The Inside Man Read online

Levi followed Ryuki. The man’s brother didn’t join them.

  They passed several closed doors before entering a room that made Levi feel as if he’d walked out of New York City and into a traditional Japanese tea house. On the walls hung scrolls of Japanese calligraphy, and across the room was a silk-embroidered dragon mounted in a polished rosewood frame. It had to be nearly fifteen feet wide and nearly six feet tall. The floor was covered with a large tatami mat, and at its center was a tea kettle, several closed jars, and service items that Levi recognized as being for a traditional tea ceremony.

  Without even thinking, he automatically removed his shoes at the entrance to the room, as did Ryuki.

  Ryuki motioned toward one of the cushions arrayed on the floor. “Please, make yourself comfortable. If you don’t mind, I’d like to prepare tea before we talk.”

  Levi kneeled on a cushion, folded his legs underneath his thighs, and sat back on his heels. He’d learned all about tea when he’d lived in Japan, and he’d grown an appreciation for it. He felt a familiarity as he watched Ryuki prepare their beverage. He was clearly not committing himself to a formal tea ceremony, but the moves he made in preparing the tea were all deliberate and almost had a religious overtone to them. He uncapped a canister of bright green matcha, a form of powdered tea, scooped it into a bowl, tapped the spoon twice on its rim, and gently lifted the kettle of boiling water.

  As the man stretched forward to whisk the tea, Levi caught glimpses of colorful tattoos underneath his long sleeves. More noticeable was the bandage wrapped tightly around his left pinkie. Judging by the finger’s length, Levi had to assume that the mobster had recently committed yubitsume, a ritual act that literally meant “finger shortening.” As a member of the Yakuza, he’d have done that to atone for some great transgression. And as he was the number-two man in the Tanaka syndicate, such a transgression would involve disappointing Shinzo Tanaka himself.

  Was that why Levi had been called in?

  Ryuki leaned forward and placed a bowl of tea in front of Levi. “I hope it’s to your liking.”

  Levi lifted the bowl with both hands and bowed slightly to his host. “Thank you for this.” He closed his eyes and breathed deeply of the steam coming up from the tea. It had a fresh plant-like aroma that immediately brought him back to the tea he’d had when he lived in Japan. He sipped at it and sighed with satisfaction.

  It had the same pleasant bitterness that he associated with high-quality green tea.

  Ryuki tilted his own bowl back and drank deeply. He looked at Levi, and his lip curled in a half-smile. “I’m rather impressed that you seem comfortable sitting in a traditional style. That’s quite unusual for an American.”

  “That’s easily explained. I lived in a kyokushin dojo in Tokyo for several years.”

  The mobster raised an eyebrow and nodded. “You’re a man of some surprises. That also explains your excellent Japanese. Anyway, let’s get to business. My superior asked me to solicit your assistance with someone who is quite dear to him. His granddaughter. She’s been kidnapped.”

  Levi sat up straighter and canted his head. “I don’t mean to be insulting, but why tell me? How can I help?”

  Ryuki shrugged. “I’m not sure why Mister Tanaka specifically named you. However, he was quite insistent.”

  Levi was about to say something when the mobster held up his hand.

  “Please, let me explain a bit about the missing child. Her name is June Wilson. As I said, she is Mister Tanaka’s granddaughter. She’s five years old, and Mister Tanaka is willing to do just about anything to get her back.” Ryuki’s face clouded and his voice grew deep with obvious emotion. “My youngest, Kumiko, the one you met—she’s the same age as Mister Tanaka’s granddaughter. I have trouble imagining how I’d be if such a thing happened to her.”

  Levi’s stomach tightened at the thought of a child being hurt or missing. “When did the kidnapping happen?”

  “Three days ago, in Maryland. My brother will show you the location.”

  That didn’t bode well for the child. Levi had read that three quarters of kidnapping victims that were murdered were killed within the first three hours after abduction.

  He sighed. “I didn’t yet say that I would help.”

  Ryuki leaned forward and spoke with an urgent tone. “What can I do to convince you to help?”

  Levi shook his head. “I don’t know anything about what happened. Have the police gotten involved? Have they brought in the FBI or anyone else? Has the kidnapper reached out with any demands?”

  “My brother witnessed the incident and can answer many of your questions. But there’s been no contact from the kidnapper. We have the security videotapes of the kidnapping, and you can interview the mother as well. She was attacked, but left unharmed.”

  Levi huffed with impatience. “Well, let’s bring your brother in here. I need to know everything about what happened if I’m to have any chance of helping.”

  Ryuki nodded, but his brow wrinkled with obvious worry. “I must explain one thing before bringing Yoshi in. I’ve kept him from the type of life that you and I share. I’m sure you know what I mean.”

  Levi nodded. Yoshi was not a member of the Yakuza. He was a normal.

  “Please, keep that in mind when talking with him. I want him to be kept out of the business. There are some things he cannot know about.”

  “I understand.”

  “When you find the missing girl, I need to know who it is that took her.” Ryuki’s eyes narrowed and his demeanor turned cold. Levi caught a glimpse of the predator hidden within his polite host. “I would like to have this kidnapper turned over to my men instead of the authorities. I will pay your expenses. Anything you need, whether it is information, weapons, men, I will do everything I can to provide it, as long as it’s in pursuit of finding Mister Tanaka’s granddaughter. If you manage to find her and bring her back alive, I will honor the deal I made with your superior.”

  Levi had no idea what that deal was about. Was it about drugs? Prostitution? Territory? An alliance? He preferred not to know. He’d refused to get personally involved in that side of the business.

  Picturing the mobster’s little girl as a prisoner, Levi felt indignation building within him. How could anyone ever harm a child? He sighed. “Bring your brother in.”

  “So, you will help?” Ryuki’s tone was hopeful.

  Levi nodded. “I’ll do whatever I can.”

  ###

  June sat against the gray cinderblock wall of her new room, holding the Raggedy Ann doll. The room was lit by a single bare bulb hanging from the ceiling, and was almost completely empty—just a rubber mattress, three smelly blankets, a few old picture books, and a toilet. Next to the toilet was a giant package of toilet paper—the same kind Mommy would get from Costco.

  Tears welled up in her eyes, but June admonished herself—crying doesn’t help—and angrily wiped them away.

  She had no idea how she’d gotten here. She remembered Mommy going to the front door to get the pizza, opening the door, and then falling backward. A man in a ski mask caught her and broke her fall. When June ran to her, the man sprayed something in June’s face. It smelled weird, kind of sweet.

  And then she woke up in this place.

  “How long do you think it’s been?” she asked the doll.

  Suddenly, the light turned off and the room was cloaked in darkness.

  “It’s coming.” June’s voice quavered and she tightened her grip on the doll.

  Chains rattled on the metal door at the top of the stairs. The hinges creaked, and she heard the familiar sound of heavy footsteps approaching.

  Then, from somewhere in the darkness, came the robot’s voice.

  “Do you like the darkness?”

  “No,” June responded, as calmly as she could muster. She didn’t want to sound scared.

  “If you don’t do exactly what I say, I will leave you here in the darkness. Do you unders
tand me?”

  “Yes,” she responded, her voice shaking against her will. She really didn’t like the dark.

  “I want you to say in a loud, clear voice, ‘Mommy, it’s Tuesday and I’m okay.’”

  June heard a spring-like sound, like when Mommy pressed down on the toaster to heat up some frozen blueberry waffles.

  “Mommy, it’s Tuesday and I’m okay.”

  She heard the spring-like sound again—nearby, just ahead of her.

  “Very good,” the robot voice declared. “Now I need you to stick your pointer finger up in the air. You’ll feel an ouch. It will be okay.”

  June cringed as she slowly raised her hand.

  Something grabbed tightly onto her finger, clicked in the darkness, and bit into the tip. After squeezing hard, it let go.

  June shoved her finger in her mouth and shuddered as she tasted something salty. Was it blood? What did that thing do to her?

  The robot’s footsteps moved back up the stairs. The door opened and closed, and chains rattled.

  The light turned back on.

  Near her bed, the robot had again left food for her.

  June crawled forward and surveyed what he’d left behind. A packet of blueberry Pop-Tarts, two peanut butter and grape jelly Uncrustables—still cold from the freezer—two juice boxes, and two whole-milk containers, each with a straw attached.

  She wondered what Mommy would think. Mommy would never have let her have this kind of junk food.

  June hugged Raggedy Ann and whispered in her ear, “Do you think Mommy’s okay?” Her vision blurred as tears fell onto the doll. She was trying to be brave, but she didn’t know how long she could do it.

  She was so scared.

  She pressed her face against the doll and closed her eyes. “Mommy, where are you?”

  ###

  Helen Wilson sat across from Levi at her dining room table. She was an attractive redhead in her late twenties, but there were dark circles under her eyes, almost certainly from lack of sleep. Still, she was composed, much more so than he’d have expected for someone whose child was forcibly taken from her apartment only days earlier.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, “but I’m not sure if it’s smart for me to be talking to you. I work at the FBI, and they’ve taken over this case. And besides, June’s grandfather isn’t someone I can trust. I’m sure you know, but he’s not exactly an upstanding individual. The only reason I even let you in was because I trust Yoshi. He and I used to work together a long time ago.”

  “Listen, I understand completely.” Levi felt the pain emanating from the woman. “I’m here only because I’m personally committed to finding your daughter. I’ve promised to do everything I can. Mister Tanaka has made no demands on me other than to get her back home to you, and to bring her kidnapper to justice. Could you please just humor me? I’ve already seen the security tapes, and we know it wasn’t the pizza delivery guy. He was found dead only fifty feet from this apartment—”

  Helen gasped and her hand flew to her mouth. “Nobody told me that. Oh, the poor guy.”

  “Miss Wilson, can you tell me what you remember?”

  Her shoulders slumped and she shook her head. She seemed to struggle with her thoughts. “I don’t know. I remember ordering the pizza. June and I were having a late Friday night playing Uno together. The front gate rang and I buzzed the driver through. I remember opening the door, but I don’t remember a thing after that. The next thing I knew, Yoshi was hovering over me using smelling salts to try and wake me.”

  Levi had spent the last twelve hours with Yoshi, and had heard everything he had to say, but it hadn’t helped much. The videotapes didn’t do much to clear things up either. They showed only an average-sized man in a dark-gray ski mask, escaping with June Wilson slung over his shoulder. Hell, it could even have been a woman.

  “Miss Wilson—”

  With a trembling hand, Helen pushed a lock of hair from her face. “Please, just call me Helen.”

  “Helen, did you suffer any injuries?”

  “No. I mean, I was knocked out, but I don’t have a mark on me, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  Levi frowned. “Not even a bump on your head or bruising from when you passed out?”

  Her lower lip trembling, she shook her head. “It all seems like a nightmare I can’t wake up from.”

  “Helen, how much do you know about kidnapping?”

  “Nothing. It’s not what I do.” Helen’s voice quavered. “I’m just a budget analyst.”

  “Well, kidnapping falls into three categories. Nearly half of all kidnappings are known as family kidnappings. Perpetrated by someone related to the child. The others are pretty evenly split between acquaintances and strangers. So, the obvious question is—and I’m sorry if this is awkward or you’ve already told the FBI—where is June’s father?”

  Tears welled up in Helen’s eyes and she took in a deep, shuddering breath. Levi felt for the woman.

  “June’s father died before she was born. He was a graduate student at Georgetown, and as he was walking to his car, he was killed in a drive-by shooting.”

  “I’m sorry.” Levi scribbled some notes on his legal pad. “What was his name?”

  “Jun Tanaka. And yes, I now know he’s Shinzo Tanaka’s only son. But he was never involved in any of his father’s business. In fact, he’d been living in the States since he was old enough to go to boarding school. I never knew about what his father did until after Jun had been killed.”

  “Are there any other relatives that you know of on his side? What about your family?”

  “I don’t think Jun had any other family in the States.” Helen frowned. “But I’ve got a sister—she’s married with four kids. They live in Arizona. My parents live in Arizona, too. They’re usually on a golf course, I think. We don’t talk much.”

  “Have you told them about what happened?”

  She shook her head. “I know I should have called them, but I haven’t. I’m really not sure why, but I feel kind of paralyzed inside. It’s not—”

  “Listen.” Levi reached across the table and patted her hand. “I’m not judging you. I think it’s completely understandable that you’re not in a normal state right now. I don’t know what I’d be like in your situation. When’s the last time you saw your family?”

  “Almost a year ago. June and I went to Arizona for Christmas.”

  Levi sat back in his chair and mentally scratched off the Wilson family—for the moment anyway. No reason to pursue that angle yet. He still needed to do more research on the Tanaka family, but he doubted they’d done it, because if they did, why hire him to get her back? No, this didn’t feel like a family-motivated act.

  He spent the next twenty minutes asking Helen about her friends, co-workers, the preschool that June had attended. Then a knock sounded on the front door.

  “One second,” Helen announced across the apartment. She got up from the table, looked through the peephole, and opened the door. Two men in FBI windbreakers stood outside. “Hey guys, what’s up?”

  “Just here to check and see how you’re doing.”

  Levi closed his notebook, walked over, and tapped on Helen’s shoulder. “I’ve got a few things I want to look into based on our talk. Are you going to be around tonight if I have more questions?”

  “Of course.”

  Levi excused himself and squeezed past the two men at the door. As he turned toward his rental, he heard one of the men ask, “Who was that?”

  Levi got in his car, pulled his cell phone from his suit pocket, punched up the address of the preschool, and started in that direction. As he turned on Wisconsin Avenue, he dialed Denny.

  The phone rang twice before a groggy voice in New York City answered, “Yeah?”

  “Denny, wake up. I need some of your skills kicked into gear.”

  For the next ten seconds, all Levi heard was the muffled sound of Denny rolling out of bed. “Ma
n, you do realize I also run a bar, right? I didn’t get home until seven a.m., and it’s not even noon.”

  “Sorry, but this is important.”

  “Okay, I’m up. What do you need?”

  “There was a child kidnapped Friday night around 10:15 p.m. in the 8000 block of Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda, Maryland.”

  Levi turned left on Montgomery Avenue.

  “Damn son, you’re away from home base. Hold on, I’m logging into the computer. What do you need?”

  “There was a Domino’s delivery car. It was a Honda, that’s all I’ve got right now, but it was leaving the Flats8000 apartment complex. It was dumped behind a restaurant five miles east of here. I need background video from anywhere along the vicinity of that route. I’m figuring a security camera from one of the buildings along the way might have caught something as the car was leaving.”

  “Got it. All right, I’ll see what I can get through the online security systems. Do you care if I pull in some of my Maryland resources to help? There might be some tapes that aren’t hackable or online. I assume you need this right away?”

  “The sooner, the better. We don’t have time to waste. I’ll cover whatever hours and expenses are needed for this.”

  Levi pulled into the preschool’s parking lot and turned off the ignition.

  “How old’s the kid that’s missing?”

  “She’s five.”

  “Damn. Okay, I’m calling the cavalry. I’ll let you know what we find.”

  The phone clicked off.

  Levi put his phone back into his inside jacket pocket, tilted his rearview mirror down, and peered at himself. He smiled and combed his fingers through his dark-brown hair.

  “Time to sweet-talk the principal.”

  ###

  Whether it was Levi’s story about the missing child, his blatant flirtation with the divorced fifty-something principal, or that he was dressed like a respectable person in a thousand-dollar suit, he didn’t particularly care. He only cared that it had worked, and that the head of the school had given him the go-ahead to talk to June’s teacher, and had called ahead to let her know he was on his way.

  Levi heard the kids talking loudly as he knocked on the door to Ms. Ledbetter’s pre-K classroom. There was a shushing sound, and the teacher announced, “One two three, eyes on me.”