“Well thanks for coming out on your day off then,” Kunugi said.
“Oh no, early this morning, Takasugi informed me of your arrival, and I immediately came over. Area 122 of this region is in a state of panic, what with the death of Yuko Yabe, the discovery of Yuji Nakamura's body, the disappearance of Ritsuko Kisugi, Hazuki Makino's kidnapping, and of course, Ayumi Kono's disappearance. The police are up to their necks. We actually had a schedule, but look how it's gotten late already. It looks like we had you waiting ten hours.”
“That's probably right. You are doing the job of both police lieutenant and the criminal you're supposed to catch.”
Ishida laughed smartly through his nose.
“Whatever makes you think that?”
“Don't give me that shit. Just do what you're going to do. You're famous around here. I've known I didn't fit in here ever since I was a little kid.”
“I don't remember you from childhood. Stillâ¦I find that hard to believe,” Ishida said, bored. “Kunugi, you're a public figure, an upholder of the law. A police officer. And⦔
Ishida looked over at Shizue.
“Miss Fuwa, you are employed by the state to protect and raise healthy children. You are the apogee of adulthood. I'm not impressed with the fact that two civil servants that ought to uphold the law have blatantly ignored it. Your actions are completely antisocial. This is reckless behavior, even for children.”
“Shut up!” Kunugi yelled. “Beating an innocent girl to death, letting a serial killer do his work, protecting him. That's what's criminal. You're the one who's antisocial.”
“You don't understand, do you?” Ishida turned his chair out halfway and stood up. “Listen, let us say for example that we're in a situation where if one person leaves the room, the rest of the people in the room are in a bind. And there's only the one exit from this room.” Ishida lifted a bent finger and motioned toward the large ornamented door behind Shizue. “The only way out of here is through that door. This means that in order to get in one needs to pass through that door. It's a rule. The law is simply a rule, just like that. I haven't passed through that door. I know how to get out without having to. If I leave here without having to use the door, no one will know I was here in the first place. I have not broken any laws. You, however⦔
Ishida slammed his hand onto the desk. “You are found at fault for trying to enter through the door, for trying to
break down
the door! I don't know what exactly you did, but in other words, you broke a rule.”
“That's just sophistry.” Shizue was tired of hearing Ishida's voice. “This is all stupid wordplay. I have not done anything to violate the law. I certainly went outside after the police enforced curfew, but the investigation effort was marginal at that point, and the police had no basis to apprehend me as I was not even a suspect.”
“You still don't understand.”
“What?”
“I'm the one who determines whether you are a suspect or not.”
“Pardon?”
“We're the ones who determine whether you are a criminal or not.”
“The justice department assesses the crime, not you.”
“You're right. I'm not the one who decides that. However, I am the one who allows the judgment to be made. That's what I'm trying to tell you.”
Ishida slowly turned his face toward Shizue.
“The courts base their case on the data presented by us in order to make their judgment. Listen, Miss Fuwa, you are not the one who creates the data on yourself. We are. Your behavior patterns, your habits, your criminal pastâthat's all created by us.”
“That is itself a crime,” Shizue said.
“You're slow to understand things, aren't you? It's not illegal. I'm not suggesting that our judgments are made according to modern law. You are the ones disobeying the law. Did you think you'd get away with it? I can't imagine you did.”
“I knew getting caught by the police was inevitable. I just didn't want to be caught by you. And to think that idiot was throwing me under the bus.” Kunugi glared at Takasugi. Takasugi bowed slightly.
“He didn't throw you anywhere. He's one of my best men.”
“Tch,” Kunugi spit, and clasped his hands behind his head.
The man with the handgun visibly strengthened his grip. His fingers were tense.
“I'm not going to do anything. I'm a weak fighter.”
Kunugi narrowed his eyes and focused on the weapon held out by the man.
“But, Ishida. You've been on this whole pompous rant about how you haven't broken any laws, but then what do you call what that man has in his hand? He's been pointing that thing at us from the beginning. It's too big to be a police-issue weapon, and I doubt that what comes out the end of it is a spray or resin.”
“Probably not. The weapon he's holding certainly has lethal power. Bearing any kind of weapon like that is, as you know, strictly prohibited in this country by international decree. It's a Z model, 2010.”
“What's heâ”
“But it's the strangest thing. I don't actually see it.”
“What?!” Kunugi raised his voice.
“I can't see what I don't see. There's no way something like that could be carried around in this country. As far as I'm concerned he's just extending his arm. There's nothing in his hand. Do you see it, Takasugi?”
“I don't see a thing,” he said.
“You bastards!” Kunugi nearly rose out of his chair.
“Oh no no no. You really shouldn't make sudden movements like that. This man with his arm extended is very sensitive to people's movements. He might accidentally pull the trigger.”
There was suddenly a straight red line from the end of the handgun to Kunugi's forehead.
Laser sight.
“If he moves a finger, that light guidesâ”
“Something that doesn't exist out of something else that's not there, I get it, I get it.”
“This is what's called an overwhelming disadvantage, Kunugi. Miss Fuwa seems more sagacious. She seems to understand the situation.”
“You're saying that what you say isn't there, isn't there. What is there, is.”
Ishida clapped like a child. “Bravo. There's the lauded child psychology specialist, daughter of Yukie Fuwa. You're correct.”
“My mother⦔
My mother has nothing to do with this.
“That was some shocker four years ago, eh? To lose someone so important to youâ”
“She has nothing to do with this,” Shizue interrupted. “With you.”
She didn't want to have to say it.
“I've read many of her books, Miss Fuwa. I quite respect her work.”
“Respect?”
The dead don't return.
It's because of your attitude.
“Oh no. You're making a face,” Ishida said as he looked into Shizue's eyes.
She turned away.
Who was this man?
“Did you not respect her? That's not right, now is it? You should honor her. Yukie Fuwa was your mother, after all.”
What's going on? What is this?
“What would you know about it?”
Just as Shizue raised herself, the beam of the laser sight moved over to her forehead.
Her breath stopped.
“I'm sorry,” Ishida said. “That stuff doesn't matter anyway. Now where were we?”
Ishida turned on a heel and sank into the chair again, laced his fingers, and rested his chin on them.
“What shall we do?”
His cold stare darted from Shizue to Kunugi. “It's quite easy to punish two troubled individuals. We can make them criminals, or kill them. No, not just kill, but completely eradicate the records of your existence. It wouldn't be very difficult. Still, I hate to create unnecessary deaths.”
“Unnecessary deaths?”
“Unnecessary, sure. Your death would have no productive outcome.”
“Productive outcome?”
Ishida turned back.
“What say we bargain?”
“Bargain?” Kunugi said.
“It's not a bad idea, I don't think.”
“Hey hey, I don't think there's anything about this situation that's not bad. I'm not stupid.”
“No, it's not bad. Listen. Right now according to our records, your crimes are minor, Kunugi. In other words if we processed and released you now you'd get off with a slap on the wrist. I mean, you'll probably have to be dismissed from the force, but there won't necessarily be a need for police action. Depending on the circumstance you might even go unpunished. But in about twenty-four hours you will be considered a kidnapper and murderer and prosecuted as such.”
“Who are you saying I'm going to kill?”
“First, Ayumi Kono. It's been established that she ran off with you and Miss Fuwa. Thenâ”
“Wait,” Shizue said. “You don't have her, do you?”
They got even her.
“Please don't worry about her right now,” Ishida said. “That Kono is an amazing child. She was seen with Hinako Sakura on the grounds of the Makino residence, but we haven't been able to seize her just yet. It's just a matter of time though. I have the entirety of the D&S Security corporation on my side, after all.” Ishida laughed. “This is information that just can't be parsed by idiots. Unfortunately, we weren't able to effectively use the data internally, but I have been able to use it personally.”
“Kono has nothing to do with this. Nothing!”
“That too is something
I
determine.”
“What's wrong with you?! Who do you think you are?”
“He's the great-grandson of Yutaro Suzuki,” Takasugi said. Ishida cocked his head and laughed again.
“Unfortunately, after punishing Miss Fuwa, Kunugi will kill the child to unload his burden. And after chasing him for a while, let's see, for three days, shall we say? In three days, Miss Fuwa's body will be discovered. She will have been violated. It will be an unusual sex crime. And demographically speaking, only a man of Kunugi's generation would carry out a sexually violent murder. Probably the result of an inferior education,” Ishida said.
“We all know that in your youth, child porn and other obscene materials flourished the world over. Adults would flaunt arcane words like âimmorality' but were still sex-obsessed buffoons. Then they'd shamelessly brag about it. It was clearly a mental disorder. Even prostitution or acts resembling prostitution were silently condoned. The phenomenon of sex enthralled all of society. It was a truly foolish time.”
“I think on that one point alone we are in agreement,” Shizue said. “Social delusions regarding sex reached their peak between the end of the last century and the beginning of this one. It was, as you state, a foolish time. But you can't say it's scientific to declare an entire generation of people as categorically problematic. You yourself are of the same age group as Kunugi, for example.”
“You're right. We're only three years apart. However, I have nothing to do with this. I won't commit police crimes.”
“Won't? You mean you will and cover it up.”
“Cover it up?”
“Yeah. Make it look like someone else did it.”
“What do you mean?”
“You've lumped your own murders in with the serial killing case.
You've already tried to frame the undocumented girl for Kawabata and Nakamura's deaths.”
“I haven't killed anyone,” Ishida said. “I've done nothing. I'm a lieutenant, the chief of Investigative Unit R at prefectural police headquarters. Why would I commit such a heinous crime? Please don't say things like that. Also, it's strange to say that random murders are being assigned to the serial killer. It's a serial killer, so of course the killings are going to be random. There's no cover-up here.”
“Sure,” Kunugi said and shook his head over and over. “Yeah, I get it. Shit. You don't want to get your hands dirty. I'm sure you even have an alibi. You have a place and a person to verify your whereabouts. You're in the clear. I'm going to puke.” Kunugi shook without moving. Like a restless child. There was an irritating, useless, endless anger boiling up from inside him that he couldn't chase down. Shizue knew the feeling all too well. “Shit, I'm so pissed off I'm going to go crazy. Hey, if you're going to kill me, do it now.”
Ishida smiled and effortlessly shook his head. “You really are stupid.”
“I know. That's why I'm here.”
“I told you I'm willing to bargain. You could be the next generation. Miss Fuwa, you could go unprosecuted. Return to work, even. Kunugi, well, you will probably be dismissed from the force, but we can take care of you anyway. What about a post at the area patrol in your hometown? I can put you under consideration for a section chief position.”
“What the hell would we have to do for you to be offering such a deal? What the fuck do you want us to do?” Kunugi was yelling now.
“It's simple. You admit to doing the things we suspect you of. Miss Fuwa can claim she was forced to do what she did by you. You are the culprit. She is the victim. What do you think?”
“You mean I'm going to be convicted of stalking her?”
“Precisely. Then at least we won't convict you of murder.”
“And Kono? You'd also protect Ayumi Kono?” Shizue asked.
If this protects Ayumiâ¦
Ishida shook his head again.
“I can't do that. That girl, Miss Kono, along with Miss Hazuki Makino and Mio Tsuzuki, will have to die. Speaking of which, Takasugi!”
“Sir, it's possible Ayumi Kono communicated some information to Hinako Sakura while she was at the community center.”
“Then yes, I guess we'll have to kill her too,” Ishida said.
“Are you not right in the head? You said a second ago that you don't like useless murders. What are you going to accomplish killing all these little girls?” Kunugi yelled as he stomped his foot.