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

mean, anyone was the wrong guy since I was fifteen, but it turned out he was really the wrong guy. I got pregnant and his family blocked any attempts to prove he was the father. My parents kicked me out for shaming the family name. Chiba was about the only place I could go.’

‘I, um, don’t see a kid.’

‘No. I lost the baby at seven months. My parents “neglected” to transfer my UBI payments to me for six months. I was malnourished and working any way I could to eat. I had a miscarriage. So, I was out on the streets and angry at just about everyone. I ended up on my back, of course. I’m sure you scanned my record.’ Kobayashi did not seem too angry about it now, but Tatsu could imagine the furious teenager she had been.

‘Yeah. That stuff is automatic if I access someone’s ID data.’

‘I know it’s not legal, but I didn’t have anything else I could sell.’

‘I’m not actually judging. If you’re Japanese and in Chiba, there’s usually a bad story behind it.’

‘I guess so. Anyway, I got into the dancing gig at The Hole and got out of the other stuff. I don’t take drugs and I only drink in moderation. I make rent every month and I can feed myself every day. It’s not that bad a life. How did you end up working in Chiba? Who did you piss off?’

‘No one. I asked for it.’

Kobayashi grinned. ‘If I’d known you were into masochism, I’ve got this great dominatrix outfit I made…’

‘I’m not. Chiba fits me better. You made a dominatrix outfit?’

‘Yeah.’ Kobayashi pointed up at the ceiling lighting panel, behind which was her storage unit. ‘I made a bunch of costumes back when I was in the business. Schoolgirl, maid, that kind of thing. I just never felt like throwing them out. I make most of my own clothes too. Before you ask, I tried selling some to other people, but it’s just about impossible to compete with the automated factories.’

‘No, I know that. You need to be able to provide a service people can’t get otherwise. Or be a famous designer.’

‘Exactly. And famous designers don’t come from Chiba.’

Tatsu shrugged. ‘There have been a couple who got lucky with a fashion trend, but you’re basically correct. It’s not easy being human these days. Universal basic income was brought in because it’s hard to find work generally, and it’s worse in Chiba.’

‘Bet that makes your job harder.’

‘It doesn’t exactly help, no.’

Tokyo.

‘We have all the forensic reports in,’ Nakano said. ‘They’re in the case database.’

Tatsu nodded across the desk at him. They were in Nakano’s office in Sakurada Gate, otherwise known as Tokyo Police Headquarters. It was named for the gate in the Imperial Palace which it sat opposite, and it was actually the second building to occupy the role and location. The first had been destroyed in the war. The city had taken the opportunity to modernise and rationalise, so Sakurada Gate now housed the National Police Agency HQ, the offices of the National Public Safety Commission, and a few other smaller agencies. It was a thirty-five-storey building covering its entire block, with a heliport and anti-aircraft defences on the roof. The exterior was clad in white stone, but beneath that was a heavily reinforced structure capable of withstanding a siege. Nakano’s office had a window overlooking the palace – if you craned your neck – and was bright and very clean. Tidy. Nakano’s office was very tidy.

‘Want to give me the summary?’ Tatsu asked. She was wondering how Nakano managed to keep his office so tidy rather than what was in the reports. Her office in the Chiba HQ building was also tidy, but that was because she was never in it.

‘There’s not much to summarise, so sure. The weapon was a curved blade, probably between thirty and fifty centimetres in length. A wakizashi blade would fit, but they’re not making any call on that.’

‘Metallurgy?’

‘No traces to analyse. No indications of a ceramic blade either. “No traces” just about sums up the whole report. No fingerprints other than those of the victims. No body fluids, other than the blood of the victims, obviously.’

‘That’s odd.’

‘How so?’

‘Well, from the state of the bed, I figured Zima had been enjoying his wife’s company prior to his death, possibly with a third party. I’d have expected body fluids to be fairly prolific. I’m guessing, but I’d suspect that a nanocleanser was used to remove DNA and fingerprints.’

‘That’s… a good point. A third party?’

‘It was not a secret that Zima played the field. He had several mistresses, despite having a hot, young wife. Less rumoured was that he liked his women a lot younger and that he liked to share some of his conquests with Taisiya. She was a “hot wife” in more ways than one.’

‘Huh. Right. Well, a jammer was used to stop their implants from reporting the deaths, so there was no chance of revival by the time they were discovered, and their implants were also dead, so there’s no chance of recovering sensory data. The apartment’s computer system was blanked using a military-grade virus, so we aren’t getting sensor data from the apartment either.’

‘And, coincidentally, any evidence of Zima’s criminal activities is gone too.’

Nakano nodded. ‘True. It could be someone cleaning up a mess. There were rumours that Zima had a number of clients in Tokyo and Yokohama.’

‘Yeah. He did. How did the killer get in?’

‘We have no idea. The computer data is gone, but there are no signs of forced entry anywhere. If Zima let him in, there’s no security record of a visitor and no video of anyone unusual entering the lobby. The place is big on privacy, so the corridors aren’t covered.’

‘So, we’re looking for a