Chapter 6: Change of residence
Kisaki Law Firm, 3.15 pm
Eri was sitting at her desk and was consulting some documents. Suddenly someone knocked on the door.
"Who is it?"
"Excuse the trouble, Miss Kisaki, your daughter would like to talk to you."
"Bring her in, Midori."
Her assistant came in followed by the karateka.
"Good afternoon, Mom. Do I bother you? "
"Imagine ... What do you owe your visit to?"
"I ... I have a request to make you."
"If I can ... Tell me."
"I would ... come and live with you."
"How, please?"
"I want to live with you, in your home."
"For what reason?"
"Because I'm tired of living in a pigsty to be a slave to a failed drunk like my father ... I want to live with you, my mother, a successful woman who lives in a clean and luxurious apartment." The student stated.
The lawyer initially said nothing, merely staring at her daughter with a serious look. But then she assumed a benevolent expression and said:
"All right, you can come and stay with me."
"Are you serious?"
"Obvious. You are my daughter, a beautiful and strong girl, and you deserve to stay in a neat and tidy place, not in a dirty and fetid one; next to your father you will never have a future, on the contrary risks to become a nerd like him. "
"I'm really grateful!"
"I'll take your stuff, you wait here."
"Willingly."
Beika Police Station, 3.30pm
Rei and her mother Kiriko were just past the entrance of the building when they were approached by a man with short black hair wearing a pair of sunglasses, gray jacket and trousers, white shirt, red tie and black shoes.
"What are you doing here?" He asked them.
"Hello to you too, Dad, .. I have to see Takashi." The student replied.
"Why do you want to see it?"
"I have to ask him some questions."
"On the murder he committed?"
"Obvious."
"Rei, that's not the case."
"But why?"
"You're a student, not a detective, nor a cop. Don't get involved in business that doesn't concern you. "
"I just want to talk to him, not investigate. You have to think about that, you are a police inspector. "
"Our daughter is right, dear ... Let her meet him."
Tadashi thought about it, then said:
"All right, I'll take you to him."
"Thanks Dad."
"Follow me. Kiriko, you better come too. "
"Agree."
In his cell, Takashi was lying on the bench and staring down at the ceiling.
Damn it ... I feel useless to be locked up in this cell while Yuriko's killer is on the loose. If only you had killed him that night at least I would have avenged my woman, but unfortunately they stopped me before I could. Evidently luck is not on my side ...
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening; he turned and saw Rei, his ex-girlfriend, in the company of her parents. In seeing her, he was not a little surprised.
"What are you doing here?" He asked her.
"I'm glad to see you again, Komuro-kun ... I have to talk to you."
"About what?"
"Did you kill Yuriko?"
"No."
"Then who was it? And why were you at the estate? "
"The real culprit is Soichiro, and I was at the estate to save Yuriko. Unfortunately I failed in all my intent. "
"You defy fate, Takashi, to say crap like that. It can't be him. "Inspector Miyamoto intervened.
"Instead it is."
"Why would he kill his wife?"
"Because she cheated on him."
"With you?"
"Exact."
"One moment! You told me you loved Saya! "
"That was what I wanted you to believe. It was her mother who convinced me to get engaged to her so that we could meet in secret without arousing suspicion. "
Rei was silent, stunned by the revelation. Overcome the initial astonishment, she felt himself filled with anger and, furious, slapped him on the right cheek.
I would have bet on it…
He thought.
"But don't you feel even a little remorse? Not only did you break my heart, but you also tricked Saya to take her mother to bed! You are mean! "
"I had no other choice. It was the only way to continue our relationship without being caught. "
"You really are a bastard! You're worth nothing! You don't play with people's feelings! "
"One moment, Rei ... won't you really believe this guy's lies?"
"What do you mean, Dad?"
"I've known Yuriko since before you were born ... She was a faithful woman with a noble soul, she really loved her husband and never would have betrayed him. The same goes for Soichiro: he was a tough guy, of course, but not a murderer; he has always been a respectable man. "
"Your father is right, Rei ... Yuriko and I were high school mates, she was my best friend! We practically confided everything, there were no secrets between us. If he had had an affair with Takashi he would have told me about it. "Kiriko added.
"She couldn't trust anyone in that situation! You too, who are a dear friend of yours, would have disapproved of her relationship with me, perhaps by spying on her husband! It had to be a secret between her and me! It was the only way to prevent our relationship from being discovered! "The boy stated.
"If you have any evidence to support your version of events, I suggest you show them, otherwise shut up!"
"I have a text message on my phone. Yuriko sent it to me shortly before she died, telling me that her husband had discovered our affair and asking for my help. That's why I ran to the estate, but by the time I arrived it was already dead. "
"It is not a valid proof ... As far as I know that message could be a forgery created by you on the victim's cell phone, which you then sent to yours. Or maybe you forced her to write it and send it and then gut it. "
"I loved her! I could never hurt her! "
"These are just words, not proofs!"
"What if he said the truth?"
"He's lying, Rei! It was not enough to kill Yuriko in cold blood, now he also wants to frame an innocent! "
"Inspector Miyamoto! Mrs. Miyamoto! You have known me since I was a child! If you allowed me to hang out with your daughter, it's because you trusted me! I'm not a murderer! True, I wanted to kill Soichiro that night to avenge Yuriko, but I couldn't! "
"We thought we knew you ... Now come on, I don't want to hear this criminal anymore!"
That said the man left the room with his wife and daughter, and then closed the door.
They don't believe me ... They don't believe me!
He thought desperately.
"Dad?"
"What is it, Rei?"
"I was thinking ... What if Takashi telling the truth?"
"He's lying ... There is no evidence to support his story."
"There is no evidence even against his version."
"Assuming he told the truth this would mean that Yuriko was a liar and an adulterous woman, and that Soichiro is a dirty murderer." Tadashi said, trying to look cold and aloof.
In reality he was tormented by doubt: if Takashi had told the truth this made him feel bad because it meant that two of his friends, whom he had known for a long time and who he trusted blindly, had deceived him and if there was one thing he did not it was tolerant that someone concealed something from him; if instead Takashi was lying this made him feel even more ill, since he had known that boy for years, he considered him one of the family and that is why he had not objected when he and his daughter had got together. He thought he was a good young man, but he was very wrong: first he had left his daughter to go with Saya, then he was guilty of murder, killing Yuriko in cold blood who considered him like a son; he had also attempted to frame an innocent and tarnish the memory of the victim, inventing the story of the extramarital affair. He was deeply disappointed, even though he would never have admitted it. But what was the motive for the crime? This was the crucial question, which perhaps would never have been answered since Komuro continued to proclaim himself innocent.
Why did he kill Yuriko? Did you have a murderous raptus? Has she rejected his advances and avenged himself by killing her? He asked for a loan and she refused? Have they quarreled for other reasons?
He wondered, then shook his head.
But what does it matter at this point? All the evidence leads to him, it is clear as the sun that is guilty! Whether you confess or deny his crimes makes no difference, he will surely be condemned and executed. And it will be better this way.
He told himself.