The Daydreamer Detective Braves the Winter

by S. J. Pajonas

  “This is not our fault. Jun got himself into trouble with Etsuko. He was doomed from the start.” Goro brushed aside the curtains on the window and looked out onto the street. I didn’t hear sirens, but they would come at any moment. This time, though, it’d be Tokyo Metropolitan Police. Goro being there was expected, but it would look suspicious if I was hanging around. I took stock of everything I’d touched since I had entered the apartment. Why had I touched things?

  Goro returned to the bathroom and emerged with a small sheet of paper.

  “I saw this in there the first time…” He unfolded the paper. “It’s a note from Jun. ‘I can’t keep secrets anymore. I have no money, no family, and no friends, so I’m going to end it now. Please cremate my body and place the ashes next to my parents.’” Goro looked at me, the paper in his hand, the bathroom, and back to me. “I’ll never understand why some people feel it’s better to end their life than to try something new. He could’ve moved, become a new person someplace else.”

  A wave of nausea curled up from my toes, and I swallowed hard to keep the bile in my stomach.

  Faint sirens in the distance closed in on our location. I began to panic, my heart rate increased, and I flushed deep red.

  “Should I go?” If I ran down the stairs, I could’ve made it into the café and hid out there until Goro came to find me.

  He scoffed. “Don’t worry, Mei-chan. It’s a suicide. He left a note. I’ll explain to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police that we were here to check up on him because he was a witness in one of our cases. I’m sure that’s what Kayo told them when she called it in.” He sat down next to me. “Besides, you touched things in this apartment. If it were a criminal investigation, they’d find your prints anyway.”

  Just as I had thought. Note to self: keep gloves in your purse if you continue to be an amateur detective.

  When the police showed up, everything went the way Goro said it would. An officer took our statements, their team bagged the suicide note as evidence, and we were released before they pulled Jun out of the tub. Good. I didn’t want to see him like that again.

  Goro and I headed into the café, dropping the key off with the landlord who was mighty upset with the police in and out of his building, and we walked to a noodle shop down the street for lunch. The restaurant was small, with only four spots to stand at a counter, and two main dishes of tonkotsu ramen. Goro remained silent all through lunch, and I took that as my cue to stay silent as well, to daydream and try to forget about what happened. Whatever was going on in his head, he needed the time to think it through. I slurped up the hot noodles and soup and tried to erase the blood I witnessed from my brain. Not an easy task for a daydreamer like me.

  A quiet rage grew in my chest through lunch. Takahara, this man… He had completely ruined the lives of so many people. If he had been blackmailing Jun, like he was blackmailing Etsuko, he’d probably been blackmailing a dozen other people. Where did he get off destroying other people’s lives? Was it all for the money? How much was a life really worth? Right then, I wanted to find him and beat him to a bloodied pulp. To me, his life was worth very little.

  When my bowl of noodles was empty, I gave it back to the one woman running the place, thanked her for lunch, and followed Goro out onto the sidewalk. A cold, winter wind whipped around the buildings and froze me instantly. I would have given anything for it to be summer. I zipped up and pulled a hat onto my head. Goro, his hands and head exposed to the cold, but not seeming to care, texted on his phone. After a few moments, he slipped the phone into his jacket pocket.

  “We have two choices,” Goro said, heading to our car. I sped up my legs to catch up to him. “We can chase down the other Ne Kitsune boy that Jun mentioned…” He glanced at me, hoping I’d fill in the blanks.

  “Jun said he found a gay guy who would be willing to sleep in the same bed with Etsuko, and he wouldn’t get attached. I bet he’s the same guy in the photos with Takahara because that was definitely not Jun.”

  “I’d bet that as well, but we need to consider his safety. If we go chasing after him, Takahara will know we’re aware of the young man, and right now, he thinks we know nothing. Jun chased you down and got in trouble all on his own, without our help.”

  I shook my head, my stomach twisted into a tiny ball. “I don’t want to get anybody else killed.”

  We reached the car, and Goro started up the engine, turning the heat to full.

  “Right. Me neither. We should head back to Chikata and regroup. What we need to do is arrest Takahara first, take him into custody, and start questioning him while we gather up more witnesses. This may keep everyone safe, assuming Takahara was working alone.”

  “I assumed he was working alone since Etsuko didn’t mention anyone else in her confession note.” I sank into the chair, pressing my whole body into it. “We can’t let him get away with this.”

  Goro threw the car into gear again. “No, we can’t. It’s time to show our hand.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  I checked my phone for Yasahiro’s flight status as Goro pulled up to Murata’s building. My phone informed me Yasahiro was ten minutes from landing, and I was getting excited to see him. We were in that early part of a relationship where I almost forgot what he looked like when he was gone. Would I recognize his face? His voice? I closed my eyes and remembered the soft touch of his fingers on my back, the only man I’d allowed to touch me there in years. It was heaven. I’d rather have thought about all these things than Jun, dead in his bathtub. That was something I would never forget, and I wished I could.

  I expected a text from Yasahiro at any moment or maybe even a call, so I set my phone to normal mode, since usually I liked to keep it on silent. I slipped the phone into my bag and stared out the window at Muarata’s apartment building. It’d be good to see her since she asked me not to come the day before, and I could’ve used a little normality in my life. Daylight was beginning to wane and the lights were on in her apartment, giving the window a warm glow. I glanced over at Etsuko’s old apartment and remembered my conversation with Murata two days ago.

  “Goro?” I asked, interrupting him texting on his phone. “Remember that Takahara owns this building? Etsuko said so in her confession letter and Murata-san mentioned it to me.”

  “Oh right. I do remember that. Didn’t she say in her letter that he lived in the apartment below her for some time?” He leaned across to my side of the car and stared out at her building, aiming his eyes at the window under Etsuko’s.

  “She did.” I looked at each of the cars parked on the block, and down the road, a black BMW sat unoccupied. “I think that might be his car right there.”

  “Could we be this lucky?” He turned his car’s computer to face him and started punching in numbers.

  “I’ve never seen you use your computer.”

  “What do you think I do while I’m waiting for you in the car?” He smirked at me, and I rolled my eyes. It wasn’t like I was some high maintenance girl, crushing his dreams of being on time for everything.

  “It’s his car all right.” He swiped on his phone and dialed a number, pressing his phone to his ear and waiting. “Kayo, it’s me. I’m at Etsuko’s apartment building, dropping Mei-chan off to see Murata-san. Takahara’s car is up the block from us, and I think he’s here. Send another car around in case we run into him.” He waited for a moment chewing on his lower lip and staring at his own fingers drumming on the steering wheel. “How long?… Okay. Call me back.”

  He hung up his phone and slipped it into his pocket. “Kayo is coming with another officer. They’ll be here in five, ten minutes, tops.”

  “Want to come inside and hang out with me and Murata-san? She likes you,” I said, poking him in the chest. “And I’m sure she’d love to talk to you. We can kill time while we wait.”

  “Sure, why not? I should speak to her again, in case she remembered something else.”

  We walked inside together, hunched over against the cold.<
br />
  “Murata-san knows everything about everyone. Well, maybe not everything. If only she knew who killed Etsuko, we would’ve been done with this case weeks ago.”

  “We can’t just expect murderers to be given to us on a silver platter, Mei-chan. You have to work for them.” He shook his head in mock displeasure. “You have much to learn.”

  We were careful to walk through the building quietly in case Takahara was home, but I didn’t hear anything from the apartment below Etsuko’s as we climbed past it. Maybe he wasn’t actually here, just his car. Murata welcomed us into her apartment with a cheerful smile. She immediately tried to serve tea to Goro, but I urged her to sit down and relax since I was there to help out. I poured hot water for us all and served tea in her living area.

  “I hope you’re feeling better today,” I said, sipping on the hot tea. “I was worried about you yesterday.”

  “I’m fine, Mei-chan. I just needed some rest, and Akiko came by again to check on me. She adjusted some of my medication, and I feel better already. Shall we go out for a walk in a little bit? How is it outside?”

  “It’s bitter outside,” Goro said, getting into the conversation. “I’d watch out for patches of ice.”

  “We can take a short walk to the café and back,” I suggested, hoping this would be enough exercise for her. Murata nodded in response.

  We talked of the weather until Goro’s phone rang, and he excused himself to take the call in the kitchen. I could hear him mumbling, but I couldn’t make out any specific words.

  “Murata-san, Mei-chan was telling me that Takahara-san owns this building.” Goro hung up his phone and slipped it in his pocket. “Have you ever noticed him here, acting suspicious?”

  “Suspicious? He’s always suspicious.” She sipped her tea. “I’ve never liked him, and I found it irksome that he was always around when he didn’t need to be. I heard he was going to renovate the apartment below Etsuko’s, but I never saw workers come in and out of there. Instead, it was like he moved in. He bought a couch and a bed at the very least.”

  I imagined Murata at the front window of her apartment, watching Takahara’s every move, cataloging his deliveries, and going so far as to complain to him about the state of the building and his involvement with its upkeep. He’d probably not sunk a yen into this place and was only using it to live in or launder money through.

  Goro made strict eye contact with me, and I immediately knew what he was thinking. We needed to figure out some way to confront Takahara, either by camping out in front of the building or right at his door. Perhaps I was wrong and he was in there, sleeping or something. I was determined to catch him, and after the morning we’d had, both Goro and I were angry enough to do something about it.

  “I’m going to borrow Mei-chan for a few minutes. I hope you don’t mind.” Without waiting for an answer, Goro grabbed my arm and hauled me up next to him. “We’ll be right back.”

  We left a stunned Murata in her apartment, and I crept down the stairs behind Goro, trying not to make any noise at all. Outside the apartment under Etsuko’s, we paused and listened. I strained my ears, and after listening to my own heart beat like crazy, I heard signs of life inside, a box scraping across the floor and paper shuffling. He was in there!

  I came up with a plan, my brain speeding forward through time. “This is what we do,” I whispered to Goro. “He’ll panic if he sees you, so let me talk to him. I’ll pretend I’m interested in renting the apartment. I’ll flirt with him and get him talking. Maybe he’ll slip up and say something? Anyway, I’ll keep him occupied long enough for Kayo to arrive and then you can arrest him and continue on with the investigation.”

  “This is a dangerous idea,” he whispered, shaking his head.

  “It’s the least I can do.” Kumi’s tear-stained face popped into my head, begging me to help in any way I could. I had promised I’d do what I could. I could do this. “It’ll be fine. You do your job, and I’ll do mine.”

  “Your job?” He raised his eyebrows at me.

  “Shut up.” I smiled back, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door, as Goro hid on the other side of the stairwell.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  “Mei-san?” Takahara’s face changed from a frown to a smile as he opened the door to me. I had forgotten what a sickly handsome guy he was. All those photos I had seen of him at red carpet events didn’t even compare to how hot he was in jeans and a t-shirt. No wonder women got entrapped in his schemes. “What are you doing here?” He looked side to side, and not seeing anyone else, he opened the door wider.

  “Hello, Takahara-san,” I said, bowing. “I work for Murata-san on the next floor up, and she mentioned that this apartment may be for rent soon? I was hoping to take a look. I didn’t realize you were here, but I thought I’d knock anyway since the light is on.” I smiled at him, trying my best to appear calm and inquisitive, not nervous and scared as I really was. I glanced past him into the apartment. “Can I come in? I heard you own this building, is that right?”

  “Yeah, sure.” He moved to the side, and I gained entrance to the place, mentally pumping my fist into the air. I was in! He had taken the bait. I kicked off my shoes next to the door. “Yeah, I do own the building, for the last two years. How have you been? I haven’t seen you since Etsuko-san’s funeral.”

  “I’m fine. Things are a little cramped at home, and I thought I’d see what’s on the market for apartments.” That was a huge lie. I couldn’t think of anyone who would voluntarily give up free room and board at home, but hopefully he wouldn’t question the statement. I needed to make it look like I wanted to see the apartment, not him.

  I tried to act casual, poking my head into the kitchen and sizing the place up like I would if I was interested in renting. I took note of the empty shelves and bare counters indicative of a vacant apartment. He was living a sparse existence, though I was sure if I had opened the fridge, I would have found beer and condiments at the very least.

  “It’s got a good size kitchen. Was this renovated recently?”

  Takahara stood dumbfounded amongst the boxes in the living area. “Um, no. I planned on renovating the place but hadn’t gotten around to it. Did you say you’re working for Murata-san? Upstairs?”

  I walked past him to the front window, pushing aside the cheap, vertical blinds and looking out at the street. Parked half a block away, Kayo and another officer sat in a police car. I let the blinds go and turned to him.

  “It has a nice view. This is a great street.” Those were the only adjectives I could come up with, “nice,” “good,” “great.” I always talked like this when I was nervous. I set my purse on a stack of cardboard boxes with labels indicating bento boxes were inside. “Yeah, I work for Murata-san. She’s one of the many clients I have. I started a business a couple of weeks ago helping elderly citizens in town.” I began to sweat as I realized he was between me and the door, and the door was locked. “I needed to make some extra money since the barn burned down. My friend, Akiko Kano, helped me find my clients. You remember her, right?”

  I was sure he did. He tried to buy her land right out from under her when her dad died, and Akiko admitted once that he asked her out. I pushed down the rage in my chest and quieted the impulse to leap across the space between us and choke him with my bare hands. I wasn’t usually a murderous person, but if anyone screwed with the people I loved, they were dead to me. I wasn’t done with him yet.

  Takahara folded his arms across his chest and appraised me from head to toe. I didn’t like the hungry look in his eyes, like I was his next meal. “I didn’t realize you had such an entrepreneurial spirit, Mei-san. Starting your own business is hard work.”

  He edged towards me, slowly at first and then stopping within my personal space bubble. I suppressed the desire to push him away, but I couldn’t help the blush of fury that rose to my cheeks. He smiled, probably mistaking the blush for desire instead of anger.

  “This is a fortuitous meeting. I hones
tly hadn’t thought we’d run into each other again anytime soon. Have you given any thought to my proposal? The one we talked about at Etsuko-san’s funeral?”

  I swallowed in a dry throat and averted my eyes to the floor, trying to seem shy and flattered even though I was anything but. I took a small step backward, away from him.

  “I’ve thought about it, yes. Yasahiro-san and I have gone out on a few dates, but we’re not serious.” I waved my hand and hoped this conversation was not overheard by anyone but Goro. I suspected he’d pressed his ear to the door or wall outside and was waiting for me to give him a sign. What sign? We hadn’t discussed this ahead of time. I may have been screwed. “You mentioned we’d make great partners? How so?”

  I tore my eyes from the floor and glanced around the living space again. This time I noticed the cardboard boxes were not just filled with bento boxes, but there were other boxes labeled “shirts,” “bags,” and one labeled “gerbil food.” My God, how many people did he have laundering money for him? And was this where he kept the extra goods?

  “Well, you see, I like to invest in small companies and help people grow them so the owners can make a living. Helping others is one of my favorite pastimes.”

  In any other situation, this would’ve sounded truthful and impressive. No wonder he’d managed to get away with laundering money for so long.

  I licked my lips and cautioned myself. Mei, if you’re not careful, you’re going to give everything away. I wanted to confront him about his shady business practices, but I couldn’t just yet.

  “Can I take a look at the bathroom and the bedroom?” I tried to point in the direction of both, but my hand shook so I stuffed my fingers into the pocket of my jeans.

  “Sure,” he said, his voice husky. Oh no. He was possibly thinking of seducing me, but I couldn’t back away now. I needed to stall and keep him talking. I went with my original plan.