Cure (2010)

benefit, not ours.”

“That is true, Barbera-san,” Hideki admitted. “Hold the phone for one moment. Let me call them to ask where they are. There must have been a misunderstanding. I am sorry. They are my most reliable aides.”

Louie could hear Hideki speaking in Japanese to whoever was there with him. Then he came back on the line. “My wife is getting my mobile phone. I am most sorry about this. Is there still time to make the raid?”

“Let’s see where your men are. If they are near Union Square, perhaps we could squeeze it in.”

Louie could hear Hideki try to make two calls. Unsuccessful, he returned to Louie. “I cannot get them. This is very strange.”

“So far as you know, they were aware the break-in was for tonight?”

“Absolutely for tonight.”

“When was the last time you spoke to them?”

“Not since they drove me back to the office after visiting with you, Barbera-san. At that time they were eager to work with you again tonight. They said so specifically.”

“Do you think there is any chance something could have happened to them?” Louie questioned.

“How do you mean?”

“Last evening my guys told me that your guys had expressed some fears about your rivals. Something about a threat they got if they went ahead and killed Satoshi.”

“Which rivals?” Hideki asked warily.

“The Yamaguchi-gumi.”

There was a pause. Louie let the idea germinate for a full minute before adding, “I could ask Carlo and Brennan if they remember exactly what was said.”

17

MARCH 26, 2010

FRIDAY, 7:21 a.m.

The taxi dropped Laurie off directly in front of OCME. She paid the fare and climbed from the vehicle. She was alone. Jack had half asked, half told her he wanted to get back to his beloved bike. Laurie didn’t like the idea and feared for his life as she had from day one, but didn’t stand in his way. Part of the reason she was disappointed he didn’t accompany her was because if they traveled together it was easier for her to justify the expense of a cab, yet she’d taken one anyway because she was particularly eager to get to work as quickly as possible with what she had learned the evening before about her one and only case. She was brimming with confidence that it was going to be an interesting day. Little did she know.

The handoff that morning with JJ had been flawless and much easier than it had been the day before. Leticia had arrived earlier than scheduled. JJ had clearly recognized her and acted delighted to see her, so there were no tears. And Laurie, being less anxious than she had been the day before, had managed to have everything ready before Leticia appeared.

“Good morning, Dr. Laurie!” Marlene Wilson said in her usual lilting voice. Laurie returned the greeting and got buzzed into the ID room.

Sweeping into the room like an invading force, Laurie tossed her coat into one of the overstuffed vinyl chairs. Then she stopped abruptly. It could have been the previous day! There were the same people in the same spots, doing the same things: Arnold Besserman was at the desk going through all the case folders of the bodies that had come in overnight; Vinnie Amendola was in the same chair he was in the previous morning and was equally absorbed in this newspaper; and most surprising of all, Lou Soldano was back again, fast asleep with his feet propped up on the radiator cover, the top button of his shirt undone, and his tie loosened.

Arnold was the only one who noticed her. He greeted her rather perfunctorily, without looking up from his work. After his greeting he went on to say, “I do want to thank you for taking over on the unidentified case yesterday morning.”

“You’re welcome,” Laurie said, on her way to the coffee machine. “It’s turning out to be quite a case.”

“I’m glad,” Arnold said with a tone and attitude that discouraged further discussion.

Suit yourself, Laurie thought silently. She would have explained a little more if Arnold had specifically asked, but she was glad he didn’t, as she’d already decided not to talk about it with anyone, particularly with Jack, until she learned more about the cause of death. Overnight her creativity had hit on another idea, which was going to require redoing the external exam.

“Where’s Jack?” Laurie inquired.

“Haven’t seen him yet,” Arnold said. “He didn’t come with you?”

“He’s back to his bike,” Laurie said.

“The fool,” Arnold pronounced.

Laurie did not respond. Although she agreed with Arnold about the bike riding, she did not think it was Arnold’s place to criticize Jack. To change the subject, she asked about Lou, wondering why he was there two days in a row.

“He came in with a real doozy, a floater, to be exact, and another unidentified individual.”

“Oh?” Laurie questioned. She was immediately curious. A floater meant someone who’d been fished from the water. As there was a lot of water around New York because Manhattan was an island, there were frequent floaters. There were enough so that when one attracts the attention of a detective captain to stay up all night, it had to be unique in some way. As Laurie put sugar in her coffee, she decided to ask what the story was.

“There’s not much of a story,” Arnold said, finishing up with a case file and putting it on the to-do pile. “I mean, it was fished out of the water around Governors Island, which isn’t all that unusual. What’s unusual about it is that those who have seen the body claim it should be an exhibit in the Museum of Modern Art. The corpse’s supposedly an unbelievable mass of tattoos from around his neck down to his ankles and wrists, and everything in between. I actually haven’t seen it yet, but that’s how it’s been described. When I finish here, I’m going to take a peek.”

“Can you tell the ethnicity?” Laurie questioned.

“Asian.”

“What’s the apparent cause of death? Drowning?”

“No. The description in the case file is multiple GSW. The MLI wrote that she thought someone had opened up with a machine gun from behind because there were as many as a dozen entrance wounds.”

“Wow. Whoever killed him wanted him dead,” Laurie commented as she recalled a similar case she’d seen in a pathology journal of a Japanese man with astounding tattoos who’d been shot multiple times and beheaded with a classical Japanese samurai sword called a katana. As described in the article, the man had been killed along with a number of others during a turf war between rival Yakuza families in Tokyo, Japan.

Laurie glanced over at Lou’s sleeping form, becoming progressively curious why he would make the effort to come in for a floater. She doubted it was the tattoos. She imagined whatever it had been that had caught his attention must have been compelling since it required him to stay up all night two days in a row. “Why did Detective Captain Soldano come in with the body? Did he say?”

“I’m sure it’s because he’s interested in the autopsy. Why specifically, I have no idea. Why don’t you ask him?”

Sipping her hot coffee, Laurie strolled over to Lou and gazed down at him. He looked equally as tired as he had the previous morning, if not a bit more. Again, he was not snoring but breathing very rhythmically and deeply. Remembering Jack’s comment about Lou being better off the sooner he got into a real bed, she reached out and placed her hand on top of his. Lou had his hands resting on his chest, fingers intertwined.

“Lou!” Laurie called softly, trying to wake him as gently as possible.

“It’s me, Laurie,” she said, continuing to gently shake his hands. She watched as his eyes opened and went from confusion to recognition within a second or two. Then he pulled his feet from the radiator and sat up straight.

“Do you want a little coffee?” Laurie asked, straightening up.