Pathway to Japanese Literature

Part 1

I

When a tree grows thick, it’s only natural that the wind against it strengthens—but as the wind strengthens, so too do the tree’s worries multiply.

As the reputation of boy detective prodigy Toshio Tsukahara grew ever more prominent, those who envied him or feared him multiplied in number—so much so that lately, threatening letters arrived and threatening calls came in nearly every day.

For instance, when Toshio was requested to solve a case, those who would be inconvenienced by its resolution sent threatening letters attempting to make him withdraw.
Or when Toshio solved a case and received a substantial reward, they grew envious and made self-serving demands such as demanding a share of the money.

Toshio paid no mind to those threatening letters and calls, but I, tasked with his protection, couldn't rest easy.
"You all likely remember the case I documented under the title 'Dust Tells Tales,' but ever since that incident occurred," I had taken every possible precaution and remained vigilant never to be separated from Toshio for even a moment.

Truly, with worries multiplying like this," becoming famous became something to question—but even so," there was simply nothing to be done about it.
Above all," every time I witnessed the joyous sight of those who desired resolution celebrating a case's conclusion," I never ceased praying that Toshio would succeed in every circumstance.

The story I am about to share with you all is, in essence, a bizarre case that stemmed from Toshio's considerable reputation. While the world teems with eccentrics, encountering someone like the individual involved in this case marked a first in my experience. But enough preamble—let us delve straight into the heart of the matter.

It was late December, with the year’s end fast approaching.
On one night during that season when year-end bonuses had been distributed across government offices and corporations, and thieves were beginning to prowl the city and suburbs, I suddenly awoke to the ringing of the telephone bell.
When I looked over, Toshio—who had been sleeping in the neighboring bed—was already trying to rise, so

“Stay in bed. I’ll answer it.”

At this, Toshio—

“Then let’s go together.
A call at this hour must be for me anyway.”

With that, we threw our overcoats over our nightclothes and headed to the office.
For some time now, I had been suggesting to Toshio that we install a bedside telephone in the bedroom as a precaution for situations like this—so we could answer calls without getting up—but Toshio,
“People who need to speak with me are all in critical situations, so they shouldn’t conduct conversations while in bed,”
he said, refusing to hear of it.
I shivered slightly from the cold as I picked up the receiver.

“Hello, are you Mr. Toshio?”

The voice that had spoken was unmistakably male.

“No, I am Ohno.
“I am Toshio’s proxy.”

“I apologize for the inconvenience, but please have Mr. Toshio come to the phone.
“It’s a major case.”

At this point, I should mention that our telephone had its receiver split into two parts—a special device allowing simultaneous listening by two people. Upon hearing these words from the caller, Toshio immediately took over from me,

“I’m Toshio.”
“Who are you?”

“Ah, Mr. Toshio? This is terrible! There’s been a murder here.”

“What?”
“A murder?”
“Who was killed, and where?”

“The one who was killed is a famous person that everyone in Tokyo knows.”

“Who is it?”

“Take a guess.”

The moment he heard these words, Toshio and I exchanged glances. To report a major murder case with “Take a guess” was indeed an insulting way of addressing us. Toshio hesitated to respond for some time. Suddenly,

“Ahahahaha!”

And with that, the man on the other end burst into laughter,

“Toshio, even you won’t be able to figure this one out.”

At the abruptly changed tone of the words, Toshio showed visible irritation.

“What? Are you insulting me?”

“Now, now—don’t get so worked up. I thought I’d make you famous—that’s why I went out of my way to call in the middle of the night. If you solve this case, you’ll become not just Japan’s, but the world’s greatest detective. Get a grip. You listening?”

“Who are you?”

“Me? I’m what you’d call the culprit. I’m the culprit who killed that famous person everyone in Tokyo knows. Get it now? So if you catch me, that means you’ll become the world’s greatest detective. But with your skills, catching me would probably be impossible.”

“What?”

“Now, now—don’t get so worked up.”
“In another four or five hours, the report about that murder case will reach you.”
“Then go ahead and search for me with everything you’ve got.”
“Got it? Do it properly.”
“Well, goodbye then.”

With these words, the man on the other end hung up.

II

Toshio seriously interpreted this half-mocking phone call and immediately called the central exchange to inquire where the call had come from.
It turned out to be "Koishikawa 8829," so he promptly dialed the number.

But no matter what he tried, the call would not connect.

Then, this time, he investigated who the owner of that number was.
It was then discovered that the number belonged to Tsune Kondo, a beautician residing at 2-chome, Kasuga-cho, Koishikawa Ward.

“Let’s just keep trying to call them persistently.”

With these words, Toshio-kun began calling about every five minutes.
After approximately two hours had passed—around 3:10 AM—the call was finally answered.
A woman came to the phone.

“Hello, is this Ms. Kondo?”

Toshio said.

“About two hours ago, a call came through from your end to us—has there been any incident at your place?”

Having said this, Toshio-kun then proceeded to explain our address, names, and other details in full before inquiring whether a man had indeed made a call from her end earlier stating such-and-such.

Then, the woman’s response on the other end was unexpected.
The gist of that response was as follows.

The woman who answered the phone was none other than Tsune Kondo herself. She explained that a little before 1 AM that night, masked thieves had forced open the back door and broken in. When she and her female apprentice tried to scream and flee, the thieves effortlessly subdued them both, made them inhale an anesthetic, and left them unconscious. They had only just now awakened to the sound of the telephone bell.

“If there was a man who called from our side to you, I think that must have been the thief.”
“There’s been no murder or anything of the sort here.”
“The female apprentice is still sound asleep from the anesthetic.”

Since the voice sounded somewhat strained, Toshio advised that if anything was missing, she should report it to the police before hanging up.

“Brother, let’s just go to sleep already.”

Suddenly, Toshio-kun shouted.

“At times like these, thinking about it is pointless.
Let’s wait for the case to develop further instead.”

“So you think the case will progress?”
“Or could it just be a prank?”

“The murder talk might be a lie, but it seems to be a fact that masked thieves broke into the Kondo residence.”
“Even just investigating that would be worthwhile.”

With these words, Toshio-kun promptly burrowed into bed. And then he immediately fell asleep. However, I couldn't fall asleep.

Had a famous person known to everyone in Tokyo really been murdered? If so, who could it be? And why would the culprit go out of their way to make that call? As I kept turning these questions over in my mind, my eyes only grew wider awake.

Just as I began to doze off, the sound of the doorbell announcing a visitor startled me awake, and I leapt out of bed.
Toshio-kun also sprang to his feet.
By now, night had completely given way to morning.

The visitor was Detective Oda of the Metropolitan Police Department, whom Toshio-kun called "P's Uncle".
We instinctively exchanged glances.

“P’s Uncle!”

Toshio-kun said as soon as Detective Oda took his seat.

“Have you come regarding the murder case in Kasuga-cho, Koishikawa Ward?”

“Huh? How do you know that? Then did you receive a notification too?”

Detective Oda said in surprise.

“It’s not exactly what you’d call an official notification, but something rather odd did occur.”
“I’ll explain that later, so first, please let me hear what brings you here.”

Detective Oda began his account.

“Last night, I was on night duty when around two o’clock, a call came in saying someone had been killed in a vacant house in Kasuga-cho 1-chome and asking me to go there immediately. With that, they hung up on me—so even if it was a prank, I couldn’t just ignore it. I took two of my subordinates to check, and sure enough, there was a vacant house. When we went inside… well, it turned out to be true after all.”

“Who was killed?”

“The victim was Itoko Kawakami, an actress from T Theater.”

“What?! Itoko Kawakami?!”

It was no wonder Toshio-kun was shocked. The reason was that Itoko Kawakami had once had her expensive necklace stolen and requested Toshio-kun’s assistance in searching for it, and he had managed to retrieve just the necklace without bringing the culprit to light. The name Itoko Kawakami was known to everyone in Tokyo. Therefore, it was only natural that the man who called had said that.

Detective Oda nodded and continued.

“According to our preliminary investigation, Itoko Kawakami appears to have been poisoned.”
“And it seems she was likely killed elsewhere before being transported to the vacant house.”
“But what’s even stranger—on the chest of her supine body lay a single business card.”

“I don’t recognize the name printed here, but look—in the upper right corner where it says ‘With Compliments,’ and here in the upper left corner—‘Toshio Tsukahara-kun’ is written!”

We once again exchanged glances.

“In other words, this means they’re presenting Itoko Kawakami’s corpse to you.”
“Therefore, I concluded that you must have at least some connection to this case. After obtaining permission from the Superintendent over the phone, I decided to entrust the entire investigation to you.”
“I take it you have no objections to that?”

Toshio-kun nodded happily.

“Thank you very much. I’ll give it my all. Now, if you have that business card with you, please show it to me.”

Having said this, Toshio-kun extended his trembling hand.

Part Two

I

Detective Oda reached into his pocket, took out a piece of paper, and said to Toshio-kun:

“This is the business card that was found on actress Itoko Kawakami’s corpse with ‘With Compliments to Toshio-kun’ written on it.”

Having said this, Detective Oda turned over the paper to examine its back when—

“What the—?!”

he exclaimed.
And no wonder.
Because both the front and back of the business card were completely blank—there was nothing written on it at all.

“This is strange!”

While saying this, Detective Oda put his hand further into his pocket and searched intently, but what he sought was not there.

“P’s Uncle!”

Toshio-kun exclaimed.

“As I thought, that was the business card that had been on the corpse.”
“Let me see that.”

Having said this, Toshio-kun accepted the business card-like blank paper.

“This must have been written with disappearing ink.”
“When you looked at it earlier, there were indeed characters written—they vanished after a fixed period elapsed.”
“Wait here a moment.”

Leaving a dumbfounded Detective Oda behind, Toshio-kun took the paper fragment to the next room and busied himself with some task. When he eventually emerged, the piece of paper he handed back to Detective Oda now bore a drawing of a skull rendered in red lines.

“When I applied a certain chemical solution and heated it to develop, this drawing appeared.”
“Does this ring any bells?”

Before Toshio-kun had even finished speaking, Detective Oda’s complexion changed.

“So it was their doing after all.”

Detective Oda blurted out.

“Huh?”

Toshio-kun stared intently at Detective Oda’s face.

“Actually, Toshio-kun,”

Detective Oda lowered his voice slightly.

“While this isn’t public knowledge yet, about ten days ago we received an internal warning at the Metropolitan Police Department—traces have been detected of a Shanghai-based kidnapping syndicate entering Tokyo. We were ordered to stay alert. Their emblem is this skull drawn in red lines, and they kidnap women from the mainland only to transport them to Shanghai through mysterious means.”

“The syndicate appears to be primarily composed of people from the mainland but employs Chinese individuals and others as accomplices—not only that, they seem to commit crimes with remarkable ingenuity by establishing connections in unexpected places.”

“Given that this business card was found placed atop Itoko Kawakami’s corpse, she likely refused to be kidnapped and was consequently killed for that reason.”

“Well, whatever the case may be, this has turned into one hell of an incident.”

Toshio-kun had been listening intently to this account, but suddenly posed a question.

“Where is Itoko Kawakami’s corpse currently located?”

“I left it as is at the vacant house in Kasumigaoka 1-chome, intending to show you the crime scene.”

“Is anyone standing guard?”
“Two of my detectives are standing guard.”
“Around what time were you recalled to the station?”
“I think it was around four o’clock.”

“So from then until now, your officers have been standing guard continuously?”

“That’s right.”

“Then I can’t waste another moment.”

“Why?”

Without answering that, Toshio-kun turned to me and said.

“Brother, call a car for me right away.
“And get ready to go out.”

I made a phone call and called a taxi.
After that, we made preparations for departure as usual.

Before long, the car arrived, so the three of us boarded it and sped through the early-morning streets. A cold wind shook the trees along the roadside, but my tension made me feel my body grow warm instead.

For what reason had the kidnapping syndicate killed the imperial capital’s top actress? For what reason had they gone out of their way to call the Metropolitan Police Department to inform them, and furthermore made such a mocking phone call to Toshio-kun? When I began trying to unravel these questions, my mind grew intensely heated. Yet ultimately, this must remain a mystery that neither I—nor even Toshio-kun—could yet unravel.

Toshio-kun asked Detective Oda.

“Earlier, you mentioned that Itoko Kawakami appeared to have been poisoned—were there definitive signs of poisoning?”

“Since we only did a quick check at the time, I can’t be certain—there was no bloodshed and no signs of strangulation either—so I concluded it must be poisoning.”

“Regarding that business card—you mentioned that aside from my name and the word ‘complimentary,’ the card owner’s name was written on it. Do you happen to remember that name?”

“Hmm, that’s exactly what I’ve been struggling to recall since earlier.”
“It’s definitely a name I’ve never heard before, and I believe the first character was ‘Yama’.”

“Isn’t it Nobuyoshi Yamamoto?”

“Ah! That’s right.
That must have been it.
Do you know that man?”

“Not only do I know him—in fact, when Itoko Kawakami’s necklace was stolen some time ago, I was hired as a detective, discovered Yamamoto had it, and retrieved the necklace from his hands.
The matter was settled privately, but because of that, Yamamoto lost his job.”

“So, do you think Yamamoto held a grudge over that incident, killed Itoko Kawakami, and wrote that he was presenting her corpse to you?”

“Well, I’m not sure about that yet.”

“Earlier, you seemed to already know about the murder in Kasumigaoka before I even asked—how did you figure that out?”

“Ah, that’s right.”
“Ah, that’s right—I was supposed to explain that, wasn’t I?”

Thereupon Toshio-kun methodically explained: the taunting phone call received late at night in a man’s voice; that the call had originated from the home of a beautician named Tsune Kondo in Kasumigaoka 2-chome; that said beautician lived with one female apprentice but had been infiltrated by masked intruders who forced them to inhale an anesthetic, rendering them unconscious—hence why the intruders had likely placed the call.

“Wasn’t the man’s voice that made that phone call Yamamoto?”

“Well, I don’t remember Yamamoto’s voice clearly enough, and voices over the phone tend to differ from normal ones anyway—I can’t give a definitive answer.”

Having said this, Toshio-kun sank into contemplation.

II

Before long, the car came to a stop in front of the vacant house that was their destination in Kasumigaoka 1-chome.
It was a single-story house located slightly set back from the street, appearing to have been built less than a year ago.

Detective Oda took the lead, and we followed him into the house. Since only one storm shutter was open, the interior was dimly lit, but we could still fully grasp what was happening. There, a completely unexpected scene had come into view. Detective Oda had left two officers to guard the corpse, but both had been gagged and bound to a pillar, and the body of Itoko Kawakami we had expected to find was nowhere to be seen in the vicinity.

Detective Oda involuntarily shouted "Ah!", rushed over to the two men, untied their ropes, and removed their gags.

“Just as I imagined. Brother, whether Itoko Kawakami was even killed in the first place is doubtful.”

Toshio-kun turned to me and said.

The two detectives, now free, stood up with looks of apology on their faces.

“What happened here? You two… Where’s the corpse?”

Detective Oda asked.

According to the alternating accounts of the two detectives, approximately ten minutes after Detective Oda had left them behind and exited the vacant house, two masked men suddenly appeared. They attacked each detective from behind, and when made to inhale some peculiar odor, the detectives lost consciousness. Upon regaining their senses, they found themselves not only bound to a pillar and gagged but also discovered the actress’s corpse had been carried off somewhere.

“Couldn’t you tell what they looked like?”

Detective Oda, perhaps thinking that getting angry would be futile, asked one of them in a relatively gentle voice.

“Because they had their faces wrapped and were wearing black garments, we couldn’t tell at all.”

Toshio-kun began earnestly searching the exposed floorboards where the tatami had been removed, but no useful clues lay scattered about.

“P’s Uncle. What was Itoko Kawakami wearing?”
“She was wearing Western-style clothing with a fur coat.”
“Was there any definite evidence confirming it was Itoko Kawakami?”
“It was obvious at a glance.”

The other two detectives also added their words that the one lying before them was undoubtedly Itoko Kawakami.

“In that case, could I ask these two gentlemen to investigate Itoko Kawakami’s activities since last night?”

Detective Oda had the two detectives stand at attention with a meaningful look.

“Toshio-kun, what on earth do you make of this case?”

When it was just the three of us left, Detective Oda posed this question.

“What do I think? I still don’t have any idea.”
“It’s possible that Itoko Kawakami didn’t actually die but merely fell into suspended animation.”
“However, that’s nothing more than my conjecture.”

“How do you intend to proceed with your investigation from here on?”

“First, I think I will visit Ms. Tsune Kondo, the beautician.”

“In the meantime, won’t the culprits make a run for it?”

“It’s all right. If Itoko Kawakami had truly died, they might abandon the corpse and flee. But if she’s in suspended animation, they’d likely wait for her to regain consciousness before taking her away—and would devise measures to avoid detection while escaping. There’s absolutely no need to hastily arrange precautions against that possibility. Rather than that, I believe visiting the beautician will surely yield better results.”

Having said this, Toshio-kun urged the two of us onward and proceeded toward Kasumigaoka 2-chome.

III

I

The three of us who had left the vacant house in Kasumigaoka 1-chome—Detective Oda, Toshio-kun, and I—soon visited Ms. Tsune Kondo, the beautician in 2-chome.

The one who opened the door of the Kondo Beauty Salon—its glass embossed with gold letters—and greeted us was none other than the proprietor herself, Ms. Tsune Kondo. As befitted a beautician, she possessed striking features and appeared not yet thirty years old. Only the pallor of her cheeks suggested lingering effects from last night’s incident.

When Toshio-kun succinctly explained our purpose, Ms. Kondo promptly guided us to an immaculate waiting room.

After that, we were treated to hot tea.
The female apprentice who had still been unconscious from the anesthetic when Toshio-kun made the phone call around 3:10 a.m. had now returned to her normal state and came out serving sweets and other refreshments.
However, we could not afford to sit around at our leisure.
Thereupon, Toshio-kun immediately got down to business and inquired about the details of last night’s burglary.

What Ms. Kondo and her apprentice took turns recounting contained nothing particularly noteworthy beyond what Toshio-kun had already heard over the phone. With sheer terror overwhelming them first before being made to inhale anesthetic immediately, they said they couldn’t even recall whether there had been one thief or two. Moreover, since the thieves wore masks, they had no idea of their appearances.

“Was anything stolen?”

Toshio-kun asked.

“No, nothing in particular seems to have been stolen,” she replied. “Since we received your call, we checked everywhere thoroughly, but nothing is missing.” Her voice carried a lingering tremor as she added, “In fact, the thieves dropped a small glass vial when they left.”

“What?” Toshio-kun leaned forward intently. “A glass vial?”

Toshio-kun pressed intently.

Ms. Kondo instructed her female apprentice and had her retrieve it.
Before long, the female apprentice brought a single small green glass vial and handed it to Toshio.

Toshio-kun held the vial up to the light.
Inside, only a drop or two of liquid remained.
Then Toshio-kun examined the text on the label affixed to the vial’s surface.
It was not a printed label, but rather on a scrap of Western paper with black ink,

*Gelsemium*

was inscribed.
Then, upon seeing this, that satisfied smile of his drifted across Toshio-kun’s face.

“Is this indeed something the thieves dropped and left?”

“Well, since we use various cosmetic lotions and medicines here, at first we thought it might be one of our vials, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be different.”
“It most likely appears that when one of us resisted, the masked villain dropped it.”
“It was lying right by our pillows.”

At this moment, Detective Oda asked Toshio-kun as though he'd been waiting impatiently.

“What does that Western text mean?”

“This? This is a poison called Gelsemium.”
“It’s a type of alkaloid found in the roots of a plant called Gelsemium and dissolves readily in alcohol.”
“Like strychnine, it has an extremely bitter taste and is used as a medication for conditions such as neuralgia, but more than that, this poison possesses a kind of mysterious effect.”

“What kind of mysterious effect?”

“I haven’t experienced it myself, but there was a famous incident in America called the Walton Dwight case where this Gelsemium became central.”

“A man named Dwight drank this poison aiming to fraudulently claim his life insurance money—pretended to be dead, deceived doctors into issuing a death certificate, collected the payout, later revived himself, and lived luxuriously with that money.”

“This occurred shortly after the American Civil War and remains quite a famous case in criminal history.”

“So this Gelsemium induces a state of suspended animation in humans?”

“Yes. Since it strongly affects both sensory and motor nerves, consuming too much will result in death, but taking an appropriate dose will make one appear dead at first glance while actually allowing revival later.”

“Hmm.”

Detective Oda pondered deeply.

“Then does that mean even Itoko Kawakami’s corpse was just staged to look like a murder?”

“Well, since I didn’t see it myself, I can’t say definitively—but given she wasn’t stabbed or strangled, and with the body having disappeared completely, I did suggest earlier that Itoko Kawakami might have entered suspended animation.”
“However, seeing this Gelsemium vial makes me feel my hypothesis has likely solidified.”

II

Ms. Kondo, who had been intently listening to the two's conversation since earlier, suddenly asked with gleaming eyes.

"Excuse my interruption, but has something happened to Ms. Itoko Kawakami?"

Detective Oda answered.

“The truth is, Itoko Kawakami was found murdered in a vacant house two blocks from here.”

“What?!”

Ms. Kondo involuntarily let out a loud cry.

“When you say ‘Itoko Kawakami,’ are you referring to that actress Ms. Kawakami?”

“Yes.”

“That can’t possibly be some sort of mistake, can it?”

“Now that this Gelsemium vial has been discovered, perhaps she wasn’t killed after all.”

“No—that’s not what I meant.”
“Whether murdered or not murdered, that woman isn’t Ms. Itoko Kawakami at all. Could this be a case of mistaken identity?”

“That was unquestionably Itoko Kawakami.”

"But Ms. Kawakami should currently be at the hot springs in Izu Mountain."

Upon hearing this, Toshio-kun suddenly interjected.

“What? Is that true?”

“Of course, I can’t say for certain, but the truth is yesterday we received a picture postcard from Ms. Kawakami. It stated she wouldn’t return to Tokyo before year’s end.”

As she said this, Ms. Kondo stood up and went to the back, soon returning with a picture postcard in hand.
Toshio-kun received it and examined it.

“Ah, this was sent the day before yesterday,” Toshio observed, examining the postcard. “Moreover, this handwriting undoubtedly belongs to Itoko Kawakami.” His eyes narrowed slightly as he turned to Kondo. “Are you personally acquainted with Itoko Kawakami?”

“Well,” Kondo replied with a polite inclination of her head, “Ms. Kawakami visits once or twice every week without fail for her beauty treatments.” She gestured around her salon. “Though several new establishments have opened in Ginza recently, she found those places rather... inconvenient for discreet visits. Too many familiar faces, she said. That’s why she began coming here instead.”

“When was the last time Itoko Kawakami visited here?”

“Since it was the day before she left for Izu Mountain, that would be about ten days ago now.”

“Did postcards arrive frequently from Izu Mountain?”

“No, that was the only one.”

After thinking intently for some time, Toshio-kun resumed speaking.

“Has anyone come asking about Itoko Kawakami recently?”

Then, Ms. Kondo nodded deeply.

“Now that you mention it, four or five days ago, a woman around Ms. Kawakami’s age came in for a beauty treatment and asked all sorts of questions about her. But since women in general tend to ask about others, I didn’t find it particularly suspicious at the time.”

“What kinds of things did she ask about?”

“I can’t recall exactly what she asked about, but she inquired into all sorts of things in great detail.”

“What did that woman look like?”

“I thought she might indeed be an actress or something.”

Toshio-kun stood up.

“P’s Uncle, under these circumstances, above all else, we must confirm whether Itoko Kawakami is at Izu Mountain or not.”

Having said this and looked at the picture postcard,

“That would be Sōshūya in Izu Mountain, correct? We will accompany you to the Metropolitan Police Department now, so please place a long-distance call to Sōshūya.”

III

After borrowing the phone at Kondo Beauty Salon, I hailed a taxi, which arrived shortly. We then bid farewell to Ms. Kondo and the female apprentice and hurried to the Metropolitan Police Department.

Upon arriving at our destination, we were greeted by one of the detectives who had been tied to a pillar at the vacant house in Kasuga-cho earlier.

“Well? Did you visit Itoko Kawakami’s house?”

Detective Oda asked.

“Yes, we visited. However, the caretaker old woman stated that Itoko Kawakami had been away to Izu Mountain since about ten days ago and was not home.”

We instinctively exchanged glances.

“In that case, we’ll hear the full story later. For now, immediately place a call to Sōshūya in Izu Mountain and ask whether Itoko Kawakami is present there. If she has already departed, find out when she left Sōshūya.”

As the detective retreated deeper into the building, we were guided to Detective Oda’s room.
We sat down in chairs and felt relaxed for the first time.
While the Metropolitan Police Department might unsettle ordinary people, we had visited there so frequently that it felt almost like our own home, letting us recover from fatigue accumulated since dawn.

While waiting for news from the phone call, Toshio-kun discussed future investigation plans with P’s Uncle, but I closed my eyes and tried to think through this case.

But the more I thought about it, the less I understood. The corpse of Itoko Kawakami had been stolen, that corpse wasn't actually a real corpse but merely in a state of suspended animation, and moreover the actual Itoko Kawakami was supposed to be at Izu Mountain—I couldn't make heads or tails of any of it. Of course, Itoko Kawakami would have returned from Izu Mountain—but as for where the heart of this case truly lay, I couldn't begin to fathom it.

However，the case grew even more unfathomable.
This was because the detective who had gone to make the call to Izu Mountain returned after about twenty minutes and told Detective Oda the following.

“Itoko Kawakami is still staying at Sōshūya, and has been in bed since the day before yesterday complaining of feeling unwell.”

Part IV

I

When they heard actress Itoko Kawakami was staying at Sōshūya in Izu Mountain, Toshio-kun and Detective Oda exchanged glances and remained utterly dumbfounded for some time.
It was only natural.
Though Itoko Kawakami had indeed been found as a corpse—even if in suspended animation—at the vacant house in Kasuga-cho the previous night, Sōshūya in Izu Mountain reported she had taken to her bed since the night before last complaining of illness. Therefore, if Itoko truly lay ill at Izu Mountain, either that Itoko must be an imposter or the Itoko discovered at Kasuga-cho's vacant house could not be fake.

“Which one is the imposter?”

Detective Oda asked Toshio-kun.

“Of course, the one lying at Sōshūya now is the imposter.”

Toshio-kun answered firmly.

“What? How do you know?”

“An imposter shouldn’t be able to replicate details as precise as the pallor of death or the tranquility of sleep. P’s Uncle, upon seeing the woman’s deathly visage at the vacant house in Kasuga-cho, must have conclusively determined it was Itoko Kawakami. Therefore, that was the real Itoko Kawakami.”

“Moreover, the villains wanted to show the police that Itoko Kawakami had died. And then, by hiding that corpse, they deliberately wanted to throw the case into confusion.”

“What for?”

“Well, I don’t fully understand that myself, but perhaps they simply wanted to demonstrate the kidnapping syndicate’s power and taunt the police.”

“Was making that phone call to you and placing the business card addressed to you on Itoko’s corpse also meant to mock you?”

“Of course that must be the case, but I still don’t clearly grasp that point. They must know that mocking me would work against their interests. Therefore, I doubt whether making those calls to me and leaving a business card addressed to me truly reflects the kidnapping syndicate’s genuine intentions.”

“…But regardless, please call Atami Police Station immediately and instruct them to monitor Itoko Kawakami at Sōshūya to ensure she doesn’t escape. I intend to go with Brother to Izu Mountain now and meet that imposter of Itoko.”

At this unexpected statement, I—and of course Detective Oda—were somewhat taken aback.

“Toshio, do you really intend to go to Izu Mountain?”

I pressed further.

“That’s right, Brother. I’ve felt like taking a trip after all this time. Let’s head to Tokyo Station right now. Since I might not come home tonight, please call home for me.”

“What arrangements should we make here?”

“What arrangements should we make here?” Detective Oda asked.

“As long as the imposter remains at Sōshūya, the kidnapping syndicate won’t flee.”

“You’re certain that’s an imposter?”

“If it were the real Itoko Kawakami, there’d be nothing to worry about. According to Ms. Kondo’s testimony, an actress-looking woman around Itoko’s age came for beauty treatments four days ago and asked detailed questions about her. The one at Izu Mountain must be that woman.”

As you all know, once Toshio-kun set his mind to something, he never backed down. Moreover, there must certainly have been some purpose behind Toshio-kun’s decision to go all the way to Izu Mountain. With that, we bid farewell to Detective Oda and made our way to Tokyo Station.

When parting from Detective Oda, Toshio-kun said, “Please inform the Atami Police Station that I will be going to Izu Mountain.”

II

Though winter, there was no wind—the sky stretched clear and radiant, making it a warm day that felt almost like spring. Yet the colors of the mountains and fields visible from the train window were undeniably desolate—the sight of freshly harvested straw piled like small huts here and there formed one of those lonely scenes together with the snow on the distant peaks. As it had been some time since his last journey, Toshio-kun turned toward the window and gazed at the passing scenery with apparent fascination.

After passing Ofuna Station, the area where Sagami Sea comes into view is counted among the most scenic spots along the Tokaido Line. Minamoto no Sanetomo left behind this renowned verse:

Crossing my path through Hakone Road comes the Izu Sea,
Waves approach the small offshore island, visible to the eye.

Though he composed this masterpiece, the seascapes surrounding Izu—whether Sagami Bay or Suruga Bay—always present an ineffable beauty. All of you must have read the "Journey East" chapter featuring Toshimoto Ason in *The Taiheiki*.

"...From Ashigarayama's pass where bamboo-shaded paths perplex,/ Looking down on Oiso and Koiso's shores -/ Waves flutter like sleeves in ceaseless motion,/ Though none rush to depart..." it read.
The coastline around Oiso, where purple waves crashed incessantly, served to wash away the city's grime from one's mind.

In the midst of all this, we arrived at Kōzu Station.
Mount Fuji stood imposingly in the far distance, clad in a white garment.
We praised its majestic form as we once boarded the Odawara-bound train from there and, upon arriving in Odawara, immediately transferred to the Atami-bound light railway—a line whose antiquated appearance resembled Stephenson’s first locomotive—but now a splendid electric locomotive runs there.

Back then, we would often feel anxious riding along the cliffs, wondering if we might overturn at any moment.

Finally, we arrived at our destination—Izu Mountain. When standing at the former Izu Mountain station, before us lay the sea stretching far below, while behind rose a mountain blanketed in dense foliage. To reach Sōshūya, one had to descend a long stone staircase from here. Toshio-kun pointed at the island lying in the sea before us, already beginning to darken with dusk.

“That’s Hatsushima Island.”

Toshio-kun said.

The absence of white sand along the coast left something wanting, but considering how pristine hot springs emerged from this area, such minor shortcomings simply had to be endured.
Among these hot spring inns stood Sōshūya—renowned for boasting what was said to be the largest bath in all the Orient—the very establishment we were about to visit.
Before I knew it, I had completely forgotten about the case, my mind utterly captivated by the surrounding scenery and matters related to the hot springs.

Suddenly, a police officer started walking toward us, and I gasped, stopping in my tracks.

“Are you not Mr. Toshio Tsukahara?”

the police officer said to Toshio-kun.

“I am.”

Toshio-kun replied.
Looking carefully, there was Sōshūya’s entrance on the left.

“Itoko Kawakami was apparently here until this morning, but she disappeared without a trace.”

Upon hearing this, Toshio-kun was surprisingly not that shocked.

“I thought so,” Toshio-kun replied. “I figured she likely wasn’t here anymore. The reason I came anyway was to examine the room where Itoko Kawakami had been staying.”

With these words, Toshio-kun followed the police officer into Sōshūya.

According to testimonies from the maids and innkeeper, Itoko Kawakami had left for an evening walk to Atami three days prior. She returned late that night, then complained of illness and took to her bed the following day—two days ago. Though she’d been present when the call came from Tokyo that morning, they claimed she’d vanished without a trace afterward.

"The real Itoko Kawakami was here until three evenings ago, and the one who returned late that night was an imposter," Toshio-kun said to me. "When they heard about today's call from Tokyo, they must have thought the police were closing in and fled. Since leaving with luggage would look suspicious, they undoubtedly slipped out empty-handed."

“In other words, I targeted that very point—I thought to obtain clues that would reveal the kidnapping syndicate’s whereabouts either from that luggage or some corner of the room.”

III

After that, we were guided to the room where Itoko Kawakami had been staying.
Inside the room, luggage had been left untouched, but when Toshio-kun examined it under the electric light, most of the items turned out to be genuine belongings of Itoko Kawakami.

Toshio-kun was intently examining the suitcase and desk when he suddenly pulled out a small piece of paper from the dressing table’s tiny drawer.
It was a Western-style paper about an inch wide and three inches long, with symbol-like markings written on its surface.

A bright expression suddenly appeared on Toshio-kun's face. Then, without a word, he showed it to me. On its surface were written the following characters.

So Bo Fa Pa, Ha Ka Aa Ci Ne Hu, Ha Fe V Bu Nu.

I tried reading it through Romanization, but couldn’t make heads or tails of it. The police officer who’d accompanied us leaned in with keen interest to examine it too, though he’d had no hope of understanding it from the start.

“Toshio-kun,” I asked, “have you already cracked this cipher?”

“No—not yet,” he replied. “But once I solve this—and I will—we’ll gain a crucial lead. Come on, Brother—let’s go soak in the hot spring and shower under the waterfall!”

“What?”
“Take a soak in the hot spring?”

I asked back in surprise.

"If the fake Itoko Kawakami has fled, doesn't that mean the kidnapping syndicate will escape too?"

"But if we don't know their whereabouts, there's no way to catch them."
"I'm soaking in the hot spring to think about this cipher."
"If I get pounded by the Yutaki waterfall or something like that, I'm sure a brilliant idea will come to me."

After that, we entered the largest bath in the Orient—namely, the Sen'nin-buro.
After that, we had our bodies struck by the Yutaki waterfall.
Toshio-kun seemed to be frolicking cheerfully, giving no outward sign of pondering the cipher, but a closer look revealed his bloodshot eyes betrayed the intense concentration burning within him.

Before long, Toshio-kun descended alone into the Yutaki basin and had his shoulders pounded by the falls, but suddenly he shouted in a loud voice,

“Brother! Brother!”

he called out.

“What is it?”

I ran over and peered in.

“I’ve solved it!”
“I’ve solved it!”
“I’ve cracked the cipher!”

As he said this, Toshio-kun danced for joy.

Part V

I

Toshio-kun ran up from the Yutaki basin, hurriedly wiped himself dry, and had his Western-style clothes on in an instant.
Then he took out from his pocket the cipher fragment discovered earlier in the room where Itoko Kawakami had been staying and showed it to me.
By that time, I too was already dressed in Western-style clothes like Toshio-kun.

So Bo Fa Pa, Ha Ka Aa Ci Ne Hu, Ha Fe V Bu Nu.

Incomprehensible characters of that sort were written on the paper fragment.

Toshio-kun said with some excitement.

“Brother, when you first glance at this cipher, you might think it’s Roman letters.
“But even if you read them as Roman letters, their meaning remains incomprehensible.
“However, you can easily surmise that this too functions similarly to Roman letters—that these pairs of large and small characters should be equivalent to Japanese kana.”

Examining this, we could surmise that these large characters—namely S, B, F, P, H, K, A, C, N, V—indicated consonant columns such as the A-column or Ka-column (that is, any of the A-Ka-Sa-Ta-Na-Ha-Ma-Ya-Ra-Wa columns), while the small characters had to represent ordinary a-i-u-e-o vowels. Seeing that there were no others beyond a-i-u-e-o, it had to be that. Next came determining which consonant row each large character represented. This was the most difficult point in deciphering the cipher.

"It was impossible to grasp at first glance," he said. "That's why I decided to let the Yutaki waterfall pummel me. You know how some people knock their heads with fists when deep in thought? That method actually works wonders. So I had the waterfall batter my skull too."

Then his voice quickened: "Brother—it struck me while thinking about how Yutaki's made of water! When I remembered water's chemical formula H₂O, everything clicked! Those capital letters—S, B, F and the rest—they're all element symbols! Sulfur for S, boron for B, fluorine for F, phosphorus for P, hydrogen for H, potassium for K, argon for A, carbon for C, nitrogen for N, and vanadium for V!"

“Brother! Now I’ve got them cornered! Quick, get me a pencil. Among chemical element symbols, those consisting of a single letter are A, B, C, F, H, I, N, O, P, K, S, W, U, V.”

“So then arises the question of which belong to the A-column and which to the Ka-column—but this presents no difficulty at all. They must have listed them starting from those with the smallest atomic weight. So then, the order would be... Let me see—I need to write them out to know for sure.”

While saying this, Toshio-kun wrote down the atomic weights of these elements.
I found myself astonished anew at how truly remarkable Toshio-kun’s memory was.

“Now, if we arrange them in order from the smallest: H, B, C, N, O, F, P, S, K, A, V, I, W, U. So,”

H…………A-column B…………Ka-column C…………Sa-column N…………Ta-column O…………Na-column F…………Ha-column P…………Ma-column S…………Ya-column K…………Ra-column A…………Wa-column V…………N.

This had to be the correct mapping.
Thus,

Ha became A, Hi became I, Hu became U, He became E, Ho became O.
Ba became Ka, Bi became Ki, Bu became Ku, Be became Ke, Bo became Ko.

"That's how it resolves—got it?"
So when he inspected this cipher:

So = Yo Bo = Ko Fa = Ha Pa = Ma Ha = A Ka = Ra Aa = Wa Ci = Shi Ne = Te Hu = U Ha = A Fe = He V = N Bu = Ku Nu = Tsu.

Thus resolved.
In other words, when we rewrote this, it became "Yokohama, Arasowamachi, Opium Den."
"Yokohama, Arasowamachi, Opium Den..."

After finishing his explanation, Toshio-kun wore a triumphant smile.
I was utterly dumbfounded and remained speechless for some time, but eventually,

“Oh! So the kidnapping syndicate is using Yokohama’s Arasowamachi Opium Den as their base, then?”

I inquired.

“That’s right. Now everything’s fallen into place just as I foresaw.”
“Coming to Izusan let us uncover their central stronghold—exactly where those villains operate from.”

Now all that remained was to arrest them.
“Brother, could you call the Metropolitan Police Department right away and have P’s Uncle come here?”

II

Now, dear readers, I must naturally describe the scene of the villains' arrest—but regrettably, being absent from the location myself, I cannot recount its full particulars. I shall therefore relay the account Detective Oda—who conducted the arrests—gave to Toshio-kun.

"As soon as your call reached us from Izusan," he began, "I mobilized several crack detectives and headed straight to make arrests."
"We first visited Yokohama Police Station—when we briefed them, they pledged unlimited reinforcements."
"With this strengthened force, we moved under cover of darkness to surround the opium den."

This Arasowamachi was part of Chinatown and quite a volatile place.
The police had long kept it under surveillance, but since it served as a gathering spot for reckless souls who valued neither law nor life, they had feigned ignorance—reasoning it better to avoid injury than stir a hornet’s nest.

Yet given the extraordinary circumstances now at hand, delay proved impossible.
Thus did the Yokohama Police Station resolve to stake everything on this decisive operation.

Upon arriving at Arasowamachi, the opium den's occupants—who were no fools—immediately recognized it as a police raid and attempted to flee through an escape tunnel. However, the police had thoroughly studied the layout beforehand and captured them one by one at the tunnel's exit like fish in a net.

Naturally, the kidnapping syndicate members were among them, but with so many Chinese and Japanese men and women present, the police initially couldn't distinguish who belonged to the syndicate. After returning to the station, they struggled during interrogations until an officer discovered Nobuyoshi Yamamoto—who held a grudge against you—among the detainees. By pressing Yamamoto for information, they ultimately succeeded in uncovering the syndicate members.

The fact that they were arrested was entirely due to Nobuyoshi Yamamoto, so the kidnapping syndicate members bore a deep grudge against him.

The reason was this: fundamentally, the Shanghai-based kidnapping syndicate marked by skull insignias had come to Tokyo this time with the intention of abducting actress Itoko Kawakami to Shanghai to produce a film starring her.
The film in question was an extremely high-priced commodity that would sell remarkably well.

Since there was no possibility of Itoko Kawakami agreeing to formal negotiations, they had resorted to forceful means to abduct her.
Of course, they had intended to return Itoko once their business was done.

Now, after arriving secretly in Tokyo, when the kidnapping syndicate members looked into various ways to abduct Itoko Kawakami, they discovered that Nobuyoshi Yamamoto—who had stolen Itoko’s necklace only to be exposed by you, which cost him his position—had since harbored resentment toward her as well.

This man called Yamamoto—his given name was Nobuyoshi—was not only an utterly peculiar individual but also, upon closer examination, had a prior conviction for theft.
The name Nobuyoshi Yamamoto itself was a pseudonym.
Now, the kidnapping syndicate members concluded that recruiting Yamamoto would greatly facilitate abducting Itoko, and upon locating him and proposing the idea, he joined the villains’ ranks without hesitation.

Now then, after they had researched various methods to kidnap Itoko, when Itoko departed for Izu Mountain Hot Springs, deeming this an opportunity not to be missed, they finalized their abduction plan.

As for what their plan entailed—first, to abduct Itoko Kawakami, they had to create a double of her. Fortunately, since there was a woman among their ranks, they decided to use her as the double and sent her to study at Kasumicho Beauty Salon, the establishment Itoko frequented. At that time, Nobuyoshi Yamamoto guided the woman there but naturally did not enter inside; instead, he loitered nearby and waited.

Now, once the woman had studied Itoko’s appearance and other details at Kondo’s establishment, they finally disguised their accomplice as Itoko and sent her to Izu Province. Choosing the moment when Itoko went out for a walk in Atami, they captured her on the coast, swiftly transferred her into a boat, and there forcibly injected her with Gelsemium to induce suspended animation. Then, Itoko’s double returned to Sōshūya, and from the next day onward, claiming to feel unwell, took to bed and remained there. In other words, this was their method to prevent the double from being discovered.

Now, on the other hand, while the villains could have simply taken Itoko—now in suspended animation—back with them, they harbored a peculiar superstition: they believed that by first exposing her body in suspended animation to police scrutiny, they could achieve their objective without being arrested en route. Thus, they devised a plan to bring the body in suspended animation to an empty house in Kasumicho and show it to us.

That’s why, once you got involved in the case, their plans were finally reduced to smithereens.

The kidnapping syndicate was about to depart as soon as Itoko’s double returned, but just as they were preparing to leave, the police intervened.

Itoko Kawakami had remained in a state of suspended animation all along.
They transported her body to Tokyo and back in suitably sized trunks, but I must say—the fact that they used chemical symbols for ciphers and employed Gelsemium yet still engaged in superstitious practices truly epitomizes the nature of criminals.

“Be that as it may, thanks to you, Itoko Kawakami has returned safely and the kidnapping syndicate has been arrested—I find this truly gratifying...”

Ladies and gentlemen, with this, the case was resolved.
As this matter was settled without appearing in the newspapers, the general public remains entirely unaware that Itoko Kawakami had undergone such a terrifying ordeal.
However, in this case, even Toshio-kun couldn’t clearly determine why they had brought Itoko’s body in suspended animation to show the police,

"I never would have guessed it was due to superstition."

Toshio-kun said with a laugh.