He grunted as he leaned over to look out the window. “I don’t know why you would bother cleaning it out. I’m sure the next person will just knock down the place and put up something new. Like I did.”
“I couldn’t blame them! If they saw your house, they would covet it.” I smiled at him, keeping the conversation light and easy. “But we wanted to make sure that all the items that were worth money could be sold off to help cover expenses, and Akai-san was friends with Ria-san and was hoping we would run into information about why she went missing.”
Takashi leaned forward, his shoulders rising. “Have you found anything?”
The air in the room prickled with energy. “Nothing yet. Something is missing from her belongings we’re eager to find. But no evidence as to why she would’ve left.”
Takashi took a moment to think before standing up and removing the teacups from the table. I got the feeling he was stalling or trying to gather up the nerve to say something, so I kept quiet. Patience was something I wasn’t good at. My lack of patience always got on Mom’s nerves, and I was determined to do better.
Except I shouldn’t have been thinking about Mom because my emotions flip-flopped from angry to sad while I waited for Takashi to come around. I couldn’t cry now.
“Mei-san, if you don’t mind my prying,” Takashi began, and I pumped my fist in my imagination, “what’s missing that you’re hoping to find?”
“Well…” I drew out the word, wondering how detailed I should be. “You know Ria-san was a gifted artist, no? She was fantastic at drawing manga, and she had a special red sketchbook that she drew in that’s missing.”
“I do know! I saw the drawings myself.” He sat back down at the table with us, and this time his expression was far away. “My son, Itsuki, way back when they were in high school, dated Ria-chan for about a year.”
I gasped, and Murata elbowed me. “You don’t say. Really?”
He laughed, not put off by my question. “Ria-chan was the girl next door. Bright and beautiful. I often wished they would grow up and marry each other. You know how it is, the dreams of parents. I knew her family, and that they were good people.” His face lost its happy glow. “But then my wife and I divorced, and she remarried and moved to Tokyo. The separation was hard on us. Itsuki was angry with me, so he decided to go to senior high school in Tokyo and come here on the weekends. He would see Ria-chan on those weekends, but it was never enough for both of them. She broke up with him about five or six months before she went missing. He was devastated. Stayed away from her and me. We’re good now, but those were hard times.”
“I’m so sorry. That sounds really stressful.”
Murata shook her head in sadness.
“It was extra stressful because I could hear the fights she would have with her mother and father. Old Japanese houses have thin walls, you know? They would scream at each other for hours.”
“About what?”
He waved his hand. “Teenage stuff. This and that. Ria-chan staying out too late, hanging out with the wrong crowd. Her father was angry with her for spending all of her time drawing instead of studying. They fought fiercely the night before she went missing. I heard plenty of door slams, and then in the middle of the night, I thought I heard strange noises in the backyard, but when I looked out there the next day, everything was normal.”
“Did you tell all of this to the police when they questioned you?”
“I did. They said Ria-chan’s father had been up drinking the night before so it could’ve been him in the yard.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Anyway, they questioned both my son and me, but that was it. I never heard from them again after that.”
So, now I had two suspects to consider in Ria’s disappearance — her father and Takashi’s son, Itsuki.
But Takashi said Itsuki and Ria had broken up six months before she went missing, and Akai seemed to think Ria was dating someone, someone she had only met once. This meant there was another boyfriend unaccounted for.
“Ah, look at the time,” Murata said, bringing my mind back to the present. “We don’t want to keep you. I’m sure you have plenty of things to do today on your day off.”
“In fact, I must be off to go visit my son.”
We all stood from the table, Takashi helping both of us to our feet. I had to laugh at the way Murata and I were both hindered by our physical conditions. Murata’s hips were going, and my baby belly impeded me from standing up or sitting down with grace.
“You said he owns a taiyaki shop near the station?” I asked as we slipped on our shoes near the door.
“He does. It’s the only one there, so you can’t miss it.” Pride caused Takashi’s chest to puff up.
I reached into my bag and pulled out one of the tea shop business cards I carried around. I loved handing them out and seeing the smiles on people’s faces when they glimpsed the design Kumi had drawn for me.
“Would you mind giving your son my business card? I run the new tea shop in town, and I bet his taiyaki would be a great addition to my menu. I’m jealous they’re so good. I’ve tried to make them myself and failed too many times to count. I’m a horrible chef!” We all laughed at my self-deprecating humor. “I’d like to talk to him about it soon.”
He bowed, taking the card with both hands. “Oh yes. I’ve heard of your tea shop! It comes highly recommended from all of my older patients at my practice. If you have any fliers you’d like to put in my waiting room, I’d be happy to have them.”
I bowed in return. “Thank you so much. That’s a great idea. I’d love that.”
“I’ll let my son know you’ll call on him soon.”
Outside, the sun was baking everything to a crisp, and the hot air was rich with moisture. I missed the air conditioning immediately.
“Drop me off at the nearest bus stop, Mei-chan. I’ll make my way back to our neighborhood alone.”
“Oh, I couldn’t possibly do that. I’ll drive you back.”
Her eyes widened as she slapped my arm. “Didn’t you hear what he said?” She hastened her steps towards the main street.
“What?” I looked around, hoping the clue would come out and bite me in the leg like a rabid dog.
“He heard strange noises in the yard the night Ria-chan went missing, and I doubt it was her father outside drinking.” She nodded, definitively. “You must go search the yard and make sure she’s not buried there.”
I gasped again, struck dumb by this idea. “Murata-san, that’s nuts. There’s no way she’s buried in the yard. If she had been, I’m sure the police would’ve noticed the yard torn up and would’ve figured it out right away. It’s unlikely they would’ve missed something so big.”
Murata slid her eyes to the side at me, something I only saw sly teenagers doing nowadays. It was hard not to laugh.
“Leave no stone unturned. You have no idea what the police thought that day they arrived on the scene. They could’ve been preoccupied with other cases, hungover, sick… Anything. And this was a missing persons case for a teenager. Teenagers run away all the time. I doubt they looked into every possible avenue.”
We made it to the bus stop just in time to catch an arriving bus. I helped her up the steps, and she waved me away as she scanned her card.
“Go get back to work. You know what you have to do.”
Chapter Eleven
Akai and I stood in the backyard, a shovel in each of our hands.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked her, looking out from under my big gardening hat. I used to keep my hat and the gloves at Mom’s house, but I wasn’t going there anymore, and I’d left them in Yasahiro’s car on a whim I would need them. Turns out, my instincts were correct.
Akai sighed, her eyes scanning the tiny yard. “What do we have to lose? I feel like my best friend was a total stranger.” She turned to look at the Kato house next door. “She talked about Itsuki-san. Even said she had a crush on him. But she kept their relationship a secret from me, at the very least. I had
no idea, and I guess they dated for quite some time.”
“Who else do you think she dated?”
She shrugged. “Not sure. Maybe someone from the crew? Tama Kano’s friends? I barely knew them.”
I sighed as I thought about going down that path again. My experience of almost burning to death in the barn was still fresh in my dreams. I sometimes woke up, panting and sweating, calling for help. Maybe a stronger person could have shrugged it off, but I couldn’t. Whatever I decided to do with this case, I’d have to be careful.
“Anyway,” Akai said, sighing and waving her hand at the backyard, “I’m selling the place, and they’ll probably rip everything up. Might as well check the whole property.”
“What if we don’t have to check the whole property?” I jerked my chin at the cherry tree. “Didn’t you say she would sit outside under the cherry tree and sketch? That seems like the best place to start.”
I led the way since Akai was made of stone. She agreed that we needed to dig up the yard after what I had learned from Takashi Kato, but it wasn’t as if she liked it. I got the feeling she still blamed herself for Ria’s disappearance, and she didn’t want to relive those uncertain days again.
I chose a spot in the grass under the shade of the cherry tree, said a quick prayer for both strength and forgiveness for potentially hurting this beautiful tree, and dug in.
Akai, emboldened by my frank determination, dropped to her knees two meters to my left and got to digging.
With every swift thrust of my shovel into the grass and dirt, my mind focused on my current predicament. Back at my mom’s, Yuna was doing my job. She was picking the tomatoes I’d planned on picking, weeding the sweet potato fields I’d cultivated and planted myself, and speaking to Minato during her breaks. Ugh, Minato. I could guarantee Mom gave him some lame excuse for why I wasn’t there. I would have to go visit him at home soon and explain. I enjoyed the casual friendship we had, and I didn’t want him to think I was blowing him off.
Shovel, scoop, throw. Shovel, scoop, throw. With each repetitive movement, anger simmered in my gut, the baby eerily quiet, like he or she knew I was close to losing my temper. The last few months rolled through my head, over and over, as I tried to figure out where I’d gone wrong. The last time I’d been a total brat was when Mom kicked me out of the house for being pregnant while not married. And really, my attitude had been tame when I took the circumstances into account. Since then, I’d been a model daughter. I’d never missed a day at the farm, even through most of my first-trimester sickness. I hadn’t been snarky or discourteous to Mom. Yasahiro and I had covered almost all the expenses for the wedding, leaving Mom with only the hosting duties, hiring staff to help, and renting the tent. Where had I messed up?
“You’re awfully quiet,” Akai said, and I was struck by how similar she sounded to Murata earlier today. Was I usually a talker?
“I have a lot to think about.”
Akai’s shovel sliced into the dirt and a loud metallic thud rang through the tiny yard.
We both froze.
Akai shrank back from the hole. “What if it’s a water pipe or something? Maybe we should’ve asked about that before we got started.” She hesitated as she leaned back forward and stared down into the hole she’d dug, her face pinched, uncertain of how to continue.
“I doubt it.” I glanced around the yard again. “If it were a utility, it would come in from the street. Let’s use our hands.”
I sank to my knees next to Akai and peered into the hole with her.
“Mei-san, I feel bad about having a pregnant woman dig in my backyard.”
“Shush,” I said, pushing the dirt aside to reveal what was underneath. The scratched surface of a metal box was cool under my fingertips. “I don’t want special treatment.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Akai knelt beside me. “Don’t you want a seat on the bus?”
“Doesn’t everyone?”
She had no answer for that. Yes, I wanted a seat on the bus. But I would wait to ask for one when I was as big as the bus that carried me.
After brushing aside the dirt for a few minutes, we found the edges of the box. It was about the size of A4 paper, and each side was sealed with tape. Akai levered her shovel around the side of the box and heaved. The box came loose, and worms in the dirt squirmed underneath where it had laid for years.
I breathed a huge sigh of relief.
“I’m so glad we didn’t find a body.”
“Me too.” Akai left and came back with a pair of gardening shears she used to cut through the tape. The sun beat down on us, but we didn’t want to move. We were both transfixed by the box.
What was inside?
“I don’t want to open it.” Akai shoved the box at me. “What if this is something personal Ria-chan wanted no one to know about? What if she comes back for it someday?”
I was beginning to understand my new friend, and with every day we spent together, I respected her more and more. She had a strong work ethic paired with a fierce sense of right and wrong. Sure, she hacked Amanda’s files for me and sold me the data, but she knew it was for a good cause.
I reached over the piles of dirt between us and squeezed her hand.
“You know this is the right thing to do. If you went missing, wouldn’t you want people to explore every avenue to bring you back?”
“No way,” she said, shaking her head. “I want people to leave me alone.”
I rolled my eyes at her. “Give me the box.”
She handed it over with a heavy sigh.
I brushed my fingers over the clasp on the front of the box, clearing away any dirt that would hinder the button from functioning. Then I swung the top open.
Akai gasped.
Inside, looking like time hadn’t touched it, Ria’s red sketchbook sat with a note on top.
Her cute, curly writing could not be mistaken.
I picked up the note and read it aloud, “Just in case.”
Chapter Twelve
“Where are you?” I texted to Goro, my fingers flying over the screen.
Under the cool breeze of the air conditioner in the kitchen, Akai sat ramrod straight, her hand on the red sketchbook on the table.
“Aren’t you going to open it and start reading?” I asked, grabbing waters for us from the refrigerator.
She flipped through the pages rapidly, her face turning green. “I really didn’t expect to find it. Why would she bury it?”
I licked my lips, wondering how bold I should be with my guesses. I had a million of them now, my daydreams having taken me to the edge and back.
I sat down across from her. “My guess? She knew she was in some kind of trouble, and this would be the first piece of evidence someone would get rid of to cover up their involvement.”
“Who? Do you think someone hurt her?”
I nodded slowly. “The moment we found the box this case went from missing persons to murder.” I touched my hand to my chest. “For me, at least.”
“Yeah,” Akai croaked. “Me too.” She pushed the sketchbook across the table. “I think… I think I’m too biased and too emotional to look at this and make any sense of the story. I’m handing it over to you. Just please, don’t lose or damage it.”
“Of course,” I insisted, bowing my head. “I’ll take good care of it.”
My phone buzzed. A text from Goro read, “I’m at the station. Why?”
“I’ll be right there,” I replied.
“Do you want me to stick around and help you clean up the backyard? We still have the rest of Ria-chan’s room to pack up.” I slid my phone into my purse and stood, gently picking up the sketchbook.
“No, thank you.” Her lips jerked into a wry smile. “Let me guess. You’re off to bring that to Goro-san?”
“Who else?” I smiled and shrugged. “But of course, I’ll stay if you need me.”
“No. Really. Go find out what happened to Ria-chan. I can take care of the house. I feel” — she paused, g
lancing around the kitchen — “better now that we’ve found the sketchbook. I can do the rest myself. Keep me apprised?” She held up her phone.
“Whatever I find, you’ll be the first to know.”
I jumped in Yasahiro’s car, turned the air conditioning to full, and peeled out of the driveway like I was heading to the Autobahn. There was no time to waste!
The red sketchbook was a key piece of evidence in this case, something no one else had before. I didn’t know what was in it, but I needed Goro to help me through this. Besides, I promised I would contact him if I found anything.
I parked in the lot at the station, and hugging the sketchbook to my chest, I hurried to the front door. Just as I was about to head in, the door swung open, and Kohei Watanabe stepped out, barreling straight into me. The force of our collision was like being taken out by a football player as we both ran for the ball. I dropped the sketchbook and crashed to the ground, landing right on my behind.
“Ow!” Pain shot up my back, and my heart raced as I worried about the baby. But I hadn’t fallen on my belly, so I managed to avoid a near brush with calamity.
Kohei sighed and rolled his eyes as he stood over me. “Why don’t you watch where you’re going?”
“I could ask you the same question.” I glared up at him, wondering if he would apologize and help me up.
No such luck.
“What’s that?” He pointed at the sketchbook, and his eyes narrowed as he bent over to grab it.
I was closer to the ground, though, so I got to the sketchbook first.
“None of your business.” I swiped it up into my arms.
“What are you doing with that?” he asked, towering over me.
“What do you mean?” Did he know what was in the sketchbook or was I imagining his interest? My skin prickled with goosebumps.
He shook his head, stepping away from me. “Nothing. I never really took you for the artistic type.”
My eyes widened. “Pretty much everyone in town knows I paint. You’d have to be an idiot to not know that.”
“Whatever. Since when have I paid you any real attention?” he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets as the front door opened again, and Kayo, Goro’s partner, ran out.
The Daydreamer Detective Returns a Favor Page 7
