Katsuragi’s gaze from the vigil was burned into my eyelids and wasn’t going away.
That man knew that I was the kidnapper. Of course he did, having heard everything from Chiharu, no doubt. What was his aim?
When the next day came, reports with even more details flooded in. Communicating via the CPT Owners Club bulletin board, the ransom exchange on the Metropolitan Expressway, and almost everything else I had done started going public. The Nissei Mukojima branch manager, in particular, was all over TV getting interviewed. The Juri Katsuragi kidnapping and murder was the hottest topic around.
“What a guy.” A coworker rapped his knuckles against the sports daily he was reading. “Three hundred million yen, they’re saying. Even in this age, three hundred million is a lot of money. Just by making a few calls on a cellphone, he got his hands on that marvelously. This culprit has got a good head.”
“Nah, he was just lucky,” the guy who sat next to me said. “If the police had actually been on the case, it might not have gone so well. They’re saying if they’d been notified earlier, things would have played out differently.”
“Well, of course they’d say so. They’re not going to say, ‘With this method, the money would’ve been theirs, even if we were on scene.’ I bet they’re kind of glad they weren’t notified in advance. Imagine if they’d been notified and were totally staking places out and the ransom had been taken from under their noses. How’d they look? On that point, thanks to finding out only after it was over, no matter what clever methods the culprit used, the police aren’t embarrassed or anything. Besides, the hostage is dead, so they can investigate without worrying about that.”
“Hey, hey, you’re being too loud.”
The two were facing each other with grins.
I picked up the receiver. Looking at a number recorded on my cellphone, I placed a call. It connected to a direct work extension. “This is the local news section,” a familiar voice said.
“Hello, this is Sakuma.”
“Ah, Mr. Sakuma. It’s me, Yuguchi. Thank you for taking the bill the other day.”
“About that case—have you found out anything since then?”
“You mean about Juri Katsuragi.” Yuguchi’s tone grew less jovial. “It’s gotten intense, hasn’t it? I think those remains were found not long after we saw each other. Well, I kind of expected that she was dead. Our people on the case have been staying up working all night lately.”
“Any results?”
“Dunno. The Katsuragis’ guard is super-tight, so we probably haven’t learned anything beyond what’s being reported. I’ll try asking later.”
“I’m counting on you. And, sorry for this all of a sudden, but can you see me tonight?”
“Uh, that is very sudden.”
“I’m supposed to see Mr. Katsuragi soon. I want to have as much info as possible.”
“I understand. I’ll work things out. Is the same place as last time good? I think I can hop over at around seven.”
“Got it. Seven.”
After putting down the receiver, I went over the call I had just made. Would it be my downfall? Had I said too much? Had he found it unnatural?
But I quietly shook my head. There was no point in worrying about it now.
I thought about how I would use my time until seven. There was no way I’d be getting any work done.
When I went to the café, Yuguchi was already waiting at a table by the window. He found me and raised his hand.
“Sorry for doing this when you’re busy.”
“No, it must be worse for you, Mr. Sakuma.”
I ordered an iced coffee and leaned forward. “Well, about that thing.”
“Yes. I asked around as much as I could about what we know. But please keep everything I say from now off the record. We don’t want to be on Nissei Auto or the police’s shit list.”
“I understand. Do you think I’d do anything to compromise you, Yuguchi?”
“Well, of course I trust you, Mr. Sakuma…” Yuguchi pulled out a pocket notebook. “To cut to the chase, the police still haven’t found a solid suspect. Their angle of attack is Juri’s relationships, but no one who fits the description has surfaced.”
“Do the police think it was someone she knew?”
“Well, the victim was an adult and not a kid. Their take must be that she wouldn’t have followed someone she didn’t know. There’s the possibility she was abducted by force, but the culprit had decided on her as a target beforehand, so the police must view this anyhow as the doing of someone with some connection to Juri or the Katsuragis.”
“But we’re talking about the Katsuragis. Couldn’t people looking to get the ransom have done it thinking any rich girl would work?”
“Of course there’s that take, but they seem to believe the possibility is low.”
“I wonder why.”
“That’s because”—Yuguchi looked around and lowered his voice a notch—“the hostage was murdered. Someone with no connection to the Katsuragis could have returned her after taking the money, provided that he hadn’t shown his face to Juri. But that isn’t what happened. The culprit had no intention of safely returning Juri from the start.”
I got what he was saying. Supposedly, her remains were at least two weeks old. In other words, she had to have died just a few days after she’d gone missing.
“The method was coldblooded, so the investigators seem to think that it wasn’t simply for the money but based on some kind of grudge.”
“A grudge…”
I didn’t know what to think about that. I certainly wanted to get back at Katsutoshi Katsuragi. Indeed, I’d come up with the game for that very reason. But that was only because a card called Chiharu had fallen into my hands. In the first place, I hadn’t killed Juri Katsuragi. In fact, I’d never met her.
“Have the police gotten ahold of any clues?”
“It seems they have a few. For the ransom exchange, Mr. Katsuragi had spoken with the culprit several times over the phone, and they have a tape recording of that.”
“A tape? He recorded it?”
“It seems so. He hadn’t notified the police at that time, but he planned on contacting them as soon as Juri returned safely. He did his best to collect evidence on his own in order to aid the investigation.”
That man would certainly try to. Not having notified the police in the first place was the bigger surprise.
“What other evidence do they have?”
“When it comes to that, the police don’t tell us everything, you see…Oh, right, right.” Yuguchi looked at his notebook and covered his mouth with one hand. “It seems that Juri wasn’t spared in the other way either.”
“The other way?”
“She’s dead, so maybe we shouldn’t really care, but I mean her chastity.”
“Ah…” I was too stunned to speak.
“They actually are keeping that out of the news. But it left behind significant evidence for the police. A man’s pubic hair,” Yuguchi said, lowering his voice further, “and his bodily fluids—apparently it was left behind. Well, of course, it must have been dry when they found it.”
I felt my pulse quickening. It took all I had to keep my dismay from showing on my face.
“Was there other evidence?” My voice was too high.
“There seems to be, but it hasn’t been made public. If I find out, I’ll contact you.”
“Thanks, please do.” I gulped my iced coffee and steadied my breathing. “Why Yokosuka?”
“Huh?”
“Why was she found in Yokosuka? Why did the culprit bury her where he did? Have the police been saying anything about that? For instance, maybe they think that’s where the hideout was?”
“I haven’t heard anything about hideouts, but there’s a rumor that the police have been canvassing for witnesses there.”
“Canvassing?”
“It’s simple. Basically, with a photo of Juri Katsuragi in hand, they’re asking if people r
an across her. The police aren’t seeing Yokosuka as a place where the culprit went to bury the body but as the scene of the murder itself. So they’re guessing that there’s someone somewhere who witnessed Juri while she was alive.”
“Why do they think so?”
“Well, I don’t know.” Yuguchi spread both his hands and shook his head.
After we said bye, I went straight to my condo and, after eating a simple meal, sat down at the computer. But even after it finished booting, I didn’t budge for a while.
The jigsaw puzzle pieces that had been scattered around in my head until now were slowly starting to come together. There were many incomplete parts, but I could see the overall outline.
Sweat flowed from my temples. It was what you’d call a cold sweat. It was pretty hot and muggy, but there were goose bumps all over my body.
Imagining the shape of the completed puzzle, I was panicking. Believing it was impossible, I broke up the puzzle, trying to somehow put the pieces together into a different picture, but no matter how many times I tried, it ended up the same. If there wasn’t a mistake in my reasoning.
I took a deep breath and slowly started typing. I prayed from the bottom of my heart that there was a mistake in my reasoning. But praying would get me nowhere. I had to do what I could.
Suddenly remembering something, I stood up. I went to my bedroom and approached the coat that I had left on the hanger. I stuck my hand into its inner pocket and took out what was inside. It was the thing that might become my lifeline.
I returned to my computer and got back to work.
The final task was to write an email. I thought about it for some time and started typing as follows:
Mr. Katsutoshi Katsuragi,
This is a grave matter. I request your urgent contact. You should be aware of the subject matter. Any method of contact is acceptable. You should know my identity, so I venture there is no need to give you my name. I have no objections to you calling me on the phone, either. But make sure the investigative authorities do not notice. You must understand that such attention would hurt us both.
I wish to fully resolve the current complex situation with a deal. If I am not contacted within the next two days, I will have to come to you.
From,
The person who had Chiharu Katsuragi
It was hardly good writing, but I was in no shape to worry over word choices or phrasings. After reading it over several times, I sent it to the address I had emailed several times. My heart was still beating fast.
I hadn’t calmed down the next morning. I didn’t know when he would call me, so even when I went to the bathroom, I couldn’t let go of the cordless phone’s handset. After I went to work, I kept my cellphone close to me, and since he might call my work phone, I tried not to leave my seat. I also incessantly checked my email. I checked the CPT Owners Club website, too.
But there was no communication from Katsutoshi Katsuragi. I even wondered if my identity escaped him, but that simply wasn’t possible.
Still burdened with uncertainty, I went back to my condo. I was starting to regret sending the email.
I unlocked the door and entered my home. I felt like throwing myself on the sofa, but before that, I checked my answering machine. There was no message.
I sighed heavily and sat on the sofa. It was when I was about to turn on the TV.
The bedroom door opened, and Juri came in.
21
Juri, I muttered, then shook my head.
“Chiharu, I should say? I’m glad to see you, it’s been a while.”
“Turn off the TV.” She sat down in the armchair.
I took the remote, turned off the TV. In the quiet room, silence reigned for some time. It became oppressive. Juri’s, no, Chiharu’s face was also stiff. She was trying not to look at me straight.
“You emailed Papa, didn’t you?”
“I’ve been waiting for his answer. But I never thought you’d come,” I said, then addressed a glaring issue. “How did you get in here?”
She brought out a key from her small bag. It looked like mine.
“The pitch was that it can’t be duplicated,” I noted.
“It’s not a duplicate. It’s the spare key you lent me.”
I stretched my arm and opened my desk’s drawer. I looked into the corner where I kept the spare key. “But it’s here.”
Chiharu grinned. “That’s a fake.”
“A fake?”
I took the key in the drawer and compared it to mine. The maker and the shape were the same, but when I looked closely, there were subtle differences in the pattern of the cuts.
“So you switched it out.”
“You can get keys from the same maker anywhere.”
“When did you obtain one?”
“All I did was receive it. Papa brought it close by.”
“Your papa, huh?” I sighed. My whole body was going limp. “So every bit of it was your side’s doing.”
“Not every bit. Didn’t you come up with the kidnapping game?”
“And it served you well.”
“We seized our precious opportunity. My last chance to escape dire straits.”
“Dire straits.” I forced a smile. I wasn’t actually so calm. “May I take a guess?”
She glared. With the same eyes as when she’d done it, I imagined.
Staring back into them, I said, “You killed Juri, didn’t you?”
Chiharu didn’t fret. She must have seen my answer coming. After the email I’d sent to Katsutoshi Katsuragi, father and daughter alike would have accepted that I grasped most of the truth.
“It wasn’t deliberate,” she said, terribly casually, like when you’ve caused a minor hassle for someone.
“I already get that. It wasn’t premeditated. You either killed her impulsively or didn’t mean to kill her, but she ended up dying. Otherwise…” I licked my lips. “You wouldn’t have run away from home that night.”
“Right.” Chiharu raised both her arms and stretched. “Ah, this does me good. I wanted to hurry up and tell you. Even the whole time I was here pretending to be Juri, I was just itching to talk. I wanted to see the surprise on your face.”
“That bit was true, then.”
“Which bit?”
“You said you ran away because you had an argument with Chiharu about some cosmetic cream. You probably did get into a fight. What was different was how it played out. Chiharu, who always hated Juri, stabbed her—isn’t that right?”
With a sulky look, Chiharu turned her face away. I noticed how similar the shape of her nose looked to Katsutoshi Katsuragi’s. Juri’s nose in the photo was less flat and better shaped.
“What did you stab her with?”
“Scissors.”
“Scissors?”
She swept up her hair. “I’m good at doing haircuts. Occasionally I even cut my friends’ hair. So I had a beautician I know give me a pair.”
“I see, and those scissors were in the washroom. When she used your cosmetic cream without asking, you had an argument, and you ended up stabbing and killing her with them.”
“That cream,” Chiharu said with a distant look, “is something I bought when I went to France with Mama. You can’t buy it in Japan, and I was so careful in using it. But without even asking me, that bitch—” She looked straight at me. “She was the one who got physical first, though. She slapped my cheek.”
“But it was certainly excessive self-defense. So, you stabbed and killed her, and scared, you ran.”
Chiharu shot a glare at me then stood up. “I’m thirsty. Can I have something?”
Before I could reply, Go ahead, she had gone into the kitchen. When she came out, she was holding a bottle of white wine. Muscadet Sur Lie. It went well with light hors d’oeuvres.
“Can I drink it?”
“As you like.”
“You’ll have some, too, won’t you?”
Before I could respond, she placed two wine glasses on the center table.
She held out the corkscrew and the bottle to me.
“What were you going to do, running away? At that point, you were looking for a hotel room. After staying a night, what were you going to do?”
“Stop jabbering and focus on opening the wine, please.”
I pulled the cork and poured wine into the two glasses. With only a gestured toast, we held the Muscadet in our mouths. It had a pleasant acidity and the signature sur lie fragrance of young grapes.
“I hadn’t decided,” she said.
“Huh?”
“I said I hadn’t decided what to do. But I didn’t want to be in that house. It was going to get crazy for sure, and they’d find out soon enough that I’d done it, and getting asked all sorts of questions by all sorts of people would be so annoying. And I hoped Papa or Mama would do something once they realized the culprit was me. I thought I’d go home after they’d cleaned up the mess.”
“So you thought they’d secretly dispose of the body and see to it that you weren’t arrested for murder.” I drained the remaining wine in my glass and poured out more. “How selfish.”
“I knew it was selfish. Even Papa wouldn’t be able to squash a murder—I thought that, too. Didn’t I just tell you that I was in dire straits?”
“And that’s when I showed up.”
“It’s not like I asked you to. You’re the one who approached me.”
I had no reply to that. I had accosted her, indeed, hoping to get the dirt on Katsutoshi Katsuragi. “Why did you choose to follow me, though? I can use this guy—is that what you thought?”
Wine glass in hand, she shook her head. “Honestly, at that point, I didn’t give a damn about anything. Including you. My head was filled with what I’d done, and I needed somewhere to stay for the time being, but I didn’t want to go home. In other words, I didn’t have any options then.”
“Fine, you’ve convinced me.” I drank my wine again. “Why did you pretend to be Juri?”
“The reason was simple. I didn’t want to offer up my name. I didn’t want a stranger knowing that Chiharu Katsuragi was wandering around being weird. It was just a lie I came up with on the spot.”
I swayed my head from side to side. “It may have been a quick lie, but from then on, whenever you talked about yourself, you did so flawlessly as Juri. You know, you’re quite an actress.”