“Not a fan of the Emerald City?”
Leopold paused. “It’s not that. It’s just…” His stomach knotted again. “It’s nothing. Seattle’s a wonderful city. Excuse me.” He got down off the stool, found a quiet corner. He watched the barman return to his spot near the television. Happy nobody could overhear, Leopold took out his phone.
This doesn’t mean anything.
He dialed Mary’s number from memory. She answered on the sixth ring.
“Blake?” Her voice was groggy.
“Guilty.”
“It’s past ten.”
“Early night?”
“Early morning shifts. Where are you?”
“Sea-Tac. Waiting for a flight home.”
A rustling noise. “I’m kinda trying to grab some shut-eye here. You okay?”
“Had an interesting weekend.”
“I saw the news. Figured you couldn’t be too far away.” She stifled a yawn. “Listen, I have a lead on someone who might be able to give us some dirt on the Chemworks sale. I was going to tell you about it when you got back, but seeing as you’re here…”
“I might have something too. But, let’s not talk about work. I’m not exactly in the mood.”
“One of those weekends, huh?”
“Putting it mildly.”
“So, what’s up?”
Leopold hesitated. Picked up his drink, studied it. Put it back down on the table. “A good friend of mine thinks I should relax more,” he said.
“Wouldn’t hurt.”
“I’d like to get some dinner.”
“It’s a little late.”
“I meant, when I get back.” He took a deep breath. “I meant, you and I should get some dinner.” He coughed. “Together. I mean, you and I…”
“Haven’t we already been through this?” said Mary. “You lost the bet.”
“No bets, no games. Just dinner. You eat, right?”
“Yeah…”
“Me too. So, it kinda makes sense if we both eat. You know, at the same time.”
A pause on the line. “Like a date?”
“Call it what you want. You can even wear a dress, if you own any.”
“Whoa, are you asking me out, or trying to insult my wardrobe?”
“No reason I can’t do both.”
Mary didn’t say anything.
“Look, maybe this was a bad idea,” said Leopold. “We can always –”
“No, no. I could go for dinner,” Mary said. “But just dinner, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. I don’t want anyone shooting at us. I don’t want any dead bodies. At least, not until the third date.”
“No promises.”
Mary laughed. “Just call me when you get back, okay. And try to stay out of trouble.”
“No promises.”
Mary hung up. Leopold smiled, stood up to leave, phone still in his hand. Leaving his unfinished drink on the table, he headed back to Jerome in the main lounge, wishing his flight were leaving a little earlier. Suddenly, Seattle didn’t seem quite so bad. He slumped down in his chair and let out a deep, satisfied sigh. Jerome studied him, a quizzical expression on his face.
“No drink?” he asked.
“Didn’t feel like it after all,” Leopold said.
“Make a phone call?” Jerome glanced at the handset in Leopold’s hand.
“Don’t make a big deal out of it.”
Jerome settled back into the chair, smiling. He shut his eyes, folded his hands across his stomach. “See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”
Ignoring him, Leopold turned to look out the window. The rain had intensified, thick droplets streaming down onto the gray asphalt, throwing up a thick mist of water just above the ground. In the distance a passenger jet began its ascent, surging into the sky with a muffled roar.
Leopold closed his eyes, Jerome’s words dancing through his mind.
That wasn’t so hard.
Yeah, right.
Epilogue
THE GAIJIN WITH the faint pink scars on his face looked out over Tokyo as the sun disappeared over the horizon. He stood on his hotel room balcony, a glass of Scotch in one hand, and leaned over the railings. Three hundred feet below, the city streets were packed with people, tiny and insignificant. All caught up in the stink of modern civilization at its peak. He wrinkled his nose and pulled away.
The Oguchi business was done. It had been a satisfactory outcome, for him at least. The trap had been set, and his quarry had broken cover. Public blame would fall on some mysterious foreign power, and the matter would quickly be forgotten in D.C. Everything was falling into place. The Oguchi clan would be out for blood, no doubt, once they learned what had happened. But they wouldn’t find any, not from him. He had already made sure of that.