"Have you heard from Doc Baker?
"No, not yet. Why? What's going on?
"The autopsy. We finished, just about half an hour ago.
"And?
"I was right. It's murder, not suicide. We couldn't see it until after we moved the body. He died as a result of a blow to the head. A blunt object of some kind.
"The handle of the sword maybe? I asked.
"No. If he tried that, the killer would have cut himself badly.
"You're saying ‘he'?
"Generic, Yamamoto replied. "He/she.
"But why the rest of it? Why the mutilation?
George shook his head. "I don't know, unless they thought we'd miss the head injury and fall for the phony suicide bit.
I thought of the bloody carnage in Tadeo Kurobashi's office.
"A real sicko, I said.
George nodded. "Yes, but that's not all of it.
"What else?
"Remember the message you left with Doc Baker?
"About the sword being done by a student of someone, that Masamune guy?
"It wasn't, he said. He turned and signaled the waitress for more drinks, ordering one for each of us.
"If it wasn't, then what's all the fuss about? I asked, puzzled.
"I said it wasn't done by one of his students. It was done by him, by the master himself. It's an original.
Silence opened up in a deep pool between us as the waitress brought our drinks. I waited until she left.
"Are you sure? I asked.
"It's signed by him, but no, of course I'm not sure. It'll take an expert to ascertain whether or not it's genuine.
"And what does it mean if it is? I asked guardedly.
"It's priceless, he said. "Absolutely priceless. It shouldn't be in the property room. It should be locked in a vault in a bank or a museum somewhere. We're not equipped to be responsible for something that valuable. I'm worried sick about it, but what can I do? Even if it isn't the actual murder weapon, it's still part of the investigation, no getting around it.
"Fingerprints? I asked.
"Several sets. They'll be running them through the AFIS as soon as they can get the computer time, but that'll only work if the killer is on file.
AFIS is the Automated Fingerprint Identification System, a recently purchased computerized program that had taken local law enforcement jurisdictions out of the Dark Ages and into the high-tech era of fingerprint identification.
"We should have results on that by tomorrow, George added.
I tried to assimilate all the information George Yamamoto had given me. Every way I looked at it, none of it made any sense. "This doesn't add up, I said. "If the sword was that valuable, why the hell would the murderer go off and leave it lying there on the floor?
"He may not have known it was valuable. Maybe he was looking for something else, but what could be more important than a Masamune sword? George asked.
"And how exactly did Tadeo Kurobashi come to be in possession of it?
George took a long drink and shook his head. "I don't know. I just flat don't know. He couldn't have afforded to buy it, I'm sure of that, not even when he was making good money. It's a museum piece, Beau. We're talking about lots of money, a million, maybe more.
"That much?
George nodded.
"But he was going through bankruptcy. If he had an asset that valuable up his sleeve, why was he losing his house, his business? Why didn't he use it? I waited for a moment, giving George a minute to collect himself before I asked the obvious question. "Could he possibly have stolen it?
"No. Absolutely not.
"Why else wouldn't he have unloaded it, then?
"I don't know, George answered.
We were quiet for a moment, both of us thinking. "Well, I said at last, "going back to the killer or killers, if they weren't interested in the sword, they must have been after something else. Tadeo was an engineer. What exactly did he do?
"He designed things, ways of putting microwave and computers together, and other things as well.
"Do you have any idea what specific projects he might have been working on in the months before he died?
"No. In the last few years, we haven't been that close, but maybe a new project is what they wanted.
"More likely, they wanted to destroy it, I said. "Do you know anything about computer viruses?
"Who, me? I know they exist, George answered, "but I don't know anything at all about how they work. Why?
"Remember that poem we saw on Tadeo's computer screen?
He nodded. "Sure. What about it?
"It's a virus. We took Kimi by MicroBridge this afternoon. She wanted to go see if there was any sign of checkbooks or insurance papers there.
"Did you find any?
"No. We got the name and address of Kurobashi's personal attorney, but what we discovered from the receptionist is that those lines we saw on his screen are actually part of a computer virus that's invaded every file in every computer in the entire company. Most of the MicroBridge records are gone.
"Gone? George echoed. "Surely they kept backup copies of everything in the computer.
"We asked Mrs. Oliver about that. She said that all backup copies of disks were missing this morning along with the other hard-copy documents that were removed from the files. She seemed to think they had merely been moved somewhere else in preparation for moving. My guess is that they've all been systematically destroyed.
"What makes you say that? Files don't just get up and walk away over night.
"I didn't say anything about walking away. Remember the bill on Tadeo's desk this morning? It's from a place called DataDump. Remember what it said at the top of the bill? If I remember right, their motto is Have shredder. Will travel.
"Damn, George said.
"Kimi told us that there was a guy there moving files when she was talking to her father.
"She must have told you that after I left, George said thoughtfully, "but that means Tadeo not only knew about the shredding, but probably even hired it done. If he had most of those documents in his computer, though, it wouldn't have mattered.
"Until someone infected the computer with a virus.
"And now it's gone completely, George added. There was a long pause while he fingered his drink. "Might they be in danger, too?
"Kimi and her mother? I asked.
He nodded. "Maybe they should stay in a motel for a while. Or should we ask the Kirkland police to keep an eye on them?
I remembered how Machiko had summarily rejected that idea when, for another reason, Kimiko had suggested it. Still, now that George mentioned it, the idea that they too might be at risk bothered me more than I let on. "They're not in Kirkland, I said. "They left this afternoon to drive to Pullman.
"Pullman! George exclaimed. "Why there?
"Beats me. As soon as the movers finished getting the auction stuff out of the house, they took off.
"But what about the funeral? Who's going to handle that?
"There isn't going to be one.
"No funeral? How come? Everybody has funerals.
"Machiko said no funeral, no memorial service. She was adamant. Big Al and I took Kimi downtown and had her sign all the necessary papers. Tadeo is to be cremated and the remains sent to them in eastern Washington.
"That witch! George murmured under his breath. "She's got no right to do that.
"She has every right in the world, George, I reminded him. "She's his widow, remember?
"As if I could ever forget. His voice was taut with emotion. There was something important lurking beneath the surface of his words, but I couldn't put my finger on it.