Now that he thought about it properly, he had no idea why he’d tracked down the professor. Even Mizuki herself did not know his whereabouts. What was Shoji expecting? But Takeshi Goda was his last hope. At this point, the professor was the only link he had with Mizuki. Shoji picked up his office phone and dialled the number on the card. After two rings, someone answered.

‘Good morning. Professor Goda’s office,’ a woman said. ‘This is Harada. How may I assist you?’

The minute Shoji heard the voice, he recognised it. He slammed the receiver down without thinking, surprising Yoshioka who sat nearby.

‘Is everything okay, Arai?’ his senior asked.

‘Yes, yes,’ he said, straightening up. Calm down. Don’t be hasty, but … Shoji turned to Yoshioka. ‘Hey, Chief, can you do me one more small favour?’

‘Of course. What do you need?’ He grinned. ‘But there is no need to call me Chief. Yoshioka is fine. We’ve known each other for so long.’

At Shoji’s request, Yoshioka called Takeshi Goda’s office, pretending to be a reporter hoping to interview the professor on his latest research.

‘Professor Goda is currently in Washington for a conference,’ Yoshioka told Shoji after he got off the phone with the professor’s secretary, Miss Harada. ‘He won’t be back until next week. Right now, only his secretary is in his office. I told her we need a high-resolution photograph of Professor Goda for our interview, but our office email restricts large attachments. She gave me his office address and invited me to come over anytime during office hours to get the file. She’ll save it onto a disk.’ Yoshioka passed a piece of paper to Shoji. ‘I guess a junior of mine could pick it up on my behalf?’

‘Smooth.’ Shoji took the paper from him and read the first line.

Mizuki Harada.

•

Mizuki Harada was as impeccable as she had always been. Her hair was tied into a low bun, not a single strand out of place. The indigo chiffon dress she wore fluttered.

Now that Shoji was so close to the woman he’d thought he would never see again, he had no idea what to say. Where should he begin? ‘So, your name is Mizuki.’ Yes, he could start with that, but he wasn’t ready yet. His heart pounded.

‘Harada!’

A woman’s sharp voice startled Shoji. A young lady waved, less than a metre away from where he stood. He turned to Mizuki. She was looking in his direction too. If he were to walk away now, would she think that she had mistaken a stranger for him? Unlikely. Anyway, he hadn’t come here to observe her from afar.

The young lady walked over to Mizuki and passed her a stack of documents. ‘For Professor Goda. He needs to be able to check through them by the end of the month.’