A Dog in Water (4 page)

Next, I headed to the local branch of the legal affairs bureau and looked up the corporate registration for the apartment in Yoyogi Uehara. Room 601 belonged to DeBarge, Inc. as expected.

This meant that Katsuya was receiving assistance from his brother Koichi. Perhaps it was normal for an affluent man to take care of his ex-con little brother, but something felt out of place. No matter how much of a degenerate, did it make any sense for Katsuya to violate the lover of a brother to whom he was so utterly indebted? If Koichi found out, he would sever all ties with Katsuya. The possible demerits overwhelmed any merit. I had to wonder about the brothers’ relationship. Did Katsuya have some serious dirt on Koichi? Maybe that was it.

I walked out of the building and crossed the parking lot. My cell phone rang just as I was getting into my car. It was Junko Tajima.

“What’s up?”

“Uh, I’m sorry to bother you. I got a text from him.”

“What does it say?”

“I haven’t opened it. I’m too scared.”

“A wise decision. I’m heading to the office now.”

I was greeted with a very pale Junko when I arrived at the office. I took her cell phone and opened the first text message, “No Subject,” in her inbox. There was a photo attached.

I stopped breathing.

The photo showed Junko, her legs spread wide in a thoroughly degrading position. It wasn’t sexy or erotic. It was nothing more than an ugly shot of a crime scene.

Don’t fuck with me or I’ll send my brother a message like this one. Call
.

After that was listed a landline phone number. I copied it into my pocketbook.

“What did it say?” A strained expression.

“It’s nonsense, just some threat.”

“Please show me.” She reached for the phone in my hand.

“There’s no need for you to see it.”

I searched through the submenu to delete the message. Figuring out someone else’s cell phone was difficult. Junko snatched the phone away.

“Stop!” I shouted without meaning to. I tried to take the phone back but she clutched it to her chest and drew back, staring at my face.

“The look on your face when you saw it wasn’t normal …”

“Please trust my judgment. You should not see it.”

“I’m prepared.”

“There’s a photo attached. Don’t do it.”

She ignored me and looked down at the LCD screen—and screamed.

It took nearly an hour for her to regain her composure. I understood perfectly how badly she wanted to conceal the incident from Koichi. Fear and despair were driving her half insane. I kept repeating the same words.

“Katsuya won’t tell Koichi what he did. It’s nothing more than a threat.” My words were finally starting to reach her. “Katsuya has three previous convictions, each of them an act of violence towards women. In the case of a recidivist like him, there are almost certainly more victims who forwent reporting anything to the police. You could say it’s how he keeps food on the table.”

Junko raised her head just slightly and looked at me.

“He plans to threaten you, to bind you and to subjugate you completely so he can siphon the money you earn. He’ll steal everything you own, max out as many consumer loans as possible, force you into personal bankruptcy, then throw you into a soapland brothel. Once he’s wrung out every last penny he can get from you, he’ll move on to his next target. My conjecture is that his three convictions are those instances where he failed to get to the money-siphoning stage with his victims.”

Junko listened with a blank expression.

“He knows that you’re scared to death, no, scared beyond death that Koichi will find out about what happened. He thinks that’s the most effective tool for him to use in his threats, that it’s a piece of cake to get you to do anything he says.”

A shadow of despair passed over her face.

“And if you defy him? Will he tell Koichi what he did? I don’t think so.” I was desperate to give her even a momentary peace of mind. “If he does, you’ll have nothing to fear. He should be fully aware that there’s a good chance he’ll be arrested and end up in prison. Plus, his brother will cut all ties with him and refuse to give him any further assistance. Do you really think he’d be so foolish?”

“I wonder …” Junko looked as though she was allowing herself to feel the faintest of hopes.

“If Katsuya either truly loved you or had a deep-seated hatred for you, then your only options would be to report the incident to the police or run away. But that’s not the case. He is a pro, after a fashion. No professional would do anything to risk imprisonment unless he thought he could reap a profit.”

“Is it really a good idea for me to stand up to him?”

“You just happened to be the one he targeted this time. He doesn’t care who his victims are, so long as they’re beautiful young women.”

“I’m not that young.”

“You don’t deny that you’re beautiful?”

Junko looked down in embarrassment.

“Katsuya Yamamoto prefers victims who won’t put up a fight. That
means you need to become more trouble than you’re worth, a hassle.” I let a hint of a smile work its way onto my face. “Do you understand?”

Junko gave a small nod. She finally seemed to trust my words. But I wasn’t so sure that I trusted them as much as she did.

I left her at the office and headed outside. It was starting to get dark.

I climbed into my car and typed the phone number from Katsuya’s message into the navigation system. The result showed an address in Shinjuku, near the Wel City Tokyo building. I hit the gas.

The building was small, decrepit and faced a narrow alleyway. All the windows were dark and the shutter was drawn on the first floor entrance, but there was a stairway leading down on the far right. A rusted metal sign with “Bar Smokey” spelled in punched-out letters hung next to the stairs. I figured Katsuya had given a landline phone number in his message because cell reception would be poor in an underground bar.

Loud music assaulted my ears as soon as I opened the door. A band was playing 60’s Motown songs on a stage in the back. The space was small, yet they were nearly at capacity despite the early hour. Perhaps this was an event they were hosting.

I surveyed the audience but didn’t see Katsuya Yamamoto. In fact, apart from the stage lights the place was almost pitch dark, making it difficult to see anyone’s features. I walked over to the bar and called out to the young afro-sporting bartender.

“Is Katsuya Yamamoto here?” I asked in a pointedly rough manner. Afro cupped a hand next to his ear and asked me to repeat myself. I leaned across the counter and shouted, “Where’s Katsuya Yamamoto?”

He eyed me suspiciously. “You a cop?”

“No, just his brother’s go-fer.”

The bartender didn’t look totally convinced as he thrust his chin towards the stage. I didn’t quite grasp his meaning. I turned around and saw that the man playing drums was Katsuya Yamamoto.

Wearing a T-shirt and jeans and swinging his drumsticks, he gave off a totally different impression from the night before. He didn’t even feel like the same person.

The bartender called out to me. I paid him the 2,000-yen cover that earned me a free drink. I ordered a ginger ale, sat on a bar stool at the counter and watched the show. They were playing Junior Walker & the All Stars’ “Shotgun.” I’d heard the song numerous times when I was a kid. I felt nostalgia sneak up and steal my sense of reality, making me feel uneasy like I’d wandered into the wrong place.

The band played a few more songs then ended the show. The performers descended from the stage as the audience applauded. Katsuya wiped away his sweat with a towel as he stepped down. Unlike his bandmates, he spoke to no one and walked straight towards the bar.

“Gimme water!” he shouted to the girl behind the counter. He saw me and stopped in his tracks.

I slowly stood up and waited until he had drained the glass of water the girl handed him before approaching. He stared fixedly at me.

“Let’s take this outside,” I said and walked out without waiting for a reply.

It was already dark outside. I waited for Katsuya under the dim streetlamps that dotted the alleyway. Katsuya ascended the stairs, a cigarette in his mouth, and stood in front of me.

“You a detective?” He eyed me as he lit his cigarette. “Na, no real cop would do something stupid like setting up a car accident.” He exhaled a large puff of smoke and glared at me from head to toe. “But you don’t look like a gangster, either. Wait, you a private eye?” He nodded several times to himself as if he’d finally put the pieces together. “So you set up last night’s accident just to get a look at my license. You moron. Why go through all the trouble when I woulda shown you my license if you’d just asked?” His bulging muscles showed clearly through his T-shirt. He had the physique of a competitive swimmer. “So why’re you here? Did Junko ask you? Did she ask you to beat me up?”

“I just couldn’t stop thinking about what you said last night.”

“Huh? What’d I say?”

“ ‘You’d better pray you never cross my path again.’ ”

“Yeah? And?”

“I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if I did cross your path again.”

Katsuya instantly narrowed his eyes. “Ho, ain’t you a comedian, pops.”

“I’ve always loved beating the crap out of garbage like you.”

Katsuya stared at me in silence, seeming to weigh my words. “Hmf, I see. So that’s what’s up.” He smirked. “You wanna piss me off and make me get violent so you can call the pigs on me.” He drew closer to me, slowly. “I’ve got priors, so I’ll definitely end up doing time.” He peered into my face. “But is that really what you want? If they take me in, I’ll tell ’em everything, all about what I did to Junko …” He looked like he was thoroughly enjoying himself. “And my brother will find out. Will she be able to survive that?”

“If you do that you’ll only extend your sentence.”

“I don’t give a fuck. If I wasn’t prepared for that I’d never be able to force women to keep me fed.” He was brimming with confidence. He was so sure he could best both Junko and me. “I don’t make empty threats. If I say I’ll do something, I’ll do it. All three bitches that sent me to prison? I sent them all to hell.”

This man wasn’t human. He was some other kind of creature clad in human skin.

“I’ve risked my ass for my track record. If bitches think I won’t follow through with my threats they won’t become my slaves.” He giggled with enjoyment. “Did you see my message? Huh? Do as I say and I’ll let you fuck Junko, too. How’s that sound, Dick?”

I felt every drop of blood in my body come to a boil. “In that case, my only choice is to kill you.” The words leapt out of my mouth unchecked by my brain.

Suddenly I didn’t think that was such a terrible idea.

“Kill me? You? Ha ha ha!”

As he continued laughing, he flicked his still-burning cigarette at my face. I reflexively tilted my head to avoid it. I knew a kick was coming. Instead of trying to evade it I closed our distance. Though I felt a dull impact in my left thigh, the kick from an unextended leg didn’t have much force behind it. I ignored it and shoulder-checked him.

We were about the same height but I had at least twenty pounds on him. Katsuya flew through the air.

My advantage was short-lived.

I dashed to where he lay on the ground but was a second too late in delivering a kick to his prone stomach. He aimed his right between my legs. He took advantage of my dodging the blow to stand up.

He was as agile as a cat. I threw a right before he could compose himself. He ducked slightly and charged toward my chest. My fist barely grazed his face. He threw a short uppercut. I blocked it with my right arm and grabbed his neck with my left. A punch struck my cheek at point-blank range. I didn’t feel any pain. I swung my right fist down towards his jaw.

It unceremoniously sliced through open air. My lower body dropped like a stone; my brain had been jolted. My body refused to respond, and Katsuya landed a carefully aimed kick on my temple. My mind went blank.

I regained consciousness immediately, but all I could see was asphalt. Somehow I was lying face down on the ground. I felt a blow to the side of my torso, followed by shooting pain. Another blow. And another. I tried to shrink away but my body wouldn’t move. He stomped down hard on my back, and all the air in my lungs was expelled through my mouth. I desperately gasped for oxygen.

I felt Katsuya lean onto my back with all his body weight, causing pain to tear along my side. I could tell that I had a broken rib.

He grabbed the back of my head and pulled upwards. Terror assaulted me as my head was slammed into the pavement. Strobe lights flashed before my eyes. Tremendous pain lanced through my entire body. My skull felt like it was fracturing into tiny pieces. Death stood right beside me. I couldn’t keep my eyes open. It hurt to breathe. Blood poured relentlessly from my completely smashed-in nose.

I heard a metallic noise behind me.

“The right? Or the left?” a voice asked next to my ear. I didn’t understand the question. I felt a pinprick of pain on my cheek. It was the tip of a knife. “Right or left?”

He’s going to slice off an ear
, I thought. A vision of Katsuya, laughing as he held my shorn-off ear, danced in my mind. As I tried to think of some way to escape, I realized that my muscles were entirely depleted of energy.

The knife point skimmed down my cheek. “Which’ll it be? Right or left?”

An eye. He was going to gouge out my eye. Fear came inching back. The tiny bit of pride I still retained held the panic in check, but my voice sounded pathetic. “Whichever you prefer.”

I could hear Katsuya laugh. “Hey, now. Say something like that and I’ll think you don’t want to keep either of ’em!”

Terror raced up my spine. I recalled Katsuya’s words:
If I say I’ll do something, I’ll do it
.

I had a deep-seated terror of having my eyeballs destroyed. I was terrified of a world filled with darkness. I felt like losing my sight would make me the weakest being on the planet. I could feel my heart
threaten to break.

The tip of the knife pricked the skin below my right eye. I felt something warm spread between my thighs.