Love at first sight is often cured by a second look.
Love is sweet when it’s new, but sweeter when it’s true.
ePub
A4Chapter 34
A
lthough Itokawa was as defiant as ever, there was now a faint glint ofpanic in his eyes. The clammy marks his hands left on the tabletop were
further proof. His palms were sweating.
Today’s face-off was taking place in one of the interview rooms at the
police station rather than at the school.
“That’s everything I can tell you about the accident at the pool. The
three boys will confirm it all.”
Itokawa’s statement matched the testimony of Yuto and his friends.
Nonetheless, the two detectives had their doubts about his motivation for
orchestrating the cover-up. Itokawa claimed to be “concerned about the
boys’ future,” but was that actually true?
“If word got out that the accident took place when all four members of
the relay team were training, it might have been seen as part of the swim
club’s official activities. You were worried that the school authorities might
come after you as the coach. Is that why you decided to sweep it all under
the carpet?”
Itokawa glowered at Kaga. “Spare me the insults. I’m not that sordid a
character.”
“Your actions were sordid enough.”
“What do you—?” Despite the look of loathing on Itokawa’s face, he
was reduced to silence.
“Someone told us that it was your brilliant idea to get the boys to train
by swimming with just their arms while someone held on to their legs. You
didn’t want anyone finding out about that, did you?”
Itokawa smacked the tabletop with the flats of his hands.
“Let’s move on to the next question,” Matsumiya said. “Takeaki
Aoyagi called you three days before he was killed. Previously, you told us
that he wanted to discuss his problematic relationship with his son with you.
Would you like to modify that statement? This will be used as evidence, so
think carefully before you reply.”
Itokawa’s breathing became labored. His chest rose and fell several
times, then he muttered, “Yeah, I’d like to change my statement.”
“Good. Give us an accurate account of your conversation.”
Itokawa ran the back of his hand over his mouth.
“Aoyagi asked me to tell him more about the accident at the pool. I got
the impression he suspected his son of being involved.”
“What did you say?”
“I simply said there wasn’t anything more to know. It had all been in
the papers.”
“Did Aoyagi buy that?”
Itokawa shook his head feebly. “Course not. He went for me. I had an
obligation to tell the truth, he said. It would be the best thing for his son.”
“What did you do?”
“I told him he couldn’t talk to me like that and hung up. I didn’t
actually have the time to talk when he called.
“And that’s everything,” Itokawa added in a quiet voice.
“Why didn’t you tell us this straight after Aoyagi’s murder?” Kaga
broke in. “If we’d known, we’d probably have handled the investigation
differently.”
“I don’t know what to say … I didn’t see any connection between the
accident and Aoyagi’s murder. And I thought I was doing what was best for
the boys.”
“‘Best for the boys’? How is lying meant to do them any good?”
“I couldn’t see the point of raking up an old story and causing the boys
any more emotional distress. Especially now that the three of them are back
to normal—”
Kaga sprang to his feet, reached out with his long arms, and grabbed
Itokawa by the collar.
“Don’t make me laugh! What’s this bullshit about not wanting to
cause emotional distress? You’ve no idea of all the harm you’ve caused,
have you? Why didn’t Sugino give himself up after he stabbed Aoyagi?
Because you’d taught him the worst possible lesson. If you do something
wrong, just cover it up and things will sort themselves out—that’s the lesson
you taught the three boys three years ago. That’s why Sugino went and did
the same thing all over again. All Aoyagi wanted to do was teach his son—
whom you misled so badly—what was right. If you can’t even understand
that, you shouldn’t be a teacher at all. You’ve no business teaching anyone
anything.”
Kaga pushed the other man away as if discarding a soiled article.
Itokawa’s face was pale.
