Chapter 45

Leaving Hanna in the car, Hugh entered the Olympic. The lobby was crowded. A three-piece jazz band played “Mood Indigo.” Hugh waited in a line at the reservations desk behind a man in a short-sleeved pilot’s uniform. The man’s forearms were enormous. He was telling a joke to a woman in a cowboy hat. The woman laughed appreciatively.

Five minutes later the clerk smiled and asked, “Checking in?”

“No. I want to speak with Kazuki Ono. He’s a guest here.”

“Oh . . .”

“Is he in his room?”

“Are you a relative?”

“Yes. I’m his son-in-law.”

The clerk’s face tightened. “I’m surprised you haven’t been notified.”

“Notified?”

“Mr. Ono has passed.”

“Passed? Passed as in died?”

“Yes. He passed.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Were you out of the country?”

“No, I—how did he die?”

“Perhaps you should—”

“Please. It’s okay.”

“Natural causes,” the clerk said carefully.

“Here at the hotel?”

“Oh, no, no. It was in the marina. There was a story in yesterday’s paper. Wait . . .” The clerk strode to a door behind the desk. He came out a moment later and handed Hugh the paper. “It’s in the Extra section.”

On August 2, Kazuki Ono, a Japanese citizen, had died in Marina del Rey at Mother’s Beach. There were paragraphs of information about Ono’s writing career. How the English editions of his work sold very well . . . his literary prizes. Numerous ties to America . . . Nothing about children, grandchildren. Funeral services and burial were to be held at High Meadow Cemetery on August 5. As Hugh set down the paper, a small obituary caught his attention: Valdez.

“He’s dead,” said Hugh, getting into the car. “Is he dead?”