Zenigata's morning had been busy -- not to be confused with 'productive'.
Talking to the Wakahisas' priest had been about as pointless as putting wheels on a tomato. The old man was unable to say where he'd met Ishikawa, or how he'd contacted the samurai, or even when they would be seeing each other again. Zenigata suspected that the monk was hiding something, but there was little he could do about it apart from obtaining a warrant to search the temple. And that was something the inspector was hoping to postpone for as long as possible. It was bad Karma.
At around nine, Zenigata had returned to the Wakahisa estate. He was willingly granted the use of a small room off the main corridor, where he spent the balance of the morning interviewing each and every member of Wakahisa's staff. To a man, they were unable to tell him anything new, anything useful. Zenigata wondered if this would be his last case with INTERPOL. If he couldn't find a simple flower... Well, the consequences didn't bear considering.
One last turn around the house, he decided, and then he would go back to the office and admit defeat.
It didn't take long. There didn't appear to be anything left to look at, or to find. Zenigata sighed heavily, crushing his hat in both hands. He glanced at the granddaughter clock in the hall as he trudged towards the front door. He was almost to the exit before he realised what he'd just seen. He hurried back to the clock and stared at it, his eyes narrowed in thought.
He was still staring at it when Suki came out of the kitchen, drying her hands on her apron. "Inspector?" she murmured, coming up behind him. "Can I help you with something?"
Zenigata nodded slowly. "This clock," he said, pointing at it. "How long has it been like this?"
Suki looked at the clock. Her pretty black eyes and delicate features registered only confusion. "I'm sorry, sir?" she said. "Like what?"
"Well, it's stopped." Zenigata looked over his shoulder at Suki. Her eyes widened in surprise and dismay.
"Oh!" She gasped and covered her mouth with one hand. "I am so sorry, inspector." She reached out to open the clock case, but Zenigata gently pushed her hands away.
"What time would you say this clock stopped?" he asked thoughtfully. "Eleven twenty-three? Eleven twenty-four?" Zenigata checked his wristwatch. "And it is currently twelve fifteen," he added. "Did the clock stop this morning?"
Suki shook her head, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment. It was one of the few times Zenigata had seen her without a smile on her lips. "I'm afraid not, sir," she said, shuffling her feet and wringing her hands. "It's been a few days. I just haven't had the chance to wind it." She picked at the hem of her apron, nervously undoing the stitching.
Zenigata turned to the girl, his eyes wide. He took her gently by the shoulders and looked down at her. "When did it stop?" he asked.
Suki bit her lip, trying to recall the last time she had heard the clock chime. Lost in thought, she stared blankly at Zenigata's ugly brown tie. Finally, it came to her. Her face brightened somewhat as she replied.
"It must have been Tuesday night," she said, nodding firmly.
Zenigata furrowed his brow. "Are you sure?" he asked.
"Completely," was the prompt reply. "The staff goes to bed quite early," Suki added, in response to Zenigata's dubious look. "Around nine in the evening. We usually rise an hour before Wakahisa-san, at four o'clock." She looked thoughtfully at the ceiling. "I heard the chimes before I went to bed," she said, "but I can't recall hearing them Wednesday morning while I was making breakfast." Suki shrugged helplessly at the inspector. "I'm sorry I can't tell you anything more than that."
Zenigata nodded again. "You have been very helpful," he said, awkwardly patting her shoulder. He turned her around, pointing her towards the kitchen. "Please ensure that no one winds this clock today," he said politely.
Suki glanced at him over her shoulder, nodding weakly. She was thoroughly confused. "Of course, sir," she replied. "Whatever you say." She blinked and returned to the kitchen.
Zenigata stayed in the hall, studying the clock without really seeing it. Behind him, he could hear a telephone ringing, its sound muted by the thoughts racing through his mind. He was so deep in concentration that Suki had to call for him twice.
"Excuse me, inspector," she repeated, approaching him and bowing slightly. "There is a telephone call for you."
Zenigata looked puzzled. "For me?" he asked, cramming his hat onto his head. "Here?"
"Yes, sir," Suki said, smiling at him. "Please follow me." She led him to Wakahisa's empty study and pointed to the phone that sat on her employer's desk. "You may take the call in here, sir," she said.
"Thank you," Zenigata replied. He waited until Suki had left the room before picking up the receiver and bringing it to his ear. "This is Inspector Zenigata," he said into the phone.
The voice on the other end was annoyingly perky. "Hiya, Pops!"
Zenigata's eyes widened. "Lupin!?" he spluttered.
"That's right!" Lupin said brightly. "How's my favourite INTERPOL agent today?"
Zenigata's knuckles turned white as he gripped the receiver. "Lupin, you're under arrest!" he barked. "Where are you? How did you get this number?"
Lupin tsked softly. "Now, now, Pops," he said smoothly. "You don't really expect me to give up that easily, do you?"
"You .. you .. gah!" Zenigata tore off his hat and threw it to the ground. His face started to turn purple, and he seemed to be on the verge of apoplexy.
"Hey, take a deep breath, Old Man," Lupin said. He sounded worried. "You're going to burst something!"
Zenigata narrowed his eyes and peered around the room. Could Lupin be watching him right now? How had the thief known where he'd be? The inspector took several huffing breaths and panted into the phone, "What .. do .. you .. want?"
Lupin chuckled. "Actually, it's what you want," he corrected. "You want to know who stole the Tokyo Rose."
Zenigata frowned deeply and growled into the phone. "You've been talking to Ishikawa," he said, pacing back and forth in front of Wakahisa's huge mahogany desk.
"That's right!" There was a tapping noise on the line, as though Lupin were rapping a pen against the mouthpiece. "He's taking a bit of a vacation right now, but he'll be back at the estate in another day or so. In the meantime," Lupin continued, "I have a little information for you."
"The only thing I want to hear from you, Lupin, is 'I surrender'!" Zenigata bent down and snatched his hat from the floor. He jammed it onto his head.
Lupin laughed lightly. "Sorry, Pops," he said. "No can do." Zenigata could hear the grin in his voice. "But I can tell you that if you search Katsu-kun's room, you'll find some very interesting items."
Zenigata glanced over his shoulder, into the hallway. He could just see the door to Katsu's room. It was closed.
"You'll probably want to pay particular attention to a certain spot that's close to the outside wall," Lupin continued. "Those tatami are hiding more than just the floor, you know."
Zenigata stared down at the phone. "Why are you telling me this?" he demanded, pressing the receiver hard against his ear.
"Call it a vested interest in Goemon's future," Lupin said darkly. His tone had changed from cheerful to bitter. "When you find what you're looking for, go back to the field office. I'll call you there in an hour."
"Wait!" Zenigata said. "How will I know when I've found it?"
Lupin laughed; he was back to his old, joking self. "You'll know, Pops," he said, almost affectionately. "I have complete faith in you." There was a click on the line as Lupin broke the connection.
"Wait!" Zenigata shouted again, but he was talking to dead air. He glared at the receiver in his hand, then slammed it down onto the cradle, silently cursing himself for not tracing the call. Glancing at his watch, he did some quick calculations. If he was to reach the precinct inside of an hour, he'd better hurry.
Stepping into the hallway, he waved wildly at Suki, who was just emerging from the kitchen. "Excuse me?" Zenigata said, as the maid approached. "I'm sorry to take up so much of your time, but would you mind if I had another look inside the children's rooms?" He grinned sheepishly.
Suki nodded agreeably. "Of course, inspector," she said, gesturing expansively. "Please, take all the time you need." With a little bow, she turned and headed into the courtyard.
Zenigata rubbed his hands together and opened the door to Katsu's room. Sliding it closed behind him, he moved towards the outside wall, tapping his foot against the floor every few inches. In one corner of the room, a board seemed to shift slightly under his probing. Zenigata fell to his knees and lifted the tatami.
There was a loose plank in the floor. The inspector pressed firmly on one end, causing the other to raise slightly. Sliding his fingers under the board, Zenigata lifted it as far as it would go. Reaching around under the floor with his free hand, his fingers brushed against what felt like a block of wood. He groped for it, withdrew it from its hiding spot, and was astonished to find himself in possession of a beautifully-carved, cherry-wood box. It was small, perhaps four inches by six, fitted with a bronze clasp and hinges. The top was inlaid with jade.
Zenigata replaced the wooden board and smoothed the tatami mat over it. Standing up, the box in one hand, he looked critically at the floor. It appeared to be undisturbed; it would certainly pass a cursory inspection, at any rate. The inspector nodded with satisfaction, slid the box under his trenchcoat, and left the room.
The police officer who sat in the squad car was asleep behind the wheel, his head tilted back, a stream of saliva trailing down one side of his chin. His cap was lowered over his face, and the sun visor was down, both working together to ensure some degree of protection from the afternoon sun. Zenigata shook his head in disgust, then slid into the passenger seat and leaned on the horn.
"Wha -!?" The officer jerked forward, banging his head on the sun visor. His cap flew off and landed on top of the box in Zenigata's lap. "Uh, I'm sorry, sir!" the officer said, his cheeks reddening. He grabbed his cap. "I was just -- I mean, my wife is pregnant, and I -- well, it was a late night," he finished lamely.
Zenigata tapped his foot impatiently. "Yes, yes," he said shortly. "Just drive, will you? And hurry!"
The officer nodded eagerly, desperate to make up for his embarrassing faux pas. It took him a moment to get his bearings, but within the hour, they were pulling into the Tokyo INTERPOL field office. Zenigata jumped out of the car before it had even stopped moving. He raced into the building, ran up the stairs, and skidded into his temporary office just in time to hear the phone ringing. Picking up the receiver, he panted heavily into the mouthpiece. "In.. spec.. tor.. Zeni.. gata," he gasped.
"Well done, Pops!" Lupin paused for a moment to allow the inspector to catch his breath. "You made it back to the office in time, so I guess you found what you were looking for."
Zenigata took several deep breaths and threw himself into his wooden swivel chair, setting his prize on the desk. "What's with the box?" he asked, peering at it from various angles. Opening it, he was surprised to find a small ceramic cup wrapped in purple silk, and a dark brown bottle, half-filled with liquid. "What is all this stuff?" he added, almost to himself.
"You've got a cup there, right? And a little flask?"
Zenigata frowned. How did Lupin know these things?
"Yeah, yeah; cup and flask," he said. He cradled the phone against his shoulder and opened the bottle, sniffing its contents. "What's in it?"
Zenigata could almost hear Lupin shrug. "My guess is valerian root extract," the thief said thoughtfully, "or some other sopoforic. Whatever it is, it can put a man to sleep in an hour and keep him that way for at least five."
Frowning more deeply, Zenigata capped the bottle and placed it back in the box. "Why would Katsu have a sleeping draught in his room?" he pondered aloud, leaning back in his chair and propping his feet up on the cheap metal desk. "He specifically said he had no sleeping problems."
"He also took a cup of tea to Goemon on Tuesday night," Lupin said. He paused for a moment, allowing the information to sink in.
Zenigata shook his head. "That's a strong accusation," he said at last. "Especially coming from a notorious criminal like yourself." He reached into his breast pocket for his cigarettes and shook one out.
"Hey," Lupin protested. "I do my work honestly -- at least I warn people before I steal something." He snickered. "It's not my fault that no one can catch me in the act."
Zenigata struck a match on the bottom of his shoe and growled into the phone. "If this is your way of gloating, Lupin..." He lit his cigarette and shook his hand to extinguish the match.
"I can help you even more, Pops," Lupin said confidently. "But you gotta promise me that you'll give up chasing me for a couple of days."
Zenigata sat up abruptly, his feet slamming onto the floor. "Impossible!" he roared. "I'll never stop hunting you, Lupin!" He waved his cigarette about, the heavy smoke going every which way.
"Aw, that's too bad," Lupin said. His tone was mockingly sad. "I thought this would have helped to prove that I'm telling the truth when I say that I know where the Tokyo Rose is."
Zenigata's arm stopped in mid-wave. His face fell. "You're lying," he said hesitantly. It was obvious that he didn't believe his own words.
"Sorry, Old Man," Lupin replied. "This time, it's the truth." He chuckled softly. "But if I tell you where to go and what to do, you have to let me off the hook."
Zenigata took another drag from his smoke and grumbled into the phone.
"Come on, Pops -- we both want this guy locked up," Lupin said, turning on the charm. "I'll get Goemon back, and you'll get a shiny gold star on your next report card. Whaddya say?"
"Grhrm," Zenigata mumbled. He stuck his cigarette between his lips and crossed the first two fingers on his free hand. "Okay," he said.
There was a long pause. "If you're lying to me, Pops, I'll know," Lupin warned. "If you mess this up, I'll really steal the Rose." He was obviously taking great pleasure in the threat. "Then it won't be a gold star -- it'll be a pink slip."
Zenigata sighed and uncrossed his fingers. "All right," he said. "You have my word." He took one last drag from his cigarette and crushed it out in the overflowing glass ashtray that occupied one corner of his desk. "But this had better be on the level, Lupin."
"Hey, I have as much interest in this as you do, Pops," Lupin said crisply. "Now, write this down: at eleven o'clock tonight, you'll bring Wakahisa to..."