CHAPTER 25
Kaori jolted awake at the sound of someone knocking on the door with insistence. Letting out a small groan in displeasure, she forced her eyes open, immediately bothered by the strong morning light inundating her small apartment of Tokyo. The female detective instantly placed her hand in front of her eyes, wondering why on earth she had forgotten to close her curtains before going to sleep.
“Kaori, are you alright?” A masculine, familiar voice sounded across the door.
Kaori massaged her temples. Not only had her partner woken her up abruptly in her sleep, she had an inexplicable painful headache. Slowly straightening up in bed, she frowned a little when she discovered she wasn’t wearing her pajamas as expected, but was still in her work uniform. This morning couldn’t have felt anymore strange.
What… happened? Kaori took a seat on the side of the bed with difficulty, trying desperately to clear her foggy mind and put the pieces back together. When she looked up and noticed the empty bottles of beer laying on the coffee table, that’s when she recalled absolutely everything.
Last evening, the police had discovered another body a few minutes away from Tokyo University, at Sanshiro Pond. It was now the third victim by the serial killer familiarly known as the ‘Pond Killer’, a nickname journalists had been swift to assign him after his first victim was discovered in stupor in the crowded area of Shinobazuno Pond.
Three victims in only two months.
Three healthy young men all connected to the female detective’s past love life.
After this third death, Kaori’s sanity was starting to hang by a frayed thread.
“I’m… I’m coming,” Kaori mumbled. Getting up on her feet, she walked towards the coffee table with slightly unbalanced steps, not wishing to let her visitor witness what kind of activity she had participated into after work. Clearing the mess on the coffee table as best as she could, she slipped the empty bottles in the bin underneath the sink, before turning towards the front door.
Kaori adjusted her hair and her clothes, even though she feared she wouldn’t be able to fool very much the person currently waiting behind the door. Letting out a heavy sigh, she approached the entrance, mustering her best smile when she opened. “Daisuke, hi. What are you doing here?”
“Kaori.” The male detective scanned her from head to toe. “It’s past 10 am. I tried to call you on your cell several times, but you didn’t reply.”
“You… You did?” Kaori blinked in confusion, having no memory whatsoever of hearing her phone ringing. “I’m sorry. I must have muted the sound before going to sleep.”
“Have you been… drinking?” Daisuke asked in concern.
Kaori avoided his questioning gaze in unease. Sometimes, she really wished her partner wasn’t so straightforward. “Just give me ten minutes to take a quick shower, and I’ll follow you to the police station.”
Kaori opened the door wider to let him inside and, just as she was about to turn on her heels to join the bathroom, felt a hand catching her forearm. “I know you’re affected by this new death, but you can’t let yourself get carried away.”
“And what am I supposed to do?!” Kaori snapped. “Three people have died in two months! Men I knew intimately!”
Daisuke stayed quiet for a little while, slightly taken aback by her uncharacteristic outburst. “I know it’s hard. I really do.” He caressed her arm softly. “But you can’t give up. Not now.”
“I’m… sorry,” Kaori stammered, feeling embarrassed for having raised her voice in such a rude way. Her partner was only trying to be nice and helpful, but the truth was, this impossible case was starting to drive her mad and making her loose her temper more easily than usual.
“Don’t worry about it.” Daisuke gave her a reassuring smile.
Kaori returned it weakly, soon wincing at the strong pain in her head. Knowing she definitely needed to do something about those headaches before going to work, she apologized briefly, and moved towards the bathroom. Opening the medicine cabinet above the sink, she spotted the necessary pills on the middle shelf and retrieved them.
Kaori slipped a green pill inside her mouth and turned the tap on, leaning forward to drink some water. God, she was feeling so thirsty. She really shouldn’t have drunk so much yesterday. Straightening up, she stole a peek at herself through the mirror, her terrible appearance discouraging her instantly: she looked like a mess. Feeling a new presence by her side, she gave a brief side glance to her right, noting her partner standing quietly on the doorstep.
Leaning on the sink, she let out a small, dejected sigh. “I know how the others are looking at me at the police station. I can feel them whispering behind my back. They think I have something to do with all those murders. Everyone does.”
“I don’t,” the male detective protested immediately. “They are all wrong, and we’re going to prove it by catching the killer.”
Kaori let out a small, bitter laugh at her partner’s obstinacy. “Catch him? And how are we going to do that? We don’t even have a single clue about his identity.”
“We need to check the last murder scene. He must have left some evidence. He can’t be infallible. Soon or later, he’ll make a mistake.” Daisuke affirmed with assurance.
Kaori tilted her head in his direction at his confident tone. Another time, she would have appreciated his utmost dedication to a case, but nothing he could say right now managed to lift her spirits. After the discovery of the first body at Shinobazuno Pond, no one had been more motivated than her to catch the killer. However, the news of the second victim had affected her tremendously. Her connection to the first victim wasn’t a mere coincidence as she initially believed. Not when she also happened to know the second and third victims perfectly.
For a completely unknown reason, she was being targeted. Targeted by a sick mind who was killing one by one all the men she had been involved with at one point in her life.
Tears gathered in Kaori’s eyes in despair. “What if he came after you? Maybe we should stop seeing each other. I would never be able to forgive myself if something… If something happened to you too.”
Daisuke moved forward, and pulled her gently into his arms. “No, Kaori. I’m not going anywhere. We will go through this. Together.”
A few tears slid down Kaori’s cheeks, and she casually leaned her head on his shoulder. “I don’t know what to do… I just don’t know what to do anymore.”
“Kaori, we’ll catch him,” Daisuke repeated, cupping her cheek and pressing a soft, loving kiss to her lips. “I promise you that we will.”
Kaori knew her lover’s faith to be sincere, but she simply couldn’t manage to share it. The police had already swept carefully each crime scene for evidence without success. They had both interrogated every single person who could have possibly witnessed something the days of the murders, to no avail. They had scrupulously investigated the criminals she had arrested in the past, and could have held a vendetta against her.
All leads had been complete dead ends.
Rena took a seat in the dressing room to finish adjusting her appearance. Another day of shooting had just ended in Tokyo, and the drama was progressively but surely nearing its end. In approximatively two weeks, she would be shooting the final episode in which the identity of the mysterious ‘Pond Killer’ would be revealed, marking her progressive return to Nagoya. Right now, the dressing room was currently empty, and the actress took time to check herself in the mirror.
She had already changed into more casual clothes and removed her makeup, but she knew she still needed to do something important before leaving the room. Slipping her hand in her backpack, she retrieved a small red square box that she placed on the small table in front of her. Opening it delicately, she gazed at the familiar piece of jewelry inside. Her fingertips encircled carefully the precious silver ring hanging from the necklace, and she couldn’t help reading once again the inscription written inside.
Forever yours, JRena already knew the sentence by heart, but she still felt a rush of emotions surging through her. The beautiful declaration of love never failed to touch her heart, and a smile gradually moved to her lips as her thoughts led her back unconsciously to that sunny day of July in Kyoto. That Sunday afternoon when she and Jurina had taken a refreshing stroll in the Maruyama Park, and Jurina had caught her by complete surprise by offering her that meaningful ring.
Realizing that she was getting caught in the past – something that seemed to happen far too frequently lately – Rena tore her eyes away from the cherished ring, and detached the necklace to place it around her neck. It was a little ritual she had been following diligently every day since her separation with Jurina. Albeit the fact she could never make the ring apparent or wear the necklace during shootings or photoshoots, she never forgot to put it back on as soon as she had the chance.
Maybe was she being too sentimentalist; or maybe did she need to feel that - in a certain way - Jurina had not completely left her side. Regardless, that special ring reminded her of so many fond memories. Happy moments with Jurina that – unexpectedly - always managed to make her smile even during the darkest times.
When Rena opened the door and stepped outside the dressing room, she wasn’t surprised in the least to notice Yosuke standing a bit further away in the corridor. Her male co-star had his back leaned slightly against the wall behind him – his attention monopolized by the cell in his hands - but he instantly glanced up her way when he heard sounds of footsteps. As soon as their eyes met they exchanged a smile, Rena noting that the actor was playing at
Fire Emblem Heroes when she approached.
“Winning?” she asked, looking down in interest at the screen of his black iPhone 7. It was a game her co-star had been pretty much engrossed into these last few weeks. His enthusiasm about the tactical RPG was a feeling very familiar to her. It was the same reaction she harbored when she played one of her favorite games on her 3DS. However, she had neglected her console these past two months, somehow not feeling really in the mood for the activity.
“If only.” Yosuke sighed dejectedly, showing in frustration the GAME OVER message appearing in big red letters on the screen. “Legion is impossible to beat in Infernal mode.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Rena sympathized with him. “I wish I could help… but you know I’m not very good at that game.”
“It’s fine, I’ll try again later. I won’t give up.” Yosuke quit the game and placed the device back inside his black vest pocket. “Anyway… what do you think about a Korean restaurant? I spotted one fifteen minutes away from here.”
“A Korean restaurant?” Rena pondered over his offer. If truth be told, it wasn’t a type of food she normally ate, but she figured a little change wouldn’t hurt. Besides, she could sense by the actor’s somewhat expectant look that he was looking forward to it, and she saw no good reason to object. “Hm. Why not?”
A wide smile spread across Yosuke’s features. “Follow me.”
It had already been two weeks since the scene Yosuke had accidentally witnessed that evening in the restaurant and – even if Rena still felt deeply ashamed to have been caught in such an unusual moment of weakness – they never mentioned it ever again. Nevertheless, that memorable incident had taught her that she definitely needed to be more cautious, and it could have been worse if the actor had not intervened in time.
What would have happened if she hadn’t been able to stop herself from drowning her sorrows with alcohol, and a paparazzi had caught her walking back to her hotel in a heavenly drunken state? She didn’t even want to imagine the devastating repercussions it could have had on her image and her career.
After that day, she realized her emotional state was even more fragile than she had anticipated, and it was much wiser to avoid going out alone to a restaurant for the time being. Taking the risk of repeating such a mistake was obviously out of the question. She badly needed a distraction, Rena figured, and Yosuke’s previous suggestions progressively came back to the forefront of her mind.
Not ready to participate in big social events yet, she nevertheless approached her male co-star one evening after a day of shooting, and suggested him to have dinner just the two of them. Even though he looked mildly surprised at first, he accepted without hesitation, and they spent the evening in a restaurant that both suited their liking.
It was now the fourth time they were going out, and Rena had to admit she appreciated highly those precious hours spent in the presence of her co-star. Their casual conversations and the pleasant company made her evenings pass by faster, enabling her to successfully and thankfully forget about her grief for a little while, her melancholic side vanishing equally when she was with Yosuke.
“It’s here.” Rena paused in her steps when – a little while later - the actor suddenly grabbed her arm and stopped them in front of a restaurant. “It’s the place I was talking about.”
Rena read the white letters above the wooden door,
Tonchang Ueno, before taking a curious peek inside the restaurant through the window panes. The place was actually not very big, but there were only few clients currently eating. After all, it was the middle of the week, and still a little early.
The actress was conscious of Yosuke’s fingers still surrounding her arm, yet she didn’t attempt to put some distance between them, not feeling in the slightest bothered by the gesture. Lately, Yosuke had been acting a little friendlier with her. The shy person she had met at the beginning of the shooting of
Destiny was a far distant memory, and their unexpected reunion on this new drama had brought them even more close. Now, the actor didn’t hesitate to initiate simple physical contact, whether on set or during leisure times when they joined their hotel or went out to eat.
Rena felt comfortable enough around him, and it wasn’t uncommon for her to act similarly in an informal way. If truth be told, she had quickly felt a connection to Yosuke, even back then when they worked together on
Destiny. Calling him a friend didn’t sound appropriate, as she didn’t believe their relationship to have developed to such a high level, yet she couldn’t deny the fact she had ceased viewing him as a mere co-worker a long time ago.
Working on such an important drama implied long days of shootings, and you could easily become bored and lonely, especially while waiting for your turn between takes. Rena couldn’t feel luckier to have someone by her side that – not only she worked incredibly well with – she sincerely managed to get along with.
“It looks nice,” Rena confirmed with a smile, after noticing that her co-star was still kindly waiting for her approval to enter the restaurant. “Let’s eat here.”
“Do you think we’ll end up together?”
Rena’s hand stilled, the Kimchi she had barely placed between her chopsticks almost escaping her when she heard the strange question falling from Yosuke’s lips. Composing herself a little, she carefully made sure the food was completely secured again, before gazing confusingly at the actor eating opposite her. “I’m… sorry?”
“I’m talking about Kaori and Daisuke,” he clarified, slightly amused by her reaction. “Do you think they will stay together?”
“Oh… that.” Rena relaxed instantly. “I have no idea. The plot is so unpredictable and the director hasn’t given me the final script yet.”
“I wish they did,” Yosuke stated, placing nonchalantly two other pieces of meat on the grill between them. “I think they deserve a happy ending; especially after everything Kaori has been through.”
“We still know nothing about the identity of the killer,” Rena reminded him. “What if Daisuke was guilty? What if
you were the killer?”
Yosuke’s mouth tugged into an amused smile at her challenging tone, not failing to distinguish the evident teasing behind her words. “I’m sure he’s not. I can tell he truly cares about her.” He shook his head in determination. “It has to be someone else; someone in Kaori’s background. What about her mentor, Azuma-san? She confides a lot in him; and he knew all the previous victims.”
Rena took a moment to think about his theory, recognizing that – even though she didn’t truthfully believe that character in particular to be the killer – it wasn’t completely senseless. “Maybe you’re right. We’ll have to wait the end of the drama to know for sure.”
Yosuke nodded in agreement and they continued to eat, Rena admitting to herself that her co-star had made an excellent choice by bringing them to this Korean restaurant. The food was nice and tasty, and the place quiet enough not to be disturbed. Since they had entered the place, they had engaged in casual talks, but never invaded each other’s privacy with very personal questions. Amongst all his personality traits, it was one of those she appreciated the most.
Two weeks ago, when he had stumbled upon her in the restaurant and discovered the dangerous direction her evening was taking, he hadn’t tried to pry either, instead walking her back to the hotel and very nicely taking care of her. Up to that day, she still felt utterly grateful for his attention and discretion.
“You know, when I think about
Destiny…” Yosuke trailed off.
Rena looked up in curiosity at the mention of the drama they had previously shot together, wondering what could be crossing the actor’s mind right now as he looked quite pensive. In fact, he even put down his chopsticks and avoided her gaze, almost as if he was a little hesitant to continue with his train of thoughts.
“Maybe you’ll think it’s silly but…” He chuckled nervously. “I always believed Yoshiaki and Arisa made a nice couple and would end up together. I was a little disappointed when it didn’t happen.”
Rena didn’t know exactly what to say. It had now been almost a year since the shooting of the drama, and she definitely didn’t recall the actor conveying such thoughts at the time. Why did he suddenly feel the need to bring it up? But most of all; what kind of reply was he expecting from her? Once she accepted a role, she never put in question the director’s decisions and even less intervened in the writing process. Her personal opinion was irrelevant; her job was merely to follow the director’s directives and portray the character as accurately as described on the paper.
“She cared sincerely about Yoshiaki,” Rena started, trying to remember better Arisa’s motivations. Arisa had been nothing but a fascinating character to play, but so complex and occasionally even a little challenging to understand. Notably her extreme devotion to Nobunaga – her first, lost love - and persistent refusal to put the past behind. “Yoshiaki was a good person,” she conceded. “But Arisa remained haunted by the memory of her first love. She just… couldn’t forget about him.”
Rena’s eyes widened slightly, this conversation unpredictably making her aware of a certain irony. On the set of
Destiny, she had been obliged to address the director and question him once in a while, not always entirely grasping her character’s choices. In hindsight, Arisa’s reasons appeared much less illogical, in particular when she found uncanny resemblances with her own personal life.
It was her last week of shooting in Tokyo. Already, Rena was feeling a little nostalgic, knowing she was going to miss filling the shoes of this strong yet so tormented female detective. Kaori had been through so many moments of hardship since the beginning of the TV show, but she was thankfully about to reach her objective. In only two episodes, the mysterious identity of the ‘Pond Killer’ was finally going to be revealed to the audience.
This morning, Rena was reviewing with assiduity her lines for today’s episode, walking across her hotel room as she was reciting out loud a few dialogues. Pausing in her steps, she looked up from the text and checked her watch, taking in she still had a little time ahead of her until she would need to leave and join the set. Feeling contended enough with her careful rereading, she closed the script and approached the table, her eyes soon falling on another script on the table.
The script of the final episode.
The director had handed it over to her two days ago, but she still hadn’t read it. It wasn’t that she wasn’t interested in the killer’s identity – quite the contrary – but she had voluntarily left it aside, not wishing to take the risk of having the discovery affecting her acting in any way. Somehow, she highly suspected the murderer to be someone she was familiar with. Maybe even a person from her close entourage…
As Rena placed her script back on the table, her fingers trailed across the other untouched script, knowing she could now afford to satisfy her curiosity. Pulling the chair, she took a seat at the table and turned the first page, her eyes falling in interest on the text. For the following minutes, her attention was entirely monopolized by the script, a gasp escaping her lips in shock when she finally got the answer she was searching on page 10.
“Wait. He was right.” Rena couldn’t believe her eyes. Out of all the potential suspects, she would never have expected this character’s betrayal. “The killer really is…”
She didn’t have time to complete her sentence that she got distracted by the sound of her cellphone beeping. Tearing her eyes away from the script, she stole a curious peek at the device placed on the table. Realizing that she had just received a text from her agent, she gave her undivided attention to it, and read the few lines written in the message.
Hello Rena.
Something came up this morning. Please open the following link. You can reach me at any time if you want to discuss on the best way to deal with this situation.Rena arched an eyebrow at her agent’s enigmatic words, wondering what kind of situation she could possibly be referring to. Not waiting any longer, she opened the web link in curiosity, but froze instantly when she saw the article charging on her phone.
The stars of Destiny have been rekindling the flame on the set of their new dramaA very catchy and daring title written in large letters, followed by many stolen pictures of she and Yosuke in the streets of Tokyo.
It took her all the self-restraint in the world not to scream.
This couldn’t be happening. Not again.
Anger boiled up inside her as she went through the article, appalled by the shameful and ridiculous rumors Bunshun Shunkan wasn’t afraid to spread about an allegedly romantic relationship between them. Considering the nature of the stolen pictures accompanying the article, she deduced the paparazzi must have been following her for weeks, maybe even since the beginning of the shooting.
“Why do they do that?” Rena fulminated and closed the webpage hurriedly, refusing to read another single line of this tissue of lies. “Why can’t they leave me in peace?!”
Her exasperation gave way progressively to a greater sense of powerlessness, wondering how on earth she was going to deal with this article. The last time the tabloid had spread false rumors about she and Yosuke, it was during the shooting of Destiny. A short tweet denying categorically any involvement with her male partner had been enough to solve the issue, but she was getting so tired of all this.
Exhausted to constantly have to justify herself.
Yes, she was aware that she was a public figure, and that her popularity as an actress had grown tremendously this past year. But why was she targeted, out of all people? Why was the tabloid always so interested in her private life? First, they had made twice false assumptions about the nature of her relationship with Yosuke. Then, they had taken pictures of she and Jurina near her apartment...
At the latest thought, Rena’s heart immediately started hammering inside her chest, realizing in stupor the terrible consequences this article was going to have on her. If she had discovered that article, then there was no doubt Jurina was soon going to learn about it too, if it wasn’t already the case. And, this time, she wouldn’t be so inclined to brush away swiftly those rumors as she had the first time.
“She’ll believe it…” Rena’s voice quivered in despair. “She’ll think… She’ll think it’s all true.”
Rena grabbed her phone with haste and started typing quickly a message to her agent, informing her about her decision. She couldn’t wait and let things drag on. She needed to release a public statement about the article, and fast. She refused to let those awful lies hurt Jurina; not when she had already caused her so much pain. What if she came to falsely believe it was precisely the reason why she had broken up with her? Because she had developed feelings for someone else?
Her fingers stopped typing abruptly right in the middle of her sentence, all of sudden fearing the futility of her action. Even if she denied everything, a little voice inside her head was telling her there was a high risk Jurina would disregard her official statement and deep down still believe every single word written in that article. Convince herself that she was solely attempting to preserve her image by making that kind of declaration.
Their relationship had ended two months ago; nothing was preventing her anymore from believing in those dating rumors. Regardless, Rena refused to come back on her decision or lose hope, and she resumed typing her text. If her words had even the slightest chance of reaching Jurina, then she needed to try.
TO BE CONTINUED