Read Online The Devotion Of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino - Free Book Online
Authors: Keigo Higashino
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the Old Edogawa mean anything to you? Even the slightest connection could help our investigation.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t think of anything. There’s nothing special about that date, and I really don’t know what he’s been up to.”
“I see.”
The woman was clearly getting annoyed. But then, few people cared to talk about their ex-husbands. This was getting nowhere fast.
Might as well leave it here for now,
he thought. There was just one last thing he needed to check.
“By the way,” he asked, trying to sound as casual as possible, “were you home on the tenth?”
Yasuko’s eyes narrowed. She was clearly uncomfortable. “Do I need to know exactly where I was that day?”
Kusanagi laughed. “Please, don’t take this the wrong way. Of course, the more precise you can be, the more it will help us.”
“Well, can you wait a moment?” Yasuko glanced at a wall Kusanagi couldn’t see from where he stood. He guessed there was a calendar hanging there. He would have liked to look at her schedule, but he decided to refrain for now.
“I had work in the morning that day, and … that’s right, I went out afterward with my daughter,” Yasuko replied.
“Where’d you go out to?”
“We went to see a movie. At a place called the Rakutenchi in Kinshicho.”
“Around what time did you leave? Just a general idea is fine. And if you remember which movie it was…?”
“Oh, we left around six thirty…”
She went on to describe the movie they’d seen. It was one Kusanagi had heard of; the third installment in some popular series out of Hollywood.
“Did you go home right after that?”
“No, we ate at a ramen shop in the same building, and then we went out to karaoke.”
“Karaoke? Like, at a karaoke box?”
“That’s right. My daughter wanted me to go.”
Kusanagi chuckled. “Do the two of you do that often?”
“Only once every month or two.”
“How long were you there for?”
“We usually only go for about an hour and a half. Any longer and we get home too late.”
“So you saw a movie, ate dinner, then went to karaoke … which puts you home at?”
“It was after eleven o’clock, I think. I don’t remember the time exactly.”
Kusanagi nodded. There was something about the story that didn’t sit right, but it wasn’t anything he could put his finger on. It might be nothing at all.
They asked the name of the karaoke box, bid Ms. Hanaoka goodnight, and left.
----
“I don’t think she had anything to do with it,” Kishitani said in a low voice as the two detectives walked away from apartment 204.
“Hard to say.”
“I think that’s great that they go out to karaoke together. It’s not often you have a mother and daughter who get along so well.” It was clear from his tone that Kishitani did not consider Yasuko Hanaoka a suspect.
As they walked down the hall they became aware of a man coming up the stairs toward them. He was middle-aged and heavyset. The two detectives stopped and let him pass. The man continued on to apartment 203, unlocked the door, and went inside.
Kusanagi and Kishitani glanced at each other, then turned around.
The plate next to the door of 203 read “Ishigami.” They rang the doorbell, and the man they had just seen opened the door. He had taken off his coat, revealing a sweater and slacks beneath.
The man’s face was a blank as he looked at Kusanagi and Kishitani. In Kusanagi’s experience, almost everyone viewed him with suspicion at first, if not alarm, but this man’s face revealed absolutely nothing.
“Sorry to disturb you this late. I was wondering if you could help us,” Kusanagi said with a friendly smile, showing the man his police badge.
Still, the man’s face didn’t twitch a muscle. Kusanagi took a step forward. “It’ll only take a few minutes. We’d like to ask you some questions.” Thinking that perhaps the man hadn’t been able to see his badge, he held it out closer.
“What’s this about?” the
“I’m sorry, but I can’t think of anything. There’s nothing special about that date, and I really don’t know what he’s been up to.”
“I see.”
The woman was clearly getting annoyed. But then, few people cared to talk about their ex-husbands. This was getting nowhere fast.
Might as well leave it here for now,
he thought. There was just one last thing he needed to check.
“By the way,” he asked, trying to sound as casual as possible, “were you home on the tenth?”
Yasuko’s eyes narrowed. She was clearly uncomfortable. “Do I need to know exactly where I was that day?”
Kusanagi laughed. “Please, don’t take this the wrong way. Of course, the more precise you can be, the more it will help us.”
“Well, can you wait a moment?” Yasuko glanced at a wall Kusanagi couldn’t see from where he stood. He guessed there was a calendar hanging there. He would have liked to look at her schedule, but he decided to refrain for now.
“I had work in the morning that day, and … that’s right, I went out afterward with my daughter,” Yasuko replied.
“Where’d you go out to?”
“We went to see a movie. At a place called the Rakutenchi in Kinshicho.”
“Around what time did you leave? Just a general idea is fine. And if you remember which movie it was…?”
“Oh, we left around six thirty…”
She went on to describe the movie they’d seen. It was one Kusanagi had heard of; the third installment in some popular series out of Hollywood.
“Did you go home right after that?”
“No, we ate at a ramen shop in the same building, and then we went out to karaoke.”
“Karaoke? Like, at a karaoke box?”
“That’s right. My daughter wanted me to go.”
Kusanagi chuckled. “Do the two of you do that often?”
“Only once every month or two.”
“How long were you there for?”
“We usually only go for about an hour and a half. Any longer and we get home too late.”
“So you saw a movie, ate dinner, then went to karaoke … which puts you home at?”
“It was after eleven o’clock, I think. I don’t remember the time exactly.”
Kusanagi nodded. There was something about the story that didn’t sit right, but it wasn’t anything he could put his finger on. It might be nothing at all.
They asked the name of the karaoke box, bid Ms. Hanaoka goodnight, and left.
----
“I don’t think she had anything to do with it,” Kishitani said in a low voice as the two detectives walked away from apartment 204.
“Hard to say.”
“I think that’s great that they go out to karaoke together. It’s not often you have a mother and daughter who get along so well.” It was clear from his tone that Kishitani did not consider Yasuko Hanaoka a suspect.
As they walked down the hall they became aware of a man coming up the stairs toward them. He was middle-aged and heavyset. The two detectives stopped and let him pass. The man continued on to apartment 203, unlocked the door, and went inside.
Kusanagi and Kishitani glanced at each other, then turned around.
The plate next to the door of 203 read “Ishigami.” They rang the doorbell, and the man they had just seen opened the door. He had taken off his coat, revealing a sweater and slacks beneath.
The man’s face was a blank as he looked at Kusanagi and Kishitani. In Kusanagi’s experience, almost everyone viewed him with suspicion at first, if not alarm, but this man’s face revealed absolutely nothing.
“Sorry to disturb you this late. I was wondering if you could help us,” Kusanagi said with a friendly smile, showing the man his police badge.
Still, the man’s face didn’t twitch a muscle. Kusanagi took a step forward. “It’ll only take a few minutes. We’d like to ask you some questions.” Thinking that perhaps the man hadn’t been able to see his badge, he held it out closer.
“What’s this about?” the
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