‘Ohayou gozaimasu,’ said Alice-Miranda. She placed the plate of biscuits on the table beside the old man. His brown eyes stared straight ahead and Alice-Miranda wondered if he was blind. Suddenly he looked up, as if startled back to life.
‘Another new helper?’ he asked in English.
‘Oh no, my name is Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-Kennington-Jones and it’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.’ She held out her hand. The old man took it and gave a gentle shake. ‘Yoshi wasn’t feeling well so I helped him bring the tea up, but I really must be going or Millie will be wondering where I am.’
His eyes came to rest on her locket. ‘Where did you get that?’ he asked, pointing at Alice-Miranda’s neck.
‘Isn’t it lovely? My father bought it for me at the local market. He bought a paper crane for Jacinta and a cherry blossom for Millie. But I think this is quite special. It’s actually a locket and there’s a photograph inside. The young woman is lovely but I don’t know who she is. Would you like to see her?’ Alice-Miranda pressed the locket gently between her fingers.
Kiko gave Ojiisan his tea and watched Alice-Miranda as she fiddled with the pendant.
‘There’s a bit of a trick to it, I’m afraid,’ the child said.
Kiko had to stop herself from reaching out and showing her how to release the catch.
‘Oh, here it is.’ The front sprang open and Alice-Miranda leaned forward to show the photograph to the old man.
Deep lines ran the width of the old man’s forehead and the skin around his eyes creased into hundreds of tiny folds. He stared at the picture.
‘Do you know her?’ Alice-Miranda asked, watching his reaction.
‘She is the Empress of Japan,’ the man replied. He brushed his hand against his cheek. ‘And before that she was my princess,’ he whispered.
‘My goodness, that’s amazing. I knew that the chrysanthemum was a symbol of the royal family but I hadn’t put the two together. I wonder who owned the necklace before me. They must have been very fond of her.’
‘Are you up there, boy?’ Obaasan yelled from the bottom of the stairs. ‘Have you been to the market yet? I need my noodles.’
Kiko held her breath. ‘We must go and you must leave. Now,’ she instructed Alice-Miranda.
‘Yoshi, where are you? I need help today. Not tomorrow. Tomorrow I might be dead, like those old people upstairs,’ the woman cackled.
Kiko flinched.
‘I can let myself out,’ Alice-Miranda whispered. ‘Really, I know it’s just down the stairs and along the hall.’
‘Go on, or you will be in trouble, boy.’ The old man emphasised the word boy and winked at Kiko. ‘Leave the tray. You can come back for it later.’
Kiko closed the door.
‘The Empress. Can you tell me about her?’ Alice-Miranda asked.
The man sat stony-faced for a moment. He sipped his tea and looked out the window, as if a clouded memory was coming into focus. ‘She was so beautiful and clever.’
‘Was?’ Alice-Miranda said with a frown.
‘Hai.’ He shook his head. ‘She is gone.’
‘Did you know her?’ Alice-Miranda asked.
A smile crept onto the man’s face. ‘I have not spoken of Kiyomi for so long.’
‘What a pretty name,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘I’d love to know more. You see, tonight we’re going to dinner at the Imperial Palace and of course I don’t want to say anything that might upset the Emperor.’
‘You are going to the palace?’ The old man’s voice wavered.
‘Yes. My father went to school with the Grand Chamberlain. I can’t wait. I hope we get to meet the young princess too.’
‘I don’t know anything about that. You must go.’ The old man’s voice became blunt. ‘I am tired.’
‘Of course. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you,’ Alice-Miranda said. She wondered what she had said wrong. Up until a moment ago he had seemed quite happy to talk.
Alice-Miranda pushed the door open. Before she left, she snuck one last glance at the old man. His face was wet with tears. Princess Kiyomi was more than just his sovereign. She was almost certain of that.
‘I was just about to call the police,’ Millie gasped as Alice-Miranda finally appeared at the door. ‘I thought you’d be coming out on a stretcher too.’
‘Sorry, Millie. I helped Yoshi take some tea upstairs to one of the residents.’
‘Residents?’ Millie asked. ‘Is it a hotel?’
Alice-Miranda shook her head. ‘No, it’s an old people’s home.’
‘Well, that explains something, I suppose,’ Millie said. ‘Come on, we’d better get going or your father will send a search party.’
Millie grabbed Alice-Miranda’s hand and the two girls ran across the alley to the inn, then continued to the first street on the left. They easily found the park, which was tucked just behind some buildings not far along at all. It wasn’t much more than a dusty block of ground with some ancient-looking play equipment. Hemmed in by a wire fence, there were bench seats dotted around the perimeter.
Hugh met them at the gate. ‘Where have you two been? I was just coming to search for you.’
‘Sorry, Daddy. We met a friend and he wasn’t feeling very well,’ Alice-Miranda explained.
His worried expression softened. ‘I should have known you’d have made a few friends by now.’
‘Hurry up,’ Lucas called from where he was sitting at the top of the huge stone slippery dip. ‘This thing is amazing.’
‘Coming,’ Millie called as she bolted towards the monolithic structure in the middle of the barren ground.
Alice-Miranda stayed behind. ‘Daddy, what do you know about the Empress?’
‘Not a lot, darling. Why?’
‘I just met someone who said that the beautiful woman inside my locket is the Empress Kiyomi and that she had died.’
‘Fancy that being the Empress in your locket! Sadly it’s true about her passing away. Do you remember the details, Lawrence?’ Hugh looked at his brother-in-law.
Lawrence frowned. ‘I have a vague recollection of an accident but I’m afraid Japanese royalty hasn’t been on my radar terribly much.’
Hugh nodded. ‘I think it would have been about five or six years ago now. The Emperor loved driving – he always insisted that he should drive himself whenever possible. There was a terrible crash and his wife was killed and his daughter horribly injured. Yes, that’s it. And the Emperor has been unwell ever since. I spoke to Kenzo briefly about the Emperor’s ill health but we didn’t talk about the accident.’
‘Oh, that’s so sad.’ Alice-Miranda wrapped her fingers around her locket.
‘I’m glad you reminded me. I must tell everyone not to mention the Empress at dinner. And it might be best if you don’t talk about the photograph in your locket either. I wouldn’t want to upset the Emperor or his sister if they do happen to join us.’
Alice-Miranda nodded. ‘I’m not sure what I’m wearing this evening but I can tuck it away inside.’
‘Good idea.’
‘What about the young princess, Daddy? How old is she now?’
‘I’m not sure. Probably about ten or eleven, I’d say.’
‘Will we get to meet her?’
‘That’s anyone’s guess,’ her father replied. ‘Why don’t you go and have some fun now?’
Alice-Miranda gave her father a hug then bolted off into the middle of the dusty yard.
Lucas, Jacinta, Millie and Alice-Miranda had a wonderful time racing down the slippery dip.
‘Do you want to go on that?’ Jacinta pointed at a round metal platform. ‘It’s like a merry-go-round I think.’
‘Why not? Lucas shouted. ‘We can pretend we’re in prep again.’
The children spun themselves silly and bounced up and down on two timber seesaws, which sat side by side.
‘That was great fun,’ Millie beamed. ‘I wish I was six again.’
‘You’re only ten now,’ Alice-Miranda gi
ggled. ‘And why shouldn’t we play on the equipment – last time I looked we were still kids.’
Yuki and Yamato finished their coffee standing outside the car. Yamato glanced inside at the screen but didn’t notice that the blip had moved beyond the inn.
‘We should have taken her last night,’ Yamato told his partner. ‘Now we will have to wait until dark again.’
‘That inn is locked up tight, you imbecile. Imagine if we’d been caught. Hatsuko would have had us for fish food,’ Yuki sighed. He was exhausted and his back had seized up from sleeping in the car.
‘She will have us for fish food yet if we don’t do it tonight. We must find a way to get to her.’
‘All right. You stay here and watch. I will go to the inn and have a look around – see if there is a back door I can unlock.’ Yuki walked to the end of the alley and disappeared around the corner.
Yamato’s stomach grumbled. He wished his partner had brought something to eat. Surely there was a vending machine close by. He walked to the end of the alley and turned right. He would be back before his partner realised he had gone.
Yuki entered the inn, swapped his shoes for slippers and walked into reception.
The pretty young woman behind the reception desk smiled. ‘Ohayou gozaimasu.’
‘Ohayou gozaimasu.’
The man looked anxious.
‘Do you have a reservation?’ Aki asked cautiously.
‘No,’ he replied, ‘but I would like to look at your facilities and some rooms. I’m thinking of staying here with my family, uh, next time I am in the city. But my wife insists that I inspect the rooms before she will come.’
Aki grinned. ‘Of course. This way.’ She walked out from behind the counter and indicated for the man to follow her.
‘This is the restaurant.’ She pointed at the room off to the left of the corridor. ‘And we have a very comfortable sitting room where our guests can relax.’
‘Very nice.’ His eyes darted about. There was no sign of Kiko. ‘This is all lovely, but I would like to see some of the rooms and perhaps the bathhouse.’
‘I’m afraid that all of our rooms are currently occupied.’
‘Surely you understand that I need to see one of the rooms before I will bring my family here,’ the man insisted. He looked around and frowned slightly. ‘Can you hear that telephone ringing?’
The young woman shook her head. ‘No, our telephone is very loud.’
Yuki was losing patience. He needed to have a proper look around – not just for evidence of Kiko, but for another entrance point.
‘I can assure you that our rooms are of a very high standard. I can show you some photographs if that would help.’
Yuki shook his head. ‘No, that is not good enough. My wife is very particular. She will not come if I cannot confirm that I have seen the rooms myself.’
Aki bit her lip. Perhaps there was one room. Alice-Miranda and her friends were surprisingly tidy for three young girls. Surely she could be in and out in just a few minutes.
‘How long were you planning to stay?’ Aki asked. If it was only one night it was hardly worth the risk to take him upstairs, but if he was planning to stay for a whole week, that was another thing altogether.
Yuki read her mind. ‘At least two weeks.’
‘Two weeks. That is a considerable visit,’ Aki sighed. ‘I will get some keys.’
Yuki smiled to himself. As soon as she was out of sight he scurried along the back hall and quickly found what he was looking for. There was a door. He turned the lock and pushed it open. It led to another alley, which he guessed was at the back of the building. That’s how he would get inside tonight. He pulled the door shut and left it unlocked.
He heard the girl’s voice. ‘Sumimasen. I have a key.’
Yuki darted back towards the stairs, where she was waiting.
‘I had to use the toilet,’ he said.
Aki frowned. The toilet was on the other side of the hall. She indicated for him to follow her upstairs.
Back in the car, Yamato had returned with a packet of chips and two bars of chocolate. He settled into the driver’s seat and opened the chips before glancing at the blip on the screen.
‘What’s this?’ He focused on the pulsating red dot. It was making small movements around an area a block away from the inn. He wondered if Yuki was following the girl. Surely he must have seen her. Yamato was certain she had been inside when his partner went to the inn.
Yamato took the telephone from his pocket and dialled Yuki’s number. He almost leapt through the roof when the phone started ringing in the car.
He looked down and saw it sitting on the floor under the driver’s seat.
‘Idiot!’
Yamato wondered if he should risk getting out of the car and taking a look himself. She was still in the same spot. Perhaps Yuki had her but he didn’t know what to do next. He looked at the map again and decided that Kiko must be in the little park around the corner from the inn. He would go and find her himself. Hopefully Yuki already had her in his sights.
‘Are you lot hungry?’ Hugh called to the children, who were racing about the park playing tag.
‘A little bit,’ Alice-Miranda called back.
‘Let’s go and get something to eat then.’
‘Okay,’ the children agreed, and ran to the bench where Hugh and Lawrence were sitting.
‘What do you feel like for lunch?’ Lawrence asked them. ‘Your father and I were thinking sushi.’
Alice-Miranda nodded. ‘Sounds good.’
Lawrence noticed Jacinta’s mouth drop. ‘Oh Jacinta, there is nothing better than fresh raw salmon. It melts in your mouth.’
‘It can melt in yours but it won’t be going anywhere near mine,’ she said, shuddering.
‘You know, I had some when I was in LA with Dad and it’s actually pretty good,’ said Lucas.
‘Really? You’re not just saying that so you can watch me making faces, are you?’ Jacinta asked.
‘No, of course not,’ Lucas said, smiling. ‘You know I wouldn’t do that to you.’
Jacinta grinned back. ‘Maybe I will try it. Just a little bit.’
Lucas winked and Jacinta’s cheeks turned pink.
Millie turned to Alice-Miranda and pretended to put her finger down her throat.
Hugh and Lawrence stood up and the group wandered out of the park.
‘I think there’s a sushi place towards the end of our road,’ Hugh said. ‘I spotted it when we were walking back from the railway station.’
Alice-Miranda and Millie walked in front of Jacinta and Lucas, with Hugh and Lawrence bringing up the rear. As they reached the corner near the inn, Alice-Miranda turned and called to her father. ‘Daddy, can I run up and get my cardigan?’
‘That’s fine, darling. We’ll wait outside for you.’
‘I’ll come too,’ Millie said. She needed to use the toilet.
The girls dashed through the front door, kicked off their shoes and stuffed their feet into their slippers.
‘Konnichiwa, Aki,’ they called as they ran past the woman at the reception desk. She had her head down and seemed focused on something.
‘Oh, you are back sooner than I thought,’ Aki said, finally looking up. She sped out from behind the desk, annoyed with herself for allowing the demanding man to stay upstairs when he insisted she find him a brochure about the inn.
The girls bounded up the stairs and were almost bowled over by a man in a black suit.
‘Sumimasen,’ Millie apologised. Alice-Miranda did too. The man said nothing, but his dark eyes seemed to drill right through them.
The girls stopped at the top of the landing.
‘Wasn’t he the man from the alley?’ Millie whispered. ‘He’s creepy.’
They could hear Aki speaking with him downstairs in the hall. They couldn’t understand any of the conversation but it didn’t sound as if he was pleased.
‘Are there any spare rooms up here?’ Millie asked, loo
king along the hallway. As far as she could tell, their party occupied everything on this level.
Alice-Miranda mentally ticked off each room. ‘I don’t think so.’
‘Then what’s he doing here?’ Millie said. ‘He must be a pap. We’ll have to tell Lawrence and your father and find out how he got in here in the first place.’
‘Aki doesn’t sound very happy,’ said Alice-Miranda. She pulled the key from her pocket, opened their door and rushed over to the cupboard. She grabbed her favourite pink cardigan while Millie ducked into the loo.
‘We should ask Aki about that man,’ Millie said as the two girls charged back downstairs. But the woman wasn’t at the desk.
‘Don’t worry, Millie. I’m sure there’s a perfectly logical explanation,’ Alice-Miranda replied, although she wasn’t so sure of that herself.
‘He might be outside,’ Millie said. ‘We could ask him what he was doing.’ The girls slipped their shoes back on and hurried out onto the street. But there was no sign of the man.
‘Daddy, did you see a man in a black suit come out of the inn?’ Alice-Miranda asked.
Her father shook his head. ‘Sorry, darling. Lawrence and I have been engrossed in the architecture of the house across the street – interesting, isn’t it? Why do you ask?’
‘We saw two men in the alley earlier. Then we bumped into one of them on the stairs just now, and he was acting a little strangely,’ Alice-Miranda said.
‘I saw him,’ Lucas said. ‘Another man rushed around from the alley and the guy you’re talking about came out of the inn right at the same time. They headed that way.’ He pointed in the direction of the park. ‘If they’re here to take photos they must have the world’s smallest cameras.’
‘Anyway, I’m sure they’re not paps,’ Lucas said. ‘They walked straight past Dad.’
Hugh frowned. ‘I’ll ask Aki if she knows anything when we get back.’
Alice-Miranda nodded. It certainly was a mystery.
‘So what did you find inside?’ Yamato hissed at Yuki as they jogged towards the park.
‘The girl in charge barely left me alone for a minute. But I located a rear door and it’s now unlocked.’
Alice-Miranda in Japan 9 Page 14