‘Can you get it for her?’

‘Maybe it is already known. Masafumi was not a respectable man. He lived expensively, but the source of his income was unclear. He was suspected by the police of having sokaiya connections.’

Wada didn’t need to be told anything about sokaiya. They were criminals who traded in commercial secrets, threatening to reveal damaging information, often at a company’s AGM, unless they were paid off. Some had yakuza affiliations, some not. Kodaka had often been employed by companies to neutralize sokaiya threats.

‘To escape arrest, which he is thought to have believed was imminent, Masafumi left the country, supposedly on holiday. He joined a tour party visiting Europe. Other members of the group described him as … distracted. He made many telephone calls and often sent telex messages from the hotels they stayed in. He looked worried all the time. He chain-smoked. He did not join in light conversation. They went first to Rome, then Paris, then London. While they were in London, Masafumi hired an English student who spoke good Japanese to act as his translator. He knew very little English himself, it seems. The translator was seen with him a lot. Sometimes they were in telephone boxes together, with the translator talking on the telephone while Masafumi stood beside him. Suspicious behaviour, certainly. The translator said he was “helping Masafumi-san do business”.’

‘What kind of business?’

‘Unknown. But probably not legal. We can guess Masafumi was trying to raise money to get himself out of trouble. The translator could tell us. But he disappeared straight after Masafumi’s death.’

‘That is also suspicious.’

Kodaka nodded. ‘I agree.’

‘How did Masafumi die?’

‘He used a plastic laundry bag in his hotel room to suffocate himself. Or …’

‘Someone else used it to suffocate him.’

‘Takenaga-san believes the translator killed him. Or knows who killed him. That was also her late mother’s belief. Other members of the family believe he killed himself because he knew he would go to prison if he came home and may have wished to avoid bringing shame on them.’

‘What do we know about the translator?’

‘Very little. His name: Peter Evans. Estimated age: mid-twenties. A student, perhaps. Never traced. There was also a photograph.’

‘Of Evans?’

‘Of the tour party, standing in a group near St Paul’s Cathedral. Masafumi was in the back row, with Evans standing beside him. But Evans moved just as the photograph was taken, so he was … blurred.’

‘Takenaga-san showed you the photograph?’