by Constantine
With a grunt, Kyoko sat down behind her desk. She opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a bottle of Johnnie Walker and a glass, then filled it partway with the scotch.
“I’d offer you one, but I don’t think you’re in the mood.”
Nobu looked up, probably at the clock on the wall behind Kyoko. “It’s just after noon.”
“As long as it’s after twelve, you’re in the clear.” Kyoko took a sip of the scotch, relishing the feel as the liquid burned its way down her throat.
“Things that bad with your family?”
“My sister’s annoying. One of those incessantly cheerful people—”
“Yeah, I can see how that’d piss you off…” Nobu looked away from her.
Kyoko scoffed at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t get me wrong, boss, I love you like a sister. But at times, you can be a bit on the…unpleasant side.”
“Oh shut up.” Kyoko took another sip of the scotch. “As soon as she got pregnant, my sister quit her job and resigned herself to the life of a housewife. Happily, I should add. Now, every conversation with her is all about PTA meetings and Nao’s piano lessons and all sorts of other crap.”
“Okay, so you don’t get along with your sister. What about your parents?”
“My father’s okay. Quiet for the most part. Doesn’t really talk a whole lot. After dinner, he just sits in front of the TV with a scotch in hand.”
Nobu glanced at the glass in Kyoko’s hand. “Guess it runs in the family.”
“Thought I told you to shut up?” She took another sip. “And as for my mother…” Yet another sip—although this one was more like a gulp. “Let’s just say we don’t get along. So why bother sitting through a dinner where it’s going to be all about how wonderful Kasumi’s life is and how it’s such a shame that Kyoko isn’t living up to her potential?”
Nobu took a breath. “Yeah, criticism sucks, I get that.” He looked Kyoko directly in the eyes. “But I can tell you this. If my mom left me that voicemail? I’d be running to catch the next train before the message even finished playing.”
Silence filled the air. Kyoko took another sip of scotch and Nobu rose from the seat, walking towards the door. He glanced back at her. “But hey, that’s just me.”
He closed the door behind him and Kyoko leaned back in her chair. Nobu’s words had sent a rush of guilt through her body. Someone who hadn’t seen his parents in years certainly had a different perspective on the situation.
Kyoko picked up the phone and sent a text message to her mom, letting her know she’d be happy to stop by for dinner.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Taking the Sakaisuji line from Namba to Ibaraki took just under an hour. Fortunately, Kyoko had managed to grab a seat on one of the benches. With her phone in hand, she reviewed the email Saori sent her regarding Jo Miyashita. Saori wrote that she got a definite ‘creep’ vibe from him, seemed very cagey and unwilling to discuss Akane’s death or allow Saori to speak to Ayano Kuroki.
They’d have to find a way to speak to her. Kyoko lowered the phone and looked at the throng of people on the train. As the stops came and went, the number of people crowding in the standing area had quickly dropped to only a handful.
The automated announcement that they’d reached Ibaraki Station played over the speakers. Kyoko stood and approached the automatic doors, lining up with other departing passengers.
The doors opened and Kyoko and the rest of the passengers disembarked. She moved with the crowd to the taxi stand to see several waiting. It would take about ten minutes or so for Kyoko to reach her childhood home by cab.
“Hey!”
Kyoko recognized the sound of the voice. She turned and saw a woman a few years younger practically run up to her. Her hair was longer, tied behind her head in a bun and her style of clothing leaned more towards sundresses and sweaters as opposed to Kyoko’s jeans-and-leather-jacket preference.
But those differences aside, there was no mistaking that Kasumi Nishimura was Kyoko’s younger sister.
“Kasumi…? What are you doing here?”
Kasumi hugged Kyoko, a gesture that surprised the elder sister. It was awkward for Kyoko, her arms basically pinned at her side by her sister’s. When she finally pulled away, Kasumi still kept a broad smile on her face.
“Mom and Dad told me you were coming, so I thought I’d surprise you by picking you up from the station. Save you from having to pay cab fare.”
“Thanks, that’s nice of you.” Although secretly, Kyoko had hoped to spend as little time as possible with her sister. This put a bit of a crimp into that plan.
“Come on, I’m parked over here!”
Kasumi led Kyoko away from the taxi stand to a minivan parked near the curb, its blinkers flashing. The two sisters climbed into the car and Kasumi started the engine, clicked off the blinkers, and pulled away from the curb.
“So, how are things in Namba?” asked Kasumi.
“You know, the usual.” Kyoko stared out her window, watching as the people walked to and from the station.
“Any cool cases?”
Kyoko knew Kasumi would find her investigation into the death of a pop star really interesting. She’d also come at her with rapid-fire questions. And Kyoko just wasn’t in the mood to talk about work right now. Not when she knew it would become a topic of conversation at dinner.
“Not really. The kind of things we usually deal with.” Kyoko looked at her sister and saw Kasumi’s lips tighten. “You know, infidelity. Catching cheating husbands with their pants down.”
Her sister blushed slightly, obviously becoming uncomfortable. Kasumi didn’t like talking about taboo subjects. Unfortunately for her, taboo was the world Kyoko spent most of her time in.
“I see…” said Kasumi. The light turned green and she stepped on the accelerator. The car jumped forward. After realizing she’d hit it too hard, Kasumi raised her foot off it, bringing the car back down to a normal speed.
“Little anxious?”
“Sorry.”
“It’s fine.” Kyoko took out her Seven Stars and a lighter. Shaking the pack, a few cigarettes jumped out slightly. She bit down on one and drew it out, ready to light it.
“Hey sis…could you not?” asked Kasumi.
Kyoko had just pushed down the switch on the lighter, the end of her cigarette hovering right above the tip of the flame. She glanced at her sister out of the corner of her eye, tempted to just light the cigarette anyway.
Instead, she released the button and returned the Seven Star to the pack.
“Sorry,” said Kasumi. “It’s just this is a new car. And Hiro hates the smell of smoke.”
Kyoko looked back out the window, trying to hide her own annoyance. Back in college, Kasumi herself was a chimney. Now she’d turned into a completely different person. Or rather, Hiro had turned her into a completely different person.
Kasumi pulled the minivan into the small driveway in front of a single-floor house. The two sisters both got out of the car and walked past their mother’s car. Their father relied on public transportation for his commute, so she was the only one who used the car.
A name plate above the mailbox next to the sliding front doors bore the twin stylized kanji that spelled out Nakamura. Kasumi rang the doorbell. They heard footsteps and then the turn of a lock before the sliding door was opened.
The woman standing on the other side of the door in the genkan was in her fifties with short, dark hair that had started to show a few specks of gray. Sakae Nakamura backed away from the doors to allow her daughters to enter. Kasumi stepped in first and removed her shoes before stepping up from the genkan. She knelt down and took her shoes, turning them around and setting them perfectly so the toes pointed towards the door.
Kyoko followed the movements and entered her childhood home. Sakae came up and gave her a quick hug. “It’s good to see you again, Kyoko.”
“You too, Mom,” said Kyoko.
“Dinner w
ill be ready soon. I was going to make nabe, but once your father heard you were coming, he insisted on yakiniku.”
Kyoko tried to hide her smile. It was her favorite food, and her father always looked out for her.
“I’ll go help Mom get everything ready,” said Kasumi. “I think Dad’s watching TV.”
Kyoko nodded and they both walked down the narrow corridor. There were two sets of sliding doors on either side—one leading to the kitchen, the other to the living room. That was where the sisters split up.
The living room was decently large with tatami mats lining the floors. Seated in a reclining chair that rested on the floor was a man in his sixties, holding a can of beer in his hand. He looked up from the news program and smiled, nearly jumping to his feet.
“Ah, Kyoko. So glad you came,” said Manabu Nakamura.
“Hi, Dad.” Kyoko smiled at him and they hugged.
Manabu pulled away and motioned to one of the other recliners around the long table. “Sit. I’ll be right back.”
Kyoko did as she was told. A few moments later, Manabu returned, holding a cold can of Asahi Super Dry in his hand. He held it out for her and Kyoko graciously accepted.
“Do you need a glass?”
“Don’t go to the trouble, this is fine.” Kyoko opened the beer while Manabu took his seat.
He held his beer up to her. “Kanpai.”
“Kanpai,” said Kyoko, returning the customary Japanese toast. They hit their cans together and started drinking.
Father and daughter mostly sat in silence, watching TV and tossing an occasional question at each other. Manabu wasn’t much of a talker and that suited Kyoko just fine. She always felt more comfortable sitting in silence with him than she did engaged in conversation with Kasumi or her mother.
After a few more minutes, Kasumi and Sakae brought out dinner. Each table setting had a set of chopsticks and three bowls—one with miso soup, another with white rice, and a third that only contained tare dipping sauce for the meat. In the center of the table, Kasumi set down a circular hotplate and plugged it in. She put some oil on the plate to grease it while Sakae brought out two large plates and set them on either side of the hotplate. One contained thin, raw slices of beef, pork, and chicken while the other had chopped vegetables like mushrooms, green peppers, onions, cabbage, and carrots.
With everyone seated, Sakae clasped her hands together and the rest of the family followed suit. They all said, “Itadakimasu,” and began to eat. Kyoko took a few slices of beef and laid them on the hotplate, watching and turning them with her chopsticks when appropriate.
“So tell us about Nao-chan,” Kyoko heard Sakae say.
“Oh, she’s great,” said Kasumi. “You know, she’s getting really good at piano now.”
Kyoko took a cooked slice of meat and drenched it in the sauce before setting it atop the rice so some of the juice could leak onto it, then ate.
“She’s doing good in school. But it won’t be long before she has to start taking English classes. So we think we’re going to get her into some private classes.”
“I thought she was already taking piano lessons,” said Kyoko.
“Oh, she can do both,” said Kasumi.
Kyoko didn’t offer a response, just took another sip of her beer. She hoped Sakae wouldn’t use that as an opening for—
“Ahh, English. You know, it would have been nice if our own English prodigy actually followed through.”
And there it was.
“Sakae…” said Manabu.
“I’m just saying,” said Sakae after she bit into a pepper taken from the hotplate. “Kyoko always got high marks in English. She went to a high school that specialized in it. She majored in it in college, even went abroad. Such potential…”
Kyoko tried to ignore it. This was pretty much usual behavior for Sakae. The best thing to do was not to respond to the passive-aggressive display. She took a piece of chicken from the plate and didn’t even bother with the sauce, just ate it right from the grill.
“Then she gave it all up to become a police officer. And now?”
Kyoko could feel her mother’s eyes on her. She just tried to tune it out and focused on the food. A slice of pork next, drop it in the sauce, transfer to the rice, eat. Follow up with a thin carrot wafer. Then wash it down with a swig of beer.
“Now she’s a private detective, whatever that means.” Sakae scoffed. “At least a police officer is a respectable profession. Not an educated one, but respectable.”
“Sometimes, people can’t go to the police for help,” said Manabu.
Kyoko looked to the end of the table, where Kasumi sat. She kept her head down. As usual.
“Who can’t go to the police? I’ll tell you who—bad people. A job like that means you only ever meet the wrong type of man. How can anyone find a husband while working day and night as private detective?”
Sakae shook her head and used her chopsticks to eat some of her rice. She paused and set the bowl down.
“You know, I was reading an article the other day. How some stalker hired a private detective to locate the woman he was obsessed with.” She looked across the table. “You ever do anything like that, Kyoko?”
Kyoko stopped. She put down her bowl and her chopsticks and stood up from the table. She could handle most of her mother’s insults. But that crack about the stalker was pushing things to the breaking point.
“What?” asked Sakae, looking up. She then looked at Kasumi. “What did I say?”
Kasumi didn’t offer a response.
“This, right here?” Kyoko pointed at Sakae. “This is why I don’t come. I’ve got better things to do than be lectured.”
“I just don’t understand why you throw away your potent—”
“Oh, shut up!” Kyoko huffed. “The problem isn’t my potential. I have a job—my own business, even. And I’m good at what I do. Sorry you can’t accept that. But it’s not my problem.”
Kyoko opened the sliding door and stepped into the hallway, slamming it shut behind her. She walked to the genkan and sat on the edge so she could pull her shoes on. She could hear her parents arguing—her father tried to stand up for her, but her mother quickly shot him down.
Because of her mother’s voice, Kyoko didn’t even hear the door sliding open and it wasn’t until she spoke that Kyoko realized her sister was standing behind her.
“Are you okay?” asked Kasumi.
“I’m fine.” Kyoko’s response was clipped. She stood in the genkan and looked at her sister. “I know you’re the perfect daughter and everything, but would it hurt you, just once, to not sit there silently as Mom’s tearing into me? Just once, give me some support?”
Under Kyoko’s stare, Kasumi looked away. Kyoko shook her head and opened the front door. “That’s what I thought.”
Kyoko walked out the front door and started down the driveway. Kasumi finally followed, calling after her. With a sigh, Kyoko stopped and looked over her shoulder.
“It’s a long way to the station and you’ll have trouble finding a taxi out here,” said Kasumi. “You want a lift?”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Kyoko turned around and looked at her sister, who stood in the open doorway, her feet still bare inside the genkan. She was tempted to just tell Kasumi to go to hell. But then she thought about the walk to the train station and about Kasumi’s warning that it’d be difficult to find a taxi.
“Fine.” Kyoko walked towards the passenger door on the left-hand side of the minivan. She had her hand on the handle, ready to open it as soon as Kasumi unlocked it.
“Okay, just a minute.” Kasumi went back in the house, presumably to tell their parents that she was going to give Kyoko a lift. Kyoko saw her appear in the genkan a few moments later, purse hanging from her shoulder.
After closing the front door behind her, Kasumi walked to the car, using the key fob to unlock. Kyoko opened her door and slid into the passenger seat.
The first few moments of the drive
were silent. Kyoko didn’t expect Kasumi to say anything. In Kasumi’s mind, giving her older sister a ride was all she really needed to do to show her support.
Obviously, they had a difference of opinion on that.
It wasn’t long before they stopped at a light right in front of Ibaraki Station. Once the signal turned green, Kasumi would pull up to the station’s drop-off zone and Kyoko could get out.
Good, she thought. This awkwardness can’t end fast enough.
The light changed. But instead of turning, Kasumi went straight. Looking out her window, Kyoko watched as they drove past the station. She looked at her younger sister.
“You missed the turn.”
Kasumi said nothing, but as Kyoko watched her, she saw the edge of her lip creep up into a smile.
“What are you doing?” asked Kyoko.
“Why crowd into a train when you can relax in a brand-new minivan?” asked Kasumi.
“No, the train’s perfectly fine. Mom and Dad are waiting for you to come back. With traffic, you’re looking at a two-hour round trip. And then you still have to drive home later.”
“It’s okay, I already told them I’m taking you home.”
“Yeah, I’m sure Mom loved that idea.”
“Actually, she did.”
Kyoko rolled her eyes. “And what made you think it was a good idea?”
Kasumi shrugged. “I thought it would give us a chance to talk.”
“Talk? What’s there to talk about?”
“Well…there’s your attitude, for starters.”
Oh, the gall of this woman. Kyoko had half a mind to jump out of the car right now, traffic be damned. “Mom put you up to this, didn’t she?”
“Y’know, this may shock you to learn, Sis, but I don’t jump whenever Mom tells me to.”
Kyoko couldn’t suppress the quick laugh that escaped her lips.
“I’m serious. Mom and I, we fight.”
“Oh please, you’re the model daughter. You do everything she tells you.”