This is a story I heard from my mentor.
1: Are They Untouchable?
It was early winter during my second year of university.
My mentor had brought me along to Takaya General Research. I’d been there often enough that it no longer surprised me, but this was apparently their own company-owned building.
"What’s wrong? Let's go."
Looking up at it, I felt a sigh coming on. Even though it was just another detective agency, the sheer gap between them and our own Ogawa Investigation Office was painfully obvious.
Inside, the heat was already on. I could feel a soft film of warm air. Winter had only just begun and it wasn’t even that cold yet. I found myself wondering when the heater had finally been turned on at the Ogawa Investigation Office last year.
As usual, the desks were neatly lined up, and a few investigators were busy pounding away at paperwork. Since they were all familiar faces, they just glanced at us for a second before going right back to work.
As I started heading toward Ms. Ichikawa, the clerk sitting past the reception desk, a loud voice greeted us from ahead.
"Oh my, if it isn't Kanako-chan!"
"Welcome."
The latter voice belonged to Ms. Ichikawa, the veteran clerk. The one who had called out first was an old lady with heavily teased purple hair and wildly flashy, oversized yellow-rimmed sunglasses.
"Nishina-san, what are you up to?"
"What do you mean, what? I was just chatting with Itt-chan here about the economy lately."
Nishina-san was the woman who always brought 'ghost' cases to my mentor. She was born into a long-established, prominent merchant family in downtown O City. After taking in a husband to marry into her family, she left the running of the business to him while she busied herself holding various executive positions in women's associations, chambers of commerce, and community groups. She was a busybody who loved gossip. A huge volume of information reached Nishina-san every day, and out of all that, she would handpick the troublesome cases and refer them to Takaya General Research and the Ogawa Investigation Office. Naturally, the ones that ended up at the Ogawa Investigation Office were only the most baffling cases that regular detective agencies couldn't touch.
"Kanako-chan. Oh, and Sakamoto-kun, the assistant, too. What are you two doing here? Ah, don't tell me you've finally decided to switch over and work for Director Takaya? Of course you have. Working in a dump like that is just letting your talent go to waste. It's a shame for Ogawa-kun, though. I mean, getting his top earner poached means he can't stay in business. You know what, Ogawa-kun should just come back here too. There are so many desks around, I'm sure some are empty. You should tell him to do that. Right, Itt-chan?"
"Well, I suppose so. The director doesn't seem totally opposed to the idea, either."
"Hold on, what are you two just deciding on your own?" my mentor interjected. "We're just here to see the director. I called ahead, didn't I?"
"Oh, was that today? Well, if he hasn't gone off to play Pachinko, I suppose he's around."
Ms. Ichikawa glanced toward the back of the floor.
"What are you talking about? If you try to leave the director's office in the back, you have to walk right past here."
True enough, the first-floor office was an open-plan, two-story atrium with a clear line of sight.
At my mentor's deadpan retort, Ms. Ichikawa leaned forward as if telling a ghost story and whispered,
"Except sometimes, he just vanishes out of nowhere. The man must have ninja blood in him or something."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
My mentor looked exasperated.
"Speaking of ninjas, Itt-chan, I actually went to the Iga Ninja Village just the other day."
"Oh, and you didn't bring me a souvenir."
We walked past the two noisy women and headed toward the back of the floor.
"Oh, that's right, Kanako-chan."
Nishina-san was still shouting something.
"What is it now?"
"Hee-yo-heave-ho."
Nishina-san hauled her heavy weight up from the chair she had claimed next to the reception desk, standing up with a jangle of metallic noise. Her clothes and accessories were so cluttered that it was impossible to tell which one was making the sound.
"Aren't you looking a little tired lately?"
"Huh? Why do you say that?"
"I've got a good eye for people, you know. It's like… your vitality is fading away."
For a split second, a chill went through me. The image of my mentor going for checkups with our primary physician, Professor Shikada, flashed across my mind.
"Could it be because you're hanging around with such a young guy? You need to take things in moderation."
She suddenly let out a vulgar laugh.
"It's nothing like that," I protested instinctively.
"Really? If that's the case, maybe *you're* the one sucking *his* vitality away."
My mentor muttered "What absolute nonsense" and tried to walk away. Just then, Nishina-san stopped laughing, reached out, and grabbed his shoulder.
"Lately, I've had this feeling that something is wrong with this town, you know? Suddenly, all these ghost complaints are popping up everywhere. Lots of people around me have been seeing and hearing weird things, too. That screeching noise coming from the sky the other day was one of them. I've been doing some reflecting on myself. Wondering if maybe… I've been dumping too much on you lately."
"No, no, I appreciate it. The cases you refer to us are a vital source of income for the Ogawa Investigation Office."
My mentor gently brushed her hand away.
"If you ever run into any trouble, come talk to me. I know a lot of people, you know."
"I am well aware."
My mentor gave a wry smile and nodded.
With that, we finally made our way to the director's office.
When we knocked on the heavy-looking door, a voice called out from within.
"Excuse us."
"Ah, making good money, you two?"
A low, resonant voice greeted us. It was Hideaki Takaya, the owner and director of Takaya General Research. He was a legendary figure who had formerly served as the head of the First Investigation Division at the Prefectural Police Headquarters, retired early, and jumped headfirst into the private detective business—achieving massive success and building his own office tower in no time at all.
His skin was tanned a slick, glossy black from playing golf overseas, even though it was already winter.
Ever since my mentor had once told me, "He looks just like that one species of cockroach," I couldn't help but see that silhouette overlap with him every time we met.
"Well, sit down. Want some macadamia nuts?"
He must have been well over sixty, but he gave off an energetic impression that defied his age. As Director Takaya retrieved a large box of macadamia nuts from the shelf, he let out an "Oh?" and pulled an antenna-like white hair straight out of his forehead. I was startled.
To me, he really did look like a giant roach right then, but in reality, it seemed he had just been bothered by a single white hair sticking straight up from his slicked-back locks and pulled it out.
We made small talk on the sofa in the director's office for a while.
"Hahaha, I'm sure Ms. Ichikawa was just dozing off. I always let her know before I step out."
"To go play Pachinko?"
"Nah, lately it's been this."
He moved his hands back and forth as if shuffling something.
"Free-play Mahjong? You'll have to take me with you next time."
"Sure thing. Though the games I play have stakes like *this*, you know."
He spread his hand wide to show five fingers, and honestly, I had no idea what kind of stakes that implied, but it made me swallow hard and shrink back.
As we talked, my mentor finally broached the real reason he had come to visit Director Takaya today.
"Director. You know the Yakumo Pharmaceutical headquarters building, right?"
"Hm? Of course I do. I've been inside a few times."
"And you know it's part of the Sunami Group?"
"Even someone who isn't in the intelligence business would know that."
"Did you know there's a basement in the Yakumo Pharmaceutical headquarters building?"
Director Takaya's smiling face froze for a fraction of a second—even I could tell.
"A basement?"
"A subway line. They told us it was a relic of one. But we saw it with our own eyes."
"Oh."
Director Takaya made an exaggerated gesture, pressing a hand to his forehead.
"You saw that thing?"
"Yes," I nodded as well.
"We got caught and chased out almost immediately, but it looked like it stretched out pretty far. We were wondering if you happened to know just how far along the construction went."
"Good grief."
He shook his head with a playful demeanor, letting out a theatrical sigh. "Why are you asking *me* this?"
"After we got caught, we were taken to the Sunami family's main residence, and that's where we were told about it. Apparently, the top officials in the prefectural government, the city, and the police department all know about it."
"Ho. Sounds like you went on quite an adventure."
Director Takaya laughed it off evasively.
"You're a former Superintendent at the Prefectural Police and used to be the head of the First Investigation Division. The Chief of the Prefectural Police or the Head of Police Administration might not be briefed on it, but for a homegrown Chief of Criminal Investigation, it should have been a matter passed down in transition notes."
"Well, I never made it to Chief of Criminal Investigation, you see."
"I don't know the exact definition of top brass, but it wouldn't be strange for someone other than the Criminal Investigation Chief—someone leading the operations on the ground—to know about it. Especially someone like you, who was famous for being sharp and practically guaranteed to be the next Chief of Criminal Investigation."
"Oho. Say it louder, will you?"
When I chimed in with, "A handsome, razor-sharp mind!" my mentor snapped at me to shut up.
"Ah, I knew about it," Director Takaya finally relented, spreading his hands. "Though, I thought it was a load of nonsense until I saw it with my own eyes."
"You've seen it?"
"When you hear about a hidden, secret subway line, naturally you're curious. Just think about it. If you could travel underground to your destination by the shortest route, completely unaffected by city traffic, independent of city tram schedules, and without a single person ever seeing you… it becomes a matter tied directly to alibis for murder cases happening within this city."
"Ah, I see."
It only dawned on me just then. It sounded like the sort of trick you'd find in a timetabling mystery novel. No, had a trick like a secret subway ever actually been used before? Big metropolises maybe, but in a quiet provincial city like this? If I were reading a mystery and something like that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, I'd probably be furious.
"So, I went to check it out myself. That was well over ten years ago. Of course, there were no subway cars sitting down there. And as for the tracks, both the east and west ends dead-ended after about 150 meters. They just hit solid walls. They must have stopped construction while they were still digging through the earth. Or perhaps, right from the start, it was just an experimental project on that scale."
"150 meters east and west, 300 meters in total," my mentor muttered, hand on his chin.
"Isn't that a bit too massive just for an experiment in laying subway tracks? Just how much money did that cost?"
To my question, Director Takaya replied,
"The Sunami family is rolling in money, after all. And they're eccentric. Who knows what rich people are thinking."
"Either way, that means the subway wasn't even completed for a single block, right?"
"That's right. Through a history that's now impossible to trace, it's simply become one of those confidential matters passed down secretly from generation to generation. As far as the police and local administration are concerned, they'd love nothing more than for someone to just hurry up and bury the damn thing. Of course, if we pressed the issue and told them to carry out a mandatory execution, we wouldn't have the budget to pull off a massive construction project like that anyway."
Director Takaya let out a sigh.
"Still, you two are sticking your noses into a terribly dangerous place. The Sunami Group—or rather, the Sunami family—is a pretty untouchable existence, even within the prefectural police."
"Director, do you know a man they call 'The Old Man'? A person named Daigo Sunami?"
"…Ah, the father of the current Group Chairman and the Speaker of the Prefectural Assembly. I saw him in person back when I was young. From a distance. I wonder how old he was around that time… It was right before he passed away, I think."
"What kind of man was he?"
"He was as withered as a dead tree, but his eyes were blazing. He had a kind of intense presence—an uncanny, captivating aura about him."
"You haven't happened to see that Daigo Sunami *anywhere* recently, have you?"
"Come on now. How many decades do you think it's been since he died?"
"Then, you must know Daigo Sunami's grandson, Teruki Sunami, right?"
"Of course. He's the chairman of the Yakumo Medical Corporation. I've played a round of golf with him before. What kind of connection was that again…?"
Imagining two large, sun-tanned men standing side-by-side on a green, I couldn't help thinking they actually suited each other.
"Do you know anything about Teruki's children?"
"Children? I heard he has two, I believe. I saw the daughter at the golf course. She was still quite little. I haven't met the son, though."
"His name is Shingo. He's in his mid-twenties and recently joined Yakumo Pharmaceutical."
"Oh? And what about him?"
"Have you heard any rumors about him?"
"Hmm."
Director Takaya folded his arms and sank deeper into the sofa. He looked from the top of my mentor's head to the tips of his toes, trying to read the intent behind the question.
"No, I haven't. Sorry."
"What about Yakumo Pharmaceutical's psychic research institute?"
"What on earth is that?"
"Just the eccentric whim of a rich man. If you don't know anything about it, never mind. Sorry to bother you."
"…"
Director Takaya wore a thoughtful expression for a moment, but eventually, he slowly opened his mouth.
"About two years ago, a strange corpse turned up within our jurisdiction. I didn't hear the details, but apparently, an unidentified man was found dead, almost as if he'd been embedded directly into concrete."
"Encased in concrete?"
"No, if it were just that, it's sometimes used by the Yakuza to settle scores. But this corpse was in a bizarre state, as if part of its body had literally assimilated with the concrete. It was never made public, though."
"What the hell? That's gross," I said.
My mentor followed up by asking, "Was the culprit caught?"
"Unfortunately, it was filed away as unsolved. In the end, they never even figured out who the victim was. However, I heard that an employee of Yakumo Pharmaceutical came up on the investigative radar. That lead seemed to fizzle out in the end, though."
"Why would a Yakumo employee be on the radar?"
"Traces of a drug were found in the stomach contents. Apparently, an undissolved capsule remained. Since that capsule was manufactured by Yakumo, they inquired about the ingredients left behind, and a suspicion arose that it might be a new pharmaceutical product currently under development. Once that happens, the whole nature of the case changes. People start wondering if Yakumo Pharmaceutical had a hand in it."
"So why was the suspicion cleared?"
"I couldn't tell you. When you don't know how a suspicion during an investigation gets cleared, it usually means it's going to stay buried forever."
Director Takaya's riddle-like explanation left me feeling like I was walking through smoke, but my mentor's face was twisted in a grimace as he groaned.
"Are they untouchable?"
The director shrugged his shoulders and said nothing.
"For strictly confidential investigative information, you sure know a lot. As expected, you still have thick pipelines straight into the prefectural police."
"No, the trick to having an effective pipeline is making it thin and invisible. Now then, I have another appointment coming up soon. If you'll excuse me."
Director Takaya stood up briskly. We had no choice but to stand as well. As we were leaving the room, my mentor looked back and muttered,
"Director. Even though the subway construction was stopped halfway through digging underground, why bother laying tracks at all? Tracks that lead absolutely nowhere."
"Hmm?"
"And to leave the abandoned pre-war subway plan in a way that's clearly visible… Doesn't it strike you almost like some kind of camouflage?"
"Camouflage for what?"
"…I've heard that the Tokyo subway system has so many tangled routes that they're built in multiple layers to avoid crashes. Like having yet another subway running underneath the regular subway."
"Eh?"
Hearing that, I finally caught onto what my mentor was getting at.
"What on earth are you talking about?"
Perhaps realizing it too, Director Takaya groaned with a troubled look on his face.
"Well. It just goes to show that rich people's 'whims' are hard to figure out."
With that, my mentor smiled.
To be continued in 'Poison, Part 1 (2/5): A Little Marijuana and Hashish'