Japantown by Barry Lancet Page B

Southeast Asia, Europe, and China. Then radio, TV, cable stations, a couple of publishing houses, and one of the first Japanese to jump on the information superhighway bandwagon. Fiber optics, wireless, telecommunications.On and on. A lone-wolf innovator in a flock of consensus-driven companies. Golden touch, never a wrong move. Except maybe in selecting bodyguards.”
    He grunted. There may or may not have been some pleasure in the noise. “Tell me, Mr. Brodie, do your dual occupations of antiques dealer and PI mesh?”
    Skepticism tinged his tone, as if the two professions were mutually exclusive.
    “They both require scrappers,” I said.
    “You know why I’m here?”
    “No, and frankly, I can’t see any reason why you would be.”
    “You saw my family.”
    I didn’t understand him, so I let the words hang. The silence between us grew dark and heavy.
    “Last night. On the pavement.” Five words, and he had trouble with each. His voice was fresh and controlled, but the pain was fresh, too, and less controlled.
    “The Nakamuras?”
    “That’s right. My eldest daughter’s married name.”
    Japantown. The mother.
    “I see,” I said. “I’m sorry. You don’t know how sorry.”
    Once more I saw the woman’s death mask and what I imagined must have been a tormented end to her life. For the briefest instant I wondered about Mieko’s final moment. Had a madman come for her in the night? Had she seen him? Had she known her fate in the seconds before the flames consumed her?
    “I want you to find him, Mr. Brodie. The person or persons responsible.”
    “Me?”
    “You. Your agency. I want him found and exterminated. Like the cockroach that he is. If it were physically possible, I would ask you to kill him twice, very slowly. I will pay you well in any currency you wish and deposit the funds anywhere in the world you desire.”
    He mentioned a fee three times our usual rate. He would know our usual rate.
    “Why offer high?”
    “Incentive yields rapid results.”
    “Try Mercenary Inc. They’re on the next block.”
    “You saw my family torn to pieces and you can still say that?”
    “Yes.”
    Hara frowned with regal impatience. “The money means nothing to me. I believe in motivation. I want you to put the full weight of your organization behind this investigation and I’m willing to pay you for your full attention.”
    He’d segued into Japanese though his cadence remained decidedly Western. Direct, gruff, and businesslike. A new breed. The legendary Japanese politeness had yet to surface, and probably wouldn’t. I could see why the traditional power establishment disliked him.
    “Brodie Security doesn’t exterminate, Mr. Hara.”
    “Perhaps we can discuss it at a later date after you have made some progress.”
    “The answer will be the same.”
    “We shall see. I am told I can be extremely persuasive. Invariably I get what I want.”
    “And I’ve been told I’m stubborn. Though personally I can’t see it.”
    He watched me without amusement. “Fine. Shall we double the offer?”
    “My answer will be the same.”
    He leaned forward, in his eyes nothing but a dark void. “Do you know what it’s like to see your children go before you? It’s a living death, Mr. Brodie. All your life’s work wadded up like so much newsprint and thrown in your face. You know that your children and your children’s children will not live beyond you, will not benefit from your achievements. When you die, all your work, all your accomplishments, die with you.”
    His voice quavered, nearly cracking, but he managed to maintain his dignity. For most of his life Hara had soared. Now he was falling fast. Like the weakened goose on the sword guard he’d grilled me about.
    I thought of his daughter on the cobblestones in Japantown. I thought of my morning after in Los Angeles, when nothing was left but dust and debris. I thought of all the sleepless nights I’d faced, all the times I’d held my distraught