“But why didn’t she realize she’d made a mistake? When there was no café next to the bank...” Noticing the grimace on Kaga’s face, Koki flinched. “Oh no. You’ve got to be joking?”
“I’m afraid not,” Kaga said. “There is a café next door to that bank, too. To be pedantic, it’s more of a pastry shop than a café, but it has a small café area at the back for tea and coffee. I completely understand why your mother thought she was at the right place.”
“And that was the place my mother was going to regularly?”
“I went to check. The pastry shop’s called Quattro. When I showed the girl who works there Ms. Mitsui’s photograph, she confirmed that she’d been there on multiple occasions. In other words, your mother mistakenly believed the girl at Quattro was your girlfriend.”
Koki shook his head.
“What was she thinking? She had more than two months. She only needed to talk to the girl to realize her mistake.”
“Remember, though, that she’d decided to ‘hang back and keep an eye on things.’ When she saw the girl, alarming her was probably the last thing she wanted to do. I imagine she planned to make herself known to her once things had settled down.”
“I wonder why she felt like that?”
“If you go to the pastry shop, you’ll see why. See the girl, I mean. Personally, I think that your mother enjoyed every minute of her new life in Kodenmacho. The pleasure of silently watching over someone, anticipating the future, probably meant a lot to her.”
What was Kaga talking about? Koki was utterly mystified. “Go there, and you’ll see what I mean,” said the detective.
6
It was about fifteen minutes before closing time when Kenichi came in. He was wearing a suit.
“The office of one of my biggest customers is near here, and I just got out of a meeting with them. I called my boss and got permission to head home, so I thought we could travel together?”
“That’s nice of you. Why don’t you have a coffee while you’re waiting?” Miyuki said.
Kenichi strolled over to the café area in the back of the store. Reiko Nakanishi took Kenichi’s order. Naturally, she’d met Kenichi before.
Kenichi always took good care of Miyuki, but lately he was even sweeter than usual, thought Reiko.
Miyuki placed a hand on her belly. She was in her sixth month of pregnancy and had a noticeable baby bump.
She glanced at her cell phone beside the cash register. It was accessorized with a strap decorated with a little plastic dog. That lady who came in almost every day, the one with the kind eyes, had given it to her.
“I bought it at Suitengu Shine. It’s so you can have a healthy, happy baby,” she’d said when she gave it to her.
Miyuki couldn’t figure out why the lady was always so nice to her — and now she’d never know. The lady was dead. The detective who’d come by the day before had told her so.
The detective had started by showing her a photograph and asking her if she recognized the woman in it. Miyuki was taken aback: she’d recognize that lovely smile anywhere, she said. At her response, for some reason the detective looked desperately sad. He then launched into a whole series of questions: What did she and the lady talk about when she came into the store? When was she last there?
Feeling increasingly uneasy, Miyuki decided to ask a question of her own. What was going on? Was the lady okay?
The detective seemed reluctant to answer. Miyuki’s worst fears were realized. The lady with the kind eyes was dead; worse still, she’d been murdered.
Although Miyuki never even knew the lady’s name, deep sadness billowed through her like a wave. Tears welled up in her eyes and slid down her cheeks.
Miyuki did her best to answer all of the detective’s questions properly. She couldn’t tell him anything useful, but she tried to dredge up all her memories nonetheless.
“I’ll probably be back,” said the detective as he left. The man had radiated sympathy and compassion. Miyuki couldn’t understand why he was so emotionally involved.
She noticed someone outside the shop. The glass door opened, and in walked a young couple. Probably in their early twenties, Miyuki reckoned.
“Good afternoon,” said Miyuki out of reflex.
There was something a bit stiff about the pair. The girl was looking down at the floor while the boy was staring straight at Miyuki. Odd, she thought.
Miyuki gave them a welcoming smile. That was when she got a shock: the young man’s eyes... She had never seen him before, but those eyes — she knew she’d seen them somewhere.
She looked down at the cash register where her phone with the dangling strap caught her eye. She raised her head and looked at the young man again.
He’s got the same eyes as that nice lady, she thought.
6
The Friend of the Translator
1
Mineko Mitsui was holding a teacup and smiling. She was dressed casually in a T-shirt and jeans, and her wavy hair was pulled back and tied loosely.
“Thank goodness,” Tamiko said. “I really thought you were dead.”
Mineko smiled and said nothing.
A chime sounded. That was the sound of the doorbell. Tamiko swiveled around to look at the door of her apartment. It was wide open, and someone was just slipping out.
It’s Mineko, she thought. She was right there just a moment ago, and now she’s gone. I must go after her. Tamiko was in a panic, but her body refused to move. Although she tried to get up, her legs were frozen.
The chime sounded a second time. Must help Mineko, thought Tamiko. Mustn’t let her leave like this. Got to bring her back.
Tamiko could feel something heavy pressing on her ankles. That was what was immobilizing her. She looked down. There was someone lying on her feet. It was Mineko, facedown on the floor. Her head began to turn. Her face would be visible any second now—
Tamiko woke up with a violent start. She was sitting in front of her computer. On the screen was a half-written email, of which the last paragraph was a meaningless jumble of random letters.
She must have dozed off. She was drenched in cold sweat, and her heart was pounding.
The door chime sounded for a third time. That, at least, seemed to be real. Tamiko got to her feet, tottered over to the intercom on the wall.
“Yes?” she said.
The response was instantaneous. “I’m from Nihonbashi Precinct. Could I come up for a quick word?”
It took Tamiko a second or two to figure out that the man was from the police. Mineko’s murder was being investigated out of Nihonbashi Police Station.
“Ms. Yoshioka? Tamiko Yoshioka?” The policeman was calling her name.
“Sorry... uh... yes. Come on up.”
Tamiko pressed the button to release the downstairs door autolock and replaced the handset on the wall.
Going back to her computer, she plunked herself into the chair. A mug about one-third full of milk tea sat on the desk. She’d been drinking it before she fell asleep. She raised the mug to her lips. It was stone cold.
She sighed as she thought back to her dream. What remained with her was a vague image of Mineko smiling. Was it fanciful to think that her friend was trying to tell her something? Although Tamiko enjoyed discussing the spirit world, in her heart of hearts she didn’t really believe in ghosts.
She put her elbows on the desk and pressed her forehead into her palms. She had a dull headache that had persisted for days. She was sure it was due to lack of sleep. She hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since the murder. The best she’d managed was a brief catnap. If she tried to sleep properly, the ghastly memories would come crowding in, making sleep impossible.