The Tooth Tattoo(99)

‘That was all provided by the Japanese authorities.’

‘Before, or after, the autopsy?’

‘After. But we had it in time for the inquest.’

‘Did you discover why she came to Vienna? Was she selling herself there?’

‘We had no reports that she was.’

‘It’s hard to understand how a woman who used drugs and traded in sex managed to get herself to Europe.’

‘Maybe,’ Dagmar said, ‘but it happened.’

‘Perhaps there was trafficking going on.’

‘Quite possibly, giving her a reason to kill herself.’

‘Or be killed. Is there much of a Far East influence on organised crime in your city?’

‘There is some for sure, just like the mafia, into all kinds of illegal money-making. They are the yakuza, a network of Japanese gangs with international connections, increasingly in Europe.’

‘I know a little about them,’ Ingeborg said. ‘They’re rooted in tradition and go back a long way, but it comes down to the usual rackets like drugs, loan-sharking, gambling, protection and prostitution. They had a stake in a large swathe of Japanese industry, but the authorities have cracked down hard in recent years and they’re starting to make inroads elsewhere. This poor young woman could have been part of the process.’

Diamond sensed the discussion slipping away from the investigation. ‘There’s a point you may not be aware of,’ he said to Dagmar. ‘Both of these victims had a grounding in classical music. Emi was trained to a high level in a Tokyo violin school. And Mari’s mother was also a product of one of those schools and Mari inherited the passion for it. I don’t think she performed, but she spent all her pocket money on concerts. We believe she came to Bath specially to hear a string quartet called the Staccati. She had them as a screensaver on her phone.’

‘Three of them,’ Ingeborg was quick to correct him. ‘The fourth is a late addition.’

‘True,’ he said, ‘but all four were in Vienna in 2008 when Emi ended up in the canal.’

‘Not Mel,’ Ingeborg insisted, her face flushing.

‘He happened to be there with the London Symphony Orchestra,’ Diamond informed her. ‘I don’t think you heard him telling me in Sydney Gardens. You were keeping tabs on the stalker at the time.’

Now Ingeborg went white. ‘I didn’t know this. You didn’t tell me.’

‘Probably just coincidence,’ he said to pacify her. There was a bigger issue here than Ingeborg’s cosying up to Mel.

Dagmar asked, ‘Have you interrogated these people?’

‘ “Interrogated” is putting it too strongly. We’re talking to them. We have it confirmed by one of them that Mari Hitomi attended the first concert they gave. She wasn’t seen alive after that.’ He let that sink in before saying, ‘Now do you understand our interest in what happened in Vienna?’

She said tersely, ‘We are not aware of any link between this quartet and the death of Emi Kojima.’

Diamond lifted the netsuke high. ‘I’m thinking this could be it.’





23





If Diamond had thought of catching up on some paper work (unlikely) or making peace with Ingeborg (more likely) or going for a pie and chips (the best bet), none of it happened. As soon as Dagmar hoisted her backpack and left, there was a call from downstairs to say a gentleman had arrived and wanted to see him urgently.

A gentleman? That endangered species was not often sighted in Manvers Street nick.

Douglas Christmas was waiting in the front hall. The pinstripe suit, MCC tie and dolphin smile would without question have impressed any desk sergeant, as would the voice like a BBC newsreader from seventy years ago. ‘Remarkably decent of you to see me at short notice,’ Douglas told Diamond. ‘The car’s outside, being guarded by one of your obliging chaps.’

‘I wasn’t planning a drive.’

‘But you’ll change your mind if I treat you to a strawberry tart and a proper cup of tea, served in a pot. There’s a charming place up the street.’

Now that food was mentioned, Diamond’s stomach groaned. He hadn’t had a bite since breakfast.

Douglas knew he was onto a winner. ‘If you prefer, there are gateaux to die for. Don’t you agree with me that tea in the afternoon is the highest expression of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? And I do have that small matter to raise with you.’

The red Aston Martin convertible was illegally parked in the street at the front of the police station. A uniformed constable was in the act of directing a bus around it. How Douglas had negotiated this was a mystery. Diamond made a mental note never to underestimate the man.