incidents in Japan involve debt. So that was the first possibility I examined. There are innumerable examples in which the missing party gave the appearance of leading a perfectly stable life despite actually being deeply in debt.”
“So you looked into their finances.”
“Thorougly.”
“And there was no debt?”
“Let me give you the specific numbers. Their bank accounts held 25 million yen in Kota’s name and 9.5 million in Haruko’s. The children aside, that’s a total of almost 35 million yen. On top of that, their house was all paid off—no mortgage. The only thing they owed was their auto loan, with a balance of less than a million yen. The Fujimuras owned other real estate as well, but it wasn’t under mortgage either. In other words, the family was essentially debt-free, with nearly 35 million yen in the bank. And not a drop of that money has been withdrawn since they’ve gone missing.”
“In other words, we can rule out debt as the reason for their disappearance.”
“Right. It’s just not possible.”
With specific numbers provided, the group had to agree with Saeko’s conclusion. The Fujimuras definitely hadn’t run off in the night to escape their debtors.
“So what does that leave?”
“Beyond debt, the next most likely possibility is a crime of passion. Kota was clean as a whistle, with no shadow of any rumors of adultery. He was never very social and he didn’t have a lot of friends. Haruko, on the other hand, was a very attractive woman, and there was some talk of a possible relationship between her and another man.”
“Ah-ha! Did the husband know?” Oki asked quickly. He seemed to be already imagining the set-up: husband learns of wife’s affair and in a blind rage kills his family before taking his own life. Naturally, Saeko had entertained the same possibility.
“I looked into it, but it seems the rumors about Haruko hadn’t reached Kota. They were baseless to begin with and never went any further than Haruko’s workplace. For that reason, the jealous husband scenario doesn’t seem like a possibility, either.”
In a sweeping motion, Oki the producer reclined in his seat and leaned back all the way. “Mm-hmm. So I guess that only leaves one possibility.”
“Abduction, you mean?”
“Yes. What’s your take?”
“I think the possibility of a foreign government being involved is slim, but the most likely remaining explanation is that they were abducted.”
“Ah-ha!” Oki’s reaction seemed vaguely excited as he sat back up in his chair, leaning forwards across the table.
“Nothing else fits. The chances that a group of criminals broke into the Fujimuras’ home and kidnapped them is basically nil. There was no evidence whatsoever of a struggle. The family’s car is still parked in their garage, so we know they didn’t go for a drive and get into an accident. The only possible explanation is that someone very close to the Fujimuras lured the whole family out of the house and that they were taken away in a van or similar vehicle.”
“I see. Does anyone else have any ideas?” Oki turned to the other members of the group.
“Well, perhaps we should consider the possibility of a UFO abduction,” suggested writer Satoyama with a wide-eyed expression. Immediately the tension in the room slackened, and a few members of the group let out guffaws. Saeko wasn’t sure whether Satoyama was kidding or not. He looked like a typical occult-obsessed reclusive type, and it seemed possible that he genuinely believed aliens might be involved.
Saeko smiled and refrained from commenting. Then she revealed the hypothesis she’d left out of her report.
“Between you and me, when I began my investigation, I suspected Koji’s older brother Seiji.” Without clear evidence, Saeko could have been sued for slander if she’d publicly implicated a specific individual in her report. It wasn’t the sort of thing a writer could publish without any proof.
“Why?” Both
“So you looked into their finances.”
“Thorougly.”
“And there was no debt?”
“Let me give you the specific numbers. Their bank accounts held 25 million yen in Kota’s name and 9.5 million in Haruko’s. The children aside, that’s a total of almost 35 million yen. On top of that, their house was all paid off—no mortgage. The only thing they owed was their auto loan, with a balance of less than a million yen. The Fujimuras owned other real estate as well, but it wasn’t under mortgage either. In other words, the family was essentially debt-free, with nearly 35 million yen in the bank. And not a drop of that money has been withdrawn since they’ve gone missing.”
“In other words, we can rule out debt as the reason for their disappearance.”
“Right. It’s just not possible.”
With specific numbers provided, the group had to agree with Saeko’s conclusion. The Fujimuras definitely hadn’t run off in the night to escape their debtors.
“So what does that leave?”
“Beyond debt, the next most likely possibility is a crime of passion. Kota was clean as a whistle, with no shadow of any rumors of adultery. He was never very social and he didn’t have a lot of friends. Haruko, on the other hand, was a very attractive woman, and there was some talk of a possible relationship between her and another man.”
“Ah-ha! Did the husband know?” Oki asked quickly. He seemed to be already imagining the set-up: husband learns of wife’s affair and in a blind rage kills his family before taking his own life. Naturally, Saeko had entertained the same possibility.
“I looked into it, but it seems the rumors about Haruko hadn’t reached Kota. They were baseless to begin with and never went any further than Haruko’s workplace. For that reason, the jealous husband scenario doesn’t seem like a possibility, either.”
In a sweeping motion, Oki the producer reclined in his seat and leaned back all the way. “Mm-hmm. So I guess that only leaves one possibility.”
“Abduction, you mean?”
“Yes. What’s your take?”
“I think the possibility of a foreign government being involved is slim, but the most likely remaining explanation is that they were abducted.”
“Ah-ha!” Oki’s reaction seemed vaguely excited as he sat back up in his chair, leaning forwards across the table.
“Nothing else fits. The chances that a group of criminals broke into the Fujimuras’ home and kidnapped them is basically nil. There was no evidence whatsoever of a struggle. The family’s car is still parked in their garage, so we know they didn’t go for a drive and get into an accident. The only possible explanation is that someone very close to the Fujimuras lured the whole family out of the house and that they were taken away in a van or similar vehicle.”
“I see. Does anyone else have any ideas?” Oki turned to the other members of the group.
“Well, perhaps we should consider the possibility of a UFO abduction,” suggested writer Satoyama with a wide-eyed expression. Immediately the tension in the room slackened, and a few members of the group let out guffaws. Saeko wasn’t sure whether Satoyama was kidding or not. He looked like a typical occult-obsessed reclusive type, and it seemed possible that he genuinely believed aliens might be involved.
Saeko smiled and refrained from commenting. Then she revealed the hypothesis she’d left out of her report.
“Between you and me, when I began my investigation, I suspected Koji’s older brother Seiji.” Without clear evidence, Saeko could have been sued for slander if she’d publicly implicated a specific individual in her report. It wasn’t the sort of thing a writer could publish without any proof.
“Why?” Both
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