Chapter 3: Soba Noodles and Information
Copyright Notice: This chapter contains lyrics and references to the 1986 song "Venus" by Bananarama. These are the official property of London Records and any other associated entities. No infringement is intended by using these elements in my story.
Later that morning, Cathy and Kondo were on their way back to Dobuita from New Yokosuka Harbor in the latter's white 1986 Nissan Skyline. The weather had turned rainy once again, so much so that Kondo had his windshield wipers at their maximum setting.
"Does it always rain this much around here?" Cathy asked.
"Actually," Kondo said, "No, not really. It's been unseasonably rainy since that day the snow turned to rain. You know, that day that murder occurred back in Yamanose."
Unaware of this tragedy, Cathy was caught very much off guard by this comment, and as such, shot her new partner a look of confusion. "Wait," she replied, "There was a murder in Yamanose? What happened?"
"A martial arts sensei named Iwao Hazuki was beaten to death at his home in Yamanose where he also ran a dojo," Kondo explained, "His son and his live-in student saw the whole thing. My contact at the local police station told me that his son, who's apparently also a martial artist himself, has been running around Dobuita for the last day or so trying to get information."
Cathy frowned upon hearing this, but then realized something. "Wait a minute," she said, "Is he about eighteen years old, five-foot-nine, and weighing about one-forty?"
Kondo thought for a second. "Come to think of it," he replied, "Based on what my police friend told me, yeah, that describes him pretty well. Why?"
"I was leaving the Tomato Convenience Store the day before yesterday," Cathy explained, "And this young Japanese kid wearing a brown leather jacket and jeans tried to talk to me. I was in a hurry, so I politely brushed him off and kept walking."
"Do you think that was him, then?" Kondo asked.
Cathy nodded with considerable confidence. "Now I am," she replied, "Yeah."
"We can look into it more once we get back to base," Kondo said, "Right now, let's concentrate on this theft case."
Cathy nodded before looking down to find a small cardboard shoe box at her feet that appeared to be somewhat overstuffed with various cassette tapes. She promptly picked it up and sorted through them until coming upon a particular tape: the recently released Bananarama album True Confessions.
"Bananarama, huh?" she inquired with a chuckle before inserting the tape into the vehicle's tape deck, at which point the group's cover of the famous song "Venus" came through the speakers.
"A goddess on a mountain top," Cathy began singing out loud in a very playful way, "Was burning like a silver flame..."
Kondo then took his cue to join in. "The summit of beauty and love," he sang in a very deep bassy tone, "And Venus was her name."
The pair then sang out the chorus together. "She's got it!" they sang, "Yeah, baby, she's got it! Well, I'm your Venus, I'm your fire, and your desire!"
They sang the chorus once more together as they pulled into the public parking lot next to the Hirata Tobacco Shop. The partners then both exited the car, laughing hysterically together as they walked together towards the You Arcade and the small alley-like street beside it where Yamaji Soba Noodles was located.
"Damn Kondo," Cathy said, "You could've totally been a singer."
Kondo giggled for a moment in response. "Thank you," he replied, "And I think after that performance, we can drop the formalities now. Call me 'Johnny', okay?"
"Got it," Cathy said, "So, Johnny, are you originally from Japan?"
"I was born here in Yokosuka," Kondo began explaining, "Yes. But I went to live with my father's parents, my grandparents, when I was about two years old. I grew up in the Potrero Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, California."
"Why'd you have to leave?" Cathy curiously asked.
"My parents were living in Sakuragaoka back then," Kondo replied, "But their marriage was pretty much falling apart by that time. The one thing they could agree on was that I deserved a better chance at life in a more stable environment, so my grandparents came and brought me back to the States with them."
"I know you were probably still a little guy at the time," Cathy said, "But that had to be really tough."
Kondo shrugged. "I guess," he said, "Like you, I joined the armed forces straight out of high school. I joined the Marines just after the Vietnam War ended, and I ended up being stationed in Okinawa as an MP. I joined NSIC after getting my Honorable Discharge three years ago and was assigned to work out of the harbor."
Cathy nodded. "Good for you," she replied.
Yamaji Soba Noodles
10:55 AM
Cathy and Kondo arrived at the noodle shop about 5 minutes before their agreed upon meeting time. As they entered through its sliding front door, they were promptly greeted by its owner, master soba noodle chef Susumu Aketagawa. 57-year-old Aketagawa was a short Japanese man with a very friendly face who seemed to have a very upbeat disposition about him.
"Good morning," Aketagawa warmly greeted, "Table for two?"
Kondo nodded. "Yes, please" he replied, "And two bowls of your finest buckwheat noodles if you would, please."
"Certainly!" Aketagawa replied before turning to his apprentice chef, Kiyoshi Yamanaka, who was working just behind him. "Two bowls of buckwheat noodles, please" he said to him.
"Coming right up!" Yamanaka said before readying the requested noodles to be cooked. Kiyoshi Yamanaka was a 30-year-old much taller man who stood at 5'9.
Meanwhile, Cathy and Kondo sat at the table just across from the front counter and talked amongst themselves.
"So," Cathy said, "You mentioned you had family in Sakuragaoka. Are they still there?"
"Well," Kondo began explaining, "My stepmother and stepbrother still are. My dad's a longshoreman, so he's not around all that much. I got a post card from him a few weeks ago that had an Oshima postmark on it."
Cathy nodded. "What about your biological mom?" she asked.
"She works as a schoolteacher in Nagano," Kondo replied, "I try to make the trip to see her as often as I can."
The shop's sliding door came open a few minutes later, at which point Osamu Murakawa entered. Detective Inspector Murakawa was a 38-year-old Japanese man who stood at 5'8. He was dressed in a beige suit jacket with a brown shirt underneath, brown pants, and black boots.
Kondo stood up from his seat. "Murakawa-san, I presume?" he inquired.
Murakawa gave the man a polite nod in response. "Yes," he replied.
"I'm John Kondo," Kondo said as he extended a hand to the man, "I'm a Special Agent with the United States Naval Security and Investigative Command." He then motioned to Cathy, at which point she too stood up from her seat. "This is my partner, Petty Officer Cathy Wilkins with the U.S. Navy" Kondo continued, "We work for the 'Operation Precious History' task force."
"The pleasure is all mine," Murakawa replied before shaking his hand and taking a seat on the opposite end of Kondo and Cathy's table. Kondo and Cathy, meanwhile, took their seats beside each other. "My Superintendent says that your task force is looking into the Mad Angels," he continued, "May I ask why?"
"Well," Cathy began, "As I'm sure you already know, Inspector, the Mad Angels are a biker gang that works out of the harbor. Agent Kondo here tells me that you've had some interaction with them."
"I have," Murakawa replied, "They have a pretty rough reputation around here. They rev their motorcycles through here all hours of the night. A lot of the residents here are none too happy with that. We at the regional police have received about fifty complaints over the last two weeks alone. Personally, I've caught a few of them with illegal drugs in their possession."
"Do you know of them funneling drugs through New Yokosuka Harbor?" Kondo asked, "Is that a possibility?"
Murakawa pondered this idea before nodding. "I think it might be," he replied, "Every time we've caught them, they've been coming here to Dobuita from the direction of the harbor."
"Our task force was put together to investigate the thefts of several rare Asian antiquities from secure U.S. Navy warehouses," Cathy said, "Has your agency been investigating any other crimes that may be connected to the harbor?"
"Actually," Murakawa replied, "There is one thing. Are either of you familiar with a missing civilian base employee named Alison Bennett?"
This lit a lightbulb in Kondo's head. "Allison Bennett," he parroted, "Yes. She's a twenty-two-year-old Navy warehouse clerk from America. Chicago, if I'm remembering right."
Murakawa nodded. "She disappeared two weeks ago after leaving Nana's Karaoke Bar here in Dobuita," he explained, "Ever since then, we've been bombarded with calls from the Chicago Police Department."
Cathy scoffed. "That says something considering there's a fourteen-hour time difference between here and Chicago," she said, "Why are they so interested?"
"Her older sister," Murakawa said, "Lidia Bennett. She apparently was all over the Chicago cops to do something about her sister's disappearance. But, because she went missing here as opposed to there, all they could do was check in with us."
Kondo took all the information in. "So," he said, "It's possible that Allison stumbled onto something while going through cargo at the warehouse."
"Maybe some of our stolen antiques?" Cathy asked.
"Or maybe more of the drugs we keep finding," Murakawa added.
"Maybe the Mad Angels were angry that she found what they were trying to hide," Kondo said, "They snatched her off the street and are holding her somewhere to keep her quiet."
"In any case," Cathy replied, "I don't think it's any coincidence that a civilian warehouse clerk goes missing around the time that a bunch of precious antiques go missing from a Navy warehouse. Where do we start looking?"
"My guess would be Nana's Karaoke Bar," Murakawa said, "But it doesn't open until the evening. Usually around the time that the streetlights come on at seven p.m."
"In the meantime," Kondo said, "What do you say we show Allison's photo around Dobuita?" He then turned to Murakawa, "Can you get us each a copy of her photo?"
"Sure," Murakawa replied, "I'll call my office and have copies of her missing persons flyer faxed to the Yokosuka station."
The three of them then got up from their seats and Kondo left some Japanese Yen on the counter to pay and tip for his and Cathy's meals before the trio exited the shop.