Geister-Hutong

Kapitel 12

"Really? This is pure gold, worth 700,000."

"Seven hundred thousand! That's several months' salary for me." Nogami Sachiyo barely managed to suppress the urge to say, "Good steel is not used for cutting."

After filling in the amount and his name on the receipt, Uematsu stamped it with his own seal. He felt something was amiss about stamping a receipt he had written himself.

"Thank you, thank you for your trouble." Nogami Sachiyo hurriedly turned and left.

Uematsu was mesmerized by his own pen, scribbling "The handwriting reflects the person" in clumsy handwriting on the manuscript paper, indulging in self-admiration. He was a rather simple-minded fellow. "Oh no, I stamped the wrong one," Uematsu muttered, looking at the stamp he had just put on the document. "What a nuisance. —Hey, Nogami-kun!" He stood up and walked through the aisle towards Nogami Sachiyo's seat, but there was no one there.

"Where's Nogami-kun?"

"He suddenly said he was going out... I guess he's going to have tea," said the female employee at the next table.

Uematsu's slightly confused expression suddenly turned serious, and he hurriedly ran towards the elevator.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting." Nogami Sachiyo walked into the store looking radiant.

"I'm so sorry to trouble you all the time," Yuriko said.

"Okay. Hey, wait a minute, coffee! Make sure to add extra sugar. The last one was so bitter I couldn't drink it."

"Understood, understood," the shop assistant-looking man replied with a smile, probably already used to Sachiyo's way of speaking. Although her way of speaking was a bit direct, it was more spicy than harsh.

"Here, a receipt. I had him write it as you instructed." Sachiyo said, placing the receipt that Uematsu had written on the table.

Thank you. Will you be suspected?

"No problem, that guy is a simpleton."

"This pen is..."

"It's his own fountain pen, probably the one he usually uses. If the forged documents last time were made by Uematsu, I think he must have used this pen. A cheap, attention-grabbing foreign product must use special ink."

"Thank you so much. I need to get it tested as soon as possible." Yuriko bowed her head in gratitude.

2005-3-14 15:15:00

"No need for thanks or anything like that. I admire Mr. Sasamoto very much. It's unacceptable for someone like him to be dismissed for something he didn't do. Just tell me if there's anything I can do to help."

Yuriko sincerely thanked Nogami Sachiyo for her words; there was no more reliable partner than her.

“Even so, I wonder what Mr. Sasakimoto is up to.” A faint cloud of worry clouded Sachiyo’s face. Yuriko comforted her, “Don’t worry about that.”

"Yes, that's what I think too. I completely understand your concerns. It's surprising that they haven't contacted us yet..."

"I think maybe my father is already dead."

"impossible!"

"Of course, I don't want to believe it either, but if I'm not mentally prepared... my older sister and younger sister still need their father's care, and I can't afford to be weak."

"You're amazing." Sachiyo's eyes welled up with tears. "I'll definitely be a good wife someday."

A faint blush rose to Yuriko's face. "Then, I'll take my leave."

"Ah, be careful on the road. Okay, I'll pay for the coffee."

"Well then, thank you for your hospitality." Yuriko accepted readily. But if she spent any extra money, she had to listen to Tamami's nagging.

"You're welcome."

After leaving the shop, Yuriko checked her watch. She had to go to the hospital where Tamami was staying. But if she could contact Kunitomo first, there might still be time to go there.

"Phone, phone..."

The traffic outside was too noisy, so let's go underground. Yuriko went down the stairs to the subway connection point. —Although it was called a connection point, it was actually a little ahead of the subway station, in an underground block connecting the buildings.

“There…”

The underground block looks more like a resting place, with clean benches and three phone booths, arranged quite attractively. Underground blocks like this will soon become homes for the homeless, a fact true everywhere. This place is no exception; four or five homeless people huddle on the benches, each claiming their own spot. As lunchtime approaches, cheap food stalls and ramen stands set up, and the office workers bring a lively atmosphere. But during the morning hours, there are almost no pedestrians, a prime time for the homeless to sleep.

The homeless men, their clothes filthy, their hair covered in dust, and holding wine glasses, stared at Yuriko with bloodshot eyes. Their listless gazes were fixed on her, as if they could see right through her. Yuriko felt a wave of nausea and quickly ran into a phone booth.

“Hmm… Kuniyoshi…” Yuriko took out the notebook she got from Kuniyoshi and dialed the number.

"Is Mr. Kuniyoshi here?"

"Ah... I think he's here. Is there anything urgent?" It was a male colleague's voice.

"Yes, it's very urgent."

"Okay, I'll go find him. Are you just going to wait like this? Is he outside?"

"Yes, that's it."

Do you have ten yen?

"No problem. I'll wait."

"Alright, I'll go look for it."

There was a click on the phone; the other party had probably put it down on the table. Yuriko leaned back leisurely, waiting. As long as she got the receipt to Kuniyoshi, that was fine. Then, if it could be proven that Uematsu's handwriting matched the forged receipt, the police wouldn't be able to ignore it.

Yuriko's suspicion of Uematsu wasn't specifically about him giving her money. It's understandable that a superior would face trouble when a subordinate is suspected of murder, and such an attitude isn't necessarily inappropriate. However, since her father said he was on a business trip, Yuriko believed he really was. Even if her father had someone he loved and spent a few days at her house or traveling with her, Yuriko thought she could disregard that. No, if her father truly had such a relationship, he would have told Yuriko. Even if he kept quiet about it because of Ayako's emotional fragility and Tamami's childishness, he would have been open and honest with Yuriko, whom he trusted. If his relationship with a woman had progressed to that point, it was impossible for her father not to tell her.

Yuriko concluded that her father's business trip was definitely true. In fact, the person who conveyed this unequivocal message was Uematsu. Although Uematsu had said her father was taking leave, according to her father's colleague, Nishikawa, her father was the kind of person who wouldn't let sudden leave disrupt his work. In other words, Uematsu was lying. Knowing that the leave application was forged only increased Yuriko's suspicions. Perhaps it was Yuriko's visit and the questions she asked that made him suddenly uneasy, prompting him to hastily forge the leave application. However, he was too foolish, creating something that even an expert could see through at a glance.

Yuriko sighed. "Kunitomo's probably gone out. I've been waiting for about five minutes. Even though I brought a lot of ten-yen coins to make a phone call, it's not a problem, but..."

A reflection in the light revealed figures. As Yuriko turned to look, the door to the phone booth opened, and homeless people sleeping on the bench squeezed in.

"What are you doing! Go over there!" The three homeless men laughed and squeezed into the phone booth.

"stop!"

A person hung up the phone, and a ten-yen coin fell out with a clink.

"I'll pay you if you want. Please let me finish this important call." Yuriko's face contorted from the strange, foul stench; the smell of alcohol filled the phone booth.

"Give me the money," someone said, their words slurred. Yuriko's hands trembled as she reached to open her handbag.

"Wait a minute... get out. You can't move inside." A man snatched the handbag.

"Don't do that! There's more than just money inside!"

Just as Yuriko was about to cry out, someone struck her hard in the lower abdomen. The pain caused her upper body to lean forward, and someone quickly covered her mouth with their hand. She desperately twisted her body to avoid the hand reaching for her chest. It was no longer possible to tell who was who; several hands reached into Yuriko's breasts and skirt. They were intent on taking advantage, using their weight to press Yuriko into a corner, rendering her unable to move.

This can't go on! Taking advantage of the moment when her hand covering her mouth relaxed slightly, Yuriko bit down hard without thinking.

"Ouch!" The man screamed and let go.

2005-3-14 15:16:00

"Help! Help!" As soon as the man's hand left, Yuriko cried out for help.

Hey! You guys—

Upon seeing the patrolling guards, the three homeless men scattered and fled. Yuriko suddenly felt weak and collapsed onto the floor of the phone booth as if she had fallen apart.

When a person is lucky, everything goes smoothly.

Ayako truly understood the meaning of this saying today. Reflecting on yesterday's events, she felt that today perfectly exemplified the saying, "After the worst comes the best."

Although Mrs. Katase was murdered at the Katase family home where Yuriko was staying, Ayako—though she felt somewhat apologetic—was more concerned about whether she could get through the day at the company unscathed.

Today, however, went unexpectedly smoothly for Ayako.

"Sasaki-kun".

As soon as Ayako sat down, the section chief, who had been furious about the package the day before, walked over, which startled her.

"I'm sorry about yesterday."

Ayako was even more dumbfounded after hearing what the section chief said.

"nothing."

"No, I checked, and that loosely tied package wasn't packed by you. Please forgive me. You like chocolate, don't you?"

"ah……"

The section chief took a box of chocolates out of his pocket and placed it in front of Ayako.

"Ah, do your best," the section chief said before leaving.

Ayako was genuinely bewildered for a while. However, this bewilderment was one of blissful immersion. "So-called happiness is a feeling derived from comparing oneself to one's own past self," Ayako pondered philosophically.

Adding to the unexpected events this morning, her job today is photocopying, which is what she's good at.

"I need you to make a hundred copies of the same thing. I'm sorry to ask you to do something so boring and tedious, but please do."

Hearing this instruction, she really wanted to reply, "No, I love doing boring and tedious things." Even the clumsy Ayako gradually became skilled after making copies several times. After that, even though only the page numbers differed, she enjoyed it immensely. Moreover, making one hundred copies of a single original meant using a bag containing one hundred sheets of copy paper—there was no way she would make a mistake.

Ayako felt an immense sense of happiness as she made the copies. No, this happiness didn't come entirely from the copying process.

—And then there were the memories of yesterday. She remembered being held tightly in Anton's arms. In her dream, nestled against Anton's chest, held tightly, kissed, Ayako felt she could just stay like that and not care about anything else. But Anton did more than that; he lay motionless, his head against his chest. Ayako, weeping, looked up, and Anton pulled her closer and kissed her again.

“Teacher…” Ayako murmured to herself.

"I'm sorry for doing this to you." Anton smiled sheepishly.

"No, it's nothing." Ayako buried her head in Anton's arms again, vaguely sensing the man's distinctive sweat and body odor. Anton's heartbeat and her own pounding heartbeat resonated subtly.

“You’re a good girl,” Anton said. “I’ve liked you since the first time we met.”

Ayako closed her eyes as if in a dream.

Then, she learned from Anton about the disharmony between him and his wife, Kiko. After listening to Anton's complaints, Ayako felt a pang of heartache.

“Maybe having a child would be better,” Anton said. “But for Qizi, her teaching career is the most important thing in the world. She doesn’t want anything that would hinder her career. A child is no exception. For Qizi, she can’t afford to waste time on such troublesome things.”

Haven't you ever thought about breaking up?

"Divorce? -- But we're both teachers, so divorce is quite difficult. So in the end, I can only endure it."

"But... if things continue like this..."

"You're still young. You're only nineteen, right?"

"yes."

"But I'm getting old. I can't let you waste your youth."

"Teacher, no—"

"Alright. Now that this has happened, I'm bound to lose control someday. Besides, Qizi stays at school very late every day. Maybe one day I'll succumb to my desires. You should leave this house."

"No. I want to stay with Teacher." Ayako threw herself into Anton's arms again...