“It’s about the Ginza murders, of course.”

“Yes, I’m afraid it is. I’ll be very honest with you, Morio. I don’t

want to talk to them. I’m no good at handling the press, I’d only

come off looking like a bumbling incompetent.”

“I think you’re being a bit hard on yourself.”

“No, no, it’s true. I get positively flustered whenever I have to

look into a camera. And I look terrible on television. You, on the

other hand, handle such things very well.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“The thing is, ” Akiro continued, “I really haven’t got anything for

you to tell them. We haven’t made much progress on this thing. ”

He grimaced. “Hell, we haven’t made any progress.”

“It might be helpful if I told them that Master Yohaku has agreed

to assist us in our investigation.”

“You know about that?”

“I try to make it my business to know about what goes on in this

building, ” Mono said. “I know he came by with you to look at the

bodies and examine the reports.”

“Yes, ” Akiro said. He pursed his lips thoughtfully. “But I do not

know if mentioning that would be wise. It would tell them that

we’re in trouble on this investigation and it would essentially

confirm that we are dealing with a necromancer.”

“The media have their sources here, ” said Morio. “They probably

already know that Master Yohaku has been consulted. That’s not

the sort of thing you could keep quiet.”

“No, I suppose not. So you think we should go ahead and mention

it before they do?”

“I would strongly advise it. It would at least make it appear as if

we’re doing something and it would tell them that we’re treating

this case very seriously.”

“Yes, ” Akiro said, nodding, “I suppose that would be best. There

probably isn’t much else we can do right now.”

“I’ll take care of it, ” said Morio. “I’ll tell them that Lt. Fugisawa

is handling the case and the Bureau is working with him closely in