The Persian Cat Mystery

***The Persian Cat Mystery*** (ペルシャ猫の謎, *Perusha Neko no Nazo*) is a collection of Japanese short stories by Alice Arisugawa in his Himura Hideo series, which is also the fifth collection of the *Country* series.

## Plot Overviews

"**Waiting for Jack the Ripper**" (切り裂きジャックを待ちながら, *Kirisaki Jakku o Machinagara*)

     (First published on *IN★POCKET*, October 1997 issue)

It seems that Mari, the lead actress of a small theatre company, was kidnapped by someone just before the Christmas performance entitled "Waiting for Jack the Ripper". Alice Arisugawa, who was shown a video of her being held in a chair asking to prepare a ransom of ¥10 million, contacts Hideo Himura. There was no room to prepare ¥10 million for the theatre company, and Narumi, the director and screenwriter of the theatre company, believes that the video was a mere mischief caused by Mari. During the final rehearsal of the performance, Mari's body was found, hung on a large Christmas tree on the stage.

"**The Moon**" (わらう月, *Warau Tsuki*)

     (First published on *Shōsetsu Gendai*, June 1997 issue)

A body of a Japanese trader in Sydney, Australia is found, and the Osaka Prefectural Police has requested for cooperation. A man seen by the Sydney Police as a suspect has been seen arguing in a rough atmosphere with the victim just before the crime. However, the man has an alibi during the time of crime: he spent the night with a woman he happened to meet in Sydney. The photos of the evidence were taken on the beach during the date, and nothing could clearly identify where they were. They have no choice but to guess the location from the age of the Moon floating on the seashore.

"**The Man who Whispers the Code**" (暗号を撒く男, *Angō o Maku Otoko*)

     (First published on *Shōsetsu NON*, February 1997 issue)

A man who lived alone in a large house was killed. The incident itself was simple and the criminal was immediately arrested, but there were some puzzling things in the house. A cartoon-style angelfish doormat with a sense that does not match the house, a vase that contained nothing, a black bag which is not usually put in the corridor, two scissors on the table in the living room, a pair of *kokeshi* dolls, and a broken arrow in the bedroom. The small items were scattered all over the house as if they were ciphers that seemed to have been done by the victim himself. What did he do this for?

"**Red Hat**" (赤い帽子, *Akai Bōshi*)

     (First published on *Naniwa*, December 1997–November 1998 issue)

A man wearing a red hunting cap was found floating on a river, swollen by the heavy rain. Detective Morishita of the Osaka Prefectural Police, who is following the victim's footsteps, grabbed a snack near the Osaka Dome with him the night he was victimized. The customers close by were lively watching baseball, and, though they could hardly hear what the victim said, a mother recalls that the victim once uttered something about a viola. In the hotel where the man stayed, there was a note of the name of the classical piece that the victim seemed to have written. However, no matter who was asked, it did not look like the man wearing the red hat plays music.

"**Tragic**" (悲劇的, *Higeki-teki*)

     (First published on *Mephisto Special Issue Shōsetsu Gendai*, December 1997 issue)

During a meeting between Alice and his editor Katagiri, the two dispute whether Himura would write a mystery. Alice then shows an episode of the work that seems to be the first novel he wrote.

"**The Persian Cat Mystery**" (ペルシャ猫の謎, *Perusha Neko no Nazo*)

     (First published on *Mephisto Special Issue Shōsetsu Gendai*, May 1999 issue)

The company goes bankrupt and his lover who lived with him leaves him. The only thing left for Ichimakoto Kitajima was the Persian cat she left behind and the house she had taken over from her parents. The incident happened when he was hit by someone and the gas stopper was opened. Before he fainted, he managed to call the police and gave a certain testimony. When he woke up, he said the criminal was still in the room. The man's face with a cat on his shoulder was his twin brother Ichikō, who ran away with the cat in his arms. The two brothers were not good relations, and it was sure that Ichikō holds a grudge towards his brother because an application of debt was refused the other day. However, Ichikō has a perfect alibi during that day: the debt was gone because Ichimakoto's lover gave it away, and the pet cat was in another house during the incident. The police do not take the case seriously, so Ichimakoto hopes for Alice to see through his brother's alibi.

"**Cats, Rain, and Assistant Professors**" (猫と雨と助教授と, *Neko to Ame to Jokyōju to*)

     (First published on *IN★POCKET*, April 1997 issue)

Alice and Himura's boarding house landlord talk over the phone about the story of Himura keeping a third cat.

## Trivia

* In "Red Hat", Himura and Alice do not appear; the protagonist in the story is Detective Morishita.

## See Also

* "Waiting for Jack the Ripper — Part 1" and "Waiting for Jack the Ripper — Part 2": The episode adaptations from *Another Story* based on the eponymous short story from this collection.

## References

1. ↑ 作家アリスシリーズ — Wikipedia (Japanese)
2. ↑ 有栖川有栖「火村英生（作家アリス）シリーズ」『ペルシャ猫の謎』あらすじとほんのりネタバレ感想 — I Want to Solve All Mysteries (Japanese)