“Nightmare in Broad Daylight” Series 1
I’m just an ordinary “salaryman”, a company president’s secretary. It was just past noon in the president’s office when I couldn’t believe my ears.
“Go buy this”.
At the end of the president’s outstretched finger was an empty tin of large-size Vicks candies. The lid had a blue and white stripe pattern. Little did I know that this familiar sight would change my fate that day.
“Yes, understood”.
I took the lid and left the president’s office. I took the elevator down to the first floor and stepped through the revolving doors, the hustle and bustle unique to the heart of Tokyo hitting my ears. The city center, with its clusters of government buildings and commercial facilities. I should be able to find a drugstore easily around here.
The first drugstore I entered, Drugstore A, was clean and bright.
“I’m sorry, but that product is currently out of stock”.
The young female clerk bowed politely.
I sighed and looked for the next store. The midsummer sun beat down relentlessly on the asphalt. Enduring the unpleasant feeling of sweat trickling down my back, I walked for about five minutes before finding a second drugstore.
The sign read “Koike Drugstore”.
As I stepped through the automatic doors, I felt a chill down my spine at the strangely over-air-conditioned interior. A middle-aged male clerk was looking at me from behind the counter.
“I’m looking for this same product”,
I said, showing him the lid.
The clerk picked up the lid, examined it carefully, and then gave a strange smile.
“Ah, this one. Actually, this product has been discontinued”.
“Really?”
“Yes. We only have one left in stock—”
The clerk stopped speaking and looked me in the eye.
“It will cost 150,000 yen”.
For a moment, I couldn’t believe my ears.
“What did you say?”
“It’s 150,000 yen. It’s quite rare”.
“You’re kidding! It’s only worth a few hundred yen!”
I raised my voice in anger. The surrounding customers turned around.
“How dare you do something so fraudulent!”
The clerk stood there silently, her expression unchanged. I couldn’t bear the creepiness any longer and ran out of the store.
My heart was still pounding. Could there be anything more ridiculous? I took a deep breath and looked for the next store.
The third drugstore, C, was about a three-minute walk from the previous one. Looking closely at the sign, it read “Koike Drugstore, Second Branch”. I had a bad feeling, but I had no other choice, so I went inside.
“Welcome”
A female clerk wearing glasses called out to me.
“I’d like the same product as this—”
The moment I showed her the lid, the woman’s eyes lit up.
“Ah, that one. That will be 150,000 yen”.
My premonition was correct. Clearly, the store I’d just left had called.
“Don’t mess with me!”
I yelled and stormed out.
That’s when it happened. I felt someone behind me. I turned around and saw a tall, dark-skinned man staring at me. His eyes, behind his sunglasses, were fixed on me and wouldn’t let go.
The man started walking. I walked. He walked too.
He was following me.
My heart began pounding. The traffic light changed at the next intersection. I ran. He ran too. Even in the crowd, the man was always out of my sight.
By the time I burst into the fourth drugstore, D, I was out of breath.
“Is something wrong?”
A young female employee at the counter asked worriedly. Her name tag read “G”.
“Actually—”
I explained what had happened. The incident at Koike Drugstore, the exorbitant prices, and the tailing.
G listened with a serious expression. “That’s terrible. Actually, those three are a well-known fraud group in this industry”.
“A fraud group?”
“Yes. There are rumors that the president of Koike Drugstore is the mastermind. You should go to the police right away”.
“Will the police even do anything?”
“To be honest, I think there’s a 99 percent chance they won’t do anything in this kind of case”.
I was overcome with despair.
“But,” G continued in a low voice, “I know someone at the nearby Central Police Station. If you talk to them, they might be able to do something”.
“Really?”
“Yes. It’s less than 10 minutes from there”.
I thanked G repeatedly and left the store.
The Central Police Station was indeed nearby, just as G had said. A magnificent stone building. As I began to climb the stone steps in front of it, I felt that presence again. I turned around and saw the dark-skinned man, K, walking towards me, looking at me calmly.
At the top of the steps, a female police officer in uniform was waiting. Her name tag read “L”.
“Excuse me for a moment”.
She led me to the shadows of the building and began to speak in a low voice.
“Recently, there have been a series of extortion cases involving bulk-sized Vicks candies at a university hospital in Tokyo”.
“What?”
“Try saying what I’m about to tell you to the man who’s been following you. I want to see his reaction”.
Officer L explained the outline of the case to me. I memorized it.
K had stopped halfway up the stairs. Beside him was Officer M, a burly male officer.
“You”, I said to K. “I hear there have been some extortion cases involving a certain product at a university hospital in Tokyo recently”.
K’s face tensed for a moment.
“There’s no such thing. First of all, I’ve never even heard of a product called bulk-sized Vicks candies”.
At that moment, Officer L stepped forward. “That’s strange. I never mentioned the product name ‘Vicks Candy for Value Packs.’ The fact that you mentioned it means—”
The color drained from K’s face.
However, Officer M didn’t arrest him. Instead, L said to me:
“The next place you should go is drugstore E in a shopping mall run by a Chinese person. I’ve already contacted them. If the same thing happens there, we can arrest them red-handed. Would you mind putting on a little act for us?”
I thought it was unreasonable. Why should I have to go to such lengths? But I couldn’t back down now.
“Okay”,
I left the police station. K continued to follow me.
The shopping mall was about a fifteen-minute walk away. A modern-looking building. Drugstore E was on the third floor.
When I entered the store, a male employee, H, who spoke Japanese with a Chinese accent, came out.
“Please sell me this same product”.
I showed him the lid.
H glanced towards the entrance. K was standing there.
“This is it. That will be 150,000 yen”.
At that moment,
“Don’t move! Police!”
Officer M rushed out from the back of the store. Handcuffs were placed on K. K tried to resist, but was quickly subdued.
“You are under arrest. You are suspected of fraud and attempted extortion”.
M’s firm voice echoed through the store.
The store clerk, H, seemed resigned and took a large can of Vicks candy from under the counter.
“This will be 650 yen”.
“Thank you”.
With trembling hands, I opened my wallet and counted the change.
Holding the blue and white striped can, I left the store. No one was following me anymore. The sun was still high, and the city was as noisy as ever.
But something had changed.
I had come to know that an unseen malice was lurking beneath the everyday life of this city. I hailed a taxi and returned to the office. The cityscape I saw from the car window looked completely different, even though it should have been the same as just a few hours ago.
I knocked on the door to the president’s office.
“I brought it”.
I handed him the can. The president accepted the can as if nothing had happened and popped one into his mouth.
“Thanks for your hard work”.
That was all.
I returned to my seat and sank into my chair. The clock on my desk showed 3 PM.
It was still daylight.
But I was in a nightmare.
And I instinctively knew that this nightmare wasn’t over yet.
(End)
