“Take a guess.”
“Hold on, Kunikida. I thought you hated jokes like this.”
“I do. But this isn’t a joke.”
“This must have something to do with that phone call, right? Well, whatever you heard, I’m sure it’s all some kind of misunderstanding. I’d be able to explain myself if you just told me what he said.”
“I hope so.” I tighten my finger around the trigger. “When the victims at the abandoned hospital were gassed, you were somehow able to avoid showing your face in the footage. Why is that?”
“That’s it?” Dazai looks troubled. “I just happened to see the surveillance equipment when I walked into the room. I was going to tell you, but we found the victims almost immediately after, so I didn’t get the chance. That’s why I didn’t say anything. I apologize—”
“Really? Are you sure you didn’t know where the cameras were and what they were for from the start?” I continue to press him. “Next question. You were the one who suggested we go to the embassy in order to find the bomber. How were you able to come up with that idea so quickly? Was it because you knew about Alamta beforehand, perhaps?”
“Oh, come on. You’re joking, right? You should be praising me for my acumen, not doubting me. Is that what all this is about?”
“Where did you learn about the organ-trafficking syndicate?”
“That’s… Listen, I told you already. I was at the pub…”
“You can’t come up with a better lie than that? Was it just a coincidence that you ran into Chief Taneda, head of the Special Division for Unusual Powers?”
“W-wait! C’mon, Kunikida. Could you put the gun down? I’ll tell you everything after you do that.”
“Why were the Azure Apostle’s e-mails sent from your computer?! Answer me!” I yell, cocking the pistol’s hammer. Dazai’s face goes blank.
“I see. So that’s what Rokuzo told you on the phone, huh? He’s a real talented kid… I’m sure he’ll make a great detective one day.” His tone is flat, his face void of all emotion.
Thinking back, there was always something enigmatic about Dazai. While he struck me as an eccentric, he also perfectly expressed the kinds of schemes and knowledge necessary to influence others. Just as his excellent acting at the embassy fooled everybody, who’s to say that this Dazai persona isn’t just an act as well?
“Convince me of your innocence right now, or I’ll shoot.”
“You can’t shoot me.” He shakes his head. “You’re conscientious and an idealist. You unravel all the mysteries, get the criminal to confess, then arrest them and have them tried by the law. That’s what’s ideal to you. You would never kill the suspect somewhere like this while the truth is still up in the air.”
“The law is powerless against the Azure Apostle.” Even if I demand he be prosecuted, there’s no case against someone who didn’t kill or kidnap anybody, let alone instigate another to do so. It’s a lost cause. “I’ll shoot if that’s what must be done.”
—“If you sense any signs of wickedness in his heart, shoot him.”
The president’s words… The heavy pistol I was entrusted with…
—“Do what must be done.”
“Kunikida, hypothetically speaking, let’s say I am the Azure Apostle, and let’s say your ideals dictate that you should hurry up and kill me… Even then, you still couldn’t shoot me.” There’s a cold-blooded, inhuman glow in his eyes, as if he can see right through everything—as if he knows all. “Think back to when you found Alamta’s body. All he had on him was some change and a fake license, which begs the question: What happened to the detonator?”
The detonator could be used to wirelessly set off the bomb, but there’s no threat without it.
“Whoever’s really behind all this has it.”
“Exactly. And what if that person knew every move the detective agency was making? And what if that person knew that the detective agency figured out where the bomb was? Don’t you think they would have moved the bomb or prepared a spare?”
The next thing I know, Dazai’s right hand is in his overcoat pocket. I’m not able to check if he’s holding something from where I’m standing, though. Is he insinuating that there’s still a bomb out there and that he has the detonator to it? Is that why he said I couldn’t shoot him?
—How naive.
“I suspected as much, which is why I came prepared. Take a look at this.”
I take this out of my breast pocket before placing it on the ground. “It’s a wireless jammer just like the one I used before. No wireless devices can be used within fifteen feet of me. A detonator is no exception.”
“Wha—?” Dazai’s expression is overcome with surprise. My gun still aimed at him, I stick my hand into his pocket and feel something, then pull it out.