Alice-Miranda stood in a wide promenade bustling with tourists and admired the bold red colour of the temple in front of her. ‘It’s lovely, isn’t it, Daddy?’ she asked, squeezing her father’s hand.

‘Yes, she’s not bad for an old girl,’ Hugh replied.

Millie consulted her guidebook. ‘The first Senso-ji temple was erected on the site in 645 AD. But the whole place was bombed during the Second World War,’ she read. ‘Imagine if the original one was still here – it would be over a thousand years old.’

Jacinta pulled a face. ‘You know, you don’t have to tell us every detail about every place we visit.’

Millie poked out her tongue in return.

‘Look at that!’ Alice-Miranda pointed at a pretty pagoda to their left. It was five storeys high and looked like a tower of lacy cupcakes piled one on top of the other.

‘It’s gorgeous.’ Millie ran closer and snapped some more photographs.

The group walked through the temple complex, admiring each of the buildings. Hugh was surprised when he glanced at his watch to realise that they had been there over two hours.

‘So, Millie, what else is there for us to see close by?’ Hugh asked.

‘There’s a market, just through there.’ She pointed beyond the temple gate.

‘Anyone want to join me for some shopping?’ Hugh asked.

The girls nodded. Alice-Miranda was keen to buy gifts for everyone at home. She was on the lookout for a silk scarf for Shilly and something cute for Poppy and Jasper and Sloane, of course. And then there was Mr and Mrs Greening, Granny Bert, Daisy, Lily and Heinrich to think of too. And Max and Cyril.

‘When will Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Lawrence and Lucas arrive?’ Alice-Miranda asked her father. In all of the morning’s excitement she’d almost forgotten they were coming.

‘Your mother said they should be here tomorrow, providing Lawrence’s movie has wrapped and they can get away,’ Hugh replied.

‘I can’t wait until they arrive,’ Jacinta sighed.

‘No, you can’t wait until your boyfriend arrives,’ Millie teased.

‘He’s not my boyfriend,’ Jacinta replied tersely. ‘He’s my future husband.’

‘Does Lucas know that?’ Millie asked.

‘No, and I’ll thank you not to tell him,’ Jacinta retorted.

Alice-Miranda giggled as Jacinta and Millie pulled faces at one another. Even though the girls teased each other mercilessly at times, they had grown close over the past year.

The happy foursome wandered towards the shops. There were people everywhere perusing the narrow lane’s market-style stores.

‘Daddy, can we have a look on our own?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

Hugh frowned. ‘I don’t want anyone getting lost.’

‘But it’s perfectly safe,’ the child said. ‘We’ll just go in the same direction and meet you at the end of the row.’

The offer was tempting. Hugh had spotted a couple of antique shops and was keen to see if he could find an original suit of samurai armour. He thought one would look perfect in the corner of his study.

‘All right, but stay together. I’ll meet you at the gate down there with the bell, at say –’ he glanced at his watch – ‘one o’clock. Then we can go and find your mother and Ambrosia and have lunch.’

‘Thanks, Daddy!’ said Alice-Miranda, and she began to skip off.

‘Do you need any money?’ he called after her as the three girls disappeared into the crowd. ‘Guess not.’

The trio wove their way through the masses and emerged in front of a shop selling lots of novelty items but mostly the same funny little creature. It had huge, round eyes and wore a cape and flying goggles, like a pilot from the olden days.

‘I wonder what his name is,’ Millie said as she inspected one of the porcelain figures.

A reed-thin man walked to the front of the shop and bowed at the girls. His face was pockmarked and his thick black eyebrows furrowed fiercely.

‘He is Itoshii Squirrel. It means Lovely Squirrel. He brings good luck.’

‘Why does he wear that outfit?’ Millie asked.

‘He is a flying squirrel,’ the man replied.

‘Really?’ Jacinta asked. ‘Do Japanese squirrels actually fly?’ The only Squirrels she’d ever seen scampered and scurried and were generally thought to be a nuisance.

‘Hai,’ he said. ‘Momonga.’

‘Momonga?’ Jacinta repeated.

‘Well, I think Itoshii Squirrel is adorable.’ Alice-Miranda walked further into the shop, browsing the apparently endless range of items dedicated to the tiny rodent. ‘Poppy and Jasper will love him. Oh, and Sloane too.’

The man walked back behind the counter but his eyes followed the girls like a hawk. Jacinta watched him and wondered if he was always so suspicious of potential customers. Even grumpy Mr Munz in the village at Winchesterfield was more welcoming, and half the time he chased the children out of the shop – especially if his favourite television show, Winners Are Grinners, was about to come on.

Millie picked up a small pencil case and a matching set of coloured pencils. Alice-Miranda was keen on the figurines dressed in different superhero outfits for Jasper.

A plump boy entered the store. He stopped for a moment then continued to the counter, bumping into Jacinta on his way.

‘Sumimasen,’ he muttered but did not look at her.

‘Yes, watch where you’re going next time,’ Jacinta huffed.

The man and the boy spoke in Japanese. Then the boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a bundle of bank notes, which he handed over. ‘Yoku dekimashita!’ the man said with a laugh before the boy disappeared into the back of the shop.

Alice-Miranda and Millie finished their selections and walked to the counter. Millie had held onto the pencil case and pencils and added a mug, which she thought her mother might enjoy. Being a vet, she was always interested in animals – even if her patients tended not to wear capes.

Alice-Miranda deposited her small collection of items next to the cash register. She’d found a lovely set of coasters for Mrs Greening and a cute notepad for her husband, Harold.

The girls pulled out their wallets and paid for the goods.

The man leaned over and looked at Jacinta. ‘What about in your pocket?’

Jacinta shook her head. ‘There’s nothing in my pocket.’

‘You lie.’

‘I do not,’ she protested. ‘I’ll show you.’ Jacinta fished around inside her jacket. She looked at the man and then at her friends, the colour draining from her cheeks.

‘What’s the matter?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

Jacinta pulled out a small box. ‘What’s this?’ She looked at it quizzically.

Alice-Miranda took it from her hand and opened it. Inside was a ring, with a crystal Itoshii Squirrel in the centre.

‘You thief!’ the man yelled. ‘You steal the most expensive thing in my shop.’

‘No, I didn’t!’ Jacinta’s face was pale and she had begun to shake.

‘I’m sure that it’s just a misunderstanding,’ Alice-Miranda said to the man. ‘I’m happy to pay for it.’

He shook his head. ‘No. No pay. I call the police.’

Through a sheer curtain in the back room, Millie could see the boy who had walked into the shop earlier. He was sitting at a small table looking up at a television set. There was a devilish smile on his lips.

‘Please, I don’t want to be in trouble.’ Jacinta began to cry. ‘I didn’t do it. I promise. It must have fallen into my pocket.’

‘Sir, I’m sure we can work this out,’ Alice-Miranda said again.

In the distance, a conveniently timed siren wailed. ‘You stay there. The police coming now,’ said the shopkeeper.

Tears flooded Jacinta’s face. ‘But I didn’t do anything,’ she sobbed. Alice-Miranda put a comforting arm around her.

A sly grin settled on the man’s face. ‘Okay, I let you pay – double – and I won’t get the police.’

Alice-Miranda looked at him in shock. ‘Double! That’s outrageous and I suspect it’s illegal too.’

Millie was watching the scene playing out in front of her thinking that there had to be a perfectly rational explanation.

‘Did that boy touch you?’ she asked Jacinta. ‘The one sitting through there?’

Jacinta stopped crying. She wiped her face and looked at Millie.

‘Yes, he bumped into me when he walked into the shop,’ Jacinta said.

‘Well, that’s it then.’ Millie nodded decisively.

‘That’s what then?’ Jacinta asked with a sniff.

‘It was him. He put the box in your pocket.’ Millie raised her eyebrows at the man, who suddenly seemed more interested in the ceiling than his customers.

‘Are you sure?’ Alice-Miranda asked. She knew Jacinta wasn’t a thief but Millie’s explanation was troubling. She marched around to the other side of the counter and through the curtain.

‘Hey, what are you doing?’ the man demanded. ‘You can’t go in there. Come back here.’

Upon seeing Alice-Miranda, the boy jumped from his chair and reeled backwards.

‘Sumimasen,’ said Alice-Miranda. She stared at the lad and held out the box. ‘Do you think you might have accidentally dropped this into my friend’s pocket?’

He looked at the item as if it was set to transform into a boy-eating beast at any second. His expression said it all. She’d caught him red-handed.

‘I think you owe Jacinta an apology.’ Alice-Miranda motioned at the girl, who was standing on the other side of the counter with her mouth open.

‘Stupid!’ The man rushed into the back room and gave the lad a sharp clip over the ear.

‘Sir, there’s absolutely no need for that.’ Alice-Miranda leapt in front of the boy, who had begun to wail loudly.

‘You mind your own business. This is between me and my son.’ The man’s eyes narrowed.

‘I think setting up unsuspecting tourists is something the police would love to hear about,’ Alice-Miranda said as she walked forward and dropped the box into the man’s hand.

He looked at the child with her cascading chocolate curls and brown eyes as big as saucers as if wondering where she could possibly have come from. ‘You are just a little girl. You don’t scare me.’

‘I wouldn’t want to scare anyone,’ Alice-Miranda said firmly. ‘So Jacinta is free to go, isn’t she?’ She eyeballed the man, who said nothing, and then turned to her friends. ‘Come on, girls.’

‘It was just a joke. A silly trick. He didn’t mean it,’ the man called after them.

Alice-Miranda turned and shook her head. ‘It wasn’t very funny.’

The trio left the shop and stood outside. Jacinta’s face was red and she was still shaking a little. ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘I can’t believe he did that. What a little monster.’

‘And the father was worse. Fancy trying to tell us it was a joke!’ Millie glared towards the shop’s door.

‘It’s just lucky you have excellent observation skills, Millie,’ Alice-Miranda told her friend, then reached out and squeezed Jacinta’s hand.

‘We won’t be going back there again,’ Millie said. ‘I don’t care how cute Itoshii Squirrel is.’

Alice-Miranda glanced at her watch. ‘Let’s go and find Daddy.’