way."
I could accept that, but I still watched Lila, waiting for more.
"I told your lieutenant that I arrived at the school at four o'clock, and went upstairs with my friend Nadine to the classroom. Sakura talked to us for about half an hour, and then a group of us decided to stop in the school's restaurant for tea. When we were leaving for home, we took the elevator down to the main floor and ran into the police." She took a deep breath. "What really happened is that I didn't join the others for tea until the last five minutes. I went looking for Mrs. Koda."
"Mrs. Koda wasn't around," I said. "My aunt and Natsumi and Miss Okada all couldn't find her."
"Oh, could that help me? That nobody could find her?" Lila asked eagerly. "Lila, I'm sure that if you walked around the administrative office on the second floor, a dozen secretarial workers would have seen you. There's your alibi." I looked at my watch, thinking I'd wasted my morning.
"But nobody saw me! I didn't go to the second floor. I went up to the Kayama family's penthouse." Her face flushed. "I know where it is because I'm president of the foreign students' association and was invited to dinner."
Until the day before, I had not known the Kayamas lived in the school building. Norie had mentioned they had a lovely country residence. I asked, "How does one reach the penthouse level? The elevator doesn't list any floor above nine."
"You ride the elevator to nine and go into a small hallway just off the main one. There's a private staircase leading up."
"Why did you think Mrs. Koda would be in the personal apartment? She's an employee, not a family member," I asked as a piercing screech came from beyond the kitchen.
Lila bolted, and I followed. The daughter who had wanted crackers was lying on the floor. A little boy of about four was sitting on top of her. He was flexing a pair of scissors in his sister's wispy blond hair.
The scene of Sakura lying dead with scissors in her throat came back to me. I gasped, and Lila's third child, a seven-year-old boy, looked up from the television to my face.
"Mummy, you said no more Japanese babysitters!" he cried.
"I'm not from Japan," I said, trying to gain composure. "I speak English, just like you do. We're from the same continent but not the same country. Can you think of where that is?"
"You're…you're from a weird place!"
"Hush, Donald," Lila implored while trying to pull the scissors from her daughter's hair. I saw now that the scissors were child-safe, made of blunt plastic pieces that couldn't cut flesh. I relaxed, but Lila was still upset. "You children are impossible. If you don't behave, I'm going to run away!"
"You already do. Aerobics, shopping . . ." Donald, the television watcher, cataloged nastily. Had Richard really said Lila's children were fun?
"I'm so sorry, Rei." Lila didn't even look up. "We're going to have to finish later. Darcy's hair is so tangled she's going to need a cream rinse. And David, you need a time-out!"
David, the four-year-old who had done the bad deed, started to cry as loudly as his little sister. Donald aimed the remote control at the TV, turning up the volume to rock-concert level.
"When can we finish our talk?" I shouted over the din.
"Oh, I don't know! Come to the exhibit tomorrow at Mitsutan. Maybe I can slip away, get a moment of peace."
Would the Kayama School go on with Friday's exhibition after the death of a star teacher? It seemed callous.
I left Roppongi Hills with my old, troubling memories and a few new ones.
Chapter 5
I telephoned Aunt Norie in Yokohama, but she didn't answer me personally.
The machine spoke in her soft voice, requesting me to leave a message. I did that and spent the rest of the afternoon at an auction, wandering past tables laden with old prints, but I was too distracted to make any bids. In mid-afternoon I left the auction house and went out onto the street. A newsstand was loaded with copies of the
Asahi Shinbun
. The front page bore
I could accept that, but I still watched Lila, waiting for more.
"I told your lieutenant that I arrived at the school at four o'clock, and went upstairs with my friend Nadine to the classroom. Sakura talked to us for about half an hour, and then a group of us decided to stop in the school's restaurant for tea. When we were leaving for home, we took the elevator down to the main floor and ran into the police." She took a deep breath. "What really happened is that I didn't join the others for tea until the last five minutes. I went looking for Mrs. Koda."
"Mrs. Koda wasn't around," I said. "My aunt and Natsumi and Miss Okada all couldn't find her."
"Oh, could that help me? That nobody could find her?" Lila asked eagerly. "Lila, I'm sure that if you walked around the administrative office on the second floor, a dozen secretarial workers would have seen you. There's your alibi." I looked at my watch, thinking I'd wasted my morning.
"But nobody saw me! I didn't go to the second floor. I went up to the Kayama family's penthouse." Her face flushed. "I know where it is because I'm president of the foreign students' association and was invited to dinner."
Until the day before, I had not known the Kayamas lived in the school building. Norie had mentioned they had a lovely country residence. I asked, "How does one reach the penthouse level? The elevator doesn't list any floor above nine."
"You ride the elevator to nine and go into a small hallway just off the main one. There's a private staircase leading up."
"Why did you think Mrs. Koda would be in the personal apartment? She's an employee, not a family member," I asked as a piercing screech came from beyond the kitchen.
Lila bolted, and I followed. The daughter who had wanted crackers was lying on the floor. A little boy of about four was sitting on top of her. He was flexing a pair of scissors in his sister's wispy blond hair.
The scene of Sakura lying dead with scissors in her throat came back to me. I gasped, and Lila's third child, a seven-year-old boy, looked up from the television to my face.
"Mummy, you said no more Japanese babysitters!" he cried.
"I'm not from Japan," I said, trying to gain composure. "I speak English, just like you do. We're from the same continent but not the same country. Can you think of where that is?"
"You're…you're from a weird place!"
"Hush, Donald," Lila implored while trying to pull the scissors from her daughter's hair. I saw now that the scissors were child-safe, made of blunt plastic pieces that couldn't cut flesh. I relaxed, but Lila was still upset. "You children are impossible. If you don't behave, I'm going to run away!"
"You already do. Aerobics, shopping . . ." Donald, the television watcher, cataloged nastily. Had Richard really said Lila's children were fun?
"I'm so sorry, Rei." Lila didn't even look up. "We're going to have to finish later. Darcy's hair is so tangled she's going to need a cream rinse. And David, you need a time-out!"
David, the four-year-old who had done the bad deed, started to cry as loudly as his little sister. Donald aimed the remote control at the TV, turning up the volume to rock-concert level.
"When can we finish our talk?" I shouted over the din.
"Oh, I don't know! Come to the exhibit tomorrow at Mitsutan. Maybe I can slip away, get a moment of peace."
Would the Kayama School go on with Friday's exhibition after the death of a star teacher? It seemed callous.
I left Roppongi Hills with my old, troubling memories and a few new ones.
Chapter 5
I telephoned Aunt Norie in Yokohama, but she didn't answer me personally.
The machine spoke in her soft voice, requesting me to leave a message. I did that and spent the rest of the afternoon at an auction, wandering past tables laden with old prints, but I was too distracted to make any bids. In mid-afternoon I left the auction house and went out onto the street. A newsstand was loaded with copies of the
Asahi Shinbun
. The front page bore
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