The Devotion of Suspect X - Keigo Higashino [112]
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Kudo asked again as they got into the car. “If something has happened, don’t feel you need to hide it from me.”
It’s no wonder he’s worried, she thought, with the way I must look right now. “No, I’m okay, really. I’m sorry.” She smiled at him, a performance that took all of her remaining strength.
She was sorry, in so many ways. And it reminded her that Kudo had a reason for coming to meet her today.
“Kudo—you said you had something important to discuss with me?”
“Oh, that’s right.” He looked down. “Well, maybe today isn’t the best time.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.” He started the car.
Yasuko let the motion of the vehicle rock her gently in her seat as she stared out the window. The sun had set. Night had come to the city. How easy it would be if everything went dark, and the world ended right here, right now. What a relief it would be.
Kudo’s car stopped in front of Yasuko’s apartment building. “Rest up. I’ll call.”
She nodded, and laid her hand on the door handle; but as she began to open the door Kudo blurted out, “Wait—”
Yasuko turned back to look at him. He wet his lips and slapped his hands down on the steering wheel. “Maybe now is a good time, after all.” Kudo slid one hand into his suit pocket and pulled out a small blue jewelry case. Yasuko knew what it meant at a glance.
“They have scenes like this all the time on those television shows, so it feels kind of cheesy now, but I suppose it’s the accepted ritual, so—” He opened the box in front of her. It held a ring. A large diamond caught the rays of the fading day and sent shimmers in every direction.
“Kudo…” Yasuko’s mouth hung open; she stared amazedly into Kudo’s face.
“Don’t feel you have to give me an answer right away,” he said. “There’re Misato’s feelings to consider, not to mention yours! I just want you to know that I’m not doing this on a whim. I know I can make you happy, both of you.” He took Yasuko’s hand and placed the box in it. “Take this, but don’t let it be a burden. This is just a present. If you should decide you would like to live with me, then the ring will mean what it is intended to mean. Please, think about it.”
Feeling the weight of the small case in her hand, Yasuko’s mind went blank. She only heard half of what he was saying. Still she understood—which only fueled her confusion.
“Sorry. I know it’s sudden.” Kudo grinned sheepishly. “You really don’t have to rush your response. I do want you to talk to Misato, too.” He reached out and closed the lid of the case in her hand. “There.”
Yasuko couldn’t think of what to say. Words seemed almost inaccessible. There were too many images racing through her head. Pictures of Kudo, and Togashi, and Ishigami—mostly Ishigami.
“I … I’ll think about it,” she managed at last.
Kudo nodded, apparently satisfied. Yasuko smiled back and got out of the car.
She watched as he drove off, then went up to her apartment. As she was opening the door, her eyes were inevitably drawn to the next door down the hall. The mail slot there was overflowing with letters, but there was no newspaper. Ishigami must have canceled his subscriptions before turning himself in. He had probably done it automatically, a common courtesy with no more significance for him then the act of waking up in the morning. She stepped inside.
Misato wasn’t home yet. Yasuko sat and breathed a long ragged sigh. Then she got to her feet again and went into the back room. She took down a cookie box from a shelf there and removed the lid. The container held a collection of old letters. She lifted the entire bundle, removing one from the very bottom. Nothing was written on the envelope. It contained a single piece of ruled report paper, covered with writing.
Ishigami had put the envelope in her apartment mailbox before making his final call on that last evening. In it she had found the note it still held, as well as three letters—all of them