Chapter Twenty-Three: Mom’s Worry:
The next
morning, Tsuzuki and Anna began their search. First place to stop? Go talk to
the mother. Hisoka tracked down Yoshimi in Nagasaki. She lived in a small
apartment just outside of the city. Tsuzuki and Anna stood at the door.
“Do you want me
to do it?” Tsuzuki asked.
“No, I’ve got
it,” Anna said. She knocked on the door. He held her hand. She held her breath
as the door opened. Yoshimi had heavy bags under her eyes. Her clothes hadn’t
seen an iron in days. She kept her eyes downwards.
“Oh, Anna-chan,”
she said. “So nice to see you. How long has it been?”
“Are you feeling
okay?” Anna asked. Yoshimi didn’t answer at first. Her hand trembled at her
chest.
“Yeah, yeah,”
she lied. “Please, come in.” The couple walked inside. The lights weren’t on in
the living room. Everything looked clean from the darkness. Yoshimi sat down on
her couch.
“How have you
been?” she asked.
“Good,” Anna
said. She touched Tsuzuki’s shoulder.
“This is my
husband,” she said.
“Nice to meet
you,” Tsuzuki said. “My name is Tsuzuki Asato.”
“Ah,” Yoshimi
said.
“How are you
doing?” Anna asked again. The older woman shook her head. Aside from the bags
under her eyes, she looked the same as she did all those years ago. Yoshimi
folded her hands in her lap.
“I can’t sleep,”
she admitted. The woman trembled as she spoke.
“How long has it
been?” Anna asked.
“About three
weeks,” Yoshimi said.
“Did you talk to
her before then?” Tsuzuki asked. The older woman nodded once.
“How was Kiko?”
Anna asked. “How did she sound? Was she worried about anything?”
“No,” Yoshimi
said. “Everything was fine! She had just got promoted weeks earlier.”
“Oh, that’s
good,” Anna said.
“Did her job
call you at some point?” Tsuzuki asked.
“Yes,” Yoshimi
said. “They asked me if I heard anything from her. I said no.” She started
trembling again.
“Oh,” the older
woman whimpered. “Do you think she’s okay? Please tell she’s okay. Is she?”
“Did you go to
the police?” Tsuzuki asked.
“Yes,” Yoshimi
said. “They aren’t much help.”
“Do you think
she killed herself?” he asked. Anna whipped her head around.
“Asato!” she
hissed. The older woman quickly her head.
“Of course not!”
she said. “She wasn’t suicidal!” Anna smacked him in the ribs.
“Ow,” he said
under his breath.
“Don’t,” Anna
said. Tsuzuki ignored her.
“Can we have
Kiko-san’s number?” he asked.
“Sure, hang on,”
Yoshimi said. She reached over for an end table and opened the drawer.
“I keep all
addresses and phone numbers here,” Yoshimi said. She pulled out a small
flower-covered address book and opened it. She flipped through the pages.
“Let’s see,” the
older woman said. “Hm… Hm… Ah! Here it is. Ready?” The couple pulled out their
phones. Yoshimi gave them her daughter’s number.
“Thank you,”
Tsuzuki said.
“Please!” she
pleaded. “Find my daughter!”
“We will try,”
he said. Yoshimi bowed her head.
“Thank you,” she
said.
“Just get some
rest,” Anna said.
“I will,” the
older woman said. She bowed her head again.
--------
“Why did you
tell her that Kiko might have committed suicide?” Anna asked as they walked away
from the apartment. Tsuzuki shrugged.
“I was trying
rule out everything first,” he said. His wife frowned.
“You didn’t have
to be so blunt about it,” she said. Anna puffed up her cheeks.
“I don’t think
she’s dead,” Tsuzuki said. Anna looked up at him.
“Huh?” she
asked. He showed her his phone. Anna read the text with an eyebrow raised.
“What is this?”
she asked. Tsuzuki smiled.
“Kiko’s soul
didn’t make it to Ju-Oh-Cho,” he explained. “There has been no record.” Anna’s
eyes widened.
“You mean…?” she
asked.
“Yes,” he said.
Anna’s heart fluttered in her chest.
“Oh, thank
goodness!” she said. Tsuzuki took hold of her shoulders.
“Yes,” he said.
“We have to hurry. We don’t have much time if we want to find her alive.”
“Right,” Anna
said. They hurried down the street.
---------
Drag. Drag.
Drag. Drag.
Why didn’t she
stay down? Fight. Struggle. Struggle. Struggle. Struggle.
Keep it down.
Keep it down. Looking around the city. No plan or destination. Only keep walking
along.
Drag. Drag.
Drag. Drag.
Why wouldn’t it end?