In parts 1 to 3,
we learned about Mr. Teruya, a Japanese salaried worker aged 62 and Andy, a
foreigner. They met on an early morning
train. Mr. Teruya was shocked when an
office lady stood up to let him sit down for the first time. Andy stayed out all night drinking, and
sleeping on a park bench. When Andy
playfully touched Mr. Teruya’s newspaper, some misunderstandings between the
two led to bad feelings. Andy pulled out
his cigarettes and lighter, forgetting that he couldn’t smoke on the
train. When Mr. Teruya expressed his further
disapproval, Andy set fire to Mr. Teruya’s newspaper.
Part 4:
Officer Kouga looked at the man who had been picked up at Higashi Nakano Station and who now sat behind the one-way glass in Interview Room B. He didn’t look much like a terrorist, he had to admit. An over-excited member of the station staff had called it a terrorist attack on the public transport system. The Australian embassy had been contacted and the Ambassador was due to call back in an hour or so. Officer Kouga doubted whether terrorists were recruiting their members from park benches and getting them drunk before sending them on their evil assignments. The suspect, Andrew Locke, English teacher on a working holiday visa, let his head sink down onto his folded arms on the desk in front of him in a convincing show of drunken tiredness.
A number of coffees, cigarettes and phone calls later and Officer Kouga was in Interview Room A with Mr. Teruya.
“It is clear that the man isn’t a terrorist. He wasn’t making any political statement. And, as you may have noticed, he was very drunk. Tokyo Metropolitan Subway are not insisting on prosecuting him. So, we’ve half a mind just to stick him in the drunk tank and let him sleep it off.”
Mr. Teruya sighed and sat back in his seat. “He set my newspaper on fire. I had to throw it on the floor and stamp out the flames. Someone could easily have gotten hurt. There was all sorts of pushing and shoving when people ran to get out of the way,” he said.
“Yes, of course you are right. We can’t have people setting fires on trains. But you wouldn’t believe the paperwork involved if we have to write this up as a terrorist incident. If he just sort of, you know, accidentally touched his lighter to your paper due to drunken confusion… it would be quicker for everybody, including yourself. But it is up to you, of course. He damaged your property. And you were lucky you could put out the fire without getting injured. You are entitled to press charges. I’ll leave it up to you.”
“There were women on the train, you know,” protested Mr. Teruya. “What if one of them had gotten hurt?”
“Well, quite,” said Officer Kouga. “It was a very dangerous business. By the way, Mr. Locke said that the problems all started because he tried to get a look at a picture of a girl in a bikini on the back of your paper, and you tried to hide it from him. Is that right?”
“What?!” exclaimed Mr. Teruya. “I don’t know anything about a girl in a bikini. I was reading an article about politics!”
“Well, quite,” replied the officer. “A drunken misunderstanding. Do you want to take a look at him? He’s behind one-way glass. He won’t know you’re there.”
Mr. Teruya was curious to see how the fire-raiser was coping in police custody, and accepted the offer. The policeman led him to a spot where he could see into the room where the tubby foreigner sat. He was sitting slumped back in his chair and smoking a cigarette with a distant look on his face. A small pile of butts was sitting in the ash-tray in front of him.
The man’s flesh had a blotchy look. A stain of some sort was visible on the front of his woollen sweater.
“Would you believe that he’s still in his early twenties?” asked Officer Kouga.
“No, not really.” The man looked some fifteen years older. “What does he do?”
“English teacher. You know the type: they come over here and drift around, with a new girlfriend more often than a new hair cut. But still, we were all young once, eh?”
“Yes, I suppose so,” said Mr. Teruya. He tried to remember the face of the office lady who had given him her seat, but struggled to recall it clearly. He was able to bring to mind her sweet perfume, though. He reached for his briefcase.
“I won’t be pressing charges,” he said. “It’s not worth wasting time over. We were all young once.”
**
Thanks to those who read all four parts of the story!
Part 4:
Officer Kouga looked at the man who had been picked up at Higashi Nakano Station and who now sat behind the one-way glass in Interview Room B. He didn’t look much like a terrorist, he had to admit. An over-excited member of the station staff had called it a terrorist attack on the public transport system. The Australian embassy had been contacted and the Ambassador was due to call back in an hour or so. Officer Kouga doubted whether terrorists were recruiting their members from park benches and getting them drunk before sending them on their evil assignments. The suspect, Andrew Locke, English teacher on a working holiday visa, let his head sink down onto his folded arms on the desk in front of him in a convincing show of drunken tiredness.
A number of coffees, cigarettes and phone calls later and Officer Kouga was in Interview Room A with Mr. Teruya.
“It is clear that the man isn’t a terrorist. He wasn’t making any political statement. And, as you may have noticed, he was very drunk. Tokyo Metropolitan Subway are not insisting on prosecuting him. So, we’ve half a mind just to stick him in the drunk tank and let him sleep it off.”
Mr. Teruya sighed and sat back in his seat. “He set my newspaper on fire. I had to throw it on the floor and stamp out the flames. Someone could easily have gotten hurt. There was all sorts of pushing and shoving when people ran to get out of the way,” he said.
“Yes, of course you are right. We can’t have people setting fires on trains. But you wouldn’t believe the paperwork involved if we have to write this up as a terrorist incident. If he just sort of, you know, accidentally touched his lighter to your paper due to drunken confusion… it would be quicker for everybody, including yourself. But it is up to you, of course. He damaged your property. And you were lucky you could put out the fire without getting injured. You are entitled to press charges. I’ll leave it up to you.”
“There were women on the train, you know,” protested Mr. Teruya. “What if one of them had gotten hurt?”
“Well, quite,” said Officer Kouga. “It was a very dangerous business. By the way, Mr. Locke said that the problems all started because he tried to get a look at a picture of a girl in a bikini on the back of your paper, and you tried to hide it from him. Is that right?”
“What?!” exclaimed Mr. Teruya. “I don’t know anything about a girl in a bikini. I was reading an article about politics!”
“Well, quite,” replied the officer. “A drunken misunderstanding. Do you want to take a look at him? He’s behind one-way glass. He won’t know you’re there.”
Mr. Teruya was curious to see how the fire-raiser was coping in police custody, and accepted the offer. The policeman led him to a spot where he could see into the room where the tubby foreigner sat. He was sitting slumped back in his chair and smoking a cigarette with a distant look on his face. A small pile of butts was sitting in the ash-tray in front of him.
The man’s flesh had a blotchy look. A stain of some sort was visible on the front of his woollen sweater.
“Would you believe that he’s still in his early twenties?” asked Officer Kouga.
“No, not really.” The man looked some fifteen years older. “What does he do?”
“English teacher. You know the type: they come over here and drift around, with a new girlfriend more often than a new hair cut. But still, we were all young once, eh?”
“Yes, I suppose so,” said Mr. Teruya. He tried to remember the face of the office lady who had given him her seat, but struggled to recall it clearly. He was able to bring to mind her sweet perfume, though. He reached for his briefcase.
“I won’t be pressing charges,” he said. “It’s not worth wasting time over. We were all young once.”
**
Thanks to those who read all four parts of the story!
Vocabulary:
a drunk tank – a room, usually in a police station, for people to recover from excessive drunkenness
a fire-raiser –
an arsonist; someone who starts fires
to be slumped –
to be leaning heavily or fallen over, due to tiredness, lack of energy, injury,
etc.
a (cigarette)
butt – the end of a cigarette which is held and not smoked
blotchy – covered with spots or patches of colour
blotchy – covered with spots or patches of colour
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