by John Muir
CHAPTER 24
STARTING OF DOUBTS
near Linamon - Day 5
Immediately the Hapona had finished eating, he said he felt tired. Siti supplied a T-shirt filled with old clothes to serve as a pillow. The Hapona thanked her and within seconds he was into a deep sleep.
Omar Asani was confused. All the signs seemed to point to the fact that they did not have the Japanese. His cousin Salim had been there when the Japanese was dragged out of the Nissan. He surely must have recognised who he had captured. The Nissan belonged to the Japanese. The two killed were Japanese. This Japanese he had been told, not only spoke Japanese, but also several Filipino dialects, probably English as well. But this stranger only seemed to understand was English.
If this was not the Japanese, then where was the Japanese? According to their man on the spot, this was the man seen getting into the Nissan at the VIP Hotel.
Omar went to one of the two windows in the room. Neither contained glass, only rather flimsy sliding monsoon shutters. He needed to exert considerable force to slide open the shutters of the right window. Then, going to the left window, opened it too, considerably easier. At last there was now some natural light in the room. He stood there and gazed at the banana trees in the distance, and thought about what was happening.
If this stranger was not the Japanese, who was he? Why was he in Yamada's Nissan? Then, where was Yamada? Why had he not returned to his home or his work? Surely in revenge for an attempt on his life, Yamada, with his influence, would have mobilised an even stronger retaliation. Unless he did not know who was responsible.
Perhaps he was hiding in fear of his life, but nobody had seen him since they had ambushed his Nissan. Even the media were reporting him missing. His company said they were working to get the ransom money. Therefore, this had to be the Japanese. They would not be trying to raise money if it was not Yamada. Why then did he feel uncomfortable about it? He would let the stranger sleep.
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Maria Christina Hotel, Iligan - Day 5
Pater sent the group to the room booked for Henry and Rangi. He settled onto the bed and picked up the telephone handpiece. After a long wait the operator eventually came on the line. He asked her to contact the Finance Director at Paradise Canneries Office in Cagayan de Oro, and tell him that Father O'Reilly wanted to speak to him. As expected, the operator said she would phone back as soon as she had made contact.
Pater was hoping the Director was not Muslim. His 'Catholic priest' ploy, especially as an ordained Westerner, seemed to work very easily in the Catholic areas.
He picked up the receiver after the first ring, and immediately switched into a slow speaking Irish accent.
"Father O'Reilly here. Now who would that be that I am talking to?"
"Oh Father," came the excited reply of the man on the other end of the line. "I never expected a call from a member of the Church like this. This is Daniello Seville."
"Obviously from your response my son, you're one of us."
"Oh yes Father. I attend church Mass every Sunday with my wife and children."
"Well bless you for that my son. The Church will always remain strong while it has dedicated Catholics like yourself."
"Thank you Father. What can I do for you?"
"That's what I like. A good and efficient man in finance. Straight to the point."
"Oh, I'm sorry Father I didn't mean to be rude."
"No, it’s not being rude at all. I just really want to help you and all those at the factory during this terrible hour of need. You see, the Cardinal in Manila has taken a personal interest in what has happened and has sent me as his servant in this matter."
"You mean you..."
"Yes my son," Pater interrupted.
"You see he has received a request from the Prime Minister of Japan to offer our services to mediate in this problem. I was wondering then who might be handling the organising of it all and how I could get to talk to him."
"That is supposed to be me. However there has been an unforseen problem or two."
"Now then. Maybe it's a problem that we here in the Church can help with."
"I don't think so Father. It's basically an internal company problem."
"I do so much admire the skills of all you accountant types. Lord, as if I think I could understand it, but what is the trouble here?"
"I'm supposed to be in charge of finances. But Mr Yamada tends to make his own rules. With his personal assistant he arranges transfers of money to overseas investments, then, he doesn't keep good records of where it is."
"Ooh, I see. Can't the personal assistant help? Who is it and where is he?
"That's Mr Ueda, Father. He's Mr Yamada's personal assistant. Well that's what we have to call him. But really he's a sort of a bodyguard."
"We all have the Lord looking out for us. But there is no shame in having extra help. Where may I speak with Mr Ueda?"
"He's not here at the moment. He only calls in on a mobile phone."
"Isn't the wonder of science marvellous. We can be anywhere in the world now-a-days and talk on the phone even without all those wires. What is the number that I can contact Mr Ueda on?"
"Father; it’s Mr Yamada's private mobile number. I'm not allowed to give it out."
'Interesting' thought Pater. 'Why didn't Yamada have the phone with him when he was kidnapped?'
"I don't want to get you into any trouble then. Perhaps I should call on Mr Ueda. Where is he?"
"He says he's busy at the moment attending to some urgent and important work at Paradise Plantation. I find his attitude unbelievable. Surely this kidnapping is more important."
"I'm just here to help however I can. I don't want to disturb him. The Cardinal will be disappointed he won't be able to phone Mr Ueda with his offer of support. I'm sure the Prime Minister of Japan will understand too."
"Father. I'm sure this is a special case. Do you have a pen? I'll give you the number."
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Paradise Plantations - Day 5
Ueda watched the graders as they cleared the area they were told. Nothing had been accidentally uncovered so far. They were clearing the area faster than both he and Yamada would be able to cover with their metal detectors even if they were both working all night.
He knew that Yamada would be sleeping back in the nipa hut. Ueda had wanted to return to the hut to tell Yamada about the telephone call he had received on the mobile from the Irish Catholic priest, offering to mediate. He decided against it. Immediately after getting the call he had telephoned the Finance Director and told him he was not to give the number to anyone else. After the heated discussion about who was now in control of finances, Ueda switched off the phone while Seville was still talking.
Ueda wondered how long it would be before the body of the foreman started to smell in this muggy heat. He doubted Yamada was disturbed at the presence of the body which they had dragged into the corner, and covered with roofing iron. He knew that as soon as he got back to the hut he would be expected to bury it. Somewhere that Yamada hoped would never be found. If Yamada was ever linked to the killing, there were extradition treaties between Japan and the Philippines. Though, Yamada's money would probably buy him out of the Philippines end of that problem.
Would Yamada say Ueda had done it? It was Ueda's GP35 Hi-Power 9mm Browning that Yamada had used. That was supposed to be untraceable. He knew there were never any guarantees to that. No, he would have to bury that too; as far away from the body as possible. That would only leave him with his little .22 Colt Woodsman to which he also had a silencer fitted. That was still hidden in the nipa hut.
He felt sure now that his career with Yamada was rapidly coming to a close.
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Maria Christina Hotel - Day 5
Pater could occasionally hear the singing of the national anthems. When it went quiet he was sure Henry and Rangi would be taking them over the use of the r/t's and mobile phones once again. Henry and Rangi both knew that equipment failu
re was beyond their control. Lack of knowledge about an item on which they could train was not.
The telephone rang. It was the reporter, Ruben Consuelo. He had received a call from the kidnappers, and he requested the clothing as evidence. The kidnappers had agreed.
He also asked how long before he would get the evidence. The caller had only responded, "as long as it takes."
Consuelo went on, "I suspect that the man I spoke to is a local. He mixed his speech in Visayan and Maranao. But that doesn't mean he lives in Iligan. He could be non-city."
"Congratulations, you really know your stuff," said Pater.
"Thanks. But that wasn't just my opinion. The police have a man here permanently. He was the one who thought the man was a local."
"There's one more thing, from his phrasing and use of words I'm pretty sure he's Muslim. One thing that I know for sure; he really hates Yamada."
"You think Yamada's life it at risk then?"
"Definitely. If he's still alive now, I don't think he will be once the payment of the ransom is made. I know for sure he's really getting annoyed. The company is delaying everything and making excuses."
"Perhaps that gives an excuse to ask for evidence that he is still alive at some later time."
"Just what I've been thinking. The guy wants us to publish that the company is delaying payment. What do you think?"
"Probably a good idea. It'll give him faith in you if you do."
"I'll get it run then."
"Thanks again. I'll let you know everything we do." Pater hung up and was pleased with what he had heard. Consuelo was using his reporters’ investigative skills the right way. He did not want to tell Consuelo why he thought the company was delaying. The police might have been listening.
Pater knew that the length of time to delivery of the clothing would give them two possibilities. One was that the caller had simply telephoned someone else to deliver the items, or he had to go and fetch them himself. It would probably be the latter if he was keeping T.A. outside the city area. There are very few private phones.
With this in mind, he suggested a series of non-intrusive questions for the reporter to ask the kidnapper next time he called, in the hope of finding out whether he went to get the clothing himself or had it delivered.
After hanging up he went to the room where the group were gathered and repeated what the reporter had told him. He told them to do their ablutions quickly as it could be a long wait before the next opportunity. Then, meet him downstairs in five minutes.
He nodded to Henry and Rangi to follow him. He explained what he had learned from the secretary and about Ueda.
In five minutes, the jeepney collected them, and a few minutes later dropped them all off near the newspaper office to start their watching brief. He knew that despite Henry and Rangi's size, they would be inconspicuous. The others? he just had to hope for the best.
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near Linamon - Day 5
Omar passed through the curtains and waved the girls to come and stand next to him.
"I'm not sure what is happening here, but I don't think that man in there is the Japanese Yamada."
Zahra looked amazed. Siti smiled. Omar thought that was strange, but let it pass.
"Therefore I don't want you to tell anyone that he has regained consciousness. I know he's sleeping now, but don't tell anyone. I don't mean for you to be disrespectful to your Father, but he must not know. Not yet anyway."
Both girls now had looks of curiosity on their face.
"I want to be able to ask the man some more questions. Even though he can't remember anything at the moment, I hope to learn something."
"But what happens if Father returns?" asked Siti.
"If the stranger is awake, then we'll have to tell him he's just woken. If he is sleeping, then we'll say nothing."
The girls nodded their agreement.
Satisfied he had their promise, Omar returned through the curtain. He placed the set square flat on one of the thick jeepney windscreens lying on the floor, and began to scratch his fishing knife lightly down the line of the set square. He was not concerned about any noise he might make. If the stranger was unconscious, the noise did not matter. If he was sleeping as part of his recovery, it would be a deep sleep anyway.
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