The Isle of South Kamui and Other Stories (17 page)

The old man made no attempt to defend himself, repeating over and over again, “Sorry! I'm sorry.”

The color drained from Sakakibara's face. His expression was pained, as if he was personally to blame for the old man's beating. The first one punched the old man again.

“Let's break it up!” yelled Suzuki in Taguchi's ear, as if he could not bear it any longer. Just at that moment, Sakakibara laid his cardboard box to one side, and slowly entered the fight circle. Skinny and dragging his left leg, he was not at all a heroic figure.

Going up to the pair, he said, “Cut it out” in a shaky voice. He was clearly terrified. Even so, he was trying to stop the fight.

The pair glared at him. “What have we here?” grinned one.

“Stop bullying the old man.”

“Asshole!” The other one suddenly kicked Sakakibara's butt from behind, with the agility of a habitual fighter. As he fell, the other one laid into him. It was a rout. Sakakibara just curled himself up into a fetal position.

So they'd been right about him?

Taguchi felt more and more puzzled. Was Sakakibara really such a righteous person? If he was—

“
Boss!
We've got to stop them!”

At Suzuki's words Taguchi snapped out of it and, yelling, “Stop that right now!” charged his stocky body through the crowd.

Sakakibara was so severely bruised that Taguchi took him to a nearby hospital.

The doctor who examined him diagnosed cracked ribs and ordered him to remain immobile, but lying there in bed Sakakibara was surprisingly cheerful.

“That's a strange face you're making,” he said, looking up at Taguchi. “I suppose you're shocked I would do something like that.”

“Not particularly.”

“You're lying,” Sakakibara gave him a searching look. “You're puzzled. And you think this is all an act. You think I made a show of helping that old man because knew I was being tailed. You think a vicious murderer wouldn't do anything to help anyone, don't you?”

Taguchi merely laughed. Sakakibara seemed drunk on his own words. Nodding to himself, he continued, “But unfortunately it wasn't an act. I helped him because I had to. It had nothing to do with whether you were following me or not. When I see something like that, I simply can't ignore it. I'm not particularly proud of myself for having saved him. On the contrary, I'm embarrassed by it.”

“I know.”

“What the hell do you know? Nothing, that's what.”

“It's true that I was puzzled to begin with.”

“Surprisingly candid of you.”

“But not now. I've been trying to understand you. At first glance, you seem complicated, but actually you're simply a type.”

“Now you're lecturing me in anthropology?”

“No, more like my own experiential philosophy. When you went to break up the fight, you were so scared you were shaking.”

“So? What are you trying to say?” Sakakibara's expression hardened. “Well, you're right—I am a coward. A total wimp. Anything wrong with that?”

“No,” smiled Taguchi. After asking permission to smoke, he lit up a cigarette. “I'm a coward too. But normal people don't try to help if they're scared. At most, they would just call the police, but you steamed in to help even though you were shaking with fear.”

“Are you saying I shouldn't have done it?”

“No, that's not what I'm saying. I'm talking about your character. You've got a pretty fascinating personality. You seem to be in thrall to a sense of duty. Today, too, you were bound to help the old man through a sense of obligation. You even seem obsessed with that duty. People usually run away when they're afraid, but you charge in to help because you're afraid.”

“What an interesting opinion you have, far more intriguing than a university lecture.”

“At worst, it gets to the point that you even lie to deceive yourself and other people. No doubt you believe that poets have to have an anti-establishment mindset. Or perhaps I should say, you're in thrall to that belief. You felt you had a duty to oppose the Security Treaty. But in fact, the day of that demo you were arrested for shoplifting—how mortifying! The normal thing would have been to keep quiet about it, but you went overboard with that sense of duty and lied that you had been at the demo. Not only that, you even wrote a poem about your experience. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to live with yourself.”

Sakakibara reddened. It seemed Taguchi had hit him where it most hurt. Taguchi slowly stubbed his cigarette out in the ashtray. “So what do you think? Maybe it wasn't such an interesting talk?”

“What the hell are you on about?” Sakakibara chewed his lip and glared at Taguchi. Taguchi smiled.

“I just wanted to get you to confess. You're so full of yourself, defying the police to arrest you. But we will get you. And what's more, your own personality will prove fatal to you. You'll be the cause of your own downfall.”

“Ridiculous!” Sakakibara laughed awkwardly. Just at that moment, the door opened and some newspaper reporters barged noisily in.

“Are you the one who stood up to the thugs in the street?” asked one of them, peering at Sakakibara in bed.

Taguchi was called up to the Chief 's office. As he went in he saw a newspaper spread out on the desk.

“You read this, I suppose?” A worried expression hovered on the Chief 's face as he peered at Taguchi over the top of his glasses.

“Yes, I read it.” Taguchi smiled. “All the papers are giving him the hero's treatment. I suppose the fact that it happened during the campaign to banish violence had something to do with it.”

“Like… ‘Street poet's heroic stand against violence'?” The Chief read a headline out loud. The report was accompanied by a large photo of Sakakibara smiling on his hospital bed. “And you just happened to be there?”

“Yes. The incident happened while Detective Suzuki and I were tailing him.”

“We have two problems.” The Chief folded his arms. “The first concerns your actions. You're bound to be pilloried in the press for not having broken the fight up sooner.”

“Yes, I'm ready for that. It's all my responsibility. Detective Suzuki wanted to go in right away, but I stopped him.

“Well, I guess we'll find a way round that one somehow. Which brings me to the other problem… have the papers got their facts right concerning the case?”

“More or less.”

“Nevertheless, you believe Sakakibara murdered that bathhouse girl?”

“It can't be anyone else.”

“However…” The Chief looked serious as he rose from his chair and walked slowly over to the window. It was as hot as ever, and Taguchi wiped the sweat from the back of his neck. He knew what the Chief was going to say.

The Chief turned to him, a puzzled look on his face. “I just don't get it. How can someone like this commit a murder? Was it all an act for your benefit?”

“I believe he helped that old man because he needed helping.”

“It's not just that. According to your investigations, there's nothing to suggest he had any grudge against the victim, right?”

“There isn't—in fact, I'm sure he
didn't
have any grudge against her.”

“So that just makes his motive for murder even weaker, doesn't it? So why do you think it is Sakakibara? What exactly is the basis for your conviction?”

“I can't explain it very well, but…” Taguchi searched for the right words to express what he wanted to say, but he could not find them. For want of a better way to put it, he said simply, “Sakakibara himself is telling me that he is the murderer.” It wasn't exactly accurate, but in a sense it was what Taguchi believed.

“He's confessed?” The Chief 's eyes popped.

“He hasn't actually confessed,” responded Taguchi. “I know it sounds odd, but he's taunting me and deliberately challenging the police. It comes across like he's yelling that he killed her, that he's the murderer.”

“I see.” The Chief nodded slowly. It seemed from his expression that he had no idea what Taguchi was getting at. “But we can't arrest him on the basis of your conviction.”

“I know that.”

“And now Sakakibara's become the neighborhood hero. If you pursue him despite your lack of proof, you may well come under attack from the press.”

“I'm also aware of that, but I just want a little more time.” Taguchi looked the Chief directly in the face. It would be enough if he could discover the motive. If he could just do that, Sakakibara would probably give himself away without being pushed. “Please let me investigate him for a little longer.”

The Chief sat in silence, his arms still folded. Taguchi took that to mean his tacit approval and, bowing his head briefly, he left the Chief 's office.

Taguchi went to Peace Villa apartments to pay a visit to the hostess, Mineko. She was all dressed up on her way out to visit Sakakibara in hospital.

“Well, let me accompany you to the hospital,” said Taguchi. Mineko scowled in irritation, but she seemed unable to refuse outright and set off without a word.

“There's something I've been wanting to ask you,” he commented to her profile as he walked alongside her. In the bright sunlight, she looked even younger than when he had seen her in the dimly lit bar. Perhaps the victim, Kazuko Watanabe, would have looked this young if he'd seen her in the light of day too.

“Were Sakakibara and Kazuko sleeping together?”

Mineko shrugged. “None of us have that sort of relationship with Sensei.”

“But you're men and women, right? It would be more natural for there to be a physical relationship.”

“Sensei's a poet.”

“But he's a man. Or perhaps he's lacking in that respect?”

“Don't be silly.” Mineko stopped and glared at Taguchi with contempt in her eyes. “Sensei's a fine man. But we don't have a sexual relationship. And neither did Kazu.”

“You girls into platonic love? Now that's a surprise.”

“Well, you detectives are just plain dumb, aren't you?” Mineko turned away and started walking again.

Taguchi stood for a while watching Mineko as she stalked off. She was short, and he could tell at a glance that her clothes were cheap. In fact, she was the very picture of a trashy bargirl. The customers who came to that back alley bar were after women more than they were after booze, and she must have been with any number of them. That must be why she and the other girls longed for platonic relations. It was because they only ever met men who were blatantly after their body that they hankered after someone calling themselves a poet, like Sakakibara. If Sakakibara behaved like all the other men, they almost certainly would not call him Sensei with so much affection and respect.

Taguchi was satisfied with things thus far. But something was just not quite right. Neither Sakakibara or the girls seemed to realize it, but there was something fishy going on. He could not help feeling that the pleasantry was somewhat forced, the relationship fabricated. Perhaps the murder had been caused by the breakdown of that fabricated relationship?

Taguchi started walking again, but he lost the urge to catch up with Mineko. By the time he got to the hospital and went into Sakakibara's room, Mineko was arranging some flowers she had bought on the way in a vase. The air conditioning was not working and the room was quite hot. Nevertheless, Sakakibara looked cheerful and was sitting up in bed. When he saw Taguchi, he grinned.

“Am I under surveillance again today? You'll never solve the crime coming here.”

“You seem pretty well.”

“I am well. This hospital room is a lot more comfortable than my tiny home.”

“I guess you've seen the papers.”

“Sure. The nurse brought them for me.”

“So how does it feel being the neighborhood hero?”

“It's not me at all,” said Sakakibara with an abashed smile. It was clear from his face that he wasn't just being modest. He really was embarrassed, thought Taguchi. He had the feeling that this man's emotions were always awkward.

Sakakibara reached out a hand and picked up a cigarette off the table. Mineko quickly lit a match and held it out for him. Sakakibara looked self-conscious again.

“I asked the reporters not to make such a big thing out of it. It's really so embarrassing, I didn't even want it to be in the papers.”

“How very self-effacing of you.”

“Perhaps I'm shy.”

“You're being unusually unassuming today, aren't you?” Taguchi looked at Sakakibara teasingly. Mineko glared at him.

“Sensei is a wonderful person.”

“No, I'm not,” Sakakibara blushed. “You girls really are living on the edge. Compared to you I'm utterly irresponsible.”