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your people
want. You may feel the need to speak with her, but
maybe that isn’t what she wants.”
“There should be room for discussion. There are things that we can provide you.
Freedom, for instance, and safety. Knowledge and information. Can’t we find a
neutral place to discuss this? Name the location. We will go wherever you say. I
guarantee her safety, one hundred percent—and not just hers, but the safety of
everyone involved. There’s no need to run away anymore. I think this is a reasonable
request, for both sides.”
“That’s what you say,” Tamaru said. “But there is no reason I should trust you.”
“At any rate, I would appreciate it if you would let Aomame know,” the man said
patiently. “Time is of the essence, and we’re still willing to meet you halfway. If you
need more proof of our reliability, we’ll provide it. You can call here anytime and get
in touch with us.”
“I wonder if you could give me a few more details. Why is she so important to
you? What happened to bring about this transformation?”
The man took a short breath before he replied. “We have to keep hearing the voice.
For us it’s like a never-ending well. And we can’t ever lose it. That’s all I can tell you
at this time.”
“And you need Aomame in order to keep that well.”
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“It’s hard to explain. It’s connected, but that’s all I can say.”
“What about Eriko Fukada? You don’t need her anymore?”
“No, not anymore. We don’t care where she is, or what she’s doing. Her mission is
finished.”
“What mission?”
“That’s sensitive information,” the man said after a pause. “I’m sorry, but I can’t
reveal anything more at this time.”
“I suggest you consider your position very carefully,” Tamaru said. “In this game
we’re playing, it’s my serve. We can get in touch with you anytime we want, but you
can’t get in touch with us. You don’t even know who we are. Correct?”
“You’re right. You do have the advantage. We don’t know who you are. But this
isn’t something we should speak about on the phone. I’ve already said too much,
more than I’m authorized to.”
Tamaru was silent for some time. “All right. We’ll consider your proposal. We
need to talk it over on our end. I will probably be getting in touch with you later.”
“I will be waiting to hear from you,” the man said. “As I said before, this could be
to the advantage of both sides.”
“What if we ignore your proposal, or reject it?”
“Then we would have to do things our way. We have a certain amount of power,
and unfortunately, things might get a little rough. This could cause problems for
everyone involved. No matter who you are, you won’t come through this unscathed. I
don’t see how that could be the ideal outcome for either of us.”
“You may be right. But it will take a while before we get to that point. And as you
said, time is of the essence.”
The man gave a small cough. “It might take time. Or maybe not so much.”
“You won’t know unless you try.”
“Exactly,” the man said. “There’s one more important thing I need to point out. To
borrow your metaphor, in this game it’s your serve. But it doesn’t seem to me like
you’re familiar with the basic rules of the game.”
“That’s another thing you can’t know unless you actually try it.”
“If you do try it and it doesn’t work, that would be a shame.”
“For both of us,” Tamaru said.
A short, suggestive silence followed.
“What do you plan to do about Ushikawa?” Tamaru asked.
“We’ll take charge of him at the earliest opportunity. As early as tonight.”
“The apartment is unlocked.”
“Much appreciated,” the man said.
“By the way, will you all deeply mourn Ushikawa’s death?”
“We deeply mourn any person’s death.”
“You should mourn over him. He was, in his own way, a capable man.”
“But not capable
enough
. Is that what you’re saying?”
“No man is capable enough to live forever.”
“So you say,” the man said.
“Yes, I do think that. Don’t you?”
“I’ll wait for your call,” the man said, without answering, his voice cold.
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Tamaru silently hung up the phone. There was no need for any more talk. If he
wanted to talk further, he would call them. He left the phone booth and walked to
where he had parked his car—an old, drab, dark blue Toyota Corolla van, totally
inconspicuous. He drove for fifteen minutes, pulled up next to an empty park,
checked that there was no one watching, and tossed the plastic bag with the rope and
the rubber band into a trash can. Plus the surgical gloves.
“They deeply mourn any person’s death,” Tamaru said in a low voice as he started
the engine and snapped on his seatbelt.
Good—that’s what’s most important
, he
thought.
Everyone’s death should be mourned. Even if just for a short time
.
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