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  'But they cut him up!' Yoko said indignantly. 'It must be someone awful, a monster.'

  'I can't imagine who'd do something like that, either,' she agreed, remembering the photo the detectives had shown her of Kenji's severed hand. The hatred she'd felt for Masako at that moment reared its head again. How could they have gone that far? Some part of her told her she was being illogical, but as they talked, as she went over what had happened, her take on the incident began to change.

  The telephone rang. It was probably Masako, she thought. Now that she had this nice new friend, she suddenly realised how tiresome it was to have to talk with a bossy know-it-all like Masako. She hesitated, unwilling to pick up the phone.

  'Don't worry about me,' Yoko said, signalling her to answer. Reluctantly, she complied.

  'It's me, Kinugasa again,' said a familiar voice. He or Imai checked in each week to see how she was doing.

  'Thanks for calling,' she said.

  'How have things been going?'

  'Well enough.'

  'Are you back at work?'

  'I am,' she told him. 'I have friends there, and I'm used to the routine, so I'm planning to stay on.'

  'That sounds sensible.' His voice was quiet, soothing. 'And you leave the boys to fend for themselves?'

  'Fend for themselves?' she repeated, struck by the disapproval in his choice of words.

  'I didn't mean it like that,' he said. 'But what do you do with them?'

  'I put them to bed before I go; I think they're safe enough.'

  'Unless there's a fire or an earthquake. If something happens, you should call the local police station immediately.'

  'I appreciate your concern...,' she said.

  'By the way, I hear that you'll be getting your husband's insurance.' He sounded happy for her, but she could hear a slight reservation in his tone. She glanced around and saw that Yoko, out of courtesy perhaps, had left her seat and was standing by the window staring out at a withered pot of morning glories that the children had brought home from day-care.

  'Yes,' she said. 'I hadn't even realised he'd taken out a policy at his company. It was a shock, but I must say I'm grateful. I wasn't sure what I'd do, trying to raise these boys by myself.'

  'Well, I'm happy for you,' said Kinugasa. 'I'm afraid there's some bad news, though. It seems the owner of that casino has disappeared. If you see any sign of him, please let us know right away.'

  'What do you mean?' said Yayoi, raising her voice for the first time since she'd answered the phone. She wheeled around to find Yoko staring at her.

  'Now don't get excited,' Kinugasa told her. 'He's just gone missing. It's a mistake on our part, but we're doing everything we can to locate him.'

  'So you think he ran off because he's guilty?' Kinugasa said nothing for a moment, and in the background she could hear phones ringing and men's voices talking. She frowned, feeling that the smoky, masculine fug of the police station had somehow made its way into her home.

  'We're looking for him,' he said eventually, 'so try not to worry. If something happens, call me directly.' With that, he hung up.

  This was good news for all of them, Yayoi thought. She'd been disappointed when he was released for lack of evidence, but if he'd gone on the run he was as much as admitting he was guilty. She could relax again. When she put down the phone and went back to her chair, she looked quite cheerful.

  'Good news?' Yoko asked, smiling herself.

  'No, not really,' she said, trying to look serious again. Yoko seemed surprised by the sudden change of expression.

  'Perhaps I should go,' she said.

  'No, please. Stay a while.'

  'Was the call about the case?'

  'It seems the suspect disappeared.'

  'Was that the police calling?' Yoko said, a hint of excitement in her voice.

  'One of the detectives,' said Yayoi.

  'It was? Wow .. . I mean I'm sorry.'

  'That's all right,' Yayoi said, smiling. 'They're a bother, those men, always calling to see how I'm doing.'

  'But don't you wish they'd hurry up and find who did it?'

  'I certainly do,' said Yayoi forlornly. 'I don't know how much longer I can go on like this.'

  'I don't blame you. But if he ran off like that, it must mean he did it.'

  'Wouldn't that be wonderful?' The words slipped out of her mouth before she knew what she was saying, but fortunately Yoko seemed to take no notice and went on nodding in sympathy.

  -

  It was only a matter of time before a friendship developed between them. Yoko would often show up soon after Yayoi awoke from her nap, before she was quite ready to go get the boys and start dinner. Yoko said she was on her way home from school, and she usually brought some inexpensive dessert or snack. Yayoi's children liked her right away. Yukihiro told her about the cat, and she took them out to search for him in the neighbourhood.

  'Yayoi-san,' Yoko said to her one day, somewhat hesitantly, 'why don't I stay here with the boys while you're at work?' Yayoi was amazed that someone she'd only just met should be so kind to her.

  'I couldn't ask you to do that,' she said.

  'You certainly could. I've got to sleep somewhere anyway, and I hate to think of little Yukihiro waking up alone at night, his papa gone and his mother off at work.' She seemed to have a soft spot for the younger boy, and he in turn was completely attached to her. So Yayoi, who had been feeling starved for simple human kindness, jumped at the offer.

  'Then you have to agree to have dinner with us. I can't pay you, but at least we can feed you.'

  'Thank you,' said Yoko, beginning to cry.

  'What's wrong?'

  'It's just that I'm so happy,' she said, wiping away the tears. 'I feel like I have a new family. I've been alone so long, I'd forgotten how nice it is to be with other people. That room gets so lonely...'

  'I've been lonely, too. I lost my husband so suddenly, and since then I feel as though nobody understands what I'm going through.'

  'I know how hard it must be.' Both in tears now, the two women embraced; but when Yayoi looked up, she saw her kids staring at them in amazement.

  'Boys,' she laughed, wiping her cheek, 'Yoko-san is going to be staying with you at night from now on!'

  -

  It never occurred to her that Yoko would be the cause of a shouting match with Masako.

  Masako's grilling had begun with, 'Who is that answering the phone at your house these days?'

  'Her name is Yoko Morisaki. She's a neighbour, and she's been nice enough to look after the boys for me.'

  'You mean she stays over at your house?'

  'She's been sleeping there while I'm at work.'

  'So she's living with you?' asked Masako in that analytical way of hers.

  'No, it's nothing like that.' Yayoi sounded annoyed. 'She goes to school. When she's done, she comes over for dinner. Then she comes back when I leave for work.'

  'And she stays with your kids all night for free?'

  'I feed her dinner,' said Yayoi.

  'She's pretty generous, wouldn't you say? You don't think she's after something?'

  'No!' Yayoi protested. She couldn't allow anyone to make nasty insinuations like that about Yoko, not even Masako. 'She's just incredibly kind - and you're rather mean.'

  'Mean or not, I'm just trying to remind you that you're the one who'll suffer most if we're found out.'

  'I know, but... '

  'But what?'

  Yayoi was fed up with this cross-examination. Why did Masako always keep on hammering away at things?

  'Why are you getting at me like this?' she said.

  'I'm not,' a puzzled Masako replied. 'Why are you getting so angry?'

  'I'm not angry!' Yayoi insisted. 'I'm just tired of all your questions. In fact, I've got a few of my own. What have you and the Skipper been cooking up? And why aren't you talking to Kuniko any more? Did something happen?' Masako frowned. She hadn't told her that Kuniko had talked to Jumonji, or that she wa