“It is also known as Rohypnol,” she said.
“You mean … roofies?” he asked, eliciting a puzzled look from Kobayashi. “That’s what we call it in Canada — or the date rape drug. It has the effect of incapacitating someone, so they wake up unaware of what’s happened to them.”
Kobayashi nodded. “Yes, that is the effect. It is unfortunate, but incidents involving this drug are not uncommon, especially in the part of Roppongi where Mr. Seger was found. Certain criminal elements take advantage of the victim, but violence of this nature is not usually part of the pattern.”
Charlie had been warned about these types of incidents in his personal security briefing. The description was similar to Kobayashi’s in that violence was not the primary concern. Rather, the victim’s plastic was usually lifted and a number of items charged on it before it was tucked back in the victim’s wallet and he was sent on his way in a cab, barely conscious. In Seger’s case, either something had gone wrong, or this wasn’t just the usual fleecing. He could imagine Seger putting up a fight, but it was hard to tell how he might have reacted under the influence of the drug.
“What about cause of death?”
Again, Kobayashi glanced at the report, but it was clear she knew the answer. “Trauma to the back of the head, possibly by a rounded object.”
“Why would they drug him and then beat him to death?” Charlie wondered aloud. “It doesn’t really make sense.”
“Perhaps he resisted, or fell,” she said, obviously considering the same possibilities that Charlie had a few seconds earlier. But as they looked at each other in silence in the seconds that followed, it was clear that neither of them was buying it. “Were you able to contact any of Mr. Seger’s family members?”
Charlie shook his head. “I’m afraid I’m O for two.” He noticed her reaction and added: “I mean, I’m not having much luck locating family members, either for Mr. Lepage or Mr. Seger. I was hoping maybe Rob Lepage’s employer might have known Seger, but I was just there and … no luck.”
“Who is Mr. Lepage’s employer?”
“Nippon Kasuga — a securities trading firm,” he said, seeing from her reaction that she hadn’t heard of them. “I’m waiting for some callbacks from Canada though,” he added, “so I may have something to go on soon, with any luck. I’d like to get someone to request an autopsy, under the circumstances.”
“Well, we will await instructions, and Mr. Seger’s body will be held here until then — you need not worry.”
“Thank you.” He glanced at the paper on the table between them. “Nothing else out of the ordinary in there?”
She shook her head. “Mr. Seger’s cardiovascular health was not optimal, but he was otherwise generally fit.”
“So he didn’t just drop dead from a heart attack or something?”
“No. I understand your wanting an autopsy, but I must warn you, it may not reveal anything more about how he died.”
“I know.” Charlie frowned. “I just have a feeling something’s not quite right.”
“You seem as though you have experience with these matters.”
“You could say that,” he said, deciding not to get into the other suspicious deaths he had come across in recent years. He had no objective reason to suspect anything other than the most likely explanation of Seger’s death — a random scam gone wrong — but he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something more just below the surface. “Well, I won’t keep you. Thank you again for this information, and for your time.”
“I have been asked to provide whatever assistance I can to your embassy in this matter,” Kobayashi said as they reached the secure doors again.
“I appreciate it.” As they bowed by the door, he noticed that although she was wearing her hair in the same severe bun as the day before, there was something different about her overall look. Was she wearing makeup? And he detected a light floral scent that he hadn’t noticed the day before.
“Goodbye, Mr. Hillier.”
“Charlie,” he said with a smile.
CHAPTER 10
Charlie held the phone receiver to his ear as he listened to the ringing at the other end for the eighth time. He was mentally double-checking the time difference between Tokyo and Vancouver when he heard an abrupt click followed by a female voice at the other end.
“Hello?” The voice seemed breathless.
“Is this Maria Taylor?”
“Yes.” The speaker was still catching her breath, but he could tell from her guarded tone that he had better get to the point fast.
“I’m calling about your brother, Michael Seger.”
There was a pause at the other end, and Charlie was on the verge of asking whether she was still there when the woman spoke again. “What about him?”
Charlie detected a distinct shift in her tone, from guarded to downright hostile, at the mention of Seger’s name. He knew the Surrey RCMP had already been in touch with Seger’s only living next of kin a few hours earlier, so he wasn’t sure what to expect when he called, but the detached, almost indifferent air was a surprise.
“I’m very sorry for your loss.”
“And you are?”
“I’m sorry. My name’s Charlie Hillier. I’m a consular officer at the Canadian embassy in Tokyo. Were you aware that your brother was in Tokyo?”
“Like I told the cops, I haven’t seen my brother in years.”
The conversation was not following the course that Charlie had predicted. “Well, I want to assure you that I’m here to assist you in making the necessary arrange—”
“I don’t think you understand. I’m not interested in any arrangements for my brother. He’s been dead to me for almost a decade.”
Charlie tried again. “Well, I’m sure you’ll want to be involved in —”
“Look, Mr. … what was your name again?”
“Hillier. Charlie Hillier”
“Right. I know this is gonna sound cold, Mr. Hillier, but my brother and I were not close. Not in the least, and I am not interested in any arrangements to get him back to Canada. For all I care you can let the Japanese cremate him or whatever they do over there. I really don’t care.”
“Mrs. Taylor, I’m sure this is upsetting news. Maybe I should call back tomorrow.”
“You can call back tomorrow, next week, or next year if you want, but it’s not going to change anything.”
Charlie tried a different tack. “Are you aware of the circumstances of your brother’s death?”
“Sounds like he went on a bender and got mugged. A real shocker for my little brother, Mike.”
“Did the police mention the possibility of an autopsy to you?”
“I told them not to bother. I figure Mike probably got what he deserved. Look, I’ve got to go pick up my kid in a couple of minutes …”
“Maybe I could call back later, or tomorrow?”
There was an audible sigh at the other end of the phone. “You sound like a nice guy, Mr. Hillier, and I’m sure you’re just doing your job. If there are forms I need to sign as his sister, then I guess I’ll sign them, but you can go through my lawyer for that. Please don’t call here again.”
“Mrs. Taylor …” he began, then stopped, realizing he was listening to a dial tone. “Shit.” He put down the phone and looked up to see Karen Fraser at his door.
“Everything all right?”
Charlie shrugged. “That was Mike Seger’s sister.”
“The guy they found in Roppongi?”
He nodded. “She doesn’t want anything to do with him — her own brother. Said he was dead to her. She basically told me to tell the Japanese to toss him in an incinerator.”
Fraser whistled. “That’s pretty cold. Must be a hell of a family story there.”
“Uh-huh. But whatever it is won’t help my consular case.” Charlie leaned back in his chair and sighed. “I was hoping to get her to request an autopsy.”
Fraser came in and sat in one of the chairs on the other si
de of his desk. “You think that’s necessary? I mean, we pretty much know what happened, don’t we?”
“Maybe. The blood test showed there was Rohypnol and booze in Seger’s system, which certainly seems consistent with him having wandered into the wrong bar in Roppongi. What’s strange is that he ended up dead.”
Fraser was frowning. “I suppose it is pretty rare for a foreigner to actually end up dead, as opposed to ripped off. You have another theory?”
He shook his head. “I’ve got nothing, which is why I was hoping an autopsy might give me some clues. He seems to have died as a result of a blow to the head by a rounded object.”
“You talk to the RCMP?”
He nodded. “Sure. I’ve got a follow-up call with someone in Ottawa tonight at nine.”
“The time difference is a killer when you have to deal with HQ,” she said, getting back up. “Well, good luck. Oh,” she added, pausing by the door, “the reason I dropped by.… Have you got your costume for Friday?”
“Costume?”
“I didn’t tell you it was a Halloween party?”
Charlie’s face said it all. “Do they even celebrate Halloween here?”
“Are you kidding? They go crazy, but don’t worry, you don’t have to do anything elaborate. Just paint your face if you want.”
“Right,” he said as she smiled and disappeared into the hall. He had forgotten about the weekend get-together and, come to think of it, he couldn’t recall Fraser mentioning that it was a costume party. The idea of scouring costume shops for something suitable didn’t really appeal to him, but he couldn’t very well go without a costume. Apart from sticking out like a sore thumb, he’d come off as a spoilsport. A vampire costume was pretty easy to put together, and he could always fall back on something he’d tried in a pinch many years before — taping fake court documents to a suit and going as a lawsuit. His mental inventory of what he would need for a pirate costume was interrupted by a little ding on his computer, announcing a new incoming message. Recognizing Dr. Yamaguchi’s email address, he leaned forward and scanned the message, asking Charlie to drop by the hospital this afternoon, at Rob Lepage’s request. He wondered what Lepage wanted to see him for, then double-checked that he didn’t have any meetings after lunch, before sending back a reply confirming that he would come over around two.
He decided a cup of coffee was in order and was halfway to the machine at the end of the hall when he heard his name and turned to see the RCMP liaison officer walking toward him.
“Oh, hi, Steve.” Charlie wondered whether Steve Fortier’s presence had something to do with the call to Ottawa that they were supposed to make together at nine. It crossed his mind that it might also have to do with his recent conversation with Seger’s sister, but he had only been off the phone with her for ten minutes. “I was just getting a coffee. You want one?”
“I’m good, thanks. Listen, I was just going over this Seger guy’s file and something isn’t adding up.”
“Really? What is it?”
“You said he told you he made a side trip to Japan to visit Lepage from Hong Kong, right?”
“Yeah.” Charlie nodded, growing more curious by the minute.
“Well, I ran his passport, and he came direct to Narita from Montreal.”
“He wasn’t in Hong Kong?”
Fortier shook his head. “Not in the last few months. He spent a week there about two months ago, and hasn’t been back since.”
Charlie frowned. “That’s weird. I’m sure he told me he came via Hong Kong. Why would he lie about that?”
“I don’t know. And there’s something else — this company,” he added, looking at a photocopy of Seger’s business card that Charlie had given him. “Paragon Properties. It has an address in Montreal, but I can’t find any record of incorporation anywhere. It was registered in Hong Kong, but it was discontinued two years ago.” He produced a photocopy of a corporate registry search.
“Can I see that?”
Fortier handed it over. “You can keep that. I have the PDF.”
Charlie scanned the document, confirming the name was identical to the one on Seger’s business card, which listed the company as having a head office in Montreal and another office in Hong Kong. “What do you think this means?”
“Could mean a few things,” Fortier said, with a shrug. “Maybe he ran out of cards and was using his old ones, but that wouldn’t explain why he told you he was in Hong Kong before coming to Tokyo.”
“Or?”
“Or maybe Seger was lying, both about the company and his travel plans.”
“Why would he do that?”
Fortier shrugged. “That I don’t know.”
Charlie stepped off the elevator onto the fifth floor of the Tokyo Medical University Hospital at precisely two o’clock, according to his watch. He was proud of the fact that he had timed the trip so well, considering he had opted for the subway rather than bothering a driver. He knew it probably had more to do with the efficiency of the Tokyo Metro than his own skill, but he had to acknowledge that he was getting more and more comfortable with getting around in his new home. He asked for Yamaguchi at the reception desk and was told he was on rounds, but that he had left instructions for Charlie to be brought in to see Lepage. After signing a visitor’s log, he was led by a nurse he had seen before down the hall to Lepage’s door. Entering the room, Lepage turned to greet him. The vacant look that Charlie had noticed the last time he had visited was gone, replaced by an intensity in the banker’s eyes that Charlie quickly realized was intense concentration.
“Charlie,” he said, after a slight hesitation. “Right?”
He nodded and smiled. “So you remember. That’s got to be a good sign.”
Lepage’s expression conveyed a mixture of satisfaction and relief. “Yeah, the doctor says my short term memory’s fine, but I still don’t trust it myself.”
“All I can say is that from what I’ve seen of Dr. Yamaguchi, he seems to know what he’s talking about,” Charlie said. “If he says it’s fine, I’d tend to think he’s right.”
Lepage smiled. “I guess you’re right. I am pretty lucky.”
“He said you wanted to talk to me about something?”
Lepage seemed to hesitate for a split second, then plucked something off the side table and handed it to Charlie.”
“What’s this?”
“It’s the key to my apartment.”
Charlie looked at the key card, then back at Lepage.
“I was wondering if you could check it out for me. Just make sure everything’s in order.” He seemed embarrassed at having to make the request.
“Um, sure. I can do that.”
“Dr. Yamaguchi said visual cues can be really good for memory, and since I can’t really go anywhere right now,” Lepage continued, pointing to the cast on his leg, “I was hoping while you were there, you might find something to bring back — like a picture or something — that might help me to remember.”
Charlie nodded. He was thinking the idea was sound, except for his own involvement, considering they hardly knew each other. He would have thought Lepage would have asked Kimura first.
“I don’t want to impose,” Lepage said, as though reading his mind.
“No, it’s no problem, really.”
“I’d ask Mike,” he said, picking up a business card from the bedside table and tapping it with his finger. “But I’m having a hard time tracking him down.”
Charlie froze at the sight of the card and its familiar logo. He assumed — although he didn’t really know why, now — that someone had broken the news that his friend had turned up dead.
“What?” Lepage asked, in response to the look on Charlie’s face.
“I … it’s just that … well, I’m afraid I have some bad news.”
“About what?”
“About Mike,” he said, wondering whether he should hold off breaking the news until he spoke to Yamaguchi. Lepage had already been through a lo
t, and he didn’t want to make things worse. Then again, he supposed Lepage would find out sooner or later.
“What about him?”
“You, uh … so, I guess you remember talking to him, a few days ago?”
Lepage looked puzzled. “Yeah, why do you ask?”
Charlie hesitated, deciding there was nothing to gain by asking Lepage why he didn’t seem to remember the meeting with Seger just twenty-four hours after it had occurred. He obviously remembered it now. “Mike, uh … he died the other night. The police are still looking into it. He might have been mugged.”
The look on Lepage’s face was a mix of shock and confusion. “I … I can’t believe it.”
“I really am sorry,” Charlie offered. “I know you two were friends, and I’m sorry to spring it on you like this. I thought you knew.”
They sat in silence for a while, then Lepage shook his head. “I can’t …”
Charlie waited for more, but Lepage was silent again. “Can’t what, Rob?” he prompted gently.
“I can’t even remember him … before the accident, I mean. I think we were pretty good friends, and I’ve got … nothing.” He shook his head, glanced at the business card, and then looked out the window. “No recollection at all. How can I feel grief for someone I can’t even remember?”
Charlie shifted from one foot to the other. “I’m sure it must be awful, but like we were saying, you have to have faith that your memory will come back — and the medical signs are all good. Maybe I can find something in your apartment that will bring it all back for you,” he added.
Lepage slowly nodded. “I sure hope so.”
“Do you want me to get in touch with Aiko, maybe bring her —”
“No.”
The speed and tone of the response was as clear an indication that Lepage could give that he had avoided assigning the task to Kimura for a reason. Charlie decided not to delve.
“No problem. I can go tonight.” He stopped himself from asking Lepage for the address just in time, realizing he had the information on file already. He had just put the key in his pocket when he heard the hinges on the door creak and Aiko Kimura appeared behind him. She glanced from Lepage to Charlie and back, her hard glare softening slightly as she approached Lepage and took him by the hand, before leaning over and kissing him on the cheek.
Remember Tokyo Page 7