Chapter 3: One Step too Far
...
...
Hark hark the dogs do bark
The beggars are coming to town
Some in rags and some in jags
And one in a velvet gown.
- Nursery Rhyme
...
...
"Where'r we?" I asked, followin' her into somethin' that looked like an office buildin' meets monotone colors.
"Picking up a friend of mine. Both of you need to help with this. If we don't act soon, it might be too late. I almost didn't want to wait for you to get out of school."
"If it was that important, ya could'a come an' got me." I scratched the inside'a my thumb with my other fingers. "Or ya could'a gone ta the cops." I stopped an' looked at her. "Why didn't ya if this is so important? Or are ya just stringin' me along?"
"The police can't help, especially not when you need them. Sometimes, I admit, they are useful. They do help people when they are in danger right before their eyes. Any other time, it's up to you to protect yourself. Right now," The woman shook her head. "There'd be no chance of them agreeing to assist me."
"But ya think I'm gonna do it?" I let out a laugh as I breathed out. "What makes me so different then the cops?"
"You're young, open to new ideas and willing to do what it takes. Most police officers are not."
I huffed. "Ya know, the way ya keep sayin' that makes me think ya want me ta do somethin' that I ain't gonna do."
"I'm not here to force you into any type of decision. I'm going to give you a simple option. You can walk away at any point. I just want to try and achieve the best outcome I can without hurting anyone in the process." She turned to me, her gray eyes holdin' far more of an impression on me then the buildin'. "Even you. I want your help, I don't want to force you into something you don't want."
I had nothin' ta say back ta that, but it didn't stop me from doubtin' her. I mean, come on- she went ta me instead'a a cop because she wanted me to do somethin' a cop couldn't. Okay, well, one thing came ta mind fer that an' only one. She wanted me ta do somethin' that was against the law. Fit in with the rest of the stuff she'd been sayin' earlier 'bout me doin' 'anything' to help someone. At the time I thought she was talkin' about somethin' dangerous, like with the fire.
Why was I still followin' her? I even stood next to her in the elevator like it was the most natural thing in the world. She had this hard air 'round her that kinda reminded me 'a my dad, but I had ta guess that was 'cause an army recruiter had ta actually be in the army. Wasn't hard ta notice with her.
I followed her ta an office, name printed on a little gold strip on the door like I'd seen dozens'a times. "Kitogawa Narumi." Hadn't heard'a him. I didn't even know what kinda buildin' I was in, just that it looked official.
She knocked and a guy I'd never seen before answered. He looked kinda scraggly ta be in a place like this, stringy black hair fallin' around a narrow face an' drawn back features, all overshadowin' dark, dull eyes. The guy didn't seem like at the sharpest of people.
"Hi," he said just as lifelessly.
"Hello, I need your eyes," the woman said, her tone pleasant with him where it was usually hard with me. Made me think she played people a lot.
"Keys? Do you have a door? I'm not giving you keys without a door." The man looked like he wanted to end the conversation but he didn't wanna close the door on the woman an' I couldn't blame him.
"I might have the door, I'm not sure. In any case, your keys will be safe."
The guy tilted his head ta the side an' looked at me. I was confused an' that made me angry so I was sure the guy didn't get the same look back.
"You're taking those I told you about as well, right?"
"Of course."
The man nodded, retreatin' back inta the room on silent footsteps. "I'll meet you there in an hour then. See what you can do before that and let them know."
The guy was weird an' thankfully gone. I had no idea what they were talkin' about.
"So, what am I doin', huh? Ya've obviously got somethin' planned. Don'tcha think I aught'a know what it is?"
"I know, and I will. I'm no fool and I know you aren't either. Come with me." The woman walked away an' I started after her, narrowin' my eyes. Yeah, well if that weren't suspicious, I didn't know what was. I walked behind her, if only ta see what was goin' on. I wasn't likin' it an' I felt my phone in my pocket, just in case I needed it.
Got back in her car, though she didn't feel much like talkin' ta me, so I started up.
"So, who was that an' tell me why I should care?"
"That was Kitogawa-san, and he's a lawyer. You should care about him because he's one of the few people out there who get clients that are, and cannot be proven, innocent, and still has enough of himself left in this day and age to care about things like that."
"Ya make it sound like people don't."
"They don't, not really." She turned on the car, keepin' up with the traffic. She wasn't speedin' but I was kinda surprised at how we managed ta be movin' so fast. She musta been used to the streets of Osaka as well as my dad... My mom sucked, an' sometimes she felt it... necessary ta make things harder than they were, mostly by takin' 'shortcuts'. "And why should they? Evidence, even circumstantial, is enough to sway any jury these days. Past crimes don't help any, and if anything, our fellow humans that want to change their lives around should be given that chance, not have it held over their heads all their lives."
"Yeah, well, I don't agree with ya. I know a lot'a good people who do care."
She smiled at me, though she never took her eyes off the road. "You're a good person, Hattori-kun. I'm sure all the people who you know are good people as well, that doesn't mean the rest of the world lives up to the same standards. I've heard of some of your cases. Think of how many different professions all the criminals you've come across have spread over? Don't you think, if it's even one that's a lawyer or judge, it's one too many? Besides that, as humans, we have are flaws. I don't think innocent people should suffer based on the convictions of others."
"The world has it's flaws, I'll give ya that, but the best thing ta do is change 'em."
"I couldn't agree with you more."
I looked over at her. "An' how do ya think I can do anythin' ta help you with that. I ain't any professional an' I don't know squat 'bout whatcha do."
"No, but you do have some connections I don't, especially being who you are. That's what makes people powerful. Those who can make a difference should. I think it's a waste when prominent people take advantage of only the options that will further themselves. Do you care about the criminals, Hattori-kun, or only the mystery?"
I looked at her like she was crazy. She kinda was. "Both I guess," I answered honestly. "Ain't really much of a mystery if the guy gets killed 'er gets away."
"And what about those that made the wrong deductions? I'm sure not everyone you know is as competent as those you hold in higher respect. What about the criminals then? They aren't criminals, they're just more victims. How many currently in jail do you think are one over the other? Half? Even a quarter is too many. And what about the accidents that couldn't be prevented, people spending their whole lives due to things that were self defense and ruled otherwise? What do you think about those people? I've asked you this before but I want a more detailed answer this time."
I had no idea what ta tell her. Of course I felt that there were people like that in jail 'er prison. I'd seen some pretty stupid cops. That didn' mean I had any way of judgin' 'em better than they already were. That was why I liked bein' a detective. I used to be a pretty bad one, but I knew I wasn't now. I was gonna make sure that everythin' I was evolved in, the right person was goin' ta jail now. "Evidence usually plays a good 'nough part in trails. I'd say I feel bad, but there ain't nothin' I could do about it."
"What if there was something you could do about it? You said you'd change things, just now, when I spoke of all the injustices in the world. Judges hear so many cases that they've stereotyped their victims. Some don't even get to keep their jobs if they don't convince enough people. I'm not sure you knew this. Well, I'm more than just an army recruiter. In my spare time, I'm a more thorough judge. I have a jury of understanding people who I talk with, who find the real evidence, and dig out the innocents out among the guilty."
The lady pulled the car over fast enough that I ended up slammin' my shoulder a bit inta the door.
"I'm something the government knows exists. We're even paid for what we do." The lady smiled, kindness there among the lines on her face. "Shadow Court. They call us that sometimes. We have no real name. Come on. Let's see a man about a door."
I sat there in the now silent car, lettin' out a breath and tryin' ta get my mind around what was goin' on. Sittin' in the car was by far the best decision I could see. Whatever was goin' on there was no way my old man knew about it.
Maybe this was some kind'a weird test or somethin'.
"Not leavin' the car." I took my belt off but that was all I was doin'. The lady was waiting for me near the jailhouse door, far enough away that the automatic machine didn't 'ave the doors open and waitin' fer her.
She was lookin' at me and all I could think of was 'no'. Whatever's goin' on, no.
Vanishing inside, I waited. I had no idea what I was supposed ta do but I knew if I got out'a the car, I'd start walkin' and never get my answers.
Time ta play the waitin' game.
Iizuka-san came out a short time later, her smile gone an' her face set in a way that made it hard fer me ta read her. She opened the door and sat back down beside me, clickin' 'er belt on. "Come on, put yours on too. We're leaving."
"What's goin' on? Jus' tell me, in plain words, 'cause I'm not understandin' somethin'."
"I can show you but I can't tell you. You can watch, how about that? We'll walk in there, just like we did before, and I'll tell you a little story this time."
I thought about that for a few seconds. "Fine."
"First, you just got out of school and I need a bite to eat. I'm going to grab something from somewhere close." She started the car and I found myself putting my belt on from pure reflex. "Want anything?"
"Not hungry." My stomach nearly protested this so I gave it some slack. "Jus' somethin' quick."
A hotdog was enough fer me as she got somethin' more fillin' an' I was forced ta watch 'er eat, thinkin' about what the heck was goin' on, what she did in there, what kind of 'story' she wanted ta tell me, and what this had ta do with the other guy.
"You think a lot on all the wrong things. You know, I didn't say this before, but you look tired. Did you not get a lot of rest?"
"None 'a yer business." I wiped at one of my eyes, wonderin' if I still had bags there. Kudo had kept me from a lot of good sleep an' the things she said took away the rest.
"I'm not trying to be prying. It was just a question." She continued ta eat for a while, turnin' ta me every once in a while. Seemed kind'a rude ta talk to her when she had food in her mouth so I waited on my own questions. Wasn't even sure I could ask them.
After what felt like f'erever we took off again, back to the jailhouse like she had said. We hadn't made any other stops, which was good, but it had me even more curious.
We were checked in, our names, stuff, and the regular drill of being let in near the cells. Again, we were locked in.
Only this time after the door was closed that weird guy with the dead eyes from earlier came from down the other stretch of corridor that, by my knowledge, led to more cells.
"Lots of doors. My eyes are only so good." The man smiled, turning his head a bit. "What about the rest? I don't' want to be stuck in the doors."
"Go ahead." Iiruka-san knocked on the gate an' the guard that let us in came back. I frowned but watched him unlock the door and let the weird guy out before lockin' us back up.
"What's goin' on?"
"You ask that question a lot. I suppose a lot of the human race would like to know what's going on. There are so many questions we don't know, and so many things that we don't even question because we know even less." The woman leaned against the wall. "Get comfortable."
I was too on edge ta be all the way comfortable, but we were in a jailhouse. Wasn't like anythin' bad could happen. I leaned against the bars without having to move my feet.
"Once upon a time-"
I choked on a laugh.
"Hush," she said with a smile. "Once upon a time, there was a world filled with angels. Food was plentiful and no one had need of anything. One day though there was born an angel with smaller wings than his brothers. Feeling jealous, this small-winged angel started collecting fallen feathers. At night he would glue them to his own wings, making them look bigger and bigger, until one day the other angels started to notice.
They made him their leader since, having large wings, he must have been blessed with good fortune and they hoped that some would fall upon them as well if they treated him with respect above all others.
The small-winged angel secretly knew that he was no better than them, knew that if one day they found out about his lies, he'd be cast aside.
Fear and jealousy still raging within him, the angel noticed when the trees would bear the fresher, juicier fruits, and demanded that those be brought to him. The task would make the other angels focus on something aside from the size of his wings then, and he'd be able to rest easier and get the better picks for food.
Lavished in gifts of good harvest and pampering, he took on a bride. She was one of the most beautiful he could find.
One day, while brushing his hair and speaking sweet words of love and devotion to him, she noticed a feather fall from his wings.
Making sure that the missing feather didn't make the others look unkempt, she tried to straighten out the remaining ones. Feather by feather they started to fall away as she touched them, her heart racing.
The small-winged angel noticed what was happening and commanded her away from him, a few witnessing angels confused at what had happened.
He then turned to him, saying the woman was cursed and has caused his feathers to fall out. Until then, there had been no knowledge of cells or cages. He commanded one be made just for her and to lock her up in there or else all of their feathers would fall and they would never again be able to fly.
Alone with no idea why his feathers had fallen, the trapped angel wept, centuries passing and the others forgetting all about her existence. As far as they were concerned, it didn't matter if she was still there.
Then one day another angel came upon her, this one born very unlike the others, no wings on his back at all. He found her in her cage and asked her why she was there. When she told him of her story the wingless angel decided that he was going to get her out of her cage. It had been so long he was sure that no one would remember it had been her that was 'cursed'.
Unable to break the bars he asked for an audience with the king of the angels. The small-winged angel still ruled over them, growing greedier and greedier as the years went on and his ruse was never discovered.
The wingless angel was put in touch with the ruler's best friend as of late, another angel that had exceptionally large wings for their kind. He told the friend of the betrayal of the king to his wife, what had befallen her, and what secrets he was yet hiding from them all.
Sickened by this, the friend went to the king and called him down to the ground to speak with the stranger, not telling him of the story he had been told.
Once on the ground the friend tore at the small-winged angels wings, discovering the truth, continuing to pluck away until even the real feathers were gone.
Injured, confused, and wanting of his prizes, the small-winged angel ran from his once-friend, off into the darkness to find new followers, those that only walked on the land, so he could once more rule.
Feeling badly for the liar, the friend and wingless angel let him go, turning instead to his banished wife and freeing her from her cage.
'We can not tell the others of this deception', the friend spoke to the other two. 'He was a greedy ruler but he was loved by all. This deception will destroy the hope of our people. I will take over in his stead and make sure this never happens again.'
'But we are angels, just as he is. Some will make the same mistakes he has. We are not all knowing and we obviously cannot rule ourselves.'
'That is why you two will watch over me. Should I become an unjust ruler like he, banish me the same as I have banished him, and we shall at least know a better peace.'" The woman clapped her hands, the echo making me wince. "And that's the end of the story."
"Nice story I guess." I put a finger in my ear that was still ringin'. "Betcha kid's'd love it."
"It's a story with a lesson. Sometimes those in power need to be watched over. How else would be keep the peace?" Stepping forward, the lady went and just grabbed the door ta the cell that the foreign guy was locked in, the damn thing commin' open like it weren't even locked. "Only really works if some of those in power know they're being watched though. Otherwise it would be really hard to help unless we took over ourselves, and that would destroy the point in everything."
"Woah, wait!" I closed the door but with no keys there was no way I could lock it. The guy was just kinda lookin' at us from where 'e was sittin' in bed, so I wasn't all that worried. There was another door. "Ya can't just break people outta jail 'cause ya think they're innocent!"
"Here." The woman took out a manila packet, papers inside spillin' out a bit. "It's been too long for the case to be reopened but we were able to find the man that had committed the murder during the robbery. He's been out of the country for a decade or so now, but we'll get him sooner or later. Kumai-san here was nice enough to provide us with all the information he could."
"Wait." I took the packet. I was curious, I couldn't help that. I'd be able to hold the door again if the guy got up. Flippin' through the papers, the guy pictured in them did look a lot like the Kumai guy inside the cell, but his eyes were a different color. Burglary, theft, some more theft. "Ya kin just reopen the case."
"We have no new evidence to prove it was Sumada-san, the man in those papers. The eyewitness will have long forgotten any small details. What, detective, would you suggest we do? Let Kumai-san rot away another twenty years trying to hunt down this man who's no longer in the country and hope he confesses?" She let out a long, sad-sounding sigh an' looked up at me as if I jus' said she'd be spendin' the rest of her life in jail. "Hattori-kun, you're smarter than that. And kinder."
I let out a shudderin' breath of my own, feelin' my hand shake on the papers, holding them in only one while my other went back ta the bars. "This ain't right."
"Which part? Letting him go or that he was ever here in the first place?"
"I- I don't know. Neither. I mean, he shouldn't'a been if it wasn't him but this ain't the way ta get him out."
"What is the way?"
"I-" I shook my head. I didn't know. If we could find the guy-
"And every other person in the same situation as him? Can you find the evidence to help all of them? Their lawyers, paid for only a few hours, certainly couldn't."
"That's not what I… that's not what I mean."
"Hattori-kun." Iizuka-san went over and put her hand on top of mine. "You don't have to do anything. Let go, come on. You know you couldn't hold this door closed if he wanted to push past you, which he doesn't.
"Ya can't-" It wasn't hard to hear, the sound of other doors opening. I turned, seeing that one of the ones near the end of the hall was now blockin' half the hall.
A woman came out, her hair white an' fingers boney enough she looked 'alf dead. There were more, maybe half a doze people, who came slowly from around the corner, as if they hadn't been wanting to interrupt us.
The old woman led the group forward, my hand tightenin' where it was. I had no where ta run if I had ta.
But they didn't seem ta care much now that I was there. The old woman gently put a frail hand onta Iizuka-san's shoulder, tears falling out of the corner of 'er eyes, even though they didn't seem ta bother 'er speech. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"Hey, wait!" I reached out and was able ta grab the shirt she was wearing. The old woman turned to mean an' I realized she musta been blind in one eye. It was all white like clear syrup was placed over it.
"Oh, right." Her cold, thin hand was over mine then. "Thank you as well."
"This is Kichimaki-san. She's the one who killed her friend when she thought there was a burglar in her house."
"Yes." Kichimaki-san turned back to the woman but her hand was still on mine. "Did you put those flowers on her grave for me?" More tears fell. "I wish I had known. It was so dark and… and…"
"I did, and it's alright. I'm sure anyone could have made the same mistake as you. It was half a lifetime ago. I think she would want you to live the rest that you have not worrying about her anymore."
"That won't ever happen, but thank you both anyway."
Her hand just kinda slid outta mine. I had no idea what ta say or what ta do but there was a door and at least we were all locked in here and it was all just so wrong.
"Here, let me help you."
My mouth would'a fallen ta the floor if my life were a cartoon. As it was I was in shock enough that the guard coming from around the corner ta open the door for all the escapin' criminals didn't really register.
"Come on, Hattori-kun." I felt the woman kinda push me away from the door, my hand fallin' off that as well. I wanted to go runnin' for an officer, any officer, that cared what was goin' on right now ta get over here.
But I was stuck there with that stupid folder in my hand and feelin' the damn thing still shake.
It didn't take long, really, fer all seven or eight people to leave. Not really sure where they went since they'd have to go past security, but I had a strange feelin' that that wasn't really gonna be an issue.
"Hattori-kun." She shook my shoulder a little again, snapping me out of some of it. Everythin' still felt like it had a vague haze 'round it 'er something. "They were innocent. I check thoroughly. I would never have let them go if they weren't. We're going to fix up the cases, add in this evidence." Her hands took the folder from me an' my now empty hand just kinda fell ta my side. "We'll fix this. It'll all be nice and legal when we're done, just without all the waiting."
"It ain't right," I spoke quietly, my head a bit down. It was kinda hard ta hold it up fer some reason. "It ain't right."
"Which one?" She repeated again, and just walked back out of the cells, leaving the door open fer me.
I'm not sure how I got home. I know I didn't go back in her car but there's no way I could'a walked all the way there from the jail. I didn't live that close to it.
All I know is I dropped my school bag I didn't remember retrievin' and went up to my room. I fell to the floor against my wall when I was finally in my room, my hands resting on my forehead and my fingers pullin' at my hair hard enough ta hurt. "Kami," I spoke quietly to myself. "What did I jus' do?"