I stopped talking because I had absolutely no evidence to back up my ideas.
“What, Mei-chan?”
“It’s just a feeling.” I chewed on the skin around my nails and then dropped my hand in disgust. I missed my long nails and nail polish.
“Well, you better tell me because, in my line of business, we act on gut feelings until we know they’re wrong.”
“Really?”
“I do.” I imagined him shrugging on the other end of the line. “More of my gut feelings have ended up true than not.”
“Okay. Well, he came here to the house and snuck into the barn while I was working on a painting. He threatened me and told me to back off.”
Goro groaned. “No one else was there?”
“Nope. Yasahiro-san was here today, but Tama-chan waited until he was gone.”
Goro stayed quiet for a moment, but Kumi in the background asked, “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I’ll tell you in a minute,” he said to her before coming back to me. “Mei-chan, you need to be careful.”
“No. What I need to do is figure this out before anyone else gets hurt. Did you call Tama-chan and tell him that you cleared Akiko-chan?”
“Uh, no. Why would I do that?”
Another lie. “He said you had.” I rubbed my eyes, suddenly tired from the stress of this day.
“I’m sure she didn’t commit the murder, but I haven’t officially cleared her. Hey, I want you to call Akiko-chan and check on her, then…”
“Then what?”
“Then I want you to go by Tama-chan’s school tomorrow and ask the principal and other teachers about his work there. But you’ll need to be discreet and keep it from him, okay? I’ll call the principal now and text you back in a little bit.”
I stood up from the bed and tried to pace, but I had no available floor space for that.
“Shouldn’t you go? You’re the police and all that.”
He laughed. “I thought you were determined to win our bet!”
“I thought the bet was off!”
He laughed again. “It is. I just wanted to see how riled up I could get you. Look, I thought you wanted to solve the crime?”
“I do. I want to help Akiko-chan.”
“Then help me out by going to the school. I’ll be dealing with the video footage tomorrow. We have four officers working on that, so I’ll need your help.”
“Okay, fine. Sure. I’ll go.” My forehead immediately broke into a sweat though. Tama told me to stay out of it. If he saw me there, I was dead for sure.
“I’ll text you in a little bit. Call Akiko-chan and check up on her.”
We hung up, and I dialed Akiko.
“Mei-chan, hi. How are you?” She sounded tired, worn out.
“I’m good. I wanted to check up on you. It’s been ages since I last saw you.”
“You saw me on Thursday.”
“Well, it’s not like we sat down and spent time together or anything.”
“Right, right.” She sighed, the tiredness in her voice magnified by ten. “It’s been a hellish week, and now I need to look for a place to live. Tama stopped by earlier to tell me he’s selling the land.” She swore under her breath. “It’s probably for the best. I’m thinking I may find a place in town.”
I perked up. “That sounds nice. You’d be within walking distance of most of your patients.”
“I could sell the car and get a bicycle.”
I laughed. “You hate bikes.”
She chuckled and my heart grew a whole size. I’d missed my best friend. “Yep. I should buy one of those motor-assist ones.” I heard a door open and then close. “Anyway, it’s nice that you called, but I was about to get into a bath. I need a hot bath and some whiskey. Then tomorrow I go back to work.”
“That’s fantastic! I’m happy to hear things are getting settled down.”
“Me too. Hey, are you going to Chiyo-san’s bathhouse opening on Wednesday?”
“Absolutely. I’m so looking forward to it.”
“Great. I’ll see you then. Later, Mei-chan.”
“Bye.” I hung up, realizing I forgot to tell her about Yasahiro. Where would I have even begun with that anyway?
I flopped down on my bed and stared at the ceiling. My life was confusing. A few weeks ago, I was living in Tokyo, single, alone, my own job, and my own life. It wasn’t much, but I was independent and trying to make my way in the world. Now, I lived at home, getting my “salary” from my mother, but dating a new guy and trying my hand at being both a detective and an artist. How did that happen?
My phone buzzed with a text from Goro. “You’re all set. Meet with the principal at 10:00. Come by the station after and we’ll debrief.”
Well, that settled that. I was off to sleuth tomorrow!
Chapter Twenty-Eight
I sat in the car and stared at the school, my high school, the place I’d spent many glorious years of studying and keeping out of the path of bullies. I hadn’t been a popular kid, but I wasn’t unpopular either. My family had done well, and my brother had graduated with high marks from the same school four years ahead of me. I had a good clique of friends that never got into trouble. In any respect, my high school years were pretty boring, nothing like the manga and drama series on TV. I’d studied hard to pass the entrance exam even though it was a long drive from home. Akiko made it in, too, and we were inseparable for most of high school. Ironically, Tama had never attended this high school. He went to another one farther away.
Walking up the steps to the front door, I transported back ten years to the conversations on the sidewalks, across the soccer field, and out to the pick up area.
“Yamagawa-san?” I paused on the steps but continued when I saw the young woman holding open the door for me. “The principal sent me to retrieve you from the front door.” She probably worked in the office during school hours. I had done this once or twice when I was in my third year. I would deliver notes to teachers or students, clean up after meetings, and greet people who came to visit.
“Thank you,” I said, following her in and through the halls, past the classrooms, auditorium, gym, and cafeteria. I glanced left and right to make sure no one saw me (well, make sure Tama didn’t see me) but the hall was empty.
In the administrative office, I smiled at the familiar surroundings. You never forgot your high school, no matter how hard you tried. A few people said hello and bowed, but I didn’t recognize any of the faces. Ten years was a long time, and many teachers and administrative people came and went in that time.
“Yamagawa-san, I’m the principal, Aizawa.” A small, old woman approached me, and I jumped to attention. The principal we had when I went to school here was a man in his forties, so I wasn’t expecting a little old lady. She smiled and we bowed before she beckoned me into her office.
“I was surprised to get a call from the Chikata police department yesterday, especially at home. But Hokichi-san is an old friend, and I’m always happy to help him in any way I can.”
“Thank you for seeing me.” I sat in a chair opposite her desk. “How do you know Goro-san?”
“His mother and I are old friends, and he comes to the school twice a year to talk to the students about preventing sexual harassment and cyber bullying. He’s been very convincing.” Her smile lifted and eyes narrowed to slits.
“I didn’t know he did that. I’ll have to ask him about it.”
“Now, how can I help you today? Hokichi-san mentioned you may need to question some students?”
“It’s possible,” I replied, pulling my own notebook from my purse. I flipped past my pages on the different suspects I’d considered in this case and started a new page. “You heard that Kano-sensei’s father passed away earlier this month?” I made sure to switch to Tama’s last name and teacher honorific. I didn’t want to appear rude to Aizawa.
“Yes. We were all saddened by his loss.”
I nodded my head in agreement. “We wanted to get
a whole picture of Kano-sensei’s schedule that day, so we can be sure of everyone’s whereabouts during the time of his father’s death.”
Aizawa sat back in her chair. “Is Kano-sensei in some kind of trouble? Hokichi-san told me you’d be asking questions about an open investigation, but I had no idea Kano-sensei was involved in anything.”
“Oh, don’t worry, please,” I said, assuring her. “This is standard procedure.” At least, I hoped it was. That seemed like the right thing to say. “There are some questions about the nature of his father’s death, and we need to be sure of everyone’s whereabouts should the case go to trial.”
“Very well,” she said, turning to her computer and hitting the space bar. “Let me look at the schedule.”
“The day in question is Friday, October the second.” I leaned forward, placing my notebook on her desk and readying my pen to take notes.
“Hmmm. On Fridays, Kano-sensei has two periods he teaches and then two periods where he gives individual students help.”
“What does he teach here again?”
“Chemistry. It’s a specialized science so he doesn’t teach a class for every period.” She returned to the schedule. “Let’s see. He was supposed to be tutoring two students during that time period. Let me find out where they are right now, and I’ll have them brought in.” She stood up from her desk but paused as she straightened out her skirt. “I’m assuming you already asked Kano-sensei about where he was that Friday?”
I nodded and smiled, trying to look as unworried and amiable as possible. “He says he was here, and when someone called from the police department to verify the information, your office said he was here and didn’t leave all day.”
“We use a time card system that’s automated. You check in at the beginning of the day and check out at the end. It’s mainly used to help track sick or vacation days, and the amount of time a teacher spends in the school. These things are necessary when we negotiate contracts.”
“But it’s not mandatory? You don’t use it to check in and out of buildings so you can’t track movement in the school?”
“No. Not for teachers. We’ve experimented with student tracking because of parents’ worries, but that’s it. Excuse me a moment, please.”
I remembered lots of schools experimenting with RFID tracking chips ten years ago, but they were only implemented in elementary schools. Once kids were in high school, it wasn’t needed anymore.
I took out my phone and scrolled through my texts while I waited for Aizawa to return. Mom texted that she finished pulling out the kabocha squash, and Yasahiro wrote, “It was so cold this morning it took twice as long for the restaurant to heat up. Come by for lunch later?”
My body tingled, thinking about our walk around the property yesterday. “Sure. I’ll be there around 13:00. Okay?”
I slipped my phone into my purse as the door reopened, and Aizawa entered with two young men. I rose up from my chair and we bowed. One boy was tall and skinny with mop hair that hung over his eyes. The other had the build of a rugby player with spiked hair and tortoiseshell glasses. Was I ever this young? It felt like ages ago.
Aizawa hovered while we introduced ourselves, but then turned for the door. “I need to go speak with the office staff. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“I don’t know if Aizawa-san told you but I’m here to double check Kano-sensei’s schedule on Friday, October the second.”
I stopped to glance up from my notebook and found the boys eyeing one another.
“The schedule says that he was with you that day during the morning. Is that correct?” I poised my pen and waited, but they didn’t say anything. I raised my eyebrows at them, and they eyed each other again.
“It’s not correct?” My hearing rang, my scalp prickling. I expected them to jump on this and not hesitate.
“Well, that day was three Fridays ago, right?” The boy with the glasses asked.
“It was,” I said, sitting forward in my chair.
“Kano-sensei said he was feeling ill that day and needed to lie down in the infirmary. He canceled on us, but then I saw him later that day during yearbook club. He said he took some medicine and felt better. I thought it was his stomach, so I didn’t ask.”
“Did he have health problems all the time?”
The other student shook his head. “This was the first time he ever looked ill. That’s why I didn’t say anything. We studied in the library that day, and he made up for the absence by giving us study guides.”
“I see.” My stomach shrank and twisted. I wanted to find no evidence against Tama, but instead my worst fears were coming true. “Thank you both.”
The tall boy headed out but the shorter one with glasses turned to me. “Kano-sensei is a good teacher. This won’t get him in trouble, will it?”
I shook my head and patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’m sure he was sick, just like he said.”
Aizawa returned as the boys left the office.
“Can I help you with anything else?” she asked with a smile and a bow.
“One more thing. I need to talk with whomever works in the infirmary.”
I pulled the car into an open spot in the municipal parking lot across from Sawayaka, turned off the engine, and stared into space until my phone rang. It was Goro.
“Mei-chan, I wanted to check in and see how your visit went.”
I put pressure on the bridge of my nose, an impending headache barreling down on me. “How it went?” I chuckled before slapping my hand over my mouth. “He wasn’t there. He just wasn’t there.”
“Speak some sense, Mei-chan, or I’m going to call someone to come get you.”
“I’m fine. So, I went to the school, and the morning of the murder, Tama-chan was supposed to be tutoring a few kids but he faked an illness and took off.”
“Really? Did the principal know about this?”
“No. The kids thought he went to the infirmary, but the nurse who runs it said no one came in that day except some girls faking a cough.” I rolled my eyes. I had a friend in high school that faked an illness every week. She was under a lot of stress and spent half her senior year in the infirmary.
“So he was missing in action then.”
“Yeah, that’s my best guess. Any chance there are video cameras around there you could access?”
He laughed. “I’m just now getting the footage from the bank and convenience store. At least it’s only one day’s worth of video to watch at high speed.” He sighed, and I heard him drink something. “I need more coffee. Anyway, I’ll call you later when I get more information, and I’ll let the others know what you found out. Tama-san didn’t see you, did he?”
“No. I was in and out in an hour and both times class was in session.” That was my only lucky break this morning.
“If you don’t hear from me, you can always stop by the station later.”
“Okay. See you then.”
I hung up and stared at the gathering of people at Sawayaka. It was nearing 13:00, and the lunch hour was still going strong. I rubbed my thumbs up and down the side of the phone before chewing on the skin around my index fingernail. More evidence my high school boyfriend was a killer, and the new guy I was dating was more popular than I would ever be. I’d been thinking a lot about what it would be like to date him. Would I attend restaurant openings? Would he open more restaurants? What if he traveled? I wouldn’t be able to travel with him on my flimsy budget. He’d have to go alone. Would he meet with famous people while he was there and go on dates with other women?
I breathed in slowly and let it out until my stomach collapsed against my spine. I was in for a world of hurt with this guy, wasn’t I? I could never keep up with him. I closed my eyes and pressed my head to the steering wheel. Doubt raced through my blood like adrenaline.
I picked up my phone to text him. “Hey, I’m in the parking lot but the restaurant looks really busy and I don’t want to bother you. Should I come back some other day?�
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I sent the text and waited, but then after a few minutes of watching the crowd outside Sawayaka, I figured he was probably too busy to text me back. I started up the car and turned on the radio. Oh well. I’d get food from the convenience store and head home for a while.
A sharp knock on the window scared me, and I yelped and jumped, turning down the radio. I hit the window down button and Yasahiro’s face poked in the car.
“What are you doing sitting out here? Come inside.”
“I, um, I saw how busy the place is, and I thought I’d go get a sandwich from the convenience store.”
“Nonsense, Mei-chan. You’ll always have a seat in my restaurant. If all the tables are taken, you can come eat in the kitchen.”
“Oh. No. I could never do that.” Freeloading guilt blanketed me from head to toe. “And I feel weird about taking the free food. I should pay when I come and wait in line with everyone else.”
“Turn off the car and come inside.” His voice was stern and his face unforgiving as I rolled up the window. I counted to five to pull myself together, turned off the car, and opened the door.
Yasahiro backed away as I came out. “I don’t own a restaurant so that I can turn you away and make you wait with regular customers.” He took my elbow gently and turned me towards Sawayaka. “I know you don’t have the money for food from the convenience store—“
“Not true. Mom paid me yesterday.”
“All the more reason to hold on to it for something better than food I am happy to give you for free.”
“I’m not a charity case, Yasa-kun.” I pulled my arm from his and stopped. “If that’s what this is going to be, you feeling pity for me and giving me things because of some misplaced guilt, then it’s not going to work between us.”
I was going to cry. I whirled around to head back to the car.
The Daydreamer Detective Page 21
