‘Let’s go home,’ Eriko called out, but Yukiho gave a little scream and stepped away from the door, clapping her hand to her mouth.
‘What?’ Eriko asked, her voice shaking.
‘Somebody’s inside,’ Yukiho said. ‘I think they might be dead.’
It was Miyako Fujimura. Her arms and legs had been tied and her mouth was gagged, but she wasn’t dead. She was unconscious when help arrived, but came to soon afterwards.
After discovering her, the two girls had run back to the main road and, convinced they’d seen a body, called the police. Then they waited by the phone booth, holding hands and trembling.
Miyako was naked from the waist up. Everything from the waist down had been taken off except for her skirt. The rest of her clothes were scattered on the ground nearby along with a black plastic bag. The first responders carried her into the waiting ambulance, but the girl said nothing. Even when she saw Eriko and Yukiho she didn’t react and her eyes were vacant.
Eriko and Yukiho were taken to the nearby police station where they were asked some simple questions. It was their first time in a police car – an event that would have been cause for excitement under any other circumstances. But after what they had witnessed they were just happy to be safe.
The man asking them questions was a middle-aged detective, with white hair parted in the middle. He looked like the kind of man you might see behind the counter at a sushi bar, but the way he talked, and even the way he sat in his chair, were completely different. He seemed as if he was doing his best to be gentle with them, but the sharp look in his eyes made Eriko shrink in her seat.
The detective wanted to know everything that had led up to their discovery of Miyako and whether they knew anything about what had happened to her. Eriko and Yukiho told the policeman everything they could remember, frequently exchanging glances while they talked to make sure they got it all right. The detective just nodded and listened to them, but when he asked whether they knew anything about what had happened, Eriko and Yukiho had nothing to say.
‘Have you ever seen anyone unusual on your way home from school?’ a female officer sitting next to the detective asked. ‘Maybe someone who might have looked like he was waiting for somebody? Have you ever heard stories about anything like that from your friends?’
‘No, nothing,’ Eriko said.
‘Except,’ Yukiho said, ‘there’s been people looking inside the school, and taking pictures of us on our way home.’ She looked at Eriko. ‘Remember?’
Eriko nodded.
‘Was it always the same person?’ the detective asked.
‘No, there were a few of them. I don’t know if all of them were taking pictures, though,’ Yukiho said. ‘But I think they’re all from the same school.’
‘Wait, these are students you’re talking about?’ The female officer’s eyes widened.
‘I think they’re from Ōe Middle School,’ Yukiho said. She sounded so sure of it, Eriko was surprised.
‘Ōe? How could you tell?’ the female officer asked.
‘I used to live there. I’m pretty sure those uniforms are from the middle school.’
The female officer exchanged glances with the detective.
‘Do you remember anything else?’ the detective asked.
‘Well, I know the name of the one who took my picture the other day. He had his name tag on his shirt.’
The detective’s eyes narrowed like an animal closing in on its prey. ‘What was the name?’
‘Akiyoshi, I’m pretty sure. Written with the characters for autumn and good luck.’
This all struck Eriko as extremely odd. Judging from her attitude the other day, she’d thought Yukiho was completely ignoring them. Yet she had been paying enough attention to even catch the boy’s name. Eriko didn’t remember seeing anything like that at all.
‘Akiyoshi… Right,’ the detective said, writing the name down. He whispered something in the female officer’s ear. She stood and walked out of the room.
‘There’s one last thing I want you to take a look at before we let you go.’ The detective brought out a plastic bag and put it on the table. ‘We found this in the warehouse. I wonder if either of you have seen it before?’
The bag contained a small figurine that looked like part of a key chain, except the chain was broken off halfway.
‘No, sorry. I’ve never seen that,’ Eriko said.
Yukiho’s answer was the same.
‘Hey, your key chain’s broken.’
It was lunch hour and they were at the store to buy some snacks. Yuichi was standing in line behind Kikuchi when Kikuchi pulled out his wallet. He used to have a keychain attached to it with a little figurine at the end, but now there was just a short piece of chain. The figurine was gone.
‘Yeah. I just noticed last night.’ Kikuchi made a sour face. ‘Sucks. You wouldn’t think the chain’d break that easy.’
Yuichi almost said that it was because it was cheap but swallowed his words. ‘Cheap’ was a forbidden word when he was talking with Kikuchi.
‘Speaking of yesterday,’ Kikuchi said, lowering his voice, ‘I saw Rocky!’
‘Hey, cool,’ Yuichi said, even though he was thinking: I thought you said the tickets were too expensive.
‘We got free tickets,’ Kikuchi added, as though he had read Yuichi’s mind. ‘Some customer gave them to my mom.’
‘You lucked out.’ Kikuchi’s mom worked at a market near the school.
‘Anyway, when we checked the tickets, we found out that they were only good until yesterday. Guess that’s why they gave ’em to my mom in the first place. Man, we only just made the last show.’
‘So, how was it?’
‘It was great!’
For a while they just talked excitedly, trading notes on the movie.
They were just getting back to class when one of Yuichi’s classmates told him that their homeroom teacher had been looking for him. Their teacher taught science and everyone called him Bear.
Yuichi found Bear waiting for him, a serious look on his face.
‘Some detectives from Tennoji are here. They want to talk to you.’
Yuichi’s mouth gaped. ‘With me? About what?’
‘They say you were taking pictures at the Seika Girls Middle School?’ Bear glared at Yuichi with dark eyes.
‘I – no, uh —’ Yuichi stammered. He might as well have confessed on the spot.
‘I don’t believe it,’ Bear said, scowling as he stood. ‘What will you idiots think of next? You’re an embarrassment to the whole school.’ He walked out of the room, motioning with his jaw for Yuichi to follow.
Three men were waiting for them in the school office. One of them was the guidance counsellor. He was glared at Yuichi through thick glasses.
Yuichi had never seen the other two men before. One was middle-aged and the other was a little younger. They were both wearing plain dark suits. These must be the detectives, Yuichi thought.
Bear introduced Yuichi to the detectives, who were looking him over from head to toe.
‘So you’re the one they say has been taking pictures of the students by the Seika Girls Middle School?’ the middle-aged detective said. His voice was calm, but there was a growl beneath the surface that was more frightening than anything Yuichi had ever heard from any teacher. Yuichi shrank in his seat, wanting to disappear.
‘I, er—’ He tried to talk, but his tongue felt like it was tied in knots.
‘One of the girls saw your name tag,’ the detective said, pointing at Yuichi’s shirt. ‘It’s a pretty unusual name. Guess that’s why she remembered it.’
No way, Yuichi thought.