Masako Togawa - The Master Key

Miss Tanikawa, the chairman, behaved as if nothing had happened, calling on the next speaker, the member of the fifth floor, who was an employee of the local welfare office.

‘While the move is being effected, it will be necessary to disconnect such public utilities as the gas, the electricity and the water. Also, the whole programme will only take a relatively short time. I therefore think it both pointless and impossible absolutely to forbid the workmen to come and go as necessary. In any case, there are no grounds for classifying all the workmen as criminals or in any other way bad. If, when the time comes, anyone is worried they can go straight to the ladies at the reception desk and report any suspicious circumstances.’

‘That’s all very well,’ said someone else, ‘but you know what men are like. Before you know what’s happening, they’ll be forcing their way into our rooms asking for a cup of tea or something!’

After some further debate, it seemed to be the general consensus that the workmen should be trusted and not all regarded as potential thieves or worse. However, each member of the committee would take it in turn to patrol the building during the period of the work. Miss Tanikawa summed up with a humorous suggestion. ‘We’ll have an armband made with “Security Patrol” in big bright letters. It will serve as a kind of PR, and it mightn’t be a bad idea if the duty member carries a night-stick as well.’

The harmonious atmosphere thus created was soon destroyed by the member for the second floor, who returned to her earlier topic.

‘Madam Chair. I must raise an emergency item which is not on the agenda. I refer of course to the menace posed by those who have recently been pestering and pressurising our fellow residents with their campaign on behalf of a new religion. As Madam Chair so rightly remarked earlier, the prime objective of these apartments is to protect the privacy of the individual residents. I am absolutely opposed to those who force their way into other people’s rooms, like foot-in-the-door salesmen, in the name of religion. I want it stopped; several of my constituents on the second floor have already complained to me about it. I propose that the most stringent measures be taken to stamp out this practice.’

‘And who do you think you are to make such suggestions! I’ll have you know that religious freedom is protected under the constitution. The Three Spirit Faith never pressures anyone. Who are they who complain of being pestered? Let’s have their names, one by one!’

‘I don’t see why I should give you all their names. But as an example, we had the recent unfortunate incident when Miss Munekata nearly lost her life through gas poisoning. Now the word is going around that this was a so-called divine retribution visited on her for refusing to join your sect.’

‘She was punished by Heaven for slandering His Reverence. She came to the last public meeting and dared to confute His Reverence point by point on his exposition. She made him seem foolish in the eyes of the unbelievers, so His Reverence prophesied at that very time that ill would befall those who close their hearts to the True Teaching. What has occurred is no more than the fulfilment of his prophecy.’

‘Oh really—how very interesting. You say that the prophecy was followed by heavenly punishment, but it looks to me as if some mortal was responsible for this socalled divine retribution! It’s the first I’ve heard of a gas stove falling over and the fire going out. I don’t see how that could happen naturally—if you ask me, there was more to it than met the eye. Could it not be that someone switched off the gas at the stop-cock outside the room and then turned it on again?’

This was certainly possible, for as the member for the second floor had remarked, every apartment had its own separate gas meter and stop-cock outside, and it would be a simple matter for someone malicious to do as she had suggested. Indeed, Yoneko had entertained the same suspicion from the moment she had first heard of the incident. She wondered what the representative of the Three Spirit Faith would have to say to this insinuation.

The alternate member from the first floor sprang to her feet at once, but was for a few seconds too dumbfounded to reply. After spluttering with anger for a while, she began:

‘What possible evidence have you for such allegations? Don’t you know that the fire brigade made a thorough investigation and concluded that the kettle boiled over and put out the flame? Are you now implying that the Three Spirit Faith planned the whole thing? If so, I can promise you a writ for slander in no time at all!’

As she worked herself up into a passion, the speaker’s lips became flecked with foam, and a small globule of spittle landed on the table just in front of Yoneko.

The member for the second floor refused to admit defeat. ‘You don’t really mean to suggest that the gas was on so low that a little water from the kettle could put it out? If so, how could the kettle boil over?’

The atmosphere of the meeting was poisoned by further such debate, after which a vote was called on whether or not religious proselytising would be permitted in the building. After everyone had had their say, it appeared that the member for the second floor had four votes, as against two for the representative of the Three Spirit Faith, with one probable abstainer, and so Yoneko Kimura’s vote looked like being decisive. If she supported the motion, it would achieve an absolute majority and be passed, but if she opposed it the proposal would be shelved.

She gazed at the voting slip which lay before her, trying to make up her mind what to do. The regular members had cast their votes and folded the papers with practised speed. Just as she was about to set her pen to the paper, she became aware of the intent gaze of the woman from the Three Spirit Faith, who was staring at her hands as if seeking to hypnotise her. And so it was, perhaps, that she cast a negative vote causing the resolution to fail.

It was already past eight pm, but before they could bring the meeting to a close it was necessary to discuss the latest incident involving the master key. Chairman Tanikawa gazed around the table and addressed the group.

‘I think you will all have shared my disgust at learning that the master key disappeared under the very noses of the receptionists. It was bad enough when it happened the first time—you will all know of the incident last month when it was used to gain entry into Miss Yatabe’s room. It’s not good enough for the receptionists merely to express astonishment—I would like to see them at least display concern that such a thing can happen. One would expect a greater show of responsibility, would one not? But so soon after the first incident had brought home to us all the importance of the master key, it vanished again. I ask you, ladies, what next? How could they have failed to notice that the key had been switched? All the excuse they could find was to say that some supernatural agency was at work! Disgraceful, I call it, quite disgraceful!

‘However, there’s no point in shutting the stable door after the horse has gone. Let us rather resolve to identify and weed out the mischief-maker in our midst. I would like the cooperation of each one of you in finding out where the master key has gone.’

She held up something for everyone to see. ‘This is the key which was exchanged for the master key. If you examine it closely, you will see it is exactly like a typical apartment key from this building. I suggest that we concentrate on identifying the owner—how about it?’

‘Well, it certainly looks like an apartment key, but what do you suggest we do?’ asked one of the committee.

‘We could just ask every person in the building to show us her key. However, a large number of people would be involved, and the whole thing would smack of a police investigation, which would not be nice. So I propose instead that we take it in turns to try this key in every door until we find which lock it fits. When we find out who it belongs to, we’ll ask her for a satisfactory explanation.’