Sakaguchi was waiting in the hallway outside the interrogation room. “Takamatsu, we’ve got to cut back on that kind of thing.”
Takamatsu nodded. “That one was thirty years coming. I’ve got no reason to hit the younger generation. They can’t take it anyway.”
Sakaguchi stretched his knee, balancing his huge frame on one leg. He breathed out slowly as he brought his leg down.
The in-use lights were on over all the doors. “Which room is Patrick in?”
Sakaguchi nodded at the room two doors down. “I’ll leave you to the English.”
“Where are you going?” Hiroshi was used to Sakaguchi always listening in.
“Meetings. And a press conference. We have a lot of explaining to do. Public safety disrupted is front page stuff.” Sakaguchi ambled down the hall.
Takamatsu pulled out a fresh pack of cigarettes and a cheap disposable lighter. His lighter had dropped into the Disney river in the scuffle.
Ishii came down the hall in ill-fitting clothes. “Can I do anything?”
Takamatsu smiled. “You did enough already. You got those girls to shore.”
Hiroshi looked at the room. “Want to help with the interrogation? Another English speaker would help.”
Ishii frowned and looked down. “If you don’t need me, actually, I have a meeting.”
“Meeting?” Hiroshi asked.
Takamatsu packed his cigarettes in his palm. “You should take a day off.”
“I should, but this is about a new task force.” Ishii folded her arms. “Japan’s always at the bottom of international surveys of women’s equality, so a directive came down to make a task force on women’s issues.”
“Victims or police?” Hiroshi asked.
“Both. So, I won’t be… I mean, I was looking forward to—”
Takamatsu stopped her with his hand. “Get that task force set up. It’s about time they had one. You’re the right person for it.”
Hiroshi turned to Takamatsu. “Now you’re a feminist?”
“Always have been. One way or another.”
Ishii bowed. “You know, there’s a good sake place in Shinbashi.”
Takamatsu smiled. “Now you’re talking.”
Ishii smiled. “Next week?”
Takamatsu looked pleased. “I’ll make sure Hiroshi comes too.”
Ishii gave a curt nod to hide her smile, and walked off.
Hiroshi went into the interrogation room alone.
Patrick had been given a jumpsuit, not the kind of high-end clothing he was used to, but at least it was dry. He was handcuffed to the table. A bandage covered his head like a soft white skullcap. His skin was a little bluish as well.
Hiroshi told the guard at the door to undo the cuffs.
Patrick rubbed his wrists and resettled himself on the chair.
Hiroshi pointed at the light over the observation window. “This is being recorded. You can help us by getting right into it. If we have to double-check the recordings, verify the information, it takes time. Better to straighten things out from the start.”
“Don’t I get a lawyer?” Patrick squirmed in the chair.
“Do you need one?”
Patrick cleared his throat. “No.”
“Then let’s get to it.”
Patrick nodded.
“Why did you take the girls?”
“They were being threatened. When I was transferred overseas, to manage offshore investments—”
“In Wyoming?”
Patrick leaned forward. “Is there someone with Miyuki and the girls? Can I see them?”
“After this.”
Patrick slumped back. “I can only tell you rough outlines.”
“Start with who was threatening you.”
“Nozaki. When I saw him, I recognized him from Wyoming. He wanted me to do the transfers there, but I rushed back here before he could corner me. I saw one of his guys at the hotel in Shinjuku.”
“What can you tell me about the photographs of you and a blonde woman?”
Patrick sighed. “Not my proudest moment.”
“Your wife showed them to us.”
Patrick looked down. “Someone sent me photos of her too.”
“Where are those?”
“On my cellphone.”
“Which is at the bottom of the DisneySea river. No cloud backup? You seem like the kind of person who backs up everything.”
“Not for this. I—” Patrick pointed to his head. “It’ll be in this cloud storage forever.”
“Why didn’t you tell your wife about all this?”
“For one thing, she’d have freaked out. For another, the people helping advised me not to.”
“What people?”
“The group of parents denied access to their children in Japan. They said it’d be easier not to tell her until I made sure my daughters were safe.”
“That was Tim Branson?”
Patrick nodded.
“He was arrested on assault charges.”
Patrick grimaced. “He’s all right?”
“He assaulted officers.”
Patrick shook his head. “And what about Kyle?”
“He’s recovering. So, why did you take the girls?”
“I thought I could figure things out with Miyuki once we were all safe.”
“Why didn’t you go to the police?”
“And tell them what? I didn’t know what Leung was doing.”
“He must have sent you to Wyoming for a reason. I mean, you could have done everything from here, couldn’t you?”
“It was easier to do it there, but that wasn’t it. Leung wanted me out of the way.”
“Out of the way of what?”
“Of ripping people off. Like with Nozaki’s money, I guess Leung moved it, but was killed before he moved it back.”
“Why would he move it at all?”
“Any number of reasons.”
“If you can access the accounts, can you find that information?
“Most of it. But part of the security system is set up to keep me out.”
“And you didn’t know where the clients came from? Or where their money came from?”
“In wealth management, you don’t ask that kind of thing. We set up accounts to make sure it earns what it deserves. But for Leung that wasn’t enough.”
“What more did he want?”
Patrick frowned, took a breath, and shook his head. “I’m still not quite sure. I think he was using client funds as collateral for short-term, high-risk investments. I never saw the whole picture. I was too busy. And I didn’t look. Anyway, most ultra-wealthy clients wouldn’t even notice.”
“But Nozaki did?”
“And one other client.”
“And what was your role in all this?”
“My role was making everything as airtight as possible. It’s an art. And not easy.”
“Maybe you did it too well. We need information on those accounts and how the bank transfers work. You want to help us out? Or do you want to miss seeing your daughters grow up?”
Patrick nodded. “Can I talk to my wife?”
Before Hiroshi could answer, an officer held the door open and Akiko ushered in Masaharu Watanabe, the head of the National Tax Agency, dapper and jaunty as always. Watanabe took off his jacket, folded it over the back of a chair, and snapped his suspenders. “Is this the kid?”
Hiroshi nodded. “This is Watanabe, in charge of income tax evasion.”
Patrick sat up in his chair.
Watanabe loosened his tie, sat down, and set a list of people in front of Patrick. “Guess what I’d like to know.” Watanabe spoke flawless English.
Patrick flipped through it and set it down. “I can guess. Can I talk to my wife?”
Hiroshi frowned, irritated. “There’ll be time for that later, but now—”
“This client list is incomplete.” He pushed the list back to Watanabe. “I have the full list. Or rather, my wife does.”
“The full list of what?” Watanabe raised his eyebrows.
Patrick folded his hands. “Of clients and their shelter strategies. The rest I can explain. When you deal with ultra-high-net-worth individuals, you end up knowing a lot more secrets than you want to. Their portfolios are not just financial. It’s how they live.”
“What individuals are we talking about?”
Patrick cocked his head. “Look, you need someone to explain this from the inside. I need to get out of here.”
Hiroshi and Watanabe exchanged glances.
Patrick continued. “I’ll give the USB to you now, without any lawyerly negotiation, in good faith.”
“Your wife was in on this?” Hiroshi had wondered about that since learning she worked at the largest bank in Japan.
“No. The first time she heard about it was yesterday. I made the list as insurance and kept it at home under the tatami. I only told her about it because I had no other choice.”
“Insurance? So you suspected something wrong at Nine Dragons for a long time?”
Patrick nodded, admitting it to himself. “I didn’t know what it was. Still don’t exactly. But I didn’t want it pinned on me. Maybe it will be anyway.”
Watanabe smiled at Hiroshi. “I like this kid. He’s kind of honest. You got to think ahead if you want to get ahead.” He turned to Patrick. “You want a job?”
“I think I’m going to be convicted of abduction. After that maybe?”
Watanabe nodded. “After that.”
A knock came on the door and a guard called Hiroshi out in the hallway where Akiko was standing with Miyuki.
Hiroshi held the door open and ushered Miyuki in.
Seeing Miyuki, Patrick blinked. “Did you bring it?”
Miyuki turned to the side and pulled out a USB flash drive from her bra.
Hiroshi took it from her. “Is there a password?”
Patrick smiled. “Just the girls’ names and birthdates. Miyuki could figure it out in case something happened to me.”
Watanabe and Hiroshi frowned.
“But I shift the date by six months, so I can always calculate it. Miyuki could too, if she needed to.”
“Save us some calculating and write today’s here.” Hiroshi waved for paper and a pen from the guard by the door.
Patrick wrote it down.
Hiroshi held the chair for Miyuki. “We’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Hiroshi waved Watanabe and Akiko out of the interrogation room. He nodded to the officer to let Miyuki sit down and stay.
In the hallway, Hiroshi told Akiko to take Watanabe to his office and have the tech guys download the files and make backups.
Akiko and Watanabe chatted cheerfully as they walked off, Akiko laughing at something Watanabe said while they waited for the elevator to take them upstairs.
The observation room smelled of smoke. Takamatsu stood watching. “Giving the lovebirds some private time?”
“They always sing. Something secret, something useful. You taught me that, to just listen.”
Takamatsu smiled. “I didn’t think you were paying attention.”
“Why are you standing up?”
“My ribs hurt. Nozaki’s guys punched me.”
Miyuki and Patrick clasped hands on the table and Hiroshi turned up the volume.
“Are the girls OK?”
“They’ll have a story about Disney for the rest of their lives.”
“I think it’s better if they forget this one.”
“If you can’t come to my mother’s funeral, it’s OK.”
“I’m not sure how soon they’ll release me. If at all.”
“They will.”
“The only way out of this is to help them. How’s Taiga?”
Miyuki looked down. “I’ll check on him after I leave. The police said he was all right.”
“He can recover at our place. Give him the tatami room. We’re going to need a good babysitter.”
Miyuki sniffled. “I hired Ota to find Hello and Goodbye.”
“He investigates cats?”
“Not investigates. Locates. He’s done it before. Charges more for cats than people. Dogs are easier, he said.” Miyuki laughed and wiped her eyes. “I told the girls they were at the pet hotel.”
“They’re going to stop believing us soon.”
“I know.” Miyuki looked in his eyes. “And I called the lawyer and stopped the divorce proceedings. I was so angry at you.”
“I should have, I mean, I shouldn’t have. It was a set-up, but it worked. I—”
Miyuki squeezed his hands. “The policewoman told me they were using us to get at Nine Dragons. The photo of me—?”
“Some guy with long hair and a stylish outfit—”
“Sato? He married one of my college friends. They divorced.” Miyuki rubbed Patrick’s hands. “OK, he was a college fling. Long before you and before he married my friend. But his family runs a funeral company. He was just helping with my mother.”
Patrick searched her face and accepted what she said. “They were going to blackmail me in Wyoming, but I left too soon. When I figured it out, I had to come back and get the girls. Everyone was using someone.”
“Not us. Not ever.” Miyuki laughed and tears sprang out. “We can rewind, can’t we? All of us on the sofa together?”
Patrick looked up at the observation window. The recording light was still on. “For now, you have the bag, right?”
“I checked it in at the Disney hotel. It’ll be there until I retrieve it.”
“I’ll sort the rest out whenever they let me out.” Patrick closed his eyes and took in a deep breathe. “People died.”
“That was Leung, not you.”
Patrick shook his head. “I’ll give them what they need. Nine Dragons had a lot of clients. I was involved.”
“Kiri and Jenna love you so much.” Miyuki started crying, the tears falling on their hands.
“They’ll be disappointed with me eventually.”
“No, they won’t.” Miyuki clutched Patrick’s hand. “And neither will I.”