Cajun Justice(91)

He continued staring at the moon until it disappeared with the sun rising over the horizon. He grabbed the birdcage and unhooked its door. The powerful flapping of wings as the falcon took flight woke Umiko. She joined Cain outside and put her arm around him.

I’m gonna free Bonnie like I freed that bird, he promised himself as the falcon soared into the distance.

Umiko kissed Cain’s neck. “Did you get any sleep?”

He shook his head no.

“Would you like for me to make you some tea?” she asked. “They have my favorite inside: TWG.”

“Yes, please,” he replied. “If we had more time, I would have enjoyed making beignets for you.”

“Next time,” she said.

“I promise.” He smiled.

They walked inside and Cain flipped on the television while Umiko prepared vanilla bourbon tea in the small kitchen.

“Enough already,” Umiko said in frustration. “The Japanese media is obsessed with this emissions story. Sato-san is not going to resign. He uses his position for good. Every year he donates so much of his personal money toward orphanages. It is uncommon for a Japanese CEO to be so generous and donate so much of his money to help orphaned children.”

“Sato-san might not be investing in a greener environment,” Cain said, “but at least he’s doing his part to invest in the future, I guess.”

Umiko caught Cain’s sarcasm. “Be nice. Sato-san has given you and me good jobs. Work is hard to find in Japan. There are more people than jobs.” She returned to watching the television. “They’re saying that the JR line is delayed. Someone committed suicide by jumping in front of the train.”

“That’s terrible,” Cain said.

“Unfortunately, it happens often. It’s most likely a man who has lost his job. The JR train company will now bill his family ten million yen.”

Cain did the conversion in his head. “Isn’t that almost one hundred thousand US dollars?”

“Something like that—maybe a little less. They call it ‘obstruction of business.’”

The newscast switched to an interview, and Cain felt rage build up inside him as he saw who it was with.

“That son of a bitch!”

Umiko was startled. “You know this man?”

“He’s a Stars and Stripes reporter I met last night. What’s he saying?”

She listened intently and translated as quickly as she could. “He speaks really great Japanese,” she commented. “He’s saying that the yakuza have kidnapped an American woman, and her family is now demanding her return. The tattoo shop behind him was the scene of a violent killing last night of a prominent yakuza member. This place is believed to be a money laundering front for the yakuza, and many American sailors use it to get their tattoos. The Seventh Fleet commander is now issuing a ban for all American military personnel. Tattoo shops in Japan are now off-limits.”

Cain’s eyes were glued to the screen. The video transitioned to another scene: a dozen members of Tokyo’s crime scene unit were huddled around the orange Skyline that Cain had abandoned. They were dusting for fingerprints and putting hair samples into plastic evidence bags.

“That’s it!” Cain shouted. “I’ve gotta dig this weasel out of his hole before he puts Bonnie in a six-foot-deep one, and me in jail!” He then turned to Umiko and took her hand. “Go to Osaka now. Promise me you’ll stay with your parents.”

“I will,” she replied.

She handed him a bento box. “I took this from the fridge for you. It’ll give you strength. It’s got rice, meat, and vegetables—and no eel.” She smiled.

He laid his hands softly on her cheeks. Umiko stood on her toes to meet him for a kiss. He held the kiss for a second longer.

As they left the apartment and went their separate ways, Cain looked at the gold band on his ring finger. It had been there since the day he’d promised Claire “I do.” Now he removed the ring and placed it in his pocket. Claire, there’s nobody who can ever replace you. But I’ve found somebody who makes me feel loved again. Someone I get the feeling that you would approve of also.





Chapter 71



Cain hopped onto the train headed to Yokosuka. It was packed with commuters, so he leaned against one of the poles to steady himself during the one-hour ride. He found himself feeling more anxious with each passing moment, thinking of how Champ was potentially endangering Bonnie to promote his career. Cain instinctively clenched his fists. I’m gonna punch the daylights out of Cat when I see him. If he gets Bonnie killed…I can’t think like that. He pushed those thoughts away and refocused on finding his twin sister.

He habitually reached for his ring finger to fidget with his wedding band but it was no longer there. It felt strange. The only other time he had removed the ring was when he was at the Secret Service academy and had to remove all jewelry before they practiced their defensive tactics training.

Chief Alvarez, as promised, was waiting outside the military’s perimeter fence, near the entrance to the Enlisted Alliance Club. The bottom of his blue camouflage uniform was tucked into his spit-shined black boots. He greeted Cain with a bear hug.

“Hurricane, you look like shit!”

“I’ve been hearing that a lot lately,” Cain said. “For a sailor trying to scam the navy out of an extra 5 percent disability for navy-induced sleep apnea, you look more rested than me,” Cain teased his friend.