Chapter 10

“That’s not what I’m talking about. You seemed taken aback that someone had the ability to see and know all.” For someone so full of eccentricities, there is something about his behavior that makes it seem as if he has an unobstructed view of the world. I don’t know exactly why, but all his emotions strike me as an act to some degree. Is he just playing dumb? Could there be more to him than he’s letting on, lurking behind his ambiguous mannerisms? “I guess. But you, Kunikida, I’ve got a good idea of who you are now, so nothing you do will ever surprise me. I mean, compared with me, you’re just a simple man with a simple mind, after all.” “What did you just say?!” “See? You wear your heart on your sleeve. You don’t hide how you’re really feeling. It’s nice. You know what else is nice? Just knowing that you’re going to be worrying later to yourself, ‘Am I really that simple?’” “Why, you—” But I refrain from arguing. Whatever my response, he’s just going to end up telling me, “I knew you’d say that.” “One day, you will be amazed by what I am capable of, and I guarantee you won’t see it coming.” “I’m looking forward to it. I’ll take you out for a drink if you end up surprising me.” “All right, it’s a deal. You better not forget.” “I won’t. Besides, I’ve got nothing to lose either way. Oh, look, I can see the fishing-gear shop.” I slow down the car and park on the side of the street where I can see the shop. After getting out of the car, I observe the store. Only an hour remains before sundown. We should have the bomb disarmed in time as long as nothing goes wrong. “Any idea what kind of car we’re looking for?” “It’s simple, really. Just look for a large commercial vehicle with tinted windows to keep people from seeing inside.” I park the company car slightly away, then carefully approach the shop. I cannot deny the possibility that there might be armed personnel hiding somewhere in order to protect the bomb. The fishing-gear shop seems to be closed for the day, so only a few cars sparsely occupy the parking lot, which could fit a little over ten vehicles. There’s no sign of anyone in the parking area, and the slope on the west side leaves the whole place dim. I turn my head until I find a bunch of tall oil storage tanks behind me reaching out as far as the port itself. The closest tank is only around three hundred feet away from me. If the parking lot was to be blown up, the hellish flames would undoubtedly spread across every tank with ease. “Kunikida, check that car out.” I face the direction Dazai is pointing in, where I find a small white commercial vehicle parked with a rental car plate. The tinted windows are visible even from afar. Furthermore, the car seems to be sitting lower than the others even though nobody is inside, which suggests it’s not totally empty. I jot WIRELESS JAMMER down in my notebook before tearing the page out and focusing. Then the sheet of paper instantly transforms into a handheld wave inhibitor. “Dazai, place this by the vehicle but keep your eye out for booby traps. I’m going to search the vicinity.” The jammer bears a strong resemblance to a cell phone. However, this device can intervene with radio channels, making nearby wireless devices unable to communicate with one another. It has an effective radius of around fifteen feet. The bomber won’t be able to remotely detonate the bomb with this nearby. I grip my gun while scouting around the parking area. I keep my guard up, but there are no signs of any snipers or enemies waiting to ambush. Instead, I find two recording devices hidden in the grass. One camera is the same type we found at the abandoned hospital, while the other is a smaller wireless type. This only further confirms that the bomb is here. Suddenly, I hear people’s voices and lift my head. —What’s going on? People have started to gather on the other side of the road. Around ten people appear to be surrounding something, their faces clouded with worry. I have a bad feeling about this. After hiding my gun, I approach the crowd. Then I cut my way through to get a look at the cause of all this fuss. My breath catches in my throat. There’s something there that shouldn’t be. It’s Alamta’s body. “Hey, Kunikida, I placed the jammer by the car. What do you want me to—?” Dazai calls out to me from over my shoulder, but even he finds himself at a loss for words at the sight. Why is this guy here? Why is he dead? I approach the corpse. There are no signs of hypostasis and no postmortem rigidity in the chin. He is still warm under the arms. It’s evident that he was killed only moments ago—murdered right before we arrived. Not only that, but there are no visible wounds on the body. Nor are there any external changes that might indicate how he died. Instead, countless black symbols appear on his skin, covering his body like blemishes: “00.” Two zeros? Are these tattoos? Or could this be—? “Kunikida, the military’s bomb squad will be here soon. Let’s let them handle the technical stuff and get out of here.” Dazai places a hand on my shoulder. “……Okay.” I checked Alamta’s belongings, but all he had was some change and a fake license—nothing of use. And with the mystery left unsolved, Dazai and I plow through the growing crowd of spectators and leave the scene. I ruminate behind the wheel of the company car. Why did Alamta have to die? And who wanted him dead? “Kunikida, I get that thinking is important, but make sure to watch where you’re driving, too, okay?” Dazai says from the passenger seat. “I know,” I tell him as I grip the steering wheel. This situation needs analyzing. On the surface, there are but two cases here: the Yokohama kidnappings and the bomber. The perpetrators were the taxi driver and Alamta, respectively. That much is clear. But there’s another common motive between these two cases: damaging the detective agency’s name by releasing to the public footage of our failure to save the victims. The cabdriver and Alamta are most likely not involved with this goal, though. Someone must have been manipulating them from behind the scenes. That someone is the Azure Apostle. This person manipulated both the taxi driver and Alamta and made them the perpetrators. And just like that, the Azure Apostle attacked the detective agency without getting their own hands dirty by making it look like the other two committed these crimes of their own accord. Attacking them is next to impossible, since they gave so few orders and simply let the perpetrators do as they pleased. Both the cabdriver and the bomber committed the crimes on their own turf in their own way. Perhaps they didn’t even realize they were being used as pawns. If we don’t stop the one behind all this, then it won’t be long before we are attacked for a third time, something the agency might not be able to handle. The clues we have are next to nothing, though, which leaves me puzzled as to how we’re going to find this mastermind. There’s one more thing I’m worried about. What is the Azure Apostle going to be charged with? The only crimes they’ve committed are secretly videoing and threatening us. They didn’t kill anybody or blow up anything, and our chances of building a case to get them charged for instigating murder and kidnapping are extremely slim. Should I just hope the Azure Apostle accidentally left some evidence behind at the scene of the crime? And yet— That’s when my cell phone begins to ring. It’s the detective agency’s president. I pull over on the side of the road and press the call button. “Kunikida, my informant in the military just contacted me. The taxi driver… He’s dead.” What?! “But wasn’t he midflight on one of the military police’s aircrafts?” “He was. During questioning, he suddenly began suffering intense pain and passed not long after. His cause of death is unknown, but I was told two black zeros started to surface all over his body… Get back to the agency and let’s go carefully over the situation.” The phone clicks. My head is swimming with questions. Our sole path to the Azure Apostle has been cut. The only clue we had to locate this person was to find out who taught that driver about the organ trade, but those tracks died along with him. It’s almost as if the Azure Apostle is watching us, always one step ahead. Alamta was killed right before we arrived at the scene, and now the cabdriver, our last hope, is gone as well. Just who is this person? The enemy is somebody who knows everything about the detective agency’s investigation and every move we make. Somebody who can constantly tamper with the scene of the crime and manipulate the situation from afar. “You okay, Kunikida? You look real tense.” I don’t even have a moment to respond. How is the enemy getting inside info? How are they always a step ahead of the detective agency? My cell phone rings once more, interrupting my train of thought. It’s Rokuzo. “Hey, Four-Eyes. Got a moment?” “What is it?” “It’s… It’s about the e-mail you asked me to trace. I did it.” “What?!” That’s it. The sender of that threatening e-mail said their name was the Azure Apostle, and they gave orders to investigate the kidnapping and bombing. If we can find out where that e-mail came from… “I’ll cut to the chase. Both e-mails came from the same computer, which was heavily protected. But hey, I was able to break through. Anyway—” “Who’re you talking to, Kunikida?” I raise my hand, cutting Dazai off. “Go on.” “All you asked me to do was trace the e-mail, so don’t come to me with questions about what it means, okay? ’Cause I ain’t gonna know. So with that in mind—” “Get on with it.” “Okay, fine, I’ll tell ya. So… “…those e-mails were sent from inside the detective agency…from the computer of the new guy—Dazai.” Come again? My brain freezes over, my mind completely blank. This can’t be. It has to be some sort of trap. Dazai’s been with me the entire time investigating the… —The enemy is somebody who knows everything about the detective agency’s investigation and every move we make. Somebody who can constantly tamper with the scene of the crime and manipulate the situation from afar. “I’ll call you back.” I hang up the phone. “What was that about? It sounded like you were talking to Rokuzo.” “Just shut up for a moment.” My thoughts are scattered. Dazai. Osamu Dazai, a newcomer at the detective agency who popped up out of nowhere. This sequence of events started after he showed up. “I asked a close acquaintance in the military’s intelligence department to do a background check on him, but eerily, they found nothing. “It’s as if someone very carefully wiped his background clean.” The poison gas at the abandoned hospital was triggered when Dazai touched the trap while we were trying to save the kidnapped victims…and yet, for some reason, he wasn’t in any of the released footage. How was he able to stay clear of the cameras? A clever and cautious string puller, the Azure Apostle never soils their own hands. Someone of considerable intellect, whose acting abilities could deceive even embassy staff, with knowledge of the organ trade… I start the car engine and begin driving again. “Dazai.” “Yeah?” “Let’s go for a drive.” I turn the steering wheel, entering a deserted mountain path and continuing down it until we reach an old abandoned storehouse. “What’s this?” Dazai asks while looking at the storage shed. “It’s a storehouse I used for work once. At one time, it was used for industrial materials, but it was abandoned after the company moved overseas. Nobody comes here anymore, which makes it the perfect place to discuss things in private.” “Oh, great.” A lukewarm reply. I drive inside the storehouse and park. Since the building still has all four walls, I don’t have to worry about being watched, and I would be able to hear any reinforcements should they come. “Get out.” Without a word, Dazai gets out of the car. Before I do the same, I open my automatic pistol’s magazine to make sure it’s loaded. Then, after writing in my notebook, I exit the vehicle as well. “Gee, it sure is quiet here. Definitely the perfect place if you ever wanted to talk in secret. So why are we—?” I point the pistol at Dazai. “…What’s the gun for?” “Take a guess.” “Hold on, Kunikida. I thought you hated jokes like this.” “I do. But this isn’t a joke.” “This must have something to do with that phone call, right? Well, whatever you heard, I’m sure it’s all some kind of misunderstanding. I’d be able to explain myself if you just told me what he said.” “I hope so.” I tighten my finger around the trigger. “When the victims at the abandoned hospital were gassed, you were somehow able to avoid showing your face in the footage. Why is that?” “That’s it?” Dazai looks troubled. “I just happened to see the surveillance equipment when I walked into the room. I was going to tell you, but we found the victims almost immediately after, so I didn’t get the chance. That’s why I didn’t say anything. I apologize—” “Really? Are you sure you didn’t know where the cameras were and what they were for from the start?” I continue to press him. “Next question. You were the one who suggested we go to the embassy in order to find the bomber. How were you able to come up with that idea so quickly? Was it because you knew about Alamta beforehand, perhaps?” “Oh, come on. You’re joking, right? You should be praising me for my acumen, not doubting me. Is that what all this is about?” “Where did you learn about the organ-trafficking syndicate?” “That’s… Listen, I told you already. I was at the pub…” “You can’t come up with a better lie than that? Was it just a coincidence that you ran into Chief Taneda, head of the Special Division for Unusual Powers?” “W-wait! C’mon, Kunikida. Could you put the gun down? I’ll tell you everything after you do that.” “Why were the Azure Apostle’s e-mails sent from your computer?! Answer me!” I yell, cocking the pistol’s hammer. Dazai’s face goes blank. “I see. So that’s what Rokuzo told you on the phone, huh? He’s a real talented kid… I’m sure he’ll make a great detective one day.” His tone is flat, his face void of all emotion. Thinking back, there was always something enigmatic about Dazai. While he struck me as an eccentric, he also perfectly expressed the kinds of schemes and knowledge necessary to influence others. Just as his excellent acting at the embassy fooled everybody, who’s to say that this Dazai persona isn’t just an act as well? “Convince me of your innocence right now, or I’ll shoot.” “You can’t shoot me.” He shakes his head. “You’re conscientious and an idealist. You unravel all the mysteries, get the criminal to confess, then arrest them and have them tried by the law. That’s what’s ideal to you. You would never kill the suspect somewhere like this while the truth is still up in the air.” “The law is powerless against the Azure Apostle.” Even if I demand he be prosecuted, there’s no case against someone who didn’t kill or kidnap anybody, let alone instigate another to do so. It’s a lost cause. “I’ll shoot if that’s what must be done.” —“If you sense any signs of wickedness in his heart, shoot him.” The president’s words… The heavy pistol I was entrusted with… —“Do what must be done.” “Kunikida, hypothetically speaking, let’s say I am the Azure Apostle, and let’s say your ideals dictate that you should hurry up and kill me… Even then, you still couldn’t shoot me.” There’s a cold-blooded, inhuman glow in his eyes, as if he can see right through everything—as if he knows all. “Think back to when you found Alamta’s body. All he had on him was some change and a fake license, which begs the question: What happened to the detonator?” The detonator could be used to wirelessly set off the bomb, but there’s no threat without it. “Whoever’s really behind all this has it.” “Exactly. And what if that person knew every move the detective agency was making? And what if that person knew that the detective agency figured out where the bomb was? Don’t you think they would have moved the bomb or prepared a spare?” The next thing I know, Dazai’s right hand is in his overcoat pocket. I’m not able to check if he’s holding something from where I’m standing, though. Is he insinuating that there’s still a bomb out there and that he has the detonator to it? Is that why he said I couldn’t shoot him? —How naive. “I suspected as much, which is why I came prepared. Take a look at this.” I take this out of my breast pocket before placing it on the ground. “It’s a wireless jammer just like the one I used before. No wireless devices can be used within fifteen feet of me. A detonator is no exception.” “Wha—?” Dazai’s expression is overcome with surprise. My gun still aimed at him, I stick my hand into his pocket and feel something, then pull it out. It’s a fountain pen and a blue cloth. “Looks like I couldn’t fool you. Too bad it’s just an ordinary fountain pen.” Dazai cheerfully grins. It’s the same pen he showed the receptionist at the embassy, the one he claimed was his favorite or something. “Anyone else would have believed you, but it’s going to take a little more than that to fool your partner.” I unscrew the pen top and take it off, revealing not an ink cartridge but a long, thin electrical device with an exposed circuit. It’s a small transceiver. “Is this the detonator?” “…I’m impressed, Kunikida. Nothing gets by you, does it? Incredible.” His smile is cold, inhuman. “I’m so glad you were my partner.” Those words have me boiling. “Shut up!” I point the pistol down and shoot, sending a bullet into the floor by his feet. Dazai doesn’t even bat an eye. “What do you want?! Why did you threaten the detective agency?! What was the point of killing the missing people and setting the bomb?! You… You were…” You were so talented. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner. “This is my final warning. Tell me everything, or I’ll shoot.” Who is he? Who is the Azure Apostle? He has others do his bidding before disposing of them without so much as lifting a finger…all while getting the victims involved as well.