His job as a teacher was to find the strengths of each and every single one of his students and to help them develop further. So it was Kazutaka’s habit to look for people’s strengths and virtues. Ren’s strength, to his mind, was his diligence and refined aristocratic expression.
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Kazutaka could tell that Ren was trying his hardest to open the attaché case. Ren had been really nice when Kazutaka had vomited shortly after getting on the ferry, too. Ren had also helped him take off his suit. He'd even said that he was going to get some warm clothing for Kazutaka later.
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Ren is probably a good-hearted person, Kazutaka decided. Ren looked sincere and proficient. Kazutaka would have liked to ask him what kind of work he did, how he lived, etc., if they had met under different circumstances. They would have enjoyed regular conversation. But that was if, and only if, they had met under normal conditions.
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It was clear to Kazutaka that Ren was not chatty. He rarely spoke while working. Ren responded when other members talked to him, but he didn’t initiate conversation.
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Ren spoke only of what was necessary and always in a proper manner. Ren was tightly focused on his task. Kazutaka admired that and thought he was really cool. Kazutaka stretched out his arm and touched Ren’s cheek softly. Ren’s jaw was solid and firm. He must sleep with his jaw shut tight. Kazutaka remembered having read in some book or other that people who engaged in physical labor tended to sleep with their mouths closed. On the contrary, Kazutaka occasionally slept with his mouth wide open. He was embarrassed to show his sleeping face to others.
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Kazutaka was poking Ren’s cheekbone with his index finger when Ren’s eyelids twitched. Kazutaka anticipated Ren's awakening and slowly pulled his hand away. Ren opened his eyes slightly.
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“What is it? Bathroom? I’ll take you.”
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Ren might have been half asleep, but he was still attentive of Kazutaka’s needs.
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“I went already.”
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“I’m waking up. Just hang on... Don’t overdo things.”
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“Go on back to sleep. It’s still the middle of the night.”
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Ren smiled sleepily. Then he placed his hand on Kazutaka’s head, stroked it gently a few times, and went right back to sleep.
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His smile looked very kind, Kazutaka observed.
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He kept watching the sleeping man’s face, feeling sentimental. Kazutaka imagined how pleasant life would be with a guy like Ren. Kazutaka hadn’t been lucky in his love relationships. He'd had less than a handful of boyfriends since middle school.
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Actually, there had been only one serious relationship, back when Kazutaka was a college student. He'd really loved the boy, but the feeling turned out not to be mutual. To his partner, Kazutaka was just a whim. After being together for about a year, a girl asked Kazutaka’s partner out on a date. His partner went to play tennis with her and simply never came back.
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There had never been proper closure. Kazutaka quietly withdrew into himself and never asked him out again. His partner never contacted Kazutaka, either. Looking back, it simply wasn’t meant to be.
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When Kazutaka loved someone, he didn’t become possessive. He didn’t think of gains or losses either. To Kazutaka, such calculations should never play a part in a relationship. Even when he was sad, Kazutaka tried to keep his chin up and smile. He was loyal to his partners. He never raised his voice in an accusatory tone even when his partner was discovered to be unfaithful. He knew that different people acted differently. Depending on their personality or upbringing, the degree people clung to their relationships varied. Kazutaka simply wasn’t the obsessive type.
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Maybe this trait was one of the reasons Kazutaka was often left heart broken. If I could feel victorious and successful when I won someone back, Kazutaka thought, my life would be a whole lot easier. The hardest period was when Kazutaka was still in love with a boyfriend, but couldn’t make himself ask him back. When Kazutaka met his ex walking with that woman, he tried to casually ask, “How are you doing?” But all he could manage was a very awkward greeting.
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Kazutaka was ready for a long-lasting relationship. Rather than being madly in love for a short time only to have it burn out, Kazutaka wanted to treasure peaceful and happy times with someone he loved. Kazutaka was now 25. He wasn’t interested in flirtations any more.
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Kazutaka felt comforted when Ren, worrying about him, had stroked his head. It was as though the hostage teacher and the lock-picker had struck a sympathetic chord in each other. It felt really nice to sense Ren’s thoughtfulness. Kazutaka wanted to hang onto that feeling. He was still suffering from seasickness. Nausea roiled even though there was nothing left in his stomach. Kazutaka was now determined to overcome this difficulty, thinking of Ren’s kindness as moral support. He leaned on the edge of Ren’s bed from where he sat on the floor and closed his eyes, head resting on his right arm.
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At five o’clock in the morning, Ren woke up feeling rattled. Kazutaka was gone from the bed next to his. Ren jumped out of bed in alarm only to hear a scream coming from under his feet.
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“Whoa!”
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Ren had stepped on Kazutaka. “Idiot. Why are you sleeping there?” Ren asked as he sat back on his bed. Kazutaka was lying flat on the floor in the space between the two beds. Ren slowly remembered seeing Kazutaka’s face on the edge of his bed when he had opened his eyes one time.
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“Ah, right. You said you went to the restroom, huh? And then you couldn’t get back up into bed? Is that why you're lying there? I’m sorry that I stepped on you. Did I hurt you?”
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There was no reply. Ren was worried that he might have squashed Kazutaka to death. Ren timidly put his face close to Kazutaka's. Phew, Kazutaka was still breathing. It was just that he was deeply asleep again, not moving even when Ren jumped down on him.
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“Unbelievable...that was scary.”
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Ren lifted Kazutaka and the attaché case together and set them down on the bed. He sighed in relief. Being manhandled from the floor to the bed didn’t wake up Kazutaka, either. Ren noticed that Kazutaka’s wrist was still red and swollen from the scrapes and scratches. As Ren looked at Kazutaka’s wrist, he thought of Shīno, the jeweler.
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Kazutaka had told them Shīno was his friend. Kazutaka wasn’t in the jewelry business and he didn’t seem to be suited to the task of transporting valuables, yet Shīno had chained the attaché case to Kazutaka and sent him to deliver the goods to the police station. There was definitely something fishy about Shīno.
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If Fuwa’s theory was correct, Shīno was holding onto the Teardrop of the Nile gemstone that had been brought in by some anonymous French client while sending Kazutaka off with the replica. If that was the case, what was Shīno planning to do with the real Teardrop of the Nile?
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He could be thinking about taking it to an illegal buyer in exchange for an outrageous commission. The French person who brought the jewelry in must have a criminal record. The jewelry had been entrusted to Shīno anyways. The client wouldn’t report the theft even if Shīno got rid of it, either by turning it into the police or getting it to other buyers.
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Kazutaka could only have been a decoy to temporarily distract rings of thieves like Fuwa’s group. Shīno’s true intentions were still unknown, but Kazutaka would have been made a fool of if the contents of this case were to be fake. Ren decided that he needed to find out more about Shīno. He opened the tool box, took out his cell phone, and turned the power on.
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The Teardrop of the Nile was a famous piece of jewelry. Hundreds of search results were displayed on the screen. The top hit was the British Museum, the rightful owner of the gemstones. The jewelry page had a picture of the Teardrop of the Nile from when it was exhibited in America. It was a gigantic blue bib shaped design, hanging around the neck and spreading over the chest. It was definitely a very large accessory. Ren was amazed at how wealthy the ancient African king must have been. Next, he searched for Shīno Jewelry. He couldn’t find a homepage for the store. Shīno Jewelry didn’t advertise on the Internet, not surprising seeing as how it was just a medium sized business in a suburban city. Ren did find the name of store and its phone number in the directory on the Japan Jeweler’s Federation website. He wrote down the information and decided to call using Kazutaka’s cell phone.
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The answering machine wasn’t on. Ren figured Shīno might be asleep because it was still early in the morning. After ten rings or so, Ren hung up the phone. He tried again and someone answered after the third ring.
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“Hello. This is Shīno speaking.”
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The voice sounded rather young, Ren thought as he held the cell phone tightly. “Sorry to call you this early. Mr. Shīno, right? I'm Suzuki, the director of the Minamihama City Board of Education.”