‘What did you tell them?’

‘Well, the truth? You’d left Tokyo some time ago, and we were no longer in contact. At first, they refused to leave. I had to threaten to call the police. They also gave me a business card, so I could call if you got in touch. They even offered reward money.’

Shoji paused. That was strange. Hadn’t the man on the phone promised to leave him alone? ‘What was printed on the card?’

‘I figured you wouldn’t want to deal with them, so I threw it away. It was a lawyer’s office. Can’t remember the name.’ Jin paused. ‘What exactly did you do?’

Shoji didn’t answer. ‘Did Yoko come to see you?’

‘Wasn’t she with you in Akakawa?’

‘It’s a long story.’

‘Come on. Just spill it. Did you borrow some money? Sleep with a married woman?’

Shoji sighed.

‘Another thing,’ Jin said. ‘Recently, some strange men have been loitering near my house. Could they be looking for you?’

‘Possibly. I was planning to come over to your place, but now I don’t think it’s wise.’

‘Yeah, terrible idea,’ Jin said. ‘Where are you now? Are you safe?’

‘Don’t worry about me. I’ll stay at a friend’s house until I can find a permanent place.’

‘All right. As long as you’re okay,’ Jin said. ‘By the way, a girl I used to hang out with at Waseda recently returned a poetry book she said she borrowed from me, but she probably just nicked it from the apartment. It might be yours. Give me a second.’ There was a brief pause followed by scuffling noises. ‘The Collected Poems of William Carlos Williams. Does it ring a bell?’

‘Yes, that’s mine.’ That was the book Eri had given him on his last day of work at the bookshop. ‘Why don’t you keep it for now? I’ll get it from you another day.’

‘Yeah, sure.’

Shoji remembered his last conversation with Eri. She had told him she had written her number in the book. He had promised to get in touch if he ever came to Tokyo, but he never had. He felt slightly guilty. ‘There is a phone number on the last page. Can you read it for me?’ He took out a pen and notebook from his bag.

‘Yeah, sure.’ Jin did as he was told. ‘A lady’s writing, eh? Is she cute?’

‘None of your business.’

Jin laughed, and their conversation ended there.

Shoji came out of the booth, bracing himself against the cold weather. He had told Jin he was going to a friend’s place, but the truth was, he couldn’t do that. He didn’t want to drag more people into this mess, especially after hearing how the company had looked for him in Tokyo.

The money from Uncle Hidetoshi would be enough to stay at a cheap hotel for a few weeks, but Shoji wanted to stretch it as much as possible. He had no idea when he would secure a job. In the end, he checked into the first twenty-four-hour internet café he saw.