Кэйго Хигасино - The Name of the Game is a Kidnapping

Leaving the hotel room as it was, we had returned to the condo. Checkout was the next morning and I intended to do it then. If we checked out this evening, it would probably be suspicious to the hotel.

Juri was getting frustrated. “What the heck is weird? Just tell me already.”

“That the only car driving in the circling lane is the Mercedes is what’s weird. There ought to be more.”

“But there are. Trucks and taxis, there’s a ton.”

“Only once, though. The only car driving round and round in the circling lane is the Mercedes, there’s not one car among the others doing that.”

“That’s natural. The only car Papa was driving was the Mercedes.”

“But there should be a tail following that Mercedes. The police tail.”

Juri’s mouth half-opened. It seemed she’d finally understood my ploy.

“If there aren’t at least two or three of the police’s cars, even if they’re not following immediately after the Mercedes, that’s weird. If they don’t do that, they can’t instantly support him. But then, looking at this video, there aren’t cars that look like one. What’s going on?”

Juri tilted her head without answering, still looking at the screen. I didn’t think she’d have an answer to offer.

“There are a few things I can think of,” I said. “One is that for some reason or other, they didn’t have a police tail. In that case, they would be using an even better tracking method. For instance, an investigator was hiding in the Mercedes.”

“I wonder if there was one.” Juri’s face approached the screen.

“Let’s check.”

I chose an image from the video where the Mercedes’ interior was depicted most clearly and expanded it. The image was rough, but outlines were visible.

“It doesn’t look like there’s anyone in the backseat,” I noted.

“Might he have been hiding in the trunk?”

“That’s unlikely. A caddy bag and another bag with three hundred million yen were packed in there. Even if one person could fit, it’d be meaningless if he couldn’t move. It’s exactly why I instructed them to load the two bags in the trunk.”

Juri nodded, looking convinced. It seemed she had modified her opinion of me a bit.

“Hey, in books and movies, the police usually put a transmitter in the ransom, don’t they? Maybe they did that this time.”

“They may have deposited a transmitter,” I agreed. “But I doubt they’d rely on just that. Normally, they would always put a tail on, too. Or they would be watching from somewhere.”

“Maybe they were.”

“Impossible. We instructed him to go to the Mukojima Interchange. Why would they think to watch Hakozaki Junction along the way?”

“I agree, but... what do you think, then?”

“I don’t know, which is why I’m bothered by it. Where in the world could those police guys have hidden?” I lay down on the sofa.

In fact, there was one more thing I could think of. But it was so hard to believe, I couldn’t let it out of my mouth. It was that the police hadn’t made a move. In other words, Katsutoshi Katsuragi hadn’t notified the authorities of the incident. In that case, it wasn’t a mystery that only the Mercedes had come.

But was it possible? Of course, I couldn’t say it wasn’t. Even Katsutoshi Katsuragi was a father. Maybe he was thinking first and foremost of his daughter’s life and obeying that instruction not to tell the police.

But , I shook my head. He wasn’t that sort of man. He wouldn’t succumb to a simple threat. He would try to outwit the kidnappers no matter what and save his daughter too. In order to do so, he needed the police’s help. The police had to be acting in some way. As Katsutoshi Katsuragi went around Hakozaki Junction like a horse on a merry-go-round, they had to have been waiting with bated breath for the kidnappers to appear.

“Hey, so when is it?” Juri asked.

“When is what?”

“The real time we exchange me and the ransom. What else? Or are you still planning some dry run?” She stood beside me and spread her arms. Her tone was mocking. It seemed she didn’t like my way of doing things.

“I just want to do it perfectly. That’s for your sake, too. You want the money, don’t you? You want revenge on the Katsuragis, don’t you?”

“Yes. But I don’t want to dawdle.”

“We’re not dawdling. We’re just being careful. Because, after all, this is Katsutoshi Katsuragi.”

“When are you doing it?”

“Why are you being so impatient? There’s no need for haste. The ace of spades is in our hands. We’ll choose the right time and obtain the money in a secure way.”

Juri shook her head vigorously. Her shortly cropped hair went wild. “You might be having fun thinking of this as a game, but put yourself in my shoes, too. I don’t want this tension anymore. I want to be able to relax.”

Shouting those words, Juri rushed into the bedroom. Her reaction felt sudden to me. I understood her feelings, but I didn’t see why a wave of emotion had surged forth now.

When I went into the bedroom, Juri was lying prone on the bed. I sat down next to her and stroked her recently dyed hair. She’d been so bold in showing me her ’do, so what was with this change?

Juri’s hand came around to my back. I silently lay down on my side. Then my body covered hers.

“Hug me tight,” she murmured. “The only time we can be together is now.”

Indulging in sex was ridiculous. I understood that, but how had I come to think fondly of this girl who was using my armpit as a pillow?

The only time we can be together is now — that was true. After we successfully completed this game, we would never meet again. We couldn’t do something so dangerous. That had been my intention since the beginning.

But it bugged me now. Frankly speaking, I was starting to want to extend my time with her. It wasn’t just that. I was thinking of ways not to part with her even after scoring the ransom.

What’s gotten into you, Shunsuke Sakuma? You weren’t that kind of man .

The next morning when I woke up, Juri wasn’t next to me. Instead, the smell of coffee wafted through the air.

When I peeked from the bedroom doorway, Juri was going back and forth between the dining table and kitchen. There were already several dishes resting on top of the table.

I took the digital camera resting on the cabinet, and from the door’s gap, aimed it at her. It was right when she was carrying a tray. I pressed the shutter, making sure the flash wouldn’t go off. She didn’t notice. When I checked on the camera display, it was somewhat dim, but she was captured beautifully. I opened the cover right there and took out the memory card.

“Are you up?”

Juri approached, apparently having heard me sneaking around. I quickly returned the camera to the cabinet. The card remained gripped in my hand.

The door opened and Juri came in. I was standing right next to the door, so she looked surprised.

“What, were you up?”

“I just woke up. It looks like you prepared breakfast for me.”

“Because I’m a freeloader. I need to give back a little. And we’d get tired with just cream stew.”

When Juri turned her back to me, I seized the chance and slipped the card into the inner pocket of a jacket hung up nearby.

Ham, eggs, vegetable soup, toast, and coffee made up the menu. It wasn’t what you’d call cooking, but considering the contents of the refrigerator, she couldn’t have done any better.

“It’s like I’m a married man,” I tried and mumbled the words after taking a bite of toast.

“Why aren’t you married?”

“Well. Me, I want to know why people do get married. I can’t possibly swear to spend my entire life with someone I’m bound to get tired of.”