Кэйго Хигасино - The Name of the Game is a Kidnapping

“Don’t chatter. Do as you’re told.”

“As long as Juri comes home, fine. I’m ready to pay the ransom.”

“I told you not to chatter. Instead, count. Count backwards from one thousand. In English.”

“You don’t have to do this, I won’t contact the police.”

“Do as I say.”

I heard Katsuragi sigh, then: “One thousand. Nine hundred ninety-nine, nine hundred ninety-eight.”

“ Go on .”

Using the other phone, I called Nakamura.

“Hello, this is Tadokoro. Where are you right now?”

“Ah, um, I’m right next to Mukojima Interchange. I can get going at any time.”

“What type of vehicle are you in?”

“A white minivan.”

“Please get going immediately. The EVP’s car is parked at Komagata PA. I don’t think he’s there, but his silver-gray Mercedes shouldn’t be locked. Please take the cardboard box in there that was being transported.”

“Where should I bring it?”

“There’s a place called New Terminal Hotel near Kiyosubashi. There’s a woman named Matsumoto waiting there so please give it to her.”

“New Terminal Hotel at Kiyosubashi, then.”

“I appreciate it. The EVP said he’d like to thank you personally at a later date.”

“Thank me? No—”

“It’s only natural. You saved us.”

After hanging up, I winked at Juri. She handed over the phone, on which Katsutoshi Katsuragi was endlessly counting down in English. Then, she stood up and left the beer hall.

I ran the binoculars down the expressway. Eventually, I saw a white minivan heading in.

It entered the Komagata PA. Katsutoshi Katsuragi’s countdown continued. I couldn’t tell if he realized that he was about to be robbed of his money.

If the police were still on the ball by any chance, they would have to rush out now. However, as far as I could see, there was no sign of them.

The minivan left the parking area. Seeing that through, I stood up. I hung up the call with Katsutoshi Katsuragi.

I hailed a taxi and went back to my condo. I got into the MR-S and set out again.

I parked near New Terminal Hotel and approached slowly on foot.

It seemed Juri had seen me; the automatic door opened and she came out. Her arms were folded.

“The cargo?”

“Delivered.” She grinned.

I checked to make sure there were no transmitters or bugs and transferred the bills into a different bag in my car. Throwing away the cardboard box, we went back to my condo. My pulse, as expected, had gone up a notch. I took many deep breaths to calm my heart. Juri was also silent in the car.

When we got back, she hugged me. “We did it. It was a huge success!” She was panting, and no wonder — she’d pulled off a major part.

I removed her arms from my neck. I looked into her eyes. They were bloodshot. “You did well. But let’s hold off a bit on actually celebrating. The last finishing touches are still left.”

“What are we doing?”

“For now, I’m going back to work. You can rest for a while.”

“Can I count the money?”

“No, don’t touch it for now. If you can’t help it, put on gloves.”

“Gloves?”

“I’ll tell you the reason after I get home.”

I kissed Juri on her lips and promptly took off.

I went back to the office, and with an innocent face, sat at my desk. No one seemed to care. It seemed the guys at Nissei Automobile hadn’t returned yet.

I booted my computer and, after thinking for a while, started writing.

Mr. Katsutoshi Katsuragi,

We certainly received the cargo. We have not verified the contents yet. As soon as that work is done, we will return Juri Katsuragi. However, if we perceive any police action, that will not be possible. We will contact you again regarding our method of returning her to you.

I checked that there were no typos and, using an account with a fictitious identity, sent the email. I checked that it was sent safely and deleted the text from my computer. I would probably never use the account again.

A little past closing time, Kozuka and the others came back. Seeing my face, he approached my seat.

“Sorry about today.”

“Not at all. Actually, how did the meeting go?”

“Well, we somehow decided on the direction. Starting tomorrow, we’ll be busy with a lot of things.”

“But don’t you have to wait for Mr. Katsuragi’s input? Because he left in the middle.”

“No, he was able to return.”

“Uh, he was?” I said in a falsetto.

“Yeah. He finished whatever he needed to do, so he was able to come back near the end of the meeting. So then, well, at that point we got their approval. It’s good we didn’t go there for nothing.”

“I see...”

I couldn’t believe it. That meant after handing over the ransom, Katsutoshi Katsuragi had gone straight back to work. How? Normally, having to talk to the police and dealing with the aftermath would have prevented him.

“Is something wrong?” Kozuka peered at my face curiously.

“No, nothing. I’m glad it went well,” I said with a fake smile.

I left the office and headed home, but doubts were swirling in my head. I just couldn’t find a satisfying explanation.

Katsutoshi Katsuragi’s voice from that afternoon kept sounding in my ears.

There’s no point in any of this. There were never any police with me to begin with .

As long as Juri comes home, fine. I’m ready to pay the ransom .

You don’t have to do this, I won’t contact the police .

Katsuragi had asserted multiple times that the police weren’t involved. I hadn’t believed those words and didn’t believe them now. However, there were too many inconsistencies. When I had tried to use Hakozaki Junction to read my opponents’ movements, it had been the same.

When I got home, Juri was sitting on the sofa watching TV. The banknotes were neatly piled on top of the center table. Three hundred million yen really was a spectacular sight.

“You didn’t touch it with your bare hands, did you?”

“I put these on.” Juri picked up rubber gloves. “But why can’t I touch it with my bare hands?”

“Because we don’t know what trick there might be. For instance, there might be stuff on it that changes color when you touch it with your hands. And then, that won’t come off unless you use special solvents.”

“Is there such a thing?” Juri looked at the notes with a spooked look.

“I’ve heard rumors. Other tricks are to use chemicals that change color after some time has passed. If we use this money without knowing about it, after some time, the party who took the money would find it suspicious and contact the police.”

“There’s a lot, isn’t there.”

“So it’s best not to touch it for two or three days. If we wait just that long and nothing strange happens, then we can assume it’s okay.”

“You’re really amazing,” Juri said.

She actually sounded impressed, rather than teasing, so, feeling surprised, I looked at her face. “Why, that’s sudden.”

“You know everything and you’re always two steps ahead. Even picking up the ransom money went that well. We have three hundred million yen in our hands almost without doing anything, using just cellphones.”

“You don’t need to flatter me to keep me from lowering your cut,” I said laughing. “Two hundred seventy million yen. Suddenly you’re rich.”

“Are you sure I can take that much?”

“Compared to what you’d actually inherit, it’s probably a paltry sum. I’m fine with thirty million yen. It’s a good earning on top of playing a fun game.”

“And you got Katsutoshi Katsuragi by his nose, too?”