“But two dead bodies are surely enough. Fear not. Now that I have arrived, not a single one of you here will be joining the ranks of cold corpses. And why, you ask? Because I have already worked out who the murderer is!”
There was quite a commotion in the room. Even I, standing up there with Kiyoshi, was taken by surprise. Needless to say, the detectives too. But they kept silent.
“Who is it, then?” called Sasaki from the audience.
“Well, it goes without saying, doesn’t it?”
Everyone present held their breath.
“The one known as Golem!”
There were snorts and snickers around the audience as they realized it was a joke, but no one looked quite as relieved as the three detectives.
“After partaking of a cup of hot tea to warm myself up after trudging here through the snow, I hope to climb the stairs and make his acquaintance.”
At this point the police officers frowned.
“But there’s no need to hurry. I don’t imagine he’s going to try to escape.”
Well, that’s true, I overheard Togai saying to Eiko. Other people were murmuring things like, What the hell’s this? A comedy duo?
“Everyone here is connected to this fascinating case. I think you’ve already been grilled for any knowledge or information. But if any of you believes that the doll just sits there all year round in Room 3 like a wooden dummy, then I think you’d better get yourself a new pair of glasses. That’s no mere lump of wood. He’s a two-hundred-year-old European. He’s passed through two hundred years of history and is now resident in this very house. You should all feel very honoured and privileged. A two-hundred-year-old Czech. He’s a miracle. He braves blizzards to dance in the sky, peers in through glass windows, drives knives into people’s hearts, right under our very noses as easily as we reach for our teacups now. By the Jewish mystical tradition of Kabbalah, he has awoken from a thousand years of slumber and has been gifted with life in order to perform in this one act. This play in which he has been cast in the leading role.
“The brilliance of the dancing doll. Only on a stormy night does he arise from his dark throne, his puppet strings gleaming white against the jet-black sky, and dance the dance of a thousand years ago. The dance of the dead. What a vivid moment! That first dead body, he was bewitched too, dancing on a string like a marionette.
“History repeats itself. Things are the same as they were a thousand years ago. Time is stuck like a broken-down bus. Without doubt, that moment he was waiting for was over in the blink of an eye.
“Progress is an illusion. We just started running faster. This morning I was in Ginza, and now I’m shivering here at the northern tip of Japan. But can we use this extra time freely? No, we most certainly cannot.”
Kiyoshi seemed intoxicated by his own words, but eventually the snorts of derision from the audience began to turn into full-on laughter. The detectives, for their part, were itching to put an end to this ludicrous performance.
“Do machines really make life easier? I think we know the truth of that. By comparison, the false advertising of the real estate agent—three minutes from the station, thirty minutes from the city centre, an ideal location with lots of green space—is far more trustworthy. We should never feel a sense of superiority towards our creations. We get machines to do our everyday chores; it also becomes possible to reach Hokkaido from Tokyo in just one hour. I can be asked one morning to come up to Hokkaido the same night even though I had other work to do. It used to take three days to get to Hokkaido but these days I have become much busier. There’s no time any more even to read a book. What a swindle! Before long policemen are going to be able to purchase their criminals from vending machines. But at the same time, those criminals will be able to drop in their own coins and buy themselves a corpse—”
“Mr Mitarai?”
The spiel was finally interrupted by Ushikoshi.
“I think that’s enough for preliminary greetings. If you’ve nothing more specific to say, it seems the tea is ready.”
“Ah, is it? Then I must introduce my companion here. This is my friend, Kazumi Ishioka.”
Just the simplest of introductions for me.
SCENE 2
The Tengu Room
After tea the indefatigable Kiyoshi Mitarai asked, “So where’s Golem?”
“Do you intend to arrest him?” asked Ushikoshi.
“No, there’s no need for that this evening,” replied Kiyoshi, in complete earnest. “I just want to examine whether or not he’s the homicidal maniac that I imagine.”
“Do you really?” said Okuma, who seemed to be very impressed.
“Then please allow me to show you the way,” said Kozaburo Hamamoto, getting to his feet.
When Kozaburo opened the door to the Tengu Room, we were greeted by the giant clown. This particular doll was mounted on a stand, so there was no way it could move.
“Whoa! This is the clown from Sleuth!” said Kiyoshi as soon as he saw it.
“Oh, you’ve seen that film?” said Kozaburo, clearly delighted.
“Three times. I think the critics were right about it being a B-movie, but I liked it.”
“It’s one of my favourites. I saw the play in England too. I think it’s well done. That’s partly where my interest in collecting all this junk came from. It was so colourful, and the music of Cole Porter was a perfect match. I’m so glad to know you’re familiar with that film.”
“Does this clown laugh and clap its hands like the one in the film?”
“Unfortunately, to borrow your words, it’s just a wooden dummy. I searched all over Europe, but I couldn’t find one like that. I think it must have been constructed especially for the film. Or perhaps it was just a trick of the camera.”
“That’s a pity… So, where is he?”
Without waiting for a reply, Kiyoshi dashed off farther into the room. Kozaburo set off after him and pointed to the corner.
“There he is… Oh, he… Well, that’s shocking.”
Kiyoshi’s loud voice surprised everyone. (Most of the people from the salon had followed us up to Room 3.)
“That’s no good at all. No you can’t do that. He’s naked. That can’t be permitted, Mr Hamamoto!”
Kiyoshi was getting quite worked up.
“Why’s that?”
“This doll is the very embodiment of warped hatred. And it’s had two hundred years to accumulate. But no—it’s more. He’s the very incarnation of all the grudges held by the Jewish people as they’ve suffered persecution after persecution. To display him naked like this is an insult, humiliation. You can’t do this. It’s extremely dangerous. This is the cause of every tragedy that has ever occurred in this house. You have to do something. Mr Hamamoto, I can hardly believe that a man of your knowledge can have overlooked something like this!”
“B-but what can I do?”
Mr Hamamoto looked at a complete loss.
“Obviously, you have to put clothes on him. Kazumi! What about those jeans and that jacket you were saying you hardly ever wear any more? Go and fetch them!”
“Kiyoshi!”
I’d had enough of this bad joke, and was desperate to make him stop.
“I know you’ve got an old sweater in your bag too. Bring that too.”
I wanted to try and warn him to stop, and opened my mouth to say something, but he urged me again to hurry. Reluctantly, I made my way back to the salon.