Free Sayonara Slam by Naomi Hirahara Page B

Lloyd.
    Mas felt the last bit of fat leave his body as he bit intothe fancy organic lettuce. Just what did his daughter want—for them to be a family of skeletons?
    The doorbell rang, saving him from taking another forkful of salad. “I’ll get it, Dad,” Mari said, pushing him back down in his seat.
    Mas heard a familiar bright voice at the door and then, there she was. Genessee, with a casserole dish full of carbohydrates and cheese.
    â€œAuntie Genessee!” Takeo called out. Even Lloyd was smiling. She was a favorite of the house, no doubt about that.
    Yuki, on the other hand, looked utterly confused. He was probably taking in Genessee’s Afro and dark skin. “Aunt-tee?”
    â€œI’m Genessee Howard,” she extended her hand. “ Hajimemashite . I’m Mas’s, ah—”
    â€œThat’s my father’s girlfriend. You know, lady friend?” Mari interjected.
    Mas wished that he could sink into the floor, right then and there.
    â€œYou didn’t say anything about having a girlfriend,” Yuki said in Japanese to Mas. “What about my grandmother?”
    â€œWho is his grandmother?” Mari understood at least that much Japanese.
    â€œAkemi Kimura. We lived with Arai- san here.”
    â€œWhat’s going on?” Born on a US military base in Japan, Genessee, whose mother was from Okinawa, knew enough Japanese to get by.
    Just then Yuki’s cell phone rang.
    Good timing , Mas thought.
    â€œYes, waitaminute,” Yuki answered, gesturing for Mas to take over.
    â€œHallo.”
    The voice on the other side was that of a man, probably a little younger than middle-aged. “This is the deputy coroner. I just want to inform Mr. Kimura about the cause of death in the case of Tomo Itai. It’s definitely cyanide poisoning. Ingested a few minutes before he died.” He promised to email the report to Yuki’s phone.
    As promised, just minutes after Mas got off the phone, the email arrived. Yuki bent over the report on his screen, mouthing out the English words. Finally, Mari couldn’t stand it any longer and grabbed it away. In about thirty seconds, she’d absorbed it all. “It was cyanide, Lloyd,” she told her husband. “He somehow got it into his system at the stadium.”

    Yuki insisted that he be driven back to the hotel immediately to continue work on his investigation into Itai’s murder.
    â€œ Hai, hai ,” Mas said, digging out his keys from his front pocket. He was really starting to regret agreeing to be the boy’s driver.
    Yuki was already waiting by the Impala when Genessee got in front of Mas before he was out the door.
    â€œI don’t understand, Mas. Who is that young man?”
    â€œHeezu nobody.”
    â€œHe’s a journalist who is obviously investigating some kind of murder. And you look like you’re involved in some way.”
    Mas lowered his head. Shimmata . He’d been found out. He knew he should have been more forthcoming to Genessee, but that would have required energy. Energy that he couldn’t muster. It was easier to operate in his usual mode. Avoiding the truth.
    â€œI’zu his driver.” Mas didn’t bother to add “translator,” because that would have made it all the more ridiculous.
    â€œDid you have a relationship with that woman?” she asked.
    â€œHuh?”
    â€œI know you can hear me perfectly well. That woman. His grandmother. Akemi Kimura.”
    â€œSame class as her brotha. Datsu all.”
    â€œWhy do I think that’s not all?”
    Embarrassed, Mas swung his gaze back to the living room to check if any of his family members were in earshot. They must have sensed that something was amiss, because the room was empty, yet all the dirty plates remained on the table.
    â€œMas, what are we doing? We aren’t kids. I don’t need a ring around my finger, but I do need something. Honesty, for one. Do