but if she‘s been snooping around in thegarden, I must still be her prime suspect. She‘sprobably looking for poisoned meatballs."
"Persistent, isn‘t she?" "Oh, women like thatalways are." - P9
I didn‘t have a Rie of my own, so when thedoorbell rang, there was no one to answer itbut me. - P13
All of the various misadventures of hisstudent life were detailed pretty much asthey‘d happened in real life, including theshocking finale, where Masaya is stabbed todeath by a prostitute. - P15
As Hidaka had said, it didn‘t seem to be about money. Though there was still some doubt asto whether the demand for rewrites wassincere, or simply a negotiation tactic. - P15
Rie sat on a cardboard box filled withmagazines, while I paced in circles like a bear,
occasionally poking my head out into thehallway to see how the investigation wasproceeding. Rie was crying the whole time. - P20
"I‘m fine to talk, too." Rie dabbed at her eyeswith a handkerchief. Tears were still in hervoice, but her words were clear. I rememberedwhat Hidaka had said earlier that day, abouther being able to dig in when it mattered. - P20
I wondered if I should say something, butultimately kept silent. Who would commitmurder to avenge a cat? - P22
I had heard that TV news crews could beextremely rude, but this was my first timeexperiencing it for myself. Why couldn‘t theyunderstand that I didn‘t want to talk toanyone so soon after finding my friend dead? - P31
I understand writers are often late, but dothey ever finish early?" - P38
Writing isn‘t a purely mechanical operation.
You can spend hours at your desk withoutwriting a single page. But when inspirationstrikes, sometimes it‘s hard to stop writing." - P38
Not once in Rie‘s talk did she mention orexpress any hatred toward the killer. To me,
that was a surer sign of her wrath and sadnessthan any other. - P47
"Did you really think I wasn‘t cut out to be ateacher?" I remembered writing somethingalong those lines in my account. "That‘s justmy opinion." He looked down again, gave abrief sigh, and walked out. I wondered whatKaga was thinking. - P55
If he‘d already figured out something aboutthe case, I wondered why he didn‘t just tell me. - P56
If the murder wasn‘t premeditated, why comein through the window? - P60
The account is written in an orderly fashion,
and this very orderliness gives it persuasivepower. As you read it, you forget that theevents it portrays might not necessarily be thetruth. Therein lies Nonoguchi‘s aim: to createa fictional account of the events in order todivert suspicion from himself. - P63
Though Nonoguchi‘s account doesn‘t mentionthis, the night of the murder he seemedexcited and unusually talkative. Both mysuperior and I recognized this as one of theclassic indications of guilt. - P64
"The relationship between teacher andstudent is based on illusion. The teacher isunder the illusion that he is teachingsomething, and the student is under theillusion that he is being taught. What‘simportant is that this shared illusion makesboth teacher and student happy. Nothinggood is gained by facing the truth, after all. Allwe‘re doing is playing at education." - P66
"Oh, no, I‘m sure it was Hidaka. Without question." "Yes, but you can‘t prove that. Noone except you was on that phone call." "I guess you‘ll just have to take my word for it." - P72
"It was the lights that bothered me at first," hesaid. "You said all the lights were out whenyou arrived at the Hidakas‘. The killer hadprobably wanted to make it look like Hidakahad gone out, though you couldn‘t figure outwhy they had left the computer on, correct? Ithink I know why. Because the computer wasnecessary for the fax trick to work. It had to beleft on. - P79
I noted that none of this was mentioned inyour account. In fact, from what you wrote, itseemed as if Mr. Oshima had been intendingto come that day all along." - P80
"You forgot about the real phone at theHidakas‘. If Mr. Hidaka had actually phonedyou, then pressing the redial button on hisphone should call this apartment." - P81
"Nothing to say?" He sounded somewhatsurprised. Finally, I looked up and our eyesmet. His were calm, unthreatening—not thelook a detective would turn upon a suspect. - P82
Nonoguchi has cancer.
When I asked the doctor if the cancer was newor a recurrence after a remission, he told methat it likely was a relapse. - P93
I was unsure if he was joking, though he hadclearly already accepted that his death wasinevitable and fast approaching. - P94
When one man kills another, often a womanis involved. However, we hadn‘t yet lookeddeeply into the possibility of there being awoman in Osamu Nonoguchi‘s life. - P108
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