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The Bridge Builder – Part 03

A crescent moon hung in the night sky, casting a pale glow over Manhattan Island. The buildings and roads still radiated the heat of the day, warming the air. Blaring horns, shouts, and hurried footsteps blended together.

The enormous iron bridge looked completely different from during the day. People were gathered at the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge, talking loudly.

Kazuya, holding Victorique’s hand, pushed through the crowd. “E-Excuse me.”

Wiping his sweat, he looked up to see a white, specially-made ring towering in the middle of the arched bridge. The champion’s camp was on the Manhattan side, and the challenger’s camp was on the Brooklyn side.

A staff in a suit called their attention. “Are you the detective? Mitch is waiting for you.” Victorique and Kazuya followed him to Eddie’s dressing room.

Inside the small roofless room partitioned off at ringside, Eddie Sawyer, in his boxing trunks, sat on a chair, with Mitch beside him. Eddie looked completely different from when they met at the NYPD. His face was now fierce. Mitch was staring vacantly into space.

When Eddie noticed Victorique, his expression softened. “Young lady! We meet again. Mitch told me you were becoming an ace detective.”

Kazuya denied it, but Victorique, smoking her pipe, said, “Yes, a lot happened after that.”

Eddie leaned forward. “I hear you’re trying to solve the mystery of the Christmas Truce Murder at William Trayton’s request. Both Mitch and I would be grateful to know the truth.”

“Yeah,” Mitch agreed. He looked gloomy. “I’ve barely talked about that day with Eddie. It was painful. William was rambling earlier, though.”

“Is that so. That bastard. Oh, young lady, are you all right?”

Victorique suddenly wobbled. She held her head with one hand and groaned, “No, it’s nothing.” Kazuya watched her worriedly.

Victorique lifted her head and stared into Eddie’s eyes. Though she was still unsteady, her expression was cold. “Tell me what you saw that day.”

“Okay,” Eddie replied. “Well, to be honest, I don’t know the full truth of what happened during that battle. There was a gunfight, shelling from tanks by the river, and hand-to-hand combat between soldiers on the bridge. It was chaotic. I got shot shortly after stepping onto the bridge and fell on my back.” He pointed to his face and abdomen where the scars remained. “While lying there with my back arched, I saw William collapsed just before the bridge. He was half-sitting, looking this way.”

Kazuya checked his notes. “That matches William’s account.”

Crossing his thick arms, Eddie continued, “And standing between us was Luke Jackson. Even though my vision was blurry from the blood, I couldn’t mistake someone as distinctive as Luke for someone else. He had white flowers in his hair, looking almost angelic. He had his eyes closed, though. I don’t know why.”

Victorique listened skeptically. Thin white smoke rose from her golden pipe into the evening sky.

“Then, I looked back at William, and I was shocked. He aimed his gun with a terrified expression… and shot Luke before I could stop him.”

Kazuya stopped writing. “But William said it was a man in a German uniform, not Luke.”

“That bastard!” Eddie roared. “What does a uniform matter? He shot one of his own!”

Victorique removed her pipe. “I see,” she muttered, then dropped her voice even lower. “Just as I thought.”

Kazuya studied her. Just then, the curtain of the dressing room opened, and a woman in her fifties wearing shabby Southern-style clothes entered.

Eddie stood up and ran over with joy. “Mom, you made it safely!”

The woman nodded. “New York is so far. I got kicked out by the young mistress and couldn’t stay at the estate. I wanted to see my son’s big moment, so I hopped on the transcontinental train.”

“That’s great. Are you hungry? Hot?”

“I’m fine. I had plenty of homemade sausages. This city is lively and interesting. I had fun looking around on the way here.”

“That’s good to hear. I’m glad you like this place.” Eddie teared up. “If I become the champion, you’ll be a resident of this city too.” He then paused, trying to change the topic. “I met a very unusual lady in New York today. And guess what… Hey, young lady, say something!”

Victorique gave a start. “Huh? Me?” Removing her pipe from her lips, she looked back and forth between Eddie Sawyer and his mother. They were staring at her expectantly.

Eventually, she gave in. “Stop staring at me! You’re not getting anything.”

Eddie’s mother smiled at Victorique, wiping away a tear with the back of her hand. “Oh my! You look just like the late lady. Oh, how I miss her.”

“Right?” Eddie said. “I just love the way this young lady speaks.”

His mother showed a photograph. In the picture, a large elderly woman with her gray hair tied up stood between Eddie Sawyer and his mother, looking at the camera. A crescent-shaped brooch gleamed on the old lady’s chest.

Victorique groaned softly as she looked at the photo. She took out the brooch that had been left beind at the Carousel and compared them. They looked identical.

“Oh, I wish the lady could see you now,” the mother said. “She looked after me for so many years, and was nice to my son. She was cheerful and funny. I miss her terribly.”

“But Mom, the lady seemed to have some kind of mysterious power. Maybe she’s still watching over us from somewhere. Look.” He pointed to the crescent moon in the night sky. “Sitting on the curve of the moon, looking down on us with pride.”

“I can see that,” she said, laughing as they left the dressing room together.

Soon, Eddie came back alone. He cast his gaze down. “Maybe the lady led us to meet the detective.”

Victorique muttered, “Hmm.”

Then, Eddie continued his account, speaking a bit hurriedly. “Anyway, detective. I don’t really know what happened that day or afterward. Our captain got shot in both legs and was down. And Mitch, you fell under the bridge, right?”

“Y-Y-Yeah,” Mitch said, strangely agitated.

“And that German student champion was dead beside me. I didn’t realize until later, and I…”

“What? Are you serious? Dragline died that day too? No way. Eddie, tell me it’s not true!” Mitch drew closer and started trembling.

Startled, Eddie asked, “Wh-What’s wrong?”

Mitch cburied his face in his hands and started shaking uncontrollably.

“H-Hey, Mitch.”

Just then, they heard men shouting outside the dressing room. Mitch lifted his head and listened.

“We lent you money!” barked someone.

“Oh, no!” Mitch rushed outside.

Kazuya tucked his notebook into his chest pocket and followed him.

When they stepped outside, they were taken aback by the scene. A massive crowd of spectators had gathered on the bridge, their eyes full of anticipation and excitement, looking up at the ring.

Three young men, clearly Italian mafia, waved around banana-shaped machine guns, shouting, “Hey, broke challenger! When are you gonna pay us back?”

Mitch ran up to them. “The idiot who borrowed money from the mafia ain’t the challenger Eddie Sawyer. It was me, the manager!”

“Huh? I don’t give a shit. Just pay up!”

“The deal was by tonight. If Eddie wins, we can pay you back with the prize money!”

“I said pay up!”

“Now, now,” Kazuya intervened. “I-If Eddie wins, the money the mafia lent to Mitch will be returned. So, in conclusion… ouch… let’s all cheer for Eddie.”

“Huh? And who are you, old man?”

“Old man? Me? How?”

“What this kid said. Just wait a little longer!”

“I’m clearly the youngest one here!”

“Just pay up already!”

While Kazuya and the Italian mafia were arguing outside the dressing room, Eddie put on his gloves and stared at the sky. Victorique, holding her pipe, studied his profile intently.

“After the war ended,” Eddie muttered softly to himself, “I went back to the estate in the South. The kind lady passed away during the war, and with the young mistress taking over, my mother lost her place. Seeing her like that, I swore I’d get my shit together and help her. But what could a man with no talent do? Then I remembered the boxing lessons on the night of the Christmas Truce. Luke and Dragline told me I had potential, that I was a natural. I’d never been seen as an equal by rich kids and or received their praise, so I was thrilled. They were as bright as the sun. And when dawn broke, they were dead, just like that. So, I decided to become a boxer and started training.” He looked down at his gloves. “I took the transcontinental train and came to New York. I finally set foot in this big city. Though I got arrested by a cop right away.”

“So misfortune found you as well,” Victorique said.

Eddie lifted his head, realizing that someone was listening.

He smiled sheepishly. “You can say that again.”

“And that’s how you met a top-notch detective in jail.” Victorique glanced at the crescent-shaped brooch in her hand. “Or should I say, you were guided by someone,” she added cryptically.

Eddie smiled warmly. “Indeed, it’s very reassuring. The lady is back. I mean, the top-notch detective is here. I’m going to win tonight’s match and become the national champion. And then my mother will live an easy life. I’m giving it my all. So, my lady… I mean, young lady…” He wiped his tears with the tip of his glove. “Please solve the mystery of the Christmas Truce Murder.”

Victorique took the pipe from her mouth and regarded Eddie intently. Her green, almond-shaped eyes gleamed with a cold light. “I see. The mysteries of the New World are waiting to be solved.”

The curtain of the dressing room entrance fluttered, and Kazuya and Mitch stumbled back in. Both had red, swollen foreheads and cheeks, and they were wobbling on their feet, supporting each other by the shoulders and arms.

Noticing a subtle change in Victorique, Kazuya gazed at her small face. Victorique nodded to him.

Then, with a smile and a voice filled with the melancholy of a creature that had lived for a century, she said, “Eddie Sawyer. A river of doubt and sorrow flows in your past and that of your comrades. I have appeared before you today as the one who will build a bridge over that river.”

Her voice dropped lower. “Guided by someone… by the real client.” She put the crescent brooch back into her pocket.

Eddie and Mitch stared at Victorique.

Victorique continued calmly, “Tonight begins the night of the champion and the challenger, and the night of the bridge builder and the dead.”

A boom sounded outside. Victorique, Kazuya, Eddie, and Mitch all looked up at the sky. The crescent moon seemed larger. Fireworks in pink and orange lit up the dusky city night. The cheers outside grew louder.