The Toyotomi Blades Read Online Free PDF Page B

take care of your luggage,” Sugimoto said as I climbed into the car. The seats of the car had white lace doilies pinned to the headrests. It looked very Victorian.
    “How long will it take us to get to the hotel?” I asked Sugimoto.
    “It’s rush hour now. It will take us at least two hours, maybe longer. If you don’t mind, I’d like to stop at the studio before we check you into the hotel. We’d like to film a short promotional spot with you for next week’s show.”
    The news that it might take over two hours to get to Tokyo made me wish that I’d used a bathroom before leaving the terminal, but the driver was already in the car and pulling away from the curb before I could say anything.
    It was late afternoon Japan time, which made it very late at night in Los Angeles, and my body was still on Los Angeles time. The thought of stopping at a studio to film some promo was not as inviting as the thought of checking into the hotel and sleeping. Still, I figured it would be churlish not to let News Pop make its promotional piece. After all, they had flown me to Japan to be on the show, not for my sparkling personality. I told Sugimoto that stopping at the studio would be fine.
    “Did you bring the sword?” Sugimoto asked.
    “Yes. It’s in that large gym bag.”
    “And that’s the sword used in the murder you solved?”
    “No,” I said, surprised. “The murder sword is a piece of evidence, so it’s being held by the Los Angeles Police Department. This sword is one that I bought for a hundred dollars at a garage sale.”
    “It’s not the murder sword? When we saw the photograph we naturally assumed that the sword you were holding was the one used in the murder.”
    “I’m afraid not. It’s just a prop that the Asahi Sbimbun photographer thought would add interest to the picture.”
    “Damn!” Sugimoto thought a few seconds, and said more to himself than to me, “Never mind. If we made a mistake thinking it was the murder sword, others might make the same mistake. We’ll still use it as a prop in the promotional piece. Have you ever been on television before?”
    “No, I haven’t.”
    “Well, don’t worry. Our show has live interviews, but we do interviews with people who aren’t professionals all the time. During the interview we’ll run a simultaneous translation from Japanese to English through an earpiece, so you’ll understand the questions that our hosts ask you. You’ll respond in English, naturally, and we’ll do a simultaneous translation for our audience. Prior to the live interview we’ll discuss the types of questions we’ll ask you, so although your responses will be spontaneous, there will be no surprises. The lead-in piece, which sets up the interview, will be on tape. We’ll need your help in putting together that piece, so we’d like you to check in at the studio for about an hour every day. The late afternoon is best, which will also give you most of the day for sightseeing. Do you have any questions?”
    “No. You must give that little speech a great many times,” I said.
    Sugimoto laughed. “I’m sorry if I sound a little like a recording. I do give that speech a lot.”
    “Do you meet many people at the airport?”
    “Quite a few. It’s part of my job when I’m in town. Half the time, I’m traveling to the U.S. or Europe to track down stories. In fact, I just got back from Europe a few days ago. I’m not always here to meet our guests, but it’s actually something I enjoy because I get to know a great many people.”
    “How long have you been doing this kind of work?”
    “About seven years. I’ve been doing it for News Pop for three years. Before that I worked with other shows, including NHK News.”
    We made small talk as we drove along, but my attention soon turned to the view out the car window during the long drive from Narita to Tokyo. I saw a lot of roofs made with blue tile or tin sheets, and the houses were very small and narrow even when they