Naoya peered over his wife’s shoulder. It was a his-and-hers set for married couples. The chopsticks for the man were in black lacquer, and those of the woman, vermilion. Both were decorated with a cherry blossom motif in real mother-of-pearl.
“Very nice,” said Kaga.
“It’s one of our most popular items. It sells especially well in the marriage season.”
Noticing how authoritative Maki sounded, Naoya reflected that she’d taken to the business like a duck to water. Suzue would have probably made some snarky comment if she’d been there. “Hah! She hasn’t even worked here a year and already she’s a know-it-all.”
“Thank you,” said Kaga, as he handed the catalog back to Maki.
“Detective, could I ask you something?” Naoya interjected. “Does her visiting our store have any connection to her murder?”
“Oh, no, no, no.” Kaga smiled and waved his hand dismissively. “I’m going around to all the stores where Ms. Mitsui was a regular customer. Is there anything else you think I should know, Mrs. Yanagisawa?”
Maki cocked her head thoughtfully, then shook her head. Naoya wondered why the detective was being so persistent.
“Okay. Look, if you do remember anything, call me. My cell phone number’s on the back of my card. No detail’s too small,” Kaga said, his eyes boring into Maki’s face.
“We’ll do that.”
“Thank you very much. Sorry to trouble you.” Kaga shot each of them a look and left the shop.
3
Naoya immediately went out to fetch a newspaper and read up on the murder. Because Naoya only worked in the store on Saturdays, he’d never met Mineko Mitsui.
“She was a good-looking woman. The paper says she was forty-five, but she certainly didn’t look it. I always thought she was in her thirties. To think that she was murdered, it’s just too awful,” said Maki gravely, as they were having dinner. “She was a nice person. She even brought me an ice cream once.”
With Suzue out at the meeting of the local shop owners’ association that night, it was just the two of them for dinner. Naoya was enjoying the uncharacteristically peaceful atmosphere, and his beer tasted better than it had in months.
“I don’t really get why the detective came to our store.” Naoya looked puzzled.
“He told us why. He’s visiting all the stores that Ms. Mitsui went to regularly.”
“I know. The point is, how did he know that she shopped here? Perhaps she mentioned to someone that she was here last week, although the article said that she lived alone.”
“Maybe the police found a receipt from here.”
“From when? You said she didn’t actually buy anything last week.”
Maki frowned, then shrugged her shoulders as if sloughing off the whole business.
“Then I don’t know the answer. Anyway, what does it matter? It’s nothing to do with us.”
“I know, but still...” Naoya was chasing down a piece of pickled daikon radish with a slug of beer when a thought suddenly came to him. “That detective — he knew your name.”
“What?”
“He asked for Maki Yanagisawa. I’m sure he did.”
“Did he?”
“Yes, he did. Don’t you think that’s a bit odd? I mean, if he’s just traipsing around a load of different stores, he’d have no reason to know your first name. It’s definitely odd.”
“Did he really say my name...?” Maki began clearing the empty dishes off the table.
“I wonder how he knew? Do you think there was something with your name on it in the murdered woman’s apartment?”
“You can ask keep asking till the cows come home. I’ve no idea.”
Naoya had just crossed his arms over his chest, when a voice sang out, “It’s me. I’m home.” Suzue was back.
Discussing the murder was now off the menu. Maki vanished into the kitchen where she started busily washing the dishes.
“The meeting was a nightmare! The old boys were jabbering on, and I just couldn’t get away.” Suzue was massaging her shoulders as she came into the room. “They were talking about something called ‘home pages.’ Haven’t the foggiest what that means! To be honest, I don’t think the old boys had much of an idea themselves.”
“You must be tired. Want some dinner?”
“I had something there,” she said, sitting down at the table. “But maybe I’ll have a little ochazuke rice.” She glared disapprovingly at the pickled daikon radish. “What’s this?”
“Maki made it. It’s pretty good.”
“Oh, please. She should know that I have problems with my teeth. The woman seems to go out of her way to make things like this, when she knows perfectly well that I can’t cope with anything hard.”
“Mother!”
Naoya glowered at Suzue, who was nonchalantly brewing some green tea.
Maki emerged from the kitchen and silently removed the dish of pickled radish. She put it in the refrigerator and left the room, still without saying a word. Hearing her charge noisily up the stairs, Naoya heaved a weary sigh.
Suzue picked up the newspaper from the table.
“What’s this thing doing here? Honestly, that girl seems to think she’s above doing any proper tidying up.”
“You’re talking nonsense, Mother. I went out and got the paper for a reason. There was something I wanted to find out about. Have you heard anything about what happened over in Kodenmacho?”
“Kodenmacho? No.”
Suzue listened intently as Naoya gave her an account of the detective’s visit. He was careful not to mention the fact that the detective knew Maki’s name; that would only be asking for trouble.
“Now that you mention it, the proprietor of Kisamiya said that a detective had come around his place, too.”
Kisamiya was a cutlery shop with a history stretching back to the Edo period. It sold such things as knives and shears, all handmade by in-house craftsmen. It also offered a knife-sharpening service.
“The woman went to Kisamiya not long before her murder. What was it he said she’d bought? Oh yes, kitchen scissors.”
“Kitchen scissors, eh? Is that important?”
‘Well, the proprietor said the detective wouldn’t stop asking him questions. Was the woman a regular customer? Did she say why she needed the scissors? Stuff like that.”
“Oh yeah? And what did he say?”
“That he couldn’t remember having seen her before. As to why she bought the scissors, that’s not something he would ever ask a customer.”
“It’s certainly an odd question.”
“But the detective has a point. You can pick up a pair of cheap kitchen scissors anywhere. Normally the people who buy the handmade ones at Kisamiya have a very specific purpose in mind. According to the owner, she didn’t seem to fit the mold.”
“Interesting...”
What was the significance of Mineko Mitsui buying a pair of kitchen scissors? Naoya couldn’t see any link to the murder, but the police must have a reason for investigating the matter.
“You said the murdered woman was forty-five?” said Suzue, sipping her tea. “Poor thing. Still so young. Anything can happen at any time. You’ve just got to enjoy life while you can.”
“You seem to be doing a good job in that department, Mother,” Naoya said. “You’re leaving next week on that trip with your pals from the ballad-singing group, right? You’re going to Ise?”
“Yes, we’re going to the Ise Grand Shrine and to Shima peninsula. It’s the Shima peninsula part I’m looking forward to most. It’s famous for its abalone.”
“Great.”
Suzue seemed to be far more eager to discuss her upcoming trip than the murder case. After she finished her tea, Naoya left the table. If he spent too much time with his mother, Maki would only give him a hard time when he got upstairs.