‘Uh-huh,’ Shoji mumbled. He was about to enter his room when a thought came into his mind. It might be a far-fetched idea, but there was no harm in trying.

19 There Is No Smoke Without Fire

CHAPTER 19

THERE IS NO SMOKE WITHOUT FIRE

Shoji put his coat down on the sofa and reached for the phone. Liyun gave him a puzzled look as he dialled Yoshioka’s home number.

Realising who it was calling, Yoshioka sounded alarmed. ‘Is there anything wrong with the page proofs?’

‘No. Don’t worry. Nothing to do with work,’ he said. ‘I was hoping you could help me track down one more person.’

Yoshioka laughed. ‘At this rate, I should open a detective agency. Anyway, go on. Tell me. Who is it this time? A newscaster? An actor? A sportsman?’

‘A man named Takeshi Goda,’ he said. ‘I believe he’s a teacher in New York.’

‘Did you just say New York? Is that the name of a cram school or something?’

‘No,’ Shoji said. ‘The actual city in the United States.’

There was a long pause. ‘Arai, I hate to say this, but this is a little …’ His voice trailed off. ‘Difficult?’

Shoji knew what that meant. ‘I understand. My apologies for bothering you.’

‘No, that’s all right. I’ll try to ask around,’ Yoshioka said. ‘Since you’re calling, there’s another thing I wanted to tell you. It’s about Kazuhiro Katou.’

Shoji perked up. ‘Did you find his wife?’

‘Unfortunately, no,’ he said. ‘But a journalist I know told me there was a rumour circulating that the man didn’t die of natural causes. He was murdered.’

Shoji’s heart skipped a beat. ‘Who did it?’

‘No one knows, and this is just a rumour,’ Yoshioka said. ‘But you should know how this works. There is no smoke without fire. I’ve asked my journalist friend in Akakawa to look into the case.’

‘Uh-huh.’ Shoji paused. ‘Did you find anything on Yoko Sasaki?’

‘I’m afraid not. She’s not on the missing persons register in Akakawa or Tokyo. I’ll continue to ask around, but don’t expect too much.’

Shoji thanked his senior and put down the phone. He noticed Liyun staring at him, but she didn’t say anything.

•

In the couple of weeks that followed, every few days Shoji would check with Yoshioka if his senior had heard anything new. But each time, he received the same reply: ‘No, I couldn’t find anything concrete. The politician’s family is very tight-lipped. If you push too much, your luck might run out.’

‘What about Yoko Sasaki?’

‘Also nothing.’

‘I see.’

Eventually, in the last week of July, while they were walking to the station together, Yoshioka told Shoji of a rumour that the politician’s widow had left Akakawa.

Shoji turned to his senior. ‘Another rumour, huh?’

‘Yeah, another rumour,’ Yoshioka said, staring at the crowd. ‘I’m sorry, none of this is conclusive.’