Out Read online

  Employee at a local game centre (age 26): "He had a thing about younger women - the Lolita type - so he was always in here trying to pick up high-school girls. We used to kid him about it, but with his kind of looks, he didn't do too badly. You'd often see him with some cute little chick on his arm. He was always saying how well his business was doing, but something told me it wasn't all that great. A strange guy, too vain for his own good.'

  Manager of a local bar (about 30): "He came in here just the other night, laying it on about some money he'd come into. He said something about making a big score, but I knew he was in the loan business, so I had my doubts. He's a good customer, but can be a bit of a pain sometimes.'

  -

  The mound of reports painted a clear picture of what Masako and her little gang had done. But lately it seemed she'd hooked up with this Jumonji character and started a little business on the side. Satake smiled to himself, admiring her resourcefulness.

  Tired of reading, he pushed the papers off to one side. The loudspeaker was still blaring somewhere outside. He parted the curtains slightly and let the last rays of the winter sun into the room, setting the dust in the air dancing. He stared at the narrow threads of light, impatient for the sun to set. Still several hours until seven, when he would head for work.

  The buzzer on the intercom sounded and Satake jumped up to answer it, stuffing the reports in a paper bag and shoving it under the bed as he went. Kuniko's affected voice came blaring from the speaker over the whistling of the wind.

  'Sato-san? It's Kuniko Jonouchi.' He had her! Satake smiled broadly and cleared his throat.

  'Hold on just a second,' he said. 'I'll be right there.' He pulled back the curtains and opened the balcony door to let in some fresh air. While he was straightening the bedding, he checked to make sure the reports were out of sight. 'Sorry that took so long,' he said as he opened the front door, allowing a gust of cold air to blow a whiff of Kuniko's cloying perfume inside with it: 'Coco' from Chanel, he recognised. Anna had been given a bottle by a customer, but he'd told her to stop wearing it at the club. Strong perfumes follow men home and cause unnecessary trouble.

  'I'm sorry to barge in like this,' Kuniko said, straightening her hair and smoothing her skirt.

  'Not at all,' he said. 'Come in out of the cold.'

  'Just for a minute,' she said, wedging her large frame into the cramped entranceway. She wore a black suit, new boots and a heavy gold necklace, as though she were going out somewhere. By force of habit, Satake immediately appraised her outfit and accessories: all cheap copies of expensive designer labels. While she stood in the hall waiiting to be asked in, she peered curiously into the apartment. 'Quite neat and tidy,' she commented.

  'My wife took everything with her, I'm afraid. That's all she left,' he said, pointing at the bed by the window. Kuniko stared for a moment and then looked away in mock embarrassment. There was something suggestive in the way she responded, but if she'd known what he was planning for her on that bed, she would have run screaming out of there.

  'Did I wake you up?' she asked. 'I was wondering whether you were all right.. . since you weren't at work last night.'

  'It was my night off.'

  'Oh? I didn't realise. .. . To tell the truth, I just wanted to say goodbye.'

  'Goodbye?' he said, startled. Was she thinking of running for it

  - just when he'd got hold of her?

  'I quit my job,' she explained.

  'That's a shame,' he said in a disappointed voice. The sound of it pleased Kuniko no end.

  'But I'm staying here in the building,' she told him cheerfully. 'And I know we'll see each other around.'

  'I hope so,' he said. 'I'd like that. . . . It's not very cosy, but would you like to come in for a minute?' Kuniko immediately reached down to tug at the zipper where her boot was biting into her calf. 'I'm afraid you'll have to sit on the bed,' he added.

  Without a word, she walked toward it. Watching from behind, he ran through his plans. It was all happening sooner than he'd intended, but he couldn't ask for a better chance than this. Now there was no need to come up with a pretext to get her in here; and since she'd quit her job, no one would miss her when she didn't show up for work.

  'She didn't even leave me a table,' he told her.

  'I kind of like it,' she said, sitting down on the bed. 'My place is so stuffed with things.' She looked around doubtfully at the empty room. 'It's like an office, isn't it? Where do you keep your clothes?'

  'I don't really have anything else,' he said, gesturing at the jacket and pants he was wearing, wrinkled now from his nap. Her eyes lingered for a moment on his body.

  'Men are lucky,' she said. 'They can get along with almost nothing.' She fished a cigarette out of her fake Chanel bag. Satake produced a spotless ashtray and put it next to her. 'There's a decent bar not far away,' she said, lighting up. 'Would you like to go?'

  'I'm afraid I don't drink,' he said. Kuniko seemed disappointed by this information, but she quickly rallied.

  'Then let's go get something to eat,' she said.

  'All right. Just give me a minute.' Disappearing into the bathroom, he washed his face and brushed his teeth. A glance in the mirror confirmed that his normally close-cropped hair had grown out and he needed a shave. The Kabuki-cho dandy had vanished, and a rumpled, middle-aged security guard stared back at him. Still, in his eyes there were signs that the beast that had lain dormant inside him for so long was coming back to life. He rubbed a towel across his face and opened the door. Kuniko sat on the bed in the empty room, staring idly around her. 'What would you say to ordering something to eat here?' he said.

  'What did you have in mind?' she giggled.

  'How about some sushi?'

  'That sounds wonderful,' she said, smiling happily. Satake, of course, had no intention of ordering anything, or letting anyone know that she'd ever come to apartment 412.

  'Would you like a cup of coffee first?' he asked. He filled the kettle with water and put it on the stove. The coffee, too, was a lie: the shelves were as empty as the rest of the apartment. But he opened a door and stood there for a moment, as if considering the contents. Sensing something behind him, he turned to find Kuniko peering over his shoulder.

  'It's empty,' she murmured.

  'What is?' he said abruptly, in a frigid voice. She froze, as if she'd just run across a snake in the road.

  'I just thought I could help. .., ' she stammered, backing away. She turned and moved toward the bed, but he slipped his arm around her neck and moved his hand to cover her mouth. Her thick lipstick smeared across his palm as he lifted the heavy body into the air. Though she struggled for a while, her own weight pulled her neck down on his arm and she soon lost consciousness. After he'd managed to lay her out on the bed, he went to turn off the stove.

  He then rolled her limp body over and began carefully removing her clothes. When she was naked, he tied her wrists and ankles to the bed, just as he'd imagined doing that morning. It was a perfect dress rehearsal for what he planned for Masako; but when he saw Kuniko's large, bovine body stretched out before him, his desire withered, taking with it the elaborate plan it had given rise to. Suddenly fed up with the whole project, he crumpled the underpants he'd stripped off her and shoved them in her gaping mouth. At that, she woke up and her eyes shot wide open. She stared wildly around the room, trying to understand what was happening to her.

  'Now you won't start screaming, will you?' The voice was low and menacing. She shook her head frantically, and a moment later he pulled the underpants from her mouth, leaving a thread of spittle hanging in the air.

  'Please!' she gasped. 'Don't hurt me. I'll do anything you ask.' Satake ignored her. He was busy spreading plastic bags under her hips - just in case she soiled the bed. 'What are you doing?' she whispered, tossing and turning as he worked.

  'Nothing. Just hold still.'

  'Please,' she begged. 'Don't hurt me.' There were tears in her beady eyes.

  'Tell me