The Devotion of Suspect X

Leaving Ishigami, Kusanagi heads to Shinozaki Station and finds Yukawa in the crowd. Kusanagi demands to know what Yukawa is doing, and Yukawa feigns confusion, answering his questions with vague obfuscation. Finally, Yukawa explains that he has been watching people come and go all afternoon. Many people leave bicycles at the station to take the train and then return for them in the evening. Many of those bicycles are left unchained. The theory that the victim stole the bicycle therefore makes no sense. Yukawa instead speculates that the murderer, rather than the victim, stole the bicycle that was found at the crime scene; Yukawa reasons that that the person stole it specifically because it was brand-new. He surmises that the murderer knew that the owner would then report it stolen; this would allow the murderer to control when and how the police learned of the victim’s identity. This detail implies that the murderer had a meticulous plan in place, though Yukawa cannot yet decipher what it was.

Kusanagi and Yukawa again disagree about whether Yasuko could have committed the murder. They now wonder if the victim was killed elsewhere and was then left at the crime scene. This theory would exclude Yasuko as a suspect because she could not move the body, nor does she own a car. At the very least, she likely had an accomplice. Kusanagi had hoped that Kudo might be the accomplice, but he no longer thinks that this is the case.

Kusanagi asks why Yukawa lied to Ishigami about the police request. Yukawa is angry that Kusanagi spoke to Ishigami, revealing his deception. Kusanagi had not considered that Ishigami might be involved until he noticed Yukawa’s interest, but now he is suspicious. Yukawa refuses to tell Kusanagi anything else, claiming to be interested due to personal reasons. He refuses to cooperate with Kusanagi’s investigation, and the two men part in anger. Now alone, Kusanagi surmises that the math teacher might be interested in Yasuko.

Meanwhile, Ishigami rents a car so that he can follow Kudo around town. He follows Kudo to his workplace and then to a hotel. Ishigami takes photos of Kudo, then drafts a letter that he intends to send to Yasuko. In the letter, he threatens her and demands that she stop seeing Kudo immediately or he will view it as “a betrayal [he] cannot forgive” (169). Just as he drives away, he sees Yasuko entering the hotel.

Yasuko meets Kudo in the hotel lounge. Kudo apologizes for asking her to meet him so suddenly. When he explains that the police came to see him, Yasuko panics and suggests that they stop seeing each other, but Kudo is not concerned. He knows that they are both innocent and that the police will move on eventually, and he does not want to hide his relationship with Yasuko. Yasuko agrees and leaves again.

On her way home, Yasuko receives a phone call. Her employer at Benten-tei warns her that the police have been asking more questions, this time about Ishigami. The employer told the police that she suspects Ishigami only visits the shop because he likes Yasuko, though she took care to admit that this was just speculation.

Ishigami hears Yasuko return home and is relieved that she did not stay at the hotel with Kudo for long. Ishigami makes his usual phone call. Yasuko tells him what her employer said to the police, embarrassed to admit that she has known all along that he might like her. Internally, Ishigami is horrified that someone noticed his behavior when he thought he was being discreet, but he tells her not to worry.

Once again, Kusanagi visits Yukawa. He accuses Yukawa of hiding incriminating evidence, and Yukawa says that he has found no evidence that Ishigami is involved in anything. Kusanagi now speculates that Ishigami may have helped Yasuko to move the body. However, the police still cannot break Yasuko’s alibi, which makes this theory more difficult. They both consider the idea that Ishigami killed Togashi by himself, but Yukawa believes that Ishigami is far too intelligent. If he had planned the murder himself, it would not be so full of holes. It would be completely unsolvable. Kusanagi insists that committing murder is different from being good at math. Yukawa retorts that they are “the same thing […]. Murder probably comes even easier to him” (183).

The next day, Kusanagi visits Club Marian, where Yasuko used to work. He speaks to the woman in charge of the hostesses, and she shares what she knows. She explains that Togashi came looking for Yasuko on March 5. The woman did not tell him anything because she knew how dangerous he was, but one of the other hostesses let slip where Yasuko had moved to. The woman now tells Kusanagi that she spoke to Yasuko on the night of March 10, after Yasuko had returned from her movie and karaoke night with Misato. She explains that she and Yasuko often spoke late at night because they were old friends and both have been accustomed to the late nights at clubs. She did not tell Yasuko that Togashi was looking for her because she did not want to worry Yasuko. Hearing this, Kusanagi is confused, because this phone call (which was made on Yasuko’s landline rather than her cell phone) confirms Yasuko’s alibi even more firmly, and he does not understand why she never mentioned it before. Kishitani suggests that the fact that she forgot to mention it only proves her innocence, as a guilty person would offer every proof they could find. It might not occur to an innocent person that this detail would be necessary.

However, Kusanagi recalls more of his conversation with Yukawa the night before. Yukawa believes that Ishigami is logical and dispassionate. Though Ishigami would never choose murder as a first resort, he would be “quite capable of committing an atrocity, provided that it’s the most logical course of action” (195) for his goals. Yukawa therefore suggested that Ishigami would be unlikely to kill Togashi himself. However, if he were to arrive after the fact, he would use his vast intelligence to hinder the investigation and instruct Yasuko and Misato on how to behave. Yukawa reiterated that this was all conjecture. Now, Kusanagi recalls that Yukawa looked pained and saddened by his own conjecture and was clearly afraid for his friend. Kusanagi wonders if Yasuko is following a script provided by Ishigami.

Meanwhile, Yukawa visits Benten-tei alone and speaks with Yasuko. He says he wants her advice on how to deal with Ishigami. She says she barely knows the man except for his daily lunch order. Yukawa tells her that Ishigami is intelligent and straightforward, which is useful in math but not in life. He asks if Ishigami ever made a positive impression on Yasuko. He knows that Ishigami has taken an interest in Yasuko, and he wants to understand why. Feeling nervous, Yasuko again claims that she barely knows him. Yukawa relents and leaves.

Ishigami gives his students a makeup test. Earlier, the head of the school warned Ishigami not to make the test too difficult. Ishigami wonders why he bothers teaching. He feels like he is wasting his time and his life. In the middle of the test, he tells the students to stop; he has given up.

Later, Kusanagi visits him at the school and teases him about how difficult his tests must be, but Ishigami explains that he merely “take[s] advantage of the blind spots created when students assume too much” (205). He elaborates, “I give them a problem that looks like a geometry problem, but is in fact an algebra problem” (205).

Kusanagi asks where Ishigami was on March 10. Ishigami realizes that if they are now asking for his alibi, they have begun to suspect his involvement. He explains that he came home straight from school and stayed in his apartment. Kusanagi previously spoke with the school and noted that Ishigami took half days on the mornings of March 10 and March 11. He confirmed with the school that it is common for Ishigami to call in sick in the morning about once per month because he has a habit of staying up too late working on math. However, it was highly unusual for him to call in sick two mornings in a row. Ishigami shrugs and acts unconcerned, saying that he merely felt ill unexpectedly. Kusanagi leaves. Ishigami reflects that despite the detective’s suspicions, the police are still far from the truth. However, he is worried about Yukawa’s involvement.

Kusanagi visits Yukawa’s lab in time to hear him lecturing one of his graduate students about faulty logic in an experiment. Kusanagi asks Yukawa why he began to suspect Ishigami in the first place. While Kusanagi can now see that Ishigami likes Yasuko, he cannot find any other evidence connecting him to the case. Yukawa says he merely had a feeling, an intuition. Kusanagi laughs at this, as they have previously argued about intuition; Yukawa has never believed in intuition in the past. Yukawa shrugs and refuses to tell him anything more. Attempting to change the subject, Kusanagi notes that Yukawa’s lecture with his students was similar to something that Ishigami said. He explains his conversation with Ishigami about blind spots and the example of an algebra problem disguised as a geometry problem. Suddenly, Yukawa looks horrified and tells Kusanagi to leave. Kusanagi has never seen him so upset and does as he is told.