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Sue Lee smiled back before relating a short version of the missing ceremonial sword; since they had just met, she left out that they killed her father because of his involvement.
At this time, she sought information about what he might know about her father’s collection. When she finished, Jimmy took another moment to think before speaking.
“I was corresponding with your father while he was in Fiji. Since his death, I have worked with Yoshi trying to locate the Kazaritachi sword.”
“You know then how my dad died. It was not by accident.”
“Sadly, I do, but how did you get involved, Sue Lee? This sword has a history of death dating back centuries.”
She related to him the past few months of Yoshi’s store clerk’s death, then the killing of the man responsible for her father’s death.
“I’m pleased that the man who caused Jiro’s death is gone. I would be proud to share what I know with you. Are you sure you want to pursue this?”
It was a question that Sue Lee had asked herself more than once. There was only one answer.
“I want to continue what my father started, but so far, it has been dangerous, are you sure?”
“Let me tell you what I know, then we can decide together.”
Sue Lee agreed, please tell me what you know.”
“Your father contacted me by radiogram while he was in Fiji for repairs. I was in Singapore. He wanted me to verify the authenticity of a sword that he had acquired, offering to pay all my fees along with a bonus to arrive as soon as possible. I found that unusual. Your father, as you know, was frugal.” He paused for a sip of Champagne. “They scheduled me to sail from Singapore back to Hawaii. I re-routed my trip to sail on the SS Clan McLair, leaving Singapore at the end of April or the 1st of May; weather and delays were more commonplace back then. Unfortunately, the delay was longer. I arrived after your father’s funeral; you had already left with Captain Walker. Mr. Maddox, the new captain of the Hooroo, was accommodating. He told me everything that had happened. Maddox also mentioned that Captain Walker said they shipped an item to your uncle Yoshi before the explosion, but he did not know what the item was?” Jimmy paused and refilled both of their flutes. “They granted permission to look through your father’s desk. I found a shipping receipt from the Cables Shipping and Packing Company. I inquired with the local office in Suva about your father shipped a package to San Francisco. It was too small—it was not the sword.
“Were there any other items shipped from the Suva?” Sue Lee asked.
“Yes, both Maddox and Mr. Lutridge shipped items to Australia. Maddox was shipping presents to his family. The engineer was sending parts to a welder, the parts he could not repair in his shop aboard the ship.”
“Where is Captain Maddox, Mr. Lutridge, now?”
“Maddox is retired living in his home in Geelong, Australia, but unfortunately, Mr. Lutridge was killed in Singapore a year after the Hooroo left Fiji.”
“Killed, how, why? I did not know of this. Was he working for us?”
“No, he resigned from his position after completing the repairs on the Hooroo staying on in Fiji. It seems he met a gal there. Later that year, he was found murdered in Singapore; it was quite brutal. He was a bigamist, his Singapore wife found out.”
“That was the last time you heard from Yoshi?”
“Nothing surfaced until late last fall.”
“What happened last fall?”
“Yoshi sent a letter asking for more information about the sword sheath. I sent him everything I had about the sheath. Unfortunately, after his accident, Pearl Harbor, then the fall of Singapore, everything stopped. Now you know what I know.”
Sue Lee thought what Jimmy said about last fall, “Is that when Uncle Yoshi discovered the phony priest?” The priest’s actual name was Hans Bader, a defrocked priest who had lived in Australia when he came to America, is speculation. The FBI thought they recruited him as a paid spy for Germany. “What about Yoshi’s store clerk? They severely beat him for gambling debts owed to the Yakuza. The priest later killed him. The clerk was trying to blackmail him—he wanted the sword for payments of his gambling debts.” This thought brought her to her next question.
“Do you think it involves the Yakuza?”
“Yes, now I do. There is speculation in the art world, which is if Japan lost the war, they did not want to end up in destitution like Germany after World War One. The Yakuza has been recruited to loot precious items. A priceless Kazaritachi sword would be a big bonus prize to them. That’s why I worry about you being involved.”
Sue Lee knew she had found a new friend. They promised to meet the next day for dinner to meet Emily—Mademoiselle Fifi.
The meeting never took place. In the morning, Sue Lee received her travel orders and was on her way to Melbourne, Australia, when Jimmy received her note. She promised to visit with them when she returned.
Jimmy folded the note, put it in his suit pocket, patted it once, looked up at the sky, and said aloud. “May all the Gods protect you, my young friend.”