Hinata’s grandfather looked at both of them gravely, then put on a sad smile. “I would feel terrible for Kobayashi if anything happened to Chris. And more than anything, I’m concerned about you two kids getting into danger.”
“But…” Hinata’s head dropped. Then he summoned his courage and looked up with great conviction. “Grandpa, why do you think they’re after Chris? Can you tell me more about Mr. Kobayashi and Chris?”
“Oooh, oooh! I want to hear that story, too!” Mayuka said, sitting up on her knees and sidling closer to Shunya.
He tapped at the back of his neck, mulling over his options. Finally, he spoke, his voice serious. “Kobayashi had opened up a detective business.”
“Detectives? Are those real?”
Hinata was stunned. He thought that detectives were just characters who appeared in mystery novels and TV shows.
“I was surprised, too. I didn’t know that people could make a real living as detectives these days. But according to him, most of the work is just searching for lost pets. The rest is more like an odd-jobs service. He once laughed and told me he’d even repaired home appliances for old folks.”
“Wow, neat! That sounds really helpful!” said Mayuka excitedly.
Shunya grimaced. “The problem is, Kobayashi’s a little too nice. I think he ran it less like a business and more like a charity. He told me, ‘I just need enough to feed Christie and myself.’ Chris was especially good at tracking ever since he was a puppy, so Kobayashi was able to successfully find most of the pets.”
“That’s amazing, Chris. You were really helping out!” Hinata said, petting the nearby pup.
“Eventually, Chris passed the police-dog test and started a new job on the force. And that was when the incident happened.”
“The one that caused Mr. Kobayashi to go missing,” Mayuka murmured, downcast.
Shunya nodded. “Not long after that, someone ransacked his office, which was also his home. Kobayashi didn’t have any relatives, so I was called to the scene as his closest contact. They wanted me to check if anything had been stolen. I wasn’t much help, but I could tell that his laptop had been taken. It must have contained a bunch of his files. Maybe his detective work had something to do with his disappearance, as well as the burglary.”
“But didn’t you say that Mr. Kobayashi was only finding pets and helping old people?” Hinata asked.
“That’s right. But before the incident, he told me that something was bothering him. One of his regular customers, an old woman, had asked him for help with something strange. Her grandchild was getting into some odd business, and she was worried. Based on what she said, her grandchild was involved in taking stolen items and exchanging them for cash.”
“Oh! That’s just like what happened in our last case!” Mayuka shouted.
“That’s right,” Shunya agreed. “Kobayashi was trying to speak to the grandchild, but they ran away from home before he could get ahold of them…”
“Are they still missing?” Hinata asked. Shunya exhaled deeply.
“He told me that the case sounded very dark indeed, and it was troubling him. I told him to hand it over to the police instead. It sounded too dangerous to me. But he laughed it off and said he was concerned about the old woman and wanted to help. I wish I had been firmer with him,” he lamented, gazing at Chris. The dog merely whined in confusion.
“Before the incident,” he added, “I even told him about you, Hinata. I showed him a picture of you, and he said, ‘He looks very kind and clever. I bet he’d make good friends with Christie.’ I can remember every word of it, even now. It’s why I thought of leaving Chris with you after Kobayashi went missing…”
Shunya helplessly balled his hands in his lap.
“That just makes me want to stay with Chris even more, Grandpa! Let me keep him!” Hinata said firmly, looking his grandfather in the eye. Shunya’s expression softened.
“Yes, I suppose it was partly Kobayashi’s decision to have you take Chris. I can wait a little longer… But it’s clear that something’s going on behind the scenes, and we still don’t know where Kobayashi is. Will you promise me that you won’t get mixed up in anything dangerous?”
Without standing, Mayuka sidled over toward Shunya. “Mr. Shunya, I promise I won’t ever make Chris train or act like a police dog. We won’t do anything to stand out. After all, we don’t want the culprits to find him.”
Shunya chuckled and patted her on the shoulder. “Thank you. You’ve been a good friend to Chris, too, Mayuka. I appreciate that.”
Suddenly, while Shunya was talking, Chris’s ears sprang to attention. A moment later, the intercom bell rang.
“It’s me, Iwata!” said a loud and hearty voice through the speaker. “The clinic looked like it was busy, so I decided to try here first.”
Officer Iwata stood outside the door and saluted, then asked Shunya’s permission to come in.
“I hear you’ve been helping out Hinata. Thank you so much,” Shunya replied, bowing.
Iwata bowed as well. “Oh, I just hope I can be of service… I finished asking around the shopping district and thought I’d report back on what I found.”
He opened his notepad and then noticed Hinata peering around his grandfather’s side. “To sum it up, Hinata, I wasn’t able to get any direct eyewitness reports. Everyone there only saw what happened after you and Chris were already on the ground. The security cameras in the area caught the white car, but the incident in question happened in a blind spot. We did get the license plate number, though, so I’ll run it soon… But I don’t know if we’ll be able to file a complaint with what we have…”
Shunya listened to everything he had to say, then asked, “Do you think Chris was targeted?”
Iwata hummed in thought. “Couldn’t say for sure. They might have been trying to push him away. If only we could ask Chris why he was chasing after the car in the first place…”
Chris whined from behind Hinata.
The sound made Hinata come to his senses. That’s right! Chris has bolted off without an order more than once recently. What’s going on? What could be making Chris act that way…? It’s strange; usually it’s so easy for me to tell what Chris is thinking…
“Thank you very much, Officer. I appreciate all the work you’ve done keeping these kids and Chris safe,” Shunya said, bowing once more.
“It’s my pleasure. Hinata, Mayuka, and Chris are my friends. Of course I’m going to do whatever I can to help them,” Iwata said, saluting again. Then he turned to Mayuka. “I’m heading back to the police station now, so I might as well walk you home.”
“Yay! Thank you, Mr. Iwata!” she said, happily hopping over to where she’d left her shoes.
“Hinata,” the officer continued, “if you remember anything or figure something out, be sure to tell me. I’m always at the police station.”
“Th-thank you,” Hinata replied. He felt gratitude warm his heart, knowing that Iwata was on his side.
The police officer left with Mayuka, and the door closed behind them.
Just then, a memory flashed through Hinata’s mind.
The hand that had extended from the passenger seat of the white car. Was it a man’s hand? What had he seen…?
There was something important, a crucial detail that Hinata was forgetting. He shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs.