764
“Correct. So you had best not go near there for a while. Tengo Kawana’s name and
address have to be on their checklist. I doubt they
know yet about the personal
connection between you and Tengo. But when they search for the reason Bobblehead
was in that apartment, Tengo’s name will surface. It’s only a matter of time.”
“If we’re lucky, it might be some time before they discover it. They might not
make the connection between Bobblehead’s death and Tengo right away.”
“If we’re lucky,” Tamaru said. “If they’re not as meticulous as I think they are. But
I never count on luck. That’s how I’ve survived all these years.”
“So I shouldn’t go near that apartment building.”
“Correct,” Tamaru said. “We made a narrow escape, and we can’t be too careful.”
“I wonder if Bobblehead figured out that I’m hiding in this apartment.”
“If he had, right now you would be somewhere I couldn’t get to.”
“But he came so close.”
“He did.
But that was just coincidence, nothing more.”
“That’s why he could sit there on the slide, totally exposed.”
“Right,” Tamaru said. “He had no idea that you were watching him. He never
expected it. And that was his fatal mistake. I said that, didn’t I? That there is a very
fine line between life and death?”
A few seconds of silence descended on them. A heavy silence that a person’s—any
person’s—death brings on.
“Bobblehead might be gone, but the cult is still after me.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Tamaru said. “At first
they wanted to grab you and
find out what organization planned Leader’s murder. They know you couldn’t have
done it on your own. It was obvious that you must have had backup. If they had
caught you, you would have been in for some tough questioning.”
“Which is why I needed a pistol,” Aomame said.
“Bobblehead was well aware of all this,” Tamaru went on. “He
knew the cult was
after you to grill you and punish you. But somehow the situation has drastically
shifted. After Bobblehead left the stage, I spoke with one of the cult members. He
said they have no plans to do you any harm. He asked me to give you this message. It
could be a trap, but it sounded genuine to me. The guy explained that Leader was
actually hoping to die, that it was a kind of self-destruction. So there’s no need
anymore to punish you.”
“He’s right,” Aomame said in a dry tone. “Leader knew from the
outset that I had
gone there to kill him. And he wanted me to kill him.”
“His security detail hadn’t seen through you, but Leader had.”
“That’s right. I don’t know why, but he knew everything beforehand,” Aomame
said. “He was
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