Guilt: A Mystery

The waitress brought the draft beers and the edamame to their table. "Cheers," said Godai, picking up his glass and taking a big swig. The slightly bitter liquid seemed to penetrate deep into every cell of his tired body.

"Okay then, what are we left with if we throw out the whole grudge angle? Ms. Nagai suggested the motive could be something personal, unconnected to his work."

"It's anybody's guess." Godai cocked his head as he grabbed a handful of edamame. "There's no sign of financial distress and no extramarital relationships. What does that leave us with? Envy, maybe?"

"Who would be jealous of him?"

Godai took his notebook out of his jacket pocket. "Kensuke Shiraishi. Born in Nerima Ward, Tokyo. Earns himself a law degree from a respectable national university and passes the bar exam thereafter. Starts his career working for a law firm in western Tokyo. At twenty-eight, he marries the girl he's been seeing since college. Strikes out on his own at the age of thirty-eight to start his own firm. Lay out the facts like that and you can see that his whole life has been smooth sailing, one unbroken line of success. There's reason enough there for people to feel jealous of him."

"Yes, but would they actually kill him for it? I mean, his career seems normal enough."

"That normality could be exactly what someone would envy—like a rival student from the same university, say. You know how it is. There's no shortage of aspiring lawyers who have to jettison their ambitions after failing the bar exam."

"True."

"Let's say that such a person did have murderous intent. Wouldn't it be more of an impulsive thing? I can't see envy of that kind translating into acquiring a knife and then stabbing him with it. Honestly, I'd feel silly proposing a theory like that." Godai shrugged at himself and slipped the notebook back into his jacket pocket.

Godai had described Shiraishi's life as smooth sailing, but life had not always been easy for him, according to his wife, Ayako. His family wasn't well off; all the schools he'd attended were public ones; and his father died in an accident when Shiraishi was still in junior high. Shiraishi had contributed to the family finances by working different part-time jobs during high school. And until she passed the year before last, he had also helped look after his mother when she got dementia. His life had its fair share of problems and hardships. Godai wondered if that was why he'd opted to work as a court-appointed defense attorney, a famously ill-paid branch of the legal profession.

They polished off their edamame and cubed tofu appetizers, then ordered the house specialty: Fukagawa-meshi, or steamed rice with clams.

"Putting motive aside for now, what do you think he was doing in this part of town?" Godai asked. He was staring vacantly at a piece of paper that was tacked to the wall.

"Yeah, doesn't seem like the sort of place our victim would go." Godai crossed his arms over his chest and sank into thoughtful silence. The first place Kensuke Shiraishi had driven to after leaving his office was the parking lot beside Tomioka Hachimangu Shrine. His car was plainly visible on the security camera footage. They had spotted him getting out of the car after ten minutes or so. During that time, no one had approached his vehicle.

The murderer must have told Kensuke Shiraishi to park in the parking lot, then contacted him while he was parked there, with instructions to move to the Sumida River Terrace, the site of his murder.

The murderer could have chosen anywhere in Tokyo for the crime. The investigation team attached a lot of importance to Shiraishi stopping off at Tomioka Hachimangu Shrine. And there was a reason for that. Location data from his phone showed that he'd visited the area twice in the last four weeks.

His first visit was October 7, and the data showed that he'd walked around a lot. The second visit was October 20. That time, he'd gone more or less directly to a café on Eitai Boulevard. He'd parked his car in the same shrine parking lot both times.

The detective in charge of canvassing spoke to the staff at the café. He'd found security camera footage of Shiraishi, who was carrying a small briefcase, entering and exiting the café. Unfortunately, none of the staff could recall his visit. That suggested he hadn't drawn any attention to himself.

So why had Kensuke Shiraishi come to this part of town? The investigation hadn't found anyone connected with any of Shiraishi's cases who lived, worked, or studied in this district.

The steamed rice with clams was brought to their table. Godai couldn't help smiling as the aroma wafted from the steam basket.

"How about we forget about the case for a while?"

"All for it," Nakamachi replied, his gaze fixed on his own steam basket. Once they had finished their dinner, they went to have a look at the café that Shiraishi visited. It was in a two-story building. The first floor only had the serving counter, so they went upstairs after buying their coffee. One of the tables was free, but it was so close to the tables on either side that the detectives instead opted to sit next to each other at the counter by the window.

"The location data tells us that he spent almost two hours in this place. What do you think he was doing for two whole hours in a coffee shop in a part of town that he didn't normally visit?"

"He was meeting someone. That's the logical explanation."