In the box (BoyXBoy)

The Fragile swindler pt.5

On Saturday, March 27, Oe participated in the gathering as Taketoshi Matsuzaki. His wife stopped him before he left the house.
"I have something I need to tell you tonight," she said. Oe assumed it was about their daughter's university admissions fee, tuition, and other such things.
"I don't know what time I'll be back. Can we talk about this next time?" Oe managed to defer the topic, all the while feeling just a little bit weary of it all.
Oe arrived an hour early at the hotel in Omiya, Saitama, where the gathering was to be held. It was a small venue, like an extension of a business hotel. Oe had researched the scale and size of this event beforehand, but he was nevertheless relieved upon seeing the real thing. A hotel like this, with only one entrance, was much easier to stake out than a luxury hotel with multiple entrances and exits. The only fault he could find was that the entire lobby, which was small like the rest of the hotel, could easily be seen from the reception desk. However, his stakeout was not going to be several days long. Most likely the people at the front desk would only think of him as a loitering customer. Oe had actually wanted to stake out the venue entrance, but the place was cramped and there were no chairs nearby. He would end up making himself conspicuous if he lingered for an hour or more. The last thing Oe wanted to do was leave some sort of impression on Douno, who was possibly attending this gathering as well.
Oe sat on the sofa in the lobby and pretended to read the newspaper while observing the people coming in. Kitagawa's sketch was already engraved into his memory. Thirty minutes before the gathering was to begin, there was a sudden surge of people passing through the lobby towards the elevators. Oe waited it out until five minutes before the event started, but no man resembling the sketch appeared. He wrapped up his stakeout in the lobby and took the elevator to the fourth floor, where the gathering was being held. Everyone had already gone in, and the only people at the check-in desk were Oe and a young man who looked like the attendant. Since registration was already done beforehand by e-mail or postcard, all one had to do was write his name on the list to check in. There was a minute left before the gathering was to start.
"Oh, yeah," Oe said loudly after writing his name. "I'd like to see if Mr. Saito is here. Mind if I look at the list?" He put on an act of being a pushy man as he grabbed the name list without permission. The young man in charge looked clearly annoyed, but since there was no one else there to do his job, he did not attempt to childishly snatch the list back.
Oe flipped the pages backwards from where he had written his name. Douno, Douno. Oe focused all of his mental faculties on the name list. Finally, on the first page with today's date, on the fifth line, he located the name he had been searching for: Takafumi Douno. His fingers shook. Oe had had nothing to back up his claim; this whole investigation had been based on his deductions―but he had been right!
"It's starting soon. Please go inside," the man said to him. Oe thrust the name list back at the young man and stepped quickly into the room. It was not very large. Upon counting the number of long meeting tables and chairs, he guessed there were about sixty participants or so.
The room was nearly filled, but there were a few empty seats here and there. Instead of sitting down, Oe stood at the very back looking out over the entire room. He was unable to find the man from where he stood.
During a brief gap in the programme, Oe took a seat in the middle of the room. It was the very opposite of his place at the back of the room, and he could see people's faces much more clearly. Despite his scrutinizing eye, he spotted no man with Douno's face. At the halfway point of the programme, there was a fifteen-minute break. Oe immediately hurried to the front and looked out across the room. He found no face which matched the sketch in his mind.
Before long, the break was over, and Oe was forced to resume his seat. Douno was here, yet Oe could not find him. He began to feel a slight onset of panic. Why wasn't he able to find the man? What if Kitagawa's sketch actually did not resemble Douno, and it had been a completely useless lead?
The gathering was over in about two hours. Oe immediately exited the room, then leaned against a nearby pillar to watch for a man resembling Douno to come out. He checked each and every person carefully, and even remained until the doors to the room were locked, but he did not spot a man that matched the sketch.
He had failed. As soon as the fact hit him, Oe's mind turned blank at the shock of missing his biggest chance. But he knew standing here in a stupor would do nothing. The gathering had ended at five in the evening. If Douno lived far away and had come out to participate in this meeting, there was a chance he would be staying the night. Oe hastily took the elevator down to the first floor and headed straight for the reception desk.
"Excuse me, I think there's a Takafumi Douno staying at this hotel. We were supposed to meet in the lobby, but he hasn't shown up. He's not picking up his cell, either. Would you be able to call his room for me?" he asked.
"Just a moment, please," said the man at the reception desk as he operated the computer screen at his fingertips.
"You're sure it's Mr. Takafumi Douno?"
"Yes, Douno, that's him."
The man tilted his head in perplexity. "There's no one named Mr. Douno staying at this hotel, nor have there been any reservations for him."
"Hmm, that's strange. I wonder if I got the wrong hotel," Oe muttered loudly enough for the man to hear. He apologized, then walked away from the reception desk. Douno was not staying at this hotel, which meant he was planning to go home the same evening. Oe pressed a hand to his forehead. If he had missed Douno leaving the room, there was no hope for him. The gathering had ended forty minutes ago. It was a ten-minute walk to the closest station, Omiya Station. It was a three-minute walk to the bus stop. Douno had most likely already gotten on some form of transport. A stakeout at the station or the bus terminal would be meaningless now.
But no, there was still a possibility. It was a vague hour of the day, but if Douno's trip home was going to be a long one, perhaps he would take a meal on the way back. The station―I'll head-first to the station. Just as Oe was about to set off, he felt the presence of a knot of people near the elevators.
Oe turned around to see a group of about seven people in suits standing in front of the elevators. He spotted the young man at check-in among them, and his heart raced. Perhaps this group had something to do with the group, Support for Victims Falsely Accused of Molestation. Oe drew up against the wall and observed the approaching group.
The check-in attendant was in his twenties; the man beside him in his fifties; the man beside him in his thirties ― Oe stared intently at that man. He wore a grey coat over a navy suit. His hair was grown out, but he somewhat resembled Kitagawa's sketch. No―he was a spitting image. Oe's heart hammered like an alarm bell, and a sheen of sweat coated his brow.
The group of seven, including Douno, stood chatting near the wall a little ways off from the reception desk, about five metres away from Oe. The man whom he suspected to be Douno stood with his back to him.
"So now we're heading over to the wrap-up dinner?" said the voice of the young man at check-in.
"Looks like it. Kimijima's made a reservation. Does anyone know where the restaurant is?" The man in his fifties looked around at the group.
"I'm sorry, but I have to get going." Oe could see the man, who was probably Douno, bow his head slightly. "I said I would make it home today." The man spoke in a slow, mild manner.
"You're in Kanagawa, right, Douno?" the man in his fifties asked.
"Yes, I am," said the voice of the man with his back to Oe. Maybe it was him, it was probably him―now, he was most certain. That man was Douno.
Douno said his goodbyes to the group before leaving the hotel briskly. Oe began tailing him a distance away. He sent his heartfelt gratitude to the man in the lobby who had asked where Douno lived. Oe had no idea what method Douno would use to get home, but at least now he knew for certain where he was headed. Kanagawa.
Douno walked for about ten minutes before arriving at a Japan Rail station. He went straight inside the station building. There, he bought a small box of sweets and a stuffed toy rabbit about the size of one's hand. Once he finished his shopping, he headed for the ticket stands. Oe drew right up diagonally behind Douno and checked the price of the ticket Douno had bought. He quickly bought a ticket of the same price, and followed after him.
Douno proceeded to the platform and waited for about ten minutes before boarding the 18:33 train. There were a handful of empty seats in the non-reserved car, and Douno took a seat in the middle of the second car. Oe sat behind him, near the automatic doors. From this spot, he could keep a constant eye on Douno's head. Oe looked up the route map on his cell phone. This train was a direct line from Omiya bound for Odawara in Kanagawa. Judging by the price of the ticket, Douno was most likely to get off at Yokohama. That would make for a one-hour train ride. Oe was positive that the man would not get off before Yokohama, but sometimes targets did unexpected things. He fixed his eyes intently on the back of Douno's head.
When the train stopped at Ikebukuro, the few empty seats left filled up completely. Moments after the train began to move, a young mother with a child about three years old passed Oe's seat. The mother glanced left and right as they walked down the aisle. Both mother and child stopped about midway down. Douno had offered the mother his seat.
Douno exited into the passageway between the train cars. Oe panicked. There were still thirty minutes of travel time until Yokohama. Perhaps Douno had given up his seat simply out of kindness, but it was also possible he was planning to get off before Yokohama. Once Douno was in the passageway, Oe would not be able to check when he was getting off.
Oe's hesitation only lasted for a moment. He stood from his seat and headed to the passageway where Douno had gone. Douno was standing beside the handrail near the right-hand exit of the second car. Oe stood on the opposite side, near the left-hand exit. It was a complete failure in terms of tailing distance, but it would be impossible to see Douno in the alcove if Oe stood near the doors of the first car. It would also be unnatural for him to peer in at each stop to make sure Douno was still there.
In this case, it was natural enough just to stand near the opposite exit pretending he was just another passenger. Besides, if this mission was successful, he would never have to see Douno again.
A shuffling sound came from Douno's direction. Oe glanced over using just his eyes. Douno took out a small paperback book out of his bag and began to read while standing up. There was a cover on it, so Oe could not catch the title. Douno leaned against the wall of the car and swayed along with its movements as he continued to read in silence.
The sun went down, and Oe could see Douno's profile reflected in the darkened window pane on Oe's side. There were no facial characteristics that set Douno apart. His eyes, nose, and mouth were all of a harmless shape, settled in a harmless fashion across his face. He looked exactly like the sketch. Though the man was not ugly, he could hardly be called good-looking; his impression was much too vague and hard to place.
It was hard to imagine from Douno's ordinary-looking profile that he would have had a relationship with a man in jail, much less manipulated or seduced him. Or was it another case of deceptive appearances?
What part of this man had attracted Kitagawa so much? What allure had Kitagawa found in him to make him want nothing else, to want to do nothing else?
If thinking didn't help Oe figure it out, no amount of staring probably could, either. He figured it was something he would never understand, and looked away from the face in the window.
The train stopped at a station. A cold draught came seeping into the passageway. There were more people getting on than off, and soon even the passageway became crowded. A young man with earphones on, who looked about college-age, stood across from Oe.
The temperature was chilly for March, and the heating was turned on in the train; however, it was slightly cooler in the passageway than in the car. Oe had only taken slight notice of the cold, but ever since sneezing twice in a row at the last stop, his nose would not stop running. If he sniffled too much, he would attract attention, so Oe held it in. But this time, his nose began to itch unbearably.
Before he could even attempt to control himself, Oe found himself releasing a spectacularly loud sneeze. As if the noise wasn't enough, Oe's covering his mouth with his hand resulted in him spraying snot out of his nose.
"Ew," the young man across from him wrinkled his brow in disgust. Oe felt himself turn red to his ears. He hastily unzipped his bag to find something to wipe his nose with, but lost his grip and ended up dropping his bag upside-down and spilling its contents everywhere. His digital camera and notebook went tumbling across the floor, and his ballpoint pen rolled out into the passageway. It could not get worse than this.
"Use this, if you like." As Oe knelt down to pick up his things, a pack of tissues was held out in front of him―the kind of tissues often handed out for free on the streets.
"I'm sorry. Thank you." Oe looked up, presuming it was the young man standing across from him. He froze when he saw who it actually was. Douno smiled briefly, then went back to the opposite exit.
The pack of tissues was from a consumer financing company. Oe remembered the tissues being handed out at Omiya Station, and Douno accepting a pack. Oe had been offered one, too, but had ignored the person out of annoyance.
The train bumped along as if this small incident had never happened. Oe finally recalled what Shiba had said about Douno being compassionate.
Douno got off the train at a station in Yokohama, just as Oe predicted. It was a little past seven-forty in the evening. Once out of the station, Douno headed straight for a bus terminal. There were three other people waiting below the placard showing the destination and time schedule.
Oe had already flubbed and left an impression on Douno by sneezing and receiving a tissue from him. If he boarded the same bus, Douno would probably not be suspicious of him, but he would definitely recognize him and think, "It's him again." Oe switched to tailing by taxi, and waited in the car until Douno boarded the bus. He used the zoom on his camera to take a few pictures of Douno. It wasn't necessary, but Oe thought he might as well do it since he was at a good distance. He was most certain that the man was Douno, but if he had photos, he would be able to make doubly sure about it.
Douno boarded the bus, then rode it for about fifteen minutes before getting off at a lonely, deserted bus stop. Oe continued to tail him at a distance closer than usual. This territory was new to him, and he did not have a good grasp of the area. On top of that, it was nightfall. If he lost Douno once, he was afraid he would never find him again.
Douno entered a dusky park, then suddenly vanished from Oe's view. Oe hurried to catch up, but he could not spot the man anywhere. There were multiple entrances into the park; perhaps Douno had used a side path. Oe could not bring himself to give up after having followed him this far. He did one round of the area, but could not find Douno after all.
Oe wanted to investigate the surrounding houses, but it was impossible to do this late at night. He was sorely disappointed at losing Douno halfway, but he had at least been able to identify what region Douno lived in. He also knew that Douno staffed the support group for falsely-accused gropers.
For today, Oe would go home and contact the person in charge of the support group website. He would claim he had found something left behind at the meeting venue which appeared to belong to Douno.
"I want to send it to him, so would you be able to tell me his address?" he would ask. Since they were fellow group members, anyway, Oe was sure they would tell him Douno's address.
Today he had not only left an impression in Douno's mind, but he had failed to track him down all the way to his house. Oe's performance today as a detective was in the gutters. However, he was happy to find the man he had previously thought impossible to locate. Oe was one step away now. If he could find out Douno's address, he would be forever relieved of the threat of being handed over to the police. Half of the weight was off his shoulders now. On the train back home, Oe reclined deeply in his seat and let out a long sigh of relief.
The train jostled and clattered along the tracks. Lights swept by in the dark window pane. The sight of Douno's face up close flitted across Oe's mind. Some attendees of the gathering had been in casual clothes, but Douno had been wearing a suit and tie. His hair was neatly groomed, and when he had handed Oe the pack of tissues, his fingernails had been trimmed neatly. Douno was most likely living a proper life. He had bought a souvenir and a stuffed toy rabbit―perhaps he had a wife and small child.
There was the man who searched blindly and intently out of the singular desire to see the other person again. Then, there was the man who lived a grounded life as if nothing had ever happened. Even though their paths had crossed once in the past, their ways were now clearly parted.
Did Douno wish to be found by Kitagawa? Did he intend to repeat his past homosexual relationship? What place did Kitagawa occupy in his heart?
If Oe told Kitagawa where the man lived, he would probably drop everything to go to Douno's side. There, he would see the reality of Douno with a wife and child. Then―then, what would happen?
It doesn't matter what happens. Oe did not have any other choice but to tell Kitagawa everything.
Lulled by the gentle bumping of the train, Oe slowly began to slip into unconsciousness. He decided to stop thinking of a future he could not imagine for the two.