctor, did you believe all along that the person you were speaking with was from the BLL?”

“No.”

“Then, what did you make of this person who assumed a false identity and talked to you about the economy?”

“I don’t know.”

“Some guy whom you’ve never met pretended he was from the BLL and brought up a story about your son out of the blue, right? Didn’t you think that was suspicious?”

“No, not really. When it comes to buraku and discrimination, whether it’s fact or fiction, it’s not uncommon for the conversation to take off on its own in ways you wouldn’t expect.”

“By the way, did Nishimura say anything about the source of the letter?”

“No. I asked but he didn’t respond.”

“Did Nishimura demand money for the letter?”

“No.”

“Do you still have the letter?”

“After I recorded the tape, on the morning of the sixth, I threw it in the trash.”

After this exchange, Takahashi’s inquiry turned to Hatano’s intention in sending the tape to Hinode. Hatano replied that, as he pored over the letter written by this man Seiji Okamura some forty-three years ago, he developed a certain sympathy toward the man, and he felt compelled to say something to Hinode on Okamura’s behalf. There was no specific reason involving his son, and the story that he was motivated by nothing other than his vague aversion toward the corporation Hinode seemed at once plausible and implausible.

“How do you feel about sending the tape now?”

“I think it was pointless.”

“Do you regret it?”

“I wouldn’t do it again. Even if Hinode were at fault about my son, I have no interest in questioning them any further.”

The conversation proceeded swiftly, without any hitches, to reach a conclusion, and Takahashi slapped his knee lightly.

“Well then. We would like for you to issue a voluntary written statement based on what you just said, so would you come to the Shinagawa Police Department tomorrow? From there, we will confirm with Hinode whether they intend to withdraw the charges.”

“I will take responsibility for what I’ve done.”

“No, no. There’s no need for that. Following procedure, we will issue a statement, but since your cooperation is voluntary, the signature and seal are up to you. More importantly, I feel it’s best that you maintain a