Chapter 14
"You look like shit."
Mei looked up from the book she was reading on the couch in the living room above Mitsuko's tattoo parlor. Closing it, she shifted her narrowed gaze at Matsuri, who was in the process of eating the first of three gigantic, hot, freshly baked pretzels.
"Don't tell me you still have jet lag," scoffed the pink-haired girl as she squirted some mustard into a cup. "You've been back for like two weeks. You should be over it by now."
"It's not jet la..aa...ag," yawned Mei making Kaio laugh and Matsuri roll her eyes. "I've been up working late on my latest assignment, and I haven't been sleeping well. This is my first day off since the day after I got back. I've been burning the candle at both ends. First, I did my work for the game; then, I finished a few side jobs I had left and sent the drafts off to my clients. I'm probably going to hear back about those by the end of the day. And knowing a couple of them, I'm going to be doing a bunch of edits. So I won't be sleeping much again."
"They're paying you overtime for this crap, right?"
Mei watched as Matsuri scooped up a rather unhealthy amount of mustard onto a piece of pretzel and shoved it into her mouth, and shook her head the lack of manners.
"Don't look at me like that," huffed Matsuri after wiping her mouth and drinking some water. "If you're going to get judgmental about my eating habits on my days off, I'll post the pictures I have face down covered in barbecue sauce and ketchup after you've done one of these death marches all over social media. Pretty sure your clients wouldn't like to see that, given how far you go to hide just how dirty you get after painting. Imagine what would happen if they saw you passed out a bar table covered in snacks."
"Probably laugh at them and then ask where I was and want to join me," said Mei, unfazed by Matsuri's threat. "Most of my clients are rather laidback and would enjoy the change from the high-end dinner meetings. So there's a good chance you'd be doing me a favor. Now, if I were to have something, say like your arrest record, then I'd for certain be in trouble."
"I only got arrested that one time," snorted Matsuri eating another bite of her snack. "The other times were tickets or warnings. Besides, that got reduced down to community service, and it was like four years ago. I haven't been in much trouble since."
Mei snorted back a laugh and shook her head, "You've been in enough. You just haven't been caught."
"And that's what matters." Matsuri winked and sat back, stretching loudly. "Besides, Yuzu got arrested for dumber shit than what I did, and you ain't holding that over her head."
"That's beside the point." Mei's ears burned red as she answered. "Yuzu was a high schooler, and how do you know about that anyway?"
"Because I was at the party she tried to get into, duh." Matsuri rolled her eyes and took another sip of beer, and laughed at Mei's surprised look. "You didn't know?"
"I...did not," answered Mei through gritted teeth as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "We've never had much time to discuss our pasts. We usually end up having someone tagging along or interrupting us."
"Yeah, I heard about that whole incident in the restaurant she took you to." Matsuri's smirk shifted to one of discomfort. "I'm glad Hank came out all right. The big man doesn't need shit like that going on in his life. But it's a good thing it didn't end up getting any worse. If it had, Yuzu would have flattened that guy."
"What do you mean?" Mei shut her book, knowing that she wouldn't be getting any more reading done until her meeting now that Matsuri had gotten her attention.
"I'll let Yuzu explain that." Matsuri let out a devil chuckle as she returned to her food. "But you still haven't answered my question about the overtime. You going to get any or what?"
"I'll be getting some, yes," grunted Mei, as she stretched and rolled her muscles to keep them from cramping. "I don't know how much since I'm not a permanent employee, but it's in the contract. Mitsuko made sure of it."
"Speaking of the hag," gulped Matsuri after finishing the last bite of her pretzel, "why are you up here and not in the shop? You guys doing something serious today? If that's the case, can you make it quick? She and Kayo have been on edge since yesterday, and they won't tell me why."
"It's probably because of the appointment we have scheduled for today." Mei sighed and rubbed her temple. "It involves this woman who wants compensation for my grandfather's painting. I was hoping to pay her and be done with it, but the police are saying that since she bought stolen goods, I have no reason to reimburse her, and her lawyer is causing a fuss saying that I should. So we're going to the station to see if we can smooth this over. I'll be getting the painting back regardless, but I'm tired of the hassle."
"Sounds like something my parents would have pulled when I was a kid," snorted Matsuri after swallowing another mustard-drenched bite of her pretzel before sipping from the water bottle she had on next to her stack of beer cans. "You think there's any chance you'll get it back without being screwed over?"
"I'm sure I'll end up paying something." Mei sighed in mild disgust but kept quiet and turned her attention to the television. "The woman says she may have a clue about someone who might have bought another one, and the cops need me to confirm that a supposed third painting is authentic as well. Which would be suspicious enough, but when I asked who brought it in, they said it had been brought in from out of state and won't tell me who brought it in."
"That's creepy." Matsuri took another drink of beer, grabbed one of the three unopened beers off the table, and offered Mei. "Why won't they tell you? Is it because the person doesn't want to get arrested? Or do you think it's because he was involved with that shithead Amamiya?"
"If he were involved with Amamiya, I'm sure they would have said, but even that would prove tricky given how he sold everything," yawned Mei while waving away the beer.
"What do you mean?"
Mei sighed at Matsuri's question and said, "Because all he did was hand them off to an intermediary and take a cut of the profits on the sale, which was both smart and not unheard of, especially if you're an artist. The art world is full of situations like this, and I wouldn't be surprised if someone tried to copy the paintings and sell off what they could paint while keeping what wasn't finished or what they weren't able to reproduce."
"If that's the case, then why the hell do you put yourself through it?" Matsuri crushed her empty can and set it down before ripping into the third pretzel and opening another beer. "I mean, I know all about reproductions. My parents have a few, bought legally, though, and I know it's a big market. And I don't think there's a tattoo artist alive that doesn't get a lot of people looking to get ink of their favorite characters, books, or shows. Hell, it's how we make a big chunk of our money. But there's a big difference between fanart and straight-up theft, and it sounds like if someone is doing that with your grandpa's work, it's going to be a pain in the ass to fight."
"You're right about that," said Mitsuko as she straightened the sleeves of her button-up before pulling a crisp suit jacket over it. "Which is why you need a lawyer for situations like this. To make sure idiots like the people who might try and pull this don't get away with it. But, given how much was stolen and the lack of paperwork, I don't think we'll be able to stop all of it."
"But I appreciate your help regardless," said Mei as she stood up and began retrieving her belongings while Mitsuko grabbed a large folder and began filling her work bag. "Honestly, I don't want to be there all day, so can we please try to get this done as quickly as possible?"
"Depends on the woman and her lawyer. But if they're willing to accept your payment, we'll be out of there by one at the latest. Although I'm hoping you can identify it as a fake. I'd hate for you to have to spend money like that unnecessarily."
"If it gets one of his paintings back, I'll pay as much as I can stomach," said Mei as she began adjusting her outfit.
Mitsuko reached out and brushed a little dust off of Mei's blazer and nodded her approval.
"Glad to see you followed my advice," sighed Mitsuko after making sure she had everything she needed. "Now remember, we're going to head to the police station and then to a private room that they've set aside for us to inspect the painting. Once you and a few other third-party people come to a conclusion, we can discuss our next course of action. You got your pictures to help with the identification along with anything else you might need?"
"I do." Mei's hand gripped tightly on her bag as she felt a lump rise in her throat. "I even brought my checkbook as well."
"I hate that you're offering money like this. But it's your property and…"
Mitsuko stopped as Matsuri barely contained her belch before laughing at something on the television while the two women stared at her in amazement.
It was well known among their friends that Matsuri could be a handful. While she may be a little messy on occasion, the slovenly display she was putting on had Mitsuko annoyed and Mei astonished as she was now able to grasp the mess that had piled up around Matsuri.
"What are you two looking at," asked Matsuri, confused at why they were still in the apartment. "I thought you guys had a big meeting to get to? Are you bailing on it, or are you gonna get going and let me enjoy my day off?"
"Is that what you're doing?" Mitsuko pointed at the mess of cans and plates that Mei had overlooked earlier. "Because you've been lounging on the couch since last night, and you've destroyed the living room. Do you plan on cleaning up at all today, or are you going to leave it for Kayo and me?"
"Calm down," grunted Matsuri as she stretched and pulled out her phone. "It's on my list today, see?"
Mitsuko bent down and read Matsuri's screen, eyes widening in surprise as she read, "' One o'clock, clean living room and switch the laundry.' It's a little strange that you planned out your relaxation time, but if you clean it up, I won't complain. But what's this other part right here, something about dinner?"
"I'm meeting up with Hank and some of our gaming friends," explained Matsuri nervously as she clicked off her screen and rolled over. "We're having dinner, and then we're probably going to go walk around for a bit and probably see a movie or something. So you and Kayo don't need to wait up."
"Are you staying out," asked Mitsuko while Mei checked her watch and breathed a sigh of relief, seeing they still had over an hour to get to their appointment.
"I dunno," shrugged Matsuri, who had gone back to staring at the television. "We're just going to play it by ear, but I'll let you know because I know that if I don't, you're going to be calling me all night. And no, I won't be drinking tonight, though I can't say that for everyone in the group."
"Please don't get arrested or anything." Mitsuko sighed before giving Mei a knowing smirk. "Just because I keep up with my certifications and everything doesn't mean I'll be able to get you out of every mess you get into."
"You got it, Mom." Matsuri raised her hand and gave Mitsuko a thumbs up before dropping it and her head back onto the couch. "Now go away; I've already missed a bunch of jokes. Now I'm gonna have to restart the show."
"Just make sure you do your chores on the wheel before you go anywhere along with the stuff you said you were going to do."
Leaning over, Mitsuko flicked Matusri's ear, snatched a bit of pretzel, and snickered as she ran out the door, narrowly avoiding a large chunk of pretzel Matsuri threw as she shut the door behind her.
"Bitch," whispered Matsuri as she rubbed her ear and watched Mei head toward the door. "Yo, Mei!"
"Yes," asked the older woman, turning around, her hand on the knob, ignoring Matsuri's comment as she knew the girl didn't mean it.
Mei watched as Matsuri's face screwed up and her mouth opened and closed as she tried to figure out what to say before meekly saying, "Good luck."
Mei felt her ears burn a little at the way Matsuri looked as she said the words and gave her what she hoped was a kind smile and said, "Thank you, Matsuri. Enjoy your night out."
After that, Mei left the apartment, not surprised to find Mitsuko nowhere in sight. Sighing, she clutched her bag tightly and took the elevator down to the street where she expected to find her friend standing next to a cab or rideshare. But Mei's worst fears came to life, and she froze in terror when she saw a brand new navy blue Sedan in front of the building with Mitsuko in the driver's seat with the windows rolled down.
"Well, what are you waiting for," asked Mitsuko over what sounded like an audiobook playing over the radio, "get your ass in here, or we're going to be late."
"Where's Kayo?" Mei's eyes scanned the street nervously as the book droned on.
"Cute." Mitsuko turned the radio down and rested her forearms on the steering wheel, and glared at Mei. "And just so you know, Maruta's not meeting us there to drive us back. She's helping another client for me today with a contract dispute. But this takes precedent, so I'm going to meet her there when I'm done here. Which means I'm working double-time today. Now get in your ass in the car, or else I'm leaving you here."
Even though she knew there were other safer and less life-threatening alternatives at her disposal, Mei's guilt eventually won out. She knew she wasn't Mitsuko's only client and that if Kayo was taking over handling a client, then it was something significant, and Mitsuko couldn't afford to lose her fee on it.
With that knowledge in mind, Mei's body slowly shifted toward the car, and after opening the door, she hesitantly slid in next to Mitsuko and fastened her seatbelt, her arms wrapped tightly around her bag.
"Oh, will you relax," groaned Mitsuko after turning the radio back up. "We'll be fi…oh shit!"
The car jerked forward, followed by two loud screeches as Mitsuko slammed on the brakes, narrowly missing the parked car in front of them while Mei screamed in terror.
"Sorry," laughed Mitsuko as she double-checked to make sure everything was all right and waved at the owner of a neighboring business who'd come out to see what happened. "Didn't realize I had it in neutral before I pressed the gas and moved into drive. We've only had this car for a few days, so I'm still getting used to it. We're all good, Jack! Thanks for checking."
Mei looked out the window to see the man nod, a nervous smile on his face, and before Mitsuko carefully pulled out into traffic. Turning around to see what happened to the shop owner, Mei's eyes grew wide as he gave her a cautious wave and mouthed the words, "Good luck," before disappearing back into his shop.
