The Ghost in the Doll (Fox Meridian Book 6) (23 page)

Fox waited a beat and then asked, ‘Just to be clear then, I
don’t
have to sleep with you to get on that invite?’

Another giggle, and then Yuriko said something which actually surprised Fox. ‘I will think about it, Fox-chan.’

~~~

The Fukui mansion was a large building, originally built in a fairly formal Japanese style in the middle of a huge expanse of gardens and grounds. Yuriko’s father had put in a few modern extensions, primarily for offices and a secure computer facility, and Taro had gone further, demolishing some older habitation areas and rebuilding them in an austere-looking but modern style. His own suite of rooms was located in a four-storey tower structure, occupying the top two floors.

Fox and Yuriko exited the autocab they had taken from the onsen and paused to look up at the large gate they had been delivered to. It let visitors through into a courtyard which was full of people. The invitation had said that dress should be ‘informal.’ That was, from what could be seen just by stepping up to the entrance, an understatement.

‘This used to be a formal garden,’ Yuriko said sadly. ‘Now look at it.’

The centrepiece was a waist-deep pool, and there were maybe a dozen women and a couple of men waist deep in it, and not wearing anything. Outside the pool, the dress code appeared to be ‘minimal.’ Except that almost all the men and several of the women had extensive tattoos so it was sometimes hard to tell what flesh was on show. Various people had spotted the new arrivals and were pointing and laughing.

‘I guess the dress code instructions weren’t an attempt to have us turn up to a formal do in cocktail dresses,’ Fox said, and started untying the belt of her yukata.

‘It would appear not.’ Yuriko pointed to a rather harried-looking woman in a maid costume with a mesh bodice. ‘Coat check.’

‘Uh-huh.’ Fox stepped over to the maid’s table, gave her a smile, and proceeded to disrobe. Beneath the floor-length cotton robe, Fox was dressed in a strapless, red-and-black micro-dress, hold-up fishnet stockings, and red peep-toe heeled pumps.

Yuriko’s outfit was, in some ways, more extreme. The skirt was a little longer and it was a one-shoulder design, but it had a ladder-like series of holes from the bodice down to the left hip, and most of the right side was black mesh, counterpointing the bright red of the rest of the fabric. Her torso tattoo, along with a lot of her torso, was quite visible, as was the tattoo on her arm. Her shoes were red-and-black platform sandals. ‘I still don’t know how you persuaded me to wear this,’ she said.

‘Well, we went through your entire wardrobe of suitable dresses, which was a total of one, and then Kit went through a load of potential designs with suitable criteria. Had to be sexy, had to show both your tattoos. And then I picked the one most likely to give your brother heart failure.’

‘Oh, that was how.’ Yuriko allowed her gaze to sweep the courtyard. The laughing had stopped. ‘I do believe that Taro has invited us here now in order to embarrass me.’

‘Are you embarrassed?’

‘I am more annoyed at what he has done to the home I grew up in.’

Fox grinned. ‘Good. Keep the anger going. You figure he’ll eventually make his presence known?’

‘Oh, I have no doubt he will. We might as well take a look around. I’m sure there is more to see which will raise my ire.’

Drinks in hand, they proceeded to wander through the complex and Fox noticed two things. The first was that she actually sort of liked the juxtaposition of ancient and modern architectural styles, though Yuriko clearly did not. The second was that she was the only non-Japanese person around, and there was a distinct feeling that a lot of the people they were mingling with did not like foreigners. They had superior numbers and a lot of arrogance, so they were not avoiding Fox, but she was looked on with laughter in people’s eyes and there were muttered comments in Japanese. And the other thing…

‘Okay,’ Yuriko said as they moved away from one small group which had contained someone she recognised. ‘How are you doing that?’

‘What?’

‘I’ve seen more than one hand going up your skirt and you aren’t batting an eyelid. I know they’re trying to annoy you, but I don’t think I could stand it for this long.’

‘Can’t feel it. I turned my sense of touch off when I felt the first hand. I might decide to break someone’s wrist before we leave.’

Yuriko glanced at her. ‘That’s a handy talent.’

‘Uh-huh. Makes it a little difficult to hold my glass though. That’s why I’m using two hands.’

‘That’s your third double whiskey. I suppose the alcohol doesn’t affect you either.’

‘Nope, but I figure they all think it does. I, uh, also turned my sense of taste off. Never could get the hang of Japanese whiskey.’

‘Father would have served the expensive, foreign stuff.’

They continued moving from group to group for maybe another forty-five minutes. Yuriko had supplied Fox with all the data she had on individual Fukui-kai members and their known associates, so Kit was supplying names for the people they met. Some of the yakuza sent identity pulses out for Fox to pick up, and they seemed to be the more polite ones who at least hid any ill-feelings they might have had for her. The others barely acknowledged that Fox was there, and the other minor rudeness was refusing to speak English for Fox’s benefit, which tended to stand out when some of the group did.

It all came to something of a head when Yuriko found one of her father’s old guard, the last of them in the upper echelons of the Fukui-kai. His name was Ryobe Sasaki and he really did not seem to be on-side with the hatred. He was, according to the details Yuriko had supplied, around seventy, but looked to be in his late fifties. His hair was greying and his waistline was widening a little, but he was still a fairly handsome man, which made Fox wonder why he was alone. He sent out an ident pulse as soon as Fox was introduced, and switched immediately to English even though he had quite a thick accent.

‘Is Nayoko-sama not here, Ryobe-sama?’ Yuriko asked. Nayoko was in the data as his wife, and Fox noted the rather familiar use of the man’s name, even if it had the more respectful honorific attached.

‘These gatherings are not for her,’ Ryobe replied. ‘Or for me, but I am expected to attend. I did not expect to see you here.’

‘I was invited. Meridian-san and myself are staying in an onsen, Awara Peace. Meridian-san has been on medical leave recently.’

‘Nothing serious, I hope?’ Ryobe asked, smiling at Fox.

‘Uh… I was kidnapped and tortured,’ Fox replied. ‘Broken spine, internal injuries, cerebral haemorrhage.’ She shrugged. ‘I got better.’

They were not alone with Ryobe, and one of the other men in the group spoke, in Japanese, producing a burst of laughter from the girl leaning against him and a few cronies he had with him. Fox read the subtitles:
The foolish woman should not have been in our way.
Ryobe rebuked him for his rudeness, but apparently he was not to be cowed. He continued in Japanese, ‘She does not understand me, Ryobe-san. Foreigners never do.’ He looked straight at Fox and said, ‘You do not know what I am saying, do you? You dress like a whore! Stupid bitch.’

Fox smiled at him, and he and his friends burst into raucous laughter. ‘At least I’m not a rude moron,’ Fox said and the laughter died. ‘Really, do you have some form of mental problem?’ Almost casually, Fox reached behind her and when her hand came back up, it was holding someone’s wrist, locked. ‘Anyone with a reasonably good implant can run translation software,’ Fox went on. ‘I don’t
speak
Japanese because I would probably murder it and insult my hosts, but I understand it just fine. Only a simpleton would assume otherwise. And your girlfriend is wearing less than I am, or did you actually pay her to be hanging off you like that?’ She turned her head to look at the man who had been groping her behind and was now grimacing in pain. ‘And you deserve to leave with your arm in a sling, but it might spoil the party.
Don’t do it again.
’

Ryobe burst into laughter. ‘You have a very fine superior, Yuriko-san. And she has put Enoki in his place.’

Enoki was, apparently, the man who had insulted Fox. ‘She insults–’ he began, only to be cut off.

‘You were a coward to insult her thinking she would not know it. Do not compound your error by taking offence when she fights back.’ Enoki apparently decided that there was only so far he could take being disrespectful to a senior member. He gave the shortest bow he could manage and led his blushing girlfriend away. Ryobe turned back to Fox. ‘Perhaps you should give that one his hand back.’

‘Forgot I had it,’ Fox said and let go. The man scurried away, cradling his arm, and the rest of Enoki’s friends faded into the background, leaving only people with much more pleasant attitudes. ‘He probably won’t be groping anyone for a while.’

‘I am sure it will do him good. Might I ask what
really
brings you to Awara?’

‘We’re hoping to have a small chat with Yuriko’s brother. He doesn’t seem to be around.’

Ryobe’s face flickered through a scowl. ‘He is usually late in making his entrance. He will arrive soon, I think, with whatever female companions have been occupying his time. Of late, that includes a Yurei no Ningyo he obtained recently.’

Yuriko’s face hardened. ‘Ryobe-sama, you have not been involved in their… manufacture, have you?’

‘Fukui-sama has kept much of that project behind closed doors, even to his advisors. I find them… distasteful.’ Ryobe forced a smile back onto his face. ‘You have a good superior. I hope that your work is keeping you busy, and happy.’

‘It is challenging. Applying academic skills to the real world is harder than I thought it would be, but I believe I am managing.’

‘She helped save my life,’ Fox said. ‘Her six-month performance review is going to be
glowing
.’

~~~

It was almost another hour before Taro Fukui made an appearance at his own party. He emerged from an elevator dressed in loose, black silk slacks, his chest bare to show off his tattoos and physique. Fox recognised the signs of muscle implants and was not impressed, but Taro was a good-looking man even if you ignored the grafts and the signs of facial sculpting. His face was, perhaps, a little hard, but that was softened now by his broad smile. He certainly had a narrow face with quite a long, triangular nose and high cheekbones. His eyebrows were thick, arched caterpillars over dark eyes.

He swaggered more than walked, progressing into the room like some playboy. On his right, a girl in a red micro-dress clung to his arm, giggling. Her hair was dyed blonde and tied up into twin pig-tails, and she barely looked old enough to be legal. Still, the naked Ghost Doll to Taro’s left caught Fox’s attention rather than the jail-bait; what had probably been a very attractive woman had been reduced to a walking sex doll.

‘There is something about that Yurei no Ningyo which… seems familiar,’ Yuriko said, frowning across the room at her brother.

‘It should,’ Kit said into Fox’s head. ‘She is coming up as a seventy-eight per cent match to Kin Simizu, an ex-girlfriend of Taro Fukui.’

‘Only seventy-eight?’ Fox asked.

An image of a woman, Kin Simizu, appeared in Fox’s vision field. ‘The facial work done on these women is quite effective at altering their appearance, especially the modifications to the eyes. I believe her jaw structure has been altered slightly, narrowed, producing more hollowed cheeks. Her hair was black and has been bleached and allowed to grow significantly.’

‘Kin Simizu?’ Fox asked aloud.

Yuriko’s eyes widened. ‘She was Taro’s girlfriend for almost three months. A model from Tokyo. Father found out Taro was hitting her and dissolved the relationship at Simizu’s request, banning Taro from ever seeing her again. She vanished not long after Father died. I remember the reports in the media. I never thought…’

Fox glanced at her colleague. ‘Do we need to find somewhere for you to throw up again?’

‘I… will be fine. We have direct proof that Taro knows
exactly
how the Yurei no Ningyo are made. A DNA test would confirm it.’

‘Yeah… I wonder whether he kicks puppies too.’

‘Pardon?’

‘Nothing.’ Fox saw the moment Taro spotted her and Yuriko, and she spent the next second or so analysing what she had seen. It was not, she thought, that he hated or even disliked foreigners. He simply had no respect for them, perhaps doubly so for women. Taro would have taken Fox to bed gladly, so long as she was gagged, and he would likely have killed her afterwards from the anger she saw. Both lust and anger had still been there as his eyes had flicked to Yuriko, but now it was mixed with surprise, maybe even shock. An interesting reaction.

Taro continued his tour of the party without acknowledging either of them and Yuriko asked, ‘Do we follow him?’

‘We’ll let him come to us. Since word got around that I don’t like hands on me, I’m sort of enjoying myself.’

‘I am not.’

Fox grinned. ‘Lighten up. You have admirers.’

Colour rushed to Yuriko’s cheeks, but she countered with, ‘It’s not as though I’m going to take any of them home with me.’

‘Does that mean you might at some other party? Yuriko Fukui, you bad girl.’

‘I do not normally attend this kind of party.’

‘Well, yes. I could tell that from your only cocktail dress.’

Yuriko pursed her lips. ‘I am pleased that you feel comfortable enough with me to tease me like this.’

‘Ouch. Now that was a subtle Japanese way of telling me to back off.’ Yuriko’s eyes dipped away and Fox continued quickly. ‘That’s okay. I haven’t known you long. Takes a little time to learn a friend’s limits.’

Wider eyes looked back up into Fox’s. ‘Friend?’

‘Like I said earlier, you helped save my life. That kind of thing tends to put people on my like list. Maybe I’m being a little too familiar?’

‘No. I have few friends, Fox-san. I would be honoured to consider you among them.’

‘But with less teasing.’

Yuriko smiled. ‘A little less teasing would be nice.’

~~~

Taro, it seemed, was taking his time. Another fifty minutes passed before a man in a suit, with a shirt and jacket, appeared beside Yuriko, bowing formally. He waited for Yuriko to acknowledge him before speaking in Japanese. ‘Fukui-sama extends greetings to his sister and her companion. He requests that you join him in his chambers.’