by Constantine
Damn. Kyoko scolded herself for slipping. You always had to be careful when talking to Takeshi Hashimoto, especially if you had a secret to keep. No one was better at putting the pieces of a puzzle together than her old mentor.
“I got into his apartment,” she admitted, staring down into the scotch. Already she could feel Hashimoto’s judgmental eyes boring a hole into her head.
“You’re not a cop anymore, Naka-chan. Private investigators have no extra rights or privileges than the average citizen. You push your luck, you could end up behind bars. Are you even aware that I could have you arrested for what you just told me?”
“We both know you aren’t going to do that, Sensei.”
Hashimoto grunted and tapped his cigarette on the edge of the ashtray. “No, I’m not. But I probably should.”
“The point is I got in there. And I found some pills. Took them to a friend of mine who confirmed they’re amphetamines.” Kyoko paused to sip her drink. “While I was there, someone else came in. Someone who had a key. It wasn’t Ichikawa, but he made a call, referred to the person on the line as Ichikawa. Right after he left a bag of pills on the dresser.”
“In other words, Ichikawa probably lied.”
“Maybe.” Kyoko took a drag on the cigarette. “I’ve got Nobu checking with some of his old contacts. See if anyone matching Ichikawa’s description has been around the dealers.”
Hashimoto groaned. “You know how risky that is? You start questioning those people, you might attract the wrong kind of attention.”
“I can deal with unwanted police attention, that I promise you,” she said.
“I know you can. I’m not worried about someone like Ryusuke Arima giving you trouble. What I’m worried about is bigger than that,” said Hashimoto. “You start sniffing around the drug trade, you start getting into yakuza territory. And you know what they can be like.”
“I know. But I also know that I have to find out what happened to this girl. Those amphetamines in her system, the pills I found at Ichikawa’s place, it all means something.”
Hashimoto finished his drink. “You want another?”
Kyoko looked at her glass and realized she was reaching the bottom as well. “Sure, maybe one more and then I should call it a night.”
The elder inspector raised his arm to signal to the bartender. Sho came over to them and refreshed both their drinks. Then he left them alone once more.
“You’re pushing this case with a pretty vigorous intensity,” said Hashimoto.
“Not sure what you mean.”
Hashimoto scoffed. “Oh come off it, Naka-chan. This case seemed pretty flimsy from the start, that’s why I couldn’t see any reason to pursue it any further. I figured you’d give that family some closure and they’d leave things alone. But now I find out you’re throwing yourself into this thing.”
Kyoko shook her head. “I don’t really know. Maybe I’m trying to make up for past mistakes.”
A sigh escaped Hashimoto’s lips before he took another sip. “That wasn’t your fault. You went as far as the law allowed.”
“And that was part of the problem—the law didn’t go far enough.”
“That’s not for us to decide. We start making decisions like that, we might as well toss out the constitution and go back to the days of the Kempeitai.”
“It’s not like the modern police aren’t guilty of some underhanded things. You and I both know that preserving that high conviction rate can and does take precedence over serving justice.”
Hashimoto smoked his cigarette in silence. Kyoko knew discussions like this unnerved him. After all, he was a legacy—lots of members of his family had served for Japan’s law enforcement. He wasn’t one to criticize the organization he’d dedicated his life to. But he also knew that Kyoko wasn’t wrong.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t want us to get into that old argument again. It never ends well.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“Whether suicide or murder, that girl got a raw deal,” said Kyoko. “Seems like a row of dominos was set off because of Star Rise’s contractual terms.”
“There’s nothing you can do to stop that.”
“Maybe not. But I’m not going to just sit back and do nothing.”
“What’s your next move?”
“We have some leads we can look into. Right now, we’re just waiting to hear more.”
“Just be careful which cages you rattle,” said Hashimoto. “So far, you’re lucky the media hasn’t picked up on this yet. But if word of this gets out, it could mean you’ll be in for some unwanted exposure. That would complicate your investigation.”
He finished the last of the scotch and stood up from the bar. Hashimoto gestured to Sho and took out his wallet. “Drinks are on me tonight.”
“You don’t have to do that,” said Kyoko.
“I know, but you paid last time, least I can do.” Hashimoto settled the tab with Sho and placed a hand on Kyoko’s shoulder. “Keep your head out there, okay? Japan’s not as safe as people think. Especially if you upset the wrong people.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The next few days passed without much incident. Teppei had managed to get some of the data off Akane’s phone, but there was still some damaged in the fall and he was working to recover it. Saori spent the time pouring over the recovered files. She called every number listed in Akane’s contacts. Most of them refused to talk to her and she made a note of each one who did. The few that did talk didn’t really have much to say. Some were old friends of Akane’s who hadn’t heard from her since she was fired from Star Rise, others were simple customers of hers at Idol whose relationship with her outside of the club primarily consisted of text messaging and little else.
“Anything yet?” asked Kyoko, emerging from her office.
Saori turned her chair away from the computer screen and rubbed her eyes. She gave a yawn. “Nothing. It’s pretty much the same story all over with these guys. A few of them went out with her on dates once or twice, but they said it never went beyond some petting in a restaurant or karaoke box.”
“What about the text messages?” Kyoko took Nobu’s empty chair and slid it behind Saori so she could see the screen as well. He was out seeing what he could find on Star Rise Entertainment.
A yawn accompanied Saori’s shaking head. “They’re pretty light on the details. Mentions of places to meet and then the next day, messages thanking her for a great time. But they don’t really go into specifics, so who knows how many of these guys slept with her.”
“What about potential stalkers? Any messages like that you’ve seen?”
“Doesn’t look like it.” Saori sipped her coffee and cringed at the taste. “We gotta get a real coffee maker in here.”
“I’m fine with my ice coffee. You want a coffee maker, you and Nobu can chip in and buy one.”
“I hate you sometimes,” said Saori. “And no, I haven’t seen anything to indicate any stalkers. It’s possible there were some, but maybe she deleted those messages. But most of these guys, they just seem like your garden variety lonely hearts willing to throw money at a girl who will listen to them talk.”
“Bad news for us,” said Kyoko. “What about the friend, Ayano Kuroki?”
“There were a few messages between them, but not a whole lot in recent months. Mostly just exchanging stickers and pictures of food on Line,” said Saori. “I called the number, got a generic voicemail. But who knows whether or not that’s the real deal. Even if the number is Ayano’s, no way to tell if she’s the one who answers it or if she’s got someone else to do that for her.”
“Did you leave a message just in case?”
Saori nodded. “Sure did. Told her we were investigating Akane’s death and gave her our information.” The girl paused, then frowned. “On second thought, that may not have been the best idea.”
“Why?” Kyoko stood from the chair and walked to the kitchen to get herself some coffee.
“Say someone else monitors her phone, like someone from Star Rise,” said Saori. “Remember I told you how Miyashita didn’t seem too willing to chat with me?”
“Good point.” Kyoko returned to the chair with a cup of ice coffee in her hand. “You think he’d try and stop her from coming to see us?”
“You didn’t meet the guy. Trust me, he won’t be very helpful.”
“So the phone hasn’t told us anything we didn’t already know. That’s great, we wasted your boyfriend’s time for nothing.”
Saori rolled her eyes. “Not my boyfriend.”
Kyoko smiled and sipped her coffee. She stood from the chair and went into her office. Once sitting behind her desk, Kyoko sighed and looked over the stacks of files on her desk. Most were closed cases that she kept meaning to have Saori file, but with everything happening lately, it continued to slip her mind.
She plucked one from the pile and opened the folder, looking over the evidence they’d gathered and the copy of the report submitted to the client. The client suspected her husband cheating on her with someone, but she had no idea who. Turned out she was right—her husband was sleeping with her mother of all people. Putting the first down, Kyoko picked up another—this was a company worker who wanted Kyoko to investigate his own life. He wanted to know what his chances of getting promoted were, which had become an increasing market for private investigators across the country.
With a sigh, Kyoko returned the folder to the stack with the others. A lit cigarette later and she was staring at the small piles, the smoke gingerly curling from her lips as she looked over her office. It wasn’t the first time she started to question whether or not her chosen profession actually had the desired effect. Was she really helping more people as a private detective than she had as a cop?
Kyoko always told herself this job was a way to give people who fell through the cracks help the police either couldn’t or wouldn’t provide. But as she looked at those closed cases, the vast majority of them were all about infidelity and background checks.
Nobu’s voice filtered through her open office door. Stamping out the cigarette, Kyoko returned to the reception area to see him settling behind his desk.
“You find anything?” she asked.
“Star Rise manages a number of different clients,” said Nobu. “They hold annual contests all over Kansai to try and find new talent. Jo Miyashita is pretty well-respected, has some powerful friends in politics and media, even golfs with the mayor on occasion. On paper, everything seems above-board.”
“What about not on paper?” asked Saori.
“That’s where things can get a bit sketchy,” said Nobu. “I checked with some of my friends. Seems that Miyashita might be connected.”
“Connected? What’s that mean?”
“He means yakuza-affiliated,” said Kyoko. “That’s not necessarily surprising. The yakuza have their fingers in a lot of pies, particularly in the entertainment industry.”
“Right, but there’s more,” said Nobu. “I learned that a lot of rejected Star Rise performers ended up appearing in AV films.”
Adult video, the term in Japan for pornography. A profitable, pervasive industry in Japan with its own murky connections to the criminal underworld. Many of the yakuza companies maintained production studios that pumped out hundreds of films a year.
“Any direct connection between them?” asked Kyoko.
Nobu shook his head. “Not direct, no. But seems like a pretty big coincidence, doesn’t it?”
“It does, and I don’t like coincidences,” said Kyoko. “I bet if we dug deep enough, we’d find some connection linking Star Rise to those production companies.”
“Like Saori said, Miyashita keeps his talent on a pretty short leash. Wasn’t able to speak to any current clients.” Nobu shifted in his chair and leaned forward. “But the thing is, I have no clue if any of this has a thing to do with Akane. Seemed like she was blacklisted from the company after she broke contract and there’s no record of her getting involved in porn. At least, none I’ve been able to find.”
“Bet you’ve been researching that pretty closely,” quipped Saori.
Nobu scoffed. “You’re just jealous I got the cool job.”
Kyoko approached the whiteboard and looked over their notes. It had been updated with the information about Fukui. Neither he nor Ichikawa appeared to be suspects any longer, but there was no guarantee of whether or not that would prove the case for long. The main question was that third man, who for the moment all they new about was that he was the last person who slept with Akane—and possibly the last one to see her alive.
Everything else was a giant question mark.
A knock came at the door and it opened. A soft voice offered the phrase, “Shitsurei shimasu.”
Kyoko turned and saw a young woman in her early twenties enter the office foyer. She wore sunglasses and a hat. With her was a man several inches taller, also wearing sunglasses. He was bald with a goatee and had a look that said no one wanted to mess with him.
“Welcome to the Nakamura Detective Agency,” said Kyoko. “Can I help you?”
“Actually, I think I can help you. Or at least I hope I can.” The girl took off her hat and handed it to her friend. The sunglasses came next and she put them into her purse. Her long hair was tied behind her head and had auburn streaks throughout. “I received your message.”
“Oh wow!” said Saori, standing up and bowing. Nobu watched her movement and did the same, also bowing to her.
Kyoko looked at the girl and studied her face. She looked a little different in person, especially without her hair done up and makeup applied to her face. But there was no question who this woman standing in front of them was.
“My name is Ayano Kuroki,” she said. “You wanted to talk to me about Akane?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Kyoko bowed to the young woman standing in her office. “Thank you so much for coming all this way to see us, Ms. Kuroki. My name is Kyoko Nakamura, yoroshiku onegaishimasu.” She bowed again to the young idol. “You didn’t have to come in person, a phone call would have been sufficient.”
“Fortunately, I had some time in my schedule. And I thought it’d be better for us to do this in person,” said Ayano. “I hope I’m not intruding.”
“Not at all.” Kyoko gestured to her colleagues. “This is my staff. Noburo Tsuji and Saori Ikeda. They assist me in my investigations.”
They each bowed and offered their own greetings. Ayano did the same, but the man by her side—who still kept his sunglasses on—remained as unmoving as a statue. Finally, Ayano gestured to him. “This is Haruo Terada, my bodyguard.”
At the mention of his name, Terada finally grunted his own greeting and gave a deep bow. Almost like a robot waiting on command.
“Your message said you wanted to talk to me about Akane?”
“Yes, that’s correct,” said Kyoko. “If you wouldn’t mind joining me in my office? I have a few questions I’d like to ask.”
“Of course.”
Kyoko approached the office door and gestured inside. Ayano bowed before passing through the doorway, but she turned to Terada and held up a hand to stop him. She whispered something to him and Terada grunted out, “Hai,” or yes in Japanese and stepped away from the door.
“You can sit and make yourself comfortable if you like,” Saori told Terada. He shook his head and remained standing by the door, hands clasped in front.
“Saori, could you prepare some tea?” asked Kyoko before entering the office and closing the door behind her. She circled around her desk, which Ayano still remained standing in front of. “Sit, please.”
“Thank you.” Ayano took her seat and set her purse on her lap.
“I appreciate you coming all the way down here. We tried to arrange a meeting through your manager, but…”
Ayano gave an embarrassed smile. “I have to apologize for Mr. Miyashita. He’s somewhat overprotective of us. Didn’t want us giving any interview
s to the media about Akane, just released a written statement on behalf of the group.”
“I understand you and Akane were quite close?”
“Very close.” Ayano looked down at her purse. “She was my best friend.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Your message said you’re investigating her death?” asked Ayano. “I thought it was a suicide?”
“That’s what the police think, but Akane’s parents aren’t convinced. They hired me to look into the case,” said Kyoko.
There was a knock at the door and then Saori opened it, carrying a tray with a cup of green tea. She set it on the desk for Ayano and bowed before leaving. Ayano took the cup with both hands and slowly sipped the tea.
“Do you think Akane was killed?” asked Ayano.
“That’s what I’m trying to find out,” said Kyoko. “Tell me about your friendship. About the Akane you knew.”
“We were both hired at the same time, through a contest,” said Ayano. “Hit it off right away. Had a lot of things in common. The other girls used to call us Aka and Aya.” She took another sip before setting the cup on the desk. “When we were spun off into Koibito, we were both so excited.”
“What’s the life like for an idol?”
“Busy. Really busy. Our schedules are pretty hectic and we often don’t get them until the last minute.”
“And the restrictions placed on you? The no-dating clause? How do you find that?”
“I’m not too interested in that stuff anyway, so it doesn’t really bother me,” said Ayano. “But Akane, she had a boyfriend from back home.”
“Yuki Ichikawa, right?”
Ayano nodded. “That’s right. She would sneak off to see him any chance she got.”
“Did she tell you about Yuki?”
“Oh, of course. We were practically sisters, told each other everything.”
“But then Miyashita found out. How?”
Ayano snickered. “Would you believe of all things it was a stalker?”
“Really?”