A Cop's Eyes Read Free

murderer pinned on him, or were the deep scars she’d received at Kimura’s hands the distant cause—
    On the morning of the next day, with a job search magazine in hand, Shinichi made many calls. He contacted around twenty companies, but as expected, most of them demurred. Even so, one promised him an interview.
    Shinichi hurriedly wrote his resume, got dressed, and headed to the food manufacturer located in Komagome.
    He was rejected. When they asked him what he’d done after graduating from middle school, the endpoint of his educational history, for the first time Shinichi told them the truth. Even if he managed to be hired, he was sick and tired of being let go when they inevitably learned about his past. Maybe some people were ready to judge him by who he was now.
    But that fleeting hope was quickly dashed. Chewing over hisdisappointment, he got off the train at Otsuka station.
    When he came to the crane game outside the station-front arcade, he stopped.
    It was a day with no yields, but he could bring Haruna a gift at least. That morning, Naoko had told her about the case at Mai’s, and it had wrecked Haruna.
    Inserting a hundred-yen coin, he hit the button with perfect timing and netted a Momo-chan doll just like the day before.
    â€œBravo.”
    Shinichi turned around in surprise at the voice. Natsume was watching him with a smile on his face.
    â€œWow, in one try. I wanted that doll too and tried several times, but forget it.”
    The transparent excuse rubbed Shinichi the wrong way. Natsume must have been tailing him or checking his alibi.
    â€œCoach me, will you?”
    Natsume pulled some coins out of his wallet and started playing. No matter how many times he tried, the doll slipped off the crane. Unperturbed, he kept playing again and again.
    â€œThis is the one you gave Mai yesterday, right? Momo-chan. So you played here,” asked Natsume, staring at the dolls in the case.
    Really? A man your age saying “Momo-chan” like that?
Shinichi spat inside, but said, “Yeah, I did.”
    â€œYesterday, while we were questioning her, Mai was hugging hers the entire time.”
    Picturing the scene tore Shinichi up. He slapped Natsume’s hand, which was over the button, hard the next instant. The crane descended and grabbed a doll.
    â€œWow!” cried Natsume, just about springing for joy as the doll fell into the chute.
    â€œWhat’re you gonna do with it?” Shinichi pointed out coldly.
    â€œI’m giving it to my daughter.”
    Natsume held the doll with a happy smile.
    Come to think of it, at the juvenile detention center, Natsume had talked about his family just once. Shinichi seemed to recall a daughter who’d been three or four at the time, which meant she was in middle school by now.
    â€œMiddle schoolers these days wouldn’t want one, you know,” warned Shinichi.
    â€œI’m sure, in most cases. But my daughter’s been lying on a hospital bed for nearly ten years now. I wanted to put one by her pillow.”
    Shinichi thought he saw the fond face of a father peeking through Natsume’s faint smile. “Is she sick or something?”
    Natsume didn’t answer the question. “Would you like to get some coffee nearby, as my way of saying thank you?”
    â€œAn interrogation, huh?” Shinichi responded with sarcasm.
    â€œNo. A genuine thank you.”
    Putting the doll in his bag, Natsume began walking. Shinichi followed after him, not seeing much of a choice.
    The doubt Shinichi had from the night before grew as he watched the man’s back.
    Why was he here? Most judiciary technical officers were qualified clinical therapists, pros in the field of psychology. When they’d first met, Natsume looked to be in his late twenties. That man was walking in front of him now as a detective.
    Had he gotten fed up with having to face bad apples and changed jobs? No, entering the police force meant confronting