Colonel Ihanaga had his back to them, bent over a map spread out on his desk. ‘Come in, Danilov. I wasn’t expecting to see you, even though the orderly tells me we have an appointment.’ He finally left his map and turned to them.
‘A white lie, I’m afraid, Colonel.’
Ihanaga’s face was rigid, austere, his voice icily formal. ‘If you have come to tell me that my son is dead, I have already been informed.’ He pointed to his left. Inspector Nakamoto was sitting in the same armchair as last time, drinking tea, his flat cap resting on his knees. ‘I’m sure Ryuchi died with dignity, a loyal subject of the emperor.’ The voice finally cracked and a hand went out to steady himself against the table.
Beneath the stiffness of the colonel’s pose, Danilov detected a fragility he hadn’t seen before. The man was deeply affected by his son’s death. Only years of self-control was helping him to disguise his emotions.
‘Your son died bravely, Colonel Ihanaga.’
Before Ihanaga could respond, there were two more taps on the door and Tanaka entered. ‘Colonel, the troops are—’ He stopped as soon as he saw Danilov.
‘If you could give me a few minutes, Tanaka, the inspector will be leaving soon.’
‘Of course, sir.’ Tanaka began to back out of the room.
‘Perhaps the captain could stay, Colonel. I’m sure he would like to hear what I have to say too.’
Ihanaga nodded at Tanaka, who closed the door, standing just in front of it.
‘Please be brief, Inspector. You may or may not have heard that Mayor Wu has apologised to Japan for the murder of the monk and promised to crack down on the anti-Japanese elements residing in Chinese territory. However, my superior, Admiral Shiozawa, does not believe the Chinese are sincere in their efforts.’ The military officer was back in control now. The father forgotten. ‘Accordingly, this evening we will aid the Chinese government in capturing and expelling these criminals from the Chinese area of Chapei.’
‘But that means invading China, attacking the Chinese army,’ blurted out Strachan.
‘Your Chinese assistant understands the consequences of these actions only too well, Inspector.’ Colonel Ihanaga licked his thin lips. ‘On a more personal note, we have received information that the perpetrator of the murder of my son and the kidnapping and murder of the other children, a man with the nickname Da Sor, is hiding out near the railway station in Chapei. I will make it my mission to capture and punish this man.’
‘Without due process of law, Colonel?’
‘In war, there is no law, Inspector. Only justice.’
‘And what if you kill the wrong man?’
Ihanaga glanced at Nakamoto, still sitting in the armchair. ‘Our information was clear, Inspector. This man was responsible for all the killings, including the murder of my son. He and the people who harboured and encouraged him will be punished.’
‘He may have committed the murders, but he didn’t order them. That was the responsibility of a much more devious mind.’
A frown appeared on Colonel Ihanaga’s forehead. ‘I don’t understand, Inspector.’
‘Your son gave me the answer, but I should have worked it out a long time ago.’ Danilov moved closer to the desk. ‘He was an extremely brave boy, scratching the solution into the wall of the cell even as the man you call Da Sor was about to murder him.’
‘What scratches? My man told me nothing of this.’ Nakamoto jumped up out of his chair.
Danilov bit his bottom lip, ignoring the outburst. ‘Such bravery from one so young, Colonel. You should be proud of your son.’
‘What marks did Ryuchi make on the wall?’ Captain Tanaka spoke softly from his position beside the door.
‘I will tell you in a minute, if I may, Captain, but first let me take you through my reasoning.’
Colonel Ihanaga looked at his watch. ‘Please go ahead, Inspector, but be brief. You have just five minutes. I have a meeting with the admiral on his flagship.’
Danilov smiled. ‘It won’t take me that long, Colonel.’ He pulled at his top lip and began speaking, walking around the room as he did. ‘This case reminds me of an onion. You peel back one layer only to find another. There is a central core hidden beneath all the layers. Our central core was the man who masterminded it all. A man who is in this room with us now.’
Nakamoto flung his arms open wide. ‘Really, Danilov, you are accusing me of killing children?’ He pointed at his nose as he said ‘me’.
‘Please sit down, Inspector.’
Colonel Ihanaga gestured with his hands for Nakamoto to take his seat.
Danilov continued to walk around the room. ‘The kidnappings worried me. There were none of the usual attributes associated with the crime. No ransom notes. No contact with the parents. No bargaining over money. And even worse, the kidnapped child was then murdered, the body being exhibited in a place for everybody to see.’
‘You have four minutes left, Inspector,’ Colonel Ihanaga announced.
Danilov stopped for ten seconds, staring at some books in the bookcase before continuing. ‘Then I said to myself, perhaps the kidnappings and murders were a cover for something more complex, more devious. Was something else happening?’ He stepped around a coffee table near Inspector Nakamoto. ‘And why were symbols of a militant Buddhist organisation, the Nichiren sect, being left at the scenes of the deaths? Two slightly different symbols in fact, one found at the building site and the other in Quinsan Gardens.’
‘It sounds like you had more questions than anybody else, Inspector.’
‘I did, Captain Tanaka. Too many questions and too few answers.’
‘And was there any proof that the symbols were directly linked with the Nichiren Buddhists?’
Danilov shook his head. ‘Nothing direct, no, but there was something else… ’
Colonel Ihanaga looked at his watch and held up three fingers.
‘We discovered that a Japanese monk from the Nichiren sect had been involved in the kidnappings. A man who ran when Detective Sergeant Strachan tried to question him.’
‘Was that the monk found dead outside the San You factory?’ asked Nakamoto.
‘It was, Inspector.’
‘But he was murdered by a Chinese mob.’
‘Was he?’ Danilov stopped in front of the globe. He spun it, watching all the countries dissolve into one whirling mass. ‘Perhaps his murder was just another layer of confusion to muddy the waters.’
‘This is beginning to sound like a litany of confusion, Inspector.’
‘If you will bear with me for a little while longer, Colonel.’
‘Two and a half minutes longer.’
‘All the time I was wondering what connected the victims. Why had these particular children been murdered?’
‘I do hope you are eventually going to tell us,’ said Tanaka quietly.
Danilov glanced at him before continuing. ‘We discovered that the parents of the kidnapped children had been deeply involved in the anti-Japanese movement.’
‘You are wrong, Danilov. I was not involved in anything like that.’
‘No, you weren’t, Colonel. I must admit, the kidnap of your son threw me for a while. Until then, the finger had been pointing at a group who had been targeting Chinese adherents to the anti-Japanese cause.’
‘But according to the report sent to Chief Inspector Rock, the thugs who kidnapped the children spoke Mandarin.’
‘True, Inspector Nakamoto, but they were merely hired hands in the pay of somebody else.’
‘Even the man with the scar?’
‘Even him, Colonel. Though I believe he took a certain sadistic pleasure in his work.’
‘He took pleasure in killing my son?’
Danilov looked down at his feet and breathed in. ‘He did, Colonel. Under the orders of a man who is in this room.’