Hyouka – The AfterStory
Project Collaboration by Commander Cody & Maria
Poison Plot Story Arc
EPISODE 04
Houtarou had drifted off into deep sleep. In his dream, he saw Eru, only she had lost consciousness and remained still, with her eyes and mouth closed. No; as the dream became more intense in his mind, it became clear that Eru was lifeless; most likely the result of a debilitating form of food poisoning. Perhaps that connection remained in Houtarou's mind, but as Houtarou was completely immersed in the dream, he simply let the situation unfold.
A heavy, ornate lid closed over Eru's body. The lid belonged to a coffin. Eru was going to be buried forever into the ground. Well, if Houtarou believed in the existence of an afterlife, Eru's soul would go to a happy place; at least there would be a place for such good people as Eru; people that, as Houtarou thought, were "too good for this sinful earth". And there was Houtarou himself, in the dream, present in the funeral, being given a tangible, yet painful reminder of the mortality of man; and even more painful, a reminder of a good friend he had lost; only that such friendship was blossoming into an intimate relationship, and that life, it seemed to him, was cruel enough to cut this relationship short on this earth.
So painful and nightmarish was this dream that the young man woke up, frightened and restless.
Houtarou lay himself back to bed, trying to sleep. But still he felt restless all over. So he got up from his bed, pacing around in deep thought. One could say it was his stress level. Somehow, something was prodding him to figure out how the food poisoning actually happened. Sometimes he asked himself why he felt that way. But he was in no position at this hour to figure it out. He tendered the idea as he pulled back the covers and tried to sleep.
Houtarou plowed through his daily routine on Monday morning. He had breakfast, got his briefcase, and biked all the way to Kamiyama Library, and locked his bike at a rack for bikes at the side of the building. After he entered the library and greeted one of the librarians on research duty, Houtarou settled outside the door of his office.
He was about to open the door when Sunohara Kanae stepped out of her office.
"Ah, ohayo gozaimasu, Oreki-san," the young woman greeted Houtarou with great enthusiasism.
"Ohayo gozaimasu, Sunohara-san," Houtarou returned the greeting.
"You look a bit down," Kanae said, observing the young man. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," said Houtarou. What he said was a lie, and he knew it.
"Indeed," said Kanae. Houtarou could not tell whether she affirmed his reply, or said it in a way that made her think he was not telling the truth, though the latter seemed more likely.
"I was just…in the middle of thought," said Houtarou. "I nearly…lost a friend of mine, and it still preoccupies my mind. A…girlfriend."
"Oh…" Kanae's voice held much sympathy. "I am so sorry, Oreki -san. How is she?"
"I think she's recovering," said Houtarou.
"Thinking is good," said Kanae. "Well, let me know if you need something."
"Definitely," said Houtarou, as he unlocked his office. Per part of the procedure, he left his office door open, in case someone needed help. In the meantime, Houtarou would use his moment of settlement to ponder the problem.
He recalled observing what seemed to be Chitanda Hiromi taking a taste of the onigiri. Houtarou was hardly expecting anything out of the ordinary to happen after that, so whatever he observed was only casual. But he did see Eru take a taste of the onigiri; that he could confirm in his mind. And the sickness happened so soon; too soon, and suddenly, in fact that the tasting of the onigiri and the debilitating fits of coughing could hardly be written off as mere coincidences. Besides, the sickness happened with both Eru and her mother.
Bridging the connection between the onigiri and the coughing fits helped Houtarou in stumbling upon an idea: the rice in the Chitanda family storehouse ought to be examined for chemicals that induced this sickness. But even this idea raised another question: Who tainted the rice that was to be shipped to the Chitanda family? Houtarou dreaded the thought; to even have a higher chance of affecting many members of the family, the entire rice supply had to be tainted with some kind of poison. Did Chitanda Tetsugo know that the rice was tainted? Yes, but with what?
Now Houtarou was worried. He had to call Chitanda Tetsugo right away. So he made the call.
Luckily for him, Chitanda Tetsugo was available to answer his phone.
"Chitanda-san? Oreki Houtarou desu," he said right away.
"Ah, Oreki -san," Chitanda Tetsugo said over the phone. "Are you all right?"
"Hai," said Houtarou. "Chitanda-san…there is something I must tell you."
"Nande desu ka?" asked Tetsugo.
"That rice that you ordered? It is tainted."
"The rice…oh…tainted, you mean? With what?"
"Some kind of poison that sent Eru and her mother into debilitating coughing fits. And judging by the seriousness of such sickness…it looks like what that almost killed them."
"By the kami…" Tetsugo muttered. His voice was shaking.
"Don't eat that rice!" cried Houtarou.
"Now that you've warned be about it, I won't," Tetsugo promised. "You know…Oreki-san…I think we were experiencing shipping problems…"
"Eru did tell me about them," said Houtarou.
"Ah…so you are aware of that problem by now," said Tetsugo. "But Oreki-san…having shipping problems and having tainted white rice are two different things."
"I think, Chitanda-san…that they both could be connected," Houtarou surmised. "Leading to the likelihood of your entire storehouse of white rice sabotaged. I need to visit the storehouse tonight," he said. "To get samples of the rice."
"Samples?" asked Tetsugo curiously. "What will you do with them?"
"I'm not sure," said Houtarou. "But I can ask my superiors. Maybe they will have something. But I must collect samples."
Chitanda Tetsugo knew full well that Houtarou was no chemical specialist. Nevertheless, Tetsugo decided to let Houtarou try to solve the case. He was eager to do it, after all; no doubt spurred on by thoughts about Eru.
"Very well," said Tetsugo. "What time will I expect you?"
Houtarou checked his schedule. His shift was not done until twenty hundred hours; a bit late to make a house visit. But if he hoped to get rice samples soon, it would have to be in that time frame.
"The soonest I can leave is after twenty hundred hours," said Houtarou. "I apologize if it is a bit late, but…"
"Never mind about that," said Tetsugo. "The sooner you can obtain those samples, the better."
"Oh…Chitanda-san…how is Eru?" asked Houtarou.
"She is still recovering at the hospital," said Chitanda Tetsugo. "Other than that…"
Houtarou hung his head. He was hoping he could tell Eru what idea he had stumbled upon, but if Eru was still resting, it was better for her not to be inflicted with great anxiety to help speed her recovery.
"Perhaps I'll learn more when I pay a visit to your house," said Houtarou.
"Right," said Tetsugo. "I'll let you work then."
Houtarou heard a click on the phone. He put the receiver back on the phone. Then he stepped out of his office to see Sunohara Kanae.
He saw that Kanae's office was closed. Usually Sunohara Kanae kept her office door open whenever she was inside her office.
He decided to visit the office of Yamada-sensei. He saw that his office was opened.
"Yamada-sensei," Houtarou called. Stirred from his work, the old man turned around.
"Oreki-san?" he answered.
"Would…would you know where Sunohara-sensei is?"
"Hmm…wouln't she be in her office?" Yamada asked.
"I don't think so," said Houtarou. "Her office door is closed."
"Hmm…probably some personal business," Yamada mused. "She informed me about it. She will not be back until sometime around ten-hundred hours."
Houtarou glanced at his watch; that time would be three hours from now. For Houtarou desperate to solve a mystery of attempted murder, it was too long to wait. But he had to keep the entire matter discreet. He decided to go back to his office; he would work as he passed the time.
Houtarou was in the middle of library research when his phone rang. He picked up the phone.
"Oreki Houtarou desu."
"Oreki -san?" It was Sunohara Kanae.
"Ah…," Houtarou became genuinely surprised. Three hours had not even passed yet, and it was already to hours.
"Ano…I wasn't expecting your arrival until the next hour," he said.
"My personal business didn't take long," said Kanae. "Have you decided to call in a favor?"
"Hai," said Houtarou. "Would you know of any science labs in Kamiyama?" he asked.
"Ano…I think I know of one. Chotto…"
Houtarou waited for Kanae's answer as patiently as he could. Deep down he to have gratitude that Kanae was so willing and gracious to help him, even if the possibility remained that she would be limited in the help that Kanae could give.
"I have something," said Kanae. "Kobayashi Lab. You'll have to schedule an appointment, though."
"An appointment?" asked Houtarou.
"Hai," said Kanae. For Eru's sake, an extra inconvenient hoop in the bureaucracy would not discourage Houtarou. "What are their opening and closing times?" asked Houtarou. He might as well ask his supervisor, to save himself some trouble finding out later.
"Seven to twenty-two hundred hours," said Kanae. "Some of the staff work over time, if necessary. One of the mid-level staff is assigned to a client. However, some of them leave a little earlier when their shift is done."
"Oh," said Houtarou.
"And your shift is not done until twenty hundred hours."
Houtarou would have to fill in a time card with Yamada. He would prefer not to do that, seeing that his record of early leaves could accumulate to the point where his employer would soon question his dedication to the Kamiyama Library. Not only that, too many early leaves could be a reflection of a lack of courtesy and loyalty to his employer.
He would first try with leaving after his shift was over. But if push came to shove, if he was unsuccessful with his first attempt, he would take early leave.
"Arigatou gozaimasu," said Houtarou. "I'll first inquire about an appointment at the lab."
"Good luck," said Sunohara.
Houtarou heard a click. Phone in hand, he dialed a number for Kobayashi Lab.
"Kobayashi Lab," came the voice of a lady over the phone.
Houtarou introduced himself. "I have some…biological samples that need scientific investigation," he said. "As I see it, I have to schedule an appointment. Right?"
"Right," Kanae affirmed.
"What is the soonest appointment I can schedule?" Houtarou inquired.
"Tuesday, which is tomorrow," Kanae answered.
Houtarou, however, held a desperate hope over seeking an appointment on the present day so he could get one more task out of the way. But an appointment tomorrow was better than no appointment at all.
"Can a later appointment be scheduled?" Houtarou pressed further. "Like…twenty-one hundred hours?" He checked his watch. That time would be close to three hours before midnight.
"That can be arranged," said Kanae. "However, some of our lab specialists leave early. If you're looking for someone specific…"
"Someone who can analyze biological samples and draw conclusions from them," said Houtarou. "Someone familiar with…crops."
"We have Miyagawa Yoshino-san, a specialist in the agricultural field. He can avail himself at twenty-one hundred hours sharp."
The following evening, Houtarou arrived at the Chitanda residence. Seeing that he had nowhere else to park his bike, he parked it near the door.
He knocked on the door. There was no immediate answer. Houtarou remembered that Eru and her mother were at the Rengou Hospital, so the only person available at home would be Chitanda Tetsugo.
Soon the door opened, revealing Chitanda Tetsugo.
"Konbanwa, Chitanda-san," Houtarou greeted him. "I'm here to check the storeroom."
"Have you brought something to contain the rice?" asked Tetsugo.
Houtarou stopped. He had forgotten to bring any containers.
"Daijoubou. I'll fetch some bento boxes," Tetsugo said quietly before heading into the kitchen.
Houtarou was left to ponder over this mystery he now had in his hands; a mystery he would willingly take the time to solve. He revisited the terrifying possibility of poisoning that he entertained during his nightmarish dream of a lifeless Eru. If he hardly had time to think about it in his sleep, he would revisit them in his mind, seeing that he had little to do while Tetsugo fetched the bento boxes. That possibility involved someone intentionally tainting the rice with some kind of poison.
That possibility was the only one that could ever make sense, as the sickness was so sudden it had to be devised by artificial means. But what kind of food poisoning? Only he would find out through an examination of a laboratory's results. As for motive, why try to poison the Chitanda family? Would it be the entire family, or just Eru? But if Eru some kind of target of opportunity, why her? He remembered Satoshi telling him that the Chitanda family was one of four influential families in Kamiyama City, so the possibility could hardly be ruled out.
As much as the question of motive had importance in Houtarou's mind, the question was moot, for now, as the means of bringing this kind of food poisoning into the Chitanda family's rice supply was yet to be determined. Otherwise, the sickness would just be coincidental to everyone, even if Houtarou thought otherwise. Having laboratory results of the rice samples in hand would aid in making some kind of certifiable declaration that someone was after Eru's life.
Chitanda Tetsugo returned with two plastic bento containers. "This one," he said, pointing to the elaborate box, "Eru used when she was in high school. Perhaps you should use that instead."
Houtarou nodded. "But why this particular one?" he asked, curious that Tetsugo would even make that kind of suggestion.
"It makes you more emotionally invested in her," said Tetsugo.
Houtarou knew Tetsugo was right. Just seeing a something that would remind him of Eru would be enough to keep him going.
Then he remembered: One box would not be enough. If he could, he wanted to take samples from other rice bags.
"I'll need to use the other bento box," said Houtarou. "I need to take as many samples from each rice bag, if possible."
"Of course," Tetsugo agreed.
"Do you have other bags?"
"We have…plastic wrapping," said Tetsugo.
Houtarou figured he would have to craft some kind of makeshift sack from plastic wrappers.
"I'll use it," said Houtarou, taking the plastic wrappers.
Tetsugo went back to the kitchen. It was not long before he returned with a large role of plastic wrapping.
"Let's head to the storeroom," said Tetsugo.
Chitanda Tetsugo led Houtarou to the storeroom; the same room that he and Eru had visited. Visiting the storeroom was like going on some sort of memory trip. The more I remember, the more I seem to grow fond of Eru, Houtarou thought. It seems near tragedy forces a person to put priority on the people that matter the most. Maybe I am growing to like her more; even as a friend to her. So bitter was the irony that it seemed to spur him to ask more questions, as it started to make him determined to ask more questions in order that he could get to the bottom of this mystery.
"I'll need to open all the rice bags and get a sample from each of them," said Houtarou. "Will that be all right?"
"Hai," said Tetsugo. "Do anything you must to solve this problem."
"I'll need more information, though," said Houtarou. "Information about the rice shipments."
"I have some…recent invoices for the purchase orders," said Tetsugo. "I'll make copies."
"Any information you have on hand will be of great use," said Houtarou. He found himself uttering those words, as if somehow he was confident that he would get to the bottom of this elusive and terrifying mystery.
For starters he opened every bag of rice he could get his hands on. He had the idea of using the plastic wrapping as makeshift sacks to hold each sample of rice. He unraveled one square of wrapping, using the box's cutter, before taking a handful of rice and wrapping the rice with the plastic wrap, tying a knot. He did the same thing with each bag of rice. The task was getting tedious, but the more samples he could take, the better chances he had of proving, hopefully beyond coincidence, that someone, somehow, was after the Chitanda family, particularly Eru.
Tetsugo returned to the storeroom. "I have made copies of the most recent invoices. I sent them to your email; the same one you used during your university years."
"That's all right," said Houtarou. "I'm still using it, anyway."
"If you are unable to access these emails, give me a call, or send an email to me, and I will resend them. And if push comes to shove, I'll go to the copier and have them make copies."
"I'll use the email first," said Houtarou.
Houtarou brought the rice samples back home. Upon his inquiries of his sister Tomoe over the samples he brought home with him, Houtarou only answered that it was rice he wanted to look at, which prompted Tomoe to wonder whether what her brother received was indeed a gift from the Chitanda family. Houtarou affirmed that what he received was indeed a gift, even if the situation was otherwise, as he was hardly in the mood to divulge so many details. Either such divulging be a drain on his personal energy, or such divulging would raise too many alarming questions that could end up becoming some kind of gossip source that would bring too much unnecessary attention to the Chitanda family.
Houtarou logged into his computer and accesses the scanned invoices on his electronic mail. In typical business format, invoices held the quantity of merchandise ordered, the prices, applied sales taxes, order numbers, and the date of purchase. The last piece of information, the date of purchase, captured Houtarou's attention, as knowing the times that Chitanda Tetsugo placed his rice orders could convey an important insight into any irregular patterns of rice shipping.
On his computer screen, Houtarou lined up the invoices by date, and had the idea of counting the days between each of these recent invoices. He felt, however, that if he performed this meticulous computation, his tedious labors would be for nothing; so he decided a rough estimate of days between invoices should suffice. After noting the various lengths of days between invoices, the young man came up with a discovery that glued his attention to the screen:
The invoices were dated a few weeks.
Houtarou shifted to the last, most recent invoice. Chitanda Tetsugo placed orders for large quantities of rice; on average, he placed orders on a weekly schedule. The last invoice caught Houtarou's attention. If Tetsugo's frequency of rice orders was weekly, then this pattern of stretching weeks between the most recent invoice dates was indeed bizarre.
Whoever tried to slip the poison to the Chitanda family somehow had access to information on the family's regular shipping schedule.
Houtarou's bizarre revelation meant two possibilities: Either Nakahama Industries had an employee who had some kind of grudge against the Chitanda family, or was hired by someone else, or someone somehow had snuck into Nakahama Industries to carry out this nefarious plot, employee of the company, or not. Either way, Houtarou could not help himself from becoming fearful over what could happen to the Chitanda family next.
The next day Houtarou went through his routine again. Sometimes a patron would request assistance to find specific research material, and Houtarou would lend whatever expertise he could.
Houtarou decided it was time to inform Yamada about his visit to the Kamiyama Lab. So he paid a visit to the Head Librarian's office.
"I need to take an early leave," said Houtarou. "I have a visit to the Kamiyama Lab I need to make."
"I see," said Yamada. "Is it related to research? You're hardly one for the hard sciences."
"I have a…personal investigation of mine…to make," said Houtarou. "It's related to…family business."
"Yours?" asked Yamada.
"No," said Houtarou. "The Chitanda family."
"I am acquainted a little with Chitanda-san," said Yamada, referring to Chitanda Tetsugo, in the hope that his reference would warm Houtarou a little. But even Houtarou had difficulty trusting even his employer. He could hardly be blamed; he was still getting acquainted with Yamada.
"What is your purpose of visiting the lab?" asked Yamada.
"I have rice samples that need investigation," said Houtarou.
"For…?"
"Well, to see if it is all right," said Tetsugo.
"But the company who ships Chitanda-san's rice supplies would make that assessment," said Yamada. "For you to visit the Lab indicates something…irregular…is up."
"It is," said Houtarou.
Yamada slumped back in his chair. "Well, even with Library employees, it would be a bit…intrusive…to pry into personal business," said Yamada.
Houtarou breathed a sigh of relief that Yamada did not press the matter further.
"You'll have to fill out a form of absence, just out of procedure," said Yamada. "I had to keep up with government politics in Tokyo City."
"Chotto…government policies?" asked a curious Houtarou.
"Due to high levels of stress undergone by many employees, the Labour Ministry is considering whether to increase the number of hours early an employer can leave from work," said Yamada. "Due to the dangers of karooshi."
Houtarou almost thought his superior was reciting a law book. Yet the young man became intrigued over the knowledge that seemed new to him; he never bothered to check up on government politics. The consideration made perfect sense, as far as Houtarou could tell. Karooshi, a term meaning "death from overwork", had the potential to plague a workplace like an angel of death. Employees suffering from inordinately high levels of stress became susceptible to heart attack, or stroke. Considering the plight of some employees who worked so hard to make ends meet and maintain face, Houtarou considered himself fortunate that his work hours were reasonable.
Houtarou printed out the invoices from his computer, from a small printer attached to his computer.
Soon after that, he ambled to the parking area that held his bike, where he put his bike. Removing his security measures, he got on his bike.
He entered the locality of Kamiyama City. There at the corner of a street, stood a koban, where a lone policeman sat at a desk, on duty, ready for anything.
"Gomen kudasai," Houtarou greeted the policeman. The policeman turned his attention to Houtarou.
"I'm looking for directions to Kobayashi Lab," said Houtarou. "Would you have any directions?"
Setting aside his soft drink, the policeman took out a map, and traced his current location all the way to the city's local laboratory. Houtarou would have to travel at least four long blocks from where he was, to the lab.
"Arigatou gozaimasu," said Houtarou, making a courteous bow.
Houtarou traveled in the direction prescribed, availing himself to one available shoulder of the asphalt road designated for bicycles. The multitude of apartments, small shops, and old residential homes, bathed in the fading rays of light from the sunset, lay in some half-way tidy layout, surrounded by electric poles and electric lines. The electric poles were probably later additions to the town; a modern addition to a town that had gone back to the 1900s; possibly way beyond that time, maybe to the 1800s, given the presence of some buildings that seemed old yet elegant than their modern counterparts.
Finally the young man arrived at Kobayashi Lab. He beheld the brick exterior, with windows lined up in four, perfect, horizontal rows, with brick aprons at the bottom of each window. Yet there was a plainness to the building that only could make Houtarou exhale without being awed much about the size of the building.
Finding nothing else to admire about the building, he walked inside. The atrium is wide, but modest in size, about the size of an atrium in a Japanese palace. The ceiling was flat; hanging fluorescent ceiling lamps had been a later addition to a building that had used incandescent bulbs.
He approached the receptionist, who seemed to be a young woman much older than Houtarou himself.
"Gomen kudasai," Houtarou greeted. The receptionist looked up.
"I have rice samples that I want Kobayashi Lab to look over," said Houtarou. "I made an appointment with someone named…Miyagawa Yoshino-san."
"Of course," said the receptionist, dazed even a little. "I'll call him right away."
Seeing little point in standing around when the assigned lab researcher would be long in coming, Houtarou decided to have a seat at a fabric couch near the corner of the atrium facing the receptionist's desk. To his knowledge he had never come across, much less visited any place, aside from Chitanda Eru's house, that had wide open space. He let his eyes stare into the wide open space; never at one particular piece of decoration, or lamp, or the receptionist's desk.
A man donned in a suit and tie presented himself. "Miyagawa Yoshino desu," he introduced himself, as both he and Houtarou exchanged courteous bows.
Houtarou woke up from his dazing. He straightened his clothes before he bowed. "Watashi wa Oreki Houtarou desu," he answered, introducing himself in a formal way.
The man in the suit keenly observed Houtarou. "Daijoubou?" he inquired.
"Hai," Houtarou responded simply.
"Anyway…you said you have a sample of white rice you want examined?" asked Yoshino.
"Hai," said Houtarou. "I also need to be present during the examination."
"That is hardly necessary," said Yoshino. "We take great care of our specimens. We can send you the results after examination."
"Nevertheless," said Houtarou. "I need to see the examinations up close and personal."
Yoshino studied Houtarou's face; a face which at this point meant business. "What are your reasons for examining these rice samples?" he asked, sensing that Houtarou was up to something serious.
"I need this sample examined to see if this rice was tainted by some kind of poison," said Houtarou.
"Poison?" Yoshino's face became rather quizzical and perplexed. "Where is this sample from?"
"From a rice storage belonging to an acquaintance of mine," said Houtarou. He was not so keen on mentioning the specifics of the Chitanda family's shipment problems.
"Is this acquaintance of yours doing experiments involving white rice?" asked Yoshino.
"Iie," said Houtarou.
Yoshino was still perplexed about the strangeness of the situation. He sensed that the information Houtarou was giving him was incomplete; intentionally so. Nevertheless he was commissioned to perform a scientific investigation, so it was a job he would not refused.
"If you will follow me," said Yoshino, as he walked across the atrium to one of two elevators, with Houtarou accompanying him. Yoshino led Houtarou to the elevator on the right. The man in the suit pushed a button, and after thirty seconds the elevator doors slid open. As was the courtesy from a host to a guest, Yoshino allowed Houtarou to step inside the elevator, to which Houtarou conveyed his gratitude.
Yoshino pushed a button leading to the fourth floor. The elevator doors slid closed, and the elevator began its lift.
"Your case is indeed strange," Yoshino remarked. "Poisoning? In a rice storage? Either your acquaintance is doing some weird science experiments involving poisoned rice, or…your acquaintance is the victim of some kind of murder plot."
Houtarou said nothing, wishing to keep the matter discreet, until Yoshino posed the next question. "Well, Oreki-san, which scenario is the more likely?"
"I'm not sure," said Houtarou. Of course, Houtarou suspected the latter, but he was not about to give any specifics on the case.
"Either way, that acquaintance…of yours…is in deep trouble," said Yoshino. "He probably is a bad influence on you."
Houtarou decided to brush off this accusation, as telling Yoshino the latter would bring the Chitanda family into greater scrutiny. "All the more why I would like some possible closure in this matter," said Houtarou.
Yoshino heaved a sigh. There was a loud "DING", and the elevator doors led open. Yoshino allowed Houtarou to step off the elevator before he did.
"It seems to me," Yoshino continued to speak to Houtarou, "That even on those two possibilities, the tests may be…inconclusive…in this matter," he said. "Either this sample of white rice is poisoned…or it is not. If the tests determine that this rice sample is tainted…well…" he looked back at Houtarou. "Only you can make the conclusion for yourself, Oreki-san. I can't."
"Why me?" asked Houtarou, feigning curiosity.
"Because…I'm beginning to suspect that you know more about this strange case of yours than what you're telling me," said Yoshino.
Houtarou took a deep breath. Yoshino was not that naïve a man. "Well," said Houtarou, "Let's just say that this acquaintance of mine wishes me to keep the matter discreet," he said. Though he did not say it, his reasons also included not wishing to burden Yoshino with things not directly relevant to the chemical testing.
Yoshino directed the young man to a lab room. "Here we are," he said. "I must acquire a lab coat for you," he said "Wait here."
The contents in the biological lab room were highly controlled. Chemicals that Houtarou found strange and foreign to his senses of sight and smell lay in narrow-necked flasks, stacked neatly on the edges of workspaces. The lab reminded Houtarou a bit of the chemical laboratory he had seen at Kamiyama High, except this work was more academic than elementary. An added difference to the lab was the presence of live rats and mice, used for testing chemicals and simulated psychological behavior.
Personnel in lab coats carefully extracted rats and mice from their meticulously labeled cages, strategically placing them in simulated environments sometimes fed them food tainted with chemicals in question to test their reactions. Yoshino came back in a lab coat, and bringing an extra one for Houtarou. Houtarou donned on the lab overcoat coat. Looking at himself, he felt like he was in a long graduation robe.
When he had finished completely butting himself from head to toe, Houtarou man accompanied Yoshino as he made his way to a lab workspace with a large glass box intended for testing mice and rats.
"The samples, please," said Yoshino.
"How many bags?" asked Houtarou.
"Let's go with three," Yoshino proposed.
Houtarou opened the bento box containing the white rice bags and handed them carefully to Yoshino, who then summoned an assistant carrying four lab rats held in a glass cube. "We have several samples to test," said Houtarou.
"And we don't have that many lab rats to waste," said Yoshino drily. "For all we know, this could be some kind of chemical that induces sickness in the mammalian species." The young specialist looked at the rice. The rice was hard, as it was uncooked. "Oh, and can you fetch some hot water?" he asked the assistant. "We need to soak the rice grains," said Yoshino, turning to Houtarou.
The lab assistant returned with a mug of steaming hot water. Yoshino took the rice grains, pouring them into water. The rice grains softened, then Yoshino took the plastic, then, using a lid, poured the water into another container. Then using a sterilized spoon, he siphoned the rice one, one spoonful at a time, into the plastic.
When Yoshino siphoned all the softened rice out of the mug, he lowered the plastic with the softened rice into the large glass cube. Turning his attention to the live rats, he began lowering their cage into the large cube, and released the door of the cage.
Immediately the rats scampered out of the cage in a race to go after the rice. Eager to feast on free food, they immediately indulged their appetites. No sooner had they began shoving a morsel of food into their restless mouths did they begin to feel nauseated. The rats began coughing, experiencing terrible spasms in their abdomens before falling over, and others falling on their backs, each one of them losing all vitality.
"It is…some kind of poison," Yoshino concluded. Not often did he ever encounter rats becoming sick with such sudden speed.
"That figures," said Houtarou, who seemed hardly surprised, much to Yoshino's amazement.
"You mean…you know about this?" asked Yoshino.
"I had suspected a poison plot," said Houtarou. "But I wanted to confirm the poisoning for myself."
The rats had become overtaken with illness that left them still, almost lifeless. "I'll run a few more tests to confirm this hypothesis," said Yoshino.
"Which would use up more lab rats?" asked Houtarou.
"Hai," said Yoshino. "This is a strange situation we are seeing." Having completely carried away with this new strain of illness, he hardly hesitated with using at least five more animals.
Yoshino mulled over his statistical checklist before snapping shut his manila folder. "We'll send the reports to you by tomorrow," He said. "Where shall we send them?"
"To my office," said Houtarou.
"The way things look, Oreki-san, wouldn't you want to keep things discreet?" Yoshino asked.
"I would like to examine the results during my break," said Houtarou. "I'll just tell the inquiring minds that I am dealing with researching a strange scientific experiment."
Houtarou was in the middle of work when he heard his name called.
"Oreki-san?"
Houtarou turned around. Sunohara Kanae was standing at the doorway, with a large package.
"This package came in the mail," she said. "Here it is." She put the package on Houtarou's desk.
"Arigatou gozaimasu, Sunohara-san," said Houtarou in a courteous maner, before Kanae left the office.
Houtarou figured that the package would contain the results from Kamiyama's local laboratory, and on account of that, he felt overwhelmed with curiosity that he almost felt himself utter watashi kininarimasu, a catchphrase Eru always used whenever she felt aroused by curiosity.
He opened the package. Sure enough, it was as he had suspected: Lab results from yesterday's experiments with rats. He scanned the sheets, trying to get a sneak preview of where the results led. The results were formatted in statistical sheets, and summarized in a separate sheet of paper. The summary confirmed what Houtarou had feared: a poisoning attempt against the Chitanda family.
But too many questions arose. Who did the poisoning, and why? Houtarou felt anxious, particularly for Eru. He remained hesitant to turn a new leaf when friendship would evolve into something more intimate; this transformation would upset the planned policy of having fewer complications in his life that would consume a greater portion of his energy.
But he was dealing with Eru. A young woman he was beginning to admire, probably on the verge of touching his heart, so consumed by rationalistic ways. If he wanted nothing to do with this situation, he had only not to give a care in the world about Eru at all. And yet he found himself unable to brush her out of his mind.
He was worried. Would the poisoner strike again? But more importantly, would Houtarou be able to put himself one step ahead of his adversary?
He tried to concentrate, but couldn't. He needed a break. He checked his watch. The time for break had not yet arrived. Nevertheless, he needed to review these sheets to get more insight. Houtarou still had work to do, and it would not bode well for him to use company time to do activities outside of work.
He figured it was time for a brief break. And it was an excuse to get a cup of tea. So he made his way downstairs to the lounge.
Houtarou sat at the table near the end of the lounge, with a cup of tea, and a bento box given by his sister.
He opened the package, laying out the sheets and summary on the lounge table, and began scanning the statistical results. After some mulling, some kind of pattern stood out to the young man. There seemed to be no coincidence about the food poisoning. Many of the lab rats fell ill as they devoured each rice sample.
Strangely, none of them died. Perhaps it was a failed poisoning attempt. If that was the case, why? A way to cruelly disrupt Eru's idyllic family life? Why her family in particular?
Houtarou scanned the lab results again. A kind of poisoning that nearly killed the lab rats, but they had not died? If this kind of poison was supposed to have a debilitating effect on mammalian life, it should have killed the rats. But how were the rats alive?
How, indeed, was all these things made possible?
He gave the professional summary of the results another glance. Some kind of antidote that Houtarou could hardly pronounce, but it kept the rats alive, nonetheless.
It was time for Houtarou to get back to work. Houtarou would show the results to Satoshi and Mayaka. Maybe they could come up with some plausible opinion for these things.
He decided to call Chitanda Tetsugo.
"Chitanda-san," Houtarou greeted. "How are you?"
"Apprehensive, as usual," said Tetugo. "With a wife and daughter still ill…you hardly get any rest. At least on my end."
"I see," said Houtarou. He almost felt the same way as Tetsugo. "Chitanda-san…we were hoping we could visit Eru, too."
"Eru is still recovering," said Tetsugo. "And Hiromi. But she's getting better, so she's at home now. Eru wanted to be at home, anyway. We arranged for an early patient discharge. But…what are you planning to tell Eru?"
"It has to do with investigating the poisoning," said Houtarou. "I even need to know what Eru was administered that kept her on the way to recovery." He hardly expected Tetsugo to know the details. Even Tetsugo himself was too distraught to recall even small details.
"Oh…Chitanda-san," Houtarou wanted to say. "If Eru is able to…she might want to join us. She might have an opinion about these lab results, too."
"Hmm…now that you mentioned it…maybe it would do some good for Eru if you could visit her. If she's able to…" said a faltering Tetsugo.
The following evening, Houtarou arrived at the Chitanda residence. Upon exchanging the usual greetings, Chitanda Tetsugo let Houtarou inside.
"Eru is slightly awake," said Tetsugo. "She has yet to recover, but…she's…on the mend. Hiromi, however, is asleep."
Outside Eru's bedroom, he found Satoshi and Mayaka in the middle of a heated argument.
"Fuku-chan, you never bothered to call me yesterday!" the young woman scolded Satoshi. "I was just about ready to go to my favorite restaurant in the Ginza district with you!"
"Well…" Satoshi stammered, embarrassed. "I nearly forgot. You see…"
"You never bothered to even call me!" Mayaka interrupted Satoshi. She seemed to give no quarter to the young man's excuses. From what Houtarou could pick up from the exchange, Satoshi's excuses seemed to be lame; unable to stand up to Mayaka's strong, rebuking scrutiny. Clearly whatever accusations Mayaka was hurling against Satoshi had something to do with Satoshi's character, and its effect on his relationship with Mayaka herself. That is, if there was to be any kind of growing progress in the relationship at all. And it seemed clear from Mayaka's behavior that she felt exasperated, perhaps hurt by whatever Satoshi intentionally or inadvertently did to Mayaka.
Yet it was hardly the time to bicker, given that Eru was ill. It seemed that their focus was out of priority with finding a way to help Eru sleep. He stood in front of the two, hands in the pockets of his dress slacks.
Mayaka shifted glances around the hall when she suddenly saw Houtarou standing in front of both her and Satoshi. Upon seeing Houtarou, they stopped their arguments, as Houtarou's face became stern.
"Eru is bedridden with food poisoning, and you two have the nerve to bicker like a married couple that rivals a typical reality show," said Houtarou.
Mayaka, upon seeing Satoshi, suddenly had the urge to slap him in the face. How dare this young man trivialize an event she felt hurt! But she held back, wincing her eyes.
"Maya-chan," Satoshi said rather casually. "Perhaps you should take a break."
Mayaka's face began to redden. Deep down, she felt upset toward Houtarou for trivializing her personal problems. She felt hurt. Satoshi became surprised over the effect.
"O-re-ki!" Mayaka seethed. "I'm going to give you a beating you'll never forget!"
Mayaka lunged at Houtarou. Houtarou simply stood his ground.
Deep down, he regretted saying what he said, for it hit a nerve in Mayaka.
But Houtarou felt obliged to have Mayaka avoid losing perspective.
"Ibara-san…Eru…is ill," said Houtarou.
Immediately Mayaka stopped herself in her track. "Ch…Chii-ch-chan?" She almost lost perspective. How could she allow her preoccupation with Satoshi's failure to do her a favor to absorb her mind, at the expense of regarding her friend's welfare?
Then a thought came to her about the way Houtarou addressed Mayaka, which made her stare at him, as if he was doing something out of the ordinary. When Houtarou addressed Eru without an honorific, it implied a relationship more intimately close beyond that of casual friendship.
"Are you in love…with her?" she asked, using a word connected with a desire for intimate companionship.
Chitanda Tetsugo emerged the hospital room where his wife was recovering. "What's going on?" he inquired.
Both Satoshi and Mayaka faced the head of his household. Mayaka felt especially nervous for causing so much commotion. "Ano…gomen gozaimasu, Chitanda-san."
Satoshi said the same thing as he made a bow, following Mayaka's lead. Chitanda Tetsugo made a courteous bow in turn.
"Eru is on the way to recovery, but please take it easy on her," said Tetsugo.
Houtarou, Satoshi, and Mayaka stepped inside. Eru sat up on her bed, with the lower area of her body covered in a thick layer of elegant blankets. Her face had a smile of hope; the smile she kept up for the sake of her friends, just to inspire them never to lose heart, even if her eyes seemed to communicate the opposite of what her face was trying to project in front of her friends. Maybe because she was still ill at the moment.
But Mayaka felt as if she is on the verge of tears; something that Eru was keen to notice. "Maya-chan…daijoubu desu ka?" she asked her friend.
Eru offered Mayaka some tissues, in the manner befitting a hostess of the house. Mayaka took some tissue paper to dry her eyes. Houtarou could hardly help himself from admiring how Eru, even in spite of her illness, took the time to console Mayaka. How does Eru do that? He asked himself.
"Whenever you're ready," said Houtarou. "I have disturbing revelations to tell."
"Give us a few minutes, Houtarou-kun," Eru told the young man. "Maya-chan is not in her best mood right now."
Houtarou sighed. Satoshi came up beside Houtarou. "Now, Houtarou, that is just how girls handle their emotional moments," said Satoshi. "Chitanda-san nearly died, remember? Mayaka is just filled with relief that she is alive."
Houtarou said nothing. Satoshi was right in forcing his friend to consider that particular perspective.
When some several minutes had passed, Houtarou related all he could remember about the statistical results among Satoshi, Mayaka, and Eru; particularly Eru, to whom the poison plot concerned her and her family.
"So," Satoshi began, "The lab rats fell ill to a particular poison, but the poison never killed them? That is such a strange phenomenon I have ever heard of."
"Hai," Eru agreed. "But why would someone want to use that kind of poison against me and my family?"
"Why, indeed," Satoshi mused. "Could it be that someone wanted to play a mean prank on Chitanda-san?"
Houtarou shook his head, feeling a bit irritated that his friend would postulate a theory so out of proportion to the gravity of the plot. "It is pretty unlikely that anyone would go to that much trouble just to play a prank on the Chitanda family," he said. "Or Eru, in particular." Turning to Satoshi, he asked him, "You said she nearly died, right? If anything, such an act against her is criminal."
"I recall I did," said Satoshi, feeling disappointed that his friend was hardly returning some kind of witty retort that showed he had a sense of humor.
"Ano…" Eru tried to interject. "I felt very ill, but I seemed hardly on the way to death."
"So something saved you then," Satoshi speculated. "Some kind of…medicine."
Houtarou felt surprised that somehow Satoshi seemed to come to the same conclusion as his friend did, and Houtarou's look of surprise made Satoshi's face brighten with glee. "Ah, Houtarou, you were surprised. You came to the same conclusion, too."
"You…you did," said Houtarou, stammering; something he hardly did often.
"Oreki -san is stammering," Mayaka observed. "He hardly does that."
"That's the human side of Houtarou-kun," said Eru.
"Really?" asked Mayaka. "You mean Oreki-san was such a robot?"
In the meantime, Satoshi was scanning the official lab report, which, upon further study, seemed to support both his and his friend's conclusion, especially the summary about the antidote which Houtarou pointed out to his friends. Then a thought occurred in Houtarou's mind. Maybe what was keeping the rats alive could be the same thing that kept Eru alive…and well on the way to recovery. He was so anxious to check for sure.
"Satoshi, can you hand me back the report?" Satoshi obliged as he gave the papers back to Houtarou, as Houtarou turned his attention to Eru. "Eru, take a closer look at the lab report. There was some kind of chemical; I can't pronounce its name. Whatever it was, it kept you and your mother alive."
"Huh?" asked Mayaka. "That…that sounds too easy! Why…why would…"
"I'm just fortunate that I am recovering," said Eru, as she scanned the report. "Ahh…sou desu ne. "It was a similar antidote administered to okaasan and me."
"Similar?" asked Mayaka in a curious way.
"Another version of the medicine…given to me and okaasan," said Eru.
Houtarou hardly knew how it work. Nevertheless, there was another question to consider, which he decided to convey to help Satoshi, Mayaka, and Eru think more on the matter.
"The next question: how the poison got into the rice that Chitanda Tetsugo-san had ordered."
Houtarou gave physical copies of the Chitanda family's invoices on rice orders. He had printed only a few of the invoices, thinking they would serve as a sample for the majority.
"I had tested every rice sample in the Chitanda storehouse," said Houtarou. "The lab reports that a large majority of the samples were tainted with the same poison."
Eru went into shock. "That…that can't be!" she cried. "What…what will my family do? What would father do…?"
Houtarou showed the invoices to the group. "We will need to investigate…Nakahama Industries," he said.
"But…the supplier…" Eru was about to say.
"What if he were not aware that he was shipping tainted white rice?" Satoshi asked in a hypothesizing manner.
"He would have to be," asked Houtarou. "Doesn't he usually check the quality of the rice he sends to the business?"
"Our supplier would have to check thoroughly," said Eru. "If there was any question arising about the rice, he would have to get it resolved as soon as possible otherwise…"
"The supplier's reputation would be ruined," Mayaka finished for Eru.
The whole investigation had to be kept quiet. If Chitanda's customers have found out that the rice was poisoned, the farm would go out of business. Worse, the government would go after the farm.
"When do you plan to start investigating?" asked Satoshi.
"Saturday," said Houtarou. "I'll have to arrange for leave."
"I can make arrangements," said Satoshi. "What about you, Mayaka?"
Mayaka shook her head in an unhappy manner. "My editor expects me to work on a piece related to shoujo manga," she said.
Houtarou turned to Eru. "What about you?" he asked.
"I'm not well enough to travel," said Eru.
"So it's just Satoshi and me," said Houtarou. Turning to Mayaka and Eru, he said, "Whatever we learn about the connections, we will pass among each other," he said.
Nakahama Industries stood as an old, imposing concrete building. Several square windows spanned the upper part of the building, as if the first floor would have plenty of open space.
"That building looks…old," said Satoshi. "Like it's one of those buildings you see in photographs dating back to the Second World War."
"Really?" asked a skeptical Houtarou.
"That's what I suspect," said Satoshi. "And it's huge…and plain. Like it was used for something related to the war effort. But the building is huge. It makes me wonder whether a building like this was used for manufacturing munitions."
"What kind of munitions?" asked Houtarou, entertaining that very interesting idea of his friend. Houtarou had nothing else to do during the trip to Nakahama Industries.
"Well…explosive ordnance, I think," Satoshi speculated.
"With explosives…a building like that would be a high-profile target for aircraft bombing," said Houtarou. "I'm not sure I recall American airplanes flying to this part of the country. Gifu Prefecture is…right in the middle of the mainland. I don't recall many operations occurring here." Houtarou knew the geography of his country pretty well, but hardly considered himself an expert in military history.
"That's the thing, though," said Satoshi eagerly. He seemed fascinated with Second World War history. "Many of our country's munitions factories were located in the Southern part of the mainland.
"Hai," Houtarou agreed. His recollections of military history, however sparse, made sense with Satoshi's additional information.
"Perhaps this place was used as a factory for manufacturing arms for the war effort," Satoshi speculated.
"Maybe," said Houtarou. "I wouldn't rule out that possibility."
He was looking around the building for an entrance, until he saw one. "Right there," said Houtarou.
"You have just used your skills of logical deduction to find the entranceway," said Satoshi. "Even if the entrance way said…Main Entrance."
"You're implying that my logical deduction was primarily aided by an obvious clue in plain sight?" asked Houtarou. "I'm disappointed."
Houtarou pulled open the glass door, and Satoshi entered. Houtarou closed the door from behind. A man on a desk looked up from his work. Seeing two men, he stood up.
"You look…too young to be officials affiliated either with our suppliers or some government agency," the man remarked.
"We're neither," said Houtarou, before introducing himself in a formal manner. Satoshi followed his friend's formula.
"We're here to see the manager of this company," said Houtarou. "It's…urgent. It concerns the Chitanda family. Chitanda Tetsugo-san was a regular customer…and this company was his regular supplier. We're here on his behalf. Now…if you would be so kind as to let us speak to him…"
If Chitanda Tetsugo was a regular customer, it would behoove the personnel to make accommodations even to people who came on his behalf, however sketchy such people could be. The manager could deal with the problem instead. For the man on the desk, the problem did not seem to concern him.
"Ogawa Tetsuyo?" the man asked. "He's the manager."
"We wish to speak to him," said Satoshi.
The man looked rather skeptical. "Normally I would ask visitors to schedule an appointment," he said. "But it appears that at the mention of Chitanda -san…we are dealing with an influential customer. If you will follow me," said the man.
He went through a doorway leading to the interior of the factory. Large pieces of churning machinery stood in neatly lined rows, and some of the machinery had large square funnels for processing other materials used in the making of rice, and proably the rice itself. The men could also behold large tanks that looked like water tanks, with connecting tubes fastened from the tanks to whatever machinery that used the water. All this machinery was staffed on a regular basis, with workers making regular checks on the instrumental readings, and making computations over the regulations of chemicals and other materials.
The three had arrived to the manager's office. "Ogawa-san?" the man called. "I have two men, here on behalf of a regular customer, Chitanda Tetsugo-san.
The manager looked up. He had a sallow face, indicative of a man who seemed to have worked long hours, giving himself only a few minutes for a break. Judging by the size of his body, he seemed a bit heavy; so Houtarou and Satoshi seemed hardly surprised that the manager was a sedentary man.
"Who are you?" asked the manager.
"Ano…Oreki -san and Fukube-san," said the man.
The manager studied their faces. "You are here…on behalf of Chitanda Tetsugo-san?" he asked curiously.
"Hai," said Houtarou. "We have stumbled upon a problem related to Chitanda-san's rice shipment."
"What kind of problem?" the manager inquired, narrowing his eyes.
"A problem related to attempted poisoning," said Houtarou.
The manager became livid, as if Houtarou dared to make an affront to his reputation. "If you are implying that I had a hand in such an affair, you are seriously mistaken, my friend," he growled.
"Iie, iie, we were not implying that," said Satoshi, making a hand gesture to the manager to calm him down. "We are more interested on who is behind this plot."
Houtarou looked at his friend. The whole affair seemed rather simplistic, but it was enough to calm the manager.
"I have been managing Nakahama Industries for eleven years," said Ogawa. "I can assure you, I never had complaints about tainted rice."
"Of course," Houtarou agreed. "Eleven years is quite a record."
"You are not being sarcastic, are you?" asked Ogawa.
"Iie, of course not," said Houtarou. The thought occurred to him that maybe the manager was colluding, but with a reputation to maintain, the thought needed to be shoved aside. Maybe an accomplice within the company was behind it all? If not acting on behalf of the manager, perhaps the accomplice was acting on his own?
Ogawa faced the man who had just accompanied Houtarou and Satoshi to the manager's office. He was tempted to ask the man to leave, but he figured that accusations of poison plots would spur the man to summon the prefectural police. The police would question Ogawa, of course, which he wanted to mitigate, seeing that such questioning would lead to more schedule hassles.
"Kato-san," said the manager, looking to the man. "You will be my witness in resolving whatever problem arose between this firm and our regular customer, Chitanda-san."
"Hai," said the man. The manager opened his file drawer, presumably to search for records related to Chitanda Tetsugo's business arrangements. Houtarou peered through a window overlooking the factory. At a glimpse it seemed the walls were bare, other than for airflow pipes covered in foil and a ceiling crane. Down below was some machinery related to processing rice grains. The place was pretty big.
"The building looks pretty old," said Houtarou. "My friend suspects it dates back to the Second World War."
"Hai," said Ogawa. "I was told that this place used to be where workers manufactured gun parts."
"Rifles, perhaps?" asked Satoshi.
"I don't know much about the history of this place, though it would hardly be surprising," said Ogawa, as he continued searching through his file cabinet. "This factory…was responsible for arming our nation's soldiers of the Imperial Army. I think many of them would have carried rifles." Ogawa pulled out some files. "There was a lot of vacant space that could be used, so I was told," said Ogawa. "There was not much need for redesigning. Company personnel long ago moved the old war machinery out of the building and installed machinery dedicated to rice preparation. You could say this building is now adapted for…times of peace."
"I'm surprised the building still survived," said Satoshi.
"This place was well built," said Ogawa. "And I don't recall any war veterans saying that the Americans flew over the Gifu Prefecture."
"That would make sense," said Satoshi. "Most of the munitions depots would be located in the southern part of the mainland. I guess that's why the Americans decided Hiroshima and Nagasaki were…"
"I know," Ogawa interrupted him. Satoshi kept silent. Any recollections of atomic bombs was too painful for national ethos to be recalled out loud. Satoshi's recollections made sense in that light; there was a lot of military presence in the southern mainland.
"You sound like you're a military history buff," remarked Ogawa.
"Not professionally," said Satoshi. "I am what some people call a database."
"He's right about that," said Houtarou.
Ogawa slapped a stack of papers on his wooden desk. "Here are the invoice copies of Chitanda Tetsugo-san, and the shipping manifests," said the manager. "Also related to Chitanda-san…are reports related to tampered rice bags."
"Tampered?" blurted an astonished Satoshi.
"The Chitanda family had experienced shipping delays," Houtarou pointed out. "Do you think these things had something to do with the delays?"
"I'm not sure," said Ogawa. "If there were delays, I would have been notified. As it is, I simply assumed that we shipped Chitanda-san's rice bags on schedule. I did, however, receive reports on rice bags taken out of the assembly line, opened, and then put at the receiving station."
"Is that supposed to be a regular procedure?" asked Houtarou.
"It is an irregular one," said Ogawa. "We always check the bags before shipping them to customers."
"Did you check for any traces of…foreign chemicals in the rice?" Houtarou inquired further.
"That kind of thing is unexpected," said Ogawa.
"Satoshi and I…found that the rice shipped to Chitanda-san was laced with some kind of poison," said Houtarou. "His daughter…and wife became ill as a result."
Ogawa heaved a heavy sigh. "That's…that is impossible," he uttered.
"Perhaps there was an employee in this company behind all this?" asked Houtarou.
The manager pondered over this disturbing thought. "If we suspected that rice was not of good quality, we kept it out of circulation," he explained. "Those that we ship to customers, we start sticking labels. The ones that stay in the factory…we don't stamp with labels."
"Unless the labels…" A thought came to Houtarou in a flash. Perhaps the suspect employee had switched labels on the rice bags, intentionally having tainted rice shipped to the customers.
"Do you think the labels may have been switched?" Houtarou asked right away.
"Perhaps," says the manager. "But we would have been known…a few days later…if something like that could possibly occur if we heard customers complaining that they had been sick from the rice we shipped. Of course, there are other possibilities. But this one…well, other customers should have gotten sick anyway."
The man who accompanied Houtarou and Satoshi to Ogawa's office, Kato, raised his hand. "Ogawa-san, if I may…I had heard rumors that one employee was playing around with rice labels."
Houtarou and Satoshi shifted his eyes from Kato to Ogawa. "Tampering…perhaps?" asked Satoshi.
"Perhaps," said Ogawa. "We had questioned the workers responsible for this shipment, but…every one of them denied any kind of wrongdoing. In earnest. Besides…it is awfully hard to tell. You mentioned that there was a poisoning occurring in the Chitanda family?"
Houtarou made a nod of his head. Ogawa browsed through his records again, trying to confirm reports he had heard in the factory.
"I was made aware of tainted rice bags, but…a possibility of switching labels may be difficult to prove," said Ogawa. "I could request a time card of employees who were involved in the labeling and addressing."
"Would it be possible to have a copy of these records?" asked Houtarou.
Ogawa shook his head, feeling that company police tied his hands in this matter. "Unfortunately, these records, being company property, cannot be simply released to anyone," he said.
"We're dealing with a case of poisoning here," said Houtarou.
"I know," said the manager. "But we simply cannot release them to anyone. Demo...if the Chitanda family can commission an investigator…I would be obliged to give said investigator a copy of those records."
END OF EPISODE
NOTES:
Japanese Naming Convention:
Surname: Given Name:
Miyagawa Yoshino
Ogawa Tetsuyo
Western Naming Convention:
Given Name: Surname:
Yoshino Miyagawa
Ogawa Tetsuyo
Vocabulary Translations from the Japanese Language:
Hai - Yes
Iie - No
Ano... - Umm... (Filler Word)
Gomen kudasai – please excuse me
Gomen gozaimasu – very formal
Gomen nasai - formal
Gomen ne - informal
Maya-chan…daijoubou desu ka? - Maya-chan, are you all right?
Karooshi – a term meaning "death from overwork". Causes of this form of death involve heart attack and stroke. The first cases of karooshi were reported during the 1970s when Japan was undergoing a restructuring of its corporate industry, as corporate restructuring would involve reduced hours to dismissal, increasing levels of stress among employees. Corporate responses to karooshi involved limiting the number of overtime hours, and limited the number of hours in the workplace.