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  So far as the laboratory routine and security precautions were concerned, he managed to build up an almost complete picture.

  Naturally, he was collecting as much information as possible apart from what he could glean from Setsuko. He heard, for in­stance, a rumour that there might be a clandestine relationship between Sadako Nishiwaki and Toshiyuki Fujita.

  In fact, he was fairly confident he would pass his first test as an industrial intelligence agent. Sakai seemed to be satisfied with his day-to-day progress.

  But there still remained the main problem—how to get at the research papers and how to copy them without being caught red-handed or subsequently found out. So far he hadn’t been able to come up with an acceptable solution. The quick­est way might be to overwhelm Setsuko with his charms, and then try to persuade her to sneak out the papers for one night, but this approach was not without danger.

  He realised that Setsuko’s loyalty to the company was almost a religion with her. It might be simple enough to seduce her, but once this was accomplished, he might end up having to put up with the nuisance of it for nothing.

  On June 8 he had his third date with Eiko. After exhausting each other in a two-hour romp of unbridled passion, they were spending a little time in the Café Takuto at Shinjuku.

  It was just after four o’clock in the afternoon. Muted music was flowing through the shop. Eiko was listening to it absent-mindedly. Segawa was busily working on his strategy for the evening. He had to meet Setsuko next, and he was trying to find a way of advancing his cause while avoiding any need to demonstrate his prowess as a lover.

  “Eiko!”

  The call rang out right beside him, and he nearly jumped to his feet. The voice didn’t belong to Toshiko, and he’d been playing with Eiko’s fingers on the table without paying attention.

  An attractive young woman in a half-sleeved cream suit was staring at them.

  Segawa guessed straight away who she was. She’d changed completely since he’d last met her, and he could be mistaken, but he felt pretty sure she was Ogino’s sister, Sadako, Nishi­waki’s wife.

  They had never thought anybody would spot them in that café, and she was certainly the last person they wanted to meet. Segawa felt his blood pressure rising, but he had to try to act naturally. He forced a miserable smile and stood up.

  “Well, if it isn’t Mrs. Nishiwaki,” he said with studied gaiety. “I don’t think you’d remember me—I’m Segawa.”

  Sadako bowed, far too politely for comfort. It might be only his imagination, he thought, but her face seemed to be lit up with malice.

  “You must be one of my brother’s friends,” she said. “You’ve changed so much—I didn’t recognise you. I’m sorry.”

  “Well, isn’t this a coincidence?” Segawa asked. “I met Mrs. Ogino here, too, a few minutes ago.”

  “Did you? It’s a small world, isn’t it?”

  Segawa felt the sweat running down under his arms. Taken at face value, her words amounted to nothing, but it was equally possible to read quite a lot of sarcasm into them.

  “Please sit down,” Eiko said, at last regaining her composure.

  Sadako hesitated for a moment before she sat down. “And where’ve you been?” she asked Eiko.

  “Just doing some shopping in the department store.”

  “But I thought Isetan and Mitsukoshi were both closed today? Isn’t it Monday today?”

  “Yes, but Odakyu at the west exit is open.”

  “Oh, you went all the way there?”

  Segawa felt his life was shrinking. To mention department stores which were closed on different days had been a panic reaction on Eiko’s part. And if she was supposed to have been shopping, it was rather odd she had no parcels with her and was sitting in a café at the east exit.

  Whether Sadako realised this or not, she made no further comment.

  Segawa tried to change the subject. “The other day I was introduced to your husband by your brother,” he said.

  “Were you? He didn’t mention it.”

  “Of course, I heard long before then that Dr. Nishiwaki is the ace in the hand of Shichiyo Chemical Company—a really brilliant man.”

  “Please don’t praise him too much—it’s so boring. He’s such a—” She stopped half-way through the sentence and looked towards the entrance.

  Following her eyes, Segawa saw a man pushing open the glass door. It was Fujita, the secretary.

  Sadako smiled and beckoned to him.

  “Hello everybody—this is a surprise,” Fujita said as he reached the table.

  “Sorry to drag you here, but I’ve got the thing my husband wants.” She patted her handbag.

  “I’m the one who should say sorry,” Fujita said gallantly. “I should’ve gone to your home to fetch it, instead of letting you bring it here. It’s only because you told me you were coming to Shinjuku that I—”

  “It’s nothing. Besides, my husband’s carelessness shouldn’t have to be your concern. If it was my brother, that’d be differ­ent, but my husband has no right to ask you to do these things for him.”

  “Look, I’m coming and going between head office and the plant all the time. Anyway, Dr. Nishiwaki’s order is as good as Mr. Ogino’s, as far as I’m concerned.”

  A music-filled hush followed. They were all busy finish­ing their drinks and trying to guess what everybody else was thinking.

  Then Fujita got up. “Excuse me,” he said, “I must be on my way.”

  Sadako gave her handbag a tap and stood up also, as if she had just changed her mind. “I must go, too,” she said. “You can keep me company as far as the corner, Mr. Fujita.” She looked at Segawa and then at Eiko with eyes that could have been mocking. “Excuse us, won’t you? It’s been nice seeing you again.”

  When they were gone, Segawa sighed heavily. Eiko put her elbows on the table and cupped her cheeks in her hands.

  “Is it going to be all right, do you think?” she asked.

  “Of course it’s going to be all right. They didn’t see us com­ing out of the inn. And there’s something funny about them, too, if you ask me. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they are in the same boat.”

  Sakai’s guess wasn’t far off the mark, he thought. If he weren’t personally involved—damn it—the plan to grab Fujita’s tail could be put into action very nicely. But as it was the swords were equally matched. In fact, he and Eiko were facing much greater danger than the other two. Sadako wouldn’t have to be very concerned even if her brother learnt about their affair. She could always bite back, saying that he’d forced her to marry a man she didn’t love. But Eiko and he could lose a great deal if Ogino became suspicious. All he could do was pray that Sadako didn’t drop a word to her brother about them.

  Eiko looked at him with clouded eyes.

  “Will you please finish this job of yours as soon as you can?” she said in a whisper full of despair.

  6

  Segawa had received a note from Kazumi Yamaguchi asking him to see her urgently, and they met in a coffee shop at Yurakucho the following evening. He didn’t feel like bothering with her now, but since she’d helped him often in the past, he couldn’t refuse.

  Kazumi again took him to Hibiya Park, but this time she was in an entirely different mood. Instead of asking him for a kiss, she suddenly started questioning him.

  “Mr. Segawa, what are you up to these days?”

  “What d’you mean?”

  “I mean the friendship between you and Mr. Ogino—it’s been back to normal lately, hasn’t it?”

  “D’you have any objection? What’s so unusual about warm­ing up an old friendship that goes back to school days?”

  “In itself, nothing. But until recently you had consistently refused to see him. Why the sudden change now?”

  “There hasn’t been any sudden change
—just that it makes me feel good to meet an old friend every now and then, if that’s any of your business.”

  Kazumi persisted, and Segawa grew annoyed.

  “But this time you went specially to his home to meet him, didn’t you?”

  “Yes. So what? I went there to ask him if we could handle some of their products. I did this on the advice of Mr. Sakai—the one you put me in touch with in the first place. But what’s the purpose of this cross-examination? Do you say you don’t like me having a friendship with Ogino?”

  “No, I don’t say that. I just think it doesn’t look like you—that’s all.”

  “What doesn’t look like me?”

  “Well, knowing what a proud and obstinate man you are, it just doesn’t look like you starting up afresh with Mr. Ogino after all these months. To put it bluntly, in your present cir­cumstances you can’t have a friendship with him on equal terms—you have to wag your tail to him. You’re not a person who’d humiliate himself like this, no matter how far down in the dumps you might be.”

  “Now you’ve gone too far,” Segawa said angrily.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. I thought you must have a very good reason for doing this—that’s what I thought. Maybe it’s none of my business.”

  “You’re damned right it’s none of your business! Anyway, I’ve already told you the reason—we’re trying to become agents for some of their products.”

  “Is that the only reason?”

  “What other reason can you think of?” His voice became agitated despite his efforts to remain calm.

  Kazumi didn’t reply immediately, and when she spoke, her tone was cheerfully studied.

  “It may sound funny coming from an unmarried woman, but d’you know why so many wives find out about their husbands’ extra-marital adventures?”

  “No I don’t, but what’s this got to do with Ogino and me?”

  She ignored the question. “Its commonly put down to femi­nine instinct, but this instinct only works because the hus­band begins to act differently—out of character, as it were. He suddenly becomes harsh, or irritable, or too kind, or over-generous, depending on the individual.”

  “What are you trying to say?”

  “There’s no reason why the same situation couldn’t arise be­tween two men, is there?”

  Segawa was amazed at the depth of her insight.

  “D’you suggest I’m planning something sinister, and the pur­pose of renewing my friendship with him is to cover up the scheme?”

  “Am I wrong?”

  “Of course you’re wrong—this is preposterous! Why should I want to harm him?” He swallowed, suddenly realising that she might have Eiko in mind. “You’re not suspecting something between Eiko and me, are you?”

  Kazumi looked away from him and said nothing.

  “Oh, I see,” he said with a chuckle. “How long d’you think an old romance can last? Well, let me assure you I’d forgotten about her ages ago—she’s the last thing I’d want again . . . Hell, you’re queer tonight. What’s wrong with you? Making me annoyed over nothing.”

  Kazumi fixed him with a frosty look. “Well,” she said, “since you’re already annoyed, let me ask you one more annoying question.”

  “Go on—and make it quick.”

  “You’ve been pretty friendly with Setsuko Kondo lately, haven’t you? Are you going to marry her?”

  Segawa was so astounded he nearly sat down on the spot.

  “Are you doing research into my private life? Are you fol­lowing me around all the time?”

  “No. I heard it from Mr. Ogushi. His source is Mr. Ogino.”

  “Ogino? Does Ogino know about it?”

  “Yes, obviously. Otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to tell Mr. Ogushi, would he?” She looked unseeingly at the dark patch of lawn in front of them. “I can imagine what sort of woman she is. Knowing her profession is enough. A muscular woman athlete may look physically attractive to a man, but female chemists—they’re half way between men and women, and are generally boring companions, aren’t they? Their type would be the last you’d be interested in, I’d say.”

  Her words were sharp—getting under his skin. He was amazed she could imagine so accurately a woman she’d never met. He was also growing angrier by the minute.

  “Are you acting as my guardian? What business of yours is it whether I’m friendly with some woman, or what sort of woman she is?”

  “I see. So you’re serious about her.”

  Segawa desperately tried to control himself. It was ridiculous to get mad over her.

  “Look, of course I’m not serious. We’ve only met a few times.” He shrugged and produced a joyless smile. “You’re acting like the god of jealousy tonight. One minute you’re up in arms about Eiko, and the next it’s Setsuko Kondo. You wouldn’t like to suggest by any chance that I’m friendly with Setsuko only to cover up my affair with Eiko, would you?”

  Kazumi didn’t answer, and they walked on in silence for a while. At last she said, “I’m tired. Let’s have a rest.” They sat down on a bench facing a lawn bright with the reflection of neon lights. “I’m sorry to have acted like this tonight, but I’ve been so worried about you. I didn’t want to upset you.”

  “It’s all right. From now on I’ll try to keep out of the way of your suspicious eyes.”

  After another pause, she said, “Mr. Segawa, is your new job going all right?”

  “Yes, I’d say so. I seem to get along all right with Mr. Sakai.”

  “That’s all right then . . . Sometimes I’ve been wondering whether I did the right thing mentioning the job to you in the first place.”

  “Of course you did the right thing, and I’m very grateful to you for it . . . We have our occasional problems, naturally, but that’s common to any business.”

  She didn’t seem to listen to his last words, as if she’d been thinking about something else. Then suddenly she faced him, her dark eyes hanging on him like two small fires.

  “Shigeo,” she said thickly, “I’m so crazy about you I’d go to hell with you . . . When you are in real trouble, don’t forget me, will you?”

  •

  The next day Segawa and Sakai were having their brief eve­ning conference in the office. These days, unless the matter was very complicated, they managed to talk in front of other members of the staff by using a simple code.

  Sakai: “So far as the Kondo trading company is concerned, I’d be inclined to leave the matter in abeyance for a while.”

  Segawa: “Yes, I agree. Perhaps we’ve been too impatient to sell.”

  Sakai: “We couldn’t help it—we were just unlucky in this. By the way, when do you think the German massaging ma­chine will arrive?”

  Segawa: “It should be here within three weeks, so we’d bet­ter hurry up, don’t you think?”

  Sakai: “I’ll give it some more thought over the next few days. In the meantime, just keep in contact with the Kondo trading company, but do no more. We have the bank authorisation, but we don’t know how interested they really are, and I’ve no intention of going broke over this deal.”

  Just then Miss Nakashima appeared by Segawa’s side with the phone in her hand. “Mr. Segawa, it’s for you,” she said. “A Mr. Ogino.”

  Segawa tensed up inside. He didn’t know what was coming.

  Sakai winked at him, his lips spreading in a grin. He must have thought Segawa was doing all right. He knew nothing of Segawa’s affair with Eiko, or that they had been seen by Sadako and Fujita.

  “Hello, how are you?” Ogino said at the other end.

  Segawa relaxed a little when he realised Ogino’s voice car­ried no sign of trouble.

  “Keeping busy as usual,” he said cheerfully. “Oh, and thank you very much for your courtesy the other day.”

  “That was n
othing. But are you free this evening?”

  “Yes, I am. I’ve nothing on.”

  “Good. It looks as if I might be able to relax tonight, too, for a change. How about coming over for a drink?”

  “Thank you very much.”

  “Would seven o’clock suit you?”

  “That’ll be fine.”

  “These damned bars and cabarets are all right, but it’s nice for a change to sit at home in kimono and have a drink and talk about old times.”

  Like Ogino, he might enjoy a glass of wine at home after the recent spate of night engagements, Segawa thought. It was going to be awkward meeting Eiko in front of Ogino, but if a man couldn’t stand that much, he might as well give up.

  “All right then. I’ll be at your place about seven. Please give my regards to your wife.”

  Ogino put down the phone at the other end.

  As he was approaching Ogino’s house, Segawa was torn by doubts.

  Was this invitation just a simple expression of friendship without any other purpose? Or did Ogino have some hidden motive? Was he going to punish them, the adulterers, by put­ting them on the mat together? Or was he to bombard them with sarcasm and insinuations to draw incriminating responses?

  If this was his purpose, Eiko wouldn’t be able to stand up to it. Right from the start she’d wanted to tell him the truth, and once she became excited, she was sure to spill it all. If this happened, the prospect of finding out the secret of paramizol would be gone.

  With a heavy heart and a strange inclination to pray, Segawa stood in front of Ogino’s entrance and sounded the chime. Ogino himself opened the door.

  “Ah, Segawa. Come on inside. My wife’s not home, but she’s got everything ready for us.”

  This small piece of information lifted a great load from Segawa’s mind. The weakness of sudden relief made his legs numb.

  “Where did your wife go?”

  “To her relatives at Ookayama. She told me she had some urgent business there. Anyway, I think it’s more relaxing without women in the house.”

  “I agree,” Segawa said with total conviction.

  On the table in the visitors’ room bottles of whisky and wine and plates of savouries were lined up in readiness. Ogino brought in cold bottles of beer.