A Lonely Resurrection

I need you to convince me I am correct in this belief.”
    The color drained from behind Tanaka’s tan. “I think. . . it would be best for me to consult with my legal counsel.”
    I looked at him, imagining how I would kill him so he could see it in my eyes. “That would be uncooperative,” I said.
    Tanaka looked at me, then at Tatsu. “The money isn’t even mine. It doesn’t come from me.”
    Tatsu said, “Good. Tell me more.”
    Tanaka licked his lips. “This conversation will remain unofficial?” he asked. “If someone finds out, it would be very bad for me.”
    “As long as you cooperate,” Tatsu said, “you have nothing to fear.”
    Tanaka looked at me for confirmation. I gave him a smile that said I was secretly hoping he would be uncooperative, so I could go to work on him.
    Tanaka swallowed. “All right. Six months ago I was told to contact someone who works in the U.S. Embassy. A man named Biddle. I was told Biddle represented certain parties who hoped to secure a source of campaign funding for reformist politicians.”
    “Who told you to do this?” Tatsu asked.
    Tanaka glanced at Tatsu, then down. “The same person who provides the money for this thing.”
    Tatsu looked at him. “Please be more specific.”
    Tanaka swallowed. “Yamaoto,” he whispered. Then: “Please, I’m cooperating. This conversation must remain unofficial.”
    Tatsu nodded. “Keep going,” he said.
    “I met with Biddle and told him, as I was instructed, that I believed Japan needed radical political reform and that I wanted to help in any way I could. Since that time, I have provided Biddle with some one hundred million yen for distribution to politicians.”
    “These people are being set up,” Tatsu said. “I want to know how.”
    Tanaka looked at him. “I was only following instructions,” he said. “I’m not really involved.”
    “I understand,” Tatsu said. “You’re doing fine. Now tell me.”
    “For three months, I gave Biddle cash without asking for anything in return. Then I pretended to be concerned about whether I was being conned. ‘Who is this money really going to?’ I asked him. ‘Tell me, or I’ll cut you off!’ At first he resisted. Then he told me I would know these people, in fact, that I could probably figure out who they were just from reading the paper. Then he gave me names. I pretended to be satisfied, and gave him more money.
    “Then I acted paranoid again. I said, ‘You’re just making this up. Prove to me you really are giving my money to the people who need it and not keeping it for yourself!’ Again, he argued at first. But eventually he agreed to tell me when and where a meeting would occur. And then another.”
    Jesus Christ,
I thought.
    “How many meetings did Biddle inform you of?” Tatsu asked.
    “Four.”
    “And what did you do with that information?”
    “I passed it along to. . . to the person who provides the funding, as I was instructed to do.”
    Tatsu nodded. “Give me the names of the participants in those four meetings, and the dates.”
    “I don’t remember the exact dates,” Tanaka said.
    I smiled and started to stand. Tanaka flinched. Tatsu put a hand out to restrain me and said, “Be as accurate as you can.”
    Tanaka intoned four names. A ballpark date for each. I sat down.
    “Now give me every other name you got out of Biddle,” Tatsu said.
    Tanaka complied.
    Tatsu didn’t write anything down, and I realized he knew these people well. “Very good,” he said, when Tanaka was done. “You have been most cooperative and I see no reason for anyone to learn that this conversation took place. Of course, should I need any further information, I may call on you again. With similar discretion.”
    Tanaka nodded. He looked sick.
    The maid saw us to the door. The car was waiting outside. We got in back and drove off. I told them to drop me off at nearby JR Meguro Station. Tatsu’s man drove the short distance to the station and waited in the car while Tatsu and I stood outside to wrap things up.
    “What do you think?” I asked.
    “He’s telling the truth.”
    “Maybe. But who put him in touch with Biddle?”
    He shrugged. “Probably one of the Agency’s tainted assets, someone with connections to Yamaoto. If Biddle were canvassing these assets to try to find a supporter for Crepuscular, word would have gotten back to Yamaoto.”
    “And Yamaoto would have seen an opportunity to turn the program to his own ends.”
    He nodded,