Lady Joker, Volume 1 by Kaoru Takamura (lightest ebook reader .txt) 📕

“Right after the incident occurred on March twenty-fourth, and then again on the night of the twenty-sixth, you met with Officer Sawaguchi from Community Police Affairs and checked the dispatch record from the police box in front of Omori Station, did you not?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Did you have any particular purpose for doing so?”

“I was only checking out why, on the night in question, there was no police motorcycle patrol nearby at the time of the incident, even though Mr. Shiroyama’s home was within a high security zone.”

“And what did you find?”

“It turns out there happened to be multiple calls for service on that night, which is why there were no officers on patrol nearby.”

Kanzaki had been regarding Goda’s face with a clinical detachment, but now he abruptly turned his back and began pacing the room.

“That point has been of great interest to me as well. However, make sure you keep the matter strictly confidential.”

“Yes, sir.”

“The perpetrators will definitely make a move, no matter who they are, so long as a cash-grab is their objective and provided Hinode doesn’t make a backroom deal with them. There’ll be no complaints if we catch them in the act.”

Perhaps what he meant was that if one of their own were involved with the crime group, catching them in the act would avert any complaints from the higher-ups. But since there was no need for Goda, a mere investigator, to inquire further about or weigh in on Kanzaki’s monologue, he allowed the words that slipped from his boss’s lips to roll off his back.

“By the way,” Kanzaki came to a halt and shifted to a strictly administrative tone. “Tomorrow, be at MPD’s sixth-floor meeting room at eight in the morning. The head of First SIT will go over Hinode’s organizational chart and work flow, including the names and photos of executives, and teach you the basic comportment of a body man. Wear a suit tomorrow. No sneakers.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Since this will be necessary, going forward, we’ll provide an allowance for two summer-weight suits. The honor of the police is at stake, so I expect you to present yourself accordingly.”

“Yes, sir.”

“About this man Kyosuke Shiroyama, himself . . . My personal impression is that he is quite different from most so-called major business leaders. At fifty-eight years old, he’s in his third term as president, so he’s much younger than the average president of a listed company. Whether he keeps his work compartmentalized, or whether he’s simply upfront and candid, he does not have many distinguishing characteristics. And because of this, you could say it’s hard to know what he’s thinking.”

Goda recalled the smooth and refined face of Kyosuke Shiroyama, which he had seen a few times on television—the man looked as if he could be anything save for a politician or a yakuza—and had to admit that Shiroyama did not have an imposing managerial presence. And since Goda would be working as his body man, he was grateful for this.

“SIT will detail Shiroyama’s corporate philosophy, management skills, and so on tomorrow. Also, when it comes to the incident, Mr. Shiroyama has not necessarily disclosed everything to the police. It’s still not clear why the crime group went to the trouble of abducting the president only to release him unharmed. However, it’s conceivable that the reason for the president’s reticence is related to his personal circle. Consequently, there’s a significant possibility that the crime group will try to shake down the president himself. This is what you will be on the lookout for.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Mr. Shiroyama’s personality is incredibly fastidious and sensitive. On the other hand, he can be stubborn and strong-willed. He betrays very little emotion and lacks warmth. He is not one for socializing. His private life is decidedly simple. He’s not known to indulge in amusements. Essentially, you wouldn’t be incorrect to consider him an orthodox man of common sense who’s had a privileged and sheltered upbringing. It doesn’t matter how you do it, but you must gain Mr. Shiroyama’s trust and get close to him.”

Gain his trust and get close to him. Goda answered “yes, sir” before he had any sense of what those words meant. He almost felt as if he no longer cared how things turned out.

“Any questions?”

“While on this assignment, am I security personnel sent by the police, or do I assume a completely different identity unrelated to the police?”

“A completely different identity. We have to deceive the perpetrators, so there’s no sense raising public notice. As for that, SIT will give you thorough instructions about your disguise. As far as I could tell from the podium, your features, build, and composure are the least conspicuous. SIT said that as long as we change the way you cut your hair a little and put glasses on you, it should be fine.”

“My superiors are concerned about the fact that you called me in.”

“The head of CID is aware of the situation. Anything else?”

“Nothing, sir.”

“Well then, we’ll go over the details tomorrow. You can take Sunday off.”

As he was leaving the reception room, it did not feel real to Goda that he was being excluded from the active investigation. If word that he had checked the dispatch record at the police box had caused internal rumors that reached as far as the Head of First Investigation, that meant his instincts aligned with what the investigation was really after, which offered him a small satisfaction. Now, however, he had no cards left to play. The one thing that occupied Goda’s mind was a vague anxiety about just what being a body man would entail.

Goda had no interest in mulling over his thirteen-year career as a detective. He was trained to respond automatically whenever an incident occurred, his mind churning the moment he arrived at a crime scene. As long as he was getting paid to do that, the only choice he had was to do whatever he was told. But now, feeling as though he had been shunted