by Unknown
“Like I got run over by a bus,” Josh mumbled. The young man must have been a doctor. “What happened?”
“You run over by bus,” the doctor said with an amused smile.
Josh remembered everything in a flash; the nightclub, Valeria, dancing, getting hit on the head, seeing her walk away, chasing her into the street, and the bus. He was furious and tried to sit up. A stabbing pain in his chest and left arm knocked his breath out and he collapsed.
“Do not sit up. Best to rest,” the doctor said.
He set the clipboard down and went out.
Josh tried to assess his injuries. He felt a stinging pain in his scalp and the skin felt tight. That must have been where the bottle hit his head. More stitches to add to his collection. The bandage on his face probably meant a broken nose, which would explain why it was so hard to breathe. His right arm was in a sling and hurt from the shoulder down to his fingers. It must have been broken, too, and probably in several places. The whole left side of his chest hurt like hell, especially when he tried to force air through his blocked nose. He was sure what that was: broken ribs, probably all of them. He moved each leg. They still worked.
That was a good sign. His left arm worked, although it was stiff.
He could still shoot, if he had a gun.
The thought of trying to find Valeria made him angry again.
How could he be so stupid to fall for her like that? She used him like a toy.
He had fallen for her because he wanted to. He wanted to be with her from the first moment he saw her. She was so beautiful and so vulnerable. It had been so long. He completely forgot how good a kiss could feel.
He clenched his jaw, furious at himself, shaking his head in disbelief. He was so gullible when she confided in him about her past and tried to get him to tell her something about himself. He 198
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wanted her to ask. He was thrilled that a beautiful woman would be interested in him.
But it was a cruel joke. She was only looking for a way to manipulate him. He’d never let that happen again. Now he had to find her and she could be anywhere. Filmore trusted him with that assignment. How was he going to tell her he blew it?
Josh decided he had to get up and do something. He’d been hurt worse in a hockey game. He swung his feet to the floor and sat up on the edge of the bed. He felt a sudden light headedness and held the mattress to keep from falling face first on the tiled floor. Maybe getting up so soon was a mistake. His entire body hurt.
The door swung open again and Hidaka walked in, wearing a different brown suit. He looked at Josh with an expressionless face, and Josh stared back, his eyebrows low.
“Where is the girl, Mr. McGowan?”
“Good morning to you, too, Detective,” Josh said.
“Where is the girl?”
“Do I look like I know?”
Hidaka let out a long breath. His voice became more force-ful.
“Do not think you can deceive me any longer. I know who you are.”
“Good for you. Are you gonna arrest me?”
“I hope that won’t be necessary.”
“Then stay out of my way.”
“Not until you tell me where the girl is,” Hidaka said.
Josh shook his head. “She’s none of your business.” Hidaka’s voice rose again.
“She’s a Soviet spy on Japanese soil without permission. That makes it my business.”
“There is no Soviet Union anymore.”
“The fact that-”
“Oh, get over it, Detective. She’s my responsibility and I answer to my government. Just because one of your citizens was kind enough to rescue us doesn’t mean I brought her here to defile Change of Heart
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your precious soil. Just let me find her and we’ll get the hell out of here and you’ll never see us again.” Hidaka said nothing. Josh pushed himself to his feet.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Mr. McGowan.” Josh looked around the room. “Where are my clothes?” Hidaka stepped forward. “I can’t let you leave,” he said.
“You can’t keep me here, either. You have nothing to charge me with.”
“Kidnapping, harboring a fugitive, illegal entry. I can come up with a dozen possible charges, any of which is good enough to detain you.”
“You could but you won’t,” Josh said.
He was growing impatient with Hidaka.
“What makes you so confident I won’t?” Josh hesitated, realizing he sounded more confident than he felt. His only chance was to contact the Embassy. If he couldn’t get through to them, he’d be at Hidaka’s mercy.
“Because I can go over your head,” Josh said, hoping he still sounded confident.
He pushed his way past Hidaka and went straight across the hall to the nurse’s counter. The young doctor saw him and rushed to him, ordering him back to bed in his broken English.
He and one of the nurses tried to pull Josh by his good arm, but Josh shrugged them off. The doctor shouted orders for security and a sedative in Japanese and the nurses rushed to carry them out. Hidaka said nothing but stood back and watched. Josh realized how much taller he was than those around him. With the bandages and his stiff movements he must have looked like Frankenstein’s monster come to life.
He reached the desk and leaned on it, glad to have something to rest on. Already he was exhausted. A nurse was on the phone, demanding security. Josh took the phone from her, pushed down the receiver button and asked in Japanese, “Is this an outside line?”
The doctor and the other nurses became silent and stared at him. Josh recognized the amazed expression on the doctor’s 200
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face as he realized all along his patient understood their language.
Hidaka’s face showed no change in expression.
“Yes,” the nurse said.
“Thank you.”
Josh dialed the operator and asked for the American Embassy.
The doctor, the nurse and Hidaka watched. When the connection was made, the same woman’s voice with the southern accent greeted him.
“Good morning. Can I speak to Bo Tormino, head of security, please?” Josh asked.
“May I ask who’s calling?” the woman’s voice asked.
“McGowan, Joshua, oh-one-eight, five-nine-five, seven-seven-nine-two.”
“One moment, please.”
There was a click. Josh looked at Hidaka. He had no desire to humiliate the man or make him look bad, but neither did he have the time or patience to deal with his irritating political maneuvering.
The line clicked again.
“McGowan?” came a rough, deep voice.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“McGowan, you dog. What the fuck are you doing in Japan?”
Josh smiled. Tormino still spoke like a Marine.
“Listen, Bo, I don’t mean to be abrupt. I don’t have much time. I’m stuck in a hospital in Sapporo and I need you to bring me in.”
“Right. Is this a secure line?” Tormino said.
“No.”
Josh loved the way Tormino was able to dispense with formalities and get right to the serious stuff. Nothing ever rattled the man.
“Right. What hospital?”
Josh looked at the nurse.
“What hospital is this?” he asked in Japanese.
“Damamushin,” the nurse said.
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Josh repeated it into the phone.
“Right.” There was a short pause. “I’ll have a girl there to pick you up in about an hour.”
Josh smiled at Tormino’s language again. He was old school.
To him a woman was always a girl.
“One more thing. I need some clothes to wear. Oh, and call Walt for me if you could.”
“Right. Clothes. You still the same size or have you put on any weight yet?”
“Still the same size, Bo,” Josh said.
“Damn you kids to
day,” Tormino said and hung up.
Josh turned around. They were all looking at him. His head was throbbing and he realized he was hungry. He wanted to ask for some food and aspirin, but, looking at Hidaka, he was sure they would give him some sort of sedative if he gave them the opportunity, so he decided to wait until the ‘girl’ arrived. Normally Josh wasn’t paranoid, but with Hidaka hanging around watching him like a buzzard, he chose to be prudent, and returned to his bed.
While he waited, the doctor explained his injuries. He had three broken ribs, a broken nose and a partially separated right shoulder. Josh was relieved to know his arm wasn’t broken. He was also relieved to learn he had only slept through the night. He was worried he’d slept for several days. Even so, finding Valeria seemed impossible. He wasn’t even sure she was still in Sapporo.
She might have friends she could contact and those friends might be resourceful. If so, she could be anywhere in the world by then.
Or she could be just in the next room. He hated dilemmas like that.
Josh asked the doctor to rewrap his arm so he wouldn’t have to use the sling. He was sitting on the edge of the bed with the hospital gown around his waist, and a nurse held his arm up. The doctor was wrapping a bandage around his shoulder and chest when Hidaka came in with a young woman. She wore a smart, dark blue business suit with a short skirt and high heels. Her hair was long, straight and black and she carried a purse on her 202
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shoulder and a package of clothes under her arm.
“Hi, are you Josh?” she said in English with a smile.
“Yeah, who are you?”
“Mariko,” she said, extending her hand. Josh looked at her and she seemed to realize he couldn’t shake while they were wrapping his arm, so she took her hand back. “Mr. Tormino sent me.”
“You’re not Japanese, are you?”
“Born and raised in Portland,” Mariko said, with a cute smile.
The doctor finished and the nurse let his arm down. Josh asked them to leave. They left and Hidaka followed.
“What do you have?” Josh asked, watching her eyes.
She was cheerful and outgoing and he was actually happy to see her.
“I brought a pair of jeans, a shirt, some socks and shoes,” Mariko said as she laid each item on the bed. “Mr. Tormino said he hopes they fit. He wasn’t sure he remembered how tall you are.
There was something else I’m supposed to tell you,” she said.
Josh picked up the shirt and tried to put it on with one good arm.
Mariko opened her purse again and took out a slip of paper, which she read.
“Oh yeah. Mr. Tormino called Walt like you asked and he said he wants you to call him back immediately.” She looked at Josh. He was having trouble getting his arm into the shirt. “Can I help you with that?”
Josh looked at her sheepishly. “Please?” She put her purse on the bed and helped him put the shirt on. Josh winced in pain when he had to raise his arm, and Mariko was very patient.
Josh picked up the jeans.
“I’ll help you with those,” Mariko offered. Before he could protest she took them from him. “You just get out of that.” She nodded to the blue hospital gown he was wearing. Josh hesitated and blushed and she laughed. “What are you embarrassed Change of Heart
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about?”
“I’m only wearing underwear underneath this.”
“I figured that,” she said and laughed again. “Don’t worry, I won’t look.” She turned her head to the side, giggling. “Some spy you are.”
“Who said I was a spy?” Josh said as he untied the waist of the scrub pants.
Mariko humphed in contempt.
“You worked with Mr. Tormino in the past, you use an identity code, I can figure a few things out for myself, you know. Now stop being bashful and put these on.”
“Sorry,” Josh said.
He dropped the scrubs and put his feet in the jeans. It was difficult and painful even with her help and he was grateful because he didn’t think he could have done it by himself.
Hidaka was nowhere around when they came out of the room.
Mariko spoke to the nurse at the desk and they went to her car, a tiny rented Honda parked in a structure beside the hospital.
Josh looked at his face in the side mirror. The bandage on his nose covered most of his face. He touched it carefully. It wasn’t swollen and it didn’t hurt that much. In all the years he’d been breaking parts of his body, he’d never broken his nose before.
He guessed it had to happen sooner or later.
He took the bandage off. “How’s it look?” Mariko shook her head, making an ugly face. “Nasty.”
“Thanks,” Josh said sarcastically.
He examined himself again in the mirror. His nose was a little crooked, his eyes were black and blue and there was a dark blue line across the bridge of his nose, probably where it broke, he assumed.
Mariko drove straight to the airport and they boarded a jet for Tokyo. Valeria was still on Josh’s mind. He puzzled over the problem of how to find her all day. Something about her bothered him at the back of his mind like a tiny fly buzzing around at a picnic. He settled into his seat and closed his eyes as the jet rose into the air and it came to him.
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The tattoo. Valeria had intentionally not told him something about the tattoo. Maybe that was the clue he needed to help find her. But what would he do with it?
He looked at Mariko. She was reading a magazine. She looked up and smiled at him.
And what about Walt? He was going to blow up when he told him he’d lost her. He’d be pissed because he had to tell Filmore Josh had failed. How did he always get himself into these messes?
The flight to Tokyo took a little more than an hour. Josh dozed on the way with the image of Valeria’s ankle and the entwined roses tattoo running through his mind.
The plane landed late in the afternoon. Another person from the Embassy met them at the gate to drive them back, an American named Tom, with straight blonde hair like a surfer. Rush hour traffic in Tokyo was horrendous, making the drive to the Embassy almost as long as the flight from Sapporo. When they reached the Embassy, it was as crowded as the roads. Josh arrived on the night of an important diplomatic function.
They entered the Embassy by a side door to avoid interfering with the diplomats entering through the front from their limousines.
A security man in a black tuxedo held the door open and Josh, Mariko and Tom entered a small vestibule.
“Well, well, well. Joshua McGowan. What in the world’s kept you away so long?”
Josh recognized the voice and turned around.
“Gloria?” he said.
She was a large, heavy set woman in her mid forties, wearing an elegant, long black dress with her auburn hair done in waves.
“He remembers.” She got close to him and saw his face.
“Good Lord, what happened to you?” she said, touching his cheek.
“I had a fight with a bus.”
She shook her head. “It’s always something with you, isn’t it?” She hugged him until he cried in pain.
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“How are your kids?” Josh asked.
“I’ve got one more daughter now, and one less husband.”
“Really? I’m sorry about that.”
“Don’t be. He wasn’t man enough for me, anyway.” She laughed and Josh laughed with her, although he felt sad for her. Gloria was a good woman and in the time he had known her and her husband he envied them for the happiness they shared.
Just proved how much he knew about relationships.
“Bo’s been waiting for you to get here since you called,” Gloria said. “If I know him, he’s been pacing the halls for hours. God knows that man has enough on his mind.”
“Yeah. I’ve got a hell of a story for him this time.” Gloria put her hands up. “Don�
��t tell me. That’s not anything I need to know.”
“Come on, I’ll take you to him,” Tom said.
Josh followed him through the doorway that led to a side hallway.
Gloria looked at Mariko. There was a slight smile on her lips and a look in her eyes as she watched Josh go.
“What are you thinking, Mariko?” Gloria said.
Mariko looked defensive for a moment, then smiled.
“I was just thinking he might like my tampopo.” Gloria laughed. “You’d be wasting your time with that one, dear.”
Mariko’s smile fell and her brow creased in confusion. “What do you mean?”
Gloria put her arm around Mariko. “It’s his profession. He’s just not the marrying kind.”
Josh and Tom found Tormino pacing in an adjoining hallway.
He wore a tuxedo and was speaking into a hand held radio. He saw Josh and came toward him with a big grin and his hand extended.
“Goddamn it, Josh it’s good to see you again. Jesus, you look like you lost a fight with a bull.”
“I did, in a way.”
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Tormino brushed it aside. Josh could tell he didn’t have much time for formalities.
“What can we do for you?”
Tormino hadn’t changed. He was still built like a rock and his face was still square and his hair was still a military brush cut.
Maybe he had filled out, but he was quite a bit older now, probably close to retirement, Josh speculated.
“Actually, I need to use a phone to call back to the States.” Tormino’s eyes focused on the floor as he concentrated.
“Right. You can use the offices downstairs. You remember where they are, right?”
“Sure. I might need some help with the computers, though.”
Tormino looked at Tom.
“I need Tom with me. I’ll have Mariko meet you down there.” He raised the radio to his mouth and spoke into it.
“Great. Thanks.”
The stairway to the basement offices was dark. Josh felt around on the walls for a minute to find a lightswitch. It had been longer than he remembered since he roamed these halls.
The layout of the building had not changed, but his memory had faded over the years.
He found the offices where they were supposed to be, but here the layout was different. The large office space was now divided into cubicles. Each cubicle had a desk and each desk had a computer. He’d have no trouble figuring out how to work the systems, he just didn’t know the access codes.