The Gate of Sorrows (44 page)

“Why should I care what some pervert thinks? I wanted the letters to look like he wrote them, that’s all. He hasn’t made any statements. He’s never sent any letters. So I thought I’d spice things up a little. Why would that upset him?”

Kotaro couldn’t speak. He was dumbfounded.

“Ayuko was going around like this big celebrity. The Serial Amputator was killing people out in the sticks. He’d jump at the chance to kill someone like her. I actually went out of my way to make him look good.”

Kotaro found it hard to speak. It was like she was throttling him, too. Finally, he asked the question.

“Why did you have to cut off all of her fingers? The Serial Amputator has never done anything like that. You must’ve had a reason.”

The woman was crazy. Her actions were perverse. Yet Kotaro felt like praying.
Please, tell me you had a reason. Anything logical. Tell me you thought it would fool the police. Please.

“I
told
you. I wanted to make a big splash. You know, I think I actually got kind of carried away. The more fingers I chopped off, the more fun it was.”

Kotaro felt something in the deepest part of his being, something at his very core, slowly cracking off.

“You won’t get away with this.”

His voice rang in his ears with a metallic tone. Something distinctively human in that voice was missing. It was as if his mind itself had broken off and fallen into the deepest chasms of his personality, crashing from wall to wall as it plunged into the abyss.

“It’s strange the police haven’t taken an interest in you yet,” he added.

Or maybe they already had. This bimbo simply hadn’t noticed it. He’d been wise to take precautions before he approached her.

“Why do you say that?” she said with a sneer. “I took care of everything. I was really careful not to leave fingerprints or anything. Nobody can trace those letters. I even posted them from places neither of us ever went to.”

Her sassy tone and sneering expression belied her crime: murder and mutilation.

“You were in Shibuya. Someone must’ve seen the two of you together. There are cameras all over that part of town.”

Kotaro wasn’t so much trying to convince her as he was trying to keep his balance emotionally. He had to keep talking.

“You must’ve been seen with her. Somewhere there’s got to be footage of you.”

“So what? I changed my hair and clothes. I rented the car—”

“Then you had to show your driver’s license. Or did you whip up a fake ID? I think that’s a little out of your league.”

She flinched and fell silent.

“You’re a fool, you know. Rental cars can be traced too, by model and license plate number. The police will know you rented it.”

“Did I screw up?” Her face contorted with anxiety.

Kotaro was beyond rage and amazement. He felt something close to despair. The woman was an idiot, with a hot air balloon for a brain and the conscience of an ant.

This scum murdered my angel.

“But I haven’t done anything to attract suspicion.” She seemed genuinely perplexed. “I was always nice to Ayuko, and I never let
anyone
know about me and Seigo.”

Kotaro almost staggered with surprise. “What about you and Seigo?”

“I was the one he really loved,” she declared, thrusting her chin out proudly. “Right from the beginning. But Ayuko got her hooks into him and wouldn’t let go. Seigo was too nice a guy to cut her off. So we had to break up. I got married, but Seigo didn’t, for me. But getting married just made me realize I was lying to myself. Seigo Maki is the only man I ever loved. So I got a divorce. That was three years ago. After that, I started seeing Seigo again.

“Of course Ayuko tried to come between us. She went and set up a company with Seigo. It was her way of making sure he’d never get away from her. But he was in love with me. That’s why he never married her, no matter how hard she pushed him.”

“Then why were they engaged?”

“That’s a lie!” Her voice was shrill. She stared daggers at him. “That whole thing was Ayuko’s plot. Sei-chan had nowhere to turn. He needed my help. That’s why I decided we had to stop putting up with her.”

She spoke with conviction. The cold didn’t seem to bother her now. She was full of vitality, with a faint aura that surrounded her with light.

“We had to stop being nice to her. It was time for her to face reality.”

I’d like to throw those words right back in your face.

The aura that surrounded her was the color of madness. She had lost her ability to stay grounded in the real world. Instead, she’d spent years cultivating her craving until it became a delusion. This delusion, always bubbling and fermenting in her mind, finally penetrated her heart, becoming—for her—the sweetest fantasy imaginable. But for others who refused to share her fantasy, it was deadly poison.

Her craving was an illusion. That was the sickening truth.

Seigo almost certainly hadn’t taken much notice of her feelings. Even if he’d realized how she felt, he would have intentionally ignored it. That would’ve been the appropriate response, and it should’ve been enough. He’d been with Ayuko since college; everyone knew they were a couple.

There was no room between them for Keiko. That was why she had practiced deception. But what she’d hidden was not a relationship with Seigo, but her real feelings. She had deceived all of her friends. Above all, she could never reveal her feelings to Ayuko.

And she had succeeded, cruelly so, for years on end.

I’m meeting a friend
, Ayuko had said.

Ayuko had suspected nothing. She’d been happy to get the call, happy to change her plans for the evening. She was Keiko’s friend.

At the wake, in the mourner’s lounge, Keiko had seemed like a normal adult woman. Without Galla’s eye, Kotaro would have perceived her only as good friend of Ayuko.

So many men had joined the touring club just to get close to Ayuko and Keiko. Two beautiful college friends. How could anyone have sensed the darkness in the heart of one of them, a darkness that would grow like a tumor?

Keiko herself probably didn’t know when her obsession had become a delusion. When did she fall in love with him? Why did she love him? Why couldn’t she give up her dream of being with him? What was it she really wanted from him?

It doesn’t matter. Sei-chan, please want me. Not Ayuko.

Craving.

Kotaro understood. Craving was the maggot that had burrowed into her heart. Irresistible craving, more powerful than conscience or morals.

Keiko was an empty husk. Her craving had consumed her completely.

She squatted down again with her arms around her knees. Perhaps her own words had shocked her. She gazed up at him with a strangely demure expression.

“Galla.” Kotaro spoke with his back to the gargoyle. “Did you hear her?”

Keiko blinked with incomprehension. “Who are you talking to?”

He ignored her. “I can see her aura.”

As Keiko looked around, bewildered, Kotaro saw Galla’s answer.

It is craving’s glow.

“So that’s the energy you’ve been gathering.”

The glow was powerful. It pulsed with pure power.

Kotaro glanced over his shoulder. Galla hadn’t moved. She was still the gargoyle.

“Look, Galla. The police are going to catch her sooner or later. In my country—my region—there’s no way a criminal this stupid can avoid getting caught for long.”

Keiko came to a kneeling position on the concrete with her back straight. She eyed Kotaro with suspicion and disgust. “Look, are you okay?”

I’m okay. You’re not okay.

“So—Galla. One thing worries me. What if she forgets why she killed Ayuko after you harvest her craving? Won’t that make it impossible for her to explain her motivation? It’s going to make the investigation a lot harder.”

What do you ask of me?
Galla was matter-of-fact.

Kotaro shrugged. “I know I shouldn’t expect you to wait, but it might be the best thing. I think we should wait till the police have so much evidence, so much proof that she killed Ayuko and mutilated her, that she has no choice but to confess.

“I want her to tell the cops exactly what she told me. After that you can turn her into a zombie. Do what you did to Shigenori—draw her fangs. Once she’s confessed, that might be the best thing for her.”

Is that truly your heart’s desire?

“Yes. I want her to experience what the cops do to her, just the way she is now.”

“Hello? Anyone home?” Keiko was almost shouting. “Your name is Mishima, right? Are you in a trance or something? You’re creeping me out.”

Kotaro smiled at the murderer on her knees before him. “I’m finished. You can go. Your time’s up. I don’t have to do a thing.”

She eyed him doubtfully. “What do you expect me to do?”

He laughed. “Anything. Nothing. I don’t care. Just be the idiot you are. You’re perfect.”

“You’re not going to feed me to the police?”

“I’m not going to do anything. Listen carefully, Keiko Tashiro. I don’t have to do anything. The police will find you soon enough without my help.”

“But how? Where did I screw up?”

That was enough. Kotaro finally lost his head.

“Everywhere! From start to finish! Your whole life is one big fucking screwup! Even if you were a hundred times better than you are, you’d be worth less than the dirt under Ayuko’s fingernails. I hope you live a long time. You’re going to be an empty shell while you rot in prison.” He glared at her furiously.

Suddenly she burst out laughing. She covered her mouth. Her shoulders shook with mirth. Finally, she caught her breath. “Oh, Mr. Mishima. You do need help.”

She stood up and came closer, looking cheeky. She nudged him coquettishly.

“Are you all mad about Ayuko? Did you bring me here to get revenge? Or are you angry I made poor little Seigo suffer? Is that it?”

What—so you knew he was in love with her!

“Yeah, that’s right.” Kotaro was grim. “Ayuko and Seigo, they’re good people. You’ll never be anywhere near as good—”

“Ooh, very impressive. Well done.” She clapped her hands and laughed. “I just want you to know that everything I said is true. I don’t know why. Maybe you just talk a good game. It doesn’t make you any less stupid. Or maybe you’re just shortsighted.

“You think the police are going to catch me, and I’ll tell them all about why and how I killed her.” She moved closer, so he could feel her breath. “Now, how do you think that’s going to make your beloved Seigo feel?
I
think he’s going to blame himself for everything. For her death, and for the way she died.”

Kotaro saw dark flames of joy in her eyes.

“That’s just the man he is, you know. I know him well. That’s why he couldn’t bring himself to cut things off with Ayuko.”

Sincere and warmhearted. A keen judge of character who never failed to consider the needs of others. Always encouraging people to make the best of their strengths.

I always thought you wanted to make the world a better place, Ko-Prime.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Sei-chan thinks even my screwups were his fault.”

Kotaro couldn’t hear her now. His ears were roaring.

Keiko’s delusion was hers alone. But when it came to Seigo’s likely reaction, Kotaro knew she was right. No matter how much he might hate to admit it, her intuition was spot-on. When the truth came out, Seigo was certain to blame himself. He should’ve noticed the danger. He should’ve done something to stop Keiko. If he hadn’t delayed marrying Ayuko for so long, none of this might’ve happened. That’s how he’d see it.

Keiko kept on grinning and talking as the blood raged and boiled in Kotaro’s veins, flooding away from where it was needed most—his heart.

Bereft of the heat of blood, his heart grew colder second by second, yet he could feel it racing, as if it were trying desperately to keep from freezing solid.

“Are you sure you want to make your beloved Seigo suffer
that
much? You look up to him, I can tell. Don’t you think you ought to help me? If you want him to be happy, you’d better protect me. I thought I’d committed the perfect crime, but it looks like I messed up. I’m in trouble, aren’t I? If that’s really what you think—”

“Galla!”

Kotaro’s scream was primal, a child calling its mother to protect it from the terror of things that hide in the dark. His voice was shrill. He was begging for help.

“Take her, Galla! She’s yours now. Use your blade. It’s time to rid the world of this bitch!”

The concrete beneath their feet vibrated from a giant footfall. The gargoyle had risen.

It changed color slowly, as if new blood were rising from the soles of its feet toward its heart. From ashen gray its color changed to a bilious dark green. The smooth surface took on the texture of reptile skin. As it changed, it grew.

From inorganic to organic. From a statue to a living being.

When the wave of blood reached its waist, a long tail uncoiled from around its legs and rose like a cobra. The blood began to rise from its fingers toward the shoulders; when it reached the creature’s elbows, it raised its fists.

When the blood reached its shoulders, the creature shifted its grip on the scythe. It raised the weapon high and began to swing it in bold flourishes, like a sword dance. A pair of giant wings spread out behind it. The pulse of air was so strong that Kotaro reflexively shielded his face with his arm.

The creature had enormous bat wings with sheer green webbing over immense, spidery finger bones. The wings spread and the bones flexed, as though groping for a victim with the touch of death.

The creature’s hideous face and pointed ears gleamed wetly in the dimness. It was nearly ten feet tall.

Kotaro and Keiko were struck dumb. They could only watch, spellbound, as the demon emerged.

Another tremor. The demon took a huge step forward and thrust its horrible face toward Keiko. Its eyes were golden. The crescent pupils were the shape of the blade that shone white in its claws.

An instant later, it opened its mouth and roared. Its four huge tusks gleamed.