He left Club Bonheur feeling that he had been put in a difficult position. As he walked Ginza’s back streets, he realized his own contradictory thoughts. Neither Emiko nor Sekigawa was the object of his investigation. It was absurd for him to be pursuing them. Yet he could not figure out Emiko’s sudden move from his sister’s place. He connected this hurried move to the fact that she had found out he was a detective. The elaborate precautions she took in moving were suspicious. She appeared to be hiding something. But strange behavior wasn’t reason enough for a detective to pursue her.
He did, however, feel a certain foreboding regarding Emiko’s whereabouts. He didn’t have any specific reason, just a premonition. In terms of crime prevention, the police were absolutely powerless. It was only after the damage had been done that the police could move in. He couldn’t investigate on premonition alone.
ELEVEN A Woman’s Death
It was eleven-fifteen p.m. The nurse who took the telephone call remembered the time exactly because she was just about to go to her room to sleep. It was a man’s voice on the telephone.
“Is this Uesugi Clinic?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Dr. Uesugi’s, the obstetrics and gynecology clinic?”
“Yes, it is.”
“There’s an emergency patient here. Could the doctor come right away?” The man’s voice sounded young.
“May I ask who’s calling?”
“It’s a first-time patient.”
“What is the problem?”
“A pregnant woman has collapsed suddenly. She’s bleeding and has fainted.”
“Are you sure she’s pregnant? How far along is she? It’s late. Can it wait until tomorrow?”
“She might be dead by tomorrow morning.” The man sounded as if he were threatening the nurse.
“Wait a moment, please. I’ll ask the doctor.”
The nurse put the receiver down beside the telephone and walked along the corridor to the doctor’s residence at the back of the clinic.
“Doctor,” the nurse called through the paper shoji door, as she stood in the hallway. “Doctor.”
She could see a light through the shoji. The doctor must still be awake.
“What is it?”
“There’s a telephone call about an emergency patient.”
“An emergency? Who is it from?”
“It’s a first-time patient. Apparently a pregnant woman has fallen and is bleeding.”
“Couldn’t you refuse?” The doctor seemed reluctant. He hated to be called out late at night by a stranger who was probably overreacting or confused.
“But he says it’s a severe case and she may die if it’s left until tomorrow morning.”
“Who’s saying this?”
“It’s a man’s voice. It sounds like the patient’s husband is alarmed.”
“Well, I guess it can’t be helped.” The threat that she might die seemed to affect the doctor as well. “Make sure you get the exact address.”
The nurse returned to the telephone. “We’ll be there right away.”
“Thank you so much.” He sounded relieved.
“Your address?”
“There is a wide road leading north from the streetcar stop at Soshigaya Okura. Follow that road and you’ll see a shrine called Myojinsha. If you turn left at the edge of the shrine you’ll see a name plate for Kubota Yasuo at a house with a cedar fence.”
“Are you Kubota-
“No, I’m renting the Kubotas’ cottage in the back. The entrance is through a wooden door.”
“Could I ask your name?” the nurse asked.
“It’s Miura. Miura Emiko. That’s the name of the patient.”
“I understand.”
“Um, will you be able to come right away?”
“Yes, we’ll be there.”
“Please hurry.”
The nurse was not in a good mood. She had been interrupted just as she was about to go to bed. As she was sterilizing the needles, the doctor appeared from the back of the house, coughing from a cold.
“Have you prepared everything?”
“Yes, I just finished sterilizing the needles.”
The doctor went to the pharmacy to collect the necessary medicines.
“Room number three is open, isn’t it?” the doctor asked, coming out of the room.
“Yes.”
“Depending on her condition, we may bring the patient here. Could you go back to the house and tell my wife to get the room ready?”
The doctor packed his bag. He drove while the nurse sat in the passenger seat.
“Let’s see, he said near the shrine?”
“It’s in back of Myojinsha.”
The doctor drove along the empty streets. Eventually the headlights lit the black woods ahead of them and the torii gate to the shrine.
“It has to be this way.” The nurse pointed to a narrow road to the left. “That must be it,” she said, spotting the cedar fence.
Approaching the house, the doctor flipped on his bright lights to read the name plate, “Kubota Yasuo.” He stopped the car and they got out.
“He said they’re renting the back house, and there’s a separate wooden gate that leads to it.”
They found the gate. The doctor turned on a flashlight and pushed it open. The cottage was easy to find. It was a small unit about six yards away from the main house. When he trained the flashlight on its entrance, they saw a piece of paper with “Miura” written on it pasted onto the side of the doorway in place of a name plate. A dim light shone from inside the house.
“Excuse me,” the nurse called as she stood outside the latticed sliding door. “Excuse me.”
No one came out.
“They might be in the back. Don’t worry about it, open the door,” the doctor said.
The door slid open easily. The nurse had the doctor go in first.
“Excuse me.”
Still no one came out.
The doctor was annoyed. It was unheard of to have been summoned by telephone in the middle of the night and not even be greeted at the door.
“Go on inside,” he ordered the nurse.
The nurse was reluctant, but she slipped off her shoes resignedly and stepped up from the small entry way into the house.
“Excuse me, excuse me,” the nurse continued to call out.
There was still no answer. They could not even hear anyone’s footsteps.
“Doctor, no one is coming.”
“All right, I’ll go inside.”
The doctor took off his shoes. A light was on in the main room. There must be someone there, he thought.
The doctor opened the sliding door. Out of consideration for the patient, a towel had been placed around the lamp shade, which made the room quite dark. It was a six-tatami-mat room, with the bedding laid out in the center.
