Pathway to Japanese Literature

Kidnapping

This summer saw an unprecedented heatwave unlike recent years, but by mid-September, autumn winds finally began to rise, and the climate grew slightly chilly in mornings and evenings.

Our young scientific detective Toshio Tsukahara had been in poor health since ruining his digestive system in August, but with autumn's arrival, he had completely recovered and become remarkably vigorous, often turning to me to say,

“Big brother, don’t you have any heart-pounding adventures for me?” “Lately, I’ve been itching to flex my skills—I can’t stand it anymore!” he added with an ironic sigh.

“Well, there’s just no helping this.” “The world’s safer when we don’t have frequent murders and robberies, you know.”

“That may be true, but to me, a safe world is just ordinary and boring.” “If no interesting cases come up, I might just fall ill again.” For over a month now, there had been no requests for any major cases to speak of, so Toshio’s disappointment was only natural.

“But just because there are no cases doesn’t mean we can fabricate them ourselves. Well, I suppose all we can do is endure patiently and wait.”

I had no choice but to offer these words of comfort. One morning, as we were repeating our usual conversation, there was the sound of an automobile stopping outside, followed by someone fiercely knocking on the door of our office. Usually, when there were visitors, I would go out to greet them, but that day, Toshio-kun rushed out.

The visitor was a distinguished gentleman in Western clothes with a mustache, appearing to be in his forties. He seemed burdened by some worry, his complexion pale. Toshio-kun politely ushered him in, offered a chair, introduced me, and then quietly inquired about his purpose. "I am Tomita Shigeo, residing in Hongō Higashikatamachi, and I serve as an executive at XX Bank." As he said this, he produced a business card and handed it to Toshio-kun, "Yesterday my wife encountered a matter of concern regarding our son Yutaka being kidnapped by unknown persons."

The gentleman stated in refined language. “What exactly is this matter of concern?” Toshio-kun inquired while staring intently at the gentleman’s face. "My seven-year-old eldest son has been kidnapped by someone."

Upon hearing "kidnapping," Toshio-kun cast a quick glance at my face. In his eyes, “Big brother, the long-awaited case has finally arrived. Isn’t this exciting?”

The meaning behind those unspoken words was unmistakably clear. However, Toshio-kun showed not the slightest change in his expression. "Please tell me the full details of what happened," he said in an utterly calm tone. The gentleman spoke. "Before discussing this incident, I shall briefly explain my family circumstances. Yutaka, my eldest son who was kidnapped yesterday, is a child from my former wife, and his mother passed away from illness last April. After that, I lived alone until last month, when I remarried for certain reasons."

"Tsuneko is the name of my second wife—though she comes from a humble background (I find it difficult to elaborate on her status here)—but due to complicated circumstances, I ended up having her take care of matters. However, since Tsuneko was very kind to me and Yutaka, I was extremely pleased. However, for some reason, Yutaka disliked Tsuneko and rarely went near her. Therefore, Yutaka was entirely cared for by an elderly maid named Osaki who had long served in my household."

Yesterday, Osaki took Yutaka to play in the precincts of the nearby M Shrine. Yutaka was playing happily among many children while basking in the autumn sun, so Osaki paid no particular attention and sat down in the main hall to knit with wool. However, as the sun gradually sank westward, she thought to return home and searched for Yutaka, but his figure was nowhere to be seen. “Startled, she asked the children what had happened and learned that about thirty minutes earlier, an unfamiliar man had come and taken Yutaka away. She rushed home in a panic, but of course, Yutaka was nowhere to be found.” “In other words, Yutaka had been kidnapped.”

At this point, the gentleman paused to take a breath and made a sorrowful face. Toshio-kun listened to the story as if turned to stone. "This threw the entire household into an uproar. My wife frantically tried to locate my whereabouts by telephone, but unfortunately I had business requiring me to visit another house. I only returned home around six-thirty and learned of the situation then." "When I asked my wife whether she had called the police, she replied that given the nature of the incident, she had waited for my return. Thinking there was not a moment to lose, I was about to enter the telephone room myself when one of the maids came running up and reported that a suspicious man had just thrown this letter in. With a start, I opened the letter and looked inside—indeed, it was a ransom note."

After saying this, the gentleman took out a crumpled sealed letter from his pocket. It was a brown office envelope with nothing written on its surface. The gentleman took out letter paper from inside it, opened it, and read. “We will be taking custody of Yutaka-kun for a while. Tomorrow night at ten o’clock, place thirty thousand yen wrapped in paper into the hole located to the right of the fifth stone counting from below the stone wall at the foot of S Bridge in Hongō Ward A District. In exchange, we will return Yutaka-kun. If you inform the police, we will immediately take Yutaka-kun’s life—know this. Kenkotsu-dan.”

Mr. Tomita continued speaking further. “Even after reading this ransom note, when I tried to call the police regardless, my wife, who was nearby, hurriedly interrupted.” “If exchanging thirty thousand yen for Yutaka’s return is possible, that’s a bargain.” “‘What if something happens if we tell the police? Don’t you care about Yutaka?’ she kept insisting, so ultimately I followed my wife’s advice and refrained from contacting the police.” “And so I passed an uneasy night.” “But being unable to settle my mind, I’ve now come here to consult you.”

“Does your wife know that you’ve come here?”

Toshio-kun inquired. "No, I came secretly thinking my wife might try to stop me again." "What sort of man kidnapped your son yesterday?"

“Since this comes from children’s accounts, it’s not entirely clear, but apparently it was a middle-aged man wearing a hunting cap and a suit.”

“What did the man who threw in this letter look like?”

“According to the maid’s account—though she couldn’t see well because it was dark—it was apparently a young man.”

“Then the man who kidnapped your son and the man who threw in the letter might be different people.” “They’re probably different people.” “Is the old woman named Osaki a trustworthy person?”

“Of course she’s an honest woman—having employed her for many years, I know that well.” “Poor Osaki stayed up all last night worrying.” Toshio-kun picked up the ransom note and stared at its written demands. “This handwriting uses intentional disguise—do you recognize it?” “No.”

“Have you ever received such ransom notes before?” “No.” Toshio-kun remained silent in thought for a while, then spoke gravely. “If your son’s life can be saved, would you be willing to pay thirty thousand yen?”

“Of course.” “But even if we pay thirty thousand yen, will Yutaka really be returned?” “I think they’ll return him as long as we hand over the money.” “Therefore, please prepare thirty thousand yen in cash by tonight.” “I will come to your residence at nine o’clock tonight to receive the money and take it to the specified hole.” “And then I’ll bring your son back.”

Mr. Tomita, upon hearing Toshio-kun’s confident words, made a relieved face and left while anticipating their reunion.

“Toshio-kun, do you really think you can get Yutaka back?”

After the gentleman had left, I asked anxiously. "I can't say for sure."

“Huh? But you just spoke as if you could definitely bring him back, didn’t you?” “That was just to reassure his father.”

“So you intend to take thirty thousand yen and go face those villains?” “Exactly—with you here, Big brother, it’s nothing.” “Then you plan to let them escape?” “No—I’ll catch them.” “How?”

“We’ll hand over the thirty thousand yen, let them feel secure, and then catch them.” “Do you already have that plan worked out?”

“Not yet—I’ll think it through by evening.”

After that, Toshio-kun entered the laboratory and spent until evening pondering some matter. Shortly after we finished dinner, unexpectedly, the Tomita family’s automobile came to pick us up. “The Kenkotsu-dan has changed the schedule—Master orders you to come at once.”

the driver reported.

We promptly made preparations. As soon as we emerged onto the street, the impatient Toshio-kun leaped into the automobile. I followed five or six steps behind. Then, unexpectedly, as soon as Toshio-kun got in, the automobile tried to speed off immediately, so I raised my voice, shouted “Wait!”, and attempted to give chase. And then, at that moment, I received a violent blow to the back of my head and lost consciousness on the spot.

Bogus Phone Call

How many minutes—or perhaps hours—I had remained unconscious after that, I naturally did not know.

Our town, both because it had few pedestrians and because its scarcity of streetlights made it dark, meant that even if I had been lying on the street, passersby would have found it difficult to discover me unless they tripped over me. In any case, due to the cold, I opened my eyes on my own and regained consciousness without being awakened by anyone. The moment I regained consciousness, I immediately understood what had happened. In other words, I realized that Toshio-kun had been cruelly snatched from my hands.

I got up and looked around, but naturally, the automobile that had taken Toshio-kun was nowhere nearby. Moreover, in that sudden situation earlier, I hadn’t checked the automobile’s license plate—and therefore there was not a single clue to track down that automobile.

If it had rained, I could have followed the wheel tracks. But unfortunately, the ground was dry, and even with the streetlight’s illumination, I couldn’t clearly discern the automobile’s wheel tracks.

Since there was no other way, I brushed off the dirt and returned to our laboratory. When I looked at the clock, I realized I had been unconscious for just thirty minutes. I considered informing Toshio-kun's parents at their main residence that he had been taken away in an unfamiliar automobile, but it would be cruel to unnecessarily worry them, and moreover, since that automobile had claimed to have been dispatched from Mr. Tomita's residence in Hongō, I thought it might have truly come under Mr. Tomita's instructions, and therefore decided to first telephone Mr. Tomita to inquire.

When I made the call, Mr. Tomita himself came on the line. When I asked if he had sent an automobile to our place to pick us up, he replied, as expected, that he knew nothing of the sort. When I explained the circumstances I had experienced since earlier, Mr. Tomita was surprised and proceeded to recount an even more bizarre story. To explain what this entailed: Mr. Tomita had just received a call from Toshio-kun stating, "I humbly request that your wife bring thirty thousand yen to the office, as we've altered the plan," and consequently, he had immediately sent his wife there by automobile.

I was taken aback. Before we left, Toshio-kun had not made such a call, and there was no way he could have returned during my unconsciousness to make one; perhaps he might have called from wherever he was taken by automobile, but in that case, he would not have asked Mrs. Tomita to bring the money to the office.

When I explained this idea of mine, Mr. Tomita was also greatly surprised and said that since we couldn’t discuss it fully over the phone, he would come to see me once. "If my wife comes to visit you there with the money, please keep her detained until I arrive," he said before hanging up. I felt as though I’d been tricked by a fox. I also wondered if it was a dream. The back of my head where I’d been struck still throbbed, and as my heart grew heavy with despair, I felt a restless impatience that made it impossible to stay still. I wonder what Toshio-kun is doing right now. Is Toshio-kun truly safe? Is he going through something terrible right now?

Toshio-kun was a boy so clever he surpassed even adults—he would surely devise some way to stay safe—but against such physically powerful men, there was no competing through strength alone. Since I, who should have resisted them with force, had been violently torn away from Toshio-kun like this, he must be feeling terribly lonely at this very moment. As this realization struck me, I found myself rising to my feet and pacing about the room, turning over every possible course of action in my mind. If only Toshio-kun were here now—he'd have conjured some brilliant scheme in an instant—but with that very Toshio-kun gone missing, I could do nothing but stand paralyzed with indecision. For a moment I considered telephoning Metropolitan Police Headquarters to seek Detective Oda's aid, but remembering the Kenkotsu-dan's explicit threat in their ransom note to Mr. Tomita, I steeled myself to wait until Mr. Tomita's arrival.

The fact that Mrs. Tomita, who had left the Tomita residence earlier, still hadn’t arrived despite it being well past the expected time must mean she too had been kidnapped by those villains. The Kenkotsu-dan had kidnapped Mr. Tomita’s son, kidnapped Toshio-kun, and then kidnapped Mrs. Tomita. When I thought this way, I couldn’t bear how detestable the Kenkotsu-dan’s actions were. Yet there was nothing I could do about it. I could only grind my teeth and clench my fists in futile frustration.

Before long, hearing the sound of an automobile, I went outside thinking Mrs. Tomita might have arrived, but it turned out to be Mr. Tomita himself. Mr. Tomita wore a worried expression, “Has my wife arrived?” he asked. “She has not arrived.” “Ah, so we’ve indeed fallen into the villains’ scheme, I see.” “On top of Yutaka being taken away, even the thirty thousand yen was stolen—what on earth will become of me?”

I found myself at a loss for words to comfort Mr. Tomita upon hearing this. However, my sorrow at losing Toshio-kun was no different. Since I thought I couldn’t afford to dawdle any longer, "You mentioned there was a call from Toshio-kun earlier—was that voice unquestionably his?"

I asked. "Actually, it was my wife who answered the phone." Then I recounted the full details of my ordeal, and Mr. Tomita explained the precise circumstances surrounding his wife's departure. "Do you know which automobile carried your wife away?"

I asked. “Of course I know—I hired it from a nearby taxi company.” “Then please call your residence immediately and have them find out where that taxi took your wife and what happened to her.” Mr. Tomita called his home, summoned the maid, and relayed the instructions. When Mr. Tomita questioned the maid, he learned that Mrs. Tomita had still not returned.

Finally concluding this was no longer a case we could abandon, I consulted with Mr. Tomita about requesting police assistance. Mr. Tomita initially hesitated, fearing the phrasing in the Kenkotsu-dan's ransom note, but with Toshio-kun now missing, he ultimately agreed to my proposal.

When I called the Metropolitan Police Department, luckily Toshio-kun’s so-called “Uncle P”—that is, Detective Oda—was on night duty and answered the phone. When I briefly explained everything that had happened since that morning, Detective Oda gave a heartening reply: this was serious—hearing that Toshio-kun had been kidnapped meant he couldn’t leave it for even a moment; since he couldn’t get all the details over the phone, he would arrange for someone to cover his shift and come over right away.

I somehow suddenly felt energized. If Detective Oda came through for us, we could borrow as many Metropolitan Police officers as needed. If only we knew where those villains were hiding—couldn’t we apprehend them immediately?

But... but... the villains’ whereabouts? As I thought about that, I couldn’t help but let my expression cloud over. Even if Detective Oda were to come, we probably still wouldn’t be able to discover the villains’ hideout.

As I was thinking this, the telephone rang. Startled, I pressed the receiver to my ear—it was the maid from the Tomita residence. When I asked her business, she reported that upon questioning the taxi driver who had taken Mrs. Tomita, they learned she had suddenly claimed urgent business and disembarked at Sudacho intersection, instructing the driver to return without her.

We exchanged glances. Mr. Tomita wore a doubtful expression, "So... it seems my wife wasn't actually kidnapped after all." "Hmm, this is strange," he said and fell into deep thought. I too found Mrs. Tomita's behavior equally strange. Mrs. Tomita had taken out thirty thousand yen claiming there was a call from Toshio-kun, yet she got out of the automobile midway and couldn't come to our office—what on earth was going on here?

Just as I was beginning to think this, Detective Oda from the Metropolitan Police Department arrived, slightly out of breath. I first explained the full details of the circumstances and also recounted Mrs. Tomita's strange behavior. Mr. Tomita also supplemented my account from beside me and spoke. Detective Oda, who had been listening intently to our account, took out his watch and looked at it. “Nine fifteen... “The Kenkotsu-dan said to bring the money to the vicinity of Hongo ×× Bridge by ten o’clock tonight, correct? “In that case, just to be safe, I’ll dispatch some subordinates to check the area around ×× Bridge.”

Having said this, Detective Oda called the Metropolitan Police Department and ordered two subordinates to go to ×× Bridge and check if anything suspicious was happening.

After that, the three of us discussed how we could arrest the Kenkotsu-dan members. Detective Oda, too, seemingly unable to conjure a brilliant plan, folded his arms for a long while and closed his eyes in thought. Then, at five past ten, the telephone bell rang fiercely. Because it was a report from the officers who had gone to ×× Bridge, Detective Oda answered. At that moment, how much Detective Oda’s words startled us is something all of you can imagine if you were to hear them.

“What? You’re saying Toshio-kun and Yutaka-kun were gagged and tied to a pine tree?” “Are both of them unharmed?” “That’s excellent.” “Immediately put them in an automobile and have them brought here together.”

Return Home

When we learned that Toshio-kun and Yutaka-san were being brought by automobile, how anxiously we had waited—I think you can all imagine. Above all, Mr. Tomita was immeasurably relieved to hear that his beloved only son had been safely returned from the villains’ clutches. Since I too would be able to meet Toshio-kun, I couldn’t stay still and paced around the room. Detective Oda was also smiling warmly as he watched the two of us in our joyful state.

At last, the long-awaited time finally passed, and the sound of an automobile stopping outside could be heard. The three of us started running as if by prior agreement.

And then—!

Mr. Tomita picked up Yutaka-san, and I took Toshio-kun’s hand. “Big brother, Yutaka-san is clever—he didn’t cry at all.” Toshio-kun said this and bowed to Mr. Tomita without showing any sign of distress before continuing. “Big brother, I really caused you worry, didn’t I? Uncle P, thank you for everything.” “Oh, I was startled.” Detective Oda, sensing that we were too overjoyed to speak, said:

“But it’s surprising the villains let you two return safely, isn’t it?”

“Since they achieved their purpose by simply taking the money, we two were no longer needed.” “But—”

Having said this, Toshio-kun strengthened his tone and declared: "The villains may have no more use for me, but I now have business with them!"

“Huh?” I exclaimed in surprise. “So you intend to arrest the villains?” “Naturally. That’s precisely why we mustn’t delay.” “Now then—everyone, come to the office immediately.”

After saying this, Toshio-kun was the first to enter the house, so the three of us and the two police officers from Detective Oda’s unit who had brought Toshio-kun’s group followed him into the office.

The moment I stepped inside, Toshio-kun spoke. “Big brother, prepare the microscope right away.” “I want to examine the dust I collected from over there.” I hurriedly prepared it. “Since I want to examine it while talking with everyone, could you bring it here on this desk, replace the bulb, and prepare for inspection?” Before long, when the preparations were complete, Toshio-kun took out a crumpled paper package from his pocket, scooped up some of the dust inside with an earpick, placed it on the objective glass, and peered through the microscope.

“There are various substances here.” After saying this, Toshio-kun devoted himself earnestly to the examination for some time, but before long, when he looked up, an expression of satisfaction had appeared on his face. “Now, everyone, I will tell you what kind of ordeal I went through tonight.”

Without showing any sign of fatigue, Toshio-kun began to speak. At that time, Yutaka-san was sitting on his father’s lap, his large eyes wide open and behaving quietly. "The moment I jumped into the automobile that was supposedly sent by Mr. Tomita to pick me up and it started moving—just as I thought 'Oh no'—the man inside gagged me and blindfolded me."

At that moment, I thought this was likely because the villains feared I might interfere and were surely taking me to their hideout. Very well—if that were the case, I resolved to definitely locate their hideout and round them all up in one fell swoop. However, they were quite cunning—perhaps intending to prevent me from discovering the location of their hideout—and seemed to drive around aimlessly through unnecessary routes. About an hour must have passed when the automobile finally came to a stop. "Since I was blindfolded, I naturally couldn’t tell where we had gone or by what route." "Moreover, I couldn’t tell what kind of place the automobile had arrived at."

I was carried on the back of one of them into their hideout, and only after being placed in a room on the second floor were the gag and blindfold removed. When I looked around, there was a child crouching in the corner of that room. I was certain it must be Yutaka-san, so when I called out “Yutaka-chan,” the child gave a slight nod. When I saw that pitiful figure, I couldn’t help but say, “Yutaka-chan, you don’t have to worry anymore. I’m here with you, so you’ll be okay,” I said. Then, the man who had brought me said, “Hey now, don’t get cocky just because you’re a kid.” When I looked, he was a ruddy-faced man around forty years old with a mustache.

I remained silent and smirked. Then the man declared, “If we get the money, we’ll let you go. But if we don’t get it, we’ll keep you captive forever—mark my words!” However, I remained silent and kept thinking about how I could outwit them. Then the man declared, “I won’t stand for any struggling,” and went downstairs to converse with other men.

There, I first surveyed the room. The room was a six-tatami-mat space with an alcove, but the mats were faded and worn with age, dust accumulated everywhere, and a grimy lamp hung forlornly. When I quietly approached the storm shutters and peered through a knothole outside, I saw a temple roof in the distance and a temple gate right before my eyes. Since I couldn’t see anything else, when I sat back down in the room, I suddenly heard the sound of a train passing nearby. So I learned that the house was near a railway.

However, that alone wasn't enough to determine whether it was in the city or the suburbs. There, I thought intently and suddenly hit upon a good idea. That is, I thought that if I collected the dust on the tatami mats and examined what was in it, I could determine what kind of factories were nearby.

The dust in Tokyo homes mostly comes from nearby factories. "I quickly tore a page from my notebook and gathered as much dust as I could from the tatami mats with my hands, wrapping it up." After that, I couldn’t tell exactly how many hours had passed when a guest entered the villains’ hideout. When I heard the voice, it seemed to belong to a woman, and after a while, the owner of the voice climbed up the ladder stairs. "And the moment they slid open the fusuma door, Yutaka-san cried, 'Ah! Mom!' and tried to rush over to her side."

The moment he heard Toshio-kun's words, Mr. Tomita instinctively tried to rise to his feet.

“What? Then... that wife of mine, Tsuneko? Yutaka, is that true?” he asked Yutaka-san, who sat on his lap. Yutaka-san remained silent but nodded. “Yes, it was indeed Yutaka-san’s mother,” I said. “She and the man who carried me here planned to steal thirty thousand yen from you, flee to Kobe, then escape to China.” “I never realized... Forgive me, Yutaka. It was wrong to bring that second mother into our home.”

Having said this, Mr. Tomita asked Toshio-kun, "What happened next?" "Then Mother turned to Yutaka-san and said, 'You brought this on yourself by always hating me. Mother’s going to a nice place now with another mister. Here’s plenty of money I’ve taken from Father’s little fool,' she said, patting her pocket."

"I became so irritated that I suddenly rushed to Yutaka-san’s side, picked him up, thrust him toward Mother, and said, ‘You hold him.’" At this, Mother grew even angrier. Pushing us away, she said to the man downstairs, “Hey now, we have no more use for these children. Take them to S Bridge and get rid of them.” Before long, we were gagged, blindfolded, put back into the automobile, and dropped off at S Bridge. "And then we were tied to a pine tree and fortunately found by all of you."

Having told the story up to this point, Toshio-kun took a breath. Everyone was listening with bated breath when Detective Oda spoke.

“Then by now, the villains must have fled.”

“No need to worry—they won’t flee. I want to go with everyone now to make the arrests.” “How can you be certain they haven’t escaped?”

Toshio-kun silently took out a cloth-wrapped package from his inner pocket and held it out toward Mr. Tomita.

“Please look inside.” he said. Mr.Tomita set Yutaka down and opened the package—and at that very moment, “Ah! The thirty thousand yen my wife took!” he exclaimed.

“That’s correct. Then please look at this.” With that, he took out four second-class train tickets from his pocket and handed them to Detective Oda. “Kobe-bound, I see. But how did you retrieve the thirty thousand yen?”

Detective Oda asked. "When I picked up Yutaka-san, pushed him toward Mother, and angered her, I switched it with the cloth-wrapped package of newspaper I had brought." "I have studied pickpocketing techniques myself." “Until now, I had never applied them, but believing that to counter violence one should use violence, I put them to use for the first time tonight.” “And how do you intend to find out where they live?”

Detective Oda praised Toshio-kun’s quick-wittedness and then asked. Toshio-kun looked into the microscope again and said. “The dust from their house contained a mixture of wheat flour, calcium, and clay—that is, cement—particles.” “Therefore, it must be a place where there are flour milling and cement companies nearby, and moreover, where a railway runs through.” “That alone should be enough for you to figure it out.”

Then one of Detective Oda’s subordinates answered promptly, “Then it must be Nippori.” “Then we should search the temples in Nippori,” Toshio-kun declared triumphantly.

As for what happened next, I believe you can all imagine it well enough, so I will not go into detail. Yutaka's mother along with the three villains were easily apprehended by Detective Oda and his team.