that?
'It's in the crime lab right now, being examined. It will be kept in the property room pending a determination of whether or not it needs to be held as evidence.
'But it will be returned to her? Kimi insisted.
'Yes, Baker replied. 'Eventually. Assuming she's the rightful owner, of course. And you'll have to handle that through the police department. They're the ones who are in charge of physical evidence. I understand you know Mr. Yamamoto over at the Crime Lab.
'Yes, she replied. 'He was a friend of my father's.
'I see. Talk to him about it then. He can help you work your way through the bureaucracy, but you can plan on it taking quite a while. The wheels grind wondrous slow around here at times. He paused long enough to check through the papers before placing them in a manila file folder.
'This is all in order, then, he continued. 'We'll release the body directly to the mortuary when the time comes. You should stop by and see them too, as long as you're over here. They may require full payment in advance, but I suppose you already knew that.
Kimi shook her head. 'I didn't know, but I'll take care of it, she said, rising. The muscle in her cheek tightened over her narrow jawline. 'Is that all?
'Yes, Miss Kurobashi.
'And will we hear from you about what you find-in the autopsy, I mean?
'The detectives here will keep in touch. You can ask them.
'All right, she said. Kimi walked out of the room with Big Al following her. I waited long enough for the door to close behind them.
'Would you mind giving George a message when he shows up here this afternoon? He is still coming, isn't he?
Doc Baker nodded. 'What kind of message?
'Tell him that I think the sword was made by a student of Masamune.
'By who?
I repeated the name Kimiko had given us and spelled it out for him while Baker wrote it down on a notepad.
'What's that supposed to mean? Baker asked impatiently.
'According to the daughter, it's probably very valuable.
'That pretty much clinches it, then, doesn't it? the medical examiner said.
'Clinches what?
'That it was suicide instead of murder.
'Why?
'Because if you had just offed somebody and had a clear shot at stealing a very valuable sword which also happened to be the murder weapon, would you be so stupid as to walk off and leave the damn thing lying there on the floor?
'No, I answered. 'I suppose not. Unless you wanted it to look like suicide.
Baker pushed his reading glasses up on his nose and glowered at me. 'Get the hell out of here, Beaumont, and let me go back to work.
When I came out of Baker's office, Kimiko was using the phone at the receptionist's desk. She was speaking in low tones, but two bright red flush marks showed prominently on the otherwise pale skin of her slender cheeks.
Putting the phone down, she turned to me. 'I'll need to go to a bank, she said.
'A bank?
'I just talked to the mortuary. Since there isn't going to be a service of any kind, I'll have to pay with a cashier's check before they'll agree to do anything, and I'll have to pay for it myself. As far as I know, my mother doesn't have any money or even access to a checkbook. Besides, they told me they won't take an out of town check anyway.
Big Al drove her to a Seafirst branch on First Hill, and we waited in the car while she went inside.
'That's pretty shitty of the mortuary, if you ask me, he said as the glass door of the bank closed behind her. 'Making her pay in advance like that. You think there is some insurance?
'Beats me. That's anybody's guess. If there isn't, those two women are going to be in a world of hurt.
Grim-faced, Kimiko came back out of the bank a few minutes later, clutching a cashier's check, and we drove her to the mortuary, an old dilapidated one off Jackson. I offered to accompany her inside, thinking she might need an ally in fending off what I figured was the inevitable round of up-selling.
In theaters they try to get patrons to take a larger-sized drink or butter on their popcorn. In mortuaries, the high-priced spread is a snazzy, upscale, satin-lined coffin, and they sell them to grieving relatives when they are at their lowest ebb and most susceptible to high-pressure tactics.
Kimi ignored my offer and went inside by herself. While she was gone, Big Al and I bet lunch that they'd do a job on her even though no service was planned or wanted. Believe me, I've seen it happen often enough.
'How'd it go? I asked cautiously when, still tight-lipped and grim-faced, she returned to the car.
'They asked about insurance, she answered. I caught Big Al's slight knowing nod.
'I told them he didn't have any, she added. 'Naturally, Mother wants the very best, but I gave them the check and told them that was it. It'll have to do. There's no more where that came from. It's money I was saving for a stud fee.
With his worst mortician suspicions confirmed, Big Al shoved the car into gear and backed out of the parking place.
'Do you think maybe he did carry insurance? she asked hopefully after a silence. Kimi Kurobashi was grasping at financial straws.
'Maybe, I said.
'And do policies pay off in case of suicide?
'That depends, I said. 'You'd have to have the policy itself in hand and talk to one of their claims people in order to find out. Have you seen any policies?
'No, but everything at the house was packed. I'll have to ask Mother if she remembers packing any papers. Of course, there's always the possibility that he left them at the office. Her voice drifted away.
I turned and looked closely at Kimiko Kurobashi. She was wound tight as a coiled spring. For her mother's sake, she was doing what had to be done, trying up the loose ends, and keeping herself under control while she did it.
'Would you like to go there and look? I asked gently.
'Please, she said, her eyes filling with tears. 'If it wouldn't be too much trouble.
I knew how much it cost her to ask us for help. No way in hell could we have turned her down. At least I couldn't have.
'No trouble at all, I replied.
As he turned the car in the direction of Fourth Avenue South and Industry Square, Big Al Lindstrom made only the slightest grimace, one that was invisible to Kimiko Kurobashi riding in the backseat. He didn't approve, but he kept his mouth shut about it.
The crime scene team had completed their work and gone away. I figured we'd have to go find Bernard Rennermann to let us in. When we got to the complex, Big Al dropped us off and took the car to the next building to find Rennermann while Kimiko and I went inside to wait. We were standing talking in the hall outside the MicroBridge office when the door was opened by a tall scarecrow of a woman with a beaked nose and heavily hooded eyes that were red with weeping.
'I'm sorry but we're not- the woman started, breaking off at once as soon as she recognized Kimiko Kurobashi.
'Oh, Kimi, you did come. I'm so glad. It's so good to see you after all these years.
'Hello, Mrs. Oliver, Kimi said.
'How is your mother? I wanted to call and talk to her and tell her how sorry I was, but the police wouldn't let me. They told me I shouldn't until we knew for sure that she had been properly notified.
'Mother's fine, Kimi responded. She stepped into the reception area and looked around. No one else was in
