Кэйго Хигасино - The Name of the Game is a Kidnapping

I didn’t answer, to indicate that I had no desire to refute him. With a satisfied smile, Katsutoshi Katsuragi took his time putting out his cigarette in the ashtray.

“But you weren’t that incompetent. There was a letter about the truth of the incident just as I had predicted, but also another file. Even I was amazed by that. Or maybe I should say I was floored.”

“To confess, it was a fluke,” I came clear. “I didn’t think at the time that it would serve such a purpose.”

“Brilliant people are like that. Without even meaning to, they gather materials to reinforce their position. You can’t teach that sensibility.”

I flashed a wry smile. I hadn’t foreseen being praised by this man in such a manner.

“I didn’t intend to kill you,” Katsutoshi Katsuragi said. “Because there is no need to kill you. You wouldn’t tell anyone what really happened as long as the police don’t catch you. And I have no worries about you getting caught. Because we’ll cover for you. As the victims, we will be able to produce as much evidence as needed that you couldn’t have been the culprit. Of course, that was contingent on having you complete the game perfectly. It goes without saying that you did.”

“If there was no need to make it seem like I was the culprit, why did you need to make sure that I left traces in Yokosuka?”

“For one thing, I needed you to be vulnerable. Evidence that I could always use to finger you as the culprit would place you in such a predicament. But what I really needed were traces of a culprit. That the kidnapping had been staged absolutely must not come to light. To indicate that a culprit did exist for sure, I needed a real culprit acting.”

“Then, why did you put me to sleep just now?”

Katsutoshi Katsuragi grinned. His expression said he’d been waiting for the question. “Did you think you’d be put to death if you fell asleep?”

“If I’m truthful.”

“Right. So you marshaled the last ounce of your strength to pull out your trump card. What I wanted to see was exactly that. The last card you would flash.”

I grunted. “You wanted me to show you my hand?”

“The game is over. But we didn’t have a winner yet. I showed you my whole hand. What remained was what cards you had.”

Katsutoshi Katsuragi glanced at the computer again. At his lead, I also turned around. I looked at the monitor.

It displayed a photo. It was clear to anyone that it was a photo of this room.

Chiharu from when she had been calling herself Juri was carrying a tray with a meal she had made for me.