The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino

Author:Keigo Higashino [Higashino, Keigo]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Published: 2011-02-01T04:00:00+00:00

Ishigami sighed. He was in the middle of grading make-up exams. They were terrible. He had designed the problems so they would be easy enough for everyone to handle—far easier than the ones on the real exam, so everyone taking the make-up test could pass—but he was hard-pressed to find a single decent answer in the pile. The students must not be studying, he decided. They knew that no matter how badly they did on their tests, the school would pass them anyway. After all, the board rarely held anyone back. Even when a student or two just couldn’t make the grade, the administration would find some reason to graduate the entire class.

Why don’t they just remove math from the list of required subjects, then? Ishigami wondered. Only a handful of people really understood mathematics anyway. There was no point in even teaching math at this low level. Wasn’t it enough to let them know there was this incomprehensible thing out there called mathematics, and leave it at that?

When he had finished grading, he looked at the clock. It was already eight P.M.

After checking that the dojo was locked up, Ishigami left the school for the night. He was standing at the crosswalk under the traffic light when a man approached.

“On your way home?” the man asked, smiling. “When you weren’t at your apartment I thought I might find you here.”

Ishigami recognized the man’s face. It was the homicide detective.

“I’m sorry, you are…?”

“Ah, you’ve probably forgotten.”

The man reached for his coat pocket, but Ishigami held up his hand and nodded. “No, I remember you now. You’re Detective Kusanagi.”

The light turned green and Ishigami began to walk. Kusanagi followed.

What’s he doing here? Ishigami thought as he crossed the street. Was it about Yukawa’s visit two days ago? Yukawa had told him that they wanted him to help with their investigation, but he had refused, hadn’t he?

“Do you know a Manabu Yukawa?” Kusanagi asked.

“I do. He came to see me. He said you’d told him about me.”

“Actually, that’s true. I told him that you’d gone to Imperial University—the same department he was in. I’m sorry if it was an imposition.”

“Not at all. I was glad to see him again.”

“What did you two talk about, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Old times, mostly. That was about all we talked about the first time he visited.”

“The first time?” Kusanagi lifted an eyebrow. “Has he been back?”

“He’s come to see me twice. The second time, he told me that you’d sent him.”

“I sent him?” Kusanagi blinked. “Um, what exactly did he say I sent him to do?”

“He said you wanted me to help with your investigation, and that you thought it might be better if the request came from him.”

“Oh, right, help with the investigation.” Kusanagi scratched his head as he walked.

Ishigami noticed his uncertainty at once. The detective seemed confused. Perhaps he didn’t ask Yukawa to come talk to me after all?

Kusanagi grinned sheepishly. “I talk to him about a lot of things, so I get a little confused about exactly which cases he knows about and which he doesn’t.

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