The Salaryman's Wife(69)

“Did you go upstairs?” I shouldn’t be surprised that Mariko and Richard had opened the door to him. Too bad I’d left the apartment so messy.

“No. I shouted upward, and they called back that you were out. They invited me up, but I can’t climb stairs. So I decided to wait in the comfort of my car.”

Hugh decelerated off the expressway for Roppongi Crossing, the center of young foreign and Japanese night life. It took three changes of the stop-light to make it through the intersection jammed with luxury motorcycles and taxis, but at least I could watch the mob scene: the drama of leather-clad lovers reuniting, young girls stomping off to discotheques, and hawkers in tuxedos and miniskirts, not always according to sex. Hugh turned left at the Roi Building, traveling down a short, steep hill. He stopped in a no-parking zone bordering a cemetery.

“Could you give me a hand getting out?” He asked, extracting crutches from the back seat. “My favorite little place is just over there.” He pointed to a basement-level pub flying the union   Jack.

As we hobbled toward it, a Japanese doorman dressed like a rugby player sprang into action.

“Hugh-san, Hugh-san! You are returned at last, but you have some injury—”

“Nothing permanent, Kozo,” Hugh said as the strong young man took over for me.

“Abunai, Hugh-san. Please be safety…” Kozo scrambled to find chairs for a tiny table in the corner of the dark, smoky room filled with red-faced, primarily middle-aged foreigners.

“Hugh-san will be comfortable, I think,” the waiter said, propping Hugh’s leg up on another chair.

“Thanks, Kozo,” Hugh said, and by the time I had shrugged out of my coat we were surrounded by voices from all corners of the old British empire.

“It’s Shug, back at last!”

“Did they break your leg to exert a confession?”

“It figures you’d land a female police escort!”

“About the only decent thing I accomplished in the Japanese Alps was finding another English speaker to join our ranks,” Hugh grumbled when they were through. “Though I’m stunned to find you here so early on a Saturday night. Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“We had a feeling something interesting might turn up. Got a tip from a good source,” an Australian answered with a smirk.

“Piers.” Hugh’s attention had flashed to a very pale man in business clothes who had come up. “An excellent piece of negotiation. I’m indebted.”

“Stay in town and out of trouble, Hugh. That’s all I ask.” Piers Clancy’s eyes landed on me for a half-second before averting them as if he’d seen something distasteful. “Do you plan to retain Ota?”

When Hugh nodded, Piers said, “You should consider Ichikawa, the one who got Raymond off for sexual battery. He’s formidable.”

“I’m not as badly off as Raymond. After all, I didn’t do it,” Hugh snapped.

There was a chorus of things like “Get off, we know you’re clean!” and “Your mates are with you, Shug!” that trailed off when Piers gathered up his Burberry and stalked out into the night.

“He must have work to do,” I said, trying to put a good face on things.

“It’s been fun, Hugh, but I must be off.” A lanky Englishman clapped Hugh on the shoulder. Another friend suddenly remembered he had to be at the flat to take a call from the London office and the Australians were off to meet some models at Motown.

“Don’t reckon you’re much for dancing with that leg,” one of them said as he swung out the door.

“Ta.” Hugh looked at his watch. “So, it took just five minutes to be reclassified as a virtual pariah.”

“What’s this Shug stuff?” I asked.

“Just a nickname for Hugh. It’s a Scottish thing you wouldn’t understand.”

“That’s right, I’m so terrible with languages. Why did you bring me here? It’s like meeting in Tokyo Station.”

“I didn’t want to be alone with you,” Hugh said, looking past me and out the window at traffic. “The last time, we had those complications. I apologize for losing control.”

Kozo reappeared, taking Hugh’s order for Tennent’s Lager. I stuck with Perrier, given my empty stomach.

“What was I saying?” Hugh asked after Kozo had gone.

“Just that you aren’t interested in me anymore.” I stared him down, willing him to deny it.

“You wouldn’t want me if you knew the truth. I guarantee it.”

“The truth? You mean what you were going to tell me in Shiroyama?” When he nodded, I said, “Try me.”