Loud

Chapter 13 - A Promise to Investigate / A Desire to Avenge

Trigger warning: A traumatized character briefly discusses abuse, including the kind of sexual abuse that a jury in a court of law determined Donald Trump did to E. Jean Carroll and held him civilly liable for. Under New York criminal law, it is not defined as rape. However, ordinary people commonly describe this kind of sexual abuse as rape.

Nobu had a connection to Mr. Endo, the Yakuza, but pimp was very hard for Rob to believe.

When the senior let go, Cynthia crossed her arms. She shifted her weight onto one hip. Her gaze hardened, but the skin around her eyes was red. Believing what she did, her outrage made sense. It mirrored his anger at Brian Keating.

"Don't let him follow me," Cynthia said.

"Wait, wait, listen to me," Rob said. "I admire you."

"Go to hell."

Rather than a jury of his peers, Rob had teenage girls, but there was no adolescent insecurity in Cynthia's hard glare. "Now I understand why you lied to Makiko. Thinking what you think or know about Nobu, I'd probably do something similar, so please listen a moment. I'll listen too. Please." Makiko overlooked his faults, what she thought were his faults, whereas Cynthia attacked. Rob admired her, but it was strange how Cynthia and Makiko's different reactions hurt him. "You're assuming I'm evil because of my friendship with Nobu, who you claim is a pimp?"

"He is."

"Okay, but if it's true, I didn't know, believe me, and if it's true, I'll find out. I'm going to look into it, believe me." None of the seniors spoke. Across from him, the two girls sharing a chair exchanged a look of dread. Even Cynthia fidgeted a little.

Nobu had ducked into the Irish bar when told Keating's people might be watching. Shaken, Nobu had insisted they not see each other until after the Keating thing played out. It could be for reasons other than his family. If Nobu was a pimp and worked for Mr. Endo, Keating was their client. Obviously, they would not want him to blackmail a client.

Rob had promised to give Keating's money to Nobu. Maybe Nobu was playing everyone, including the Yakuza, including Rob. "Nobu spends his nights in Shibuya and Ikebukuro," Rob said. "He works with runaways." He took a deep breath. "It's possible he pimps them."

Veronica put the creamer down and placed an arm around Cynthia. "You're cool. You know a lot of weird things."

Cynthia's shoulders sagged. Her knees buckled. Ayumi slid a stray stool under her, so she sat. Rob was being honest, but that was easily faked. If Cynthia was right about Nobu, he had to keep her out of it. She was amazing, but her naivety showed too. She really shouldn't believe him, even now. "I met Nobu for the first time in January," Rob said. "My friend Katsutoshi died in Afghanistan, and Nobu presided over a Buddhist ceremony held a bunch of days after his death. You know the tradition?"

Cynthia and the seniors nodded.

"As far as I know, knew, Nobu is a priest. He told me he works with girls as an activist, like Catholic nuns might, I thought." Cynthia believed Rob was like Brian Keating and she fought back. In that way, they were similar, very similar. How could he hold it against her? "So you saw me with Nobu and assumed the worst, right?"

"They send girls to the hotel," Cynthia said. "I guessed you met Nobu there."

"No. I just moved to Japan. Don't you think it's possible I don't know about him?"

After a moment, Cynthia shrugged.

Rob touched the tabletop. "Sit for a second, Cynthia. Give me some more information. Please?" Naoko was Nobu's niece. She could be in denial about him, but if Nobu really was a pimp, Fumiko would sense something wrong, wouldn't she? "I know someone who might be able to tell me more, but we need to talk very briefly first. Can your friends guard you from those stools a moment so we can talk? Please?"