"Mr. Birnbaum."
"Fred Birnbaum?"
"Yes. Agent Frederick Birnbaum. He was very helpful and understanding. I had studied English in night school, but I wasn't familiar with a lot of the legal terminology. He found a young Korean lawyer to serve as a tutor."
Burke nodded. "I worked with Fred in the New York Field Office. It's good to know he's been using what I taught him."
Captain Yun's eyes widened. "You were his instructor?"
Burke shook his head. "No, not his instructor. That was just a little play on words. He was a brand new agent when I met him. He was having problems with some of the procedures we were using. The Special Agent in Charge asked me to take him under my wing, help him out, that is. You know, get him off to a good start."
"As Mr. Birnbaum did for me," said Yun, nodding.
"Right. Fred was a class guy."
"I can understand your feelings about our customs in Korea. I remember how it was when I went to America. The people were kind and considerate, but they allowed no time to establish proper relationships. It was 'hello' one minute, let's go here and there the next. It doesn't happen that way in Korea. You may think from the streets and sidewalks of Seoul that everybody is rush, rush, rush, just like in your country. But that does not involve personal relations. When Koreans get together to transact business or extend friendship, the pace is much, much slower. We need to know much more about new people before committing ourselves."
As if to emphasize the point, one of Dr. Lee's ajumma walked in just then carrying a small tray that held a pot of barley tea, according to the officer, and several cups. She poured tea for them, then bowed and left. Burke took a sip and realized he had yet other tastes to cultivate. He enjoyed the strong tea served in Chinese restaurants back in the States. Compared to that, barley tea was virtually flavorless.
"What I did a few minutes ago may have seemed impetuous," Burke said, hoping to put the pieces back together. "But for an American, I'm really quite patient. I like the idea of your slower pace. Take time to chat a bit and get acquainted, establish where everybody's coming from."
Captain Yun smiled and nodded. "Yes, that is the idea."
"Let me tell you what I'm doing in. Korea. The company I'm with now is a public relations agency. We're headquartered in Washington, but we have overseas offices in Berlin, Mexico City and Hong Kong. We're opening an office in Seoul to service our new account, the American Council for Business in Korea. We also have a client called Bartell Engineering that's doing some work in your country."
"Does this mean you will be living in Seoul?" Yun asked.
"I'll only be here a few weeks to help get the office going. We have a man named Jerry Chan, a Chinese-American, who will be the local manager."
"Where are you staying?"
"The Chosun Hotel. It's a nice place. I love the view of the old temple." Burke finished his tea and placed the cup on the low table. It was his turn for a question. "How long have you been with the National Police, Captain?"
"Just over twenty years," said Yun. "I have been involved in homicide investigations in Chung-ku the past ten years. And, yes, I'm afraid Dr. Lee has been the victim of a homicide."
"For your sake, I hope it's a simple case. Open and shut, as we like to say."
Yun gave him a look of resignation. "Unfortunately, Mr. Hill, only the complicated cases appear to come my way. I haven't completed my initial investigation here as yet, but if it runs true to form, what at first appears fairly obvious will turn out to be something else again."
Burke nodded. "I can sympathize with that. Of course, I never had much to do with homicides, since murder per se isn't a federal crime in the U.S. I guess the crime I spent the most time on was conspiracy." In fact, he thought, it was the Mafia conspiracy that ultimately did him in.
"Interesting," was Yun's brief reply.
Burke rose from the chair. "I've enjoyed talking with you Captain Yun, but I know you need to get back to work. Could you call a taxi for me? I'd never be able to tell them how to find this place."
"Certainly," said Yun. He dialed a number, gave instructions and placed the phone back on its cradle. "Someone should be here in five to ten minutes. While we're waiting, I would be interested in your reaction to the murder scene."
Burke was a bit surprised, but realized it was a favorable sign. He had been accepted. He felt a little out of his league, but why not? "I'll have to warn you; I'm a bit rusty. It's been a long time since I looked over a murder scene."
Yun led the way into Dr. Lee's bedroom. Burke detected a slightly fetid odor that he would characterize as the smell of death. He glanced around at the bookshelves and pictures on the wall, then down at the body. The look of all the dried blood gave him a queasy feeling. Death was never a pleasant sight, moreso a violent one. He had read about the sleeping mats they used over here, but this was the first time he had seen one in a Korean bedroom. Studying the body, he could find no visible sign of a wound.
"I don't see any entrance or exit holes from a bullet," Burke said. "All the blood would seem to indicate a knife wound in the stomach or chest."
"Entered just below the sternum," Yun said.
Burke looked around the room again. "Doesn't seem to have been a struggle, does it?"
"No. His son was sleeping in the next bedroom. He says there was not enough noise to awaken him during the night. It could be he heard nothing because he was holding the knife."
Burke looked at him with a hint of a smile. "But you don't think so. That would be the easy way out. Do you know what's missing from the wall over there?"
"A framed display of rare gold coins. He also had a money clip with several large bills on the chest. It's gone."
Burke's smile brightened. "So you have murder in the perpetration of a burglary." Then his face sobered as he added slowly, "But no one was heard. I'll bet you have no signs of a forced entry, either."
"You see why the obvious does not become so simple," said Yun. "But criminals are not so perfect that they make no mistakes. We will find our culprit, I'm certain."
Chapter 26
Back at the hotel lobby, Burke bought a copy of the Korea Herald, an English language newspaper, and went up to his room to see if it contained anything about the Embassy incident. He soon found the story, and he couldn't believe what he read. He went through the article again. The quote about President Kwak was patently ridiculous. There was no mention of the Korean calling Damon Mansfield a "black bastard." He picked up the phone and dialed the Embassy.
"Good morning, Mr. Hill," said Ambassador Shearing.
"Good morning, sir. I've just read the unbelievable one-sided account in the Korea Herald about what happened last night at the reception. Has Damon Mansfield left yet?"
The Ambassador's voice turned somber. "Yes, his flight departed about an hour ago."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I don't believe for an instant he said what that man accused him of. When we talked yesterday morning, he expressed admiration for President Kwak on his comeback after physical therapy. I just can't imagine him referring to the president as 'stooped.' When I asked Damon about it last night, he told me the president hadn't even been mentioned. He said the Korean had called him a 'black bastard.'"
"The newspapers mentioned that Mansfield denied having said anything about President Kwak," Ambassador Shearing reminded him.
"That's right," Burke said. "What else did Damon say about the circumstances?"
"I'm afraid that's all I can tell you, Mr. Hill. The details are part of an internal investigation that I am not at liberty to discuss."