After the divorce went through, Mineko lived in the apartment of another friend of hers in Kamata, until a couple of months ago when she moved to Kodenmacho near Nihonbashi. Tamiko still had no idea why she was so set on that particular neighborhood. Although Mineko claimed it was for “inspiration,” Tamiko felt certain that there was something else behind her choice. Mineko’s face always glowed when the move came up in conversation. There was obviously something about the area that excited her. Sure that Mineko would eventually confide in her, Tamiko never pressed for an answer.
Everything was going well until something unexpected occurred, something that threatened to undermine their friendship. This time it came not from Mineko’s side but Tamiko’s.
Tamiko had first met Koji Tachibana about a year ago. Along with some publishing friends of hers, she’d gone to look at the nighttime cherry blossoms near the Imperial Palace. An editor she knew had brought Koji along. He was single and three years younger than Tamiko. A videographer, he’d moved to Japan a couple of years ago.
The two of them had soon begun seeing a lot of each other, getting closer and closer. Neither of them had said anything about living together or getting married. They both enjoyed a similar lifestyle — working hard at home and only getting together when they wanted to relax.
Koji, though, had recently come out with an unexpected proposaclass="underline" He planned to move back to London — and wanted Tamiko to come with him as his wife.
Puzzlement, dismay, and confusion characterized Tamiko’s initial response, but as this welter of emotions receded, excitement and joy remained.
She had neither aging parents to care for nor long-term contracts to fulfill. She was free to drop everything and take off with Koji. Just one thing weighed on her mind: Mineko.
Mineko had embarked on her new life because of Tamiko’s promise to take care of her until she was established as a translator. She couldn’t not feel guilty about letting her friend down.
Still, it never occurred to Tamiko to turn Koji down. She couldn’t imagine life without him.
After considerable soul-searching, Tamiko made up her mind to talk things through with her friend. She was certain that Mineko would see things from her point of view.
No such luck. The more Tamiko spoke, the tenser the expression on Mineko’s face became.
“I can’t believe it. I only got divorced because you said you’d help me out...,” she said bitterly.
Tamiko sympathized. If someone had done the same thing to her, she’d have been indignant, too. Though perhaps insecurity was the problem, more than indignation.
The two women went their separate ways after this uncomfortable exchange. That was three weeks ago. And they were due to meet again for the first time on that day — June 10.
Tamiko had changed the original seven o’clock appointment after Koji had called her and insisted on seeing her right away. He was waiting in Ginza, he said.
When Tamiko got there, Koji had taken her straight to a jewelry shop. She was led to a seating area at the back, and a ring with the most brilliant diamond was produced for her inspection.
“Say you like it, and I’ll sign for it,” Koji said. Despite her age, Tamiko had burst into tears. She would have hugged Koji then and there, if there hadn’t been other people around.
After they left the store, she had given the ring to Koji to take care of and had caught a taxi to Kodenmacho. This would be only her second visit to Mineko’s apartment. Probably better if I don’t mention the ring, she was thinking as she sat in the back of the taxi.
She had arrived at Mineko’s apartment building at four or five minutes to eight. She took the elevator to the fourth floor and rang the doorbell. There had been no response. She pressed it a second time. Again, nothing. Thinking that was odd, she reached for the doorknob. The door had been unlocked.
The first thing she had seen in the apartment was Mineko sprawled on the floor. Was it a heart attack or a hemorrhage of some kind? As soon as she crouched down for a better look at Mineko’s face, she spotted the livid marks around the neck.
With trembling fingers Tamiko had called the police on her cell phone. She couldn’t remember what she’d said. After hanging up, she went and waited for the police in the hallway outside the apartment. The police must have told her to do so, she later thought.
The police came in no time. They led Tamiko out to a patrol car. She was expecting to be driven off somewhere, but instead a detective climbed in with her and asked her some questions. Initially, Tamiko couldn’t string together an answer. The detective betrayed no signs of impatience, and she gradually started to calm down. The detective was him — Kaga.
Ironically, it was only after she had recovered her composure that she realized the awful thing she’d done: Mineko wouldn’t have been murdered if she hadn’t postponed their appointment.
She recalled the scene from earlier that evening: she’d been in heaven when Koji presented her with the ring. Completely swept up in her own happiness, she hadn’t a thought to spare for anyone else. And at that very moment, the murderer was strangling Mineko, putting her through hell.
Sadness, regret, and self-reproach welled up inside her. With Detective Kaga looking on in amazement, she burst out: “The whole thing’s my fault. If I hadn’t rescheduled... It’s because of me. If I hadn’t been so self-absorbed. It’s me. I... I’m the reason Mineko was murdered. It’s all my fault.”
3
That night Koji phoned Tamiko to see if she felt like going out for dinner.
“I’m sorry. I don’t feel up to it yet.”
“Okay then, I’ll pop around to your place. I’ll pick up something en route. What do you feel like eating?”
Tamiko shook her head into the receiver.
“Let me take a rain check. My place is a mess, and I haven’t done my makeup.”
“So what? I’m worried about you. Are you eating properly?”
“Yes, I’m eating. You don’t need to worry. I just need to be alone. That’s all.”
Noticing the edge in her voice, Koji went quiet.
“I’m sorry,” Tamiko apologized. “I want to see you too, you know. There’s nothing I’d like more than a nice little cuddle. Being with you would help I forget about this whole horrid business.”
“Why not let me come around, then?”
“It doesn’t feel right. Just think of what poor Mineko went through. It’s not fair for me to run away from reality. No, spending time with you, feeling even a smidgen of happiness, forgetting about Mineko even for a very short time — that’s the coward’s choice.”
Koji went quiet again. Tamiko guessed he was trying to process what she had said.
Although Tamiko meant every word that she said, she wasn’t being completely candid. In her heart of hearts, she was convinced that if she and Koji hadn’t met up that evening, Mineko wouldn’t have been killed. She felt that if she saw him with that guilt stewing inside her, things between them would never be the same again, and all their lovely shared memories would become something painful.
She couldn’t bring herself to tell Koji what was eating at her. If she did, she knew that he would start blaming himself. After all, he was the one who pressured Tamiko to change her schedule that day.
“Is there really nothing I can do?”
“I appreciate your being there for me.”
At the other end of the line, Koji sighed.
“I hate the person who did this; hate them from the bottom of my heart. Murdering your friend is heinous enough, but the psychological pain they inflicted on you — that’s unforgivable. I’d like to kill the person responsible.”