The phone interrupted his study of the file. It was Dr. Lee's son, sounding highly disturbed.
"My father's leather briefcase is missing," he said in a loud, despairing voice.
Yun drummed his finges on one of the stacks of paper. If Prosecutor Park hadn't destroyed his eardrum, this young man likely would. "Please calm down, Mr. Lee. What was in the briefcase?"
"Material for a book he was writing. Including a draft of the manuscript. It was in the sarang-bang."
During the Yi Dynasty, that was the word for the scholar's quarters. Now it was used more to denote the men's quarters in a traditional Korean house. But in the case of Dr. Lee, the old Yi term fit.
"Was that the room where he had his personal computer?" Yun asked.
"Yes. I was looking through it and happened to think about the leather briefcase. He had others, but I knew he kept the unpublished manuscript in this one."
"Are you sure he didn't leave it in his office at the university?"
"I'm positive he had it here." The young man was insistent. "But I called the university anyway. They looked everywhere and couldn't find it. Why would the burglar have taken it?"
"If the burglar took it," said the Captain.
"But who else would have? Could have? I know it was here the night before my father… before he died."
"What was the manuscript about?"
"It was a factual account of the Korean guerrillas who fought the Japanese in Manchuria during the late thirties and early forties. They were part of an army that included Chinese communists. Kim Il-sung was one of the leaders. My father said the North Koreans had fictionalized Kim's role in the campaign. This book would tell the story with historical accuracy."
Korean guerrillas in the forties? Hadn't Colonel Ha said the Poksu group probably came south from Manchuria? Captain Yun suddenly found himself leaning forward in his seat, gripping the phone as though it had wings and might attempt flight.
"You said there were materials other than the manuscript. What kind of materials?"
"I don't know everything. But his notes, for sure. Letters from people who helped with the research. Copies of old photographs of the partisans. Maybe correspondence from Dr. Lowing."
"Who is Dr. Lowing?" Yun asked.
"Dr. Cabot Lowing. He's an American who was collaborating with my father on the book."
"Would he have a copy of the manuscript?"
"Probably. The original is in the computer."
Yun smiled. He wasn't at all sure why anyone would have taken the manuscript, but it just might have a link to Hwang Sang-sol. He would like to know if there were any mention of the poksu symbol and the people it involved.
"Could you make me a copy of the manuscript?" Yun asked. "It might give us a clue to who killed your father."
Young Lee was hesitant. "It probably runs several hundred pages in the computer. But if you think it will help find the murderer, I'll gladly do it."
The Captain had just locked his files away and was about to leave when Dr. Lee's son called back, even more distressed than before.
"There's nothing in the computer!" he shouted.
Yun grimaced and jerked the phone away from his head, glaring at the offending instrument. He slowly put it back to his ear. "You mean the manuscript is not in the computer?"
"I mean nothing is in the computer. Everything has been wiped out."
Captain Yun frowned. "How could that happen?"
After a pause, the young man replied, "By reformatting the disk. Or by bringing a strong magnetic field close to the computer. Like a bulk eraser, a gadget used to erase magnetic tapes. You know, cassette tapes or videocassettes."
"It couldn't have happened accidentally? Maybe a short circuit, a voltage surge on the power line?"
"Maybe it could. But I'm involved with computers where I work, and I've never heard of it happening."
Thoughts were racing through Yun's mind. It appeared he was really onto something now. Somebody was deliberately sabotaging Dr. Lee's new book. They evidently believed it contained information damaging to someone or something. But who or what could it be?
"Do you have an address for the American who may have a copy of the manuscript?"
"I do. I found my father's correspondence with Dr. Lowing. It wasn't in the briefcase." He gave Yun the address.
After he had hung up, the Captain considered his best route to obtain the manuscript. He didn't know about other countries, but in South Korea the academics did not get along too well with the police. He thought it unwise to try approaching Dr. Cabot Lowing direct. Of course, he could go through the Korean Embassy in Washington, but that would require a lot of explanation which he had no desire to indulge in. Or he could seek help from the legal attaché at the American Embassy in Seoul. This was the FBI liaison. But Yun had butted heads with the current attaché over a previous case, getting brushed off in the most disparaging manner, as though he were some second-rate local cop. The loss of face had been devastating. He would have no further dealings with that man.
Then he thought of Burke Hill, the former FBI special agent. His public relations firm was here to improve America's image in Korea. Wouldn't his people in Washington be in a good position to seek cooperation from a professor whose Korean collaborator had just been murdered? It was possible that Dr. Lowing was not yet aware of what had happened. The idea appealed to him, but he hesitated. The American had passed the small test he had put him to at the murder scene. But what did he really know about Burke Hill? It was not his style to take anything at face value.
Yun glanced at his watch. It was just past 8:30 a.m. That would translate to something after 6:30 p.m. in Northern Virginia. He dug into the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out a thick three-ring binder with the FBI crest on the cover. One of the first pages contained a list of names, addresses and phone numbers. He found Frederick Birnbaum, both office and home numbers. He had corresponded with his old FBI mentor a few times over the years but hadn't talked to him since he'd left Quantico. Hopefully the phone number was still correct.
It was late afternoon when Burke and Jerry returned to the Chosun. They had spent a busy day looking at office furniture, arranging for telephone service, ordering supplies, taking care of the myriad of small details required to get Worldwide's Seoul branch in operation. Thanks to Jerry's ability with the language, it was going smoother than Burke had dared hope. If all went well, they would be ready to set up shop by Friday. The three staff members were due to arrive in Seoul Thursday evening.
When they stopped at the front desk, Burke was handed an envelope with a message that had come in during the morning. Thinking of Lori, he opened it quickly. But there was no problem with his wife. Captain Yun Yu-sop had called, wanted Burke to call him back.
He showed the message to Jerry. "I hope he hasn't changed his mind and decided to book me for murder."
"I'll go your bail. What do you think he wants?"
"I have no idea. But it'll save me having to come up with an excuse to call him later."
When he got to his room, Burke dialed the number Yun had left.
"Mr. Hill, thank you for returning my call. I trust you have had a good day?"
"Yes, Captain, we've been trying to round up everything to get our office in business. It's been sort of hectic, but we're making headway. Have you come up with anything new on Dr. Lee?"
"Yes, I have developed some new leads I would like to discuss with you, if possible. I wondered if you might be in position to have dinner with me tomorrow evening?"
What a break, Burke thought. "I'd be delighted, Captain Yun. Just tell me the time and place."