A Story in Yokohama -13【Cafe in Okinawa】
A Story in Yokohama【 Subtitled "Longing"】-13
The tax auditor was operating a computer in Yuichi's office.
"There is no file of the contract, are you sure you made it on this computer?
“If it wasn't saved, I might have erased it. But you kept the original.”
“If you have erased it, so be it, but is this the only computer you use?”
“This is the only computer in the office, and I don't use it much because I don't usually deal with clients directly myself. Of course I have my own computer at home, but this is the only computer I use to work on Fukada's inheritance.”
“I see. I'd like to have a closer look at it, but if there is still a transfer contract with Mr. Fukada, I'd like a copy of that data.”
“I don't mind, but I don't think it's still there.”
“I'll check.”
He took out a small computer from his bag and connected it to Yuichi's computer.
After a while.
“I found it. I've copied the files.”
“What? I thought you said it wasn't there.”
“Yes, it was deleted. But if you don't use your computer very often, it is quite possible to recover them. If I couldn't do it myself, I would have asked a company to take the computer and analyze it for me.”
Yuichi was astonished.
“Who the hell are you?”
“I showed you my ID at Ms. Fukada's house, and I'm an asset tax auditor at the Yamate Tax Office.”
“I don't understand why the tax office auditor would do such a thing.”
“I'll do anything if I have to. By the way, the creation date on the file of this contract is January of the year after Tatsuya's death. I checked the internal time on your computer to make sure it was correct. Could the contract have been created after Tatsuya's death?”
“That's not possible. If the file is dated the following year, then it's just something that happened. You just can't recover the original file from the previous year.”
“Then I'll have to check with the hospital to see when you're coming.”
“It wouldn't make any sense for me to do that. I'm saying that I, as a tax accountant, prepared it before he died.”
The auditor was silent for a while.
“Of course, the timestamp of a file alone is not objective evidence.”
“Don't doubt me, but I'll be happy to correct the value of the inheritance slightly. You have a position to play.”
The auditor listened to Yuichi's talk, but eventually he smiled and said
“The contract I just received from Ms. Fukada was barely touched.”
“What?”
“It's an important piece of evidence.”
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“I'm going to examine the fingerprints on this contract and the handwriting. When that's done, I'll have a long talk with you and Ms. Fukada.”
“Why do you even do that?”
A bead of cold sweat ran down Yuichi's forehead.
“I'm going to leave now, but if you remember anything or want to talk to me about anything in the future, please feel free to contact me at any time.”
He said and then left.
Commentary
This tax auditor seems to be very different from the ones Yuichi has met in the past. He told Yuichi that he was going to examine the fingerprints and handwriting on the fake transfer contract that Yuichi had prepared.
・・・To be continued・・・