One upon a night, in Kyoto

It was midnight. I was hiding in the shadow of a small, ancient looking building, which was right off the street. This old city, Kyoto, was still deeply rooted in its rich past, while the rest of the world zoomed into the modern age. The buildings, the roads and the attires of the people here, all of them were undisturbed by the rest of the world, thankfully, I thought.

I was hired by Mr. Izumo, the owner of Raijin chain of stores in Japan. He had come to my office yesterday morning. He told me that he needed the services of a private detective. He looked very disturbed, but with a little orange juice and a cigarette, he soon gained composure. He said to me that his wife was returning home much later than usual from the shamisen classes and that there were many mysterious phone calls in the past one week. When I asked him what he meant when he said ‘mysterious’, he told me that whenever he answered the phone, the caller immediately disconnected. He told me that he suspected that his wife was having extramarital affairs and wanted me to check up on it. I advised him to confront her and find out, but he insisted that I take up the case anyway.

So, I’ve been following Mrs. Izumo since 6 pm now. She came out of ‘Shamisen Academy’ at 6 pm and walked to the nearest bus stand. There, she took the Bus 2R. ‘That’s not going anywhere near her house’ I said to myself. I boarded the bus and took up a seat at the back and made sure that she was visible all the time. She seemed very innocent, the way she looked out her window at the rain clouds. I really hoped that she was as innocent as she looked.

She got down at Fushimi and went into a hotel. Hotel Sakura, I noticed. I followed her, maintaining a safe distance all the while. She went to one of the corners and occupied a table for three. I sat at opposite end. I noticed her ordering tea. Then, she got up and went into the ladies room. I noticed that she had left her handbag behind. Immediately, I went up to her table and started to check the contents of her bag. ‘Nothing unusual’ I said to myself. But then, in an inner compartment, I found a small piece of paper. Written on it, in a very curvy writing was ‘1 am, tonight, City Cemetery’. ‘It must be a note from her lover. The place is not very far from here. That’s probably why she came to this part of the city’ I told myself. I placed the paper back and zipped the handbag. I quickly returned to my table and ordered a tea for myself. She took her time to come back. I glanced at my watch. It said 7 pm. The door of the hotel opened and two middle-aged ladies entered. They looked around as though they were searching for someone. They soon spotted Mrs. Izumo and joined her at her table. They seemed to old friends and were very soon engaged in deep, and seemingly joyful, conversation. ‘No dirt here’ I said to myself. They ordered the full 3-course meal. It was 9 when they decided to get up and leave. They paid their bill and left together. Once again, I followed them being as silent as possible. They went into the nearby theatre. For a full 2 hours, they, and I, sat and watched the lousy horror flick. The movie ended, thankfully, at half past 11 and the three of them came out, in deep discussion. Then, two of them bid Mrs. Izumo goodbye and boarded a bus going downtown. I stood in the shadows and saw Mrs. Izumo looking at her wristwatch. She, then, started walking towards the City Cemetery. ‘It isn’t yet the time for the meeting’ I thought. Still I followed her, hiding in the shadows all the while.

I saw my watch. It struck 12. I was still following Mrs. Izumo. She was walking very slowly. I suspected that it was all the food that she had eaten. The road seemed totally empty and most houses around had their lights off. It seemed very eerie. ‘Its just the stupid horror movie giving you the creeps’ I thought. However, just as I was trying to reassure myself, I had a cold, trickling feeling down my spine. Someone was following me. I couldn’t see who, but my instinct told me that someone was definitely on my tail. That was very unsettling. ‘Worst comes worst, the pistol that I am carrying will be of use’ I thought. Still very uneasy, I realized that I had to pay attention to both, my prey and my predator.

We soon reached the wrought iron gates of the cemetery. I saw her enter and followed her, all the while aware of someone tailing me. I hid in the bushes and watched her walk up a small mound to sit on a bench there. I could clearly see her, silhouetted against the bright, full moon. A good breeze was blowing, which calmed me down. She waited and so did I. At precisely 1, I could see a dark figure making their way up the mound. I realized that this was the moment of truth. This person had to be her secret lover. I focused at this person and tried to remember the details of height, dressing etc. This man reached the bench and sat down beside Mrs. Izumo. They started talking to each other. I knew that I was in for a long night, for I would have to follow this man to find out his address and, hence, identity. Just as I was thinking this, their voices became louder. It looked like they were arguing. The man suddenly pulled out a gun and was waving it around. I pulled out my pistol. Now, if ever, was the right time to use it. I aimed at the man’s thigh and was about to take my shot.
However, I heard some rustling in the foliage behind me. I immediately turned around. I saw someone running away. Before, I could do anything, a bullet whizzed past me. It looked like the man near Mrs. Izumo had heard the rustling and running too. Mrs. Izumo was screaming. I wanted to run too, but was afraid for Mrs. Izumo. I immediately ducked and took cover. The man started firing at my hiding place and I realized that sooner or later, he would hit me. Having made a decision, I jumped out of the bush, took my aim and shot. The bullet hit him, square on his heart. He fell down dead. Mrs. Izumo now fell silent, perhaps too terrified to even scream.

I ran up to her and tried to console her. I couldn’t see the dead man’s face because of the darkness. She asked me who I was, and I realized that there was no point in lying. I told her that I was a private eye and was hired by her husband to follow her. She asked me if I could drop her home. I told her we would have to wait for the police to come. I took her along to the nearest phone booth and called the police from there. Then, we waited. I decided not to disturb the dead body, till the police came. All the while, I was wondering who the other mysterious person was, who was following me. Soon, the police came. I explained to them what I had done and they told me that the both of us would have to go to the police station to make a statement. ‘It’ll be Ok. I have a licence, and I was shooting in self defense’ I told myself. So, we left the cemetery with a police officer and went to the police station. Soon after, we came out and I offered to drop her. She, strangely this time, declined the offer and took a cab. I went back to my house and decided to call it a day.

Next day morning, I thought I should report last night’s events to Mr. Izumo. So, I left the house and took a cab to his house. Upon reaching his huge mansion, I was asked by the butler to wait in the waiting room. There was a TV in the room and I switched it on to see if yesterday night had made it to national television. I was right, it had. The news-announcer said ‘Last night, famous industrialist Mr. Izumo was shot dead at the Kyoto City Cemetery. He….’ I was not able to register the rest of the words, because my mind suddenly seemed to have gone numb. The door opened and Mrs. Izumo entered the room. ‘I’m so sorry, I had to shoot, you see’ I told her. ‘It’s alright’ she told me. ‘Now that he is gone, you are no longer under his employ. Please accept this cheque for your services so far’ she said. I took the cheque, bowed low and left the room. I was feeling very guilty. But I knew that there wasn’t anything else that I could have done in last night’s situation. Consoling myself, I called a cab and asked him to drive me to my office. Only when I was halfway there, I looked at the cheque. That curvy writing seemed familiar………