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All Rights Reserved © 2018, Rick Haydn Horst

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

"As you counted Julien among your group, the police wish to speak with you," said the captain. "I'll have a crewman take you to the dock. Come to the main deck when you're ready."

When the captain had gone, David hugged me, no doubt prompted by my horrified expression.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I can't believe it."

"Neither can I," said David. "Why would he go to the dock?"

I nodded. "At night."

We dressed in our regular clothing and hurried to the main deck at the aft of the ship. Since it happened on land, it didn't involve the captain, so he didn't accompany us, but he saw us off. Crewman Hanshiro would transport us to the dock.

"Who ferried Julien to shore last night?" David asked the captain.

"I did," said Hanshiro from the dinghy, "at 1:45 this morning. He asked me, so I told him I would do it."

David and I both gave him a look of astonishment.

"I know what you will say," said Hanshiro, "it sounded foolish to me too, but he was an Interpol officer; what could I do except take him?"

By the time we neared the dock, we had plenty of light, and from the water, we could see dozens of police officers. They searched the area for clues. When we arrived at the scene, we spoke to Inspector Renati of the Mumbai police. Julien's body lay a few feet behind him beneath a sheet.

I had only ever seen two dead bodies, my best friend who died many years ago --whose funeral I attended as my first and last, and the man from whom David protected me at the warehouse in London. I didn't care to see Julien's. I preferred to remember him as we knew him.

The inspector wore a tan uniform, stood about my height, with brown skin, brown eyes, and a mustache. He wrote on a notepad while asking us questions.

"I have spoken with the captain of the Torekkā Maru, the ship listed on the security form filled out by the deceased yesterday in customs. It's my understanding that he was a member of your party aboard the ship. Could you tell me your names, please?"

"I'm David Klein, and this is Richard Klein." David handed our new French passports to the inspector.

For a moment, I had forgotten our new last names. The inspector accepted them, then asked an awkward question.

"How do you know the deceased?"

Surprisingly, David didn't have to lie; I would have gone into too much detail.

"He's a friend of ours we met in London."

"How long had you known him?"

"Not long, less than a month," I said.

The inspector pointed to me. "Can you tell me the deceased's name and his profession?"

"Detective Inspector Julien Le Gal of Interpol headquarters in Lyon, France," I said.

The inspector crinkled his forehead, scratched an eyebrow, and shook his head. "No, I'm sorry," he said, "we found those credentials in his pocket, and I have spoken with Interpol this morning. If his name was Julien Le Gal, Interpol denies that he worked for them. I thought perhaps the two of you knew more."

"That's the information he gave us," said David.

"So, he's not from Interpol?" I asked.

"It appears not," said the Inspector.

David and I looked at one another.

"How did he die?" asked David.

"It looks as though he died of a stab wound to the heart. In the absence of any family," said the inspector, "I will have to ask that one of you identify the body, insofar as he was one of your companions. The department will have to ascertain his real identity."

David positively identified the body. The inspector asked more questions, irrelevant to us but necessary to the investigation --namely our whereabouts that evening and whether anyone could vouch for us. He questioned Hanshiro, who ferried Julien to the dock and released us to return to the ship. We asked if this would hinder our journey to Japan, and he didn't see why it would since it took place on Indian soil, and the docks at night were unsafe. We told him we would have Julien's things sent over from the ship.

Hanshiro returned us to the Torekkā Maru. I dreaded having to tell the others what we learned. For myself, I didn't take it well, so I knew the others wouldn't either. Back aboard, they had heard but had no details; I asked that they all join us in the meeting room in half an hour. Also, I invited the captain as I felt we should keep him informed. David and I retreated to our cabin to change into more comfortable clothing, and he hugged me as he does when he knows I'm upset.

"He's dead," I said, "and now we discover he lied to us. It's just too much, David."

"I agree."

"Has someone killed Julien because of us?" I asked. "Have we put people at risk?"

"I don't know," he said, "I wouldn't put it past our adversaries to try, but whether we press on, or allow them to scare us into returning to London, people remain at risk." He placed his hand against my cheek, and the warmth was inviting. He kissed me and brushed his face lightly against mine. "I love you. I will let nothing happen to you."

I put my hand atop his. "I don't worry about myself."

"I know," he said, "and that's the reason you need protection."

David held me for several minutes. We changed and met our group in the meeting room.

David and I wore the new clothing I purchased. His charcoal-colored shorts fit as I believed they would. They had no pockets, and I bought them in an unfashionably short style, but David didn't care. He wore them for me. I liked them, and he wanted to please me. I also bought him a royal blue version of the white linen shirt with the Mandarin collar that Rocke wanted for Cadmar.

Everyone had taken their usual seats, but the captain filled the one that marked Julien's absence.

"As you have heard by now, Julien has died," said David. "I have seen the body; they have not made a mistake. He requested that Hanshiro take him to the dock at a quarter 'til two, where someone stabbed him to death. We have no clue why he wanted to go to shore at that hour, or who may have done it, but I think we can guess. Before I move on to other information you should know, does anyone have any thoughts they would like to share?"

Aiden placed Julien's mobile on the table. "With the captain's permission, I searched Julien's cabin. I found nothing of any evidentiary value there, except the information on his mobile, which he didn't take with him to shore. I've looked through it, and I noticed several interesting things. He disabled the auto-lock, so it didn't require the code to get into it. In the past, I've seen him unlock his mobile to use it. I believe he wanted us to have access to it should something happen to him. He received several calls and texts; most did not have a name associated with them; several of the calls came from Tokyo. Yesterday, he received a text message from an unknown number located in the United States, and that text reads, '

We know you, your location, and who you work for. The dock 2:00 a.m. tomorrow night, or she dies.

'"

"We suspect they refer to his wife," said Maggie.

"Ah...yes, about that," I said, then I looked at David.

"At this point, we should tell you what we've learned," said David.

"Brace yourselves," I said.

"The Mumbai police have given us information that tells us Julien Le Gal lied to us," said David. "His name may, or may not be Julien Le Gal, but he doesn't appear to work for Interpol. We don't know what other lies he may have told us."

At this, I heard gasps, a few insistences of a mistake, and general dismay, but the police had no reason to lie. We had not known Julien as we believed, and nothing would change that.

"Who were the Interpol officers at the dock in Venice?" asked Aiden.

"Perhaps none of the Interpol officers we saw were real," I said.

"Who has arranged this journey?" asked Rocke. "Who funded it?"

"How did you know Julien?" I asked him. "When did you meet him?"

"I met him two weeks before meeting all of you," said Rocke. "My boss, Monsieur Laurent from the company, introduced me to him."

"Company?" I asked. "I thought the French government had owned The Black Void."

Rocke shook his head. "Oh no, KGSC owns it."

"KGSC," said Captain Okamoto. "That's the parent company whose subsidiary owns this ship." He tapped his finger on the table.

"Oh, bloody hell, David," said Aiden, "how gullible are we?"

"Let me see Julien's mobile," said David. Aiden slid it to him across the table. "KGSC is a multinational corporation based in Tokyo, correct?"

"Yes, it is," said Rocke.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"I think I might make a call to Tokyo," he said, searching the mobile. "Hmm, only one number, and he made a call to it the Monday morning we left at 8:41 a.m. That's about the time Julien should have called his wife." David dialed the number and put the call on speakerphone.

A woman answered. "Hi, Julien."

"My name is David Levitt. Do you know me?"

She caught her breath. "Yes, I know you. Where's Julien?"

Despite her clean accent, her minor inflections told me she natively spoke Japanese, and her vowels told me an American taught her English.

"In the interest of openness and honesty," said David, "I must say that I have you on speakerphone. I sit in the meeting room aboard the Torekkā Maru with my companions from Jiyū and the ship's captain. No one else can hear, is that acceptable?"

"Captain Okamoto, this is Yukiko Takeshita," she said. "You know me."

"Yes, Ms. Takeshita, I do."

"Please, excuse yourself," she said. "I wish to speak to them alone."

He quickly stood. "Please, excuse me," said the captain. He made a bow, and he left.

"He's gone," I said.

"Hello, Rick," she said. "Julien has told me so much about all of you. I feel like I know you. Since you are calling from his phone, I suppose he finally broke down and told you everything. That's so like him. Where is he?"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Takeshita," said David, "but I must inform you that someone killed Julien on the Mumbai docks sometime between the hours of two and four this morning local time."

That caused a long moment of silence, in which we could barely hear her reaction, but we sensed her distress. She stifled her tears so we could understand her. "Give me a few minutes; let me call you back."

I am acutely sensitive to the unmistakable sound of someone deeply in pain, and the instant I heard her, my eyes began welling up, and I had difficulty breathing. Her reaction moved us all. People from Jiyū often show great empathy. I sat there among my kind, feeling like I finally belonged.

"While we have time," said David, "does anyone have any thoughts?"

Cadmar asked, "If Julien called her when he said he called his wife, and not a woman in France as he implied, is he then married to this woman, or is he not married?"

"He may have called this woman," said Maggie, "but he could be divorced, separated, or still married to another woman. In France, it's common for a married man to take a mistress. She reacted as if she loved him. They had a relationship."

"Cadmar," I said, "I think you saw Ms. Takeshita with Julien at the hotel in Melun.

"You've jumped a bit in your reasoning, haven't you, Rick?" asked David.

"I know that a direct flight from Tokyo to Paris exists because I've taken it," I said, "and she had ample time to make that flight. Anyone who can order captain Okamoto about like that would have a prominent position in KGSC. Such positions have many privileges, so time away from work would not present a problem, and her reaction to Julien's death was genuine."

David nodded. "Okay, I accept that."

Aiden leaned forward onto the table. "So, Julien didn't liaison to Interpol, but rather to KGSC."

"Evidently," said David, "and I see this as a good thing."

"It's a corporation, David," said Cadmar. "Their motive is profit."

"Yes," said David, "but before this, Julien gave us the impression that we had a faceless, nameless mass of people from various countries all over the world as benefactors. Now, regardless of their motivation, we have direct access to this one corporation that has assisted us. I wish Julien hadn't died --because lies or no lies, I liked him-- but I think our chances of making it home just went up."

"You have found an interesting perspective," said Rocke.

"I guess now we can help them to help us," said Aiden. "When we didn't know the truth, they left us at a disadvantage."

"Good point," said Cadmar.

While we waited, we requested to eat breakfast in the meeting room, and they accommodated us. It took an hour before Ms. Takeshita called back, and we found her resolute and assertive.

"My apologies for having to call you back," she said. She made a considerable amount of noise on her end. It sounded like she was boxing.

"That's quite alright, we understand," I said.

"As you've probably guessed," she said, "I had a relationship with Julien. I should have helped you myself from the start, but Julien's gone now. So, I intend to give you the help you need."

"We appreciate that, ah...there's a lot of noise on your end," said David.

The noise stopped. "Sorry, that's just me; I'm packing. I also want to apologize for having lied to you. I promise I have a valid reason, and I think you will agree with me when I tell you. I haven't the time for that now, so it will have to wait. I checked the status of the typhoon that delayed you. They still classify it as category one, but it will hit Southern India soon. That will slow it down and break it up. Your journey can continue in a couple of days. In the meantime, I am packing and will join you aboard the Torekkā Maru in the next twenty-four hours. I'll call you when I arrive. I ask that someone please inform Captain Okamoto of my arrival. He'll seem less than thrilled, but I'll make amends when I get there."

"Of course," said David. "Ms. Takeshita, we told the Mumbai police we would send Julien's things to them."

"That's fine," she said, "but whatever you do, do not give them his phone. It belongs to KGSC, and we'll probably need it. From what Julien told me, you're intelligent enough to know who killed him, but the Mumbai police will never figure it out. We can't tell them about the situation. If we did, they would insert themselves into it, compounding our difficulties. Julien would not want that."

"We have little doubt that someone killed Julien because of us," I said, "and for that, we are sorry."

"I appreciate that, but it's not your fault." She paused a moment. We could hear her take a deep breath. "Did you like Julien?"

"Yes," said David with everyone agreeing vocally. "I think we all enjoyed his company."

"I'm glad," she said. "I should go. I look forward to meeting you all. See you soon."

We said our goodbyes, and the call ended.

"Does anyone have anything to say about this development?" asked David.

"Do you still think our chances of going home have gone up?" asked Cadmar.

"Generally, yes," said David, "but my answer would depend on their reasons for keeping us in the dark."

Julien's mobile rang at about 5:00 a.m. the next morning. Our guest's plane had touched down at the Mumbai airport, and she would travel to the dock by limousine service. David and I sprang into action. The night before, the captain --who indeed expressed little enthusiasm about her arrival-- made a boat available. David and Cadmar carrying pistols, left with a crewman to retrieve her from the dock. Aiden held the drone case, and I had the only weapon left. We stood on deck, watching them motor off.

"You wanted to go with them, didn't you?" asked Aiden.

"Is it that obvious?" I asked. "I accept that Cadmar is the best choice."

Aiden put his arm around my shoulder in a sideways hug.

"So," I said, "how's the friendship with Cadmar coming along?"

"Cadmar is a remarkable man. I've enjoyed my time talking with him."

"He impressed me when I spoke with him," I said.

"You should hear some of his stories," said Aiden. "Cadmar has lived an amazing life, and if Jiyū can make that happen, that's the life I want for myself."

It took an hour, but they returned in safety. Cadmar helped Ms. Takeshita from the boat. She looked nothing like I had imagined. I expected a petite woman, pretty but not overly so, sporting a short, bob hairstyle with bangs, and conservative clothes. I couldn't have been more wrong, and I should have known better, Julien would never have found that appealing. She seemed tall for a Japanese woman about 5 feet 6, slender, and looked beautiful to me. She had her long, wavy, walnut brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. She wore suitable attire, a pair of well-fitting, olive-colored Capri cargo pants, a short-sleeve shirt in tan linen, and black canvas deck shoes. Cadmar tossed her bag, and she caught it with the agility of an athlete.

Captain Okamoto awaited their arrival on the bridge. He rushed onto the main deck a bit winded, followed by Maggie and Rocke. The captain gave her a bow with a "welcome aboard," but the traditional greetings didn't interest her. I could tell she wanted to get on with it. Before we left for the meeting room, the captain gave us great news.

"The weather service has downgraded the typhoon to a tropical storm when it hit land. They expect it to die out soon. We are preparing to leave, and we have permission to do so from the Mumbai police. By the time we get there, we will cross the Bay of Bengal with little difficulty."

In the meeting room, we sat in the seats to which we had grown accustomed. David took Julien's place and gave our newcomer the head of the table. Cadmar, as ever, held the case for the drone, and likewise, Aiden carried the bag with the pistols.

As I expected, she began as if she spoke at a business meeting. I observed her for any sign she was lying. However, I made an inadequate lie detector. People succeeded in lying to us far too often for me to believe otherwise.

"I want us to restart on better footing. You know that my name is Yukiko Takeshita, but you may call me Yukiko. I am the CEO of KGSC, and I bet I can guess your names. I know Captain Rocke Dupré. As the only woman, you are Maggie. You sit next to Maggie, so you must be Aiden. I met you on the boat, but those amazing eyes would have given you away, Cadmar. I know you are David; how could anyone miss those legs? And you, to my left, must be Rick. I want you to know that Julien spoke highly of all of you, and despite the unfortunate deceptions, he genuinely cared about you. He believed that not revealing everything to you would help you."

"I must warn you, Ms. Takeshita," said Cadmar, "we have grown weary of the lies. As a people unaccustomed to deceit, we have learned to not take your word for it this time. If your excuse lacks logic and reason, we will not believe you."

"I get that, and I completely understand," she said. "On the surface, it seems inexcusable. I would probably feel the same way. We lied to protect you and to publicly disengage KGSC from the help you've received. The peoples against us have enormous power. They hold influence and the monetary resources to do whatever they want. We would have given them an easy target if they knew KGSC provided your sole source of assistance. We believed you would have greater protection if we made them think that unknown powerful people from all over the world knew about you and were helping you. Julien no longer worked for Interpol, so if asked, they would deny any knowledge, but our opposition would expect that since they make easy denials too."

"But why not tell us the truth from the beginning?" asked Cadmar.