Sign of the Dragon (Tatsu Yamada Book 1) by Niall Teasdale (e reader TXT) 📕

‘Sergeant Yamada.’ The call from HQ had gone through without Tatsu really noticing and she jerked out of a slight doze at the sound of her name.

‘Superintendent?’

Koizumi’s face swam a little in its call window. Not a good sign. ‘We’re instituting rolling shifts for the next forty-eight hours. Intelligence believes the worst of the fighting is over, so we want our people to rest. I’m aware that you’re uniquely subject to fatigue in this case. You’re to go off-watch now. Get some rest, Sergeant.’

‘I’m not going to argue. My body could keep fighting for weeks, but my brain is fading fast.’

‘If I’m honest, same here. I intend to catch some sleep as soon as my last dose wears off, but…’

‘The perils of command,’ Tatsu replied. ‘You have to be seen to be in charge as much as you have to be in charge.’

‘Huh. My boss at Sakurada Gate has been asleep for hours.’

‘I’ll make no comment. My temper is a bit short at the moment.’

‘Mine too. Goodnight, Sergeant.’

‘I certainly hope it will be, Superintendent.’

~~~

Tatsu had been awake for two hours and there had been no call to get back into battledress. It was dark outside and there was fighting, but it was all small skirmishes and random gang violence. Nothing needed Tatsu’s talent for targeted destruction. She was not at all unhappy about that.

She was still watching the tactical feeds, however, when a call came through from Nakano. She accepted it because it was looking like she could get back to normal policing now. ‘Nakano? Are you on duty?’

‘Just got a call from forensics. Looks like I’m back on duty for a few hours. How are things doing over there? The reports are… looking better.’

‘I got fifteen hours’ sleep today. My body clock is screwed. However, it seems like things are trailing off here. I’m not absolutely sure it’ll go totally quiet after tonight, but we’re through the worst of it. What did forensics have to say?’

‘They lifted a partial print off a circuit board from that robot you shot down. Apparently, they had to go to Izanami to get an identification.’

Tatsu raised an eyebrow. ‘Don’t need that for the main police database.’

‘No, it came up among the elimination prints from a decade-old murder case. A cold case. It was never solved satisfactorily, though there’s a lot of circumstantial evidence in the case file indicating that the Funabashi gang were involved.’

‘And our killer has been targeting the Funabashi gang. Mostly. You haven’t given me a name.’

‘Getting to that. The two victims were Yoshiro and Kohaku Morimoto. He was a data manager at a banking centre and the gang seem to have wanted him for his access. More or less a standard bank heist. They had a daughter who–’

‘Kaede Shiratori,’ Tatsu said. ‘She was Kaede Morimoto before Yukiko Shiratori adopted her.’

‘You spoiled the big reveal.’

‘You were taking too long. Okay. I’ll meet you at their residence. We’ll do this quietly, if possible, because the last thing we need right now is news that we’ve arrested Shiratori’s daughter going around. I’ll be there in thirty minutes. You bring a car.’

Tokyo.

Nakano was leaning against an unmarked, high-end sedan when Tatsu exited the conveyor which had brought her over from Chiba. Her little self-driving bubble car looked cheap beside the sleek lines of the cop car. Under-protected too; the sedan had no windows to weaken its armour and you saw out through an array of cameras which gave you all-round vision. This had the added benefit when transporting prisoners that no one could see in.

‘HQ is pulling out all the stops, I see,’ Tatsu commented as her transport set off on its own for Chiba. ‘VIP transport for our princess.’

Nakano gave a shrug. ‘It came out of the pool. If I have to drive, I figure it should be in style. We have authorisation to proceed with the arrest and a search of her private rooms.’

‘And I bet it makes it clear that only Kaede’s rooms are to be searched.’

‘You would not be wrong. Shall we?’

Together, they walked up to the front gate of the Shiratori residence across the street. Tatsu hit the intercom button and was greeted by a voice which was neither Yukiko nor Kaede Shiratori. ‘Good evening, officers. What business do you have here tonight?’

‘We’re here to see Kaede Shiratori,’ Tatsu replied. ‘We have authorisation to take her into custody for questioning regarding multiple charges of homicide.’

There was a pause. Not a long one, but enough to make it obvious that the assistant, or whatever she was, was surprised. ‘Please wait.’

‘Sure, but not for long.’ It took about a minute before the gates swung open on smooth, quiet motors. ‘And in we go,’ Tatsu said, starting in.

They were met in the entrance of the house by a pretty Japanese woman in a business skirt-suit who turned out to be the owner of the voice at the gate. Definitely some sort of assistant or secretary. ‘Miss Shiratori wishes to speak with you before you talk to her daughter,’ the woman explained while Tatsu and Nakano removed their shoes and put on the slippers provided for visitors.

‘I’m sure she does,’ Tatsu replied. ‘I’m sure she’s aware that I’d love to take her in for aiding and abetting a fugitive if she’s delaying us to let Kaede escape.’

The assistant’s cheeks coloured. Embarrassment or indignation. Could have been either. All she said was, ‘Please follow me.’

They were led to a reception room of some sort with painted screens for walls. The decoration was a classically styled view of Mount Fuji, a bit clichéd for Tatsu’s tastes. The only occupant of the room before Tatsu and Nakano entered was Yukiko Shiratori, on her feet and wearing a yukata. It was still pretty hot outside and the heavier