The Silent Dead Read online

  Captain Imaizumi patted Reiko on her sweaty shoulder.

  “Nice work.”

  “Thank you, sir. To be honest, it’s a weight off my shoulders.”

  Reiko exhaled a mass of air from her chest. She felt as if she’d been holding her breath for hours.

  * * *

  They lifted the bundle onto the shore and unwrapped it right away.

  A murmur of disgust rose from all sides.

  The corpse was naked. Male again. The face was in so-called Beelzebub bloat—angry and swollen to about one and a half times normal size. There was something creepy about the big purple head stuck on top of the pallid, bloodless body.

  Just as with Kanebara, there was an incision at the throat slicing through the carotid artery, as well as numerous lacerations on the torso—though how they had been made was not immediately clear. The abdomen too was a gaping hole. The putrefied intestines had partially dissolved, and puffy white lumps of flesh dotted the tarpaulin. All the cuts had puffy and swollen edges. They would have had a hard time recognizing the wounds for what they were, had they had not seen Kanebara’s corpse first.

  It was probably only because the body had been wrapped so tightly in the plastic sheet that so much flesh remained. Normally, hungry fish and the motion of the water would have worked together to skeletonize the corpse. Although the hands and feet were swollen and resembled monstrous mittens and socks, the flesh had not become detached from the bone. If the forensics guys could still get prints, it would make identifying the victim that much easier.

  The divers’ debate about cutting referred to the rope that had been keeping the body in place. The bundle had been tied to a cement block. With no trapped gases to push the body upward, a single weight was enough to do the job.

  A temporary halt to the search was called as the body was taken away to the forensics lab. The divers stayed behind to continue the search. There was no guarantee that the pond contained only that single body.

  The investigators were ordered back to Kameari police station. The overall thrust of the investigation would need a rethink now that another body had been added to the equation.

  * * *

  Everyone was waiting in the big meeting room by 1:00 p.m. The Water Rescue team would need a little more time to develop their photographs of the underwater crime scene and to complete their report. Those investigators who had missed out on the discovery of the bodies were asking their colleagues how it had played out, while those who’d been in the park were skimming newspapers, drinking barley tea, and smoking cigarettes, all with a glazed look in their eyes. Other people were rereading files from the piles on the desk sergeant’s desk. There are a hundred ways to kill time, thought Reiko as she looked around the room.

  Suddenly there was a loud thump, and the door was thrown violently open. Reiko turned and saw a group of five men standing in the doorway in identical charcoal gray suits. They looked as if they were posing for a fashion shoot.

  Stubby! Reiko whispered silently to herself.

  Stubby was the nickname of Kensaku Katsumata, a lieutenant in TMPD Homicide, Unit 5. Because his guys were all intel experts, everyone referred to his squad as Homicide’s Public Security Bureau. It was more than a mere joke. Most of his team were intel experts who had experience dealing with national security issues firsthand.

  Damn. I’d completely forgotten about him.

  Captain Imaizumi had warned Reiko that Katsumata was next in line to be assigned to the case if it showed any sign of dragging on. But the investigation had only just started and certainly wasn’t on the rocks. Reiko guessed that the discovery of a second body had prompted the bosses to boost the number of investigators. Katsumata was just next on the roster.

  The five men made a beeline for Reiko.

  “You should think twice about swimming in ponds when you’ve got your period, princess.”

  Katsumata’s booming voice filled the room. Kikuta sprang to his feet, his fists clenched and his face flushed with anger. Reiko pushed him back into his seat as she got to her feet.

  “That shouldn’t be a problem. I wasn’t doing the diving myself.”

  “I know that, you hick. Anyway, your level 2 English certificate and your driver’s license wouldn’t do you much good underwater.”

  Katsumata’s jibes were right on target. Aside from her college degree, those were her only two official qualifications. She had never dived in her life, and although her period hadn’t started, it was about to.

  The follow-up comment about the driver’s license and the English qualification were clearly designed to take his attack one level past plain sexual harassment. Katsumata was sending her a message: I know everything about you that there is to know. He was more like a stalker than an ex–Public Security Bureau agent.

  “Terribly sorry to disturb you while you’re kicking back, Himekawa. I need to talk to you for a minute.”

  The four members of Katsumata’s squad slipped in front of him and formed a circle around Reiko. First Kikuta, then Otsuka, Yuda, and Ioka got to their feet. Only Ishikura remained seated, reading his newspaper.

  “What’s the problem, guys? I need Himekawa, not her fan club.”

  Katsumata scowled at Kikuta. Unintimidated, Kikuta scowled right back. Katsumata was being deliberately provocative. If she didn’t calm this situation down, it would soon get out of hand. Reiko decided to play ball.

  “Okay,” she replied, pushing Kikuta back into his seat for a second time. “I’ll talk to you.”

  “You’re a smart girl. Though I can’t give you ten out of ten till you train your gorillas better. Now, let’s go somewhere we can talk in private, without your little fan club hanging around.”

  Kikuta bunched his fists. Ioka and Otsuka restrained him.

  Katsumata walked out into the hall, and Reiko followed him. At the door, she turned round and looked back at her squad. Kikuta looked as bereft as a kid abandoned by its mother. Reiko jerked her chin at him.

  Katsumata took Reiko down the corridor to the empty meeting room. One of his men pushed the door shut behind them.

  “Sit.” Katsumata gestured at the nearest chair.

  “I’m fine as I am.”

  “You’re no spring chicken. Pushing thirty, I hear.”

  The bastard! But she had survived worse.

  “What is it you wanted to discuss?”

  “I just asked to see you for a minute, Himekawa. I didn’t say anything about discussing anything with you.”

  “Well, what’s this about then?”

  “Sit down and I’ll tell you.”

  When Reiko refused, Katsumata grabbed a chair and flung himself into it. He looked up and examined her with his beady little insect eyes. The man was short and stocky but extraordinarily light on his feet. He’d joined the force at the same time as Captain Imaizumi, meaning he had to be fifty or so. There was plenty of gray on his close-cropped head. Probably not from worrying about etiquette, thought Reiko to herself.

  Reiko resigned herself and sat down. With their eyes on the same level, Katsumata’s insectlike stare seemed slightly less intense.

  “What can I do for you?”

  Katsumata grunted and sprang to his feet. “To cut to the chase, I want you to share all your information with me. Everything. Don’t keep anything back. I’m coming late to this case. That’s a handicap.”

  Her eyes followed Katsumata as he moved around the room until one of his men interposed himself. She suddenly realized that the four of them had encircled her again. She’d have felt seriously threatened if they were not detectives like her.

  “If you want to know how the investigation is progressing, Lieutenant Katsumata, I think that consulting the case file would be the best thing to do. All the reports and records are in there.”

  Katsumata shoved his grimacing face at her from between the shoulders of two of his men. “Don’t try and bullshit me. I’ve worn out the documentation, reading and rereading it. There’s one thing I can’t
find anywhere: an explanation of how you linked the incision in the abdomen of one guy to another guy who’d been killed a month earlier and was lying at the bottom of a pond. Your drivel about ‘intuition’ may be enough to get Captain Zoomzoom to dance to the beat of your drum, but it doesn’t wash with me. How’d you figure out there were two perps—one to dump the body in the hedge and another to stick it in the water? How’d you know that Fukazawa was responsible for that? How could you be so sure there was a second victim in the pond, when nothing in the investigation pointed to that? How—”

  Reiko’s temper got the better of her. She bounced to her feet and shoved Katsumata’s goons aside. Who’s calling who a bullshitter here?

  “I’ve got nothing to hide. Whatever you want to know, just ask, and I’ll damn well tell you. So stop dancing around. What do you want to know?”

  Katsumata’s shoulders juddered with laughter.

  “Full and uninhibited cooperation. Way to go, princess. Here’s question one, then. How did you make the link between the incision in the abdomen and the bodies being dumped in the pond?”

  Reiko emitted a snort that was half contempt, half irritation. “Because it didn’t make any sense. Why was such a carefully wrapped and tied body left in such a half-assed location? That was an immediate disconnect. I started thinking about the three different kinds of cut wounds, and it occurred to me that the deep postmortem incision might have been made to help dispose of the body. The hedge was right beside a pond, so I put two and two together.”

  “How about the idea that two people were involved, one to wrap and transport the corpse, and one to get rid of it?”

  “Having two people was the only way the theory about the bodies being dumped in the pond makes sense. Plus the hedge where the body was left was at a T-junction. It was difficult to see at night, but for someone with instructions to look for a body on the hedge at an intersection, it would be easy enough to find.”

  “How about the guy who died in suspicious circumstances a month ago? Was it your coroner chum who tipped you off about that one?”

  “That’s right. Doctor Kunioku mentioned an unusual autopsy he’d dealt with. That was before the Kanebara case had even started. Then I noticed the ‘Swimming Prohibited’ notice at the pond. Seemed weird to put up a sign like that where no one was going to go swimming in the first place. My unconscious just joined the dots.”

  It was Katsumata’s turn to sneer. “That’s not much of an explanation in my book. Anyway, here’s the $64,000 question. You ready? You tagged this Fukazawa guy as the guy responsible for dumping the bodies in the water. Fine—but didn’t it occur to you to ask why the actual killer—or whoever was responsible for wrapping and transporting the body—delivered it to the pond despite Fukazawa having died three weeks earlier?”

  Katsumata jabbed a thick finger at Reiko.

  “The other guy—his buddy—had been dead for three whole weeks. How could the guy who transported the body not know that? Just because Fukazawa was dead didn’t mean they lacked options. They could’ve gotten someone new to do the job, or the guy who brought the body could have taken care of it himself. But that’s not what happened. The perpetrator or whoever just went right on expecting Fukazawa—who was dead—to take care of the body. How come? Admit it, it’s a question worth asking. Didn’t it bother you?”

  Dumbfounded, Reiko groped for a reply.

  “Uhming and ahing’s not good enough. I need a proper answer.”

  “Maybe there was a communication failure.” Reiko tilted her head doubtfully. “… Or something.”

  “Or something? Is that the best you can do?”

  “I’m saying that it’s a possibility.”

  “Un-fucking-believable. You requested the Water Rescue team without clearing that point up first?”

  “I suppose so.”

  “You suppose so. I give up. I see you’ve got balls, but I’m more worried about what kind of brains you’ve got.”

  “Is that another of your questions?”

  Katsumata spread his hands, palms outward, in a gesture of defeat.

  Reiko had chosen to go with the idea that the mixup was due to a banal failure of communication. Why the need for elaborate theorizing? Maybe Katsumata was justified in dismissing her explanation. In the end, though, they were talking about human beings. Why did every single thing the killers did have to make sense? Criminals could be careless. Where did he get off giving her such a hard time?

  “Let me tell you something, Himekawa,” said Katsumata, rounding on her with a scowl. “The way your mind works—it’s downright dangerous.”

  “Dangerous for whom?”

  “Dangerous for you, you stupid hick.”

  “I am having trouble grasping your meaning.”

  “Try grasping a bit harder, moron.”

  You’re not my boss. You’ve no right to call me a hick and a moron.

  “Very good. I’ll think about it very carefully. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

  Using both hands, Reiko shoved two of Katsumata’s minions out of the way and made for the door. When she opened it, she found the four members of her squad plus Ioka standing anxiously outside. Katsumata unleashed a parting shot.

  “Hey, Himekawa, are you still afraid…”

  Reiko had already shut the door halfway. Now she gave it an almighty kick.

  “… of hot summer nights?”

  The noise of the slamming door shook the walls and echoed down the corridor, all but drowning out Katsumata’s parting words. But she knew what they were. “Hot summer nights.” That was what he’d said: “Are you still afraid of hot summer nights?”

  No, he can’t know. He can’t know about what happened to me.

  “Lieutenant, are you okay?”

  Kikuta reached toward her. His hands seemed to recede into the distance as she reached out to grab them.

  A black mist spread across her eyes.

  2

  SUNDAY, AUGUST 17, 11:00 A.M.

  Reiko and Ioka were visiting Nishiarai police station. Yasuyuki Fukazawa’s apartment was in the Nishiarai precinct.

  “How could I forget? That liquefied-brains case was a shocker,” Captain Ito said.

  Captain Ito was the head of Community Affairs. “If I remember right, we decided there was nothing to investigate. Has something new come up?”

  An uneasy shadow flitted across Ito’s face. He had reason to be leery when Homicide began poking into a case that the Medical Examiner’s Office had already ruled to be death due to infectious disease. If Homicide turned up something suspicious, the precinct’s handling of the matter might come in for criticism or even a sanction of some kind. His worries were groundless.

  “We accept the official diagnosis on Fukazawa’s death. We suspect, however, that he may have been involved in another case entirely. It’s something that’s just come up. That’s what we’re here to talk to you about.”

  Ito grunted awkwardly.

  “Your men discovered Fukazawa’s body in his apartment in Kohoku. Is that right?”

  “Yes, I believe so.”

  “Of course, they inspected the premises thoroughly.”

  “That’s right. A thorough inspection was made.”

  “Could we see the report?”

  “Ye-yes, I’ll dig it out for you right away. Hey, Furuta!”

  A young policeman got up, took a file down from a shelf, and brought it over to the captain. The captain flicked through it until he found the report form on the inspection of Fukazawa’s apartment, which he handed to them.

  Reiko skimmed through it. She wanted to check the floor plan of the apartment and also see whether Fukazawa shared the place with anyone else. The hand-sketched map showed a small entranceway leading to two adjoining rooms. The first room was six tatami mats in size and included a kitchen, while the second was four and a half tatami mats. It was on the second story of a cheap wood-built block of flats, and it had no bath.

  Someone had written the
name “Yukari” in the cohabitant box on the form.

  “So he was sharing with someone?”

  “Yes, his sister. She’s three years younger.”

  “That’s this Yukari here?”

  “Correct.”

  “Is Yukari now living there alone?”

  “No, I think she gave the place up. I’m pretty sure she was in the hospital when Fukazawa died. The girl has a history of mental instability.”

  “Do you know which hospital she’s in?”

  “Yes. Just a minute.” Captain Ito got up and grabbed the phone on a nearby desk. “Hi, Ito here. Glad to find you in. Listen, you remember that Yasuyuki Fukazawa guy?… The brain meltdown guy? Yeah, that’s him. Which hospital is his sister in? You went to see her, right? Which hospital was it?… Oh, really? Well, the TMPD is looking into the brother.… No, it’s not like that. You’ve nothing to worry about.… Okay, Central Medical College Hospital.… No, I don’t think that’s important.… Yeah, got it. Okay, thanks. So she’s at Central Medical College Hospital? Is she in the psychiatric ward?”

  Ito sat back down behind his own desk.

  “Who were you talking to?”

  “That? Senior Officer Todoroki. He visited the hospital, but the doctor wouldn’t let him see Yukari. Said she wasn’t up to it.”

  “I see.”

  Reiko went on reading the report.

  The body had been found by the manager of the building, together with one of Fukazawa’s workmates. Fukazawa, who worked for a local security company, called in sick and missed three days of work. His colleagues got worried when he stopped answering his phone, and one of them came round to check up on him.

  “This is where he works?” asked Ioka, pointing to the address of the security firm.

  “Oh, by the way,” pitched in Reiko. “We heard that Fukazawa was on parole. What had he done?”

  “Oh, that…” An expression of sympathy appeared on Ito’s face. “Basically, he set fire to his house while his parents were still inside. He didn’t murder them, though. They were already dead when he started the fire.”