Fuminori Nakamura - Evil and the Mask

He couldn’t hide the tension in his voice. I felt sweat trickling down my neck.

“Okay. Thanks for letting me know.”

He was quiet for a second.

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m only telling you this because if you’re pissed at me I’ll have no chance of getting money out of you. Plus I’m the one who got her mixed up in this. It’s got nothing to do with her.”

“Thanks. Bye.”

I hung up and immediately called Azusa Konishi. She answered after seven rings.

“What are you doing now?” I asked her.

“We finished early, so Kaori and I went to a restaurant. I’m on my way home. How did things go with her today?”

It sounded like she was in a car.

“I’ll tell you about that later, but could you get hold of her straight away, please? There might be this bad guy hanging around her apartment. It’s just a possibility, but could you put her up at your place or somewhere, just in case? Just till I know it’s safe.”

“Sure. But why?”

“A member of JL is on the run, and apparently he’s looking for money. He knows a lot about her, that she’s a Kuki and that she might be rich. I just want to play it safe.”

“Understood.”

“If there are any problems, give me a call, even in the middle of the night. And would you let me know as soon as you meet up with her?”

“Will do.”

I hung up, prowled around my room for a bit, and looked at the clock. It was still midnight. I wanted to do something, but realized that at the moment there wasn’t much I could do to help Kaori. I couldn’t just stay home, though, so I went down in the elevator, bought a can of coffee I didn’t really want from a vending machine and drank it as I walked. I was looking at the apartment building over the road when someone called my name from behind. Standing some distance away was Aida. I ignored him, and heard his irritated footsteps following me.

“Amazing, isn’t it? As soon as I get here, I meet you outside your condo. There must be something between us after all.”

He was panting.

“It’s the other way around. Even though it’s late, I was going out just as you got here. Just bad timing.”

“I still caught you. Only just, though, right?”

He grinned, watching me intently through narrow eyes.

“So, what do you want? You said we wouldn’t meet again.”

He took out a photograph.

“This is you, isn’t it? What’s the story?”

It was me, all right, in a black coat, talking to someone. It was somewhere outside. All I could see of the other person was part of a hand, but I could tell from the wristband that it was Ito.

“Yeah, that’s me. What about it?”

“That guy who’s on the run, Kanzaki, he had this picture. The guy from JL. What does it mean?”

“That’s what I’d like to know.”

I realized that I was calm, probably thanks to the fact that Ito had warned me just before I came out.

“Don’t tell me you’re in JL?”

“Yeah right.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

His stare grew more searching.

“I know you. At least, I think I do. You’re a hard-nosed realist. You’re not the type to join a group like that. My gut feeling tells me it’s impossible. That’s why I don’t get this. What’s going on?”

“I told you, I don’t know.”

I frowned, let out a long, slow sigh.

“Was this taken with a digital camera? Or a cell phone? Are you saying that everyone he’s got a photo of is in JL? Anyway, that’s me in the picture, but it’s not focused on me. It’s pointing further away.”

Aida was still holding up the photo.

“That’s not unusual when people are trying to take pictures without being seen,” he said.

“Well, then, maybe he was trying to take a picture of something else and missed? Maybe of that woman walking behind me, for example.”

“So you reckon it’s just coincidence?”

“I’m just guessing. Anyway, I’m not interested in your affairs. You’re a pain in the ass.”

“By the way,” he began, pointing a stubby finger at something over my shoulder. “What’s that car doing there?”

A black car was parked at the corner of the condo, half its body sticking out like it wanted to be noticed. Mikihiko’s private eye.

“Last time we met, that same car was following you and drove straight past us.”

“Haven’t got a clue.”

“Sure you don’t.”

“Are you telling me that’s a JL car? An expensive model like that?”

“You’ve got good eyesight. You can tell it’s expensive? When someone’s lying, their instincts are to say the first convenient fact that comes into their heads to back up the lie. They say one word too many.”

At that moment my cell phone chirped to tell me I had mail. When I looked at the screen, it was from Azusa. She had just got into a taxi with Kaori. I breathed out slowly, my mind at ease for the time being.

“What was that about?”

“None of your business.”

“Mind if I take a look at that email?”

“Of course I mind. It’s from this woman. I gave it to her good yesterday, and she wrote to say she wants more.”

“You really don’t like talking to me, do you? But I’ve got some news for you. Yaeko passed away.”

He continued to observe me closely.

“Is that so?”

“Actually I was going to tell you that first, but for some reason I ended up talking about the photo instead. I wonder why?”

“Beats me.”

“I’m beginning to wonder if I do understand you after all. To be honest, I came here today to show you this photo and to give you that bad news, because I wanted to see how you’d react. And your reactions were just too natural.”

A strong wind was blowing.

“Just like lots of really smart criminals I’ve met. Too natural.”

I looked at him. He squinted back at me.

“So now I’m trembling with joy,” he said.

“You’re creepy, you know that?”

“See, that’s the reaction I’m talking about.”

We stared at each other for a long time. A noisy motorbike passed right beside us. He glared at me, unsmiling.

“We will meet again, after all. Now I’ve got my eye on you for a different reason. A different reason.”

“You’re wasting your time.”

I squeezed past him, standing there like he was trying to block my way, and returned to the condo without glancing back.

I OPENED THE curtain a fraction and peeked out the window. Mikihiko’s private detective was parked outside, and had been there for several hours. I grabbed my phone and called Azusa Konishi. I was thirsty, so I sipped a glass of water while it was ringing, though she answered after a few seconds. I knew it was a bit rushed, but today was my only chance.

“I want you to call the cops right now, tell them there’s been a strange car sitting outside your apartment for a long time. It’s been following you, lying in wait for you all day. Give them my address.”

“Okay. What color is it?”

“Black. The driver is a man in his fifties.”

I hung up and called for a taxi. Then I put on my coat and looked out the window, smoking.

After about ten minutes a green taxi turned up, but I kept watching the black car, waiting for the police. Suddenly, however, the black car took off and disappeared around the corner. A minute later, as I was wondering what was going on, a patrol car arrived, its siren off. The timing, like it had been pre-arranged, gave me a bad feeling. Leaving the lights on, I took the elevator down, went outside and got into the cab, acting like I didn’t see the black and white, which was still prowling theatrically. At that moment, though, I realized the cop was staring right at me. Pretending to be looking at my cell phone, I told the driver my destination. I checked the reflection in the side mirror several times, and as we went around the corner I sneaked a glance behind me. The patrol car didn’t seem to be following.