‘We’re here. Jun-chan, no matter what you see, do not raise your voice. There shouldn’t be anyone inside the building, but every so often a watchman walks by the fence outside,’ she whispered, almost threatening.
Fighting against an inexplicable fear, young Amamiya could do nothing but stand stock still. He wondered just where this brick building, this haunted house was. What was that bizarre smell? And what was in this huge, empty space that sounded as if it would echo his voice from all four walls?
In the darkness the terrifying death masks of the dying Kitashima and Sakiko came again, overlaid nauseatingly on the blackness. ‘Am I wandering the paths of Hell, ushered by their angry shades,’ he wondered… he felt himself in the grip of a queer illusion he had never experienced before, and his body was covered in greasy sweat.
The disk of light from the flashlight in her hand crawled across the floor, as if searching for something.
The floorboards, rough, passed under the circle of light, with no carpet to hide them. A solid desk-like object, varnish peeling, gradually crawled into the light from the legs up. It was a long, large table. Ah! a person. The legs of a person. Someone was sleeping here?
Still, they looked like the legs of an awfully old person. And why was there a little wooden tag tied to the ankle?
Hey, this old man is sleeping naked, in spite of this cold!
The circle of light moved from thighs to belly, then on to the ribs and chest, travelling on to illuminate a neck like a chicken’s leg, the fallen jaw, and the gaping, black, foolish mouth with exposed teeth, and cloudy glass balls that were eyes… it was a corpse.
Jun’ichi shuddered at the eerie juxtaposition of the spectres that had been haunting him and the thing that had appeared in the circle of light. Still upset at the enormity of his crime, still unaware of where this room was located, he wondered if he had gone insane, or was trapped in a nightmare.
But when the next object came into the glow of the flashlight, he totally forgot the woman in black’s warning, and let out a shout of surprise.
This was surely a scene from Hell itself! A large tub, maybe two meters on a side, was filled with a pile of naked corpses: young, old, male, female.
Could this scene, just like the ancient pictures of the damned squirming in the pools of blood in Hell, be a part of this world?
‘Jun-chan, you’re a scaredy cat. There’s nothing to be surprised at! This is where they keep the bodies for dissection in anatomy class. All the medical schools have them.’
The woman in black gave a bold laugh that admitted no fears, no enemies.
‘Oh, is that all,’ he thought to himself. ‘So we are at the university. Even so, why in the world are we here in this creepy place!?’ He may have been a criminal, but Jun’ichi could only stare in astonishment at the totally unexpected actions of his beautiful companion.
The circle of light slowly traced over the entire mountain of bodies, and finally stopped on the naked corpse of a young man.
The young man lay motionless in the darkness, his yellow flesh exposed, in a picture drawn by a spectral light.
‘This one’ll do,’ the woman in black whispered, holding the light steady on the young man’s body. ‘This lad was a patient in the Kyoritsu Mental Hospital, and just died yesterday. The hospital and this medical school have an agreement. As soon as someone dies there the corpse is brought here. The person in charge of this room is a friend of mine… let’s say, an underling, shall we? That’s why I knew this body would be here. What do you think? About the corpse?’
‘This one’ll do,’ the woman in black whispered…
‘About the corpse?’ he repeated, flustered. What in the world was she thinking?
‘The height and musculature are about the same as yours, aren’t they? Only the face is different.’
Now that she mentioned it, he noticed that it looked about the same age, the same size, as himself.
‘Of course!’ he thought to himself. ‘She’s going to use this corpse to take my place! Damn, she looks so refined and oh-so-beautiful, but she thinks up such bold and terrible plans!’
‘You see now, don’t you? What do you think? Brilliant, isn’t it? A sorceress, aren’t I? After all, we’re going to make a person vanish from this world, and we’ll need pretty powerful magic to accomplish that, won’t we? Right, out with the bag. Sorry, it’ll be a bit disgusting, but we have to stuff this guy into the bag and carry him to the car.’
Jun’ichi found his ‘saviour’ even more terrifying than the corpse. Who was she? Even if she was just a spoilt rich woman enjoying idle games, this plan was too detailed, too careful. She called the person in charge of the dissection bodies her ‘underling,’ didn’t she? If she had an underling in such a place as this university, she must be a pretty big – and bad – wig indeed!
‘Jun-chan, what in the world are you mooning about? Hurry up with the bag!’
Her voice prodded him from the darkness. Pressured by the voice, his mind curiously stunned and quiet, like a mouse transfixed by the gaze of a cat, he felt himself move to do her bidding.
The Keiō Hotel, the ritziest in Imperial Tokyo, also hosted a grand gala for hotel guests and visitors that night, but even those who had danced through the witching hour had trundled off to bed by now, and the doormen were trying to keep their nodding heads up. At about five in the morning, before dawn, a single car pulled up in front of the swinging door.
Mme Midorikawa had returned.
The doormen all loved this beautiful woman, and when they noticed whose car it was, they competed with each other to be first to open the door.
Wrapped in furs, Mme Midorikawa stood for a moment, and then a man stepped out and joined her. An older man, maybe about forty, with a stiff, pointed moustache, dark goatee, and large horn-rimmed spectacles. His thick, heavy coat with collar did not completely hide the striped formal pants he was wearing, making him look like, perhaps, a politician.
‘This is a friend of mine,’ announced Mme Midorikawa to the hotel manager, who was waiting at the front desk. ‘The room next to mine was free, I believe? Please arrange for him to stay there.’
‘Yes, it is still open. Of course!’ he replied, delighted to help, and ordered one of the clerks to take care of it.
The bearded man signed his name in the guest book, without speaking, and followed Mme Midorikawa into the front hallway. His signature read Yamakawa Kensaku.
Now that the booking was settled, they bathed in their separate rooms, and then rejoined each other in her bedroom.
Kensaku wore his trousers and shirt only, not having donned the jacket again. As he rubbed his hands together, he spoke in an almost childish voice that seemed at odds with his stern expression.
‘Ah, I can’t stand it! That smell is still on my hands! M’lady, that was the first time I have ever done anything so, so, horrible!’
‘My, melodramatic, aren’t we? And after murdering two people!’ she chuckled.
‘Please! Don’t just say things like that! Someone might hear it in the hall!’
‘Don’t worry. Who could hear so low a voice?’
‘Ahh, it almost makes me sick just to think of it,’ shuddered Kensaku. ‘I felt terrible when we smashed the face of that corpse just now at my apartment. And when we dumped the body into the elevator shaft… and that terrible spattering noise… ugh! I can’t stand it!’
‘Weakling. Don’t think about things that are over. You died there! I’m talking to Yamakawa Kensaku, a fine and upstanding scholar. Snap out of it!’
‘But will it really work? Nobody will notice that a body has vanished from the university?’
‘What in the world?! You think I wouldn’t notice something that important? I said the person in charge was my underling, remember? You think one of my people would commit such a gross error? The school is on holiday
now; no students or faculty are there at all. All my person has to do is just fiddle the books a little. Nobody remembers the face of a corpse, and nobody would ever notice one less cadaver in that pile… except my man, of course.’
‘So you’ll have to tell him about what happened tonight, then.’
‘Yes. All I have to do is make a phone call a bit later this morning… To change the subject, Jun-chan, there’s something I want to talk to you about. Come sit here.’
She was wearing a brilliantly coloured yuzenzome kimono with long, hanging sleeves. Sitting on the bed, she pointed at the sheet next to her, and invited him over.
‘This beard and spectacles are obnoxious! Is it all right if I take them off?’
‘Of course. The door’s locked, so it will be safe.’
And so, like young lovers, they sat together on the edge of the bed, talking.
‘Jun-chan, you’re dead. Do you understand what that really means? This brand-new person sitting next to me is just like my baby, someone I have given birth to. You cannot refuse any command of mine, ever again.’
‘And if I should?’
‘I’ll kill you. You know I’m a sorceress, and a terrible one at that. Yamakawa Kensaku is my doll. And since you have no records, no registry in this world, there’s nobody to complain should you suddenly vanish. The police can’t do anything, and won’t. I got a new doll today: you, with your oh-so-strong arms. Rather than a doll, you could say a slave. My slave.’
Jun’ichi was totally under her enchantment, and did not feel the slightest bit upset about what she said. In fact, he felt a curiously familiar and sweet emotion.
‘Yes, I will become the queen’s slave,’ he said. ‘I’ll do whatever you command. I’ll kiss the soles of your shoes. All I ask is that you do not discard this child you have birthed. Don’t throw me away!’
He placed his hands on her lap, covered with beautiful yuzen patterns, and pleaded, almost crying. The Dark Angel smiled gently, wrapped her arms around Jun’ichi’s broad shoulders, and gently patted him on the back, as if reassuring a child. She felt the hot droplets on her lap, through the fabric.
‘Ha, ha, ha! Look at us! Getting so sentimental! That’s enough, don’t you think? We’ve something important to discuss.’
She unwrapped her arms.
‘Who do you think I am? You don’t have the faintest idea, do you?’
‘It doesn’t matter. I don’t care if you’re a thief, or even a murderer. I’m just your slave.’
‘Oh, my, right on the button, aren’t we?’ she laughed. ‘That’s right. I’m a thief. And I may have murdered a few people, too.’
‘Huh? You?!’
She laughed again.
‘Just as I thought. I figured that’d surprise you! You have nothing to worry about, though, because you’ve entrusted me with your life. I’m sure you wouldn’t try to run away. Would you?’
‘I am your slave,’ he said, as his fingers dug powerfully into her lap.
‘Oh, you say the cutest things. From today, you’re one of my underlings. You’ll have plenty to do.
‘Do you have any idea why I’m staying at this hotel? I’ve been using this room for the past four or five days, under the name of Mme Midorikawa. The reason is that my mark is staying at the same hotel. It’s a big, big job, and just as I was feeling a little underpowered to take it on, just look! You come along, with perfect timing!’
‘Someone rich?’
‘Yes, rich, but I’m not after the money. I collect the most beautiful things in the world: jewels, art, beautiful people…’
‘Excuse me? People?’
‘That’s right. Beautiful people are ever so much more beautiful than art. My mark is a beautiful girl from Osaka, here together with her father.’
‘And you plan to steal his daughter?’
He was, once again, bewildered by the unpredictable things the Dark Angel said.
‘That’s right. It’s not just kidnapping a girl, though. I plan to use her as bait to get hold of the largest diamond in Japan, which her father happens to possess. He’s a leading jewel merchant in Osaka.’
‘That would be Iwase Trading?’
‘Oh, very good! And President Iwase Shōbei is staying at this hotel. The minor problem is that he is accompanied by that private detective, Akechi Kogorō.’
‘Um. Akechi, huh?’
‘Not someone you take on lightly. Fortunately he knows nothing about me, but Akechi just drives me crazy!’
‘Wonder why he hired a private eye? Maybe he noticed something?’
‘I gave him a few things to notice. You see, Jun-chan, I dislike attacking when people are unprepared. I’ve never stolen anything without giving notice. I warn them, wait for them to arrange protection, and then fight on an equal basis, otherwise it’s not interesting. Rather than the spoils, it’s the thrill of the fight that makes it worthwhile.’
‘So you gave him warning, then?’
‘Yes, in Osaka. Oh, I’m so excited! Akechi Kogorō is an opponent worthy of me! When I think of taking him on in single combat like this, I’m so happy! Jun-chan, don’t you agree how wonderful it is?’
Growing intoxicated by herself and her words, she took Jun’ichi’s hands, squeezing them and swinging them in her fevered excitement.
In the space of an evening, Jun’ichi completely immersed himself in the role of Yamakawa Kensaku and when he had finished dressing the following morning he looked just like a physician – an impression aided by his horn-rimmed spectacles and false beard.
And he was faultless both in word and gesture as he took his porridge opposite Mme Midorikawa in the hotel dining room.
After finishing his meal, he returned to the room to find a hotel clerk waiting.
‘Sir, some luggage has just arrived for you. Would you like me to bring it here?’
This was the first time in his life Jun’ichi had been addressed with such respect, but he did his best to remain calm and answered with gravitas, ‘Yes, bring it would you.’
As part of the plans drawn up the previous evening, they had arranged for a large trunk to be delivered in his name the following morning.
A little while later, the clerk and a porter brought a large wood-ribbed trunk into the room.
‘Your performance is improving all the time. I’m sure you’ll be fine now. Not even Akechi Kogorō could see through you.’
After confirming that the pair had left, Mme Midorikawa had entered from the adjoining room.
‘Hah! I guess I wasn’t too bad, was I? But what’s inside this huge trunk?’
He hadn’t been told its purpose yet.
‘Here’s the key. Why don’t you open it?’
Taking the key, the magnificently bearded underling put his head to one side quizzically.
‘My attire by any chance? It would be strange if such a personage as Mr Yamakawa had no change of clothes…’
‘Ha, ha. Maybe you’re right.’
He turned the key and lifted the lid. Inside were many layers of tightly packed objects thickly wrapped in rags.
‘Hah!? What’s this?’
He whispered, realizing his guess had been wide of the mark as he gingerly unwrapped one of the objects.
‘Hey, this is a rock, isn’t it? Are all these other carefully bound objects rocks too?’
‘That’s right. No change of clothes for you I’m afraid. They’re all rocks. The trunk had to have a little weight.’
‘Weight, you say?…’
‘Mmm, exactly the weight of one person. Stuffing the trunk full of rocks might seem pointless, but think about it. We can easily dispose of this stuff. The stones we can throw out of the window onto the ground and if we put the rags between the bed base and the mattress the trunk will be empty with nothing left over. Just a little magic trick.’
‘Oh, I see. But once you’ve emptied the trunk, what will you put inside it?’
‘Ha, ha, ha! It’s pretty clear what is usually put in trunks, isn’t it? Anyway, come on, help me get rid of these pebbles.’
Located in the recesses of the hotel on the ground floor, his room had a window that gave onto a small secluded inner garden covered with coarse gravel. The perfect place for them to throw the rocks. They ditched the stones quickly and disposed of the rags.
‘Right, now it’s completely empty. Next I’ll show you how magicians use trunks, shall I?’
Looking laughingly at the surprised Jun-chan, Mme Midorikawa quickly locked the door, pulled down the window blind to prevent any prying, and suddenly began to remove her black dress.
‘This is a little strange isn’t it, m’lady? You’re not about to perform that dance, are you?’
‘Ha, ha, ha. You’re frightened!’
As she laughed, her hands removed each layer of clothing without pause. That peculiar malady was upon her. The exhibitionism was starting.
That peculiar malady was upon her.
Even the most delinquent of youths would blush and fidget in the face of this beautiful stark naked woman. Next, the bright, beautiful lump of peach-coloured and pleasingly curved flesh stood before him in a shockingly frank pose.
Try not to look as he might, his gaze went toward her. And when his eyes met hers, he blushed even more. Whatever the pose she struck in front of her slave, the queen remained composed and without a trace of embarrassment. Unable to endure the stimulation and sweating nervously, it is always the slave who cries out.
‘My! What a fluster you are in! Is the sight of a naked person such a rarity for you?’
Unabashedly revealing to him various curves and deep shadows, she straddled the trunk’s edge, then pulled up her arms and legs so that her whole body fitted inside, just like a baby in the womb.
‘This is it, my lad – the way my magic trick works. What do you think, sweet? How do I look?’
The Black Lizard and Beast In the Shadows Page 3
