‘And that was everything?’
‘Yeah. Was I supposed to do something else?’
Open-neck scratched his head and stared at Tomohiko, trying to read his expression. ‘Look, your school’s coed, right? You must have a girlfriend or two. Why bother hanging out with some old lady?’
‘I had some free time, that’s all.’
The detective grunted. ‘What about cash? She give you anything?’
‘I didn’t take anything, sir.’
‘You mean she offered you money, but you didn’t take it?’
‘That’s right. The second time we met, she tried to give me five thousand yen, but I didn’t take it.’
‘Why not?’
‘It just… I hadn’t done anything to earn it, I guess.’
Open-neck shook his head and shot polo shirt a look of disbelief.
‘Where was this café where you met?’ polo shirt asked.
‘The lounge at the New Japan Air Hotel.’
Here he told the truth, as he was pretty sure one of Yuko’s husband’s friends had seen them there.
‘So you’re telling us you went to a hotel just to have tea? No going up to the room afterwards for some hanky-panky?’ polo shirt asked, his voice rough. Clearly he didn’t think much of any high school student who entertained bored housewives to pass the time.
‘No, we just drank and talked. Like I said.’
Polo shirt snorted.
‘How about the night before last?’ open-neck asked. ‘Where did you go after school?’
‘The night before last?’ Tomohiko wet his lips. This was it. ‘I was hanging out at Asahiya – you know, the bookstore in Tennoji.’
‘And what time did you go home?’
‘Seven-thirty.’
‘And you were home after that?’
‘Yeah.’
‘You see anyone other than your family?’
‘A friend came over around eight. He’s in my class at school, name’s Ryo.’
Open-neck made a note of that. ‘How long was he at your house for?’
‘Until nine.’
‘Nine. And what did you do after that?’
‘Just watched TV, and talked on the phone with a friend…’
‘Who were you talking to?’
‘A guy named Morishita. We went to middle school together.’
‘When did you talk?’
‘He called around eleven, so we probably talked until after midnight.’
‘He called you?’
‘That’s right.’
There was a trick here. Tomohiko had actually called Morishita first, when he knew he’d be out at work, and told his mom he wanted him to call when he came home. This was all according to Ryo’s instructions.
The detective’s eyebrows knitted together and he asked for Morishita’s phone number. Tomohiko told him on the spot. He had it memorised.
‘I got another question. What’s your blood type?’ open-neck asked.
‘My blood type? O. Why?’
‘O? You’re sure?’
‘Yeah, I’m sure. My parents are both O, too.’
Tomohiko detected a sudden drop in the detectives’ interest in him. He remembered Kirihara asking him his blood type, too, but he’d never explained why.
‘Um,’ Tomohiko asked hesitantly. ‘Did something happen to Mrs Hanaoka?’
‘You don’t read the paper?’ open neck said.
Tomohiko had seen the little column in the evening paper the night before, but he shook his head.
‘She died. The night before last, at a hotel.’
‘What?’ Tomohiko acted surprised. He hoped it wasn’t too obvious. ‘How?’
‘Who knows?’ The detective stood from the bench. ‘Thanks; you were a big help. We might have more questions for you later, but that’s all for now.’
‘Oh – OK.’
‘Let’s go,’ open-neck said to polo shirt. They walked off without a single glance in Tomohiko’s direction.
It wasn’t just the detectives who paid a visit to Tomohiko.
Four days after talking to the detectives he was walking away from the front gate of the school when someone tapped his shoulder from behind. He looked around to see an older man with slicked-back hair and a bland smile on his face.
‘Tomohiko Sonomura?’
‘Yeah?’
The man’s right hand slid out in a practised motion. He was holding a business card which read IKUO HANAOKA.
Tomohiko could feel the colour drain from his face. He knew he should act cool, but his body stiffened.
‘I was hoping we could have a chat?’ The man spoke in a deep baritone, the kind that rumbled in the chest.
‘OK.’
‘Let’s talk in the car,’ the man said, pointing to a silver-grey sedan parked by the side of the road. Tomohiko got into the passenger seat.
‘Some detectives from the Minami station visited you, right?’ Hanaoka said, sitting in the driver’s seat.
‘Yeah.’
‘I thought so. See, I was the one who gave them your name. Your number was in my wife’s address book, but I guess you already knew that. Sorry if they caused you any trouble, by the way, but there were a lot of things that just weren’t adding up.’
Tomohiko was under no illusion that the man had any real concern for him. He held his tongue and listened.
‘The detectives said she called you a few times?’ He smiled with his lips, but not his eyes.
‘Yeah. We talked, in a café.’
‘So they said. And she was the one who called you, not the other way around?’
Tomohiko nodded. He heard Hanaoka chuckle.
‘She always had a soft spot for pretty boys. At her age, getting all giddy over the little rock stars. And look at you. You’re young; your face fits the bill. I bet you were just her type.’
Tomohiko clasped his hands together on his knees. There was something viscous about the man’s voice, like tar. He could almost feel the jealousy oozing out of the cracks between his words.
‘So you just talked?’ he asked.
‘That’s right.’
‘She never invited you to do… anything else? Like go to a hotel?’ Hanaoka was acting innocent, but there was nothing light about his tone.
‘Not even once.’
‘That’s the truth?’
‘Yes, sir.’ Tomohiko nodded seriously.
‘Then there was something else I was hoping you could tell me. I was wondering if you knew anyone else she met like that.’
‘You mean, other than me?’ Tomohiko shrugged. ‘No.’
Tomohiko could feel Hanaoka’s gaze, a grown man’s eyes, staring daggers at him.
Just then, someone knocked on the window by Tomohiko’s head. He looked up and saw Ryo looking in. Tomohiko opened his door.
‘What are you doing, Tomohiko? The teacher’s looking for you,’ Ryo said.
‘What?’
‘He’s in the office. You better get there quick.’
Tomohiko met Ryo’s eyes for a moment, then looked back at Hanaoka. ‘Um, are we done?’
‘Yeah, we’re done,’ Hanaoka said, though it was clear from his tone that he was far from satisfied.
Tomohiko got out of the car and walked back towards the school with Ryo.
‘What did he ask you?’ Ryo asked in a whisper.
‘He wanted to know what we did.’
‘You play dumb?’
‘Course.’
‘Good. Very good.’
‘What’s going on, Ryo? What did you do?’
‘You don’t need to worry about that.’
‘Yeah, but —’
Ryo gave him a whack on the shoulder. ‘He might be watching us, so you’d better get inside. Go out the back when you leave.’
The two of them stood in front of the gate to the school.
‘OK,’ Tomohiko said.
‘See ya.’
Tomohiko watched Ryo leave and then went inside as instructed.
He never did see Yuko Hanaoka’s husband again. Nor did the detectives from Minami Precinct ever pay him a second visit.