Kyohei chewed on that for moment, then his mouth opened a little and he looked up with sudden understanding.
“You have questions now, I know, and until you find your answers, I’ll be working on those questions too, and worrying with you. So don’t forget, you’re never alone.”
Kyohei looked up at Yukawa and took a deep breath. It felt like a little light had flickered back on in his chest. The weight he had felt pressing down on him for the last several days lifted. Now he finally understood why he’d needed to talk to Yukawa so much. It was because he wanted to hear this.
His father came back. “Train’s coming pretty soon.”
Kyohei stood. He turned back around to face Yukawa. “Thanks, Professor.”
Yukawa smiled back. “Be well,” he said.
Kyohei followed his father through the ticket gate just as the express train was pulling into the platform. Just before he got onto the train, he took a glance back at the waiting room. Yukawa had already left.
Kyohei sat down in a booth seat across from his father. His father asked him what they’d been talking about, so he showed him the data from the rocket test.
“Wow, that’s too complicated for me,” his father said, handing the papers back to him.
Of course you’re not interested, Kyohei thought. You wouldn’t understand unless you’d done the experiment yourself. That’s what science is all about.
Kyohei looked out the window and watched the scenery going by. The ocean sparkled in the sunlight. Just above the horizon he saw billowing clouds, white like ice cream.
“Don’t tell anyone, okay?”
His uncle’s voice sounded in his mind. It was the night of the fireworks. His uncle had just told him they should put something over the chimney in case one of the rockets went in. “I’ve got this box here. See? The bottom’s damp. That’s to keep it from catching fire. Thanks, kiddo. I’d do it myself, but my leg…”
When Kyohei came back down, they had set off a few rockets. He’d watched each one shoot off into the night sky. When he glanced at his uncle, he saw that he, too, was looking up, but not at the sky. His eyes were fixed on one of the upstairs windows, and his hands were pressed together, just the way he did when he was praying. Except he didn’t look peaceful. There was deep pain in his face. To Kyohei, it looked like he was apologizing to someone.
But who?
And why?
Kyohei shook the memory from his head and looked back out the window. It’s okay, he thought. I don’t need to know those answers right away. I have time, and besides, I’m not alone.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
KEIGO HIGASHINO is the most widely read author in Japan, with hundreds of millions of copies of his books sold worldwide and nearly twenty films and television series based on his work. He won the Naoki Prize for The Devotion of Suspect X, his first novel featuring Detective Galileo, and in translation it was a finalist for both the Edgar Award for Best Novel and the Barry Award. He lives in Tokyo, Japan. You can sign up for email updates here.
BY KEIGO HIGASHINO
The Detective Galileo Novels
- The Devotion of Suspect X
- Salvation of a Saint
- A Midsummer’s Equation
The Kyochiro Kaga Mysteries
- Malice
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
A MIDSUMMER’S EQUATION. Copyright © 2011 by Keigo Higashino. English copyright © 2016 by Alexander O. Smith. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover design by Lisa Marie Pompilo
Cover photographs © Getty Images
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-1-250-02792-4 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-02791-7 (e-book)
e-ISBN 9781250027917
Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.
First Edition: February 2016