After leaving the Softbank shop, Kyoko and Saori decided to stop at a sushi restaurant for lunch. They’d tried to call Nobu to see if he wanted to join them, but he said he was busy looking into some things and he might be down later.
The two sat in a booth at a kaiten-sushi restaurant, where orders were placed on a small tablet computer and the sushi was delivered via conveyor belt separating the rows of booths. Random pieces were also placed on the conveyor belt by the chefs, so customers could grab something that passed by if it caught their fancy.
With the plastic chopsticks provided by the restaurant, Kyoko picked up one of the two maguro nigiri on her plate and dipped it into a small dish of soy sauce. From a small bowl, Saori put powdered green tea into a cup, then filled it from the hot water dispenser attached to the table.
“Teppei seems like a good kid,” said Kyoko before she ate the maguro piece.
“Yeah, he is.” Saori took a plate of maki rolls from the conveyor belt.
“Nobu said you met at a gokon?”
She nodded as she chewed one of the rolls. Once swallowing, Saori gave a more full response. “It’s not really my thing. But my roommate and some of our friends, they were pretty keen on it. So I thought, why not? Teppei was one of the guys there and we started talking. Exchanged numbers afterwards.”
“But no interest?”
“He’s nice. And he’s cute, smart… But I’m not really into the whole…coupling thing, y’know?”
Kyoko filled her cup with green tea and gave a nod before taking a drink. “I feel the same way.”
Saori finished off the maki rolls and moved the plate to the side. For her next course, she chose a dish with two ebi nigiri on it. “I was telling Nobu I don’t really know a whole lot about his background. And it occurs to me now that I don’t really know a lot about yours, either.”
“I was a cop, you know that.” Kyoko finished off the second maguro and slid the dish to the side. She watched the conveyor belt, trying to decide what to eat next.
“Yeah, I know. But why’d you quit?”
Kyoko hesitated. A plate of salmon nigiri grabbed her eye, so she took it from the conveyor belt. While she avoided Saori’s gaze, she could still feel the girl’s eyes on her as she dipped the first of the nigiri into the soy sauce.
“It’s not important.” Kyoko put the nigiri into her mouth and started chewing.
“It’s a little strange, isn’t it? I mean, I hear cops have pretty good benefits. To give all that up and go into business for yourself, it’s—”
“Crazy?”
Kyoko’s tone was more clipped than she’d intended. Saori flinched at the response, so it was clear she felt the same. Part of Kyoko told her she should apologize, but she didn’t say anything. And Saori continued on with her original statement.
“Actually, I was going to say it’s brave.”
The detective arched a brow and then chuckled with embarrassment. “I’m sorry. Just kind of a force of habit. I’m used to getting criticism about that decision.”
“No, I think it’s pretty cool. Seriously. But it does make me wonder why you did it.”
The chopsticks picked up the second salmon nigiri and dipped it into the sauce. Saori’s gaze lingered on her, but Kyoko concentrated on eating. The girl had come to work for her fairly recently and it really wasn’t any of her business why Kyoko left the police force.
On the other hand, Kyoko had grown fond of the young law student. Part of her wanted to confide in Saori. The hesitation still forced her to be reserved with her words.
“Someone…a woman…got hurt.”
“Hurt how?”
Kyoko sighed and picked up her green tea, drinking down the last of it. She refilled the cup with the powder and then used the hot water dispenser. Looking up while she sipped the tea, Kyoko saw Saori’s questioning eyes searching her boss’ face.
“Was it something you did?” she asked.
Normally, Kyoko only sipped the tea. Today, she drank it all in one gulp, then placed the cup back on the table. Filling it for a third time, she wished it was whiskey instead of tea.
“It was something I didn’t do…something I couldn’t do…” Kyoko sighed, staring into the tea’s cloudy surface. “I realized for the first time just how unequal the laws really are. And I just couldn’t justify it anymore.”
She took another sip, then looked up at Saori.
“What I do now…it may be seen as suspect by society. And in some small way, I’m helping people. This case is something different. Nothing I do will ever bring back Akane Suzuki. But if she was involved with something that got her killed, then I want to know why.”
“Yo.”
Saori and Kyoko both looked up and saw Nobu standing at the foot of the table. He slid into the booth beside Saori. Kyoko was grateful he was here—not the least of which meant she could change the subject.
“Did you find anything out?”
Nobu reached across Saori and took a plate of ika nigiri. He took one of the small dishes and filled it with soy sauce, then grabbed a pair of chopsticks from the box at the end of the table. “I looked up Fukui. Seems he used to live in Nagasaki.” Nobu picked up the nigiri and drenched it in sauce before eating. Once he swallowed, he let out a satisfied sigh. “Damn, that’s good…”
“Nobu, about Fukui?” asked Kyoko, her impatience growing.
“Sorry.” He cleared his throat while he rolled the second piece in the sauce. “I did some digging. Seems a few years back, he was accused of stalking a girl in Nagasaki. Got a verbal warning and that didn’t do it, so then they gave him a warning in writing. Maybe it scared him enough to send him packing, because there were no further complaints. He moved to Osaka not long after. Looks like the building he manages is actually owned by his uncle, which explains how he got the job.”
It was difficult for Kyoko to focus on Nobu’s full explanation. As soon as he mentioned that Fukui was a stalker, her blood began to boil. Things started to make sense now. She had a bad feeling about Fukui from the moment she laid eyes on him. Now, to discover he’d been guilty of stalking in the past, it didn’t seem like much of a leap to believe he would have been harassing Akane in the same manner.
“Son of a bitch…” she grumbled, sliding towards the end of the both.
Nobu rose after her. “Whoa, where are you going?”
“I’m going to go back to the building and get some answers out of Fukui.”
“Hold up, boss. You sure that’s a smart idea?” asked Nobu. “You seem pretty fired up right now, this may not be the best move.”
Kyoko didn’t want to waste time on a debate with her subordinates. “Tsuji, you work for me, okay? I’m going to talk to that man and figure out just what the hell kind of relationship he had with Akane. Now you can either sit here and question my decisions, or you can do your damn job and give me a hand.”
Nobu stared right back at her. He tried to hide it, but Kyoko could tell he was upset. “Fine. What do you want me to do?”
“Fukui’s photo, show it to that Ai girl. See if she’s ever seen him in the club. Find out if he was one of Akane’s customers.” Kyoko took out a wallet and threw three thousand-yen bills on the table, then looked at Saori. “That should cover lunch. Saori, since you’re waiting on Teppei’s call, I want you to look into Star Rise in the meantime. Find out everything you can about them.”
She turned from the table and walked to the exit of the sushi restaurant. Kyoko had a feeling that Saori and Nobu were now talking about her as they finished lunch and she didn’t really care. What she did care about was the thought of another stalker whose obsession pushed him too far. And the thought that he might be able to walk free.
No, that wasn’t going to happen. Not this time.