Page 66 of The Red Collar
“Sir,” Shinji said, his arm stretched, “could I have that back?”
Teruo stared at him. He looked perfectly calm and collected, but there was an edge to his voice along with a sudden over-politeness.
“When did you write this?” Teruo asked.
“Earlier this morning.”
Liar.
“Right, except, I’m the only one who has Yamato’s address, written in my phone. Suzuki didn’t give it to anyone else. She never does that with off-records information.”
“I saw it on your phone by accident, so I wrote it down just in case.”
“I haven’t checked the message with the address today.”
Shinji went quiet. More people were coming in their direction and the bell of the high school started ringing.
“Get in the car,” Teruo said.
Shinji pressed his lips in a thin line, looking a bit annoyed, but climbed in the driver seat. Teruo settled next to him, checking the piece of paper.
“This is at least a few days old.”
“It’s not—”
“Do you want to know how I figured it out?” Teruo spoke over him, losing his patience. “Look at how sharp this folded edge is.” He traced a finger over it. “It sat pressed in your notepad for a while.” Then he put the paper toward sunlight. “Grease marks. Definitely not fresh.”
“Teruo…”
“Nah, just indulge me. You said you wrote it this morning, but it’s written in ballpoint pen. We don’t have ballpoint pens in the office. Wanna know why? ‘Cause I’m a picky bastard and I hate ballpoint pens, so I always ask for gel pens whenever the office supplies arrive.”
“I have my own pen,” Shinji said.
“I know. You used it earlier when we spoke to the homeroom teacher. It’s a gel pen.” He saw Shinji shoulders tense and added, “I could go on about this piece of paper, but let’s cut to the chase.” Teruo gave the piece of paper back to Shinji. “I’m offering you a chance to explain how you have information stored on my phone that hasn’t been included in any reports yet.”
Shinji said nothing, only let out a frustrated sigh.
“What I hate most is when my partners hide things from me,” Teruo continued, his voice unexpectedly level. “Things that are directly affecting an investigation. For how long have you known Yamato’s address?”
“Since Monday last week,” Shinji finally spoke.
Teruo closed his eyes, grunting. “Monday? We could’ve gone to his apartment a week ago and you didn’t say anything?”
“Didn’t have much of a choice. I waited for a window of opportunity to tell you, but it never came. And we had barely met. If I had told you the truth, you’d have thought me insane.”
“Uh huh. No one is perfect, so spill it.”
Shinji bit the inside of his cheek, fingertips tapping his thighs. “It was Yamato himself who told me his home address.”
“The dead guy?” The answer didn’t surprise Teruo as much as he thought it would. “How did he tell you his address if he’s dead?” He had already started this discussion. Might as well continue it.
“The dead… talk to me sometimes,” Shinji muttered. “That’s all I can say for now.”
“So, that’s what you were doing on the fire escape. You were talking to Ishida, weren’t you?”
Shinji’s eyes widened and he was visibly panicking. “Uh… yeah. Yeah…”
“Did Yamato or Ishida tell you anything else?” Teruo asked.
