The Runaway Bride (13 page)

“But what was Gil telling you about these political contributions, George?” Nancy persisted. “What was the connection to the art market?”

“To tell you the truth, I wasn't really listening,” George admitted.

Mick slapped his forehead. “Political contributions and art! Why didn't I think of it? I saw a piece about it on the news last week.”

George frowned. “You guys are losing me.”

“If Ken and Connor are involved in the kind of
deal that was described in the news segment,' Mick said, “they managed to make a political contribution to Watanabe by buying the van Gogh from him at a five-million-dollar mark-up. Watanabe bought the painting for ten million, and then got fifteen million for it from Ken and Connor—leaving him with a cool five million.”

“That's got to be it!” Nancy said, grabbing his arm excitedly.

George shrugged. “I don't understand. Why bother with the van Gogh? Why not just give Watanabe the five million outright?”

“Because there's a limit on political contributions in Japan,” Mick explained. “Carrying out the two van Gogh transactions through Nobu Auctioneers would have enabled Watanabe, Ken, and Connor to beat that limit.”

“Wow,” George said. “That's pretty clever.”

“There's another benefit to a scheme like that,” Mick continued. “It not only keeps the contribution secret from the authorities, but from the public, too. Politicians don't like the public knowing that any particular individual or corporation is giving them tons of money. It looks bad, makes people think that the politician might be giving special favors in exchange for the money.”

“But what favors would Ken and Connor have gotten from Watanabe in exchange for this huge contribution?” Nancy asked.

Mick shrugged. “It might have been something
specific, like getting some law passed that would benefit Nakamura Incorporated. Or maybe they just wanted to have a very good friend in the government, for future use.”

Nancy took another bite of her noodles. “I think we're on to something. This theory would explain a lot of things—the five-million-dollar difference in Watanabe's buying and selling price, why he unloaded the painting so fast, why his name was left off the Nobu bill of sale—”

“And why Nakamura Incorporated's identity as the buyer was confidential information,” George added.

“It would also explain last Thursday evening,” Nancy said, waving her chopsticks in the air. “Imagine this. For whatever reason, Connor happens to leave the wrapped van Gogh in the executive conference room for a moment. He comes back to get it, and sees Midori unwrapping it. He knows she's a big art buff, and he's afraid she might recognize the painting. He's also afraid she might just happen to know about Watanabe's purchase of the very same painting a couple of weeks earlier.

“So Connor's worried about Midori putting two and two together,” she continued. “He goes running into Ken's office to tell him what happened. A few minutes later Midori goes to Ken's office, too, and overhears them discussing her.”

Mick drummed his fingers on the table. “I bet that's exactly what happened. Midori was the big
glitch in their scheme, and they were prepared to take care of her rather than face major jail time.”

Nancy narrowed her eyes. “But what if there was another glitch—a glitch involving Connor?” she said. “Maybe something went wrong, and Ken ended up having to take care of him, too.”

“I don't like the sound of that,” George moaned. “If Ken was desperate enough to kill his partner, what's he capable of doing next?”

“Good point,” Nancy said grimly. “I think we'd better wrap this case up before Ken gets a chance to hurt anyone else.”

• • •

Out on the sidewalk, Mick bid Nancy and George goodbye. “I've got to get back to the office and finish up a few things,” he said. “Can I meet you someplace in an hour or so?”

“George and I should head straight for Mad Dog's and warn him and Midori about Ken,” Nancy said. “Why don't I call you later at home?”

Mick nodded. “Sounds good. Please be careful, okay?”

“You be careful, too,” Nancy told him. “For all we know, Ken may be on to you, too.”

After Mick left, George turned to Nancy. “Cab?”

Before she and George could get one, they ran into Mari.

Mari broke into a happy smile. “Nancy! George!
What a coincidence! What are you doing in Akasaka?”

“Meeting a friend,” Nancy replied quickly. “What about you?”

“I was up at Nakamura Incorporated to see Ken,” Mari explained. “My parents wanted me to give him some papers having to do with the canceled wedding.” Then she blushed deeply and stared down at the ground. “Listen. I owe you an apology.”

“What for, Mari?” George asked.

Mari looked up. “I broke my promise,” she confessed. “You see, Ken and I were talking about Midori, and he seemed really upset about her still being missing. I felt so sorry for him that I ended up telling him where she was.”

Y
OU TOLD
K
EN
where Midori was hiding?” Nancy repeated, horrified.

“I know she didn't want anyone to find out,” Mari said weakly. “But Ken seemed so depressed. And I thought the two of them might be able to patch things up once they saw each other again and had a long, heart-to-heart talk.”

“Excuse us, Mari, we have to make a really important call,” Nancy broke in. “We'll explain everything later.” She grabbed George and pulled her toward the phone booth, leaving a puzzled-looking Mari standing on the sidewalk.

“Do you think we're too late, Nan?” George said nervously as she closed the glass doors of the booth behind them.

Nancy dialed Ken's number at Nakamura Incorporated. “I hope not,” she replied.

There was no answer.

“Do you think Ken's on his way to Mad Dog's?” George asked anxiously.

“You can bet on it,” Nancy murmured. She picked up the phone again and dialed Mad Dog's number.

“Busy signal,” she grumbled, hanging up. “Listen, George—we can't waste any more time. I'm going over to Mad Dog's to warn them about Ken.”

“I'm going with you,” George insisted.

Nancy shook her head. “I want you to go to Nakamura Incorporated and get Mick. Or call him from here and wait for him. Then bring him to the studio with you as soon as you can.”

“Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself?” George said doubtfully.

“I'll be fine,” Nancy reassured her. “It's Midori we should be worried about.”

• • •

As Nancy got out of the cab in front of the vacant lot with the sagging fence, she spotted an expensive-looking black sedan parked halfway down the street.

That must be Ken's, she thought anxiously.

Nancy sprinted across the lot toward Mad Dog's building. She reached the security door and was about to open it when she heard voices coming from the other side.

One of them belonged to Ken. “You know
what to do,” he was saying gruffly in Japanese. “They're in the second-floor studio. They may be expecting trouble, so be very quiet on your way up.

“Right, boss.” It sounded like the voice of a young guy. Nancy didn't recognize it.

Nancy heard someone step toward the door. The knob began to turn. Thinking fast, she raced around the corner of the building and crouched down low.

The door creaked open. Nancy edged her hands along the brick wall of the building and peeked out. Emerging from the doorway was the tall, slender, well-dressed figure of . . . Seiji Nakamura.

Nancy gasped. What was
he
doing there? She'd heard
Ken
speaking, not his uncle!

Then it dawned on her. Seiji and Ken had very similar deep, husky voices. She recalled noticing it at the Hamada Imperial Villa when she first met them.

As Nancy watched Seiji crossing the lot, something else dawned on her. Perhaps Midori had overheard
Seiji
scheming with Connor in Ken's office last Thursday. The office door had been closed, Midori had said.

Nancy shook her head in amazement. Was Seiji Connor's partner in crime—and killer? Had Ken been innocent all along? Where
was
Ken, anyway? And where on earth was Seiji going?

Then Nancy remembered the young guy who was on his way up to Mad Dog's studio.

“I've got to stop him,” she said to herself, and crept around the corner of the building. Seiji had headed out to the street and had his back to her. She ran to the security door, opened it with her credit card, and dashed inside.

Once in the dimly lit concrete hallway, Nancy stood very still and listened. What was going on? she wondered. Was the guy already in Mad Dog's studio? But then she heard the faint sound of footsteps above her and to the left. He must have just reached the upstairs landing, Nancy guessed.

A plan began to form in her mind. It would be risky, she thought, but definitely worth a shot if she was going to save Mad Dog and Midori.

Nancy glanced around and found what she was looking for hanging next to the door—a fire extinguisher. Moving speedily, she opened the security door and let it fall shut with a bang, grabbed the fire extinguisher, and planted herself in a small, dark corner behind the foot of the stairs.

She closed her eyes briefly and tried to concentrate on what she would say next and how. She had to speak perfect Japanese, with no American accent whatsoever, and imitate Midori's nervous, high-pitched voice, to boot.

It was now or never. “Mad Dog!” she called out suddenly. “I think someone's upstairs. Let's get out of here.”

Nancy opened her eyes. Her hands, which were gripping the fire extinguisher, felt sweaty.

Almost immediately, Nancy heard footsteps moving softly and swiftly down the stairs. She instinctively retreated farther into her shadowy hiding place. In another second the man was at the bottom of the stairs. He hesitated and looked around warily.

Now! Nancy told herself, and swung the fire extinguisher at the back of his head.

He let out a moan and crumpled to the floor. He was young, and he had a crew cut.

“You!” Nancy muttered out loud. It was the guy who'd thrown the deadly
shuriken
at her and pushed her into the bonfire at the Bon Matsuri festival! And he was most likely the one who'd delivered the poisonous fugu.

She realized that she would have to leave him there for the moment. She had to warn Midori and Mad Dog about Seiji.

Nancy set the fire extinguisher down and dashed up the stairs two at a time. When she got to Mad Dog's door, she stopped and listened. She could hear Midori and Mad Dog carrying on a conversation in hushed tones.

Nancy banged on the door. The conversation stopped abruptly.

“Midori! Mad Dog! It's me, Nancy. Please let me in!” she shouted.

The door opened. Mad Dog was standing there, his hair disheveled.

“You missed all the action,” he told her drily. “Midori's fiancé dropped by just a few minutes ago.”

Midori rushed up to Mad Dog's side. Her eyes were filled with tears, and her cheeks were flushed. “Everything's such a mess, Nancy,” she murmured. “Ken managed to find us!”

“I know,” Nancy replied, walking into the studio. “George and I tried to—”

“You knew about Ken?” Mad Dog cut in, his dark eyes flashing. “Why didn't you warn us? We were sitting ducks.”

“We tried to call you as soon as we found out about Ken,” Nancy said patiently. “But your line was busy, and Ken was on his way here. I jumped into a cab and got over here as soon as I could.”

“He's in the bathroom,” Midori said.

Nancy looked confused. “What?”

“I didn't even want to let him into the studio, but Mad Dog said he wanted to take care of him once and for all,” Midori explained. “He opened the door and punched Ken in the jaw, just like that.”

“He was out cold. We locked him in the bathroom,” Mad Dog added. “We were just getting ready to call the cops when you showed up, Nancy.”

“Oh, boy.” Nancy took a deep breath. “Listen, I have some big news for you both. Midori, remember when you overheard Ken talking to Connor last Thursday?”

“How could I forget?” Midori said miserably.

“Well, that wasn't Ken you heard,” Nancy said. “I know you thought it was, but it wasn't. I just figured it all out a few minutes ago—”

She stopped talking. She realized that Midori and Mad Dog were no longer listening to her and were staring over her shoulder at something.

Nancy turned around. Seiji was standing in the open doorway, a gun in his hand and a blood-chilling smile on his face.