The Case of the Kidnapped Angel: A Masao Masuto Mystery (Book Six) by Howard Fast Page A

want the name.”
    â€œFair enough.”
    â€œNow what time at Barton’s?”
    â€œIt’s five now. Suppose we say between seven and seven-thirty.”
    Masuto left Beckman with Wainwright, and from San Yisidro he drove to Woodruff Avenue in Westwood, where his cousin, Alan Toyada, lived with his wife and three children. Toyada, who had been chief research analyst at Merrill Lynch for a number of years, had resigned to teach economics at U.C.L.A. and to conduct his own investment business. Masuto hoped to find him at home, and his hope was rewarded. After a series of polite greetings to the wife and the three children, he sat down in Toyada’s study and explained that he had a problem.
    â€œWhich is why you’re here, of course. What has happened to us since we nisei have become Americans? We abandon all the old ways. Family counts for so little. Do you know how many months it is since we have seen Kati and your children?”
    â€œToo many. One lives with so much nonsense that the important things go by the board.”
    â€œHow is Kati?”
    â€œVery well. She has joined a consciousness-raising group, all nisei women. I think I approve.”
    â€œDo you? You might remember that one of the great advantages of being nisei is that one usually has a nisei wife. When you salt the kettle too much, it’s very easy to spoil the stew.”
    â€œPerhaps. But I think we should talk about women’s rights another time. Right now I have a problem that I present to your superior knowledge.”
    â€œOh? Possibly the Barton kidnapping?”
    â€œHow do you know about the kidnapping?”
    â€œCaught it on the radio driving home. The Angel was returned and the Bartons are happily reunited.”
    â€œNot quite. Mike Barton is dead—murdered.”
    â€œMy God! When did that happen?”
    â€œA few hours ago.”
    â€œDo you know how, why?”
    â€œHow—yes. Shot in the head. But why—” Masuto shook his head. “That’s why I come to you.”
    â€œTo tell you why Mike Barton was shot? I am overwhelmed, Masao. A simple investment counselor called upon to explain the evil that men do. Actually, I am very flattered.”
    â€œYou are by no means a simple investment counselor. You know more about the curious mythology of money than anyone else I might go to. So please try to help me.”
    â€œHow can I refuse?”
    â€œVery well. I’ll be as brief as possible. Angel Barton was kidnapped. The ransom was a million dollars. The ransom was paid and Angel was released unharmed. My guess is that whoever received the ransom payment murdered Mike Barton. But it is the kidnapping itself that puzzles me.”
    â€œMore than the fact of a crime?”
    â€œMuch more. In the first place, I don’t believe that there ever was a kidnapping. I am convinced that Barton and his wife arranged a false kidnapping. But why?”
    â€œDid he borrow the money?”
    â€œNo. But even if he had, his price is a million and a half dollars a film. But he didn’t borrow the money. Of course, since he had only a few hours this morning to put together the million dollars, he had to go to the banks for cash, and he was helped by his producer, his lawyer, and his business manager. But every dollar was backed by securities Barton owned. Which means that he arranged a kidnapping and paid a million dollars of his own money to himself—or at least so he planned.”
    â€œYou’re sure the kidnapping was fraudulent?” Toyada asked him.
    â€œIf not, I should put away my police credentials and spend my declining years pumping gasoline. It was not only faked but stupidly faked.”
    â€œAnd your problem is to understand why it should have taken place at all?”
    â€œExactly. You see, early this morning, when Barton rejected any intervention on the part of the police or the FBI, I began to suspect the validity of the