The Cat and The City

'Vibrant and accomplished' David Mitchell

Nick Bradley

• Publisher: Atlantic Books
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN: 9781786499905
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Literature General
• Index: Literature

A BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick 'Ingenious... touching, surprising and sometimes heartbreaking.' Guardian 'If you're itching to read a new novel by David Mitchell... try this.' The Times
_______________ In Tokyo - one of the world's largest megacities - a stray cat is wending her way through the back alleys. And, with each detour, she brushes up against the seemingly disparate lives of the city-dwellers, connecting them in unexpected ways. But the city is changing. As it does, it pushes her to the margins where she chances upon a series of apparent strangers - from a homeless man squatting in an abandoned hotel, to a shut-in hermit afraid to leave his house, to a convenience store worker searching for love. The cat orbits Tokyo's denizens, drawing them ever closer. 'Masterfully weaves together seemingly disparate threads to conjure up a vivid tapestry of Tokyo### its glory, its shame, its characters, and a calico cat.' David Peace, author of THE TOKYO TRILOGY One of the Independent 's best debuts

Detective Ishikawa: Case Notes 1

The day they first came into my office I’d been playing shogi chess on my laptop against an old college friend online. It was late in the day, and work was slow.

The only cases I’d been taking on recently, other than the steady stream of infidelity jobs, were missing cats. Maybe something in the water, but there’d been a massive increase in the number of cats vanishing from the streets. I’d even had a kid come in with some cartoons he’d drawn of his cat that had gone missing. I asked him if he had any photos, but all he had were cartoons. Strange kid. Missing cats and dogs are bread and butter for detectives in Tokyo, but the sheer number disappearing recently was slightly out of the ordinary. Word on the street was they were clearing them out the way for the Olympics. But as with most rumours, you’re never sure how much truth there is to them, if any.

There wasn’t much I could do anyway – other than walk the burbs and put up a few posters here and there. Hell, most people don’t even look at those things in any case. If I ever found a pet, I’d give it to Taeko, to take home and hang onto for a few days. That way I could bill the client for a bit more time on the clock. Hey, they were always happy to pay – they’d got their precious baby back.

I was considering my next chess move when Taeko buzzed me on the intercom.

‘Ishikawa-san.’

‘Yes?’

‘We have clients. A man and a woman. Shall I send them through?’

‘Sure.’ I carried on studying the shogi board on my screen till they both came through the door. Then I closed my laptop.

People talk a lot about open and shut cases. Truth is, not a lot of those exist. Most cases are open, and a lot of them stay that way. Right now, I’ve got a ton of open cases. Cases I can’t say I’ll ever close. All cases take time and luck. Mostly luck. And some people are just plumb out of both. These two who’d just walked into my office looked about the unluckiest pair I’d ever seen. If I’d moved them both into a big old house full of money, they’d have ended up on the streets, clutching each other within a week.

She was the nervous-looking kind – fidgeted and fiddled with her hands. When she wasn’t wringing her hands in front of her, she would nervously tuck her straggly (greasy) hair behind her ears. I could tell she’d picked out her best clothes to visit the office, but they looked worn and beaten up. It was obvious she didn’t have much to choose from.

Same went for her husband. She hadn’t had much to choose from there either.

His shirt was covered in stains. Ramen for lunch, I’d guess. Teeth all gawky, hair uncombed. What a mess. He wasn’t a small fellow though. He had a certain bulkiness to his physique, but it was slowly sapping away as old age set in. He stooped, as if embarrassed about his height.

‘Please,’ I gestured to the chairs in front of my desk. ‘Have a seat.’

They sat down awkwardly, squeezing large buttocks into narrow seats.

I waited for one of them to talk.

‘Detective.’ She was the first to speak, and she looked up from her hands as she did so. ‘We need your help.’

‘Well, that’s a surprise.’ I needed a cigarette.

‘Yes . . .’ she continued. ‘We . . . well . . . how should I put it?’ She wrung her hands so hard they went white. I thought they might fall off.

‘C-c-can you—’ he leant forward in his chair, dabbing his sweaty forehead with a handkerchief, ‘help us f-f-find our s-s-son?’

Great. This was going to be a long appointment.

‘Before we get into any details, I should let you know my fee.’

I’ve found in the past it’s always best to be upfront about money. Nothing worse than having to listen to a long tearjerker, only for them to find out how much it’s going to cost. Then they really start bawling.

‘Yes, yes. That would be a good idea.’ She was digging a nail into her wrist now.

‘Here.’ I passed them my price list.

He took it first, and I saw his eyes widen. His jaw dropped slightly, and she took the card away from him. She placed it back on the table and took out a white handkerchief and dabbed at her wrist. I noticed specks of red on it when she put it back in her purse.

‘D-d-detective Ishikawa,’ he began. ‘Is there any way . . .’

‘. . . we could pay this off in instalments?’ She finished his sentence.

‘Maybe we can work something out.’ I sighed.

The rest of the appointment went fine, but I could see their eyes glazed over a bit. They gave me some photos of him (why is it missing people in photos always look like they’re just about to go missing?). We said our goodbyes and I said I’d do what I could.

But I could tell they were still thinking about the money.

There’s nothing worse than taking on a case for people who can’t afford it. It’s not often I get people coming in who can’t afford to pay my fee, so when it happens it always makes me feel awkward. My standard case usually goes something like this:

‘Detective Ishikawa, delighted to make your acquaintance.’

‘Delighted to meet you. Please, have a seat.’

I give Taeko a nod, but she already knows to bring coffee.

We bow and swap business cards.

We sit down, and as we settle, placing each other’s meishi on the table in front of us, I have a short moment to study her card.

Her business card is expensive, entirely white, with simple black type, written in English. Sparse – no email, no postal address – just a name, let’s say ‘Sugihara Hiroko’, and a phone number. No company name or job description.

‘A bar that I own.’ She looks at me with intelligent eyes. ‘An exclusive bar. Our clientele requires the utmost secrecy. Hence the lack of address. I apologize for that.’

She doesn’t even look at my meishi.

She takes a silver case out of her inside jacket pocket.

‘Do you mind if I smoke?’

‘Please do.’ I fish an ashtray out of my bottom drawer and place it in front of her.

Taeko comes in with the coffees on a tray and puts them carefully on the table. She bows to us as she leaves and shuts the door behind her.

‘Would you like one?’ Sugihara presents me with the open case. I can’t tell the brand, but I can tell that she has self-control. The case only holds seven cigarettes.

‘No, thank you,’ I reply. ‘I’ve given up. Please go ahead.’

She lights her cigarette, and immediately I regret not taking one. Her lips touch the filter softly, and I see an electric pleasure light up her eyes as she inhales. She looks at me across the desk, straight in the eye.

‘Detective Ishikawa. I’ll cut to the point. I’m not the kind of lady that beats around the bush, and I know that time is money, for you, and me.’

‘Whatever suits you.’

‘My husband is having an affair, and I’d like to catch him so that I can get a better divorce settlement.’

I let that hang in the air for a moment.

‘Are you certain he’s having an affair?’

‘Yes.’

‘Has he displayed any change in his behaviour recently?’

‘No.’

‘Nothing you can point to that raises suspicion?’

‘Not exactly, no.’

‘In my experience, partners having extra-marital affairs usually exhibit some kind of change in their behaviour – usually for the better. Has your husband perhaps started dressing differently?’

‘No.’

‘I see. Has he seemed happier? Been nicer to you? Bought you gifts?’

‘Not at all.’

‘I see.’ I pause. ‘Well, with respect, Sugihara-san . . . How can you be sure your husband is having an affair?’

She takes a long drag on her cigarette, taps out the ash and exhales a dragon of smoke into the air. It wafts across the table to me and slides neatly into my nostrils.

‘Detective Ishikawa. My husband is a liar.’

‘I’m sorry, I—’

She raises her hand to silence me. ‘My husband is a liar by profession. It is his job to lie. He has been lying to me ever since I met him. It’s what our relationship is founded on – lying successfully to one another. But a woman knows when her husband is being unfaithful. It’s not something I have proof of – he’s far too clever to leave proof. But I know for a fact that my husband is cheating on me. I just need you to obtain the evidence. That is all.’

I keep quiet. Let her simmer.

‘Detective Ishikawa, you are free to turn down this case. You are certainly not the first detective I’ve...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Tattoo
• Fallen Words
• Street Fighter II (Turbo)
• Sakura
• Detective Ishikawa: Case Notes 1
• Chinese Characters
• Autumn Leaves
• Copy Cat
• Bakeneko
• Detective Ishikawa: Case Notes 2
• Omatsuri
• Trophallaxis
• Hikikomori, Futoko & Neko
• Detective Ishikawa: Case Notes 3
• Opening Ceremony
• Acknowledgements