them recognized Imanishi.
“Welcome.” The clerk guided Imanishi to the reception area.
“Thanks so much for your help before,” Imanishi said, as he took off his raincoat and sat down.
“Have you been able to find Naruse-
“I’m afraid we haven’t been able to locate it yet.” Imanishi also lit a cigarette. “I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything here?”
“Nothing at all,” he replied. “But I’ll keep my ears open.”
Imanishi chatted for a while with the clerk. He had come to ask about Rieko’s previous address, but he felt he could not be so curt as to leave right away.
“Why are the police still trying to find Naruse-
“We’re just looking into the circumstances.” Imanishi avoided a direct reply. “Naruse-
“Oh, I see what you mean.” The clerk was impressed. “If the police are that careful about finding things out, one can’t commit suicide lightly, can one?”
“I suppose not.” As they were talking, Imanishi heard shouting in the distance. “What is that?” Imanishi asked, straining his ears.
“Oh, that? They’re rehearsing for our next production.”
“Oh, I see.”
“How about it? If you have the time, would you like to take a peek?”
Imanishi had never seen a contemporary play. As its name indicated, the Avant-Garde Theater was currently noted for staging the most progressive dramas.
“Well, perhaps I could take a look if I wouldn’t be in the way.”
“That’s no problem. It’s a dress rehearsal. It’s really no different from seeing a regular performance. You could sit there and not be noticed by anyone.”
Opening the door of the theater office, the clerk walked ahead of Imanishi along a hallway. The clerk quietly opened the closed door at the end of the hallway, and Imanishi followed.
Suddenly they could hear the voices on the stage where many people were moving about. The clerk showed Imanishi to a chair placed against a dark wall. There were four or five others sitting in the dark, watching the stage.
The stage set seemed to be part of a factory in which were gathered about twenty people dressed as factory workers. They were surrounding one man, also dressed as a factory worker, and arguing with him.
As Imanishi watched, the director, standing below the stage, occasionally corrected the delivery of the dialogue. Imanishi gazed at the stage. It was no different from watching a real stage performance. All of the actors were wearing workers’ uniforms. Imanishi thought that it must be quite a task to gather so many costumes. As he watched the progress of the play, his eyes began to shine. Soon he was merely following the action with his eyes while his thoughts were running elsewhere.
He left quietly and returned to the office, where the three staff members were still preparing posters for mailing.
“How was it?” the clerk who had shown Imanishi to the rehearsal hall asked.
“It was very interesting,” Imanishi responded, smiling.
“I’m glad you thought so. If you’d like, you’re welcome to watch until the end.”
“Thank you.”
“That’s a play that our troupe is premiering, so we’re putting all our efforts into it. The advance notices are very favorable.”
“Is that so? They’re all putting a lot of spirit into their performances.” Imanishi went over to the clerk and said in a low voice,
“I’d like to ask you something. I noticed that you need many costumes.”
“Yes, we do. Just making those costumes takes quite a bit of money.”
“Do you save the costumes after you finish with a performance?”
“Yes, we usually save them.”
“Then there must be someone who oversees the costumes?”
“Yes, there is.”
“I’m sorry to trouble you, but could I see that person?”
“The wardrobe mistress?” The clerk looked at Imanishi’s face with a quizzical expression.
“Yes, I’d like to ask her some questions.”
“I see. Please wait a minute. I’ll see if she’s in.”
Soon the clerk returned and led Imanishi toward the rear of the building. “This is our wardrobe mistress.” She was a plump woman of about thirty-five, wearing a coat and preparing to leave.
“I’m sorry to hold you up just as you’re about to go home.” Imanishi bowed his head.
“What is it you’d like to ask me?” The short woman looked up at Imanishi.
“There must be an incredible number of costumes. Do you ever lose any?”
“No, that hardly ever happens.”
“Hardly ever?” Imanishi took that phrase as his cue. “Then that means that sometimes they do disappear?”
“Yes. It almost never happens, but there are times when one or two pieces might be missing. But that’s only once every several years.”
“I see. That must be because you’re careful about overseeing the costumes. But there must be forces beyond your control. No matter how careful you are, with so many items, there must be times when the numbers aren’t complete.”
“Yes. Then it’s my responsibility.”
“I see. Did a man’s costume disappear this past spring?”
The wardrobe mistress looked surprised at Imanishi’s specific question.
“Yes, one did.”
“And when was that?”
“We presented
“A raincoat?” Imanishi opened his eyes wide. “When was that?”
“That play was on for the month of May, so I think it was around the middle of May that we lost it. Since we couldn’t find it anywhere, I rushed around and got another one to take its place.”
“I’m sorry to ask you, but could you tell me the exact date?”
“Please wait a moment. I’ll look in my work journal.”
She hurried back to her own room.
“I suppose things do go astray,” Imanishi said to the clerk. Despite his nonchalant manner, his heart was pounding with excitement.
“I’ve found it,” the wardrobe mistress said, as she returned. “It was May twelfth that we lost it.”
“You said May twelfth?” Imanishi thought, This is it!
“That’s right. It was on the twelfth that I searched for another raincoat to take its place.”
“What time did the previous performance end?”
“It was at ten p.m. on May eleventh.”
“The location?”
“It was at the Toyoko Hall in Shibuya.”
Imanishi’s heart pounded again. Shibuya was close to Gotanda. From Gotanda the Ikegami Line went to Kamata. Furthermore, Meguro was even closer to Shibuya. And from Meguro the Mekama Line went to Kamata.
“What color was that raincoat?”
