Loups-Garous (47 page)

“I don't think anything.”

“You think this is all okay?”

“I don't, but…no, I do.” Shizue stepped forward to where Ayumi had been standing. “What are we doing? Running away, hiding in a place like this…Isn't there something we should be doing? This is no good. That's what I was thinking. But we don't know who we're up against. I don't even know what I'm angry at. All I can see in the darkness is my own face. I am most angry at myself.”

Kunugi lumbered forward the way he always did.

“That's not very like you.”

“It is though. This is me. I'm a horrible woman.”

“That has nothing to do with it. But sitting here, I've finally figured out who the enemy is.”

“Huh?”

“I wasn't even thinking about it at first. Then I doubted several times. But each time I doubted, I denied the implications of my doubts. It couldn't be, that was stupid. I second-guessed myself. I've been able to go on over twenty years this way as a cop. If my theory is right, I've been had, I think. That's why I deny it.”

“I don't understand. You need to explain.”

Kunugi turned his back to Shizue.

“You don't think Ishida is suspect?” he said. “If we buy what that girl was saying, this last call was connected to the deformée character serial killings. The culprits are Kawabata and Nakamura. Embroiled in this is an unrelated event. It's structured exactly the same way. The reason an unrelated event has been connected to the serial murders is because the police saw an intangible connection no one would be able to make. A fact only the police have access to is a fact the police lieutenant has to know.”

“That may be, but—”

“All these investigators after the killer and somehow the killer keeps evading arrest. But what if it's because the lead detective is throwing them all off…What do you think?” Kunugi said. “Of course they're not catching him. The director has no intention of catching the killer. And why does the director have no intention of catching the killer? Because he wants to take advantage of the victims of the crime,” Kunugi said.

“The director…”

“Yes, the lieutenant,” Kunugi said. “If you're gaining something from the victims, you'd want to draw out the crime spree. Make it a long ordeal, let the killer keep doing his thing, and throw your own crimes into the mix. Make unrelated events seem related. The real criminal is going to go on committing those crimes, so the investigation will obviously point its head in the right direction. But they will still not be able to catch the guy. But no one's going to doubt the internal workings of the police. A lot of people dislike the police, but no one would do such a thing. The police will continue to suspect various potential culprits but never actually arrest them.

“It takes a special kind of nerve to do something that awful,” Kunugi said, practically spitting. “After the crimes, you dump all the sins on that original criminal and catch your breath, but if like last year the suspect has an alibi making it impossible for him to have committed all of the crimes, then you're in trouble. Weapons can be tied to a crime anyway.”

“That's awful.”

“You got that right.” Kunugi tied up his thought with the word.

“Awful. Indeed. So I've thought this over. But rethinking the situation made me softhearted.”

“To cover up one's own crime, you mimic the pattern of another criminal, then overlook the original person's crime,” Shizue said. “No, you actually force them to commit another one?”

“That's right. However, this time something went wrong. In any case, a part of the criminal group ended up dead. But…”

Meaning there were several criminals?

“Even with one dead, there was another still living. They had no choice but to use him. That's why the police approached the Nakamura crime with only one theory. Until you said something about it, Nakamura was going to be the criminal. But they'd lost him, even after proclaiming it was him for so long. Even I didn't buy that, but there was no way not to believe it.”

“They let him go in order to continue committing crimes?”

“I think they might have even been sheltering him as a fugitive.”

“Nakamura?”

“Nakamura's investigation was staffed with an unusual number of people. And if you believe he was the one who provided information about Mao, you can see the thread here. Nakamura was after Yuko. However, he couldn't get her. She was probably protected by Mao. Then Kawabata died. But in order for the reverse-victimization to continue, they needed Nakamura to continue killing people.”

“That's why they hid him?”

“They probably brought him in. Nakamura's next target was Yuko Yabe, so they needed him to kill her. That's why they were so fierce in their search for her. That's also why they acted so quickly when news of her capture was sent in.”

“The area patrol aided in killing Yuko?”

To borrow Ayumi's terminology, they whisked her away.

“According to what the young woman was saying earlier, the news was spreading too quickly. It's hard to believe the culprit was outside. Besides, an actual patrol was attacked. Someone from the outside couldn't have approached him. But—”

“Ishida could have.”

“Could have. He's a direct heir to the SVC corporation, which is an affiliate company of the area patrol and directly linked to D&S, which manages the area security systems. What's more he's the lieutenant of the prefectural police department. In one sense, he can get away with anything. Look. It's not that the police or the area patrol leaked information to the outside. The enemy was on the inside the whole time. Inside the police operation. The enemy was getting information directly.”

Kunugi spun around and faced Shizue.

“This one time, it didn't go as planned.”

“Nakamura was killed before Yabe could be apprehended, you mean.”

“That's right,” Kunugi said. His eyes were wide now, visible in the dark. “Once Yuko Yabe was whisked away, obviously Nakamura had to go to work. That's why he was apprehended. However he was killed before he could kill. That made it impossible for him to have committed all these other killings in the serial crime spree. That's why Ishida created a new culprit.”

“Mao,” said Shizue.

“Yeah. All those who believed Nakamura was the criminal now believe it's this Mao. Ishida no doubt knew of Nakamura's death before discovering the body. He trimmed all the branches so he could transplant just the root of his story. He'd already decided that Mao was a bother to Nakamura and his own crew, so if he could make her out to be the criminal, he'd be killing two birds with one stone.”

“But…”
The story works. But…

“Why?”

“How the hell should I know!” Kunugi yelled. “Look, you said it yourself. These serial murder cases crop up every year like clockwork, and the only people who deal with the cases are the police. The reason I was suspended was because I suggested we weren't dealing with a single serial killer. You were under suspicion because of your doubts too.”

“So what are we supposed to do?” Shizue was yelling now too. “A good-for-nothing middle-aged cop and a high-maintenance counselor with a spotless record, hiding in these goddamned trees. What are we going to do? We're going to get caught and arrested!”

“That's fucking right,” Kunugi said in a louder voice. “That's why I tried not to bring you into it.” Then, quietly. “I'm sorry I yelled at you.”

“This could all just be my imagination. In fact it almost definitely is. But either way, we're stuck here in this forest and it's the middle of the night. So what do we do indeed. Should we surrender?”

“Huh?”

She didn't want to think about the future. But it wasn't like they could stay there forever. There was only so much putting off she could do with reality.

If today was any indication.

She was like a child. This was not how adults behaved.

But Shizue was an adult. As long as she behaved like one, she would have to assume responsibilities like one.

But…

Kunugi wasn't telling a fiction. He was right about everything.

Shizue couldn't imagine anything beyond that.

Kunugi on the other hand looked like he was actually relieved after having said everything he did. But…

“I for one,” Kunugi started, and scratched his temple with an index finger. “I for one thought I'd sit out my life till retirement bored every day—no fun, no excitement, then one day die. I never thought I'd be in this situation. Look at us! This is like a novel. First of all, that I'd ever be talking to a beautiful woman like you for any length of time…

“I hope that's okay. This is about as private as it gets.” Kunugi let out a weak laugh. “Since my marriage failed, I haven't been able to interact with anyone correctly. I don't know how much distance to maintain and so I end up alone. Well, I've certainly gotten older but when it comes down to it I'm as wet behind the ears as I was when I was fourteen. I'm practically a child. Inconsiderate and imprudent.”

“If what you've said is not a figment of your imagination but the truth, then what?”

“If it's true…”

“If we decide everything you just said is true, then what do we do?

What course of action would a prudent and considerate adult take?”

“There is no course of action. Yeah,” Kunugi said. He dropped his head a little.

“Someone's coming again.” There was a flashlight behind Kunugi. It was close by. Ayumi was able to see so far into the dark, but here Shizue didn't notice until the light was flashing right behind Kunugi. The grass rustled loudly.

The bright light shifted into the shape of a cross. Shizue's eyes couldn't get used to it. Her vision went completely blank for a moment, and then a flare burst in four directions.

“Boss? Is that you, Boss?”

The light shone on Kunugi.

He blocked the light with a hand and suddenly his filthy appearance was completely revealed.

“What are you doing here, Boss?”

“Is that you, Takasugi?”

The light moved over to Shizue.

“Shit. Did I walk in on something?” said a young voice. “Get a room, will ya?”

“That's not funny. This is no time for jokes. This is—”

“I know,” the young voice said again.

He turned off the light.

An awful kaleidoscope of bright shapes floated in Shizue's pupils.

“But aren't you relaxed, Boss. Something bad must have happened.

It's a good thing I'm the one who found you.”

“What's going on?”

“They're not saying anything to us yet. The brass is going crazy, calling this an unprecedented ill, but we're in the middle of the crime spree now. This is the last thing we need, Boss. A scandal.”

“So what are they saying I did?” Kunugi asked.

“Don't ask me what
you
did. But seriously. They said that you behaved inappropriately with a female employee at the community center, that you trespassed into the center during a forced leave of absence, and then you kidnapped both her and one of her kids during a counseling session.”

“Whaaat?” Kunugi let out in a strangled voice.

As Shizue's vision returned, the silhouette of the officer disappeared and was replaced by the master of the man's voice.

He was probably the same age as Shizue.

He had a boyish face for his age. He was wearing a stretchy training suit and had a flashlight in his hand.

“This guy's one of my kids from Investigative Unit R I was talking about this afternoon. Takasugi.”

He'd probably been told he'd never get promoted working for Kunugi. The young cop said, “I'm Takasugi,” with an expression either humble or sweet, then snickered at Kunugi. “Geez. I'm sorry but there are some wild rumors running out there. To an old bachelor, a beautiful woman is certainly a sight for sore eyes. But I thought your type would be more uh, voluptuous. I guess you can go
intellectual
, huh?”

“Hey. Shut up. I don't have time for jokes right now,” Kunugi said.

“I know. Whatever anyone else thinks, I don't buy it. Anyone who knows you knows you wouldn't do any of that. That's why I went looking for you off-duty.”

“Looking for me?”

“Both of you,” said Takasugi. “Lieutenant Ishida…he's acting really strange.”

“Strange how?”

“Everyone in the office has noticed too. Even in the way he's treating you…it's strange.”

Kunugi's face fell as if he'd lost his nerve, and he turned to Shizue.

“In any case, let's go somewhere safe. I have my vehicle ready,” Takasugi said.

CHAPTER
021

JUST THAT, SOMETHING
smelled.

She didn't know what time it was. Didn't know where she was. Didn't know anything.

She was scared of the dark.

She was scared of the dim.

She was scared of the sinister.

Without an accurate count, one minute and one second felt exactly the same.

Latitude and longitude and height…where those axes met was where she was.

Points had no mass.

Therefore, even a slight deviation would make her unsure of who she was. If there weren't numerical values, she'd be as good as naught.

So if only someone would look over her, if only someone could assure her she was in fact there, Hazuki would not disappear from the world.

Rey Mao was right. The terminal was a terminus. But a terminus is also a concept. It too had no mass.

It was a terminus because it was connected to something behind it. No…

Not a terminus, a terminal.

The terminal was at the very edge of a space. In other words it was distinct from the body it terminated.