Loups-Garous (36 page)

“Undocumented residents?”

“They aren't really an organization, but they have certainly grouped together and created a life for themselves and their kind by unlawful means, so they would be capable of pulling off something of the scale you were talking about.”

“Yeah, but…where did that come from?” Kunugi asked.

He scratched behind his ear.

“You don't know?”

Kunugi stopped his fingers and said, “I don't. We weren't considering undocumenteds when I was on the investigation.”

“There's apparently witness testimony that the night Ryu Kawabata was killed, the victim along with Yuji Nakamura were both fighting a young woman. That young woman is an undocumented resident. Yuko Yabe was also apparently there.”

“I didn't hear any of this. Ryu Kawabata and Yuji Nakamura were spotted within the vicinity of the scene of the crime. No one's out on the streets there even in the middle of the day. It's hard to believe there was an eyewitness. If there were, it has to have been Nakamura or Yabe.”

“But that's what Ishida told me. That there's some fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl called Cat who runs with some kind of medicine-seller or something.”

“You mean the organic food products people. They definitely have a wide network of connections. Still, it seems a little out of nowhere.” Kunugi made a severe face and resumed scratching behind his ear.

“This undocumented resident was apparently watching us when we went by the Yabe residence. After we apprehended Sakura, who was also there, the girl started following Sakura.”

“How did they get that evidence?” Kunugi crossed his arms. “Certainly after the request for questioning was made, the police investigated the goings on around the Yabe residence. But she hadn't been killed yet at that point. It was a
disappearance
. Of course, it was possible she was tied up in the murder, so they could have been looking for suspicious types. Typically in the investigation of a disappearance they will look first into what the victim was doing at the time of the disappearance and what they were doing right before.”

“Obviously,” Shizue said.

“Right? We were there two days after she'd been declared missing. Given that, whatever they heard in the area had to have been incidental. I doubt that they went as far as patrolling Sakura's home. When I was attached to the case, Sakura wasn't believed connected to any of this.”

Shizue had heard the same. Hinako was under interrogation now, but that was only now, after Yuko Yabe had been discovered dead.

Kunugi shrugged his whole body.

“Overheard evidence is tricky. These days, nobody just sits outside and observes. No one walks through town. Everyone's reading their monitors. When officials ask to make real contact most citizens deny them. You can't force them. Everything you say to them is recorded. Not like back in the day. You can be charged for saying outrageous things now. They're always saying your statements will remain anonymous, but if you say anything they think reveals accountability, they'll shut you down.

“That's why I doubt they were able to obtain such perfectly compact and convenient evidence. Even this bit about Kawabata accompanying Nakamura on his outing was evidence submitted by a cohabitant and local cop.”

“In that case, how should we interpret what Lieutenant Ishida has divulged? You don't believe he actually obtained this information?”

“No, if the lieutenant divulged this information in a circumstantial interrogation, it's got to be at least somewhat accurate. There were other investigators present when Ishida questioned you, yes?” Shizue asked. “No matter where the conversation took place, all statements made under questioning are a matter of public record. Besides I doubt if the lieutenant would start lying to you now. So this is what I think: they got to the girl they suspect of being the criminal first.”

“First?”

“Yeah. If you take into account that business about Mao being suspicious, the story changes.”

“You mean they've dug up information targeting the undocumented residents?”

“I'm sure they got
some
information. There are a lot of people out there who harbor negative feelings toward the undocumented residents. If you go to any anonymous tipline on your monitor and enter anything about potential criminals and input features of that young girl, I'm sure you'd get tons of information in less than an hour. Most of it will be useless junk data, and there's no credibility to any of the information, but some of it will seem useful,” Kunugi said. “Even if it's anonymous there's a source for everything, and that means you can always trace it. If you know what you're looking for, odds are good you'll find it. It eliminates a lot of the labor.”

“In that case.”

“So…” Kunugi crossed his legs and balanced an elbow in his lap, then put his chin in his hand. “I'm wondering where this first bit of information came from. We have to figure out the connection. Before the police knew of Cat's existence they couldn't have started anything. Who's the source? Until we know that, the evidence can't be collected. Because you can't wring it out of her. I'm positive someone was spilling information.”

“Spilling?”

“Secret information, I mean. Someone must have been leaking info on Cat to the police. Moreover, it's very sensitive information. If it wasn't, the police wouldn't go that far. Regardless of whether they were bewildered or not, there was a suspected culprit—Nakamura, who after your little suggestion went from suspect to potential victim—so something happened to make the direction of the investigation change.”

Direction, meaning that even after what Shizue had said, the police were still suspicious of Yuji Nakamura. But then…

“I was under the impression from what Lieutenant Ishida said that Yuji Nakamura was no longer under any suspicion at all.”

“I'm sure he isn't.” Kunugi sat up. “I think Yuji Nakamura is already in police custody.”

“What?”

“The search around the center's premises ended Monday night. But it's not like they found who they were looking for, so normally they'd keep a few people on. This was considered the most likely place he'd hide. But then suddenly everyone is taken off duty yesterday. It's just a hunch, but I think Nakamura is the one who provided the information on Mao.”

“Nakamura?”

“Nakamura's testimony would be rock solid. If Nakamura himself states that he and Kawabata were attacked by this girl, they'd stop at nothing to find her. So—”

“Why wouldn't they announce that they'd apprehended him, then?”

“Because…” Kunugi was forced silent with his mouth open as the monitor on the desk lit up with a message.

Kunugi's hunch was wrong.

The message on the monitor screen was a notice of the discovery of Yuji Nakamura's body.

CHAPTER
017

“WHAT'S GOING ON?”
Mio yelled.

Surrounded by cables and particle board, Mio appeared strong.

“Why? Why'd she get killed? What the hell is this
fatal wounds to the abdomen
?
Abrasions all over both her legs? A section of her viscera missing, including her liver? Severed carotid artery?!
Hey, Makino!”

Mio kept gesturing at the different monitors lined up in front of her. Over and over.

It was…

Hazuki couldn't look directly at them.

“Look! Look at what they did to Yabe! Why?!”

“I…”

“This wasn't Nakamura. So who did it?”

“I don't know, I…”

Hazuki was at a loss for words.

She had no idea what was what anymore.

It was another turtle icon on her monitor. Another series of directions followed that had led her here to Mio's.

And as soon as she'd arrived, Mio showed her the images of Yuko Yabe.

She had been torn apart.

“The area patrol came where we left her. They came, right?”

Hazuki kept nodding. It made her nauseated.

But she worried she'd get yelled at if she sat down, and just as the thought occurred to her she felt tight in the chest, and then before she knew it the bridge of her nose got hot. It reminded her of her early childhood.

“Stop crying!” Mio barked, and glared at Hazuki. “Why are you crying? This is the first time I've seen anyone cry. You're pouring liquid from your eyes.”

“I am?”

She wouldn't have known unless someone told her.

Tears
.

Mio turned her back.

“Our plan failed. No, that's not it. It went as planned. Right? Did we screw up somewhere?”

No, we didn't.

Saturday night.

Hazuki and Mio, along with Ayumi, had taken Yuko toward Hazuki's house. First, Hazuki had gone inside, walked to her bedroom, and turned on the monitor. Then after ten minutes, she started to pretend to do schoolwork. Then another ten minutes. The alarm went off. An image of the area leading up from the front gate to her foyer appeared on the monitor. She confirmed it was the image of Yuko slumped over and made the emergency call on her security receiver. Five minutes later the area patrol showed up with the security company and made vocal confirmation.

We've secured the trespasser on your grounds.

Could you please verify for us?

Yuko's face appeared on the screen.

Do you know this young woman?

No, I don't
, Hazuki had replied.

If someone had really just suddenly appeared on Hazuki's front step, Hazuki wouldn't immediately recognize who it was on the screen. To play it safe she'd decided to pretend she didn't know. To avoid suspicion.

It would have been strange for Hazuki to know that Yuko Yabe was supposed to be missing.

The Yuko on her monitor screen looked lifeless. It was a ruse, of course. Hazuki thought she saw Yuko form a faint smile as she turned her face away from the screen.

Even if she did, who knew what that smile meant. Hazuki didn't.

That was the last time she saw a moving image of Yuko.

And today, the image of Yuko.

Torn apart.

“I confirmed everything too,” Mio said. “Yabe definitely got into the squad car. I told her to tell them who she was as soon as she got in the car, so she was sure to have let them know. There was a request for questioning out for her, so once they knew who she was they would have immediately taken her into protection. Even if they needed to verify her identity they would have at least kept her in custody. She would have been totally safe. But…”

Why'd she die?
Mio said again.

Just as she was about to holler something again the door slammed open.

Beyond the ocean of black cables stood Ayumi.

She was totally calm.

“Why'd you call me out here?”

“You're late.”

“I don't really use my terminal. I don't even look at the monitor.”

“You should at least look at your monitor. Look, Ayumi…”

Her eyes narrowed before Mio could say anything. She'd noticed the image on her screens.

“Yabe…?”

“Yeah. Cut up into pieces.”

“Who…did it?”

“You think
we know
?” Mio said and turned around with her chair.

Mio was crying too.

“Where did you go after we dropped off Yuko, Ayumi?”

“I did like you told me and followed the car for a while.”

“Till where?”

“You know I can't very well chase a car on foot. I'm pretty sure they were headed to the center in that patrol car. They'd gotten too far from me to confirm, so I gave up.”

“That's right. That's it. The area patrol squad car unit G02254 definitely went to Makino's residence, picked up Yuko Yabe, then headed to the protective services of the administrative center. I checked. They even called in to headquarters. They reported that they'd apprehended a young woman they believed to be the one for whom there was an interrogation request still pending. Look at this.”

Ayumi closed the door and walked past Hazuki straight to Mio's side.

“This is the news I got.”

On the monitor screen was a list of notifications.

“The same emergency message was sent to the prefectural police investigative unit. But…”

Mio tapped at a key.

“It was never received. In fact, there's no record of the transmission, even.”

She tapped again.

“Look. There's no record of the transmission from car G02254. It's just disappeared. In fact it was erased. The only record of it is in my hands.”

“What do you mean erased?”

“It's been made to look like it was
never there
. Everything's been made a lie. Do you understand, Makino? We've been denied by someone. What we did that night has been completely erased! Who would turn us into a lie? Who would rip Yabe to pieces?”

“Calm down, Tsuzuki.” Ayumi had been reading the information on the various monitors and then settled down on a duralumin case.

“This is police data?”

“Yes. It's a postmortem report. Though the autopsy results aren't posted yet.”

“What moves are they making?”

“I don't know. I don't know, but the murderer isn't Nakamura.”

“Probably not,” Ayumi said quietly, but with certainty.

“What's with you?” Mio glared at Ayumi with her now red eyes. “How would you know, Kono? Nakamura
was
going to kill Yabe, you know.”

“But he couldn't.”

Still
…Mio rubbed her bloodshot eyes.

“You wouldn't think that normally. You'd think Nakamura did it.”

“Not really. If it was in fact Nakamura I saw under the bridge that night, there's no way he could attack Yuko, who was being protected by area patrol, by the way. Besides, the police say he's a kid. About your age, Tsuzuki.”