Кэйго Хигасино - The Name of the Game is a Kidnapping

She grinned and looked at me. “Was there anything I got wrong?”

“No, that was perfect.” I gave her an okay sign. “You have the letter?”

“Yeah, I’m all set.”

I’d handed her a letter. The text, which I’d composed on my computer, read as follows:

To Mr. Katsutoshi Katsuragi,

We did indeed receive the ransom. As promised, we will return Juri Katsuragi.

The reason we did not act violently toward her will likely be made clear through her own mouth. We acknowledge that this transaction proceeded in a highly businesslike manner.

It was a fun game. We consider it nothing less than complete. After this, there will be no contact from us. We promise never to choose you as a player again.

From,

The Kidnappers

“Then it’s finally time,” I said.

“Yeah. Take care.”

“You too. Good luck.”

We shook hands. Her gaze lingering on our hands, Juri got out of the car. Thank you, goodbye — with those words, she closed the door. I moved the car out.

The city at night spread before me.

On Saturday I went on a date for the first time in a while. She was a twenty-four-year-old event companion. We feasted on Italian fare and had several cocktails at the hotel bar, but it didn’t develop into us staying over at the hotel. Even if we’d wanted to, there probably wouldn’t have been any open rooms. I’d always put in a reservation when I was confident I’d score, but I hadn’t made those preparations that night. It wasn’t because I wasn’t confident. For some reason it just felt like a pain.

Honestly, it wasn’t that I harbored any special feelings for the woman. Anyone could have been my date.

I was in a mood, so even eating wasn’t much fun, and I couldn’t get excited about talking. She was probably wondering until the end why I’d called her.

I couldn’t get Juri out of my head. What had happened since then? Oddly enough, there hadn’t been any reports at all about the case. By all rights, the press should’ve been having a party. The great Nissei Automobile’s executive vice president’s daughter had been kidnapped, and furthermore, the ransom had been stolen. It was hard to think that there was a gag order. The hostage had returned safe and sound, so the police, themselves, could transition to a public investigation. Shouldn’t they be making active use of the press?

When I parted from the event companion and got back to my room, I booted my computer and connected to the internet. I tried accessing the CPT Owners Club. Since successfully seizing the ransom, I hadn’t revisited it once.

I opened the bulletin board page. There was an endless stream of unrelated comments. Unrelated to Juri — actually, those were the legitimate ones.

My hand froze on my mouse. It was because I saw this post:

Please (Julie)

I wonder what’s happened to my dear car. They haven’t gotten in touch even though I paid the money and I wonder what’s happening.

The car’s owner, if you see this post, please contact me.

Please.

What did it mean?

When I looked at the date, it was from the night before. The text was no doubt begging that Juri be returned without delay. However, she should have safely returned to the Katsuragis.

Was it a trap?

That was possible — pretending that Juri hadn’t come home and hoping the culprits would resume contact.

But , I thought. Even if Juri hadn’t gotten home, that wasn’t the kidnappers’ problem. Wasn’t it incredibly naïve to expect them to reply? In fact, I felt no desire to take any sort of action.

But what if Juri hadn’t gotten home?

I thought that was the more likely possibility. I had dropped her off by a hotel in Shinagawa, but she might not have gotten in a taxi there. No, even if she had, there was no knowing if she’d headed on home. She hated the Katsuragis. She’d come into a lot of money and might have decided to just vanish.

If that were the case, it was a catastrophe. The psychology of a victim who’d been kidnapped and who’d finally gotten away from the culprits should have been to return to safety. Even if it wasn’t a very comfortable home, the Katsuragi residence had to be Juri’s sole refuge.

If Juri stayed missing, that would be fine. The truth would never come to light. But wouldn’t that be hard? Could a girl who was barely twenty keep her identity hidden? Even if she had a lot of money, without a certificate of residence or family register, how did she intend to live?

At this rate, the police would have to dive into an open investigation. Pictures of Juri’s face would likely appear all over Japan. TV stations wouldn’t leave the case alone. No matter how much Juri tried to conceal herself, she’d still have to go outside. She’d have to come into contact with people. Someone would definitely recognize her.

What performance did she intend to act out once she was in the custody of the police? Did she mean to start using, only then, the lines I’d fed her? It would be meaningless. The police would eventually suspect the kidnapping was a ruse. I didn’t think Juri could withstand their relentless interrogation. It was just a matter of time before she gave me up.

Unable to sit still, I took my coat in hand and ran out of the room. I was completely sober.

I got into the MR-S and headed towards Yokosuka yet again. If Juri were in hiding, I didn’t think it’d be anywhere other than that condo. The money was also hidden there.

Speeding down the expressway, I organized my next steps in my mind. Finding Juri came first. What would I do once I found her? At any rate, I’d have to make her go home, even if I needed to spank her. I could only spin the extended confinement as an outcome of the culprits’ extreme cautiousness.

Even so, if Juri had already met with someone, it was over. I didn’t think she could be that stupid, but what would I do in that case? My brain was in full gear, but I couldn’t think of a genius plan. I could only pray that she hadn’t seen anyone.

I arrived at Yuki’s condo. I parked my car a little ways away and walked from there. Wandering around a place like this was dangerous, but leaving Juri alone was riskier. Whatever happened, I had to take her home.

Making sure that no one saw me, I approached the building. It was the middle of the night, so the superintendent probably wasn’t there. But the problem was that I didn’t know the room number. What I did know was the nickname Yuki.

The glass door of the entrance had been left open. It didn’t seem to be auto-locking. Just as I thought, the super wasn’t there. The mailboxes were lined up to the right. There were nametags on some but not all of them. Even when there was one, when it was just the surname it served me no use.

Mindful of my surroundings, I plunged my hand into a mail slot on one end. Though I groped around with my fingers, I couldn’t feel anything. It was Saturday night. Probably all the mail had been picked up.

I moved to the next mailbox. This time I felt something. When I grabbed it with my fingertips and brought it out, it was a postcard. I looked at the addressee. It was for Kaoru Yamamoto. That couldn’t be Yuki.

Next I put my hand into the mailbox beside that. I became anxious. Would I ever get anywhere this way? But it was all I could do.

My fingertips touched something. I carefully pulled it out. This time it was an envelope.

Tetsuya Matsumoto—

I returned it thinking that wasn’t it, either. At that moment, something suddenly came to me.

It’s better if you don’t come. Because it’s a women-only condo —

Juri had definitely said that.

Ten days had passed since we had successfully obtained the ransom. My regular life had returned to what it was before the game. Wake up, light exercise, breakfast, go out the door. At the company I did boring work and I’d stop by the gym on the way home. I intended to invite someone out on a date over the weekend. This time, I planned on enjoying myself up to sex. I’d probably need to make a reservation at some hotel.