Detective Yamamoto and the Cheating Boyfriend Part 3

THURSDAY

Detective Yamamoto’s driving terrified him considerably more now that Satoshi had the capability to focus on it. Whereas yesterday he distracted himself by focusing on following Ryu Kurosaki’s car, Satoshi now could only focus on the multitude of other cars that Yamamoto could crash into as she shifted lanes haphazardly while using her turn signal as sparingly as possible.

Despite his fears and seemingly against the Detective’s best efforts, they eventually arrived at the plaza they had visited yesterday, alive and in one piece. Satoshi didn’t have time to dwell on the thought too much on the trip over, but going to a jewelry store or a fancy restaurant for information was a nice change of pace from the usual dive bars and run down commercial centers. Satoshi climbed out of the car and stood on shaky legs.

“Detective, would you mind if I drove back?” It was a forlorn hope, but Satoshi was far more confident in his own driving abilities. Detective Yamamoto clutched her car keys defensively, as though she feared, and not without good reason, that Satoshi would swipe them.

“I don’t trust anyone with my precious car,” she pouted. There were many adjectives that sprang to Satoshi’s mind with which he would describe the detective’s car, but ‘precious’ was certainly not one of them. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, Satoshi shelved the topic for another time and followed Detective Yamamoto as she walked towards the jewelry store.

The interior of the store was clean and brightly-lit. Satoshi and Detective Yamamoto had scarcely set foot past the threshold when the middle-aged woman behind the desk directed her attention at them.

“Good morning!” said the woman. To her credit, she seemed truly sincere. “How may I assist you on this lovely day?” Satoshi waited to take his cue from the detective when, in unilateral fashion, she wrapped both of her arms around one of his and pressed her body up against him.

“We're getting married!” the detective declared. “We're here to shop for rings.” Satoshi was stunned into silence. The woman's smile widened.

“Oh, congratulations!” she crooned. “Do you have anything specific in mind?” Detective Yamamoto pretended to think for a moment.

“Well,” she said, feigning uncertainty, “a friend of ours came here the other day and he recommended it to us. Do you think you could show us what he bought?”

“Oh, I know just who you mean, dear.” said the woman. She took a moment to flip through receipts from the previous day and then moved to one of the display cases. She pointed down with a gnarled finger at a cluster of rings. Each ring consisted of multiple bands of pale gold that were woven together in various patterns. “Your friend came in yesterday. He chose an engagement ring from this collection.” At the mention of the word 'engagement', Detective Yamamoto and Satoshi gave each other a knowing look.

“These are lovely,” said the detective, “but there are so many beautiful choices. What do you say darling? I think we might need to sleep on it.”

“O-of course, dear,” Satoshi stammered. “They all look nice.” He wasn't prepared to offer any input, but he recognized a cue when he heard one.

“Oh well,” said the woman. “Do come again soon.”

As Satoshi and Detective Yamamoto exited the jewelry store they couldn't help but celebrate slightly. After all, this solid proof supported the detective's theory.

“Sound's like a closed case to me,” said the detective turning to Satoshi.

“It sure seems like it. I'm sorry I doubted Ryu,” conceded Satoshi. “What is it?” Satoshi noticed the slightly puzzled look on the detective's face.

“Maybe we should check out the restaurant too, just to be thorough.” Satoshi shrugged. After all, it couldn't hurt. Unfortunately, Satoshi hadn't considered that they would need to drive to the restaurant. Despite another harrowing car trip and what, to an outside observer, might have been Detective Yamamoto's subtle attempt to end this case abruptly with their deaths, Satoshi was grateful to have arrived at the restaurant in good health, if somewhat nauseous. As always, Detective Yamamoto was totally unaffected by her own cavalier approach to the laws of traffic, and she almost seemed to resent Satoshi's distress as if it were criticism. After taking a moment to calm down, Satoshi climbed out of the car and approached the storefront of the restaurant with Detective Yamamoto a few strides behind him.

Satoshi was mildly surprised to find that the restaurant was actually open at this time of day. They weren’t currently serving any customers, but he would have expected they would keep the doors locked as they prepared for the evening’s dinner service. As soon as the door shut behind him, a rather exquisitely dressed man confronted him and the detective.

“Excuse me,” he said with perfect elocution. “We are not currently serving customers.”

“We're not customers,” said the detective with a smile. The man kept a vaguely disdainful expression on his face as he looked up and down the detective and Satoshi.

“I am well aware, miss. Even if you intended to patronize this establishment, we would not allow you in dressed like that.” The host’s emphasis on the word ‘that’ especially irritated Satoshi. Obviously they weren’t dressed in their Sunday best, but they weren’t here for a fancy dinner either.

This guy has a really rotten attitude, thought Satoshi.

“We’re not here to eat, we’re here to ask about a reservation,” said Satoshi.

“I assure you, sir, there are no reservations available for you. We are booked solid.”

“Great for you! Is there a reservation for a mister Ryu Kurosaki?” said Satoshi with some sarcasm. The host sniffed haughtily.

“That’s privileged information.” As Satoshi and the host continued bickering and gradually increasing in volume and vitriol, Detective Yamamoto casually stepped away from the pair and walked behind the host’s station. With an innocence that belied the adjacent argument, Detective Yamamoto flipped through the appointment book that held all of the current reservations. Naturally, she didn’t care about the vast majority of them, but one stood out.

“Mister Kurosaki, 7pm, special four course meal, string quartet,” the detective read out loud. The host snapped to attention and rounded on Detective Yamamoto.

“That does not belong to you,” he roared as he snatched the appointment book. Detective Yamamoto held up her hands and stepped back from the podium.

“What’s with the special four course meal and string quartet?” she asked.

“If you must know, patrons request the string quartet for romantic occasions, and the four course meal is a special that must be ordered well in advance.”

“Romantic occasions like marriage proposals?” This seemed to jolt the host out of his anger. His gaze drifted between the detective and Satoshi before focusing on the detective.

“What is your game, hm? Why have you vultures descended upon this restaurant?”

“We just want to know if the guy who made this reservation is planning to propose.”

“If you must know, I will tell you,” said the host. He spoke slowly and deliberately. “But once I do, you must leave and never return.”

To Satoshi's horror, Detective Yamamoto didn't immediately jump on this offer. Instead she put her hand to her mouth as though she were actually weighing the pros and cons of the offer.

“Never return?” she asked. “What if I want to eat here?”

“Deal! We'll leave!” exclaimed Satoshi before the situation could degenerate any further.

“Very well,” said the host. “Mr. Kurosaki does plan to propose.” Satoshi and Yamamoto looked at each other and Yamamoto gave Satoshi a thumbs up sign. Satoshi let out a big relieved sigh.

“I knew it!” she exclaimed, pumping her arm up and down in celebration.

“Ahem,” said the host to get their attention once again. “Get out!”

Satoshi and Detective Yamamoto did as they were instructed with indecent alacrity. Once they had left, Detective Yamamoto turned to face Satoshi.
“Did you hear that, assistant?” she said grinning smugly. “Kurosaki is planning to propose.”

“I guess he is,” said Satoshi, sighing with relief.

“The signs were there,” she continued. “We can tell Hitomi the good news.”
Panic briefly struck Satoshi. “You don’t mean about the proposal?

Detective Yamamoto laughed. “No, I mean that her boyfriend isn’t cheating on her. What kind of person would I be if I spoiled that surprise?” Satoshi conceded that the detective had a point, but that made things a bit more difficult in its own way. Sure, they had good news to give Hitomi, but they also had to avoid giving her the other bit of good news they had uncovered. He pondered the best way to go about this when Detective Yamamoto took the initiative again.

“Hi Hitomi, this is Detective Yamamoto,” she said, speaking into the mouthpiece of her phone. “I’ve concluded my investigation, you can stop by at you convenience.”

~~~

Hitomi arrived nearly an hour later. She looked marginally better than she had when she first brought her case to the agency, but Satoshi chalked this up to her putting on a brave face. As before, Satoshi provided her with a seat in front of the detective’s desk and went to stand beside the detective as she sat. For a moment, no one said anything. Satoshi suspected that Detective Yamamoto might be trying to manufacture a little dramatic tension. He cleared his throat and tried to nudge Yamamoto without alerting Hitomi.

“We’ve investigated Ryu Kurosaki,” said the detective. “and it is my distinct pleasure to inform you that he isn’t cheating on you.” Hitomi let out a massive sigh of relief.

“Thank God,” she exclaimed. Satoshi also felt suitably relieved, at least until she followed up her exclamation with a question. “So what was he doing?” Hitomi looked first at the detective, who stared back blankly before shifting her gaze to Satoshi.

“What was he doing?” Satoshi echoed uncomfortably. He was keenly aware that a note of alarm entered his voice as he spoke. In truth, this was the eventuality he was most nervous about, because now they would have to lie. He had given some thought about how they might dance around this uncomfortable question, but he and the detective hadn’t discussed it in earnest or coordinated their stories. Worst of all, if Hitomi thought they were lying, for whatever reason, this would call the entirety of the investigation into question, and in all likelihood, it would ruin a relationship that didn’t need to break up. Satoshi feigned a brief coughing fit.

“He was just going about his business. Nothing really to report,” Satoshi eventually said, trying his best not to look shifty or deceptive. Detective Yamamoto folded her hands in front of her face, leaned forward onto her desk and sighed. Satoshi knew her well enough to know that she was putting on an act, but he hoped Hitomi wouldn’t pick up on that at all.

“I debated about telling you this,” said the detective. “Tell me, is your birthday coming up soon?” Satoshi wasn’t sure where this line of inquiry was leading, but it made him tense. Hitomi nodded.

“Yes, my birthday is in a few weeks from now,” she said.

“Well congratulations,” said the detective, injecting a forced jovial tone into her voice. “I believe he’s getting you a very nice necklace your birthday, and he was trying to keep it a secret.”

“Oh,” said Hitomi. There was a hint of disappointment in her voice as the ’surprise’ was ruined and Satoshi felt a definite twinge of guilt. He didn’t like being party to this, and it threw Hitomi’s poor boyfriend under a bus he didn’t even know existed, but he chose to hold onto the hope that the impending marriage proposal was grand enough to make all the lies and subterfuge seem funny in retrospect.

“Sorry to ruin the surprise,” said the detective. Satoshi noted that Detective Yamamoto did a startlingly good job at sounding remorseful, especially considering that she was lying through her teeth. “I figure it’s a small price to pay compared to knowing your boyfriend is loyal.”

“I guess you're right,” said Hitomi. Satoshi was relieved to see that she seemed to believe Detective Yamamoto's fib. She then reached into her purse and began rummaging around. Satoshi was curious and on the verge of asking what she was doing when Hitomi pulled out a checkbook.

“Who do I make out the check to?” asked Hitomi.

“Please make all checks payable to Detective Yamamoto,” replied the detective, smiling. Hitomi scribbled onto a check with a surprisingly ornate pen, paused for a moment, and made a few more strokes before tearing out the check and placing it on the desk.

“I believe this will be more than adequate compensation for your services.” said Hitomi. Satoshi was mildly surprised that Detective Yamamoto was actually going through with accepting a payment and doubly surprised when he glanced at the amount. Satoshi had never seen so much money in his entire life.

“Damn right it will!” exclaimed the detective, as she picked up the check and held it up to the light. She almost seemed to be inspecting it as if it were too good to be true. Hitomi stifled a chuckle.

“You've certainly earned it, detective. Thank you for all your help!”

Detective Yamamoto gave a halfhearted reply, as she was still marveling at the payment. Only the sound of the Hitomi closing the front door behind her snapped her out of her reverie.

“That's not bad money for a few day's work,” said Satoshi, trying to feign a sense of casual familiarity with large amounts of money.

 “I'll say, Assistant,” replied the detective. Then she turned towards Satoshi with a mischievous grin. “Good news: dinner's on me. I know a nice, fancy restaurant we can eat at.”