After the quake blind willow, sleeping woman dance dance dance

persuaded
, but I 
had to get in touch with Sakigake to get them to take care of one last piece of 
business. There was one particular article I didn’t want to fall into the hands of the 
authorities. If that had been discovered, the residents of the apartment would have 
been gone over with a fine-tooth comb, and your friend might have gotten mixed up 
in it too. It would have been difficult for me to wrap up everything by myself. If the 
authorities spotted me lugging that article out in the middle of the night and 
questioned me, I don’t know how I would talk my way out of it. Sakigake has the 
manpower and the resources, and that’s the sort of thing they’re used to. Like the time 
they transported another article out of the Hotel Okura. Do you follow what I’m 
saying?” 
In her mind Aomame translated Tamaru’s terminology into more straightforward 
vocabulary. “So this 
persuasion
got rather rough, I take it.” 
Tamaru gave a low groan. “I feel bad about it, but that man knew too much.” 
“Was Sakigake aware of what Bobblehead was doing in that apartment?” 
“He was working for them, but on that front he was acting on his own. He hadn’t 
yet reported to his superiors on what he was doing. Fortunately for us.” 
“But by now they must know that he was 
up to something
.” 

---

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