"Because of the witness, and because someone iced Takigawa."

Tatsuo takes a slow sip of his drink.

"The dirty cop came to Ryuuzaki. Claimed the witness had killed Takigawa in a dispute over drugs. Interdepartmental cooperation. Ryuuzaki didn't buy it. The witness was a petty thief he'd dealt with before. Breaking into cars was more his style than drugs or murder. The kid was harmless. But by accusing him for murder the dirty cop caused the witness to go to ground."

His fingers tighten around the glass.

"But the kid trusted Ryuuzaki. Called him from a pay phone. Said he'd seen the two men who killed Nishida. Swore he hadn't dealt any drugs or killed Takigawa. Ryuuzaki believed him. But the call dropped before he could find out where the kid was."

His voice cracks slightly. Everything about this case, from start to finish, was awful.

"He was found dead a couple hours later, with a note confessing to killing Takigawa."