Warning Tags: Chapter 6 (Part II)
Part 1 this way...
Massu studied the broken watch in his hand, wondering how Shige had managed to break the face of the watch. Some sort of serious scuffle? He mused, quite certain that the salesman had insisted to Shige’s parents that the face of the watch was made with some sort of hardened crystal that made it virtually impossible to break. 23:24, Massu noted from the time that the watch was now stuck at. The thought of Shige wrestling it out with his laptop near midnight brought a smile to Massu’s face.
“Kato, where-” Massu spun around, dropping the watch back on the desk where he’d found it. The visitor’s frown disappeared in the blink of an eye, replaced with a smile. “I’m sorry, I thought Kato was here.”
“His secretary said he had something to follow up but should be back soon?” Massu offered. The man looked familiar, even to someone like Massu who preferred to avoid watching the news. This was the infamous Prosecutor, Kimura Takuya (and Shige’s boss). “I-uh, I’m Masuda Takahisa. One of Sh-Kato’s friends.” He offered.
Kimura offered what might have been his “charm the constituents” smile. “Of course! Kato mentioned you once. The…” he trailed off, as if searching his memory for the answer.
“I’m with the Rescue Services of the Fire Department,” Massu offered.
“That’s right. You have one hell of a job. Kato doesn’t show it, but he’s really proud to have you as a friend.”
“I apologise for visit-”
“Nonsense, Kato’s welcome to have his friends over. I am always glad when he is able to be of help to his friends.” Kimura insisted. “Is there anything I may be able to help you with?”
“Well…” Massu began, cut off when the door to the office slammed open to reveal a very pissed off Shige.
“Sir.”
Kimura nodded in acknowledgement. “Kato, just the person I was looking for. Has the Kuroki case been handled?”
“I foresee no further problems there,” Shige replied, glaring at Massu. “I apologise for my friend’s intrusion. I will see him out at once.”
Kimura waved dismissively, “that’s not necessary. Masuda needs your help anyway. Be a friend.” He turned back to Massu and smiled, “it was pleasant to finally meet you. Please do come back again to visit when you have the time.”
Shige waited until the prosecutor had left his office before turning back to Massu. “This had better be important, Massu.” He warned.
“Look, is this about your watch?” It was the only reason Massu could think up of as to why Shige was in such a bad mood.
Shige’s face darkened. “My watch?” He repeated, crossing the room, snatching the watch off his desk and throwing it into the top drawer of his desk. “Never mind my watch, Massu - why are you here?”
This was going to end badly. Massu just knew it. Very badly. But perhaps if he could appeal to Shige’s compassion… He cleared his throat, “it is - something may have happened to Yuya.”
If Shige had looked annoyed before, it only became ten times more apparent (if that was possible) as he tore his glasses off, squeezing the bridge of his nose in frustration, “we’ve been through this, Massu-”
“I’m serious, Shige. After you left, I’ve been trying to get hold of Yuya all morning. His phone goes straight to voicemail and I’ve been by his apartment and work - nobody has seen him. His neighbour says he hasn’t been home for two evenings.”
“That’s because he crashed at my place two nights ago,” Shige explained testily. “One night’s absence is hardly cause for you to cry Chicken Little, even if your job is to rescue people from burning trucks and the like.”
“I knew you would say that. That’s why I snuck a snapshot of Yuya’s appointment book from work while the receptionist wasn’t looking.” Massu began, pulling his phone out to show Shige.
Shige brushed it aside, almost violently, “Damn it, Massu! I’m the assistant prosecutor - the last thing I need is a friend admitting to me in my office that he stole information from the police of all people.”
Massu refused to be deterred. “Just look at it - the appointment book is full for the day. You and I both know that as self-centred as he is, Yuya at least has the decency to put his patients first. Yet they were waiting this morning, only to be disappointed by his not showing up.” He started reading off the appointment entries, “08h00 Ohkura, 08h30 Nishikido, 09h00 Sakurai-”
Shige grabbed the phone out of Massu’s hand at once. “Give me that.” He stared at the screen, frowning as he took the information in. Finally, Shige spoke softly, “I’ll handle it.”
“My point is, Yuya would be thrilled to have this much work to keep him busy. You know how he’s often complained about not being taken seriously. I think we need to report him missing to the-”
Shige gritted his teeth as he shoved the phone back into Massu’s hands, “I said,” he reiterated, “I will handle it. Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Massu echoed, not believing his ears. “By then it could be too late!”
“One. We have no proof that Tegoshi is in any real danger - if anything, he’s probably at risk of catching STDs. Two. Tegoshi’s an adult. There’s a waiting period before we can report an adult missing. Three. Missing person claims can only be filed by an immediate relative, which neither you nor I are. On that same note, aside from the fact that they haven’t been in contact with Tegoshi for months now, his parents are currently on some anniversary trip in Argentina.”
Massu shook his head as he stared back at Shige in disbelief. “I actually forgot that I was speaking with “Black and White” Kato Shigeaki. You left Pi to spend the night in police cells rather than call in a favour to get him released early. I guess I shouldn’t expect you to do any bending for Yuya’s sake either.”
“Yamashita was arrested for drunken driving AND being more than twice over the speed limit in a school area. The police had every right to throw him behind bars for being a danger to children.”
“He was driving at two in the morning - what children?” Massu queried, flipping through his phone in an attempt to find his picture of the schedule again. “Wait, did you just delete my picture?” He demanded.
“I just saved your ass from being hauled behind bars,” Shige responded defensively. “You stole from the police station. As for Yamashita, he’s no longer speeding and drinking. Everyone wins.”
Massu snorted, “Only because his licence was suspended.” He glared at Shige. “I should have known better than to go to you. You’re not going to do anything about Yuya, are you?”
“I don’t make the rules,” Shige responded stiffly. “I have an obligation to the public to be impartial and fair.”
“And what about your obligation to your friends? Actually, you know what?” Massu asked before Shige could rebut. “I’ll look for Yuya myself.”
“Massu, don’t be stu-” Shige didn’t get to finish as Massu stormed out of his office, slamming the door behind him.
Shige waited until Massu’s retreating footsteps could no longer be heard before he picked up his phone. He needed to speak to Sakurai Sho. Fast.
* * *
“The hamburger,” Toma announced as he gazed at the lunch in his hands lovingly, “if eating healthy meant never touching one of these again, I'd rather die now.”
“Let’s be a bit more sensitive, idiot,” Nino hissed, as the three of them gave their Inspector a brief glance. On the other side of the police cafeteria, Ohno Satoshi was looking miserably at the molten mess that was his lunch/protein bar. “Kuroki doesn’t look it, but she often made the Inspector lunch. Since the divorce, Ohno’s been eating mostly instant ramen in a cup for breakfast, lunch and supper.”
“Nothing is ever as they seem, eh?” Toma asked. “I would have thought that you of all people would have failed the fitness test the most.”
Nino looked offended. “This body,” he gestured to himself, “is the textbook definition of healthy.”
“Only if it comes from the Uncyclopedia,” Toma retorted. “To this day, I want to know how you even passed the original fitness test back at police academy.” He took a generous bite of his hamburger and chewed, suddenly remembering something. “Hey, tell Jun what we found out from our date with the Ishitani nurses last night.”
Jun turned back to Nino, eyebrows raised in incredulity. “Hey, don’t look at me like that,” Nino scowled. “I actually worked last night.” He sat back down, grinning triumphantly, “According to the nurses, it seems that Kamenashi’s been acting very snappish of late.”
“He was apparently late for work yesterday too,” Toma added.
“That’s unusual?” Jun queried.
“Highly. Especially considering he borders on neurotic when it comes to getting the finer details down correctly,” Nino explained. “Ishitani is doing his utmost to cover up for Kamenashi.”
“But why stick out for a member of staff?” Jun asked. “Ishitani risks a lot if he’s caught covering up for a crime.”
“The hearsay, and I want to emphasise that this is completely hearsay from a couple of drunk nurses, is that it’s Kamenashi who’s the rising star of the clinic and not the heir to the throne as it were. Kamenashi’s been pulling off all the fancy surgeries while the director’s son plays Russian roulette with his patients one after another.” Nino scanned the room, lowering his voice. “We don’t have proof, but it sounds like the director’s son almost got Sho killed on the operating table that time. Kamenashi was the one who ended up saving the day.”
“So you’re suggesting that Kamenashi might be blackmailing Ishitani into sticking out for him?” Jun summarised, “this is starting to sound a little absurd. Nino, you didn’t think Kamenashi was a suspect in the first place.”
“That was until I met the twerp,” Nino admitted, “at any rate, Sho was at Ishitani yesterday as well, conducting an investigation. How do you know it doesn’t have to do with the cover ups?”
“You can always ask him,” Toma gestured, pointing towards where Ohno was, “he’s speaking with the Inspector right now.”
* * *
Kamenashi Kazuya closed his eyes, forcing himself to swallow another gulp of water. It had been a long day. It hadn’t helped that Detective Matsumoto and his midget partner had paid a visit asking all sorts of questions concerning his whereabouts yesterday.
Endure it.
All he had to do was endure it for just a little longer.
Of course, given his long hours at the clinic, “just a little longer” tended to take on a whole new meaning.
“Kamenashi,” the door opened, letting light from the corridor stream in. Kamenashi blinked, struggling to adjust his eyes to the sudden brightness. It was Director Ishitani’s personal aide. Kamenashi nodded, acknowledging the man. “The director can’t seem to get hold of Ryuichiro. He has authorised for you to take point on the Sanada op.” He nodded once again, forcing himself to his feet and moved towards the door. “And Kamenashi?” He stopped, turning back to the aide. “Be careful of what you say to the cops. It takes very little effort to thoughtlessly give the incorrect impression.”
* * *
The vacant model expression disappeared, replaced by a warm dopey smile and a wave as Massu approached the set. “Massu! What brings you here?”
“Yamashita!” The photographer whined exasperatedly at his top model for interrupting the shoot with his overly friendly greeting. He glared daggers at Massu for breaking his number one model’s concentration (although to be brutally honest, such a feat was not exactly difficult to accomplish). Yamashita Tomohisa looked apologetic, making the photographer sigh and relent to a fifteen-minute break.
Yamashita hurried over to Massu, “what’s up?”
“Have you heard from Yuya?”
Yamashita shook his head, “not since last week, why?”
“He’s missing and Shige, being Shige, refuses to file a request to look for him,” Massu explained.
“Are you sure he’s in danger? This is Tegoshi we’re talking about.”
“I wouldn’t be here wasting your time if I weren’t. He bailed on his appointments with patients today.”
Yamashita frowned, “shit.” If someone as airheaded as Yamashita Tomohisa understood the weight of Tegoshi Yuya skipping on his meetings with patients, how was it that educated Kato Shigeaki couldn’t? Massu wondered furiously. “What are you going to do, Massu?”
“I don’t know. I’ve tried all of Yuya’s usual places. Nobody has seen him and we can’t expect Shige to do anything about it.”
Yamashita looked away. “I’m sure that’s not the case. Shige’s a true friend.”
“True friend?” Massu echoed. “This is just like your drunk driving charges all over again. Shige’s not going to lift a finger to help. He’s just-”
“Shut up.” Massu stopped, unclear over why Yamashita had gotten so defensive. Without another word, Yamashita had grabbed him by his arm, announced to the photographer that he was going to need another ten minutes before yanking Massu with him out the studio.
* * *
To Jun’s disappointment, Sho had disappeared by the time Jun had reached Ohno. “Jun.”
“Inspector.” Jun responded, “sorry about earlier.” He scanned the cafeteria, trying to place Sho. It was as if the man had vanished into the crowd.
Ohno shook his head, “I don’t blame you. I know it was pretty much Nino’s doing.” A pause. “You wanted to discuss something?”
“I actually wanted-” Jun stopped. “I overheard your conversation with Nino earlier - about something that never took place?”
Ohno sighed, “eavesdropping is unbecoming of a detective, Matsumoto.”
“I had no intention of eavesdrop-”
Ohno cut Jun off, “at any rate, it is not something that concerns you nor does it have any bearing on the case you are working on.” Jun tried to speak up, but Ohno ploughed on. “Have you ever read about what Benjamin Franklin said about keeping secrets? ‘Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead’.” Ohno fixed Jun with a steely look. “It is a private matter, Detective Matsumoto. Drop it.”
* * *
Kato scanned up and down the stairs of the deserted stairwell to verify that there would be nobody around to eavesdrop on their conversation while Sho did likewise, giving a brief look out the emergency door to verify that the coast was clear before turning back to the man. “Kato,” Sho acknowledged. “You have something I can assist you with?”
Kato clenched his teeth, as if unwilling to speak. The next few seconds of silence seemed drawn out. “Tegoshi Yuya.”
* * *
Jun dug through his pockets, flipping through the collection of items he’d collected over the past few days.
Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.
So Ohno wasn’t going to give him answers.
But that was completely fine.
“Just like how you are willing to live with deciding what Sakurai should know?”
He knew someone else who seemed privy to that information. He stopped at Kuroki Meisa’s business card, something he’d been given when the reporter had been detained the day before. Taking a deep breath, he punched her number on his mobile phone and waited.
* * *
“Okay, we’re finally alone,” Massu groused, refusing to take another step. “What is so important that you had to drag me outside?”
Yamashita whirled around, scanning the area to look for nosy individuals. Finally satisfied that it was isolated enough, he turned back to Massu. “Do you know that I was facing jail time for my drunk driving?”
“You lost your license.” Massu pointed out.
“Only because Shige intervened by negotiating with his asshole of a boss on my behalf,” Yamashita elaborated. “Being a famous face, the department wanted to make an example out of me. By agreeing to go easier on me, Shige’s now got to do everything Kimura wants, no questions asked.”
“No wonder that advocate said Shige was doing all the work…” Massu turned back to Yamashita. “But why didn’t Shige say anything? We’ve been thinking that he was a selfish prick the whole time.”
“Shige isn’t proud of the fact that we’re his Kryptonite,” Yamashita paused. “He always wants to be seen as the perfect lawyer who never plays favourites by doing the right thing all the time. I’m just afraid that right now, he might just be making another deal with another devil for Tegoshi’s sake.”
* * *
Sho studied Kato before responding slowly. “What about Tegoshi?”
Kato bowed, his head low, “I'm begging you - I need your help to find him.”
* * *
I do apologise for the lengthy time to update and the fact that a minor character has now taken helm of the direction of the story.
Firstly, university has resumed and I had still have many assignments piling up. LJ has been filled with wonderful writing from many writers so that didn't help either as it was more fun reading everyone else's stories than writing my own.
Secondly, I will resume with the main plot next chapter, promise!
Massu studied the broken watch in his hand, wondering how Shige had managed to break the face of the watch. Some sort of serious scuffle? He mused, quite certain that the salesman had insisted to Shige’s parents that the face of the watch was made with some sort of hardened crystal that made it virtually impossible to break. 23:24, Massu noted from the time that the watch was now stuck at. The thought of Shige wrestling it out with his laptop near midnight brought a smile to Massu’s face.
“Kato, where-” Massu spun around, dropping the watch back on the desk where he’d found it. The visitor’s frown disappeared in the blink of an eye, replaced with a smile. “I’m sorry, I thought Kato was here.”
“His secretary said he had something to follow up but should be back soon?” Massu offered. The man looked familiar, even to someone like Massu who preferred to avoid watching the news. This was the infamous Prosecutor, Kimura Takuya (and Shige’s boss). “I-uh, I’m Masuda Takahisa. One of Sh-Kato’s friends.” He offered.
Kimura offered what might have been his “charm the constituents” smile. “Of course! Kato mentioned you once. The…” he trailed off, as if searching his memory for the answer.
“I’m with the Rescue Services of the Fire Department,” Massu offered.
“That’s right. You have one hell of a job. Kato doesn’t show it, but he’s really proud to have you as a friend.”
“I apologise for visit-”
“Nonsense, Kato’s welcome to have his friends over. I am always glad when he is able to be of help to his friends.” Kimura insisted. “Is there anything I may be able to help you with?”
“Well…” Massu began, cut off when the door to the office slammed open to reveal a very pissed off Shige.
“Sir.”
Kimura nodded in acknowledgement. “Kato, just the person I was looking for. Has the Kuroki case been handled?”
“I foresee no further problems there,” Shige replied, glaring at Massu. “I apologise for my friend’s intrusion. I will see him out at once.”
Kimura waved dismissively, “that’s not necessary. Masuda needs your help anyway. Be a friend.” He turned back to Massu and smiled, “it was pleasant to finally meet you. Please do come back again to visit when you have the time.”
Shige waited until the prosecutor had left his office before turning back to Massu. “This had better be important, Massu.” He warned.
“Look, is this about your watch?” It was the only reason Massu could think up of as to why Shige was in such a bad mood.
Shige’s face darkened. “My watch?” He repeated, crossing the room, snatching the watch off his desk and throwing it into the top drawer of his desk. “Never mind my watch, Massu - why are you here?”
This was going to end badly. Massu just knew it. Very badly. But perhaps if he could appeal to Shige’s compassion… He cleared his throat, “it is - something may have happened to Yuya.”
If Shige had looked annoyed before, it only became ten times more apparent (if that was possible) as he tore his glasses off, squeezing the bridge of his nose in frustration, “we’ve been through this, Massu-”
“I’m serious, Shige. After you left, I’ve been trying to get hold of Yuya all morning. His phone goes straight to voicemail and I’ve been by his apartment and work - nobody has seen him. His neighbour says he hasn’t been home for two evenings.”
“That’s because he crashed at my place two nights ago,” Shige explained testily. “One night’s absence is hardly cause for you to cry Chicken Little, even if your job is to rescue people from burning trucks and the like.”
“I knew you would say that. That’s why I snuck a snapshot of Yuya’s appointment book from work while the receptionist wasn’t looking.” Massu began, pulling his phone out to show Shige.
Shige brushed it aside, almost violently, “Damn it, Massu! I’m the assistant prosecutor - the last thing I need is a friend admitting to me in my office that he stole information from the police of all people.”
Massu refused to be deterred. “Just look at it - the appointment book is full for the day. You and I both know that as self-centred as he is, Yuya at least has the decency to put his patients first. Yet they were waiting this morning, only to be disappointed by his not showing up.” He started reading off the appointment entries, “08h00 Ohkura, 08h30 Nishikido, 09h00 Sakurai-”
Shige grabbed the phone out of Massu’s hand at once. “Give me that.” He stared at the screen, frowning as he took the information in. Finally, Shige spoke softly, “I’ll handle it.”
“My point is, Yuya would be thrilled to have this much work to keep him busy. You know how he’s often complained about not being taken seriously. I think we need to report him missing to the-”
Shige gritted his teeth as he shoved the phone back into Massu’s hands, “I said,” he reiterated, “I will handle it. Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Massu echoed, not believing his ears. “By then it could be too late!”
“One. We have no proof that Tegoshi is in any real danger - if anything, he’s probably at risk of catching STDs. Two. Tegoshi’s an adult. There’s a waiting period before we can report an adult missing. Three. Missing person claims can only be filed by an immediate relative, which neither you nor I are. On that same note, aside from the fact that they haven’t been in contact with Tegoshi for months now, his parents are currently on some anniversary trip in Argentina.”
Massu shook his head as he stared back at Shige in disbelief. “I actually forgot that I was speaking with “Black and White” Kato Shigeaki. You left Pi to spend the night in police cells rather than call in a favour to get him released early. I guess I shouldn’t expect you to do any bending for Yuya’s sake either.”
“Yamashita was arrested for drunken driving AND being more than twice over the speed limit in a school area. The police had every right to throw him behind bars for being a danger to children.”
“He was driving at two in the morning - what children?” Massu queried, flipping through his phone in an attempt to find his picture of the schedule again. “Wait, did you just delete my picture?” He demanded.
“I just saved your ass from being hauled behind bars,” Shige responded defensively. “You stole from the police station. As for Yamashita, he’s no longer speeding and drinking. Everyone wins.”
Massu snorted, “Only because his licence was suspended.” He glared at Shige. “I should have known better than to go to you. You’re not going to do anything about Yuya, are you?”
“I don’t make the rules,” Shige responded stiffly. “I have an obligation to the public to be impartial and fair.”
“And what about your obligation to your friends? Actually, you know what?” Massu asked before Shige could rebut. “I’ll look for Yuya myself.”
“Massu, don’t be stu-” Shige didn’t get to finish as Massu stormed out of his office, slamming the door behind him.
Shige waited until Massu’s retreating footsteps could no longer be heard before he picked up his phone. He needed to speak to Sakurai Sho. Fast.
* * *
“The hamburger,” Toma announced as he gazed at the lunch in his hands lovingly, “if eating healthy meant never touching one of these again, I'd rather die now.”
“Let’s be a bit more sensitive, idiot,” Nino hissed, as the three of them gave their Inspector a brief glance. On the other side of the police cafeteria, Ohno Satoshi was looking miserably at the molten mess that was his lunch/protein bar. “Kuroki doesn’t look it, but she often made the Inspector lunch. Since the divorce, Ohno’s been eating mostly instant ramen in a cup for breakfast, lunch and supper.”
“Nothing is ever as they seem, eh?” Toma asked. “I would have thought that you of all people would have failed the fitness test the most.”
Nino looked offended. “This body,” he gestured to himself, “is the textbook definition of healthy.”
“Only if it comes from the Uncyclopedia,” Toma retorted. “To this day, I want to know how you even passed the original fitness test back at police academy.” He took a generous bite of his hamburger and chewed, suddenly remembering something. “Hey, tell Jun what we found out from our date with the Ishitani nurses last night.”
Jun turned back to Nino, eyebrows raised in incredulity. “Hey, don’t look at me like that,” Nino scowled. “I actually worked last night.” He sat back down, grinning triumphantly, “According to the nurses, it seems that Kamenashi’s been acting very snappish of late.”
“He was apparently late for work yesterday too,” Toma added.
“That’s unusual?” Jun queried.
“Highly. Especially considering he borders on neurotic when it comes to getting the finer details down correctly,” Nino explained. “Ishitani is doing his utmost to cover up for Kamenashi.”
“But why stick out for a member of staff?” Jun asked. “Ishitani risks a lot if he’s caught covering up for a crime.”
“The hearsay, and I want to emphasise that this is completely hearsay from a couple of drunk nurses, is that it’s Kamenashi who’s the rising star of the clinic and not the heir to the throne as it were. Kamenashi’s been pulling off all the fancy surgeries while the director’s son plays Russian roulette with his patients one after another.” Nino scanned the room, lowering his voice. “We don’t have proof, but it sounds like the director’s son almost got Sho killed on the operating table that time. Kamenashi was the one who ended up saving the day.”
“So you’re suggesting that Kamenashi might be blackmailing Ishitani into sticking out for him?” Jun summarised, “this is starting to sound a little absurd. Nino, you didn’t think Kamenashi was a suspect in the first place.”
“That was until I met the twerp,” Nino admitted, “at any rate, Sho was at Ishitani yesterday as well, conducting an investigation. How do you know it doesn’t have to do with the cover ups?”
“You can always ask him,” Toma gestured, pointing towards where Ohno was, “he’s speaking with the Inspector right now.”
* * *
Kamenashi Kazuya closed his eyes, forcing himself to swallow another gulp of water. It had been a long day. It hadn’t helped that Detective Matsumoto and his midget partner had paid a visit asking all sorts of questions concerning his whereabouts yesterday.
Endure it.
All he had to do was endure it for just a little longer.
Of course, given his long hours at the clinic, “just a little longer” tended to take on a whole new meaning.
“Kamenashi,” the door opened, letting light from the corridor stream in. Kamenashi blinked, struggling to adjust his eyes to the sudden brightness. It was Director Ishitani’s personal aide. Kamenashi nodded, acknowledging the man. “The director can’t seem to get hold of Ryuichiro. He has authorised for you to take point on the Sanada op.” He nodded once again, forcing himself to his feet and moved towards the door. “And Kamenashi?” He stopped, turning back to the aide. “Be careful of what you say to the cops. It takes very little effort to thoughtlessly give the incorrect impression.”
* * *
The vacant model expression disappeared, replaced by a warm dopey smile and a wave as Massu approached the set. “Massu! What brings you here?”
“Yamashita!” The photographer whined exasperatedly at his top model for interrupting the shoot with his overly friendly greeting. He glared daggers at Massu for breaking his number one model’s concentration (although to be brutally honest, such a feat was not exactly difficult to accomplish). Yamashita Tomohisa looked apologetic, making the photographer sigh and relent to a fifteen-minute break.
Yamashita hurried over to Massu, “what’s up?”
“Have you heard from Yuya?”
Yamashita shook his head, “not since last week, why?”
“He’s missing and Shige, being Shige, refuses to file a request to look for him,” Massu explained.
“Are you sure he’s in danger? This is Tegoshi we’re talking about.”
“I wouldn’t be here wasting your time if I weren’t. He bailed on his appointments with patients today.”
Yamashita frowned, “shit.” If someone as airheaded as Yamashita Tomohisa understood the weight of Tegoshi Yuya skipping on his meetings with patients, how was it that educated Kato Shigeaki couldn’t? Massu wondered furiously. “What are you going to do, Massu?”
“I don’t know. I’ve tried all of Yuya’s usual places. Nobody has seen him and we can’t expect Shige to do anything about it.”
Yamashita looked away. “I’m sure that’s not the case. Shige’s a true friend.”
“True friend?” Massu echoed. “This is just like your drunk driving charges all over again. Shige’s not going to lift a finger to help. He’s just-”
“Shut up.” Massu stopped, unclear over why Yamashita had gotten so defensive. Without another word, Yamashita had grabbed him by his arm, announced to the photographer that he was going to need another ten minutes before yanking Massu with him out the studio.
* * *
To Jun’s disappointment, Sho had disappeared by the time Jun had reached Ohno. “Jun.”
“Inspector.” Jun responded, “sorry about earlier.” He scanned the cafeteria, trying to place Sho. It was as if the man had vanished into the crowd.
Ohno shook his head, “I don’t blame you. I know it was pretty much Nino’s doing.” A pause. “You wanted to discuss something?”
“I actually wanted-” Jun stopped. “I overheard your conversation with Nino earlier - about something that never took place?”
Ohno sighed, “eavesdropping is unbecoming of a detective, Matsumoto.”
“I had no intention of eavesdrop-”
Ohno cut Jun off, “at any rate, it is not something that concerns you nor does it have any bearing on the case you are working on.” Jun tried to speak up, but Ohno ploughed on. “Have you ever read about what Benjamin Franklin said about keeping secrets? ‘Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead’.” Ohno fixed Jun with a steely look. “It is a private matter, Detective Matsumoto. Drop it.”
* * *
Kato scanned up and down the stairs of the deserted stairwell to verify that there would be nobody around to eavesdrop on their conversation while Sho did likewise, giving a brief look out the emergency door to verify that the coast was clear before turning back to the man. “Kato,” Sho acknowledged. “You have something I can assist you with?”
Kato clenched his teeth, as if unwilling to speak. The next few seconds of silence seemed drawn out. “Tegoshi Yuya.”
* * *
Jun dug through his pockets, flipping through the collection of items he’d collected over the past few days.
Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.
So Ohno wasn’t going to give him answers.
But that was completely fine.
“Just like how you are willing to live with deciding what Sakurai should know?”
He knew someone else who seemed privy to that information. He stopped at Kuroki Meisa’s business card, something he’d been given when the reporter had been detained the day before. Taking a deep breath, he punched her number on his mobile phone and waited.
* * *
“Okay, we’re finally alone,” Massu groused, refusing to take another step. “What is so important that you had to drag me outside?”
Yamashita whirled around, scanning the area to look for nosy individuals. Finally satisfied that it was isolated enough, he turned back to Massu. “Do you know that I was facing jail time for my drunk driving?”
“You lost your license.” Massu pointed out.
“Only because Shige intervened by negotiating with his asshole of a boss on my behalf,” Yamashita elaborated. “Being a famous face, the department wanted to make an example out of me. By agreeing to go easier on me, Shige’s now got to do everything Kimura wants, no questions asked.”
“No wonder that advocate said Shige was doing all the work…” Massu turned back to Yamashita. “But why didn’t Shige say anything? We’ve been thinking that he was a selfish prick the whole time.”
“Shige isn’t proud of the fact that we’re his Kryptonite,” Yamashita paused. “He always wants to be seen as the perfect lawyer who never plays favourites by doing the right thing all the time. I’m just afraid that right now, he might just be making another deal with another devil for Tegoshi’s sake.”
* * *
Sho studied Kato before responding slowly. “What about Tegoshi?”
Kato bowed, his head low, “I'm begging you - I need your help to find him.”
* * *
I do apologise for the lengthy time to update and the fact that a minor character has now taken helm of the direction of the story.
Firstly, university has resumed and I had still have many assignments piling up. LJ has been filled with wonderful writing from many writers so that didn't help either as it was more fun reading everyone else's stories than writing my own.
Secondly, I will resume with the main plot next chapter, promise!