"The superintendent's suspicion of Katsuda was further reinforced when an informant, generally known as the Eel and an expert in some of the murkier depths of the financial world, told Adachi-san that a major move against the Namakas was being made by various institutions backed by Katsuda. Of course, it could have been coincidence or Katsuda merely seizing the opportunity to avail himself of the power vacuum caused by Hodama's death, but all in all it seemed to Adachi-san on the balance of probability that Katsuda was the man. Apart from anything else, further investigation revealed that the scale of the financial assault on the Namakas could not have been mounted without considerable preparation, arguably a matter of months, and yet these moves by Katsuda were initiated within hours of Hodama's death.
"Suspecting Katsuda and proving it were two different things. Of course, Katsuda could theoretically have been arrested and subjected to interrogation, but, frankly, with his political backing — and I include here the Minister of Justice, who receives handsome campaign contributions from him — such interrogation was not possible.
"As any good policeman does, Adachi-san went over the case file and other evidence again and again. Previously, he had had some success in enlarging the Hodama security videos. There he was convinced that the evidence he had uncovered was planted, but in subsequent viewings he concentrated on the other figures."
Here the Spider smiled. "Adachi-san made the perceptive observation that it is a natural human tendency to focus on movement, on the action, if you will. This time he studied every figure individually, regardless of whether that figure was doing anything significant or not. He came to an interesting conclusion. One of the figures was a gaijin" — the Spider looked apologetically at Fitzduane — a foreigner."
"I saw the video," said Fitzduane. "The attackers all wore suits and were masked. How could he possibly tell?"
The Spider felt very proud of Adachi. The Spider was a self-made man and the organization that had given him his opportunity was the Tokyo MPD, so he took a strong personal interest in the achievements of its personnel. Superintendent Adachi, he felt, was in the tradition of its very finest.
"It has to do with body language," said the Spider. "The superintendent examined the video enlarged and in the minutest detail. From it, he could see clearly that there was a leader and a group of subordinates. The leader was easy to pick out, and in contrast his men stood and moved in a particular way. Let me summarize it. Their demeanor, through how they stood and held their hands and numerous other small signs, conveyed respect. It demonstrated the natural ranking that underpins this society. Except for this man."
The Spider pushed a rather grainy print across the table. It was a printout from a video recording that had been enlarged so the image was slightly blurred. Nevertheless, Fitzduane saw instantly what the Spider meant. This man stood as an impatient equal, and, examined closely, his build was decidedly not Japanese. This man carried more body weight than would be normal for a Japanese of that height, and his neck was thicker. Further, the camera had caught him as he was carrying out a gesture that was somehow familiar.
The Spider tossed a second print on the table. This was a close-up of the man's hands. It showed the right hand pulling at a fold of the skin on the back of the left in a nervous or impatient gesture.
"Holy shit!" said Fitzduane. He looked back at the first print and studied the suit. All three buttons were done up. He looked closely. The buttons were covered with the same fabric as the suit. Suddenly, the masked figure was clearly recognizable. Once you made the connection, it was not hard to identify the characteristic strutting stance. "Schwanberg!" he breathed. "The decidedly unlovable Schwanberg. I guess he could not resist seeing someone boiled alive."
The Spider nodded. "It took Adachi-san longer to identify Mr. Schwanberg. A great deal of work, in fact. But eventually he came to the same conclusion. And then, at last, the significance of the timing of the Hodama killings became clear. Katsuda had been let off the leash by his CIA masters. The killing was Katsuda's revenge, but really that was secondary. The prime motive was a bigger game. And that game was political. Adachi-san did not know the precise reasons, but he suspected that it was merely that Hodama-san and the Namakas had outlived their usefulness. They were well-contaminated by their money-politics reputations. It was time to reshuffle the deck and put some more-acceptable faces on the top."
The Spider looked at Fitzduane, almost as if accusing him. "Superintendent Adachi now knew who had killed Hodama and his people and why, but this very discovery made the whole business vastly more dangerous. It now appeared that he was no longer just up against one of the most powerful yakuza leaders in Japan, but also against a covert arm of an agency of the United States. This was very difficult. The relationship of this country with America is” — he paused, searching for the appropriate words — "friendly but not entirely harmonious at all times. There are certain areas of friction."
Fitzduane sipped at his brandy. Dawn was breaking outside. It was still raining. "Deputy Superintendent-General-san," he said. "A couple of points. Firstly, I am the wrong man to blame for the policies of the United States regarding Japan. Frankly, I think the U.S. has a few good reasons to be sore, but that is neither here nor there. The bottom line is — I'm Irish.
"The second point is that Schwanberg is not advancing the policies of the U.S. these days. He has his hand in the cookie jar, and Uncle Sam has found out and is moving to do something about it. Which means he is vulnerable."
There was an intake of breath from Yoshokawa, and then a burst of Japanese directed at the Spider. The conversation hurtled back and forth.
Fitzduane felt very weary. He stood up and beckoned to Chifune, and side by side they looked out through the picture window at the end of the conference room at the emerging Tokyo day.
The sky was gray and the street below was black with rain. Across the street was HibayaPark, and that was green and verdant from the rainy season. He was reminded for a moment of Dublin and Stephen's Green. And then he thought of his island and the unspoiled land in which he lived, and he felt homesick. He missed his castle and he missed Boots and he was mixed up about women. He missed Kathleen, and Etan was God knows where, and right now Chifune needed him. But soon she would not. She was very strong.
And then he thought about Adachi.
"It's a commodity in short supply," he said.
Chifune turned to him, and at that moment, though there was no physical contact, they were as close as they had ever been. As close as either had ever been to any other person.
"Adachi-san?" she said.
Fitzduane nodded. "Decency," he said. "Basic human decency. That's what Adachi had more of than many of us. He was a decent human being. He tried to do the right thing, he cared about people, he reached out and he cared."
"And I deceived him," said Chifune.
"No," said Fitzduane, "I don't think we deceived him. That is useless guilt he would not want you to feel. But I think we made him unhappy. And that is a sad thing."
"I feel he's still here," said Chifune. "I feel I could reach out and touch him." She started to cry, and Fitzduane put his arm around her, and they stood silent together as Tokyo woke up below them and the rain never ceased. Chifune, his arm around her, gripped his hand.