Oki and Hashiba simultaneously voiced their interest.
“Because Seiji does have debt,” Saeko replied.
Immediately, the expressions of the entire group turned grave. Only Satoyama looked vaguely disappointed.
“How much does he owe?” Oki inquired.
“Approximately two million yen. And not because his business went bankrupt. He just spent himself deeper and deeper into debt.”
“Well, that’s not uncommon.”
“But Seiji has no prospects for paying his debts off.”
“If the entire Fujimura family were to disappear, would Seiji inherit everything they had?” Hashiba probed.
Saeko nodded. “Exactly. He’s Koji’s only sibling. If the Fujimuras never reappear, Seiji is the legal heir to their estate. As I mentioned earlier, the Fujimuras had almost 35 million yen just in savings. When you factor in their home, the lot, and their other property, they were easily worth more than 50 million.”
“And if Seiji wanted to inherit that money, he would have to get rid of the entire family, right?”
“Do you know what he asked me?”
“What?”
Saeko lowered her voice and imitated Seiji’s throaty growl. “Say, does it really take seven years to close a missing persons case?”
Hashiba gave her a startled look. Up until now, Saeko had responded to the men’s questions with a perfectly sober demeanor. Then, all of a sudden, she’d launched into an uncanny impression of a brazenly greedy middle-aged man. He was so taken off guard that he didn’t have time to laugh, but it made him take a fresh look at Saeko. Delight registered on his face as on a boy’s discovering an appealing toy.
“I get it. The case has to be closed for him to inherit their estate, huh?” Oki’s speech, too, dropped into an informal, more familiar register.
“What do you think, Ms. Kuriyama? You’ve met this Seiji, right?” Hashiba asked.
“Yes.”
“Well? Is he behind this?”
The six men gazed at Saeko in tense anticipation.
“No.” Saeko delivered her verdict with an off-hand shrug.
“What? He’s not?” All at once, the six men clamored to know why Saeko could be so sure of Seiji’s innocence.
“On paper, he looks pretty suspicious. But the moment I met him, I knew he couldn’t have done it. He’s clean, all right. He doesn’t have the balls to pull off something this big.”
This was too much for Hashiba. He grimaced, barely holding in his laughter. “He’s not the criminal type, you mean?”
“Oh, he’s rotten to the core. He’s the kind who would do anythingfor money. But if he did, he’d be bound to screw something up. He’s that type. We’re talking about making an entire family disappear overnight without a trace, as if by magic. Seiji could never pull a stunt like that singlehandedly.”
“But we can’t be sure it was a solo job, right? Maybe he had accomplices,” Oki offered.
“Even more impossible.”
When Saeko shot down his suggestion, Oki looked slightly taken aback, slumping one shoulder dramatically. “How do you know?” he asked.
“No decent human being—or an indecent one for that matter—would ever consider partnering up with Seiji.”
The rest of the group eyed Saeko dubiously, as if wondering how she could be so sure just through her limited contact with Seiji. “Can you guarantee that?” one of the men ventured.
“He’s a little out of the ordinary. Very out of the ordinary, I should say. He hops from job to job and has virtually no social skills. He’s the black sheep of the family, and the Fujimuras didn’t have much to do with him. He lives in a shack in their neighborhood but he’s basically a hobo, frequently disappearing for a month or two, even a year at times. It would be perfectly obvious to anyone who met him. A group of kidnappers capable of abducting a family wouldn’t want to collaborate with a man like him.”
Saeko obviously held Seiji in the lowest possible regard. Hashiba gazed towards the ceiling with a vague look of satisfaction on
“Because Seiji does have debt,” Saeko replied.
Immediately, the expressions of the entire group turned grave. Only Satoyama looked vaguely disappointed.
“How much does he owe?” Oki inquired.
“Approximately two million yen. And not because his business went bankrupt. He just spent himself deeper and deeper into debt.”
“Well, that’s not uncommon.”
“But Seiji has no prospects for paying his debts off.”
“If the entire Fujimura family were to disappear, would Seiji inherit everything they had?” Hashiba probed.
Saeko nodded. “Exactly. He’s Koji’s only sibling. If the Fujimuras never reappear, Seiji is the legal heir to their estate. As I mentioned earlier, the Fujimuras had almost 35 million yen just in savings. When you factor in their home, the lot, and their other property, they were easily worth more than 50 million.”
“And if Seiji wanted to inherit that money, he would have to get rid of the entire family, right?”
“Do you know what he asked me?”
“What?”
Saeko lowered her voice and imitated Seiji’s throaty growl. “Say, does it really take seven years to close a missing persons case?”
Hashiba gave her a startled look. Up until now, Saeko had responded to the men’s questions with a perfectly sober demeanor. Then, all of a sudden, she’d launched into an uncanny impression of a brazenly greedy middle-aged man. He was so taken off guard that he didn’t have time to laugh, but it made him take a fresh look at Saeko. Delight registered on his face as on a boy’s discovering an appealing toy.
“I get it. The case has to be closed for him to inherit their estate, huh?” Oki’s speech, too, dropped into an informal, more familiar register.
“What do you think, Ms. Kuriyama? You’ve met this Seiji, right?” Hashiba asked.
“Yes.”
“Well? Is he behind this?”
The six men gazed at Saeko in tense anticipation.
“No.” Saeko delivered her verdict with an off-hand shrug.
“What? He’s not?” All at once, the six men clamored to know why Saeko could be so sure of Seiji’s innocence.
“On paper, he looks pretty suspicious. But the moment I met him, I knew he couldn’t have done it. He’s clean, all right. He doesn’t have the balls to pull off something this big.”
This was too much for Hashiba. He grimaced, barely holding in his laughter. “He’s not the criminal type, you mean?”
“Oh, he’s rotten to the core. He’s the kind who would do anythingfor money. But if he did, he’d be bound to screw something up. He’s that type. We’re talking about making an entire family disappear overnight without a trace, as if by magic. Seiji could never pull a stunt like that singlehandedly.”
“But we can’t be sure it was a solo job, right? Maybe he had accomplices,” Oki offered.
“Even more impossible.”
When Saeko shot down his suggestion, Oki looked slightly taken aback, slumping one shoulder dramatically. “How do you know?” he asked.
“No decent human being—or an indecent one for that matter—would ever consider partnering up with Seiji.”
The rest of the group eyed Saeko dubiously, as if wondering how she could be so sure just through her limited contact with Seiji. “Can you guarantee that?” one of the men ventured.
“He’s a little out of the ordinary. Very out of the ordinary, I should say. He hops from job to job and has virtually no social skills. He’s the black sheep of the family, and the Fujimuras didn’t have much to do with him. He lives in a shack in their neighborhood but he’s basically a hobo, frequently disappearing for a month or two, even a year at times. It would be perfectly obvious to anyone who met him. A group of kidnappers capable of abducting a family wouldn’t want to collaborate with a man like him.”
Saeko obviously held Seiji in the lowest possible regard. Hashiba gazed towards the ceiling with a vague look of satisfaction on
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