It may be a strange analogy, but relationships are like that. We should not rely solely on ourselves when deciding what to do. Listening to your partner is a good place to start.
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“I think I understand. My job is similar. I listen to the children and try to understand what is actually being said by reading between the lines. That’s important, right?”
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“Do you like kids, Kazutaka?”
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“I do.”
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“But there must be some kids that you don’t like.”
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Kazutaka chuckled wryly. His smile conveyed comfort. His smile was like porridge to food, ball bearings to machines, or cushions to interior decoration. It was something to mitigate the harshness and ease tension. In other words, Kazutaka was like a buffer.
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“You provide an oasis of calm, I think.”
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“To you, Ren?”
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“To children, I mean,” Ren quickly corrected him because Kazutaka was right, but Ren couldn’t bring himself to admit it. Ren was a thieves’ accomplice to Kazutaka. This was definitely not the right time to confess “You are an oasis for me.”
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On late winter afternoons, occasionally there was an unusually warm day when the sun shone through the windows. On those days, Ren would feel spring nearing. Kazutaka’s presence brought a similar warmth. Not the blasting heat of a central heating system, but more like the warmth from a small, comforting, crackling log fire. Ren found himself saying, “I live alone.”
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Ren couldn’t believe what he had just said and felt embarrassed.
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“I live alone, too. I buy Cup-o-Noodles soup by the case at a discount store.”
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“Same here.”
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The two chuckled at the same time.
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“One time I poured hot water into the noodle soup and forgot about it. Later on, the noodles were so swollen that I couldn’t even put the lid back on. It was soggy and cold. I heated it up anyway and ate it after all. It was disgusting.”
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“If you had had a partner then that might have been fun.”
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If one said, “This is disgusting,” the other would say, “Let me taste it.” They could eat it together and laugh about how horrible it was.
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“Single life is lonesome.”
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“Shall we become partners so we won’t be lonely?”
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Kazutaka opened his eyes wide and stared at Ren intently. Then he replied in a low voice, “That’s an idea.” Ren had been certain of rejection. Kazutaka’s reaction was completely unexpected. Ren thought of the phrase “living together,” but had no idea what it was really like. Ren wasn’t good at imagining things. Ren tried to picture Kazutaka sitting on one of the chairs in his factory, but he couldn’t. Just as Ren gave up trying, Kazutaka whispered, “Maybe it’s not possible.”
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Kazutaka closed his eyes again. He was apparently thinking along the same lines. They both thought it was impossible after all. Ren was forlorn.
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Ren finally succeeded in figuring out the frequency of the last lock.
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“Here we go. This should do it.”
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Ren went to get Fuwa. When they came back, Todo-san was with them as well.
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“This is it, right?”
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Ren nodded happily at Kazutaka’s remark.
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Ren adjusted the frequency of the infrared wavelengths to match that of the lock and sent out the signal. With a series of clicks, the last one unlocked and the lid swung open with a dramatic sound. Apparently, the hinges had a very strong spring. Something fell out of the case and onto the bed. It was the key to the handcuffs, which had a fingerprint reading sensor. Since they didn’t have the right fingerprint, Kazutaka would have to go home with the handcuffs still on his wrist.
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Ren picked up the key and fiddled with it in chagrin. There was still no way for Ren to separate Kazutaka from the attaché case because the one cuff was welded to the case itself. Ren clearly wanted to free Kazutaka’s left hand badly. The main purpose was to get the contents out of the case, but Ren wanted to remove the handcuffs, too. It would make things so much easier for Kazutaka to not to have anything attached to him. Although Ren knew the key to the handcuffs had a fingerprint sensor, he had thought he could figure out something once he had the key. Ren held the handcuff key for a long time.
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The attaché case, on the other hand, looked pretty much the same. It was just the way it had been when Kazutaka first saw it. There was a depression in the middle of the case where a large shiny black bag was secured by packing foam. Something inside clanged heavily when Fuwa picked up the bag. When he opened the bag, there was an ornament studded with dazzling blue gemstones. Whether it was real or fake almost didn’t matter. It was utterly beautiful.
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“Please, Todo-san.”
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Todo-san nodded and put a pair of appraiser’s glasses on. He examined the jewelry very carefully. Then he checked the gemstones further under a microscope.
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“This is zirconia, I think. Very skillfully made, but it’s fake. Worth about two hundred thousand yen at most. This is definitely not the Teardrop of the Nile.”
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Fuwa had half expected this result but still couldn’t conceal his disappointment.
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“Oh, just as we suspected. I’ll call Bud then.” Fuwa sighed and left the room.
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There was no reason for Kazutaka to sympathize with Fuwa, but he couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. Kazutaka could tell that Fuwa and his team were very talented thieves. When thieves at their level of competence ended up with fake goods in their hands, how must that make them feel? It was hard for Kazutaka to imagine, but thieves or not, Kazutaka didn’t like to see people hurt or disappointed.
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Todo spread the replica of Teardrop of the Nile over the table and stared at it.
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“This is extremely well made. The replication of the stones is excellent. You can’t tell the difference from the real thing just by looking. This couldn’t have been made quickly. I’d say this had to have been prepared in advance.”
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“What do you mean that the replica had been already prepared, Todo-san?”
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“Well, Shīno must have anticipated that the Teardrop of the Nile would be brought to market and had this realistic replica made in preparation. When the real Teardrop of the Nile was being exhibited at the Smithsonian, Shīno was probably already hoping that someone would bring it to him someday. He may have even had a particular buyer in mind.”
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Some thieves are closely watched by Interpol, which makes it difficult for them to move loot abroad. Moving stolen goods beyond international borders is normally done by professional transporters. Transporters check out jewelers around the world to recruit potential agents because it’s only natural for jewelers to carry gemstones.
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Shīno must have received the Teardrop of the Nile from one of those transporters. His assignment as an agent might have been to take it to the next checkpoint, Todo explained.
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“Where is Shīno taking the authentic piece then?”
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“Probably to another jeweler. Whether domestic or overseas, I don’t know.”
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“So, I was just a decoy, huh?”
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“Bad luck for you, Kazutaka-san. I apologize on behalf of the chief. If I was too rough on you, I’m sorry.”
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“Don’t worry about that now. I’m okay. Fuwa-san looked so very aghast. I’m more worried about him. Are you going to work with Fuwa-san again, Todo-san? You know, go for revenge?”
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“I don’t know yet. The chief had told us that we were going to disband after this. Bud would like to try one more time, though. It all depends on what they decide. I’ll be in if the chief decides to do it.”
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“The other members too? Will all of you get together?”
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“Would you like to join as a volunteer, Kazutaka-san?”
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Kazutaka laughed about Todo-san’s proposal. He actually thought it might be fun. When he was first kidnapped, they were just thieves who were giving him misery, but they'd grown on Kazutaka over the past three days.
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“I don’t have any special talent. I’d just get in your way, I’m afraid. Todo-san, what’s your normal specialty?”
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“My main occupation is as a jewel polisher.”
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Fuwa had valued Todo’s sharp eyes and asked him to come aboard. Todo was a jewel polisher with artisan skills. Toshi, who'd driven the R.V. yesterday, was in the transportation business. He was a driver in his regular life, too. Ken, who'd stood watch on Shīno, was a maritime radio operator. He worked as a crew member on big excursion cruise ships. It had been Ken’s idea to travel by ferry.
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Although not involved on this job, there were other members of Fuwa’s team, including a chef, an architect, and so forth. But actually Ren was not a regular member. Ren had manufactured custom machines for Fuwa twice, worked as a driver once, and then there was this time. Only four times total.
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They put the fake Teardrop of the Nile back into the sack, and then stuffed the sack into the attaché case. After all this, Kazutaka was going to take it back to Shīno Jewelry as that was what Bud had instructed them to do when Fuwa contacted him.