The Tokyo Zodiac Murders by Sōji Shimada

Author:Sōji Shimada [Shimada, Sōji]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: Mystery, Occult, Japanese Literature, Thriller, Detective
ISBN: 9781782271420
Publisher: Pushkin Press
Published: 1981-12-01T00:00:00+00:00

ENTR’ACTE

Bacteria in the

Bullet Train

“So how do you think Takegoshi Jr found out about his sister coming to see you?” I asked Kiyoshi, as we settled into the ride.

“I suppose Mrs Iida must have felt guilty about consulting me without getting her husband’s approval. After she got home, she confessed what she’d done, and her husband called his brother-in-law.”

“Her husband sounds like an honest fellow.”

“Could be. Or he might just be afraid of that thug.”

“Yes, Takegoshi Jr was a rude bastard. Do you think his father was like that? Surely not.”

“Oh, policemen are all the same. They think because they’re cops they’re all-powerful, and they run around acting like shogun, as if it’s still the age of feudalism. The sister didn’t consult her brother before disclosing their father’s secret to a stranger. That must have infuriated him—pre-war protocol violated in modern society.”

“I think Japanese tend to be unnecessarily obedient to authorities, anyway.”

“Well, among all the Japanese I’ve met, Takegoshi Jr was as arrogant as they come. You could put him on display in a museum as a representative petty autocrat.”

“No wonder his sister wanted to keep the note secret from him. I can understand how she felt.”

“Oh, really?” Kiyoshi said, suddenly staring at me. “Tell me, how did she feel?”

“Excuse me?”

“I’d like to know. What was she feeling when she found her father’s note?”

“She wanted to protect her father’s secret, and so she decided to show it to you, hoping that the case would be solved quietly.”

“Come on, grow up!” Kiyoshi interjected. “Why did she tell her husband that she came to see me, then? She wanted him to solve the case. She probably showed him the note, but he couldn’t figure anything out, so she brought it to me. If I solve the case, she can claim the credit for her husband—and BOOM, his career is made. I think she has everything mapped out.”

“Aren’t you going too far? She didn’t look like—”

“Someone so calculating? I’m not saying she’s malicious; it’s just natural for a married woman to think that way.”

“You sound like you think all women are calculating. That’s not fair.”

“Most men are obsessed with the idea that all women should be obedient and powerless. Is that fair?”

There was nothing I could say.

“You and I will never agree on this issue,” he went on, “just like a modern person would never be able to convince a samurai of the value of air-conditioning.”

“Huh? Are you still saying that women are schemers?”

“Not all of them. There could be one good woman in a thousand.”

“One in a thousand? Oh, c’mon, can’t you change the ratio to at least one in ten?”

“No way,” Kiyoshi replied and laughed.

I remained silent for a while.

“Now, have we examined all the known facts of the case?” Kiyoshi asked, as the train sped on. “We know about Masako, Heikichi’s second wife. What about his first wife, Tae? What was her background?”

“Her maiden name was Fujieda. She was born and raised near Rakushisha, in Sagano, Kyoto.”

“Kyoto? Good, we can kill two birds with one stone.

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