"But I must consult my superiors– "

"Namerunayo." Connor leaned close. "Don't fuck with me, Ishiguro-san. Now leave, and let us work."

"Of course, Captain," he said. With a tight, brief bow he left, his face pinched and unhappy.

Graham chuckled. "You told him off pretty good."

Connor spun. "What were you doing, telling him you were going to interrogate everybody at the party?"

"Aw, shit, I was just winding him up," Graham said. "There's no way I'm going to interrogate the mayor. Can I help it if these assholes have no sense of humor?"

"They have a sense of humor," Connor said. "And the joke is on you. Because Ishiguro had a problem, and he solved it with your help."

"Myhelp?" Graham was frowning. "What're you talking about?"

"It's clear the Japanese wanted to delay the investigation," Connor said. "Your aggressive tactics gave them the perfect excuse – to call for the Special Services liaison."

"Oh, come on," Graham said. "For all they know, the liaison could have been here in five minutes."

Connor shook his head. "Don't kid yourself: they knew exactly who was on call tonight. They knew exactly how far away Smith would be, and exactly how long it would take him to get here. And they managed to delay the investigation an hour and a half. Nice work, detective."

Graham stared at Connor for a long moment. Then he turned away. "Fuck," he said. "That's a load of bullshit, and you know it. Fellas, I'm going to work. Richie? Mount up. You got thirty seconds to document before my guys come in and step on your tail. Let's go, everybody. I want to get finished before she starts to smell too bad."