He took her hand and squeezed it. “Perhaps, Keiko, ” he said,

“but even if it does, it will come too late for me. The damage has

already been done. Because of me, the Bureau has been made to

look bad. In the morning, I will almost certainly be taken off the

case. And that will end any chances I have of being accepted by the

I. T. C.”

“But you have an outstanding record, ” his wife said. “You’ve put

in fifteen years of service and you’ve never failed to close a case.

Surely, that must stand for something.”

“You’re only as good as your last case, ” Akiro said with a sigh.

“The competition for positions in the I. T. C. is among the most

intense. ” He shook his head. “No, any hope I had of that is gone

now.”

She was silent for a moment. “I know it’s something that you

wanted very much, ” she said, “but is it really so terrible if you

don’t work for the I. T. C?”

“What else is there?” he asked. “The corporate sector? I can

forget that, too. I’ll be the man who failed to solve ‘the Ginza

Monster case. ’ Nobody wants to employ a failure, Keiko.”

“That wasn’t what I meant, ” she said. “You could retire.”

“Retire?”

“We don’t really need the money, ” she said. “I’ve managed to put

some away over the years and I still have my job. Another three

years and I’ll be able to take my pension. And you’ll have yours.

We’ll manage.”

He looked at her and smiled. “I was hoping that we could do more

than merely ‘manage. ’ The children are getting older and they’ll

need our help. And you deserve so much more than what I’ve been

able to give you.”

She squeezed his hand. “I don’t need expensive clothes or fancy

jewelry, ” she said. “All I ever wanted was to be with you. To spend

more time with you. We’re not getting any younger, you know.”

He leaned over and kissed her. “What did I ever do to get a wife

like you?”

“You made me pregnant, remember? But I would have married