Chapter 35: Kyuzo Tsuruta
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They say the sound of rain has an effect similar to white noise. In any case, everyone knows that rainy weather is perfect for sleeping.
Though his vigilance had kept him from sleeping too deeply, Ji Yi’s sleep that night had not been poor.
Most importantly, when he got up, he heard no screams, and before breakfast he had met everyone in the villa.
Now that was a peaceful night...
Of course, he should not have felt disappointed or puzzled simply because no one had died. Even so, this was far too inconsistent with the logic of a detective mystery.
Oh, right. I wasn’t a detective. It was a problem with my identity as a police officer.
After breakfast, Ji Yi politely took his leave.
He intended to return to the inn and ask its talkative proprietor, Harada Eiichi, about Doctor Tsuruta.
“You’re asking about Doctor Tsuruta?” Harada Eiichi was just as talkative as before and immediately gave him the address of the old doctor Tsuruta Hisazo’s clinic.
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“Do you have an appointment?” a young nurse asked when Ji Yi entered the clinic.
The usual routine: he flashed his police badge. “I’m not here as a patient.”
That was indeed how things worked. In most cases, once you revealed that you were a police officer, ordinary people generally did not ask many questions. Instead, they began worrying about whether they had somehow gotten themselves into trouble.
The young nurse standing before him was no exception.
She immediately became flustered.
“Don’t worry. I’m only here to ask Doctor Tsuruta about a few things,” Ji Yi said, gently reassuring her.
“All... all right.” The nurse promptly turned and went into the consulting room at the back. She returned shortly afterward. “The doctor asks you to wait a moment.”
Ji Yi nodded, sat down in the waiting area, and casually picked up a magazine that had been left there to occupy patients.
It was not long before Doctor Tsuruta came out.
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At first glance, he was an old man whose hair and beard had turned completely white.
“Officer Higashino, please come with me.” The old man motioned for Ji Yi to follow him inside, then asked, “What would you like to know, Officer?”
“Hmm...” Ji Yi fell silent for a moment, as though carefully considering his words. Then he said, “I’d like to know what happened when Mr. Soichiro died twenty years ago.”
The old doctor was silent for a moment as well. Then he seemed to sigh with emotion. “Mr. Soichiro... That truly was a long time ago. There is no doubt that he died of a sudden heart attack.”
“Is that so? If that’s the case, why do so many people say that Mr. Soichiro was poisoned?”
Tsuruta fell silent again.
“Perhaps it was because of the way the inheritance was divided. Mr. Junya must have been extremely dissatisfied.”
“I imagine so. As Mr. Soichiro’s family doctor, what did you think of the will?” Ji Yi asked.
“I thought it was perfectly reasonable,” Tsuruta replied. “In fact, Mr. Soichiro had always believed that Junya was too ambitious and would squander everything if he inherited it. As for Tomoo, he had always seemed rather weak and had never been favored by his father. The child Mr. Soichiro loved was always his daughter, Takako. For Mr. Soichiro, his only regret was probably that he died too soon and never had the chance to arrange for a man to marry into Takako’s family. Even so, he had a very good impression of Mr. Ogawa.”
“So Mr. Soichiro was actually willing to accept Takako’s marriage?”
“Yes. If Mr. Soichiro had still been alive, the only difference would probably have been that Mr. Ogawa would have changed his name to Toshiyuki Ichijo. Everything else would likely have remained the same.”
“How much do you know about Mana?”
Tsuruta paused noticeably before answering. “Mr. Soichiro had always liked living together with his family, so Mana lived in the villa with Tomoo’s family.”
“I heard that Mr. Soichiro doted on Mana?”
There was another stretch of silence.
“You seem to know a great deal about what happened in that villa,” Tsuruta said, avoiding a direct answer.
“If you’re conducting an investigation, you have to ask plenty of questions,” Ji Yi replied. “As you can see, I’m no brilliant detective capable of discerning the whole truth from the smallest clue. As a police officer, I can only start with the most basic details and ask more questions. Diligence can make up for a lack of talent, and with a little luck, I may still uncover the truth.”
“Mr. Soichiro did dote on Mana...” Tsuruta seemed deeply hesitant over the question. “He probably did, in fact.”
“I heard from Shumpei that Mr. Soichiro kept a very close eye on Mana. He would not even let her attend school or play with the children outside. Is that true?”
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Tsuruta’s expression seemed tormented. He answered, “You should understand that, for some old men with outdated ideas, the way a girl is raised may be different from the way a boy is raised. So naturally, Mr. Soichiro’s upbringing of Miss Mana was not quite the same as Shumpei’s...”
“I see...” Ji Yi looked as though he had suddenly understood. “I overlooked that. After all, such things are uncommon nowadays, but this happened twenty years ago. Still, I have to ask: what do you know about Miss Mana’s disappearance?”
“Actually... calling it a disappearance is only a formality. Everyone knows the truth.” This time, Tsuruta answered without delay. “I imagine it was because Mr. Soichiro had died, and everyone in the villa was in low spirits. So Masao, the butler, decided to take Miss Mana out for a change of scenery. Miss Mana was very fond of the ice cream at a confectionery shop in town. But perhaps because of Mr. Soichiro’s death, Masao was distracted and got into a car accident. The two of them went over a cliff together.”
“Miss Mana was fond of ice cream? But wasn’t she never allowed to go out?”
“Er...” Tsuruta seemed to hesitate before adding, “It wasn’t that Miss Mana never went out. She simply left the villa only when accompanied by Mr. Soichiro or Masao, the butler.”
“If I may speak frankly,” Tsuruta finally cut in of his own accord, “what happened twenty years ago was an unfortunate tragedy. It was only because of certain circumstances that it was twisted into something sinister by rumor. You should not become obsessed with those stories. I’m afraid they will be of no help to you.”
“Is that so?” For once, Ji Yi did not evade the issue. He stared directly into Doctor Tsuruta’s cloudy eyes. “But I believe Miss Shino’s death is closely connected to what happened twenty years ago.”
“You... Where did you get such an idea?” Tsuruta tilted his head slightly, avoiding Ji Yi’s gaze.
“What was Mr. Soichiro’s health like before his death?” Ji Yi did not answer. Instead, he steered the conversation back. “Do you still have his medical records from that time?”
“Like most elderly people, Mr. Soichiro suffered from various minor ailments. His glaucoma, which had troubled him for many years, was one example. Naturally, his heart was no exception,” Tsuruta replied.
“I see.” Ji Yi finally seemed satisfied. “Then thank you for your help.”
Tsuruta rose as well and saw him to the door.
When they reached the entrance, Ji Yi suddenly turned back. “Excuse me. There is one thing I forgot to ask. Do you know how Miss Takako met Mr. Ogawa?”
“Yes. Miss Takako and Mr. Ogawa were university classmates.” Tsuruta answered naturally. “In fact, Mr. Soichiro had always been immensely proud that Takako was admitted to university with outstanding grades.”
“Thank you.”
Ji Yi turned and left.
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