Nocturne of Remembrance (13 page)

“I’m not dissatisfied, just anxious. You said you don’t know what to think of that guy. Me neither. That must be why. It’s the same as with ghosts. When you can’t tell, it makes you anxious.”

“Hm.” Sanjo took a long hard look at Misaki.

“… What is it, sir?”

“How old are you these days?”

“I’ve made it to fifty-five.”

“Fifty-five, that’s still the prime of life. Maybe you’ve been a widower for too long and your body or mind is in decline? I can’t believe that a man I took to be the embodiment of your motto of severity is taking such an attitude.”

“Please leave it at that. It’s already been almost fifteen years since my wife passed away, and not once have I been ill.”

“Then did the relentless mill that is the Tokyo District Prosecutor’s Office grind you down? Are you delegating to your subordinates as you should? People who try to do everything themselves aren’t fit to lead. In the private sector, you’d quickly be let go in a restructuring.”

Each of the barbs stuck in Misaki’s chest. It hadn’t been long since his transfer to Tokyo, and the reality was that he had yet to secure reliable hands. It was true that his workload had increased thanks to his tendency, as a skilled person, to micromanage the vast number of cases that came in.

“You aren’t a great commander if you can’t find brilliant aides,” summarized Sanjo.

“Your warning is painfully appropriate.”

“Then it’s even more regrettable.”

“What is?”

“Your only son. Yosuke, was that his name?”

Sanjo had uttered it so suddenly that Misaki nearly choked.

“If he’d gone on and entered the legal profession and teamed up with you … I sometimes fantasize about it even now. Your frustration in the way of subordinates would have vanished like the mist then and
there.”

“Regarding him, please, do leave it at that. That good-for-nothing would only have been an eyesore.”

“Really? His name pops up recently, so I was feeling impressed that he’s distinguished himself in that field, too.”

This, Misaki thought, was Sanjo retaliating. A prosecutor had half-forced his way into the chambers of a judge who did not like out-of-court oral arguments. He was bringing up the most uncomfortable subject possible as a thank-you.

The best thing to do now was to retreat.

“I have interrupted you for quite a long time. I will be going now.”

“Sure. Next time, I would like to meet you somewhere for a drink.”

Bowing to Sanjo, who had casually raised his hand in parting, Misaki took his leave from the judge’s chambers.

The unexpectedly mentioned name bounced around in his mind for a while. His fool son, who had passed the national bar exam and seemed to have a bright future, had chosen a career in music of all things. Five years had already passed since he had gone against his father’s wishes.

Having expected the world from him, Misaki had felt that much more angry at his betrayal. Because he’d lost his beloved wife as well, it had felt as though his only blood and kin had become his enemy.

That goofball as one of his subordinates?

The judge really made him laugh. True, his son was on the sharp side and caught things that others inadvertently overlooked. He’d probably do fine if he were cast in an investigative role.

But Sanjo didn’t know—the clown decisively lacked something that was a must for any administrator of justice.

The guy thought little of the law.

He worshipped the Muses rather than the goddess Themis.

—
3
—

Appeal Trial, First Public Hearing.

The Tokyo High Court is located in the same government complex as the Tokyo District Court and Summary Criminal Court. In Wing B of Building No. 6 on the east is the Tokyo Metropolitan Public Prosecutor’s Office, while Wing C houses the Tokyo Family Court and Summary Civil Court. Across the street in Buildings No. 2 and No. 3 are the National Public Safety Commission, the Metropolitan Police Department, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. It is thus the temple mount of Japanese legal administration, but all of the buildings’ outer appearances are inorganic and devoid of gravitas.

Mikoshiba headed for the eighth floor in an elevator. Courtroom #822 would be the arena for the upcoming fight.

Entering three minutes early, he saw that the visitors’ gallery was already full and that the prosecution team had arrived.

Prosecutor Kyohei Misaki noticed him and immediately looked away. He had no expression on his face, but his enmity still seemed to prick Mikoshiba’s skin. He recalled duking it out with Misaki on some case right after the man had transferred to his previous district office somewhere. It had ended in a complete victory for Mikoshiba, but what he remembered most clearly was that he had unusual qualities for a prosecutor. To put it nicely, he was fiery; to put it not so nicely, he was rather emotional, and his face changed color at every response by the defense. He was the type you wanted to play poker with. Of course, Misaki knew this and tried his best to keep a straight face just like now, but Mikoshiba’s provocations were a cut above him.

Next to enter the courtroom was Akiko. She looked as worn down by life as she had at the interview, and she seemed to have on almost no makeup. She certainly didn’t have to go as far as to make eyes at the judges, but he wished she’d at least try to make a favorable impression.

Finally, the three judges entered the courtroom. At the secretary’s request, everyone rose to their feet and bowed.

In the middle of the three men in judge’s robes was the presiding
judge, Mamoru Sanjo. He was the picture of gentleness, which probably led many a defendant to hope for a lenient sentence. However, that was only his outward appearance, and he was said to be a terribly cold judge—a reputation that Mikoshiba had looked into beforehand and verified. Even before the recent trend of harsher judgments, Sanjo had been imposing strict sentences for heinous crimes.

Mikoshiba pondered on that as he looked at Sanjo. This trial hinged on whether or not he could touch the man’s heartstrings. Assailing the prosecution’s claims using logic was Mikoshiba’s winning formula until now, so he was having to adopt a strategy at which he didn’t exactly excel.

“The court is now in session. Before we proceed, the defense attorney.”

“Yes, your honor.”

“It seems that you have not submitted an opening statement summary. Can you tell the court why?”

“Pardon me, your honor. I was busy meeting with my client and did not have the time to prepare it in writing. I would like to make my opening statement here and now.”

“You may proceed.”

Mikoshiba stood up.

This was his declaration of war.

“The defense holds that the accused Akiko Tsuda is not guilty and hereby requests that the original verdict be revoked.”

The visitor’s gallery stirred a bit. Misaki was glaring at Mikoshiba.

“The original trial ignored the circumstances of the accused and merely inferred a so-called motive for the murder. I intend to bring this to the attention of the court and prove that there was no motive.”

“Is the said lack your only basis for claiming that she is innocent?”

“I want to touch upon those details in the process of defending the case.”

“Please begin.”

“First witness, please.”

Yozo was brought in by a bailiff and took the witness stand.

“Witness, please state your name and occupation.”

“My name is Yozo Tsuda. I am a district welfare officer.”

His nervousness was apparent from his voice. It was understandable. Since the defendant had confessed, he hadn’t needed to take the stand during the first trial. Mikoshiba and Yozo had gone over what he was to say, but the cross-examination to follow was indeed worrisome.

“You are the accused Akiko Tsuda’s father-in-law?”

“Yes.”

“Is your house near Shingo’s?”

“Yes. It is within walking distance. Shingo’s wife worked during the day and my two granddaughters were home alone most of the time, so I frequently went to see how they were doing.”

“Even though Shingo was in the house, they were home alone?”

“Shingo always stayed in his room and did not take a step outside. Of course, he didn’t do any chores or work from home. My granddaughters did all the housework while Akiko was out.”

“Who taught them to take care of things?”

“That was all Akiko, I believe. And it wasn’t just housework. Even from this old man’s point of view, the girls were well-taught and had good manners.”

“So she more than carried out her responsibilities as a mother. How about Shingo, on the other hand?”

“He did nothing. He just stayed in his room, staring at the computer screen, and hardly talked to his family. Such a man cannot educate his children.”

“So he wasn’t working, and he wasn’t taking care of the children at all.”

“He was just idle.” Denouncing his son in court was, of course, unpleasant for Yozo, and he had a bitter look on his face. “He’d gotten a taste of making money readily and didn’t want to do so by the sweat of his brow. An unlikely comeback sounds nice, but he was a big fool who dreamt of turning things around with a home run and became
obsessed with making amateurish little bets.”

“Was there any strife in the household?”

“It wasn’t so much strife as Shingo’s one-sided violence. It didn’t stop with Akiko, he also raised his hand against my grandchildren.”

“Could you give us the particulars?”

“At first he just yelled at his family … The violence came after Akiko began going out to work. Probably because it hurt his pride. Slapping became routine, and at times he apparently punched her in the face. Whenever I would go to check on things, Akiko usually had marks on her face from being struck.”

“How bad were these injuries?”

“She had bruises, so she must have been hit quite hard.”

“Badly enough that she might have felt endangered?”

“Your honor,” Misaki immediately raised his hand. “That is a leading question. Whether or not the accused felt endangered is no more than the witness’ guess.”

“Obvious external injuries help gauge the degree of violence that took place. The testimony is valid material for surmising it.” Sanjo looked at Mikoshiba and nodded. “Acknowledged. Please continue the questioning.”

“Witness. You said a moment ago that the violence spread to the children. To what extent did it?”

“The younger one, Rinko, just turned six, but I remember how the skin on her cheek had peeled off. When I asked her, she said she’d been pinched badly by Shingo.”

“He pinched her so hard that her skin peeled off.”

“The older one Miyuki had it worse. She was struck too, and had a cut lip.”

“You didn’t consider talking to the police about this?”

“I was concerned about exposing such an embarrassment to the family, but the real reason was that Akiko stopped me. She cried and said that she didn’t want to turn her husband into a criminal. In that case, my hands were tied. All I could do was ask their neighbor the
Saitos to keep an eye on them and sometimes go there, myself, to see how things were.”

“With Shingo’s violence escalating and it spreading to the girls, would the accused try to protect them?”

Misaki interrupted before Yozo could open his mouth. “Objection, your honor. The defense is just trying to get impressions from the witness, not the facts.”

Seeing Misaki’s expression, Mikoshiba chuckled to himself. Shingo’s violence had also come up when the police had taken Yozo’s disposition, but the precinct investigator hadn’t dug into the details. For Misaki, an overlooked unexploded shell had just gone off.

“Objection sustained. Defense, please confirm facts only.”

“Sure, then I’ll just state them. To summarize what the witness said, the victim’s violence became everyday occurrences, and the young children were bearing the brunt of it, too. If it escalated, not only her own life but also that of the children would be in danger. Despite being occupied with work, the accused devoted time to her children’s education and upbringing and was without any faults as a mother. Moreover, with all her day-in day-out labors, the accused was exhausted in both mind and body, and her judgment dissipated. Even if she did commit a violent act, it was not because she selfishly felt her husband to be a burden. It was highly likely to have been legitimate self-defense, in order to protect her and the children. I assert that it was natural behavior, in keeping with that of mothers at large, and nothing that should be considered a crime.”

With that declaration, Mikoshiba took his seat. Yozo uttered a short sigh.

“I would like to cross-examine the witness, your honor.”

“Permission granted.”

Misaki stood up slowly. He looked like he was preparing to pounce on some prey. “The witness said that the accused and her children were exposed to everyday violence, but is that a fact?”

“Yes, it is a fact. Exactly as I just said.”

“Excuse me, I misphrased the question. You said that you often went to the victim’s house, but did you see the victim actually commit violence against the accused and her children?”

Damn it
, Mikoshiba cursed silently. Misaki intended to invalidate the testimony itself.

“No, I was not there when he hit them … But Akiko and the children would never tell such lies. There was no need to.”

“The witness will please only reply to my questions. I will ask you once again. Did the witness ever once confirm actual instances of such violence?”

“Shingo always feigned innocence with me and would never show such—”

“Witness. Only the facts, please. Did you, or did you not, witness it?”

“Actually witness … No.”

Mikoshiba immediately intercepted, “Your honor. The prosecutor’s question just now is a play on words. No matter how much the violence was a daily occurrence, the probability of coincidently being there just at that time is nearly zero.”

“Yet the witness said he went there often. If the violence was a frequent occurrence, then never actually seeing it in progress is unnatural.”