“Yes, your Honour, the state is ready to proceed.”
“Very well, you may make your opening statement as the jury has already been sworn in.”
* * * *
One of the officers protecting Kono came into the anteroom.
“Wow, fireworks right off the bat. This is going to get good when you walk into that courtroom, Kono!”
Kono recognised him as Sergeant Maven from his old unit in the city.
“I knew there would be. How many men are guarding Shiro out on the island?”
“There are six there now. When you’re out there, the number will rise to fourteen. That doesn’t include the police patrol boats or the occasional flyover by the choppers. You’ve basically got an entire SWAT team looking after you two. You’ll be fine.”
“Sergeant, you don’t know these men and what they’re capable of when angered. They’ll kill a hundred men to get to their target. The only other group that I can think of that is as ruthless would be the Russian mafia. They like violence for the sake of violence.”
“Are you saying, you don’t think we have enough men to protect you?” Maven asked, looking indignant.
“That’s what I’m saying. There should be no less than twenty heavily armed officers with K-9. If they manage to get on the island, they will approach with extreme stealth and take out guys as they progress. The only thing to balance out those skills would be dogs and sensors. Another thing, I would consider using choppers to move us each day.”
“All right, I’ll contact the captain and get authorisation for more men and K-9 as well as the choppers.”
“You might mention to the captain if he balks at the additional assets, that there are a lot of advantages to being out there, but one big disadvantage—backup is a bitch.”
* * * *
Alia sipped her second glass of guava juice. Why am I so nervous? I’m shaking. She watched the District Attorney finishing his opening statement, then the defence attorney stood to talk to the jury.
He spoke for only five minutes restating his opinion that the state would be unable to prove the charges against the defendant. He ended by stating,
“The District Attorney has no credible witness to any of what we in the law field call, the foundation of the case. Without that, the case fails on its own merits.”
He then sat down much to everyone’s surprise, including the Judge.
“That’s all you have for your opening, Counselor?” the Judge asked.
“That’s all that’s needed, your Honour,” he replied cockily.
“Very well, call your first witness, Mr. Saunders.”
As the Harada team sat back feigning disinterest, the D.A. loudly said, “The State calls Detective First Grade Kono Takumi.”
There was a roar in the courtroom as Kono and his escort entered.
“He’s alive!” Alia shrieked at the TV screen. “I knew it! I knew it! I knew my boy had no murder in his heart! If he’s alive then my baby didn’t kill him. My baby must be alive.”
She dropped the glass to the floor, the bartender rushing over to clean up the mess. The elderly lady’s hands shook as she covered her face. She sat on the bar stool and wept.
Chapter Ten
Pandemonium broke out in the courtroom as everyone realised that the dead detective wasn’t so dead and was now making an appearance. As Kono waited by the witness chair for the judge to restore order, Kono’s escort took up positions near the witness box and jury. Loud Japanese arguing could be heard rattling off at the defence table as Harada looked as if a snake had bitten him.
Finally the judge was able to restore order and warned the entire courtroom that it would be cleared if any more outbursts were heard. He also warned the defence table and told Harada to shut up and that only his attorney was permitted to speak in court unless he was personally addressed by the court.
“Your Honour, the defence moves for a mistrial based on the fact that the state kept a key witness isolated from the defence and in fact put on an elaborate charade to make everyone believe this witness was dead! This is outrageous and detrimental to my client’s ability to get a fair trial.”
“Response, Mr. Saunders?”
“Your Honour. It was necessary for the state to protect the life of this witness after it was learnt that the Yakuza had sent an assassin to murder the detective in order to prevent him from appearing in this courtroom today.
“Furthermore, the defence was in no way prejudiced by the lack of availability of the witness in view of their having deposed of the witness prior to his leaving the public arena. The testimony that the witness will give today has already been made known to the defence under oath. I also personally sent them a notarised document last night letting them know that Detective Takumi would be here today.”
“I got no such note,” Harada’s attorney fumed.
The judge held up a signed receipt. “Your signature is here. You were notified at ten p.m. at your place of residence.”
Harada’s attorney looked flustered, rifling through his paper work.
Saunders continued. “We further felt that if it was known that the first assassin had failed to carry out his contract, that the Yakuza would send as many assassins as necessary to get the job done. Therefore, your Honour, the state took the only action it could to guarantee its ability to produce this vital witness who will lay the foundation for this case that defence counsel was so concerned about in his opening statement.”
Denizen shot back with, “Your Honour, how do we know this alleged assassin wasn’t just a cop pretending to be an assassin in order to give them the excuse for what they’ve done?”
“Your Honour, we have the man who was sent to kill Detective Takumi in protective custody and can produce him in this courtroom to testify to the truth of this matter if necessary.”
“In view of all that has happened here this morning, and taking into consideration both the objections of defence Counsel and the rebuttal by the District Attorney, I deny the motion for a mistrial and after breaking early for lunch, we will resume this trial precisely at one o’clock this afternoon.”
“All rise.”
After the Judge left the courtroom, the deputy sheriffs took Harada back into custody. He became agitated as they put handcuffs on him to take him to the holding cells in the courthouse. Kono walked over to the D.A. with his escort as members of the Harada clan stared at Kono with daggers in their eyes.
“Well, that went well, don’t you think?” Kono asked.
“It was beautiful. I anticipated defence objections to continue. I was prepared to respond. Fortunately, we have a sane Judge, which isn’t always the case.”
“Kono, we need to move you out of here and back to the conference room. I don’t like the looks you’re getting from the Yaks over there,” said the Sergeant.
“Fuck them, but okay.”
Once they were back in the conference room, another officer brought in lunch for everyone and for a few minutes the only noise was the happy munching sounds from sandwiches being eaten. A knock on the door revealed Lieutenant Jerrell who came down to check on his boys and to make sure everyone was okay.
“Damn, Kono, you got rings under your eyes. Is that stress or lack of sleep?”
“A little of both I think, boss. I’ll be so glad when this thing is over.”
“Why don’t you take a couple weeks off and go on vacation somewhere? Hell, take a cruise or something and take someone special with you,” he said with a smile.
“I dunno, maybe, I’ll have to think about it. I’ve got other cases sitting on my desk as well as this one. If I go on vacation, the cases will get reassigned to another overworked detective and I don’t like that idea.”
A bailiff entered the room and made an announcement.
“Gentlemen, the start of the afternoon session has been pushed to two o’clock. The Judge requires you to remain in the courthouse if you are testifying or may be called to testify.”
“W
hat’s going on? Why the delay?” the Sergeant asked.
“I’m sorry, I have no further information. Possibly someone from the D.A.’s office may stop by and explain things further.”
When he left everyone moaned a little. One thing about court duty is that it could, and often did, become extremely boring waiting around to testify. Even though this case was far from being normal or dull, it still got boring sitting in a room staring at the same people who all wanted to be somewhere else.
Forty minutes later and the district attorney entered the room. He was smiling as he poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down.
“Well boys, you’ll never believe what’s just happened. Once the shock of seeing Kono here alive and well wore off and that he was able to testify, it suddenly dawned on the defence team that they had turned down any offer of a plea deal last week and opted instead to go to trial. Harada faced up to forty-five years in jail on all charges if convicted. They wanted to negotiate a plea and I was able to get what I think is a good offer.”
“It’s over?” Kono blurted out.
“Let me explain, Detective,” the D.A. said with a smile.
“In exchange for a guilty plea on all charges except two, which I’ll drop, I’ve agreed to a sentence of no more than twenty years. With Harada’s age being what it is, chances are he’ll die in prison anyway, and we can end this trial today with a done deal. We take it in front of the Judge in twenty minutes for him to sign off on. If he does, sentencing will begin immediately.”
The room broke into cheers with everyone slapping Kono on the back. When it all died down, Kono asked, “Is that really it? Just like that they caved?”
“Sure. They realised that if you testified and this went all the way to the jury, Harada would be sentenced to do around forty years. I think they were also worried a little about what might have come out during the trial to further damage their operations in New York City and Tokyo.
“This doesn’t mean, Kono, that you still don’t have to watch your back. They’re gonna hold a big grudge against you and if they get the chance, I don’t doubt they’ll kill you.”
“Yeah, thanks. I wouldn’t want to be Harada’s lawyer either. He screwed up big time by not preparing for this as if I was still alive. They got blindsided and couldn’t recover from it. At least I can carry a gun,” Kono said with a smile.
When sounds came over the speaker to indicate that court was beginning to come to order, Kono and the guys headed into the courtroom and took seats this time.
“All rise. The Criminal Court of the Manhattan District is now in session.”
“Gentlemen, I understand that a plea arrangement has been agreed to by the parties. Is that correct?”
Both men answered, “Yes, your Honour.”
“Mr. Harada, do you understand the plea agreement entered into by your Attorney on your behalf? Do you understand that you are pleading guilty? Do you understand that you’ve agreed to a sentence not to exceed twenty years in the state prison system?”
“Yes, I understand, “ Harada responded with a heavy Japanese accent.
“Do you enter into this plea agreement of your own free will with advice of Counsel?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Very well. Please rise, Mr. Harada.”
He stood up along with his lawyer and waited for the Judge to end the proceeding.
“Having read the plea agreement between the defence and the prosecution in this case, I concur with the agreement. Mr. Harada on the charges you have pled guilty to, I sentence you to twenty years in the custody of the New York State prison system and hold you accountable for court costs and a twenty-five-thousand-dollar fine. You will be taken from here and transferred into the custody of the state penal system as soon as possible. Court is adjourned.”
The banging of the gavel gave the proceedings a note of finality as Harada was handcuffed and placed in leg chains as well. Harada’s men said goodbye to their clan leader, shot an ugly look at the D.A. and Kono, and stormed out of the courtroom.
“Remember what I said, Detective, be very careful and keep a watch over your shoulder for a while.” The D.A. turned and left the courtroom as the remaining cops gathered around Kono.
Jerrell came up to him and said, “Good job, Detective. I know it hasn’t been easy. But at least you don’t have to stay out on Fire Island now. What do you want us to do with Shiro?”
“That’s a damn good question,” Kono replied.
“Well, since we have everything set up out there, why don’t you stay there for at least tonight while we figure out what you’re gonna do next. We have to ease you back into things and I would suggest you find a new place to live.”
“Okay, Boss, let’s get out to the island then.”
* * * *
Kono couldn’t wait to touch Shiro once they landed at Fire Island. If Jerrell was surprised to see the two men kiss once they were in the safe house together, he didn’t show it.
He handed his cell phone over to Shiro.
“It’s your mom. She just landed in Hawaii and she wants to speak to you.”
Kono watched his lover talk in Japanese, Hawaiian and English to his mom and grandmother.
He knew Shiro had to go home.
Home. Kono didn’t feel as if he had one without Shiro.
It didn’t take much to convince him that they should go to Hawaii, away from the insanity, away from people. He badly wanted to be alone with Shiro, but now they were free for the first time in weeks to dine out in public, well, as public has a three-quarters-empty island allowed.
They sat up all night talking with Jerrell, eating at a tiny, cottage-style restaurant called the Hideaway at Ocean Beach, right near their safe house.
Though a couple of security officers dined at the table beside them, Kono felt no concerns about their safety.
They powered their way through crab cakes on black sesame, ginger-tossed cabbage, rock shrimp and island tuna. They ended their meals with coffee and sweet-tart Key lime pies.
“I’m going to Hawaii with Shiro…about time I took a vacation,” Kono said.
“Couldn’t agree more,” Jerrell said, picking up the check. “I’m charging this to the city. It’s a lot less expensive than all the security we thought we were going to need.”
They all slept at the safe house that night and although they slept side by side on a double bed, Kono and Shiro didn’t touch each other once, since Jerrell took the bed beside them.
“You can make it up to each other in Hawaii,” he said, letting out a laugh.
Bastard, Kono thought good-naturedly. He’s enjoying thwarting us.
* * * *
The next morning, they all drank coffee and the chopper came back for them. In the city, Shiro wanted to buy a new laptop and Jerrell took them to the Apple Store to help him pick one out. Kono paid for it in spite of Shiro’s objections.
“I was going to apply for a credit card,” he said.
“It’s my gift,” he said. They said goodbye to Jerrell, the only man in New York to know exactly where they were going.
At La Guardia, they checked in to United Airlines using their new, fake IDs with no problems. They went through security and arrived at the departure gate with half an hour to spare. Kono gladly looked at the images of Kauai on Shiro’s new laptop. He put his nose to Shiro’s hair and inhaled.
Shiro was so ecstatic to be going home. Kono understood that the past few months had been hell for the man he now knew he loved.
He wondered whose ashes lay beneath the rose bush the mayor had so giddily planted at the police memorial service near ground zero and was just glad it wasn’t him.
Jerrell had arranged for all their air travel through to Honolulu.
Once they arrived after a full day of changing planes in Dallas, Texas, then Los Angeles, Kono stepped off the plane with Shiro and felt as if he’d come home.
“Almost everyone is Asian,” he remarked.
“We blend right in, do
n’t we?” Shiro asked.
“I might blend, babe, but you still stand out. You’re so goddamned hot and I haven’t been able to fuck you for a day and a half.”
Shiro laughed, pressing himself into Kono’s arms.
“I want to meet with my professor tomorrow about my Master’s. I can do everything via the Internet, but we can stay here tonight and fly to Kauai tomorrow. Okay?”
“Very okay.”
They wandered over to the throng of car rental kiosks.
“Let’s go to Dollar. They have deals for locals,” Shiro said.
They waited in line for their car, Kono was tickled when they went to retrieve it and every last vehicle on the lot was a Lincoln Cruiser.
Shiro took the wheel.
Kono thought this was a swell idea considering that he wanted to gawk at the beautiful men and women he saw no matter which way he looked, and he didn’t know his way around. He slid his hand over to his lover’s thigh.
“Is there a Sheraton anywhere on this island? I seem to remember we discussed one about a thousand years ago.”
Shiro’s eyes moistened. “Yes, there is. I can’t believe we’re here, Kono.”
“I know. Me, too.” Kono leaned across the seat and kissed him. “Let’s stay at the Sheraton tonight.”
Shiro bit his lip. “It’s expensive.”
“I don’t give a fuck. I want to stay in a beautiful hotel in Waikiki with the man I love.”
“You…love me?”
“Of course I love you. What do you think I’m doing here?”
“Just checking.” Shiro started the car and they heard island music that instantly made Kono relaxed. Shiro didn’t drive far. He stopped around the airport terminal road outside a long row of lei stands.
Shiro kept the engine on and ran to the first lei stand.
“Stay here,” he shouted over his shoulder.
Kono watched his lover’s fine ass as he ran from stand to stand. He finally returned with two white-flower leis draping one over Kono’s head. The scent was intoxicating.
My Yakuza Page 16