The Top Interview series had begun running in September. The idea was to spotlight a CEO who had built up his company on his own, focusing on the obstacles hed overcome and how. Considering that hed actually succeeded in getting an appointment to do the interview, Asakawa should have been able to hang up the phone with a little more satisfaction. But something weighed on him. All hed hear from this philistine were the same old corporate war stories, boasts about what a genius he was, how hed seized his opportunities and clawed his way to the top If Asakawa didnt thank him and stand up to leave, the tales of valor would go on forever. He was sick of it. He detested whoever had come up with this project. He knew, all too well, that the magazine had to sell ad space to survive, and that this kind of article laid the necessary groundwork for that. But Asakawa himself didnt much care if the company made money or lost it. All that mattered to him was whether or not the work was engaging. No matter how easy a job was physically, if it didnt involve any imagination, it usually ended up exhausting you.
Asakawa headed for the archives on the fourth floor. He needed to do some background reading for the interview tomorrow, but more than that, there was something that was bothering him. The idea of an objective, causal relationship between those two incidents fascinated him. And then he remembered. He didnt even know how to begin, but a certain question had come to him in the furtive moment that his mind had wrested free of the voice of the philistine.
Were these two inexplicable sudden deaths indeed the only ones that had occurred at 11 p.m. on September 5th?
If notthat is, if there had been other, similar, incidentsthen the chances of them being a coincidence were practically nil. Asakawa decided to take a look at the newspapers from early September. Part of his job was reading the newspaper meticulously. But in his case, he usually read only the headlines in the local news section, so there was more than just a chance that there was something hed missed. He had a feeling there had been. He had the feeling that about a month ago, in the corner of a page in the local news section, hed seen an odd headline. It had been a small article, on the lower left-hand page All he remembered was where it had appeared. He remembered reading the headline and thinking, hey, but then someone from the desk had called to him, and hed gotten so distracted by work that he never actually read the article.
With the buoyancy of a child on a treasure hunt, Asakawa began his search with the morning edition from September 6th. He was certain hed find a clue. Reading month-old newspapers in the gloomy archives was giving him a sort of psychological uplift he never got from interviewing a philistine. Asakawa was much more cut out for this kind of thing than for running around on the beat dealing with people of all sorts.
The September 7th evening editionthats where the article was, in just the position hed remembered it being. Squeezed into a corner by news of a shipwreck that had claimed 34 lives, the article took up even less space than hed recalled. No wonder he had overlooked it. Asakawa took off his silver-rimmed glasses, buried his face in the newspaper, and pored over the article.
YOUNG COUPLE DEAD OF UNNATURAL CAUSES IN RENTAL CAR
At 6:15 a.m. on the 7th, a young man and woman were found dead in the front seats of a car on a vacant lot in Ashina, Yokosuka, along a prefectural road. The bodies were discovered by a truck driver who happened to pass by and who then reported the case to the Yokosuka police precinct.
From the car registration they were identified as a preparatory school student from Shibuya, Tokyo (age 19), and a private girls high school student from Isogo, Yokohama (age 17). The car had been rented from an agency in Shibuya two evenings previously by the preparatory school student.
At the time of discovery, the car was locked with the key in the ignition. The estimated time of death was sometime between late night on the 5th and the predawn hours of the 6th. Since the windows were rolled up, it is thought that the couple fell asleep and asphyxiated, but the possibility that they had taken an overdose of drugs in order to commit a love suicide has not been ruled out. The exact cause of death has not been determined. As of yet there is no suspicion of homicide.
This was all there was to the article, but Asakawa felt like he had a bite. First of all, the girl who died was seventeen and attended a private girls school in Yokohama, just like his niece Tomoko. The guy who rented the car was nineteen and a prep school student, just like the kid who died in front of Shinagawa Station. The estimated time of death was virtually identical. Cause of death unknown, too.
There had to be some connection among these four deaths. It couldnt take too long to establish definitive commonalities. After all, Asakawa was on the inside of a major newsgathering organizationhe wasnt lacking for sources of information. He made a copy of the article and headed back to the editorial office. He felt like hed just struck gold, and his pace quickened of its own accord. He could barely wait for the elevator.
The Yokosuka City Hall press club. Yoshino was sitting at his desk, his pen scurrying across a sheet of manuscript paper. As long as the expressway wasnt crowded, you could make it here from the main office in Tokyo in an hour. Asakawa came up behind Yoshino and called his name.
Hey, Yoshino.
He hadnt seen Yoshino in a year and a half.
Huh? Hey, Asakawa. What brings you down to Yokosuka? Here, have a seat.
Yoshino pulled up a chair toward the desk and urged Asakawa to sit. Yoshino hadnt shaved, and it gave him a seedy look, but he could be surprisingly considerate toward others.
You keeping busy?
You could say that.
Yoshino and Asakawa had known each other when Asakawa was still in the local-news department, which Yoshino had entered three years ahead of him. Yoshino was thirty-five now.
I called the Yokosuka office. Thats how I learned you were here.
Why? You need me for something?
Asakawa handed him the copy hed made of the article. Yoshino stared at it for an extraordinarily long time. Since hed written the article himself, he should have been able to remember what it said just by looking at it. As it was, he sat there concentrating all his nerves on it, hand frozen halfway through the motion of putting a peanut in his mouth. It was as if he were chewing it: recalling what hed written and digesting it.
What about it? Yoshino had assumed a serious expression.
Nothing special. I just wanted to find out more details.
Yoshino stood up. All right. Lets go next door and talk over a cup of tea or something.
Do you have time for this right now? Are you sure Im not interrupting?
Not a problem. This is more interesting than what I was doing.
There was a little cafe right next to City Hall where you could get coffee for two hundred yen a cup. Yoshino sat down and immediately turned to the counter and called out, Two coffees. Then, turning back to Asakawa, he hunched over, leaning close. Okay, look, Ive been on the local beat for 12 years now. Ive seen a lot of things. But. Never have I come across anything as downright odd as this.
Yoshino paused for a sip of water, then continued. Now, Asakawa. This has got to be a fair trade of information. Why is someone from the main office looking into this?
There was a little cafe right next to City Hall where you could get coffee for two hundred yen a cup. Yoshino sat down and immediately turned to the counter and called out, Two coffees. Then, turning back to Asakawa, he hunched over, leaning close. Okay, look, Ive been on the local beat for 12 years now. Ive seen a lot of things. But. Never have I come across anything as downright odd as this.
Yoshino paused for a sip of water, then continued. Now, Asakawa. This has got to be a fair trade of information. Why is someone from the main office looking into this?
Asakawa wasnt ready to tip his hand. He wanted to keep the scoop for himself. If an expert like Yoshino caught wind of it, in a heartbeat hed chase and nab the prize for himself. Asakawa promptly came up with a lie.
No special reason. My niece was a friend of the dead girl, and she keeps badgering me for informationyou know, about the incident. So as long as I was down here
It was a poor lie. He thought he saw Yoshinos eyes flash with suspicion, and he shrank back, unnerved.
Really?
Yeah, well, shes a high school student, right? Its bad enough that her friends dead, but then there are the circumstances. She just keeps bugging me about it. Im begging you. Give me details.
So, what do you want to know?
Did they ever decide on the cause of death?
Yoshino shook his head. Basically, theyre saying their hearts just stopped all of a sudden. They have no idea why.
How about the murder angle? Strangulation, for example.
Impossible. No bruise marks on the neck.
Drugs?
No traces in the autopsy.
In other words, the case hasnt been solved.
Shit, no. No solving to be done. It isnt a murderits not even an incident, really. They died of some illness, or from some kind of accident, and thats all there is to it. Period. Theres not even an investigation.
It was a blunt way of putting it. Yoshino leaned back in his chair.
So why havent they released the names of the deceased?
Theyre minors. Plus, theres the suspicion that it was a love suicide.
At this point Yoshino suddenly smiled, as if hed just remembered something, and he leaned forward again.
You know, the guy? He had his jeans and his briefs down around his knees. The girl, tooher panties were pulled down to her knees.
So, you mean it was coitus interruptus?
I didnt say they were doing it. They were just getting ready to do it. They were just getting ready to have a little fun and, bam! Thats when it happened, Yoshino clapped his hands together for effect.
When what happened?
Yoshino was telling his story for maximum effect.
Okay, Asakawa, level with me. Youve got something. I mean, something that connects with this case. Right?
Asakawa didnt reply.
I can keep a secret. I wont steal your scoop, either. Its just that Im interested in this.
Asakawa still remained silent.
Are you gonna keep me hanging here in suspense?
Should I tell ? But I cant. I mustnt say anything yet. But lies arent working
Sorry, Yoshino. Could you wait just a little longer? I cant tell you quite yet. But I will in two or three days. I promise.
Disappointment clouded Yoshinos face. If you say so, pal
Asakawa gave him a pleading look, urging him to continue his story.
Well, weve got to assume that something happened. A guy and a gal suffocate just when theyre getting ready to do it? Thats not even funny. I guess its possible that theyd taken poison earlier and it had only taken effect just then, but there were no traces. Sure, there are poisons that leave no trace, but you cant figure on a couple of students getting their hands on something like that.
Yoshino thought of the place where the car had been found. Hed actually gone there himself and still had a clear impression. The car was parked on an overgrown piece of vacant land in a little ravine just off the unpaved prefectural road that led from Ashina to Mt Okusu. Cars coming up the road could just catch the reflection of its taillights as they passed. It wasnt hard to imagine why the prep school kid, whod been driving, had chosen this place to park in. After nightfall hardly any cars used this road, and with the thick growth of trees providing cover, it made for a perfect hideaway for a penniless young couple.
Then, youve got the guy with his head jammed up against the steering wheel and the side window. Meanwhile, the girls got her head buried between the passenger seat and the door. Thats how they died. I saw them being taken out of the car, with my own eyes. Each body came tumbling out the moment the doors were opened. Its like at the moment of death some sort of force had been pushing them from the inside, didnt stop when they died but kept pushing for thirty hours or so until the investigators opened the doors, and then burst out. Now, are you with me here? This car was a two-door, one of those where you cant lock the doors with the key still inside. And the key was in the ignition, but the doors well, you catch my drift. The car was completely sealed. Its hard to imagine that any force from the outside could have affected them. And what kind of expression do you suppose they had on their dead faces? They were both scared shitless. Faces contorted with terror.
Yoshino paused to catch his breath. There was a loud gulping sound. It wasnt clear which of them had swallowed his saliva.
Think about it. Suppose, just for the hell of it, that some fearsome beast had come out of the woods. Theyd have been scared, and they would have huddled close to each other. Even if he hadnt, the girl would absolutely have clung to him. After all, they were lovers. But instead, their backs were pressed up against the doors, as if they were trying to get as far away from each other as they could.
Yoshino threw up his hands in a gesture of surrender. Beats the hell out of me.
If it hadnt been for the shipwreck in the waters off Yokosuka, the article might have been given more space. And if it had, there would have been a lot of readers who would have enjoyed trying to solve the puzzle, playing detective. But But. A consensus had spread, an atmosphere, among the investigators and everybody else who had been at the scene. They all thought more or less the same thing, and all of them were on the verge of blurting it out, but nobody actually did. That kind of consensus. Even though it was completely impossible for two young people to die of heart attacks at exactly the same moment, even though none of them really believed it, everybody told themselves the medical lie that it had happened just like that. It wasnt that people refrained from saying anything out of fear of being laughed at for being unscientific. It was that they felt theyd be drawing unto themselves some unimaginable horror by admitting it. It was more convenient to indulge in the scientific explanation, no matter how unconvincing it was.
A chill ran up Asakawas spine and Yoshinos simultaneously. Unsurprisingly, they were both thinking the same thing. The silence only confirmed the premonition which was welling up in each mans breast. Its not overits only just started. No matter how much scientific knowledge they fill themselves with, on a very basic level, people believe in the existence of something that the laws of science cant explain.