Chapter 43Hiroshi came running down the stairs to the front of the factory where Sakaguchi was already getting in the car with Ueno at the wheel.
“Where’s Osaki?” Hiroshi asked.
“We’ll pick him up on the way,” Sakaguchi said.
“Are you sure she was here?” Hiroshi asked.
“Smelled her perfume. She slipped out the back.”
“Perfume?”
“Lotus.”
Hiroshi turned to him. “I smelled that upstairs in her room, too, but outside means she was there. The shower floor was still wet.”
They got in the car and Ueno pulled off, asking, “Where to?”
“She has a cousin, or older sister, or someone, who runs a fruit and vegetable stand near the station,” Hiroshi said.
Around the next corner, they stopped for Osaki, whose weight tipped the entire car when he got in, but righted itself as they drove off.
Hi
