Free Missing in Tokyo by Graham Marks Page A

she even exist?’
    â€˜Oh, yes!’
    â€˜Mother’s intuition?’
    â€˜No, smelt the perfume, seen the lipstick – I’m not saying where – and I think her name’s Suzy.’
    â€˜How d’you know that?’
    â€˜Saw a piece of paper on his desk, covered with her name. You know, the way you do when you first fall for someone? Remember?’
    â€˜Were you spying?’
    â€˜Nothing so underhand, just getting his dirty laundry …’

    Adam looked at his watch, which was still on UK time. It was twenty to midnight, which meant … He’d forgotten what the time difference was, disoriented from a combination of snacking, watching too many movies and not sleeping enough. He looked up and down the aisle, spotted the hostess – Takako, if he’d remembered it right – who’d been looking after his section and got up to go and speak to her. She’d know what the time was in Tokyo.
    He stretched, his cramped muscles complaining about being stuck in virtually the same position for hours on end, observing the hushed compartment full of people sleeping, reading, eating, engrossed in movies, some even talking to each other. All at 30,000 feet. He walked down the aisle to the station at the rear of the plane where the food and drink was stored and found Takako finishing a glass of water.
    â€˜Hi, I um, could you …’ He showed her his watch. ‘I haven’t changed this yet … what’s the time in Tokyo?’
    Takako smiled. ‘It’s twenty to eight, in morning. We’ll be landing around hour and half.’
    He took his watch off and fiddled with the buttons to change the time in the watch’s second zone; it was now Wednesday, had been for hours. ‘What’s it like?’
    â€˜Tokyo?’
    â€˜Yeah … is that where you come from?’
    Takako nodded. ‘But I live in London now, since I start flying … Your first time in Japan? On holiday?’
    Adam’s turn to nod. ‘Sort of … my sister’s out there.’ Adam didn’t think this was the time to go into details about exactly what he was going to be doing in Japan. ‘What’s the best way to get in from the airport? Doesn’t look too far on the map, is there an underground, like at Heathrow?’
    One of the male cabin crew came into the station.
    â€˜What would you say, Giichi, the best way to get into Tokyo, train or coach?’
    Giichi thought for a moment, then shrugged. ‘I think coach? Little bit more expensive, but leave more often maybe.’
    â€˜Where are you staying?’ Takako smiled, head slightly to one side.
    â€˜Can’t remember, got the address back at my seat … somewhere fairly central I think, near a station.’ Suzy had said the capsule hotels were all near mainline stations.
    â€˜Probably best get train, then.’ Giichi nodded pensively. ‘You can get subway to anywhere from Asakusa, easy – plenty of English on the signs!’
    â€˜How long are you staying?’
    â€˜About ten days.’
    â€˜Good time of year, not too hot.’ Takako nodded. ‘We must get breakfast ready now, sorry.’
    â€˜Oh, right, breakfast.’ Adam looked at his watch, ‘Tokyo time … I’ll let you get on. Thanks for the advice.’
    It was breakfast Japanese-style, with a hot, slightly fishy soup that actually turned out to be made of soy beans, and rice wrapped in dried seaweed. Not a muffin or a croissant in sight. Adam wasn’t really hungry, but he tried the rice, just to get in the mood, and didn’t particularly like it. After the debris had been cleared away Takako came by and gave him a folded piece of paper.
    â€˜What’s this?’
    â€˜Instructions, just in case.’
    â€˜Just in case what?’
    â€˜You get lost.’ Takako reached over and unfolded the paper and Adam saw she’d written a couple or more English