Ichikawa wasn’t answering his phone. Which by itself wasn’t surprising. If his story was true about being depressed at his mother’s house for the past month, then he probably hadn’t used the phone at all in that time. But Kyoko needed to get in touch with him, and that meant she had one place to go—back to Minato, and Yuki’s childhood home.
Ayano Kuroki had given them some good information to go on. Yuki denied having any knowledge of the drugs, but who knew how reliable he was. She never got to finish her questioning on that subject and she was determined to get it out of the way now.
She pushed the button for the doorbell. A few moments later, the door opened and once more, Kyoko looked into the eyes of Yuki’s mother.
And judging from the look Mrs. Ichikawa wore on her face, she hadn’t forgotten Kyoko.
“What do you want?” she bellowed.
“I just want to talk to your son.”
“Too bad! Last time you ‘talked’ to him, you chased him all over the neighborhood, got him caught by security!” Mrs. Ichikawa’s nostrils flared as she spoke in Japanese with a heavy Kansai accent. “He had to be ‘escorted’ here by them, as if he’s some kinda criminal!”
“That wasn’t my intention. All I wanted to do from the start was talk to him. And that’s all I want to do now.”
Mrs. Ichikawa folded her arms over her chest. “You get the hell outta here or I’m callin’ the cops, okay?”
“If that’s what you feel is best, then you can call the police,” said Kyoko. “But that means they’re going to ask me why I came here today, and I’ll have to give them an answer.”
“You mean tell them you’re harassing my son?”
“No, I mean tell them about how your son was just implicated in drugs.”
Mrs. Ichikawa’s lips curled into a snarl. “My Yuki would never—”
“A drug dealer was spotted breaking into your son’s apartment. An acquaintance of Akane Suzuki just informed me that Yuki supplied her with amphetamines.”
Kyoko maintained a stern expression on her face. Those were stretching the truth just a bit—she didn’t have any proof that the man she saw at Yuki’s place was after drugs, and Ayano only admitted it was possible that Akane got her drugs from him.
But Mrs. Ichikawa didn’t need to know any of that.
“This is only circumstantial evidence at the moment, ma’am. But it would be enough for the police to hold your son for questioning. And the police are very concerned with drug-related crimes.” Kyoko took a step forward, now mere inches away from Mrs. Ichikawa. “Do you know what interrogation is like?”
The older woman’s face softened a bit, but she wouldn’t back down. Tough broad, Kyoko had to give her that. Under different circumstances, she might even admire Mrs. Ichikawa. But at the moment, she was just standing in the way.
“The police are legally allowed to detain and question you for forty-eight hours. That’s before you’re allowed to speak to a lawyer. Many people break during this questioning. False confessions have even been elicited. In fact, human rights organizations have condemned the harsh conditions of police interrogations here.” Kyoko stared hard into the woman’s eyes. “Do you really want to subject your son to all that? Or would you rather I take a few minutes and have a friendly chat with him right here and now?”
Mrs. Ichikawa was clearly struggling with the decision. It was obvious she didn’t trust Kyoko at all. But what Kyoko told her about the police’s questioning procedure looked like it had shaken her. After another moment, she stepped aside and called for Yuki.
“Thank you.” Kyoko entered the genkan and removed her shoes. She stepped up onto the main floor of the kitchen. Through the sliding shoji doors across from the front entrance, Yuki emerged. He stopped once he laid eyes on Kyoko and started to back away.
“Don’t run from me again, kid,” said Kyoko. “I’m not in the mood to chase you down.”
“Please, just talk to her so this can all be over and we can put all this behind us.”
Yuki stared at his mother, as if hoping she would give him some way to escape this. Kyoko stepped into his line of sight, blocking his mother from view. “Yuki, please. Just five minutes.”
He grunted and went to the table in the center of the dining area. Pulling out a chair, Yuki plopped down into it. Kyoko sat across from him and looked up at the mother.
“Mrs. Ichikawa, if you don’t mind I’d like to speak to Yuki alone.”
She looked to her son and he gave a nod. “I’ve got some laundry to take in anyway.” The mother excused herself, walking past the table and into the room Yuki emerged from earlier, shutting the doors behind her.
“Do you know a man named Iso?” she asked.
He arched a brow, staring at her like she was insane. “Who?”
“Akane had a stalker. Named Iso.”
“What?”
“He’s the one who informed Star Rise about your relationship. Got her fired.”
Yuki’s mouth hung open. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Akane never told you about him?”
“Akane didn’t have a stalker,” said Yuki.
“I’ve heard different.”
Yuki shook his head. “What the hell is going on here, lady? First, you accuse me of killing my girlfriend. Then you say I gave her drugs. Now you’re telling me about some stalker she had? I mean, what the hell’s next? Where are you getting your information?”
“How did Star Rise find out that Akane was breaking her contract in order to see you?”
“I dunno. I asked, but she never told me.”
“Is it possible she didn’t tell you because she didn’t want you to worry about a stalker?”
“No!” Yuki shook his head. “Look, all she said was…she said she wasn’t sure. But she thought it might’ve been someone from the agency who let it slip.”
“And what about the man at your place?”
“I don’t know anything about that,” said Yuki.
“I’ve got some friends on the street, Yuki. Friends who have a good memory for faces. And I’ve showed them your face.” Kyoko narrowed her eyes at him. “If you’re lying to me about this, I’ll know.”
Yuki leaned over the table. “I swear, I have no goddamn idea what you’re talking about!”
Kyoko sat back in the chair and studied him. If he was lying, he was a damn-good actor. But why would a drug dealer have reason to check out Yuki’s apartment? And how did he get in unless he’d been given a key?
“Yuki, your apartment, does anyone else have a key for it?”
“No,” he said. “I mean, not anymore.”
“What’s that mean?”
“I gave Akane the spare.”
Kyoko took a deep breath. When she’d looked around Akane’s room, she never saw any key. If she had, she would’ve been sure to take it and could have avoided picking Yuki’s lock. Which meant she gave the key to someone else…or someone took it.
In a strange way, things were starting to make sense. She hadn’t put together all the pieces yet, but Kyoko knew one thing for certain—Yuki Ichikawa did not kill his girlfriend. But he was being set up to take the fall. Whoever killed Akane wanted to make sure there was a suspect that perfectly fit the bill, just in case the police did pursue a homicide investigation.
“Yuki, this is very important,” said Kyoko. “Who might have reason to hurt Akane?”
“I…I don’t know…” Propping his elbows on the table, Yuki covered his face with his hands. Judging from the bloodshot eyes she noticed when she sat down with him, Kyoko was positive the man hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in…well, probably since this all started.
“Think,” said Kyoko. “Did Akane have any enemies? Anyone who would’ve wanted to see her dead?”
“You know what she did for…for money…” A sniffle came from behind Yuki’s hands. “No telling who she might have pissed off.”
“That’s a possibility, and one I’ll look into,” said Kyoko. “You said Akane suspected that someone at Star Rise leaked your relationship to the media. Did she ever say who?”
“No. I asked, but she said no.”
“How did Akane like working at Star Rise?”
Yuki scoffed and removed his hands from his face. His eyes were even redder than before, if that were possible. “She hated it, of course.”
“Why?”
“Their schedules were insane. And they’d never be told what the schedules were until the last possible moment. Sometimes, they’d only inform them the night before.” Yuki clicked his tongue. “All a way to control them.”
“Makes it harder for them to violate the terms of the contract,” said Kyoko. “Difficult to plan a date with a potential secret boyfriend if you don’t even know what your schedule will be.”
Yuki nodded. “So she started looking around. Had me doing it, too.”
“Looking around for what?”
“Other agencies. Ones that might treat her better,” said Yuki.
Kyoko recalled something the Suzukis told her when they first came to her office, and the card on Akane’s wall. At the time, she disregarded both. But now, it seemed like they might prove extremely relevant. “I was told that in the weeks before her death, Akane was excited about the possibility of starting up her career once again. Something about a solo act.”
Yuki blinked. “I-I mean…she always talked about it. Said she was meeting with some people. But it was kind of an uphill battle.”
“Is it possible she’d managed to find someone willing to represent her?”
He shrugged. “I really don’t know, but I guess it is.”
Kyoko imagined that wouldn’t make Jo Miyashita too happy. And a man with his connections could prove to be very dangerous.
At that moment, the doorbell rang. Yuki sighed and looked towards the room his mother had gone into earlier, then stood. “Just a second.”
He walked to the front door and stepped down to the genkan. Without even checking, Yuki opened the door. Kyoko rose from the table and crossed over to the genkan as well, standing behind him. Peering over his shoulder, Kyoko could see two men in police uniforms standing at the door. And in front of them, a thirty-something man in a dark suit with handsome features.
“Arima?” asked Kyoko.
Ryusuke Arima gave her a quick glare, but focused his attention on the kid. “Yuki Ichikawa?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
Arima stepped into the genkan, which forced Yuki to take a step back. Kyoko never stopped staring at him. “What the hell’s this about?”
“Yuki Ichikawa, you are under arrest for the murder of Akane Suzuki,” said Arima, continuing to ignore Kyoko.
“What? But I didn’t—”
“This is ridiculous, Arima,” said Kyoko. “What’s going on here?”
Arima gestured and the officers stepped in, flanking Ichikawa. “Don’t make any trouble, kid. Just come along quietly.”
Yuki glanced in Kyoko’s direction. She closed her eyes and nodded. Yuki relented and allowed the officers to escort him out. Arima remained in the genkan for a few moments, staring at Kyoko with a grin on his face.
“So now it’s a murder?” asked Kyoko. “Thought you were dead-set on it being a suicide.”
“Just doin’ my job, Nakamura,” said Arima. “Just doin’ my job.”
He turned to the door and walked out. Kyoko remained standing alone in the genkan, just staring out the open door and watching the police car take Yuki Ichikawa off to a holding cell.