Кэйго Хигасино - The Name of the Game is a Kidnapping

Juri had started shaking her head even as I spoke. “I’m asking you why you made a hotel reservation. It can’t be to have a meal at their restaurant. Or are we moving to a new hideout?”

“We don’t need a new hideout. We’re just using the hotel for today.”

“Are you using it for the ransom exchange?”

My shoulders shook with laughter. “I’m doing no such thing.”

“Then what’s the plan? What are you using it for? Just how are you going to do the exchange, anyway?” Juri demanded hysterically.

“Am I being interrogated or what?”

“But you won’t tell me anything. Aren’t we partners?”

“When the time comes, I’ll tell you.”

“Right now isn’t the time? Papa gave his answer on the internet, didn’t he? They’ve finished preparing the money. They also provided a phone number. The only thing left is the exchange.”

I sighed and blinked slowly. “Like I said, this is a once in a lifetime game. It won’t progress that easily. If we don’t go step by step, we won’t get to the goal. This is just another procedure.”

“But you told them to prepare the money... To pack it in a golf bag...”

“A necessary item to get to the next stage. You play videogames, don’t you?”

“I haven’t ever.”

“Really? Anyway, for now just be quiet and watch.”

She probably wasn’t convinced, but nodded begrudgingly.

After finishing brunch, which was the cream stew that Juri had made the night before, I started getting ready to go out. I took a sports bag out of the closet, put a video camera and tape and a tripod into it, then binoculars and such. The binoculars were a gift from a bird-watcher friend of mine.

“You got a reservation for a single room, so I guess you’re going to stay by yourself?”

“Today is Saturday, okay? Do you think a double room would be available? Even if one were, I wouldn’t be able to specify the location or floor.”

“So I can come with you?”

“Be careful not to be noticed by the hotel, though. Also, wear a disguise that won’t look unnatural.”

Juri stood in front of me and looked down at me with her hands on her hips.

“What?” I asked her.

“Don’t ‘what’ me. How are you saying I should disguise myself? I don’t have any clothes nor any makeup. I’d only be able to make myself look like a young homeless person.”

Ha ha ha , I laughed. She had a way with words. “Then you’ll wait in this room. The police must know what clothes you were wearing when you went missing. They’ve probably accounted for the chance that the kidnappers are using a hotel and circulated a notification.”

“I’m going with you no matter what. I don’t know what you’re up to, but surely I can be of some help?”

I looked into her eyes. They said she wasn’t backing down this time. I went over in my head what I would be doing soon. Having her there might prove convenient, in fact. I released my hand from the sports bag.

“Okay, okay. Let’s go.”

“I can come to the hotel, then?”

“First, we go shopping.”

There’s no kidnapper anywhere who would do this , I thought. I was going shopping at a department store in Ginza with the girl I’d kidnapped. In a way, I was doing what the police would never expect me to, but I couldn’t keep very calm.

As though she couldn’t care less about my state of mind, Juri rummaged through several racks of clothes. She looked no different at all from the other young women and beautifully melted into her surroundings, so it was hard to complain, but I wanted to tell her, Think about why we’ve come shopping .

At least she wasn’t stupid, and she didn’t make any blunders that would make the staff remember her face. Even as she looked for clothes, she deftly moved around. In fact, I might have been the one making an impression. I’d been standing in front of the window the whole time and watching her with a sour look. But if you thought of me as a man accompanying his young girlfriend’s shopping despite himself, no director would order a retake.

Finally Juri came out of the store. She was carrying a paper bag.

“It seems you’ve somehow managed to buy something. I thought it’d take more time.” I couldn’t resist being sarcastic.

“This is the first time ever I’ve shopped so fast. The staff might remember me if I stayed at the store too long, so I chose stuff randomly.”

“Remarkable, thanks.”

“Then next is makeup. Let’s go to the first floor.” She sounded almost gleeful.

I waited in the tea lounge drinking coffee while Juri finished choosing. I wasn’t sure about leaving her alone, but it wasn’t like my presence would help. I had to take her word that compared to Shibuya, the chances of her running into someone she knew in Ginza were zero.

After about half an hour, she came back. When I saw her face, my eyes opened wide.

“You did your makeup?”

“Well, yeah, while I was at it,” she said, sitting down across from me. The waitress came, so Juri ordered milk tea.

“You didn’t have the staff do your makeup, did you?”

“Why would I? I just borrowed a mirror and did it myself. It’s okay. In a place like that, no one’s looking at other people. Everyone’s just concerned with the face reflected in the mirror in front of them.”

“Give me a break. I’m already worried as it is that they saw your face at the convenience store and the family restaurant.”

“I’m saying it’s okay.” She took her cigarettes out of her handbag, but noticing the seats were non-smoking, returned the pack with an irritated look.

The milk tea came. I watched her face casually as she brought the cup to her mouth. Her makeup wasn’t very thick and leveraged the fine texture of her skin. She had underscored her well-formed eyes and nose, and her face looked more vivid than before.

“What are you staring at me for? Are you still worried?”

“No, not really.” I averted my eyes. “I have another item to shop for.”

“What is it this time?”

“It’s necessary for the game.”

We got in another taxi and I directed it to Akihabara. In the car, I handed Juri five ten-thousand-yen bills.

“What’s this?”

“Cash for shopping. Go and buy it for me.”

“Well, I don’t even know what I’m buying.”

“When the time comes, I’ll tell you. Do as I say.”

Juri became sulky again, but I didn’t want the driver to hear.

We went down Showa Road and then got off. The place was crowded on Saturdays. It was convenient for us since we didn’t want to be seen. Even so, Juri wore a hat that nearly covered her eyes.

I went into an alley, away from a street that was lined with famous electronics stores. There were still a great number of people, but the atmosphere was somehow different. Many of the stores were meant for enthusiasts.

My eyes immediately settled on a man. He was swarthy and bearded — an Iranian.

“Go to that man and ask him if he has a burner,” I said in Juri’s ear.

“A burner?”

“A burner phone. It’s a cell with a fake name.”

“Ah.” She nodded. “I’ve heard of those.”

“Any maker will do. I think fifty thousand should be enough. Pay upfront. After that, he’ll tell you to come with him, so do as he says and follow him. I’ll wait around here.”

“You’re not coming with me?”

“If he mistakes it for a police bust, that’ll suck. I’m having you go buy it in the first place to avoid that. It might be a little scary, but try your best.”

Juri looked anxious for a moment, but soon nodded firmly.

“Okay. I’ll go.” She started walking toward the man.

I watched from a distance as she talked to the Iranian. He didn’t seem all that surprised that a young woman had come to him. It was rumored among some ladies that you could buy a burner here. A woman who’d actually done so had told me.