After finishing my call with Kunagisa, I went to visit Miiko-san next door. I knocked on her door.
"Yo," came her response. Several seconds later, the door opened. As usual, she was dressed in a jinbei. It seemed to me that if she was going to take such an avid interest in Japanese clothing, she ought to get herself a nice, pretty kimono. It definitely would've looked good on her.
"Can I help you?"
"Oh, I just wanted to thank you. They said you vouched for my alibi."
"I didn't do anything remarkable. I just told the truth."
"Yeah, but I created an unnecessary burden for you."
"I don't care. Happens all the time... But you've certainly dealt with your own fair share of nuisances, haven't you?" She sounded more amazed than concerned. "You're like the man of a thousand disasters. So what about that girl? Based on what the authorities were saying, it sounds like she was involved as well."
"Well, in a manner of speaking..."
"Gotcha," she nodded. "Well, then, how do you intend on thanking me?"
"I'll treat you to tea."
This was literally an invitation to go have real tea at a tea-house, not just a regular coffee shop. It was sort of a Kyoto thing, or maybe just a Miiko-san thing.
"Does that come with dango?" Dango — those tasty rice flour dumplings — went really well with green tea.
"It even comes with hiyashi shiruko." Yes, and sweet red bean soup, too!
"Where at?"
"The Oharame-ya in Gion."
Miiko-san's eyes immediately lit up. "Hold on, I'll get ready."
She shut the door. For what it was worth, she was considerate enough to change into normal clothes if she was going out with somebody else. That level of thoughtfulness made her a pretty rare specimen in my circle of acquaintances.
"And I'm back." A minute later she was ready to leave. She handed me a car key. I flipped it over once in the palm of my hand before clutching it tightly.