‘With chips?’
‘What else is there?’
With that off his mind, Diamond concentrated on the job. Interviewing a bereaved parent wasn’t easy, but at least he didn’t have to break the news. The embassy had already done that.
The sushi bar was near enough to Clapham Junction to have a thriving trade from commuters. Every seat was taken at the rotating counter and waitresses in red suits with black bow ties were steadily adding new offerings. Diamond’s troubling prospect of questioning Mr. Hitomi over a plate of rice-coated suspicious objects was quickly dispelled.
‘We get the hell outta here,’ the slight, silver-haired father of the victim suggested after they had introduced themselves and dipped their heads in response to his courteous bow. ‘Better joint across street.’
The better joint was a dimly lit coffee shop without many customers. They carried their mugs upstairs and found a table that was reasonably private. ‘Touch base here, no problem,’ Mr. Hitomi said. His English sounded as if it was learned mainly from American movies, but the tough talk came in a subdued, husky tone that seemed to show he was still suffering from shock. He was wearing a black tie with a grey pinstripe suit.
‘Is your wife here in Clapham?’ Diamond asked, wanting to begin as painlessly as possible.
‘Yokohama,’ Hitomi said. ‘Divorce, 2001.’
More of a conversation stopper. It required some sort of respectful response, but ‘Ah, so,’ wouldn’t do. Dive in at the deep end, then. ‘And your daughter …?’
‘Mari.’
‘Was she living at home?’
‘Yokohama, also.’
‘So Mari was visiting you?’
‘Two days only. Then to west country, to hang out with Japanese school buddies. Exeter University.’
‘Exeter? But she was found in Bath.’
He nodded. ‘Last week I call Exeter, speak to Japanese friends. Mari no show. No call, no text, no letter.’
‘Did she say anything to you about visiting Bath?’
‘She say zilch.’
‘She wanted to be independent?’
‘You bet. Independent.’
‘We believe she died four to six weeks ago – a long time for you not to have heard from her. Was she in touch with you at all after leaving here?’
Hitomi raised the palm of his right hand in a sort of salute. ‘You said it, chum, independent.’
Diamond wished he hadn’t said it. Putting words into the mouths of witnesses wasn’t good interviewing technique. ‘Weren’t you worried?’
‘Eyeballs out running restaurant. Mari knew the score.’
‘She could have texted. You both have phones, I’m sure.’
He gave a sad smile. ‘Much to see, many joints to visit. Texting old man no big deal.’
‘Joints to visit? Did she say which?’
Hitomi lifted his palm again, on the point of using that word a third time.
Diamond spoke first. ‘She was a music lover, I understand?’
‘Check.’
‘I mean serious music.’
‘From her mother, graduate of famous Kunitachi Music College, Tokyo. Shit-hot violin player.’
‘Mari played the violin?’
‘Don’t get me wrong, man. Mizuki, her mother. But Mari crazy for this music. Boy bands, bluegrass, hip-hop, no chance. Beethoven, Mozart, put it there.’
‘I expect you heard there was classical music on the iPod that was found? String quartets.’
‘Quartets, sure. Beethoven, Schubert, Haydn since she was a kid this high. Mizuki and me say you dig it, you go for it, babe. Western classical music ginormous in Japan. You seen her phone?’
‘We didn’t find her mobile, unfortunately.’
‘Too bad you miss picture on front.’
Gilbert said to Diamond, ‘He means the screen saver.’
‘String quartet.’
‘She had a quartet as her screen saver? What kind of phone did she have? Do you know which make?’
Hitomi shook his head.
‘What was she carrying when she left you? Her clothes – were they in some kind of case or bag?’
‘Backpack. Black canvas. Many badges.’
‘She had badges attached to it? Places she’d visited?’
He nodded. ‘And key-rings.’ He made a space between his forefinger and thumb. ‘Small violin, clarinet.’
‘I understand. In pewter, probably. These were hanging from the backpack, right?’
‘You got it.’
‘We haven’t found the bag. Did she leave anything at your home before going on her travels?’
‘Some clothes for laundry. Your guys already took these off.’
‘For the DNA testing. Do you have any idea why she would have gone to Bath instead of Exeter?’