“I’d rather not,” Laurie said. “Bear with me, please! Maybe this afternoon I’ll have the facts that I need. I’m sorry I’m not being more forthcoming.”
“This seems overly melodramatic,” Lou complained. “If this case is a harbinger of growing tension in the organized-crime world, it’s important we get the clue sooner rather than later, to limit fallout in the civilian sector. I don’t mind the bad guys killing each other. In some ways, that makes the NYPD’s job easier. It’s when civilians get hurt that I get upset.”
“I’m sorry,” Laurie said. “It’s all just jelling in my head at this point.”
“Are you trying to prove something to yourself?” Jack questioned. “Is that the explanation, as Lou says, for this melodramatic approach? I mean, there is a possibility that Lou or I could add a thing or two to your thinking process.”
“Maybe there’s something like that involved,” Laurie confessed. “I do want to do it myself.”
“Well, just tell me one fact, then,” Jack said. “Did you find out if your victim yesterday had a seizure?”
“Yes, I believe he did.”
18
March 26, 2010
Friday, 9:10 a.m.
The huge 747–400 banked gracefully on its approach into New York City’s JFK airport. A few minutes later it touched down onto the tarmac on runway 13R with hardly a jolt, another perfect landing of Flight 853 from Tokyo to New York by way of the North Pole. Once the plane’s momentum had been brought to the appropriate speed, the captain exited the runway and began the lengthy taxi to the terminal.
It had been a long flight for Hisayuki Ishii, and he stretched his arms and legs. Luckily, he had been able to sleep on and off for nearly eight hours and felt reasonably well despite having been incarcerated for more than half a day in an aluminum cylinder. Of course, having been in first class had helped. Vaguely he wondered if his two lieutenants, Chong Yong and Riki Watanabe, had fared as well a few rows back in business class.
The protracted flight had provided Hisayuki a rare opportunity to just think. His normal days were generally so full that it was a luxury to be able to concentrate. He hadn’t come up with any particularly new ideas in relation to the current problems, just a clearer idea of what to do. Since Satoshi and family were now gone, it was the lab books he needed to get, which was what he’d thought at the beginning of the flight, and he was now more convinced. The lab books provided the legal basis of contesting the Kyoto University patents. Of course, the other issue of critical concern was the relationship with the Yamaguchi-gumi, the real reason he’d made the snap decision to fly to New York the morning after he’d met with the Yamaguchi-gumi oyabun, Hiroshi Fukazawa. He had to be certain that Saboru Fukuda did not suspect that Satoshi had been murdered, which would depend on whether Hideki Shimoda’s men had carried out the hit the way Hisayuki had specified.
With those thoughts in mind, Hisayuki took out his cell phone and placed a call to Hideki. As the phone rang, he glanced out the plane’s window. As high off the ground as he was, it seemed that the huge plane was crawling forward slowly, tempting him to complain to the staff, as he was impatient to arrive. Of course, he didn’t, but the thought made him realize how tense he was concerning the situation and about learning what changes had occurred since he’d been in the air and out of touch: Has the raid gone well at iPS USA? Were the lab books in their possession? Had there been anything in the media that might alert the Yamaguchi-gumi to the fact that Satoshi and his family had been murdered? Hisayuki was eager to hear the answers to these questions and was understandably impatient for Hideki to answer.
When Hisayuki was about to give up, Hideki answered gruffly in English, suggesting he’d been asleep. He quickly changed his tone, his attitude, and his language when he recognized the voice of his oyabun.
“What has happened since we spoke last?” Hisayuki demanded, speaking quietly in Japanese. He’d learned during the flight that the Caucasian man sitting next to him spoke only English.
“Some things good, some things bad,” Hideki said.
“Better to tell me the bad first,” Hisayuki said nervously.
“My two most dependable men have disappeared since yesterday afternoon. You met them on your last visit: Susumu Nomura and Yoshiaki Eto.”
“As I recall, they were supposed to go on the raid of iPS USA last night.”
“That’s correct, but they never appeared at the meeting place to hook up with Barbera’s men. Barbera’s men reportedly waited around an hour or so for them to show up, but they never did. When I tried to call both of them last night and earlier this morning, all I got was voicemail. I’m worried they are not going to reappear.”
“What about the break-in?”
“It never happened, which is understandable. Barbera-san and his men were helping us, not vice versa.”
Hisayuki paused and tried to think. This was very bad news indeed. Nervously, the only thing that came to mind was that the Yamaguchi-gumi had killed Hideki’s men as revenge for Satoshi’s murder. He asked Hideki if he thought likewise.
“I’m afraid I do,” Hideki said regretfully. He then related what Louie Barbera had told him Susumu and Yoshiaki had said to Louie’s men — namely, that they were afraid of the Yamaguchi-gumi because of a threat they’d gotten from them about killing Satoshi.
“Was this before or after the hit?” Hisayuki asked.
“It had to be before,” Hideki said.
“That does not make sense to me,” Hisayuki said, trying to understand. “From the Yamaguchi standpoint, there is little reason they would suspect we knew anything about Satoshi, especially his coming to America. And we wouldn’t have if it hadn’t been for the government telling us. I truly do not understand what’s going on, unless the government is using this situation to sow discord between us Yakuza and to excite a turf war.” Hisayuki thought about the government possibly being involved in such a duplicitous scenario but quickly dismissed it. The issue about the Kyoto patents was too important to be mixed up with any secondary goals.
At that moment the plane arrived at the gate.
“We are going to be getting off here in a minute,” Hisayuki said. “You’ve given me the bad news, but now give me the good.”
“So far there has been no mention in any of the local or national media concerning Satoshi’s or his family’s deaths.”
“None?” Hisayuki questioned.
“None.”
“But if that is the case, how would the Yamaguchi-gumi know of Satoshi’s death and know that Susumu and Yoshiaki had done it or were about to do it?”
“I have no idea.”
Hisayuki again questioned silently if the government, for some unknown reason, might have informed the Yamaguchi-gumi that the hit was going to take place, but he again dismissed the idea. It did not make sense. The government wanted Satoshi murdered, and they also wanted the lab books. “I am confused,” Hisayuki admitted. “I have the feeling there is something else involved in all this, but I fail to understand what it is.”
“Perhaps Susumu and Yoshiaki will suddenly appear,” Hideki said optimistically, “and have some reasonable explanation of their whereabouts over the past twelve hours.”
“Wouldn’t that be nice.”
“Although there’s been nothing in the media about Satoshi, there’s a chance that may change.”
“And why would that be?” Hisayuki questioned.