“I thought those guys were suckers for publicity.”
“Right. They were always eager to get their names in the papers. Anything to drum up a little public support. Strike you as too much of a coincidence that would all stop once the company changed hands?”
“Just a little.”
“The email says Mary might have tracked someone down who might have links to the company from before it was sold off. That might be a start.”
“How did she manage that?”
Leopold smiled. “She told me not to ask.”
“I guess you’re rubbing off on her a little,” Jerome said. “So to speak.”
“She’s going to try and arrange a meet for when I’m back in New York. Hopefully get some answers.”
“Maybe you should let it go.”
Leopold shook his head. “You know the sort of work they were doing. Whoever stole Chemworks out of my control knows Blake Investment’s operating procedures. It’s an insider. No other explanation.”
“We’ll get to the bottom of it,” Jerome said. “But right now, we’ve got other things to worry about.”
He pointed at the sky. Two helicopters were approaching at speed. Somewhere in the distance, there was the sound of sirens. They were getting closer.
Leopold quickened his pace. “We never get the easy jobs, do we?”
Chapter 35
IT WAS GOOD to hit the fresh air. Mid morning by then, the sun was warming up. June and Jack watched as a helicopter flew overhead. Looked like a local network news station. It was followed by another, then by the sound of sirens in the distance. June turned her head and saw Leopold and Jerome behind them. They were looking up into the sky.
“Must be an accident somewhere,” June said. “Got to be first to get it on the news.” She took Jack’s hand.
“God, I hope they get it fixed, whatever it is. Traffic can be bad enough.” He looked at her. “I meant to ask; you said something this morning about, what was it called? Goro-something.”
“Goro-awase,” June said. “Japanese puns and plays on words and numbers. What about it?”
“Just want to hear more about it,” he said.
They headed straight downhill and walked quickly. The Washington State Convention Center was next to downtown, and for some reason had been built directly over the major freeway through the city. The first thing that greeted them while walking was the echoing noise of heavy traffic.
“So, what’s the deal here?” June asked. “You’ve got that soccer shirt on. Are we supposed to speak Spanish to each other? Or am I supposed to fake a Japanese accent?”
“Either one, I guess. Whatever is easier. Can you speak English with a Japanese accent?”
She grimaced. “Spanish then.”
“Might be best when we’re around other people. But maybe try not saying too much. Your Spanish could use a little work.”
She looked at him as they walked briskly down the hill, wondering if he was joking. She had first started speaking Spanish as a little girl, and continued to use it in her office with patients. In the end, she decided it was best to smile and hold his hand.
“What about those puns?” he asked.
“Oh, yeah. Well, there are several ways of using numbers, with different sounds. Often, advertisers will come up with gimmicks for prospective customers to remember using the sounds of a company’s phone number. Maybe by arranging the sounds of a phone number, they can come up with a related word to help the customer remember better, then put it to a jingle. It’s really quite effective. The Japanese have really mastered it.” June listed off several of the jingles she remembered from living in Japan briefly several years before. “They really stick with you.”
Jack laughed. “I bet. What about numbers?”
“Okay. One example: the eighth day of the eight month, August Eighth, is known as Laughter Day in Japan. The date number for eight is ‘ha,’ so August Eighth is pronounced as Ha-Ha no Hi, or Laughter Day. And even better than that is the day before, known as Banana Day.”
“Banana Day?”
“The sound ha for eight can be changed into ba by adding a tiny mark, which is the way the Chinese pronounce the number eight. And the number seven is pronounced na-na. Plus, the word for banana in Japanese is actually banana. So, Ba-nana no Hi, or Banana Day!”
“I guess you learn something new every day.” He grinned and squeezed her hand a little tighter. They reached another busy intersection and waited for the signal to change.
“Yeah, whether you want to or not.” June looked up at him. “Why all the curiosity over numbers?”