“I don’t think he’s that stupid,” Mr. Barrymore said. “But the Chairman did order me to follow Walter and tap his phones. He thought Walter was acting odd, a little too defensive about the money situation. Why would you fire your accounting staff in the middle of a financial crisis? And then there was that alleged meeting with Mr. Müller you told him about.”
He stood and rolled his shoulders. “Of course, we weren’t making much progress with the investigation. Probably because most of the people I’d assigned to the task were the ones you fired today. I suspect they weren’t working too hard.”
I suddenly felt exhausted. “So what should we do?” I asked.
“We need to start a forensic audit of all the accounts. That’s out of my league, but I know a couple of experts here in San Francisco—old colleagues. I’ll keep going with the Walter investigation, but I’ll add Anthony, too.” He frowned at me. “And we need to make sure you’re safe.”
“I’ll handle my own security.”
He studied me. “Yes, she’s quite the bodyguard. Who is she anyway?”
I hesitated. “I can’t tell you.”
He nodded slowly. “Did she kill that man in Lower Pacific Heights?”
Hesitating, I couldn’t meet his eyes. “I thought you said one of your men ran away.”
“There was no connection to us, so no one knew anything … except me. I’m inclined to leave it that way.” He ran a hand over his buzz cut. “I wish the Chairman were here. This is gonna blow up, and soon.”
“We have to do it without him for now.”
“Won’t be easy. Mark Smith isn’t interested in security stuff, and Mr. Roacks has a lot of power here.”
I was instantly angry. “Mr. Roacks was demoted an hour ago, and I made damn sure he knew that Mark’s the president!”
His mouth puckered. “Walter isn’t going to like that.”
“I’ll worry about that. You just find out what’s going on. Oh, and send two guys to Brussels with my dad and Mark Smith.”
Mr. Barrymore didn’t move.
“What are you waiting for?”
His eyebrows rose. “You’re a lot like your grandfather, right down to the yelling.” He chuckled. “Yes, sir, I’ll get right on it.”
“Very good, Mr. Barrymore,” I said, lowering my voice to a growl, imitating Grandpa. “That’s more like it.”
CHAPTER
30
Mr. Barrymore gave me a ride home in his company car, a gray four-door sedan with an array of antennae on the roof and trunk—when I first saw it I thought it was an unmarked police car. But the inside was something else: leather seats, plush carpet, power everything, and a kick-ass aftermarket sound system. Not such a bad deal, working for Edward Thompson.
It was getting dark, with gray clouds hanging low over the city and a light rain falling as we emerged from the underground garage. A river of black umbrellas flowed down the sidewalks, away from the financial district. I stared out the window and sighed. My eyelids grew heavy and eventually slid closed.
I knew I’d done the right thing today—I’d kept the company out of Walter’s hands. But I was worried. Today hadn’t been a spur-of-the-moment power grab—the lawyers were there, the paperwork already drawn up. Walter must have been planning this for a while.
I opened my eyes to see the last rays of daylight shining through the clouds. I pulled the visor down to block it out, but when I caught my reflection in the vanity mirror, I froze.
“What’s wrong?” Mr. Barrymore asked.
Dark eyes stared right through me. I looked away, but I forced myself to turn back. The face—my face—was still there. Those eyes had gazed toward the top of the Izumo shrine and into the eyes of Shoko. They looked different … powerful.
“Nothing.”
I glanced in the mirror again. They were my new eyes and I liked them.
We saw nothing suspicious, no surveillance vans or occupied cars, when Mr. Barrymore dropped me off at home. Still, I felt something dark and menacing, like the storm clouds above us. I couldn’t pin it down.
The house was dark when I walked in, no smells of dinner cooking. Tama ambled down the hall toward me, looking bleary-eyed and disheveled. She meowed and rubbed against my leg and sauntered into the kitchen toward her food dish. I followed her, heading toward my own food dish—the cookie jar—and found a note on the counter.
Okaasan had gone to see Dad off at the airport and wouldn’t be home until later. I grabbed a handful of cookies and headed to my bedroom.
While I waited for my laptop to power up, I thought about Walter. He’d shown his true colors today, and he obviously didn’t think Grandpa was coming back.
I was fuming when Tama strolled into my room. She looked at me with her bored cat expression and headed straight for my legs. I reached down, lifted her onto my lap, and stroked her back for a minute before I started to laugh, realizing I looked like some crazy movie villain. I rubbed her fuzzy chin. Her purrs vibrated through my body and my anger began to subside.
My thoughts wandered—from Grandpa’s announcement on my birthday to the way Walter had looked at me, then to Lin and how she’d smelled when she kissed me. My thoughts lingered on Lin for a while, and then I thought of the day Shoko had stolen the journal.
I opened my eyes and sat up straight, knocking Tama to the floor. She let out a meow of indignation. Something about Grandpa’s office … specifically his desk.
Passwords! I still remembered the passwords on that yellow sticky note.
It felt good to touch a keyboard again, something I understood. A minute later, I was inside his account on the Thompson Group’s network. I wasn’t sure what I’d find, but I needed more information—about the company, about everything.
I spotted a dull-looking paper-and-pencil icon and clicked. It opened what looked like accounts, showing financial transactions, with more numbers and commas than I’d ever seen together. I rested my elbows on the desk and stared at the screen, scrolling at full speed until the numbers started to melt together. The evidence of what Walter was up to—what he’d been up to—was probably right in front of me, but I knew as much about accounting as a turnip did.
I stood up and paced, treading a path from my doorway to my bed, trying to get my thoughts together.
I needed to find out what Walter was plotting. If I could get into his e-mail, I was sure I’d find what I needed. But cracking into the corporate computers would be a nightmare—way beyond my skill level—and Grandpa’s security department would track me down in minutes.
Besides, I doubted Walter would keep any records at the office, and from what Lin had said, he’d packed all the paper records into that van and made them disappear while Mack and I enjoyed the baseball game. But Walter was bound to have a computer at home, and getting into that wouldn’t be a challenge at all.
But getting to his computer was another matter. Walter lived in a penthouse apartment. To get in there, I’d need to be some kind of …
Ninja.
I logged out of Grandpa’s account and shut off the screen. Outside, the rain had stopped. I’d just finished calling Shoko, asking her to help me later, when I felt someone coming—Okaasan.
When I strolled into the kitchen, she was struggling to close the door with her foot, her arms loaded with grocery bags. I took two bags from her and peered inside.
“I didn’t know you were home,” she said, sounding annoyed. “You’re getting good at hiding your energy.”
“Yeah? I felt you coming a block away.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Then why didn’t you get off your lazy butt and come help me?”
While Okaasan unloaded the groceries, I told her what had happened at the office. Her mood grew darker the more I talked.
I frowned. “What’s wrong?”
She turned to me, holding a cabbage in her hand like a basketball. “Your father already told me what happened.” She didn’t look impressed. “You’re trying to fill very big shoes and you
made a powerful enemy today.”
“Walter was already the enemy. I’m not worried about him.”
“A log can block a creek but not a river. You don’t know what’s coming. Don’t get overconfident.”
“Walter’s trying to take the company. I can’t sit back and do nothing.”
She gave me a look as she pulled some strange root out of the bag. “Are you sure that’s what he’s doing?”
“It’s obvious.” I shook my head. “And Dad almost gave it to him. If it wasn’t for me …” I stopped as a cloud of disappointment moved across her face.
“Please tell me you didn’t use your energy on him. He never would have gone to Brussels otherwise.”
My gaze dropped to the floor. “I didn’t force him to do anything.” Had I?
She sat down and stared at the table, not saying anything. I glanced around the kitchen, at the groceries still on the counter, then back at Okaasan.
“Your father’s spent his whole life trying to stay away.” Her voice was so quiet I had to strain to hear her. “You understand that?”
“You’re talking about Grandpa and maybe Bartholomew, though,” I said. “Not the business itself … right?”
She stood up. “They’re one and the same.” Her voice was strained. “Damn it, Junya, you just put him right into the middle of it!”
I let out a deep sigh. “He just needs to sign a few papers in Brussels, then every once in a while when he’s back. He doesn’t have to even go the office.”
“Junya—”
“No, Mom! It’s not just about the business and it’s not just about Dad. If we save the company, we stop Bartholomew. Grandpa will finally be free of him.” I pointed at her. “I’m going to find out what Walter’s up to—tonight—and Mr. Barrymore’s looking into the accounting. We got this buttoned down.”
“How can you possibly have this buttoned down?” She was angry now. “You don’t even know who tried to kill you.”
“It was Walter.”
“Can you prove it?” When I didn’t reply, she crossed her arms. “You pulled your father into this, but no one knows what this is!”
I heaved a huge sigh. “I need to focus on what I understand, and that’s getting into Walter’s computer.”
Okasan threw a meal together in about ten minutes, some meat-and-vegetable thing over rice, and I gulped it down, eager to get started on my clandestine operation. I was clearing the dishes off the table when I felt a disturbance in the earth’s energy. A long moment later, Okaasan jumped to her feet.
“Took you long enough,” I said.
She gave me a look. “You’ve been oblivious for the last sixteen years and now you’re an expert?” She pointed at the stack of dishes. “I’ll go meet Shoko. Wash the pots!”
I was up to my elbows in soap bubbles, grumbling under my breath and wondering if there was some way to travel the pots somewhere, when Shoko strolled into the kitchen.
“This house is amazing!” She pointed at the skylights. “I can see the sky!” She was dressed in skinny black jeans and a tight-fitting T-shirt. Her only accessories were her silver ring and a black hair band, holding her hair in a high ponytail. A black jacket completed the look.
“Wow!” I tried not to stare. “You look great!”
“Thank you,” she said and her cheeks reddened. “I had a friend help me buy them.” She moved closer. “I did not expect you to be useful around the house.”
I flicked a wad of soap bubbles at her before rinsing the last pot.
“Okaasan works me like a horse.” I tried to sound grumpy, but I was happy to see her. “Thanks for coming.”
She tilted her head to the side and looked at me. An uncomfortable silence settled over us. There were things we needed to talk about, but I didn’t have a clue how to start. From the look on her face, I figured she felt it, too, but she wasn’t ready to say anything either. Our thoughts—and our feelings—would remain unspoken, at least for now.
She broke the silence. “I felt no distress when you called.”
“Do I need a reason to call you?”
“You always have before.”
I sighed. “We’re going to break into someone’s house. We can be sneaky like ninja.”
She brightened. “That sounds fun … in a silly sort of way.”
“You’re not going anywhere until I make sure those pots are clean,” Okaasan said as she strode in from the hallway.
“They’re clean,” I grumbled and turned back to Shoko. “We’re going to Walter’s apartment. I need to get inside his computer.”
“Really? Then why do I need to rewash them half the time?” Okaasan said, hands on hips.
“Why don’t you do them yourself and save all the trouble?”
Shoko poked my arm. “What is a computer? Will we both fit inside it?”
Okaasan and I stared at her. Then Okaasan started to laugh.
“We’ll be OK,” I said.
Shoko didn’t look impressed with our laughter, but my thoughts were back on my plan, on what software I needed and how we’d get to the tenth floor of Walter’s apartment building.
“Do you have any climbing gear?” I asked Okaasan.
“I have a few things … from long ago.”
“Can you get Shoko set up? I need to load my memory stick.”
“Do not bother yourself, Misako-san.” Shoko glared across the kitchen at me. “If you want to climb, go ahead. I will meet you at the top.”
It was late when Shoko and I left the house and walked to the dojo. The air had a heavy, close feeling, and the damp seeped through my jacket, chilling my body. The rain was holding off, but the low clouds looked heavy.
Shoko carried her school bag slung over the shoulder of her new jacket. I hadn’t brought much, only a small pack with a few computer tools and a memory stick. I’d done all I could think of to prepare. Walter’s apartment was near Nobb Hill—Snob Hill I liked to call it—about a thirty-minute bus ride away. I’d studied a map online, checked the street-view images, and found a small park across from his building that looked promising—a patch of grass with enough shrubs and trees to give us a place to hide.
As we knelt side by side on the tatami mats, our eyes met. The soft glow of the house lights illuminated Shoko’s face. My chest clenched and I felt a flush come over me. I had to look away.
Her hand touched mine. “You are troubled?”
“No.” I kept my gaze on the mats. “It’s just that …” I really like you and I’d love to take you out after we finish up tonight. I know this great pizza place near the library that’s open late, a real Italian place, and the owner uses a real brick oven. Would you like to go with me? “I’m a bit nervous, that’s all.”
She nodded and moved her hand away. “Then let’s begin.” She was all business now. “I need you to view our destination and feel if it is safe.”
“I can’t do that.”
“You must. Focus, Junya, see it in your mind.”
I closed my eyes, focused on my breathing, and tried to push thoughts of Shoko out of my head. I pictured the park and let my mind clear. I saw the street-view picture in my head, but—
“Use less energy,” Shoko said in a strained voice. “Let the Mother Earth do the work. Go there, feel the energy. Try to see what is there.”
I tried again, but there was nothing, only the usual noise in my brain. I sighed.
“This is important, Junya,” she said, sounding a bit annoyed. “We cannot appear like a gopher from his hole.”
I was about to give up when I felt the energy of Mother Earth seep up through the tatami and into my body. A distorted image began to form in my mind. A moment later, I was in the park—at least a part of me was. The air swirled around me like mist. Through it I saw a thermal image of shapes and energy—warm red and orange shapes and the cool greens and blues of the earth. Above me, a bird rested in a nest, three warm eggs beneath it. Near the fence, a cat stalked through the bushes behind a smaller oran
ge shape that moved ahead of it, unaware.
Two people, a mix of glowing orange and red, passed by on the sidewalk. I could have reached out and touched them. Would they have felt me, or I them? I waited until they were gone to open my eyes. “That’s amazing!”
“If you believe it, you can do it. Nothing is impossible.” She was smiling. “It is safe there?”
“I think so.” I suddenly felt drained and emotional. “It’s quiet.”
Shoko’s eyebrows came together. “What is it?”
“I just feel so strange.” I paused, trying to find the right words. “Since I got back, I’ve been so caught up in all this business crap. I feel so far away from Izumo … from the gods.”
Shoko looked confused. “The energy of the gods is always with us. It is not an afterthought—it is the thought.”
I took her hand. “Let’s go.”
CHAPTER
31
When we appeared in the park, it was nothing like what I’d seen with my energy. The light from street lamps flooded across the dew-covered grass, sparkling in the light. It might have been a beautiful sight at any other time, but now we were in the open, exposed.
We both dived into the shadows but in different directions.
I glanced over at Shoko. She was behind a small bush, peering out at the street. Unlike me, she looked calm, but I caught the glint of light on steel—she’d drawn her wakizashi. She ran across the grass, bent low, and dropped down next to me.
“Next time,” she whispered, “pick a hiding spot before you travel.”
“You didn’t tell me that,” I whispered back.
“It is common sense.”
I turned to her, ready to argue, but she was smiling.
“Being with you is always interesting,” she said. “Every moment is an adventure.”
I looked across the street, suppressing a smile. Walter’s apartment building wasn’t new but it looked well-kept and tidy, luxury evident even from the outside. The doorman, dressed in a long red jacket and black cap, stood outside the glass lobby doors, watching and waiting. A dozen expensive cars lined the curb in front of him. Through the glass, I saw two men in dark suits sitting on a sofa in the lobby. They looked familiar and I closed my eyes, reaching out, trying to sense something from them, but I felt nothing.
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