Читать книгу Murder at the Tokyo Lawn & Tennis Club - Robert J. Collins - Страница 17

CHAPTER 10

Kawamura and Suzuki-san stood looking down at the bath. Everything had been cleaned and there were no traces of the horror of the previous day. People came and went from the locker room, and the showers were frequently used, but no one had deemed it proper to use the bath.

"I can't help but think we're just roaming around aimlessly," said Suzuki-san.

"You're probably right. Did you find out anything new?"

"Not really," replied Suzuki-san. "But I confirmed that Manabe had a... very strong taste for female company. Not just for the waitresses. Also for some of the wives of the members."

"Hmm," observed Kawamura. "Any names?"

"Not yet. The staff, of course, notices all of that. But they are... slow to say anything."

"I can imagine that. Morimoto doesn't like the idea of the staff talking to outsiders."

Kawamura and Suzuki walked to the entrance of the men's locker room. Women reaching the top of the circular stairway would turn right to the women's locker room, men would turn left. It was possible to imagine a woman entering the men's locker room and quickly ducking to the left into the toilet area, but it would depend on whether or not anyone from the rows of lockers happened to be looking in that direction. Getting from the toilet area into the bath, however, would involve a dash through open space. Unless the locker room was deserted, that would be impossible.

"Are we certain that there was lipstick on that cigarette butt?" asked Kawamura.

"Certain," replied Suzuki-san. "Estée Lauder Burnt Orange Flame, in fact. And the cigarette was a Mild Seven—the most popular brand in Japan."

"Wonderful," said Kawamura after a moment.

Kawamura and Suzuki-san stood at the top of the stairs. An enormous, stuffed elk head was inexplicably mounted on the wall near the locker room entrances.

"It would be nice if that creature could talk," said Suzuki-san, looking at the elk head.

"It would probably only complicate things," said Kawamura. "Anyway, tomorrow we should pay a visit to Mr. Theodore Bitman and find out why Manabe sued him. And we should pay a call on your friend in the fruit-salad shirt, Kimura-san. If he used to work for Manabe, their fight on the courts might have had something to do with that."

"What about Sakai?"

"I guess we should talk to him again, too," said Kawamura. "It seems that Morimoto thinks he's a likely suspect. A fight over the damn game, or something like that."

Kawamura and Suzuki-san began to walk slowly down the circular staircase. Halfway down, they met the foreigner with the heavy French accent who was climbing the steps in his street clothes.

"Ah, mon capitaine," said the Frenchman, "the situation has some new difficulties, no?"

"The situation is the same for Manabe-san. The situation for the rest of us is that we know now he was murdered."

"We have the saying in my country, mon capitaine. It is cherchez lafemme."

"Thank you," said Kawamura.

The Frenchman continued up the stairs.

"What did he say?" asked Suzuki-san.

"I have no idea," answered Kawamura. "Well look it up when we get back to the station."