Alice-Miranda in Japan 9

by Jacqueline Harvey

  ‘Where does it lead?’ Yamato asked.

  ‘There is another lane behind the inn. It must come from the alley. We will find it if we have to.’

  ‘And the girl?’

  ‘There was a blue backpack in one of the rooms but I didn’t have much time – perhaps it was hers but there are other children too. They must be hiding her,’ Yamato said. ‘But why would they take her in? She has no money.’

  ‘The necklace! Do you think she could have sold it?’ Yuki asked his partner as they jogged around the corner towards the playground.

  Yamato shook his head. ‘No! Don’t be ridiculous. It has a photograph of her mother inside.’

  The screams and laughter of children echoed along the street.

  Yuki scanned the small patch. ‘Is she in there?’

  ‘I can’t tell. You take one side and I’ll take the other. Try not to arouse suspicion.’ Yamato stalked off, taking note of each child. Too small, too fat, too old, too young. As far as he could tell, she wasn’t there. And now that he thought about it, he didn’t know what they would do if she was. They couldn’t snatch her in broad daylight.

  Yamato looked up. What on earth was Yuki doing? He’d told the idiot not to arouse suspicion and now he was standing at the bottom of the slippery dip catching the children as they sped through the air at the bottom.

  ‘Whoopee!’ he yelled as he snatched hold of a toddler who was about to land on the ground.

  The little boy laughed and hiccupped at the same time.

  ‘You poor little fellow.’ Yuki set the boy down on his feet.

  He didn’t see his partner approach. He leapt into the air when Yamato hissed into his ear. The little boy began to cry in big scared sobs. ‘Mama, mama,’ the child wailed.

  A woman hurried over. Yuki glared at his partner and then turned to the woman. ‘I’m sorry about my friend. He didn’t mean to frighten your little boy, but at least the boy no longer has the hiccups.’

  ‘Stupid!’ the woman hissed. She took her little boy’s hand and hurried to the other side of the park.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Yamato’s fingers dug into Yuki’s bicep as he guided the man away.

  ‘You didn’t need to do that,’ Yuki whispered. ‘I was just helping the children.’

  ‘You are supposed to be looking for Kiko,’ Yamato said. ‘She’s not here. Let’s hope she’s gone back to the inn.’

  The two men walked past the inn to their car. They hopped inside and stared at the screen. The blip had moved but not far: it was now down the other end of the street.

  ‘How did she get past us?’ Yamato asked furiously.

  Yuki shrugged. He was tired of this game of cat and mouse and just wanted to go home and sleep.

  The telephone rang.

  Yuki looked at the number and rolled his eyes.

  ‘Aren’t you going to answer it?’ Yamato asked.

  ‘And get screamed at again?’

  Yamato reached over and snatched the handset. ‘Konnichiwa . . . Yes, we are close.’ There was a long pause while Hatsuko’s voice hissed through the speaker like a serpent.

  ‘Guests? What guests?’ Yamato said.

  Yuki’s brow creased. Visitors to the palace were few and far between, and even then he and Yamato would know about it months ahead of time.

  ‘Would you like us to come back?’ Yamato asked.

  The screeching from the other end grew louder.

  Yamato winced. ‘Hai. Hai.’ He slammed the phone onto the dashboard.

  ‘Well?’ Yuki asked.

  ‘We must find her or you and I will be posted to the garbage service.’

  Jacinta not only tried sashimi at lunch but enjoyed it. Once she got past the idea that the fish was raw, she decided it tasted a lot like smoked salmon without the smoking part.

  ‘I can’t wait until tonight,’ Alice-Miranda said as they left the restaurant. She shivered with excitement. ‘I hope we do get to meet the Emperor. I wonder if Aunty Gee knows him.’

  ‘I suspect she does,’ Hugh replied. ‘There wouldn’t be too many royals in the world who Aunty Gee hasn’t met.’

  Outside, the clear blue sky had been replaced by heaving thunderclouds.

  ‘Looks like we might get wet,’ said Lawrence, as a large drop spattered on the footpath in front of him.

  ‘Pity we didn’t bring any umbrellas,’ Hugh said.

  ‘Never mind, we can make a run for it,’ Lawrence replied. ‘It’s not far.’

  The group began their dash down the street.

  ‘It’s getting heavier,’ Alice-Miranda called.

  A lightning bolt slashed the sky and thunder pealed like an ancient bell.

  ‘Oooh, I hate storms,’ Jacinta wailed. Lucas slipped his hand into hers and the two of them ran along together.

  ‘I love them,’ Millie yelled and twirled around with her head facing up to the sky.

  The rain belted down and soon the children, Hugh and Lawrence were soaked to the skin.

  After drying off, the children spent the rest of the afternoon playing board games and chatting in the sitting room downstairs. Aki taught them how to fold origami cranes too, and left the group with a lovely pile of pretty paper squares and instruction sheets for different animals. Millie made a bat, a butterfly and something that should have resembled a cat but looked more like a frog. The storm put paid to Hugh’s plans to visit the National Gardens. It lasted for hours and the inn took on an eerie quality in the dim light. Lucas entertained the girls with spooky stories about the old chapel over at Fayle School. The girls giggled at his impersonations of the teachers, especially Mr Lipp and Professor Winterbottom.

  Jacinta looked at him dreamily. ‘You know, you should be an actor like your father.’

  Lucas shrugged. ‘I guess it would be kind of fun. But I’d hate to have people staring at me all the time.’

  ‘What, like Jacinta does?’ Millie asked.

  ‘I do not,’ Jacinta snapped.

  ‘Uh, yeah, you do,’ Lucas said, grinning.

  ‘Well, I won’t any more,’ Jacinta fumed.

  ‘No, it’s okay. I don’t mind,’ said Lucas.

  Millie rolled her eyes.

  The group was interrupted by Cecelia, who had arrived back a little while earlier and been upstairs arranging outfits for the evening’s visit to the palace.

  ‘Hello darlings, time to get ready.’

  Alice-Miranda began to pack up the game. ‘What do we have to wear?’

  ‘There’s a surprise or three in your room,’ Cecelia replied.

  ‘What about Lucas?’ Jacinta asked.

  ‘I’m afraid it’s just a boring old dinner suit for you,’ she told her nephew.

  Alice-Miranda put the boxes back on the shelf while the others tidied up the cushions and origami paper before they went upstairs.

  ‘Let’s see what we have here,’ said Cecelia as she slid open the door to the girls’ room. Hanging on the wardrobe doors were three beautiful kimonos.

  ‘Oh my goodness, are they for us?’ Jacinta asked. She immediately recognised the lilac one as the same gorgeous garment she’d tried on the day before.

  ‘Yes, the kimono makers insisted on sending them for you all as a gift,’ Cecelia nodded.

  ‘They’re amazing,’ Millie gasped.

  Ambrosia walked into the room. ‘Do you really like them?’

  ‘They’re beautiful,’ said Alice-Miranda. She rushed over and studied the intricate floral patterns.

  ‘How about we get you into them and then we can have a play around with your hair?’ Cecelia suggested.

  ‘What are you wearing, Mummy?’ Alice-Miranda asked. ‘Do you have a kimono too?’

  ‘No, darling. We wouldn’t want to overdo it.’

  Ambrosia passed her daughter the lilac kimono and then handed Alice-Miranda the pink one. Millie’s was the most stunning shade of pale green.

  Jacinta stroked the silk. ‘I love it.’

  ‘Anyone home?’ Charlotte ask
ed as she slid open the screen and walked into the room. ‘How are my little geisha girls getting on?’

  Alice-Miranda spun around. ‘You look gorgeous.’

  Charlotte was wearing a stunning magenta-coloured empire-line gown, with long sleeves and a scoop neck.

  ‘I feel like a whale,’ Charlotte said as she patted her baby bump.

  ‘Well, you don’t look like one,’ Alice-Miranda said.

  ‘Thank you, sweetheart. I’m just so tired all the time. I can’t imagine being even more tired when these guys arrive.’

  The girls slipped into their kimonos and Charlotte lined them up to do their hair, while Cecelia and Ambrosia ducked off to get dressed.

  Half an hour later, Cecelia reappeared carrying three pairs of geta sandals, and little silk purses and hair ribbons to go with the girls’ kimonos.

  ‘I love your dress too, Cecelia,’ said Millie as she cast her eye over the woman’s striking blue gown.

  Ambrosia was wearing an equally gorgeous emerald satin evening dress.

  ‘Daddy said that this was an informal evening,’ Alice-Miranda said thoughtfully. ‘And we’re all dressed as if we’re off to a ball.’

  ‘Your father telephoned Kenzo and asked what he meant by informal. Kenzo said he’d just be wearing his dinner suit, so we took that to mean informal was a step down from top hats and tails.’

  ‘I’m glad Daddy called,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘It would have been embarrassing to arrive underdressed.’

  ‘Or undressed,’ Millie giggled.

  ‘I couldn’t agree more, Millie,’ Cecelia said. The woman’s diamond earrings caught the light and sparkled as brightly as her smile. She glanced at her watch. ‘Oh heavens, it’s almost six. We’d better get downstairs.’

  Lawrence stepped out of his room, followed by Lucas and Hugh. ‘Who are these gorgeous babes?’ he asked with a grin. ‘I hope they’re coming out with us.’

  ‘Oh, Uncle Lawrence,’ Alice-Miranda giggled. ‘Please behave yourself.’

  Yuki looked up from the newspaper he was reading and stared at the blip on the screen. ‘She’s on the move.’

  Yamato turned the key in the ignition. ‘I’m sick of trying to do this on foot. Let’s follow her in the car. Besides –’ he put the window down and looked skywards – ‘it’s almost dark and it might rain again.’

  He only managed to drive a few metres forward; the road was blocked by an enormous black limousine parked outside the inn.

  Yuki cursed and threw his newspaper on the back seat. ‘Not again. We can’t lose her this time.’

  The limousine moved off and the blip did too.

  ‘Can you see her?’ Yamato looked left and Yuki scanned the right-hand side of the road.

  ‘No, but she’s picking up speed,’ said Yuki. He stared at the blip. ‘She should be right in front of us.’

  ‘But clearly she is not,’ Yamato huffed. ‘Stupid system – it doesn’t work properly at all.’

  The limousine turned right at the end of the road.

  Yamato stopped at the traffic lights and watched as the blip sped away from them. The two men looked at the screen and then at each other.

  ‘Is it possible?’ Yamato hissed.

  ‘She’s in that limousine?’ Yuki growled. ‘But how? Who’s helping her? And where is she going?’

  Yamato looked up and planted his foot on the accelerator. The car surged through the intersection, narrowly missing a truck. He slapped his hand on the steering wheel as the traffic ground to a halt in front of them.

  He looked at the footpath. It was crowded with people.

  ‘Nooooo . . . You’re a maniac!’ Yuki protested and squeezed his eyes shut.

  Yamato leaned on the horn and people scattered left and right.

  ‘Tell me where the limousine is going,’ said Yamato. He was straining to see, but it had melted into the traffic.

  Yuki opened his eyes and looked at the blip. It was heading towards Shinjuku.

  ‘There it is.’ Yamato pointed at the limousine as it pulled up outside the Royal Plaza Hotel. Yamato stopped on the side of the road and watched.

  An old woman with a helmet of brown curls and wearing a sparkling blue evening gown walked out of the hotel foyer. The limousine driver got out and opened the back door. The woman hopped inside and moments later the car took off again.

  ‘What is going on?’ Yamato moaned. He followed the car through the traffic.

  Yuki shrugged. ‘We’re heading towards the palace. I do not understand.’

  Things became even more confusing when the limousine pulled up at the palace gates and was ushered through.

  ‘You must call her,’ Yamato said.

  ‘You call her,’ Yuki argued. ‘I don’t want to.’

  ‘Give me that.’ Yamato snatched the phone from his partner and dialled the number. His hands were trembling and his throat was dry. ‘I am afraid that I have bad news, Your Majesty.’

  ‘What a lovely night for a party,’ said Alice-Miranda as she stared out the window at the city streets.

  ‘It is,’ Millie agreed. She ran her tongue over her teeth. ‘Oh no, I forgot to brush before we left. Does anyone have a mint?’

  ‘I do, dear.’ Dolly flicked open her handbag and foraged about. She dropped a small white pill into Millie’s hand.

  ‘May I have one too?’ Jacinta asked.

  ‘Of course.’ Dolly handed her another.

  ‘I wonder what sort of food we’ll have tonight,’ Alice-Miranda said.

  ‘Not too weird, I hope,’ Jacinta muttered. She swallowed her mint and wondered about its strange taste.

  ‘Oh, Daddy, the palace is gorgeous,’ Alice-Miranda gasped.

  The limousine drove through a well-lit garden of ornamental trees and on towards the main building. Its white-washed walls and upturned roofline shone in the darkness.

  The car continued around the long driveway and pulled up in a courtyard behind the palace. The group was greeted by Kenzo and a small army of staff, who were lined up outside a set of timber gates.

  ‘Hugh-san.’ Kenzo bowed, then shook his friend’s hand. ‘Thank you so much for coming – and at such short notice.’

  ‘No, thank you. This lot have been buzzing all day,’ Hugh grinned. ‘I hope it wasn’t too much trouble to organise.’

  ‘On the contrary. It is the most exciting thing that has happened here in a very long time.’

  Hugh introduced Kenzo to his family and friends. Being the diplomat that he was, Kenzo remembered everyone’s names from the day before and had managed to do some research on Cecelia, Charlotte and Ambrosia Headlington-Bear.

  ‘You look magnificent, girls,’ he complimented Alice-Miranda, Millie and Jacinta. ‘And your mothers and aunt are rare jewels too. And of course, Mrs Oliver, you look smashing. Please, come this way.’ He led the party past the staff and through the gates into a long hallway.

  Alice-Miranda noticed some of the young women giggling behind their hands as Lawrence walked past.

  ‘What about our shoes?’ Millie said quietly.

  ‘It is all right, Miss Millie. You may wear your shoes here – it is considered a public space. You will see that I have plenty of slippers in my apartment.’

  ‘An apartment? That doesn’t sound very exciting,’ Jacinta whispered behind her hand to Millie. ‘I thought we were at a palace.’

  About halfway down the hallway, Kenzo turned left into a timber-lined foyer. Two enormous faux dogs guarded the entrance and, sure enough, there were four rows of slippers precisely lined up in an ornate shoe rack.

  Kenzo stretched out his arm. ‘Please help yourselves.’

  The slippers weren’t like anything the girls had ever seen before. Beautifully embroidered with gold chrysanthemums across the front, there were pairs to fit every foot size imaginable.

  ‘This way.’ The doors opened and Kenzo led the group inside an enormous entrance hall.

  Elegant in its simplicity, the room was bounded by shoji screens. In
the centre was a perfect miniature tree atop a carved stand.

  ‘Is that a bonsai?’ Alice-Miranda asked the man.

  ‘Hai, it is my hobby,’ he replied. ‘Do you like it?’

  ‘I love it,’ she said as she studied the delicate cherry blossom.

  Kenzo bowed and said, ‘Arigatou.’ He walked towards another set of double doors and pushed them open. ‘Please join me for drinks before our meal.’

  ‘Whoa!’ Jacinta gasped.

  The room was the size of a tennis court. There were at least four different lounge areas as well as a grand piano and various other antiquities adorning the space.

  ‘Some apartment,’ Millie whispered to the girl.

  ‘I’ll say.’

  Kenzo clapped his hands and within seconds the room was crowded with staff, offering all manner of drinks and canapés.

  A rotund waiter no taller than Lucas walked over to the children. He was holding a tray with a variety of options.

  Alice-Miranda smiled at the man. ‘Konbanwa. Watashi wa Alice-Miranda desu.’

  ‘You have very good Japanese, miss,’ the man complimented her. ‘What would you like to drink? I have pink lemonade, mineral water, iced green tea and guava juice.’

  Jacinta and Millie both pulled faces at the iced green tea.

  ‘I’d love a lemonade, please.’ Alice-Miranda took a tall glass from the tray.

  ‘I’ll have the same,’ Jacinta said.

  ‘I think I’ll try the guava juice,’ said Lucas.

  ‘Do you have coffee in a can?’ Millie asked.

  The man frowned at her.

  ‘You know, like the ones you can get in vending machines?’

  ‘Millie, I don’t think they’ll have that here,’ said Alice-Miranda quietly.

  ‘Oh no, miss. I do have that. I will be back in a moment.’ The man scurried off through a doorway at the other end of the room.

  ‘Are you even allowed to drink coffee?’ Jacinta asked.

  ‘Every now and then Mum gives me a sip of hers,’ Millie said.

  ‘But this is a whole can,’ said Alice-Miranda. ‘You’d better just have a little bit or you might be awake all night.’

  The adults had followed Kenzo to one of the lounge areas, where they were enjoying French champagne or, in Charlotte’s case, sparkling mineral water.