The Daydreamer Detective Opens a Tea Shop

by S. J. Pajonas

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “You remember you’re off the case, right?” I reminded Goro as we stood outside and waited for Kayo to show up.

  “Yeah, but I can convince them I have the correct suspect. We’ll see what Kayo-san says when she gets here.”

  I was sneaking around and not letting Mom see me with my puffy eyes and red nose from crying. She was entertaining our guests anyway, and I didn’t want to bother them. With any luck, they’d be on their way to their family within a day, and Mom’s life would be back to normal. Well, somewhat normal.

  I concentrated on my belly and tried to feel something there. It was probably too early, but what did I know? Nothing. I knew next to nothing, and the only reason I knew anything was because of Kumi. I had held her hair while she puked, and Goro was working long hours. She kept telling me about how the baby was the size of a chestnut or an avocado. Why all the comparisons to food? I didn’t get it, so I just nodded and feigned interest.

  Kayo, driving Goro’s squad car, approached the house and turned into the driveway, the headlights illuminating us before turning to point into the fields. She parked the car and got out.

  “Mei-san, it’s good to see you,” she said, bowing. She turned to Goro. “Goro-san, a lot’s happened in the past few hours.”

  “What?” We both asked, our voices swallowed by the trees around us.

  “Hiroshi Ota.”

  My heart doubled its pace.

  “You saw the photos at the book launch party?” Goro asked, stepping closer to Kayo.

  “Yes. And we called in the witness to do a police sketch. He described Ota-san accurately.”

  “Excellent. What’s being done?” Goro approached the driver’s side of the car, his hand on the door.

  “We’ve got police teams out searching for him, both around his home in Tokyo and his parents’ place in Chiba.”

  “What about the camp site we were at?” I rubbed my arms to keep the chill away.

  “The ryokan owner says they packed up and left about an hour or two after we did.” Kayo yawned, and I was reminded of the long day we just endured. It was only this morning we were at the campsite, questioning them. “We’ll go double-check tomorrow, but they mostly slept in the ryokan except for one night. There are bear sightings in the park frequently.”

  “Bears?” I shuddered. I never wanted to run into a bear in the woods.

  “Yeah. Uh...” Kayo turned to Goro, her lips set in a frown. “Things are crazy back at the station. The chief has been questioning Yasahiro-san for the past two hours, and he looks tired. Ready to give in. And Watanabe is riling people up, calling for Yasahiro-san’s head.”

  I cringed thinking of the young, brash police officer who gave me such a hard time the other day, and Kayo sent him out of the precinct. He had it in for Yasahiro, but why?

  “What about the Cheungs?”

  “They’re staying at a hotel on the North side of town, but I don’t think they’re getting much rest because we keep seeing them on the news.” Kayo yawned again and it caught, making me yawn too. “Sorry! I didn’t mean that.” She laughed and covered her mouth. “They must be dying from jet lag, but it looks like they’re going to push through it.”

  Everyone was doing something critical to the investigation except for me. It drove me nuts, making me want to put on shoes and run a marathon, just to get out the nervous energy.

  “Let me come,” I said, jolting in Goro’s direction. “I can be useful somehow.”

  Kayo shook her head at Goro, and he put his hand on my arm.

  “I’m going to have a hard enough time convincing them to take me back, much less you, Mei-chan. You’re dating their number one suspect.”

  “Not if they’re going after Hiroshi Ota.” I was ready to press my hands together and beg.

  Goro rubbed his face, his breath coming out in a puff of condensed air.

  “What do they have on Yasahiro-san that makes them believe he’s the killer?” Goro asked Kayo. She leaned against the roof of the car.

  “Just the three main things. They used to date and their break up was contentious according to the Cheungs. He was missing at the time of her death —”

  “Even though his attorney confirmed where he was? And the cameras in the taxi cabs?” Anger simmered in my belly.

  “Yeah. So their other evidence is that they think he didn’t do the crime. That he was creating an alibi by being with his lawyer because he hired someone else to kill her with the missing money.”

  Goro and I stared at each other, and he rubbed the top of his head. “But he could’ve stayed at the restaurant. Why would he need to create an alibi?”

  Kayo shrugged her shoulders. “Most of his staff would’ve taken an hour off between lunch and dinner and no one would’ve been there to see Yasahiro-san and vouch for him.”

  I groaned and paced in a tight circle. “Yes. That does happen most days.” I remembered all the days I’d spent at Sawayaka between lunch and dinner when no one was around but Yasahiro. Silence in the kitchen happened during those in-between moments.

  “Well, that settles it,” Goro said, clapping his hands together. “Mei-chan, you’re in charge of going through the files and finding evidence to clear Yasahiro once and for all.”

  “What? Me?” I pressed my hand to my chest. “What if I don’t find anything? You can’t pin his freedom on me and a bunch of stolen files from a hacker.”

  Kayo’s eyes widened, and Goro glared at her. She threw her hands up and opened the car door. “I heard nothing. I was in the car the whole time.” She got in and slammed the door shut.

  “I’ll handle the police and Hiroshi Ota. You handle the digital footprint. There has to be something in there that exonerates him.”

  I pressed my lips together and turned to face the fields. I didn’t know what I’d find if I dug past the current year to find Yasahiro’s past with Amanda. What if I found out he was culpable?

  “You’re not afraid, are you, Mei-chan?” Goro’s challenge wormed its way under my skin. I twisted to face him.

  “Heck yeah, I’m afraid. Wouldn’t you be?”

  He shook his head. “Looks like I believe in Yasahiro-san more than you do.”

  “Excuse me?” The timber of my voice lifted, and my skin heated. “No one believes in him more than I do.”

  He pointed at the house, his face set in stone. “Then get in there and get the job done. None of those other jokers at the precinct care about him. But you and I do. I’ll do my job. You do yours.”

  He got in the car and sped off before I could pick my jaw off the ground.

  Fine.

  Time to get to work.

  Back in the house, Mom proceeded with dinner like nothing was wrong with the world. She and Aya chatted about food and what Aya planned to do with her life once they made it to Hokkaido, even though Aya’s worried face was turned to the front door. Her pale skin shined with sweat, her eyes wide with concern while Ichiro read manga in the corner of the kotatsu. Mom’s piano concerto recordings played at a low volume on the stereo, and the living room lights were dimmed.

  I wanted to be normal for a few hours, but the smell of onions from the kitchen sickened me. It was like some god had come in and turned up the smells in the house by two thousand percent. I could even smell the dirt in the houseplants, Ichiro’s socks, and Mimoji-chan’s food bowl in the next room. It wasn’t appetizing at all. But if I had learned anything from Kumi, eating was the best thing to do in this situation. I didn’t imagine it often, but I figured that once I became pregnant, my body would encourage me to do the things it needed to grow a baby, like eat and drink well. Instead, everything became difficult and antagonistic.

  “Oh, good, Mei-chan. There you are. Come have dinner before you and Goro-chan go back to work.”

  “He left. He needed to talk to his boss about the case. Kayo-san just came for him.” I tried to only breathe through my mouth while speaking, but the best thing for me to do would be to
plug my nose.

  The room swirled around me, tilting to the left so hard, I actually lost my balance and covered my mouth with my hand.

  “Mei-chan, are you…?”

  I bolted out the front door, and everything I had in me, which wasn’t much, ended up in the bushes. The cold air outside hit me like a speeding bus, and I fell to my knees.

  Mom rushed out of the house, her dishtowel flying into the air behind her as she came to my side.

  She squeezed my shoulders and pushed me forward as I retched again.

  “I should get you to the hospital,” Mom said, rubbing my back. I moaned and sat my butt on the gravel driveway. It was cold and uncomfortable, but the clean, crisp air kept me from puking again.

  “No,” I said, trying to wave her off. “I’ll be fine. Just stress.”

  “Stress, my foot. This is not stress, Mei-chan. Maybe you have a virus or…” Her voice trailed off as she gazed at my face. She picked up my hands and examined them. I pulled them away from her. She reached over, yanked up my pant leg, and stared at my ankle.

  “Mom, stop. I’ll be fine.”

  “You’re pregnant.”

  My mouth dropped open. How?

  She nodded her head and stood up over me. “Your hands and ankles are retaining water, and your face is too. What with the hormonal blow-ups and puking, it’s a sure thing.”

  I waited, hoping she would smile and hug me.

  No such luck.

  “How could you be so careless?”

  “Me? Careless? It’s not like we didn’t use protection!” I forced myself off the ground so I could face her, eye to eye. “And it’s a little late to be the protective mom on this one. I slept over at his place several nights a week. What did you think was happening?”

  Come on. Did she think I was sleeping on the couch?

  “I thought you were being sensible. You’re not even engaged! Not even close.”

  Movement at the door caught my eye. Ichiro was watching us yell at each other.

  Mom lowered her voice. “How will you deal with this?”

  “I don’t know yet.” I crossed my arms and stepped away from the bushes. “I need to find out what’s happening with Yasahiro.”

  Mom sighed and shook her head. “How could you do this to me? Huh? And how could you do this to him after all he’s been through already with Amanda?”

  I stopped and tried to piece together the situation. “Um, I did not get pregnant all on my own here.”

  Mom’s face hardened into a series of lines from her forehead down.

  “And if Amanda hadn’t come back, I’m sure I would have found out and told him. We would’ve figured it out together.”

  “Figured it out? You mean you would have pressed him into marriage,” Mom hissed at me.

  I blinked, blindsided by Mom’s vehemence.

  “I would’ve done no such thing! If he didn’t want to marry me… I mean, I’d be upset, and we’d probably be over, but I’d… I’d… I don’t know. I’m not ready to be a single mom.”

  Mom shook her head. “You don’t get it. He would have proposed because there’s no way he was going through that again.”

  I looked around me, searching for clues I couldn’t see. “Through what?”

  Mom’s lips pinched together. “Go inside, get your things, and get out.”

  “What?” Adrenaline kicked in, and my vision sharpened. She wasn’t serious. Couldn’t be. I thought I had been a model daughter. The only reason I’d said anything when we were hungry over the winter was because I cared! Sure, I got pregnant, but I could fix this. This was not the Heian Period. This was modern Japan. I had options!

  “When I brought you into this house, I saw so much potential for you. And you were doing so well.”

  She swept her hand out, and I thought of the hours I spent helping her tend the fields, taking care of the house, busting my butt to get the tea shop up and ready. And how she was proud of me for doing all of that and dating Yasahiro too. But she had also threatened me recently about doing better by the family and protecting our reputation.

  “I won’t shelter you here if you’re going to dishonor our family with your behavior.”

  “Mom,” I pleaded, coming to my knees and bowing. “Please, don’t do this.”

  “I’m not changing my mind.” She turned and stalked into the house, leaving me kneeling outside in my socks.

  Rage bubbled up in the form of a sob. I bent over and let my tired eyes lose more tears onto the driveway. How could I be so stupid? How could I put my trust in people who didn’t trust me back? A blanket of sadness covered me, heavy and dark. Hopeless. This was hopeless. I was pregnant and now homeless. I had to go back inside, pack my things and leave. But go where? I had no car, and though I could drag my things to town and stay at Yasahiro’s, I wondered if it was being searched for evidence. It probably was. And they would find the money I’d hid. Ugh. I groaned at my own recklessness. We looked like criminals!

  I only had one option. Akiko would let me stay with her. She’d turned her father’s room into a guest bedroom a few months ago. She said she’d help, and I’d have to take her up on the offer sooner than I intended to.

  Wait. Wait wait wait. I stopped myself from making plans for my immediate future, and I ran the conversation with Mom through my head again. Yasahiro would have proposed to me because he “didn’t want to go through that again” was what she said.

  He had gone through this before?

  Oh no. He had gone through this before with Amanda, hadn’t he?

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  “You can stay here as long as you like.” Akiko fluffed the spare pillows and drew the blinds on the windows, looking across the road at my Mom’s house and shaking her head. I got most of what I needed in one trip, keeping my eyes directed at the floor and not talking to Aya or Ichiro. Who knows what they thought of me? And after tomorrow, I wouldn’t see them again, anyway. It was best to walk away and pretend nothing had happened.

  “Thanks,” I said, dropping onto the bed. I was spent, and I still had hours of searching to do in front of me. It was the longest day I had ever lived.

  “I’ll bring you some food, crackers and cheese. How about some smoked fish?” I thought about it and nodded. I could probably stomach that. “Okay good. You could use some protein.”

  She turned to go, but I reached out and grabbed her hand to squeeze it. “Thanks. Really. You didn’t have to do this.”

  Her eyes welled with tears. “It’s the least I can do. My brother tried to kill you.” Her voice squeaked, and I regretted saying anything. We were about to walk the path of memories again, and I’d had enough doom and gloom for one day. “He sent you and your family into ruins, and I did nothing to help.”

  “Not true. You helped me find my true calling.” I looked down at my hands. My true calling was helping the elderly, and the tea shop was my chance at making that dream come true.

  “It’ll work out,” she whispered. “I’ll help you look for a new place for the shop if everything goes badly. You don’t have to give up.”

  I sat silent, numb, for a few breaths before finding my good manners. “I promise I won’t stay long. Either Yasahiro will be cleared and we’ll go back to our life with me pregnant. Or…” I swallowed, unable to voice any other options.

  Akiko sat down next to me. “I know other couples who can’t have babies. You could carry the baby and give it up for adoption.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know. Can we talk about this later?”

  She patted my hand. “Well, you’ve got some time.”

  We sat quietly, and I remembered us as kids, running around and playing in the back yard. We had dreams for our futures then, and I’d failed so miserably at mine.

  “Do you feel like you made your dreams come true?” I asked, plucking at my pants.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Like, you wanted to be a nurse and own this house, and you got both of them. Except for t
he whole Tama situation, you did pretty well.”

  Akiko nodded. “I did. It’s come at a price, though. I’ll probably never meet a man to marry, never have a family. I work too much. I’m too independent. Men don’t like either of those things.”

  I grimaced. Being a modern woman was tough.

  “It’s a good thing I have a dog!” She slapped my leg with a smile. “Don’t think about these things, Mei-chan. You’ll only make yourself more depressed. I’ll be back with something to eat.”

  After dropping off my snacks, we said good night to each other, and I slipped into pajamas and opened my computer. Logging onto her Wi-fi network, I returned to the email website and got back to work.

  I searched for Yasahiro’s name first. The last email he sent to her was over two years ago. I was tempted to look at it first, but if I started at the end, nothing would make sense. And I needed for things to make sense. I was in a fight to save him, and logic needed to be on my side.

  So I scrolled to the beginning and started there. I guessed she got the email address late in their relationship because their correspondence started after they were engaged. Maybe she’d had a different address that received too much spam and started over? I couldn’t tell for sure because she made no mention of the switch otherwise.

  A few of their first emails were forwarded emails from other people or companies. Trip itineraries for vacations in the Greek Isles, hotel bookings in Venice — all the things I associated with them, none of which I associated with the Yasahiro I knew. The Yasahiro I knew saved his money for business or me, and our vacations were local and filled with voluntary good will.

  I suspected that back then, they texted each other instead of using email. And texting, before it went through third-party servers, was easier to delete and get rid of. If we wanted their texts, the police would have to talk to their service providers in Europe. If they even kept those records.

  I was getting sleepy and bored as I scrolled through their correspondence, which wasn’t anything but the barest of minimums and barely an email a week, until…