4
The humid air clung to her the moment she stepped through the sliding glass door. In an instant every single pore on her body seemed to ooze sweat. Ignoring the discomfort, Tamiko thrust her feet into her sandals. She was not yet ready to leave the building, but she was sick and tired of being stuck in her apartment. She needed to get some air in her lungs.
When had she last been out on the balcony? She’d actually rented this particular apartment because it overlooked a small park, but since moving in, she’d barely ventured outside to enjoy the view.
She was about to lean on the balcony railing when she suddenly noticed that it was black with grime.
She had gone back inside to fetch a rag when her cell phone pinged to indicate an incoming text. It was from Koji.
I want to firm up our plans for moving back to the UK. What are your feelings about the move? Let me know.
Tamiko clapped the phone shut with a sigh. Koji was getting jittery. He couldn’t plan his work without a clear date for his return to London. Tamiko guessed that he was probably more anxious than the text implied. It was typical of his good nature to be so tactful and avoid any high-pressure language.
Tamiko found a cloth and went back out onto the balcony. As she wiped the railing, she thought about Koji. It wasn’t fair of her to take advantage of his kindness. Nothing was going to bring the dead back to life; at some point she would have to let go of Mineko. But could she really just pull up stakes and go to London? Wouldn’t she hate herself for it?
The handrail now looked as bright and shiny as new. She let the air out of her lungs and looked at the street below. A figure was approaching. It was Detective Kaga, this time carrying a white plastic bag.
Abruptly, he raised his head and looked right up at her. Surely he hadn’t sensed that she was staring at him? Kaga grinned cheerfully. She responded with a curt nod.
It’s good timing in a way, she thought. I can ask him what he was really after when he went to see Koji.
A couple of minutes later, Kaga was standing outside the door of her apartment.
“I brought you some rice crackers this time instead of something sweet.”
He held out the bag.
Tamiko gave a pained smile. “Do you always give presents to the people you question?”
“Huh? I don’t think so... Don’t you like rice crackers?”
“I do. But getting all these presents from you just makes me feel guilty.” Tamiko took the bag. “Anyway, come on in. The place is a bomb site, as usual.”
Kaga stayed where he was. His arms were crossed, and he had a thoughtful look on his face.
“What is it?”
“Can’t you come out with me today?” Kaga said. “I want to take you somewhere. There’s something I want you to see, rather.”
Tamiko felt defensive. “Where are we going?”
“An area you know well. The Ningyocho district, less than ten minutes’ walk from Mineko Mitsui’s apartment.”
“Why do we need to go there?”
“You’ll see when we get there. I’ll be waiting downstairs. There’s no hurry. Take your time getting ready.” Kaga spun on his heel and strode to the elevator before Tamiko could reply.
Where was he going to take her? What was he planning to show her? With no idea what he had in mind, Tamiko made herself up properly for the first time in ages.
When she came down to the street, Kaga hailed a cab.
“By the way, did you like it?” he asked, as the cab picked up speed. “That sweet almond pastry I brought over last time?”
“It was fabulous. You’ve got excellent taste, Detective Kaga,” she replied. Tamiko wasn’t being diplomatic; she meant every word.
“Oh, I don’t know about that, but I’m pleased you liked it.”
“I heard you gave my boyfriend rolled omelet.”
“He told you? I wasn’t quite sure what to get for someone raised in the UK. I ended up opting for omelet. Mr. Tachibana wasn’t annoyed, was he?”
“Of course not. Though he did describe you as ‘unusual.’”
“Wandering around Ningyocho, I come across all sorts of little shops. They’re very much the sort of places that make you want to buy gifts for people. I suppose a detective turning up with rolled omelet might creep some people out. I should be more careful.” Kaga gave a toothy grin.
Kaga got the driver to stop just after they had turned at the big Suitengumae intersection. They were on a broad one-way street lined with shops and restaurants of all different shapes and sizes.
They walked along the sidewalk until Kaga came to a halt in front of a china shop. The sign above the door said “Yanagisawa’s.”
“Hello?” called Kaga, as he stepped inside.
“Ye-es,” called a woman, emerging from the back. She looked about twenty, had dyed brown hair and earrings. The jeans she had on were artfully ripped.
“Oh, you again, Detective Kaga?” The ingratiating smile vanished from her face.
“Sorry I’m not a proper customer.”
“Doesn’t matter. What do you want today?”
Kaga was clearly a frequent visitor here. Given the coldness of his welcome, Tamiko guessed that he was there to make inquiries rather than to buy anything.
“Do you still have those things you showed me the other day?” Kaga asked.
“Yes. You told us to hang on to them.”
“Can you bring them out for a minute?”
“Sure.”
Kaga waited for the woman to disappear into the back of the store, then turned to Tamiko.
“To be honest, there’s something here that I’d like you to see. A few days before she was killed, Mineko Mitsui came here to look at their chopsticks. I’m guessing she planned to give them as a present to someone. What I want you to do is to try and think who that someone might be.”
“Chopsticks? Now you mention it, I—”
Tamiko was interrupted by the return of the woman clerk, now carrying a long, thin box.
“You mean these?” she said, handing the box to Kaga.
Kaga opened the box and nodded. “Have a look,” he urged Tamiko.
Tamiko peered inside. The box contained two sets of chopsticks: a long black pair and another slightly shorter, vermilion pair. It looked like a his-and-hers set.
“I can’t tell anything just from looking at them,” she said.
“Take them out and have a careful look. They’ve got a decorative pattern.”
Tamiko duly extracted the black chopsticks. Kaga was right. She gave a start when she saw the decoration.
“What do you think?” asked Kaga. “That cherry blossom design is made of real mother-of-pearl. That’s why it’s that nice silvery color.”
“What? Was Mineko planning to—?”
“You were out of this particular set the day Ms. Mitsui came by, weren’t you?” Kaga asked the shop clerk. “Could you tell us what happened?”
The young woman nodded and took a step forward.
“These chopsticks caught Ms. Mitsui’s eye on a previous visit, so she came here specifically to buy them. She was disappointed that we were out of stock. She went home empty-handed, but I put in an order for a new set, which arrived the day before yesterday...”
Even before the woman had reached the end of her account, Tamiko felt the hot rush of emotion. Her face became flushed, and the tears began to stream from her eyes.
“Seems you’ve figured out whom she was planning to give them to,” said Kaga.
Tamiko’s head jerked up and down, and she pressed her hand to her mouth.
“I... it was me. She was going to give them to me and my fiancé.”
“Cherry blossoms have a special significance for you and Mr. Tachibana. You first met when you both went to enjoy the nighttime cherry blossoms.”