“I’m sorry about this,” Tamaru said. “I didn’t do it because I wanted to.”

Tamaru used his fingers to relax the muscles of Ushikawa’s face, straighten out the jaw, and make his face more presentable. He used a kitchen towel to wipe away the drool from Ushikawa’s mouth. It took a while, but his face began to look a bit better. At least a person looking at it wouldn’t avert their eyes. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get Ushikawa’s eyes to shut.

“Shakespeare said it best,” Tamaru said quietly as he gazed at that lumpish, misshapen head. “Something along these lines: if we die today, we do not have to die tomorrow, so let us look to the best in each other.”

Was this from Henry IV, or maybe Richard III? Tamaru couldn’t recall. To him, though, that wasn’t important, and he doubted Ushikawa wanted to know the precise reference. Tamaru untied his arms and legs. He had used a soft, towel-like rope, and he had a special way of tying it so as to not leave marks. He took the rope, the plastic bag, and the heavy-duty rubber band and stowed them in a plastic bag he had brought with him for that purpose. He rummaged through Ushikawa’s belongings and collected every photo he had taken. He put the camera and tripod in the bag as well. It would only lead to trouble if it got out that Ushikawa had been conducting surveillance. People would ask who he was watching, and the chances were pretty good that Tengo Kawana’s name would surface. He took Ushikawa’s notebook, too, crammed full of detailed notes. He made sure to collect anything of importance. All that was left behind were the sleeping bag, eating utensils, extra clothes, and Ushikawa’s pitiful corpse. Finally, Tamaru took out one of Ushikawa’s business cards, the ones that said he was Full-time Director, New Japan Foundation for the Advancement of Scholarship and the Arts, and pocketed it.

“I’m really sorry,” Tamaru said again as he was leaving.

.    .    .

Tamaru went into a phone booth near the station, inserted a telephone card into the slot, and dialed the number Ushikawa had given him. It was a local Tokyo number, Shibuya Ward by the look of it. The phone rang six times before someone answered.

Tamaru skipped the preliminaries and told him the address and room number of the apartment in Koenji.

“Did you write it down?”

“Could you repeat it?”

Tamaru did so. The man wrote it down and read it back.

“Ushikawa is there,” Tamaru said. “You are familiar with Ushikawa?”

“Ushikawa?”

Tamaru ignored what he said and continued. “Ushikawa is there, and unfortunately he isn’t breathing anymore. It doesn’t look like a natural death. There are several business cards with Full-time Director, New Japan Foundation for the Advancement of Scholarship and the Arts on them in his business card holder. If the police find these, eventually they will figure out the connection with you. That wouldn’t be to your advantage, I imagine. Best to dispose of everything as soon as you can. That’s what you’re good at.”

“Who are you?” the man asked.

“Let’s just say I’m a kind informant,” Tamaru said. “I’m not so fond of the police myself. Same as you.”

“Not a natural death?”

“Well, he didn’t die of old age, or very peacefully.”

The man was quiet for a moment. “What was this Ushikawa doing there?”

“I don’t know. You would have to ask him the details, and as I explained, he’s not in a position to respond.”

The man on the other end of the line paused. “You must be connected with the young woman who came to the Hotel Okura?”

“That’s not the sort of question to which you can expect an answer.”

“I’m one of the people who met her. Tell her that and she’ll understand. I have a message for her.”

“I’m listening.”

“We’re not planning to harm her,” the man said.

“My understanding is that you are trying your best to track her down.”

“That’s right. We’ve been trying to locate her for some time.”

“Yet you’re telling me you don’t plan to harm her,” Tamaru said. “Why is that?”

There was a short silence before the response came.

“At a certain point the situation changed. Leader’s death was deeply mourned by everyone. But that’s over, finished. Leader was ill, and, in a sense, he was hoping to put an end to his suffering. So we don’t plan to pursue Aomame any further regarding this matter. Instead, we would simply like to talk with her.”

“About what?”

“Areas of common interest.”

“That’s just what your people want. You may feel the need to speak with her, but maybe that isn’t what she wants.”

“There should be room for discussion. There are things that we can provide you. Freedom, for instance, and safety. Knowledge and information. Can’t we find a neutral place to discuss this? Name the location. We will go wherever you say. I guarantee her safety, one hundred percent—and not just hers, but the safety of everyone involved. There’s no need to run away anymore. I think this is a reasonable request, for both sides.”

“That’s what you say,” Tamaru said. “But there is no reason I should trust you.”

“At any rate, I would appreciate it if you would let Aomame know,” the man said patiently. “Time is of the essence, and we’re still willing to meet you halfway. If you need more proof of our reliability, we’ll provide it. You can call here anytime and get in touch with us.”

“I wonder if you could give me a few more details. Why is she so important to you? What happened to bring about this transformation?”

The man took a short breath before he replied. “We have to keep hearing the voice. For us it’s like a never-ending well. And we can’t ever lose it. That’s all I can tell you at this time.”

“And you need Aomame in order to keep that well.”

“It’s hard to explain. It’s connected, but that’s all I can say.”

“What about Eriko Fukada? You don’t need her anymore?”

“No, not anymore. We don’t care where she is, or what she’s doing. Her mission is finished.”

“What mission?”

“That’s sensitive information,” the man said after a pause. “I’m sorry, but I can’t reveal anything more at this time.”

“I suggest you consider your position very carefully,” Tamaru said. “In this game we’re playing, it’s my serve. We can get in touch with you anytime we want, but you can’t get in touch with us. You don’t even know who we are. Correct?”

“You’re right. You do have the advantage. We don’t know who you are. But this isn’t something we should speak about on the phone. I’ve already said too much, more than I’m authorized to.”

Tamaru was silent for some time. “All right. We’ll consider your proposal. We need to talk it over on our end. I will probably be getting in touch with you later.”

“I will be waiting to hear from you,” the man said. “As I said before, this could be to the advantage of both sides.”

“What if we ignore your proposal, or reject it?”

“Then we would have to do things our way. We have a certain amount of power, and unfortunately, things might get a little rough. This could cause problems for everyone involved. No matter who you are, you won’t come through this unscathed. I don’t see how that could be the ideal outcome for either of us.”

“You may be right. But it will take a while before we get to that point. And as you said, time is of the essence.”

The man gave a small cough. “It might take time. Or maybe not so much.”

“You won’t know unless you try.”

“Exactly,” the man said. “There’s one more important thing I need to point out. To borrow your metaphor, in this game it’s your serve. But it doesn’t seem to me like you’re familiar with the basic rules of the game.”

“That’s another thing you can’t know unless you actually try it.”

“If you do try it and it doesn’t work, that would be a shame.”

“For both of us,” Tamaru said.