expression. Besides, she ate the whole tangerine. It was so sour, I couldn’t eat mine at all.”
“That’s true. The tangerines aren’t sweet yet.”
“You suspected, too?”
“Yes, I did. She seemed to be throwing up the other day. I thought it might have been something she ate, but since then, too, there’ve been some other indications.”
“I see.”
“Whose child do you think it is?”
“I wonder.” Imanishi sat thoughtfully as he smoked a cigarette.
“That Sekigawa-
“How are we to know that?” Imanishi said reprovingly. “You can’t just gossip like that.”
“You’re right. This is just between us.”
A short while later they heard a soft knock on the door. It was Emiko dressed up for work, kneeling in the hallway. “I’ll be going out now. It was nice to meet you,” she said to Imanishi.
“Well, thanks for coming by,” Imanishi said, sitting more formally. “Have a good evening at work.”
After seeing Emiko off at the door, his sister turned around to Imanishi and said, “It may be just because we think she is, but it really does seem like it, doesn’t it?”
TEN Emiko
In the back streets of Ginza was a coffee shop that stayed open until two a.m. After eleven-thirty at night, its customers were mainly hostesses from the nearby cabarets and bars who, after they finished work, would stop by for coffee and pastries before making their way home, relaxing after a tiring night. Some people waited in this coffee shop until after midnight, when the rush to hail taxis after the bars closed subsided. Others came here to meet hostesses with whom they had private arrangements.
Pushing the door open, Emiko entered; she was wearing a kimono. She looked around the shop until she spied Sekigawa, who was sitting in one of the last booths with his back to the entrance.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Slipping off her black lace shawl, Emiko smiled happily at him. “Did you wait long?”
Sekigawa glanced briefly at Emiko and looked away. In the dim light his face seemed morose.
“I’ve been waiting for twenty minutes.”
His coffee cup was nearly empty.
“I’m so sorry,” she said and bowed her head as if to a stranger. “I was impatient to get away, but there was a customer who just wouldn’t leave, so I couldn’t escape. I’m sorry.”
A waitress came to take her order.
“I’d like a lemon tea.”
When the waitress left, Emiko continued. “I hope I haven’t caused you any trouble asking you to come and meet me like this.”
“I’m busy, you know,” Sekigawa said gruffly. “I wish you wouldn’t do this sort of thing.”
“I’m sorry,” Emiko apologized again. “But I really need to talk to you.”
“What about?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
“Can’t you tell me now?”
“No. I’ll tell you later… Oh, yes, there’s something I’ve been meaning to mention to you. I met someone who said he saw you in Akita Prefecture. It must have been about a month ago…” This was a topic that she did not consider to be very important.
“In Akita?” Sekigawa suddenly raised his eyes. They showed more concern than Emiko had anticipated. “Who was that?”
“Remember, a while ago you went to Akita with Waga-
“Oh, yes, we went to see the rocket research center.”
“Yes, that was the time. This person says he saw you at a train station there.”
“Is it someone I know?” Sekigawa asked.
“No, you don’t know him. It’s someone you have no connection with.”
“Why did this topic come up?”
“Apparently he read your piece in the newspaper. He saw your name and photo and said he remembered seeing you there.”
“Is he a customer at your bar?”
“No, that’s not it. He’s my landlady’s brother.”
“Why did such a person mention that to you?”
“We started out talking about ‘musique concrete.’ So I happened to say that I knew you, and we began talking.”
“You told him you knew me?”
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I told him that you were just a customer who comes to the bar.”
“He doesn’t suspect anything between us?” Sekigawa said with a serious expression.
“No, no.” She smiled to placate him. “How could he know?”
“Don’t talk about me to anyone at all.” Sekigawa’s voice thickened with displeasure.
“Of course, I’m very careful about that.” She looked contrite. “But when your name comes up in conversation, I feel so happy. I’ll be more careful in the future.”
“And what does this landlady’s brother do for a living?”
“I asked her that,” Emiko answered, “but she didn’t give me a definite answer. He seemed to be a very nice, kind man.”
“And you have no idea what he does?” Sekigawa pressed.
“I found out. Not from the landlady, but I asked around at the apartment house. I was a bit surprised.”
“What was it?”
“He’s a detective at police headquarters. But he didn’t seem like that at all. He was very friendly and seemed to enjoy talking.”
Sekigawa didn’t respond to this. He took out a cigarette and lit it, silently thinking.
“Let’s go.” He grabbed the bill.
Looking at her unfinished tea, Emiko said, “Why don’t we stay here a little longer?”
“If you want to talk, I’ll listen somewhere else.”
“All right,” she said docilely.
“You go out first and hail a taxi.”
Nodding, Emiko quietly stood up from her seat and left the coffee shop.
Two minutes later Sekigawa stood up. He walked to the register with his head bent down so as not to be recognized by people sitting in the other booths.
When he got outside, Emiko was waiting with a cab. Sekigawa entered the taxi first. The two of them sat silently for a while, looking ahead. Emiko quietly stretched out her hand and grasped Sekigawa’s fingers, but he gave no response.
“Was it unwise of me to mention you? If that’s what’s made you angry, please forgive me,” Emiko apologized, looking at his darkened profile.
“You’re going to have to move from that apartment,” Sekigawa said eventually.
“What did you say?” Emiko asked, thinking she might have misunderstood his words.
Sekigawa repeated, “You’ll have to move from that apartment.”
“Why?” Emiko asked, her eyes wide. “I just moved in. I’ve only been there two months,” she said in a dejected voice. “Did I do something bad by chatting with the people there? Is that why I need to move away?”
Sekigawa did not give her an answer. Instead, he continued to smoke as if he were displeased.
After a while, he asked, “Has that detective been there often?”
“It seemed like it was the first time since I moved in.”
