Hidden Nexus (33 page)

‘No we… er… don’t.’

‘I’m afraid he’s out – at a meeting in the Diet building,’ she said referring to a desk diary.

Saito feared as much. He’d opted for the discreet approach of an unannounced entrance believing that a pre-arranged meeting would give Watanabe ample time to organise a defence. He preferred to see the surprised whites of the eye when he suggested guilt to a possible suspect. He’d also wanted to avoid any unnecessary procrastination surrounding procedure and paper-work, formal channels and so forth. The danger of the unannounced strategy however, was all too obvious.

‘Well is his Chief of Staff about, then. Can we talk to him?’

She hesitated for a second. ‘I… er…’

‘Is anything the matter?’

‘It’s just that he was let go on Friday. I’m not sure who his replacement is, yet.’

‘Let go - why would that be?’

The look she gave the Inspector Saito was one that suggested that while she wasn’t above a little bit of innocent chit-chat there were some topics that were beyond her remit. ‘Look, I don’t know who you are or what you want so if-’

‘Detectives!’ said Inspector Saito showing his identification. Mori followed suit. With Watanabe not immediately to hand it was the last thing Inspector Saito had wanted to do. He’d wanted to get what he needed without having to reveal that he was police or to raise the alarm that he was on the scent. There’d been no other option, however. It was quite clear the receptionist wasn’t going to open up without some authority instructing her to do so. Despite their identification she still hesitated and looked around for help that wasn’t there.

‘Why was he let go?’ asked Inspector Saito again.

This time she gave him a look that inferred that he was completely mad. ‘Because of the scandal in the papers!’

‘I’ve not heard about it – what scandal?’ He turned to Sergeant Mori who shrugged his shoulders in turn. It appeared the two detectives were behind the times. ‘Can you tell us about it?’

‘I don’t know much. I’m only the receptionist,’ she replied diffidently. ‘If you need the real story you’ll have to talk to someone higher up.’

‘I’ll do that, but for now I’m happy to hear what you can tell me.’ He smiled at her and she smiled back, weakly.

‘I don’t really know any more than I’ve told you but I do have the paper from Friday.’ She handed over the newspaper, which to a person they’d all got a copy of once the story had broken. Usually no-one would be seen dead with such an explosive tabloid in their position – certainly not in Watanabe Faction Head-quarters.

After quickly reading through the story Saito laid the newspaper back on the counter.

'I'm not sure I understand. This story is all about Watanabe San. How does this link with his Chief of Staff going?'

To this question Miyazaki san reached down for another newspaper and showed it to the Inspector. This time he read though the amended version of events.

‘
So desu ka
– I see. So what was his exact role here? Kinjo!’

‘Well he was Chief of Staff – he organised everything.’

‘Including PR?’

‘I expect so.’

‘Doesn’t sacking him over the scandal imply some guilt on Watanabe’s part?’

‘I wouldn’t know about that.’

‘No. Perhaps you wouldn’t.’

Saito paused for thought. He wasn’t sure where he was going with his questioning. It seemed to be a complete red-herring as far as the Yamada case was concerned. ‘There’s nothing else that springs to mind that might have caused… no, no it doesn’t matter.’ Saito looked up at her and smiled.

‘Your nose – is it painful?’ Yoko Miyazaki suddenly asked nodding to his bandage.

In his pursuit of his enquiries Saito had almost forgotten about his own injuries. ‘A little,’ he said touching it and then quickly wishing he hadn't. It was still extremely tender. ‘I feel like it’s three times the size as it should be. I feel like a
gaijin
.’

They laughed.

‘So aside from the scandal in the paper there’s nothing else that might have led to his sacking.’

‘You’d have to ask people-’

‘-higher up,’ said Saito finishing off her sentence. ‘You’ve been a great help. Thank you.’

She looked back at him, half satisfied, half disbelieving.

‘Can I ask you something else, though? Did Watanabe san have any visitors here on the evening of the 30
^th
?’

She looked unsure. ‘I don’t have access to his diary. I don’t know,’ she replied simply.

‘But you just said he was at the Diet building at a meeting. I assumed that you do have access to his diary.’

‘I’m not sure.’

‘We just need to eliminate Watanabe san or indeed anyone from within this building from our enquiry. That’s all. It’s all part of normal procedure. Nothing to worry about.’

‘Oh! Right…’ she still appeared flustered and tucked her hair nervously behind her ear.

‘Do you have a visitor’s book – a security record? Something like that?’

Her eyes betrayed her and she looked down to the book tucked behind the counter.

‘Do you mind?’

Saito looked over the counter and lifted up the visitor’s book leafing through until he came to the last page. He immediately noticed that a page had been torn from it. Visitors from Friday 31st onwards were recorded, before that the last recorded date was Friday 17
^th
.

‘There’s a page missing here. Do you know anything about this?’

She turned the book around and with a face of complete innocence announced that she didn’t.

Inspector Saito’s mind was buzzing with activity now. He didn’t quite know where he was going or what the totality of his thoughts amounted to but all his suspicious instincts were on red-alert. ‘Now I want you to think quite clearly,’ he asked. ‘Did anyone come to visit last Thursday evening particularly a business man from a company called Niigata Kyubin?’

‘I don’t remember anyone particularly.’ Yoko Miyazaki sounded quite sullen now and definitely on the defensive.

‘He’d have been with a young woman, I think.’ Saito leaned in a little closer to her. He could smell her perfume, one which he suddenly realised, was surprisingly strong. He hadn’t smelt it at first. Now he wished he hadn’t. It was particularly pungent - off-putingly so. He examined her more closely and saw a woman looking back at him who was struggling with some inner conscience or an inner sense of duty. She smiled at him - a self-conscious and, somewhat, tortured smile now. A part of him felt sorry for her but her unwillingness to release what she knew was beginning to frustrate him.

Saito leant a little closer to her again and whispered behind his hand. ‘You can tell me. It won’t go any further.’

She glanced nervously around her as if certain that someone was listening in on their conversation, but nonetheless she still remained silent and smiled coyly back and then looked away from him and tidied a few papers that were on the counter in front of her.

‘Is there nothing else can you recall?’

‘No. Nothing else, I’m sorry,’ she said, still whispering. ‘I’m only the receptionist and I must really be getting back to my work, if you don’t mind.’

Saito had obviously pushed her too far or stumbled into territory that she was completely unable to deal with. He thanked her all the same and was on the point of leaving when he wondered whether the building had any security cameras.

Before she had realised what she’d done Yoko Miyazaki had indicated that there were.

Consequently ten minutes later Inspector Saito and Sergeant Mori were sat in the cramped office of the building’s security officer – Inoue san.
Both outwardly and inwardly he was engrossed in his daily paper, one of the few delights in his day, and he was less than thrilled to have to tear himself away in order to assist the police with their enquiries. He placed his newspaper down on the small table in front of him, stood up, pulled down his beige tunic and bowed towards Inspector Saito indicating that he was ready for whatever was to come, however much he might not want to comply.

‘I’m interested in some security tapes from last Thursday,’ began Inspector Saito. Despite Inoue’s bow Saito suspected that he was an ill-mannered man and took an instant dislike to him.

Inoue thought for a short while. ‘We don’t keep tapes as such. Everything is digitally recorded onto these sticks-’

‘Tapes, sticks, I don’t mind which,’ replied Saito irritably. ‘It’s whatever was on them last Thursday that I’m interested in. Can you help?’

The man looked unenthusiastically back.

‘I can take what I want, with or without your compliance,’ Inspector Saito reminded him. Inoue then turned around in his chair and thumbed down what appeared to be set of key rings hanging on a series of hooks. ‘We keep one month and then record over. Each pen-stick is for each day and whatever is on the memory of the various cameras is downloaded onto these by whoever takes the night shift,’ he explained as he selected the stick for the 30
^th
and plugged it into his PC. ‘Several cameras are recorded on each stick. Which one are you interested in?’

‘The foyer will do.’

Immediately the grainy grey image from the security camera came up on the screen and Inoue spooled through until he approached six-thirty. They watched the screen intently, fast forwarding when no-one was there, slowing it down when people either entered or exited. No-one resembling Ozawa or Yamada Eri, either entered or exited the building.

‘Are you sure you’ve got the right day?’ asked Inspector Saito. ‘It’s the 30
^th
that we are interested in.’

‘Of course I have… Are you sure you’ve got the right building?’ came the surly reply.

It was then that Sergeant Mori noticed something unusual. ‘That can’t be right though, can it? The time there, in the bottom corner, it says eight thirty. We’ve been examining a time slot that is far too late. Go back again.’

Inoue rewound the recording as he’d been told.

‘Look!’ said Sergeant Mori triumphantly. ‘The recording skips from six-twenty-five to seven thirty-five. There’s a whole hour missing. Someone has tampered with your recording.’

‘So there is,’ Inspector Saito turned to face Inoue. ‘How do you account for that?’

The blood had suddenly drained from Inoue’s face and his cocksure attitude quickly dissolved into one of humble apology and embarrassment. ‘I don’t know,’ he simply mumbled.

‘Who has access to these sticks?’ demanded Inspector Saito. ‘And who has access to this room?’