The Daydreamer Detective Braves the Winter

by S. J. Pajonas

  “No. No.” Yasahiro’s mom snapped out of her shock, shaking her head. “Please sit down.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Mei-san.” Yasahiro’s father smiled at me and his son. “I’m sorry our home is a humble farm house and we don’t have anything fancy to feed you.”

  “Your house is lovely,” I said, ignoring Amanda staring at me from the photos on the wall. “And I’ve come to love all kinds of food, thanks to Yasa-kun.”

  Yasahiro set bowls and spoons on the table, not saying anything. I wished I could read him better, but I supposed that would come with time.

  “I’m happy to serve up. What a lovely hot pot you’ve made, Suga-san.” I distributed a bowl to each spot after ladling in a large portion of soup, then I waited while everyone else sat before we said “Itadakimasu” and began eating. I stayed silent as much as possible during the meal, listening and nodding where appropriate, or answering questions if they were directed at me. But the three of them mostly talked about the farm, Yasahiro’s business, and family matters, leaving me out of the conversation. I noticed, though, that the questions directed at me came from his father while his mother often looked over at the news clippings on the wall.

  After lunch, Yasahiro’s dad asked him to go outside for a walk around the property. It was well above freezing, so he obliged and left me to his mom. I tried not to worry and instead I bid them a happy farewell with a big smile and a wave. Then I did what I always did after a meal, I cleaned up.

  “Please, Mei-san. Sit. You’re our guest.” Yasahiro’s mom wanted me to stay behind by myself in the living area, but I shook my head and followed her to the kitchen with the bowls anyway.

  “I enjoy cleaning, and I’d like to help. Please allow me to do the dishes.” I barreled past her to the sink, sought out the cleaning sponge and dish soap, and turned on the faucet, waiting for the water to turn hot. As I picked up a bowl, I glanced over my shoulder at her, and she was peering past me to the sink, a nervous twitch to her lip.

  “Yasa-kun tells me you farm mostly soy here.” I soaped up a bowl and arranged her dish rack so I could stack clean dishes there. “We’ve never farmed soy, but I hear it’s lucrative.”

  She came to stand next to me, dumping anything left in the dishes into the burnable trash. “Does your family farm?”

  “We cultivate greens and tomatoes during the summer. Sweet potatoes, squash, and a ton of other root vegetables during the fall. Mom likes to grow wildflowers and chrysanthemum as well in the spring and summer.”

  “And your father…?”

  “He died when I was five.” I added another washed bowl to the drying rack. “My older brother lives with his family in Chiba. It’s just me and Mom now.”

  She tilted her head to the side, not asking any questions except for the ones via body language.

  “I had a string of jobs and a small apartment in Tokyo for years, but my company let me go this fall.” I shrugged my shoulders. “I moved home with Mom and decided to stay and help out. I met Yasa-kun not long after.”

  I finished off by scrubbing the chopsticks and spoons in the sink, adding them to the utensil basket, and wiping down the surrounding area. When I turned around, she was very still, examining me with an intense shrewdness one reserved for a principal disciplining a rowdy student.

  “There,” I declared, gesturing to the clean dishes, taking a towel, and drying off my hands. How many other girlfriends of Yasahiro did the dishes when they came over? I was going to guess, hmmm, none. “Can I help with anything else?”

  “No. Thank you.” She twisted her towel in her hands, so I saw an opportunity to make a statement.

  “I want to say that I know I’m not pretty or famous like Amanda, but I’m kind and loyal, and Yasa-kun can trust me. He’s been so good to me.” I clutched my hands to my chest and smiled, remembering all the little things he does, like how he brings me water at bedtime, or the time I was caught in the rain and he helped get me dry again, or the extra cream and sugar in my coffee when I needed both. “And I plan to be good to him, forever, if we get that far.”

  “Shhh.” She stepped forward suddenly and grasped my arm in her right hand. She squeezed, glancing behind me. I turned my head and Yasahiro was in the doorway with his father. “What is it you plan on doing, now that you no longer have a job in Tokyo? You don’t plan on taking over your family’s farm, do you? My son is a successful businessman. He wasn’t meant for the fields.”

  “Mom…” Yasahiro’s voice contained a note of warning.

  Ah. This was where I truly differed from Amanda. She would have been a good match for him because she was successful like Yasahiro. I suspected I may have had an advantage over her because I was not a foreigner, but that wasn’t enough.

  “No. I was never meant to be a farmer —”

  “Mei-chan is an artist. Her work is beautiful,” Yasahiro interrupted.

  “And I want to work with and help the elderly,” I blurted out. Even Yasahiro was taken aback. “I… This is a new thing for me.” I shrugged my shoulders. “I have new elderly clients I help a few times per week, and I enjoy it. I wish I could do more. I wish it were my real job.”

  Everyone’s eyes were on me, and I squirmed inside from their attention.

  “That’s a noble idea, Mei-san,” Yasahiro’s dad said, breaking the silence. “Why don’t you come and have a drink with me at the kotatsu, and I’ll tell you about my father?” He waved to me, and I hesitated a moment before slinking past Yasahiro’s mom.

  Yasahiro stopped me at the doorway. “Be careful. My dad can put away saké like no one else.” He dropped his voice. “Let’s talk about your idea when I return from Paris.”

  “Okay,” I whispered, and then gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “Thanks.”

  When I reached the table, Yasahiro’s dad already had the saké waiting for me.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “You look so worried,” Yasahiro said as he set down his bag at the bottom of the stairs. “I promise I’ll be back on Thursday, and it will feel like I never left to begin with.”

  Cold air leaked under the door, frosting my socked feet. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that this was not the reason I was worried. I had received email that I was approved to meet up with a boy from Ne Kitsune, and I didn’t tell him about it because he wouldn’t be there to help anyway. Now I was second-guessing my decision. It could have been dangerous or just plain stupid, but I wouldn’t know until I tried. I had promised Kumi I would help find the person who murdered Etsuko. I liked to keep my promises, so I was going forward with my plan in the safest way possible.

  “I’ll be fine.” I produced a half-smile for him, memorizing his face so I could daydream about him over the next few days. “I have a safe place to live, with plenty of food. I’ll miss having a warm body to sleep next to, though.” I pinched his arm and he laughed.

  “That’s it? I’m nothing but a warm body to you?”

  “I think you’re a lot more than that.” I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his coat. I wished he wasn’t going. Our relationship had just begun, and I hated having to put everything on hold so he could go to Paris and leave me here. But I prided myself on being an independent girl, so I sucked it up and dealt with it.

  “The car’s here.” A flash of headlights swept through the vestibule as a car pulled up to the curb, right on time. There was nothing like leaving for the airport at bedtime to make one happy about taxi services.

  “Remember what I said,” he whispered, taking my face in his hands and looking me straight in the eyes.

  “Eat a lot, get lots of sleep, and be careful,” I repeated back to him his “instructions” as if I needed to be reminded to eat when I had actual food in the house. Cooking it would be another story. Maybe I’d call Mom to come hang out with me the next few days.

  “And don’t worry about me or Amanda. I probably won’t even see her.”

  “I understand. And I’ll be fine with it even if
you do see her.” Jealousy was a horrible emotion on me. I tried not to succumb to it as much as possible.

  He leaned in, touched his lips to mine, and kissed me goodbye like he wouldn’t see me for a year, forever. I threw my arms around his neck and squeezed, pressing my body to his. Who knew? If we ended up dating for years or even getting married, in the future, he’d leave on trips like this, and I’d wave from the door or not even get out of bed. But the first absence was the hardest.

  He buttoned his jacket and shouldered the door open, grabbing his suitcase and wheeling it to the curb. We waved to each other as the car sped away, and I pressed my face to the door to catch the last sight of the red brake lights at the corner.

  Going to sleep was tough without him, but after I calmed my brain down, I managed to sleep until nine, have a quiet morning at home, and ate leftovers for lunch. Just as I was about to walk out to meet up with Murata at her apartment in the afternoon, my phone rang. It was Goro.

  “Hey, you still at Yasa-kun’s place?”

  “Yeah,” I said, hesitating. “Please don’t give me a hard time about dating him. I don’t think I could take it with him out of town.”

  “Is he out of town?” A squawk of a police radio interrupted him. “Where did he go?”

  “He’s in Paris until Thursday.”

  “Is he going to see his ex?”

  “Goro-chan, could you be a little more insensitive, please? I’m not feeling vulnerable enough.”

  Silence. “What, Mei-chan?”

  “Never mind! What’s up?” No one got my sense of humor but Yasahiro. I paced back and forth near the door, my coat already on, my shoes waiting.

  “I wanted to report in about the Ne Kitsune business.”

  I stopped in my tracks. “What did you find out?”

  “I’m downstairs in my car. Want to come down and chat about it?”

  I took three long strides across the living room, and standing on the couch, I saw his police car downstairs.

  “Now I know why you asked me if I was at Yasa-kun’s. I’ll be right down.”

  I pulled on my boots, grabbed my bag, and turned down the lights in the apartment, being sure to lock up behind me. Down on the street, Goro’s police car idled at the curb. I opened the door and slipped into his heated car.

  “It’s actually warmer out today,” I said, a note of excitement in my voice. I was desperate for spring.

  “It’s a heatwave!” Goro chuckled. “You got out the door fast.”

  “I’m on my way to meet up with Murata-san. We have a regular thing Mondays through Thursdays.”

  “Okay. I won’t keep you then. So I did some searching on the Ne Kitsune organization. They’re legitimate. Their men are only escorts. No sex. The businesses around them seem pleased with their presence. They pay bills on time, conduct their business quietly and discreetly, and never give anyone cause to complain. The woman who runs the main office did say that they hire a majority of gay men for this.”

  I raised my eyebrows at him and he shrugged.

  “Makes sense when you think about it.” Goro turned down the radio that suddenly switched to a high-energy pop duet. “They have regular clients all over the Tokyo and Saitama area, and most of their guys travel by train so they can save money. They’re almost all broke college students.”

  I stared out the window towards the empty retail space under Yasahiro’s apartment. I’d still not been in there, and with the steel shutters down, I’d never been able to look inside from the street.

  “If you were a broke college student and trying to pay your bills, wouldn’t you do just about anything to keep your head above water?” I asked, turning to Goro.

  He rubbed at the shadow of a beard on his chin. “Well, it would depend on how broke I was. Would I kill, though? No, obviously.”

  “Right. But you may take bribes or do work on the side?”

  He shifted in his seat.

  “Hypothetically speaking, of course. Maybe you’re not cut out to be a detective,” I said, chuckling.

  “Perhaps.” He blew out a long breath and gripped the steering wheel. “Okay, I may take bribes or do work on the side if I was desperate.”

  “So, we need to find the desperate ones and question them.” I waved my hand as if this was a foregone conclusion.

  “Uh, Mei-chan. They all seemed pretty desperate to me. I watched them come and go during the course of a day — young, hip guys. I followed several to apartments in run-down sections of Takadanobaba. One shared an apartment with five other people. Five,” he stressed.

  Ugh. I couldn’t imagine. Tokyo apartments were tiny to begin with.

  “Well, if he’s getting money, then Etsuko was getting money too, right?”

  The area between his eyebrows creased. “Her bank accounts were dry.”

  I looked at the retail space below Yasahiro’s apartment. If I were going to hide anything anywhere, I’d hide it in the last possible place someone would look, right in front of their face.

  “Then she squirreled it away somewhere. Buried it in the park or it’s in her apartment.” I nodded my head, certain this was the answer.

  Goro ran his hand through his hair and sipped coffee from an insulated mug in his cup holder. “We only did a cursory search because we didn’t want to damage the property. I’ll have officers come in and tear the place apart.”

  “Great. Let me know if you find anything.” I grasped the door handle, but then stopped and threw my weight into the seat. “What about Hisashi-san? Are you going to release him?”

  “No. We still have no motive for anyone else to kill her. The evidence against him isn’t strong, though, so he’ll be let go next week if we don’t find anything else. I feel bad for him. I see him every day, and he’s slowly sinking into a depression.” Goro shook his head again. “I wish he could have gone to her funeral.”

  “Such a shame.” We both sat quietly for a moment before I opened the car and swung my legs outside. “Text me if you hear anything else. And I’ll be at Yasa-kun’s until spring.”

  “I’ll be sure to let him know you took good care of the place while he was gone!” He yelled at me as I shut the door. I smiled as I walked away and around the corner to Murata’s apartment.

  “We’re going to do something a little different today,” I said, grabbing her coat and scarf once I was inside. “I want to go have coffee at the café a few blocks from here. We’ll walk there together, and I’ll treat you to tea. It’ll be a good way to get out of the house and exercise.”

  Murata raised her eyebrows at me. “How cold is it outside?”

  “It’s above ten degrees today, a good day to walk and stretch our legs.”

  “Fine. Fine. But I’ll treat for coffee and tea.”

  “Now it was my idea…”

  “Don’t argue with me, young lady. I have the money, and I’m happy to get out anyway.” She glanced around her apartment before we left, noting the lights and space heaters were off. “Hey, wasn’t your police officer friend going to send someone by to pick up this box?” She pointed to the cardboard box of bentos meant for Etsuko.

  “Yeah. I’ll call him and remind him.” I ushered her out the door.

  I helped Murata down the stairs, and we walked, arm in arm, to the café. Along the way, she smiled and waved to everyone she knew. People were happy to be outside. The sun was shining and the weather was the nicest it’d been in weeks. I almost felt bad for Yasahiro. It was supposed to be colder in Paris than it would be in Tokyo. But tomorrow night called for snow, and I was sure I would be shoveling for hours the next day. I needed to contact my clients and make sure they had someone to take care of snow removal. I would hate for them to be cooped up at home because they couldn’t clear their walkways.

  “You’re awfully quiet today.” Murata patted my arm.

  “Yasa-kun left last night to go to Paris for three days. I miss him already.”

  “Are you still living at his place? What about your mom? S
he’s not living at home, is she?”

  “No, no. She’s living with her friend Chiyo-san. We promised we’d stay out of the house until spring. All of the pipes froze, and we have to save our money.”

  We approached the café, and I held open the door for Murata. Inside, the space was warm, bright, and steamy. Happy people sat at tables or on couches, sipped coffee or tea, and chatted.

  “I haven’t been here in ages!” Murata glanced around and waved to a few people. I swore she knew at least half the town. “It was a good idea to get out of the house.”

  “I’m glad you approve. We’ll hang out here for a while and then go back later, and I’ll finish cleaning out your front closet.”

  I helped Murata order tea and coffee, and we found a table to sit at.

  “So…” Murata blew on her hot teacup. “Have you given any thought to your next job?”

  “What do you mean? I submit resumes for new jobs every day. It’s beginning to look like submitting resumes is my job.”

  She chuckled. “What I mean is have you thought about relocating to another part of the country? Or entering a new profession entirely?”

  I dumped a packet of sugar into my coffee and stirred. “No. I haven’t thought of doing anything that drastic yet. Originally, I didn’t want to move home. I dreaded it. But now, I like being home and helping my mom, so I’m hoping I can find a local job. Mom is set with work for the time being. She’s good until spring when she wants to get the farm up and running again. I’d like to help her with that.” I sipped on my coffee and thought for a moment, glancing out the window. “If only I could find something part-time, then I’d be set.”

  I’d been thinking a lot about what I said at Yasahiro’s parents’ house and how I could deliver on my idea. I wanted to help the elderly, but I wasn’t sure how to do it.

  “If only I could do for others what I do for you, as a real job.” I sat back in my chair and stared at the woman making coffee behind the counter. “I don’t think I have it in me to be a nurse, nor do I have the qualifications to work in a nursing home, but there has to be something else.”