Summertime of the Dead

by Gregory Hughes

  ‘He committed suicide? Couldn’t he have done something else?’

  ‘What was he going to do, serve sushi? No, you can have a good career in the yakuza. But it doesn’t prepare you for anything else.’

  As soon as I heard those words the butterflies came. I slid the sword from its mounting and gripped it tight. I was just about to step out when I heard …

  ‘And what about this Psycho Killer? You think he’s an assassin sent by Tomi Yamamoto?’

  The older man sounded bewildered. ‘Why would Tomi Yamamoto kill Uncle Benni’s niece? It serves no purpose.’

  ‘I suppose not,’ said the younger guy, and sucked on his cigarette. ‘You ever meet Louise Tanaka? I heard she was a bit of a psycho herself.’

  ‘I never met her or any of the Tanakas. And I’ve never so much as spoken to Uncle Benni. The only person I ever meet is my lieutenant. And he doesn’t say much when I do.’

  I was considering leaving it. They weren’t exactly big shots. But it was obvious that they’d taken over the florist’s, which meant that the owner had paid off his son’s debts by giving them the place … No, I couldn’t leave it. They were the enemy.

  The young guy suddenly perked up. ‘Tell me, Basho, who do you think is the greater godfather – Uncle Benni or Yoshio Kodama?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ said the old man, sounding bored. ‘They’re from different generations.’ He stamped on his cigarette. ‘Come on, let’s lock up.’

  I could feel my legs quivering as I stepped out of the doorway. Both men kind of froze when they saw me. And then they saw the sword.

  ‘It’s him!’ shouted the old man, and ran for the door.

  I beat him to it and stabbed him through the back. Then I turned, expecting an attack. But the younger guy had jumped in the car and locked the doors. He was searching frantically for the keys but he couldn’t find them. ‘Basho! Basho!’ he shouted. ‘If you’ve killed Basho, I’ll kill you!’

  ‘You’ll have to get out the car first!’

  ‘Basho!’ He started to cry.

  ‘You’ll never make lieutenant blubbering like that!’ I shouted. But I knew I couldn’t get him and so I walked away.

  ‘You think that helmet hides your face, but it doesn’t!’ he screamed. ‘I’ll remember you!’

  I froze with my back to him. I couldn’t leave him alive! I looked for something to break the window with, but there was nothing. I tried to kick in the glass but my sneakers were too soft. He started shouting into his cell. Then he looked at me. ‘There’s a crew on the way! You’d better get out of here!’

  I saw a lighter on the ground. I ran to the old man and took off his tie.

  ‘Please … tell my daughter I loved her.’

  I ignored him, and ripping off the petrol cap I shoved the tie inside. Then I lit it. I tried to run before it exploded, but BOOM! It was like a bomb had gone off! The car filled up with fire and smoke, and the guy just sat there burning.

  I grabbed the mounting and bolted back down the alley. I put the sword in the nylon bag and walked out on to the street. Lights were going on all over the place and windows were opening.

  ‘What happened?’ asked an old woman from her window.

  A man in a kimono came to his door. ‘Sounded like a gas explosion.’

  A young woman with a baby pointed from her balcony. ‘There’s a fire down the alley!’

  I kept the sword at my left side and slipped it under the seat. I was about to ride away, but there were too many people by then; it would have looked suspicious. And so I rode back towards the scene and pulled up like a passer-by. The car was ablaze and black smoke billowed from the burning rubber. People were running towards it with water. Men were shouting and a woman began to scream. I watched two silhouettes drag the young guy’s burning body from the car. Then I noticed dozens more people standing in their nightclothes, their faces lit up by the flames. They stared in wonder at the bodies and the burning car. Some of them seemed terrified but others looked on like happy children watching a horror show.

  And there I stood in the aftermath of battle like so many samurai before me, but the feeling of power that I’d felt earlier had gone. I took no pleasure in killing the old guy. And I’d have sooner killed his apprentice quickly, with the sword, rather than blow him up. But then I remembered something that my father once told me when he was talking about the Warring States period. He said that war wasn’t always waged against evil people. Sometimes it was simply waged against someone from the opposite side. I watched the flames until I heard the sirens. And then slowly I cruised away.

  10

  The dojo became loud with screams and shouts and the sound of bamboo cracking against bamboo. I watched Akeno closely. He was very slowly inching to my left. So slowly, in fact, that you could hardly see him move. And then he screamed, ‘men!’ to indicate he was going to strike my head, and stamping his foot on the floor he struck. I blocked the blow and tried to counter but he was too fast. He attacked again. Our shinais rose and pushed against each other and then we pushed away. I tried to strike his men as he was going back but I barely caught his shoulder. Then we both struck at the same time. Our shinais cracked with such force that a section of bamboo broke off.

  We stopped and circled each other. Without thinking I jumped forward and struck his right kote. It was a perfect strike and Sensei Kubo raised his hand to indicate a point. Akeno came again and I struck his torso, or do. But I was off balance and so there wasn’t enough power to score a point. Then with two lightning strikes he struck my do and men. They were so fast I never saw either. He wasn’t national champion for nothing. He made another forward thrust to my throat, but I dodged it. I caught his kote as he backed away, but it didn’t count. Then we both leaped forward at the same time. I made a perfect strike to his do, but screaming, ‘Men!’ he struck my head.

  ‘Enough!’ said Sensei Kubo. ‘Well done, you two.’

  My final blow had been good, but he was the winner overall. That said, I’d never done so well against him. We knelt on the wooden floor and bowed to each other. Then taking off my men and head towel I stood up.

  ‘Well done, Yukio,’ said Akeno. ‘Your skill is really starting to show.’

  ‘Thank you, Akeno.’ I was so happy to hear him say this I bowed again.

  He left to fight Alex the Austrian, and Sensei Kubo came and stood next to me. He didn’t say anything, but he had a satisfied look on his face, proud that his protégé was doing well.

  We watched the Lump fight G.I. Joe on the other side of the dojo. She looked funny in her kendo armour, like a miniature warrior. And what made her funnier was how aggressive she was. She screamed and attacked like a demon and she was so quick on her feet! She scurried around in circles so fast that G.I. Joe looked under pressure. I mean, he was only joking, but I could tell he was finding it difficult to line her up. Then she dropped on to one knee and struck his ankle. He pretended to be angry and complained to Anna, who was refereeing the bout. And so Anna explained the rules to the Lump. But the Lump kept peering around her shoulder; she was dying to attack G.I. Joe. And as soon as Anna was out of the way, she did.

  ‘She’s like a bee attacking a bear,’ said Sensei Kubo. ‘And she seems to have a natural talent. Maybe it runs in your family,’ he said and went over to watch the bout.

  I felt good then. He rarely paid compliments, and when he did you knew he meant it.

  Then everyone in the dojo was lining up to fight the Lump. Akeno took G.I. Joe’s place and pretended to take it seriously. The others shouted advice as they fought and laughed and joked as she attacked. They really took to the Lump, and for the first time I was proud that she was my cousin.

  When I was done for the day I got changed and waited for her at the entrance. It was a good ten minutes before she turned up. She came trotting down the stairs with her rucksack on her back.

  ‘Where have you been?’

  ‘Talking,’ said the Lump.

  ‘Like you ever tal
k.’ I was just about to tell her off but Sensei Kubo came out.

  ‘It was a pleasure meeting you, Mikazuki,’ he said with a slight bow. ‘I hope you will come again.’

  The Lump bowed with more than a little ceremony. You’d think she was bowing to the emperor or someone.

  ‘Yes, make sure you bring her again, Yukio,’ said G.I. Joe. ‘I want to get even for some of those blows I took.’

  The Lump laughed a little as she followed me to the subway. Then she pretended to be calm, but I knew she was buzzing. Her palm tree was tingling with static and her eyes were shining bright. I decided to put her in her place. ‘You did OK, I suppose. But don’t let it go to your head.’

  ‘No,’ said the Lump.

  I gave her a hard look but she held my gaze. I walked on for a bit, then stopped. ‘They want me to bring you again, and I will. But you have to stop hitting your opponent’s feet. It’s bad manners.’

  The Lump looked up at me. ‘OK.’

  I walked on, but I stopped again. ‘It reflects badly on me if you fight dirty. You understand?’

  ‘Understand,’ said the Lump.

  But I don’t think she did understand. She was just humouring me.

  We changed trains at Ikebukuro and then we took the Yamanote line down to Shinjuku. It was packed with people, but we managed to get seats, at least I did. The Lump squashed herself in between me and some guy and made us both uncomfortable. I was going to tell her to get up, but then I saw the newspaper headlines: ‘Psycho Killer Strikes Again’. And underneath the photograph of the two bodies in the alley it asked: ‘Serial Killer, Vigilante or Assassin?

  ‘Hungry,’ said the Lump.

  I looked down at her. ‘When aren’t you hungry?’

  ‘Always hungry,’ said the Lump.

  ‘Come on. Here’s our stop.’

  It was hot and sunny when we came out of the station, and I wanted to get home. But I’d bought the Lump an ice cream and so she was in no rush. At least three times I had to tell her to catch up, but she kept stopping to stare at things. And it didn’t have to be anything special. A tree or a plant or a tin can. One time I turned around and she was staring at a common daisy that had grown between the cracks in the pavement.

  ‘Will you hurry up?’

  But as we turned into our street I saw a man outside the house. He was wearing a suit and he had something in his hand. He could be a yakuza hit man! But they couldn’t know who I was or where I lived. Don’t get paranoid, I thought. But just because you’re paranoid that doesn’t mean that they’re not after you.

  ‘Listen – you go straight into the house, OK?’

  ‘OK,’ said the Lump, and pushing open the steel door she ran into the garden.

  The man was short and slim and the thing in his hand was a notebook. His face was glum and his greying black hair was combed back tight, making a perfect rectangle of his forehead. ‘Yukio Takeda?’ he asked.

  The fact that he knew my name was enough to start my heart pounding. ‘Yes.’

  ‘My name is Detective Maki. I’d like to ask you a few questions. Is there somewhere we can talk?’

  My mind ran into a frenzy and my stomach turned, but I tried to stay calm. ‘Sure,’ I said, and held open the steel door. But as soon as I did I realized my mistake. The bike was in the garden and the sword was under the seat! He’ll see it! We passed a spade. For an insane second it crossed my mind to kill him.

  He took off his suit jacket and put it over one of the iron chairs. Then taking a seat he put his notebook on the iron table. ‘Such a beautiful garden,’ he said. ‘And so much space.’

  I looked at the bike and froze. The sword had gone.

  ‘Do you mind?’ When I turned to him he was showing me a pack of cigarettes.

  ‘No,’ I said, and took a seat. I was panicking inside but I tried to relax.

  He lit up a cigarette and sat back. ‘You were friends with the Kobayashi twins, yes?’

  ‘Yes.’

  He checked his notebook. ‘And you also knew Goro Kakomo, known to all as Kako?’

  I decided not to lie. ‘Yes.’

  ‘We’ve discovered two things that connect Miko Kobayashi and Kako. One we are not going to divulge. The other is you.’

  I watched a wasp crawling around the table. I had a sudden urge to crush it.

  ‘Tell me something.’

  ‘What?’ I asked.

  ‘Tell me anything.’

  ‘We don’t know why the twins … did what they did. And all I know about Kako is what I read in the paper.’

  ‘When was the last time you saw him?’

  ‘In a club called Paradise, a few weeks back.’

  He pointed at our small pond. ‘What sort of flowers are they?’

  The question threw me. ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘Of course you do. They’re lotus blossoms.’ He stood up and examined them more closely.

  ‘You know what they say about lotus blossoms? They grow at the bottom of the pond in complete darkness. Their darkness reflects man’s ignorance because he can’t see the truth. The seed grows towards the sunlight, just as man grows towards the light of the truth … Miko was your girlfriend, was she not?’

  I could tell by the way his back stiffened that he was no longer concerned with the lotus blossoms. ‘No,’ I said.

  ‘Funny, because I hear she was.’ He sat down and took a long drag on his cigarette. And as he did he glared at me. ‘Of course she wasn’t. She was a Buraku after all. A young man from a good family, like yourself, would never get involved with that sort. Am I right?’

  I could have killed him! Right there and then! But I knew he was baiting me.

  ‘Miko was not my girlfriend, but she was a friend. And a finer person you’ll never meet. If you’re going to insult her, you’ll have to leave.’

  ‘Sorry, kid. Just doing my job.’ He made a note in his notebook. ‘On the night Kako was killed, where were you?’

  ‘Here probably.’

  ‘What about last night?’

  ‘With me.’

  I turned to see the Lump, who bowed to the detective.

  He chuckled when he saw her. ‘What? All night?’

  ‘Tummy trouble,’ said the Lump, who’d never had tummy trouble in her life.

  ‘Yes,’ said the detective in a weary way. ‘There’s a lot of that going around.’

  Yoshe came out. ‘Oh, I didn’t know you had company, Yukio.’

  The detective stood up and gave a short bow. ‘Mrs Takeda?’

  ‘No, she’s inside. Would you like to see her?’

  ‘If I may.’

  ‘One moment,’ said Yoshe, and went inside to ask. Then she came back. ‘If you’d like to follow me …’

  The detective stepped on his cigarette and went inside. It was quiet then, and the silence was worse than having him sitting in front of me. I had a sickening feeling in my stomach and I was finding it hard not to fidget. But when I heard voices coming from Grandmother’s room I had to stand up. The Lump didn’t look happy either. She stood with her back to the wall and bit her lip. And she stayed that way until she heard the detective say goodbye. He came out and picked up his jacket.

  ‘Thank you for your time, Yukio.’ He looked at the Lump. ‘And I hope your tummy gets better.’

  ‘Would you like tea, detective, before you leave?’ asked Yoshe.

  ‘I would, but I have a dozen people to interview today and it’s already noon.’

  Yoshe bowed and went back in the kitchen.

  I opened the steel door for him and he stepped through. ‘I don’t think I’ll be bothering you again, Yukio. But let me ask you one last question: did you like Kako?’

  ‘No,’ I said.

  He looked satisfied. ‘No, nobody did.’ He put on his jacket and looked down the street. ‘What about Louise Tanaka?’

  ‘I never knew her,’ I said. ‘Is this to do with the—’

  ‘Sorry, I’m not allowed to discuss an ongoing case. Enjoy th
e rest of your day.’

  I watched him walk away and then I closed the steel door. ‘Where is it?’

  ‘No!’ said the Lump.

  She tried to run but I grabbed her. ‘Where?’

  ‘Not telling!’

  But then I saw the sword hidden in the plants. ‘You dummy!’ I pushed her away and grabbing it I went inside. I made sure Yoshe wasn’t there before running upstairs.

  But she came out of the kitchen. ‘Yukio …?’ She cringed a little, as if she didn’t like to ask. ‘Was that about the twins?’

  I kept the sword hidden. ‘Yes.’

  ‘I’m glad they’re looking into it. There was something not quite right about the whole business.’

  ‘Does Grandmother want to see me?’

  Yoshe looked puzzled. ‘She never said anything.’

  I went to my room and hid the sword in the cupboard. Then I went out on the balcony to make sure the detective had gone. But I saw him peering through the window of the twins’ apartment. I didn’t think he suspected me of the killings. I mean, he’d left after talking to Grandmother. But I didn’t think I’d seen the last of him either.

  I heard the Lump going to her room. I had to think about what to say to her. She was as devious as that detective when she wanted to be. I mean, I knew she knew nothing, but she sensed things, which was even worse. When I looked in her room she was sitting on her bedroll pretending to read, but she wasn’t. Her eyes were fixed on one spot and her facial expression was blank, except that she looked a little upset. I felt bad then. Somehow she’d sensed I was in trouble and tried to help.

  ‘You hungry?’

  The Lump ignored me.

  ‘Listen, a terrible thing happened to the twins. And the people responsible—’

  The Lump gave me the stop sign. ‘Do no harm!’ she said.

  ‘Hey, you’re my cousin! You’re supposed to be on my side!’

  The Lump looked down at her comic and sulked. ‘Do no harm.’

  ‘You dummy. I don’t know why I bother with you!’

  I went back to my room and out on the balcony. I was relieved when I saw the detective walking down the street. He’d given me quite a scare. But there’s no way he was going to stop me from carrying out my duty! And neither was the Lump. She came out in the garden and sat in a chair with her arms folded. She wasn’t speaking to me and she wanted me to know. Then she started mumbling like a real grouch.