Chapter 5: The Stubborn Ones

Yokosuka Police Station
Dobuita
1:15 PM

Yokosuka's local police station was located around the corner from the Hirata Tobacco Shop and just down the street from the neighborhood bus stop. Cathy and Agent Kondo entered the building and displayed their respective credentials for the officer at the front desk.

"May I help you?" the short male uniformed officer asked. He appeared to be in his late 50's to early 60's.

"Detective Inspector Murakawa and Officer Akiyama are expecting us," Kondo said, "Where might we find them?"

"Ah yes," the desk officer said as he turned around in his wheeled office chair and pointed to the directory board on the wall a few feet away. "They're in Squad Room One," he continued, "Just follow the arrow."

Cathy nodded with gratitude. "Thank you very much," she said.

The two partners then entered the station's main foyer area and made a right turn before heading partway down a long main hallway until they found the sign on the door for Squad Room 1.

Upon entering the large office bullpen, they had evidently stumbled into a very busy scene. Phones rang incessantly and were promptly answered in cordial Japanese, officers walked with purpose in and out of the room, and locals reporting various offenses sat in front of various desks speaking with officers and detectives.

Cathy and Kondo found both Detective Inspector Murakawa and Officer Akiyama sitting at the former's desk in the farthest rear section of the squad room. They both stood up when they noticed their American military colleagues.

"I think we may have gotten a good lead on your mysterious box truck," Murakawa said.

"Oh yeah?" Cathy replied, "How so?"

"You know who Shinkichi Noda is, don't you?" Akiyama asked her.

"Sure," Cathy said, "Shinkichi-san. He runs the Uokichi Seafood market here in Dobuita. Why do you ask?"

"We went back over the stolen vehicle reports like you asked," Murakawa began explaining, "Apparently, he had his delivery truck stolen while he was delivering a shipment of snow crabs to a grocery store near New Yokosuka Harbor."

Kondo nodded with interest. "What did he say happened?" he asked.

"He had taken the shipment inside to give to the staff at the store," Akiyama chimed in, "He said he wasn't gone more than five minutes at most and that the truck was gone when he came out."

"No suspect description?" Cathy inquired, "He didn't mention seeing any strange people for vehicles in the immediate vicinity when he pulled up?"

Murakawa shook his head. "No," he said, "He just said he pulled up to the store's rear delivery entrance like he'd done numerous times before, went inside to hand off the shipment of crabs and came right back out."

Kondo sighed. "Okay," he replied, "I see your point, but what makes you think that Shinkichi-san's truck is the same vehicle that Hirata-san saw in the parking lot that night?"

"The truck was a late-model Ford F-Seven-Hundred box truck with the Uokichi Seafood logo stenciled across the attached trailer," Akiyama said, "Now, that's a unique vehicle description, and mind you, it's the only vehicle of that type that went missing around the time of Allison Bennett's disappearance. It was stolen three days before she disappeared."

Getting the picture, Cathy interjected. "Alright," she said, "Alright. You guys have done some very good work here, and I think I speak for both Agent Kondo and me when I say that we appreciate it. My first question now is, has there been any sign of the truck anywhere lately?"

"Not since Shinkichi-san first reported it," Murakawa replied, "We've had officers checking every parking lot and junkyard between here, the harbor, and all the way to Kanagawa. Nothing yet."

Cathy nodded. "That brings me to my next question," she said, "Do we have any idea where Allison's sister, Lidia, might be?"

"One of our other detectives has been covertly keeping an eye on her per my request," Murakawa replied, "According to him, she seems to have relatively the same travel route around Dobuita pretty much every day. She stops for lunch around noon at Takara Sushi, then walks around near Suzume Park for about an hour or so, then makes her way back toward the Lapis Fortune Teller shop."

Kondo checked his watch. "It's almost one-thirty," he said before looking back up at his colleagues, "What do you guys think? Murakawa-san, why don't you and Officer Akiyama split up? One of you takes the sushi place, the other takes the fortune teller shop. Cathy and I will go check the park."

The detective and the officer both nodded affirmatively, and the quartet of investigators then got up and left the station.

Suzume Park
1:35 PM

Cathy and Kondo made it to Suzume Park just in time to see Lidia Bennett arrive herself and take a seat on the park bench. Lidia was a 30-year-old white American woman with long brown hair who stood at 5'7. She was clad in a light green sweater with a plain black undershirt, long light brown slacks, and dark brown shoes.

"Lidia Bennett?" Cathy inquired as she and Kondo walked over to her.

Lidia turned to see the two military investigators coming her way. "Yes," she said with a nod, "How can I help you?"

Both Cathy and Kondo displayed their individual credentials once again, this time to Lidia. "I'm Petty Officer Cathy Wilkens with the U.S. Navy," Cathy said before gesturing to Kondo with her eyes, "This is my partner, Special Agent John Kondo with Naval Security and Investigative Command."

Lidia's eyes widened with a newfound flicker of hope as she studied their identification. "The Navy?" she asked, "Is this about my sister? Is this about Allison?"

"Yes," Kondo replied as he put his credentials back into the breast pocket of his blazer, "It is. We know you've already given statements to both the local police and to our MPs, but we'd like to get some background information about your sister."

Lidia gave them a fleetingly muddleheaded look. "Like what?" she queried.

Cathy then moved over to the side of the bench and sat on the edge to make more proper eye contact with the worried American woman. "What kind of person was Allison?" she asked, "What was her personality?"

Lidia let out an anxious chuckle and, with that, an equally antsy grin. "Stubborn," she candidly replied before clearing her throat, "We're from the Avondale neighborhood on Chicago's Northwest Side. We both attended DePaul University together. I got my degree in Finance and found a comfortable job as a tax accountant. Meanwhile, Allison was always reading her atlas or studying her globe. She always wanted to see more of the world, so that's how she got her civilian job with the Navy and ended up all the way here in Japan."

Cathy nodded. "I can definitely relate there," she said, "Did you hear from her often after she got settled here."

Lidia sighed and her face turned regretful. "Only for the first week or two," she explained, "I only received two letters in the mail since she arrived. She said she was happy but busy. She said she liked the energy and the busyness of the harbor."

"What about the second letter?" Kondo asked.

"She mentioned that certain things seemed off at the warehouse where she worked," Lidia replied, "Obviously, she couldn't go into a whole lot of details because of the sensitivity that came with her job, but she was saying that certain items weren't there that should've been there according to her paperwork."

Kondo traded knowing looks with Cathy. "I see," he said to Lidia, "Did she mention what she planned to do about these discrepancies?"

"Yeah," Lidia replied, "She mentioned going to base security about it, but I'm not sure I've she actually did."

"We can check on that for you," Cathy said, "That's no problem. I must ask you, though, Lidia, what brought you all the way here to Japan from Chicago?"

Lidia scoffed. "As soon as I stopped hearing from her," she explained, "I went straight to the Chicago Police, and they weren't much help since Allison went missing in a foreign country. So, I went to the State Department. They said that they'd 'begin an official inquiry', whatever the hell that means. After not hearing from them for a while, I hopped the first flight to Tokyo and made my way here."

Kondo nodded. "Understood," he replied, "And I admire your determination."

"As do I," Cathy added.

"And you should know," Kondo continued, "Petty Officer Wilkins and I now believe that your sister's disappearance may be connected to the thefts we're investigating. I certainly don't mean to get your hopes up too high by saying this, but we're going to be working on this investigation non-stop along with harbor and base security as well as the Regional Police. We're going to do everything we can to find Allison."

Lidia's eyes then welled up with indebted tears. "Thank you both," she said after wiping her face with her hand, "This is the first time since I've been here that I can actually believe that."

Cathy put a reassuring arm around her. "Like my partner said, we're going to work this as hard as we can. Where can we find you if we need to get in contact with you?"

"I'm at the Yokosuka Grand Hotel down the street from the bus stop," Lidia replied, "I'm in Room Three-Thirteen."

Cathy then got up and rejoined Kondo. "Okay then," she said to Lidia, "We'll be in touch." Kondo then handed her one of his business cards. Lidia smiled and thanked them once again before the investigators left the park.

As the pair made their way back onto Dobuita's main drag and were just about to pass the Tomato Convenience Store, Cathy happened to hear a familiar young man's voice from across the street in the direction of the Aida Florist shop.

"Nozomi," the young man said to the young woman standing outside the shop, "Do you know of anywhere where sailors might hang out?"

"Sailors?" The young woman asked with a very apprehensive tone, "I would guess they'd hang out in bars."

"Bars," the young man replied, "Okay, thank you."

"Ryo," the young woman said, "Be careful, okay?"

"I will," he said, "See you."

Hearing the young man's name, Cathy immediately realized that "Ryo" must be Ryo Hazuki, the young man who had approached her in essentially the same location about 2 days prior. As Ryo walked away in the direction of the Okayama Heights Apartments, Cathy excused herself and separated from Kondo.

"Excuse me?" Cathy called out to Ryo.

A very uneasy Ryo Hazuki turned to face her. Ryo was a 5'9 18-year-old Japanese teenager clad in a brown leather jacket with a plain white cotton underneath, blue jeans, and white running shoes. "Huh?" he inquired, "Yes?"

"Are you Ryo Hazuki?" Cathy asked.

"Yes," he replied, "Who are you?"

Cathy held up her identification. "My name is Cathy Wilkens," she said, "I'm a Petty Officer with the United States Navy. I heard you ask that young woman about where sailors might hang out."

"Nozomi," Ryo replied, "Yes. Why do you want to know?"

"I'm assuming this has something to do with your father's murder," Cathy bluntly said to him.

"What do you know about my father?" a now perturbed Ryo inquired.

Cathy sighed. "I was hoping you'd fill me in," she replied, "If it's sailors you're looking for, I can help you."

"I..." Ryo said with a stammer, "...I'm sorry. I can't get into it right now. I must go."

"Okay," Cathy replied as she held her hands up, "Okay. That's fine. Where can I find you?"

Ryo gulped with uncertainty before replying. "My family home is at the edge of Yamanose," he said, "But I plan on being out here in Dobuita later tonight."

"Got it," Cathy said, I'll meet you over there at Okayama Heights just after seven o' clock."

Ryo nodded. "Alright," he replied, "I'll see you later."

Cathy crossed her arms and stood there for a beat as she watched Ryo take off around the corner.