Taro nodded. “So it would seem.” “And that means that when Little Kawabata comes back, you’ll be waiting for him.” Now Taro grinned. “Oh, yes. I have an idea about that.” Obeying Taro’s instructions, Heiko stood by the door inside the hut, while Taro slipped outside. He had explained to her what he wanted her to do. Taro locked the bolt from the outside, then slipped the key under the door so that it was only partly exposed to anyone coming from outside. He was making an assumption: Little Kawabata did not have a skeleton key, and would be expecting to have to pick or force the lock. If he saw Heiko’s key sitting there under the door, chances were he would try to pick it up, to make his task easier. Taro hoped that Heiko would remain alert. Her job was to keep an eye on the key, most of which was on her side of the door. There was a gap between the door and the ground just high enough for Little Kawabata to get his hand under it. As soon as his hand appeared, she was to grab it.
