Nocturne of Remembrance by Shichiri Nakayama Read Free Book Online Page B

hard to say just how she differed, but having met many such fools, Mikoshiba didn’t think she was merely clueless about herself. Those people didn’t know how high they really stood, but at least Akiko seemed to be seeing her real image.
    In a corner of his head, the term “psychiatric examination” arose. Recently, the more incompetent lawyers always wanted to do one, and Mikoshiba had ignored the idea at first. But perhaps in this case it might be an effective measure.
    “We might just have you take various exams.”
    He said this to dig a bit more, but there was no response from Akiko. He took this to mean that he had her approval.
    “I’ll come again.”
    The objective was to get her sentence reduced. The way to do that was to line up circumstances that would incur sympathy for the defendant.
    With those gauges set, the next thing to do was to act. Mikoshiba bid a hasty farewell and left the visitation room.
    *
    Once a lawyer resigned from a case, he no longer had any relationship whatsoever to a former client. Accordingly, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Misaki meeting with the accused’s previous attorney posed no problem. If there was any, it was that Misaki personally disliked the man.
    Given their respective positions, the interests of prosecutors andlawyers were usually at odds. That was only in court, however, and once they took one step outside, they were inhabitants of the same legal world. Misaki disliked Horai solely because of the latter’s personal qualities.
    “Prosecutor Misaki, to what do I owe this special occasion?”
    A servile smile appeared on his face as soon as he saw Misaki’s, but it was obviously forced. Even as a formality, it wanted for a little more acting ability, but it was the most welcoming that the man could be.
    He added, “Well, I really was a nuisance for the prosecutor in charge of the Akiko Tsuda case the other day.”
    “Don’t mention it …”
    “In the end, my defense was of no use at all.”
    Misaki wondered why Horai was even feigning ignorance. During the trial, hadn’t the guy accepted the prosecution’s claims almost exactly as stated and not expressed any objection or doubt? Had he done anything other than plead the jury for a lenient verdict? That wasn’t defending the client at all. Even the court records revealed how little enthusiasm he had put into the case.
    Soon, Horai went into a discourse criticizing the leadership of the Tokyo Bar Association. Misaki was taken aback once again. Maybe it was supposed to be welcoming, too, but if badmouthing the association, the prosecution’s opponents, was an attempt to curry favor, Horai didn’t realize that it was having the opposite effect on Misaki.
    “The bar association is actually turning into a gerontocracy,” the lawyer kept up in his grating voice, unable to read his visitor’s discomfort. Misaki knew each of the leaders that Horai mentioned, but they were paragons compared to the scum sitting in front of him. Misaki had seen articles in the TBA bulletin by them regarding civil liberties, morals, and the role of lawyers which, despite their differences in position, he could empathize with.
    “Thank you for your lofty opinions, but may we get to the issue at hand?” interrupted Misaki, who felt no obligation to put up withthe guy’s empty attempts to sell himself. He cut to the chase: “I’m here today regarding that Akiko Tsuda case.”
    “Oh. You, too.”
    “Me, too?”
    “Yes. But why would the Tokyo District Deputy Chief Prosecutor want to discuss it? You should know the essentials of the first judgment. At this late point, what could you possibly need to ask me?”
    “Why did you resign as her defense lawyer? No, more specifically, why did you switch with Attorney Mikoshiba? I want to know your reasons.”
    For a moment, there was no answer. Horai looked at the prosecutor as if he was evaluating him and said, “Does that have anything to do with the case, or rather, with the deputy chief