by David Dagley
Cale put his box on the high counter and leaned on the counter with both elbows, “Hi, Barbara. Actually I would also like a copy of the items in this box, just in case something has been misplaced already. Also, I would like you to keep a running time line on the evidence we've already obtained and any future incoming evidence. It's just a secondary or backup list. If it's okay with you, I would also like to know who looks at this evidence, how long, and when. I realize there's a sign in—sign out system here, but I just want to know exactly who's watching this case over my shoulder. Could we put those names and times on a separate piece of paper in my own little file?” Cale smiled.
“Sure. Is your extension going to be the same, or are you moving desks?” inquired Barbara.
“The same.”
Barbara got up form her chair and placed a clipboard on the counter facing Cale. He straightened up as she handed him a pen and explained, “Sign in here for the check-out change, and I'll be right back with the photocopies.”
Cale signed in. While the receptionist was making photocopies, Cale's mind turned to Victoria. She had unexpectedly exposed her feelings for him. But he knew that if he responded to her, they would be at the next level in a flash, and now was not the right time with everything else going on around him. The signature of pressure was now being signed not only by his reinstatement, but by the captain's watchful eyes and a surprise confession from Victoria.
The receptionist returned and handed Cale a large envelope stuffed with photos, “I'll have to copy the list of items that are in the box. Do you want to wait, or shall I send it up when I'm finished with the chronological evidence list?”
Cale graciously replied, “I'll double-check the copy you have with what's in the box at my desk. Give me a call when the list is complete, and I'll come down and pick it up. I also want to take another look at the murder weapon and whatever else is available. And can you call me when the lab reports come in? I'm sure they won't all be at once, but I want first crack at them.”
“No problem. The murder weapon is extraordinary; the knife blade is like a mirror, and the handle joins to the sheath. There are lots of jewels and inlays. It's really beautiful.”
Cale nodded and said, “Yeah, I saw the handle when it was sticking out of the victim's back.”
There was an awkward moment of silence.
“Anyway, I'll get working on the list and call you in awhile,” said Barbara in closing.
Cale put the envelope of photos on the box, heaved them off the counter, walked back to the stairwell, and headed back to his desk.
As Cale sat down pretending Victoria wasn't sitting ten feet from him, the door sprung open. Martin walked straight to Cale's desk, “Hey, when you go down to the museum, go up to the main office and reintroduce yourself to the museum director, Mr. Madison. You met him at the museum when we met the guard. Do you remember? He'll be able to help you the most. I asked for a list of names of key holders to the building. He agreed under great protest. There are also the surveillance and audiotapes or disks. They should have already been collected, labeled, and waiting for pickup. Matt was going to do it, but since you're going down there anyway, I thought you wouldn't mind.” Martin shrugged his shoulders and brandished a cheap excuse, “The captain is kind of making you the Lone Ranger on this one, sorry.”
“That's fine. No problem,” replied Cale. “I'm just going through the data and evidence I have in front of me before I go down there this afternoon.”
Martin nodded in acceptance, “Good luck. I'll see you around.” Martin backed out of the door with a nod.
Victoria got up to make another pot of coffee and asked, “Is he going to start coming around here a lot more?”
“I don't know. I doubt it. He says he's real busy. That's kind of the point of my position isn't it?” replied Cale.
Victoria passed into the kitchenette and answered sympathetically, “The only thing I see him busy doing is running the secretaries and junior detectives around like they're all his personal aides.” She filled her cup with the last of the coffee in the pot and placed a new filter and fresh grounds in the coffeemaker. “Cale, you realize you're not going to get any help from any of them. Do you know why? Because they're envious and jealous and want your job.”
“Victoria, you helped set this up. Are you now uncomfortable with the arrangement?” asked Cale.
With great concern in her voice, she responded softly, “No, I'm not uncomfortable with the situation. I've just been thinking of what happens if you don't solve this case. It's leading me down conspiracy row with a multiple of unknowns. And like Martin said, you're going to be the Lone Ranger on this case.” She filled the pot with water and poured it into the coffeemaker.
Cale tried to wrap up the conversation, “Well then, considering the arrangement we all just agreed to, I should do my best to solve the case. I hope I can count on you, Tonto?”
Victoria laughed. “All right. Very funny. Yes, you have my help. But, at the same time, I think I may have put you back in the crosshairs of the commissioner and his goons. The captain and his superiors are going to be your judge and biased jury with a pretrial verdict.”
“I don't see a problem with that. After the case, I'll just stay here, take the pay raise, and disappear,” concluded Cale.
Victoria smiled to herself and walked back towards her desk, stirring her coffee. She shot Cale an unmistakable look of desire as she passed his desk. She sat down, looking at the case files littering her desk. She didn't know where to start, but she knew she had to get her mind off the reinstated Detective Dixon before she cleared her desk with him.
Cale began pulling photos out to review. He flipped through them until he came across a picture of the victim's contorted body with red stones packed in his open mouth. He studied the currencies strewn about the body. He flashed through the rest of the photos and then started over again, this time writing a detailed list of what he saw in the pictures. Cale then moved on to the man's belongings and made a list of labels, materials, colors, styles, and conditions, then checked costs on the Internet.
Victoria opened an encyclopedia of polytheist rituals that Cale had borrowed from the private collection in Bolinas.
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7
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Before Cale left the station, he carried his evidence box to Martin's desk, dropped Martin's file off, and explained, “I'm heading down to the museum now and then home. Is there anything else I need to know or should get from the museum or you?”
Martin opened a drawer and handed Cale his digital recorder, “This has the recording of Mr. Peck's story. You might as well finish off the time with the waitress or anybody else, for that matter. I don't need this one for awhile; I've got a couple more.”
Cale asked, “What do you think of the guard, involve-ment-wise?”
“I don't think the guard was premeditative in his actions, but like you said, the assailant may have known his habits; for example, turning off the alarm to go to the local coffee shop next door and chatting up the ladies who work there in the wee hours of the morning or possibly going all the way back to his desk before turning on the alarm because his hands were full and it was easier. The perpetrator could have easily had an accomplice in the coffee shop or across the street watching the café who could dictate when to move or how much time until the guard returned. Hopefully the surveillance will tell all. Oh yeah, good thing you stopped by. Here's the schedule of the people at the coffee shop. The highlighted ones either worked that night or in the wee hours. You want to talk to Joanna Holmes, for sure. She'll be working tonight.”
Cale was expressionless, nodding at Martin, because he had heard it all the first time when Kimberly explained it.
Martin put the recorder and the schedule in Cale's box and inquired, “Anything turn up in the belongings?”
“Nothing substantial. I've basically been identifying everything and looking through the photos. The victim was well dressed; wool suit from South Korea, l
eather belt from Spain, gold cufflinks from Thailand, Italian shoes that he wasn't wearing. He was wearing a Brooks Brothers shirt, a silk tie from China, a Rolex on his wrist, plus a couple of custom gold rings. I did find some pink sand or coral wedged inside his shoes under the footpad, which wasn't on the analysis list, so it's being checked out now—same with his hair and a couple other things. This guy looks important or at least rich. Someone will miss him sooner or later.” Cale backed away with his box and turned to leave.
Martin spoke cynically to Cale's back as he walked away, “Don't count on it. This is a big city at the beginning of the twenty-first century, and you're in one of the most violent countries in the world. It happens every day.”
“Not like this. This was premeditated, and the stones in the mouth reek of display or a message.”
—
8
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Cale parked his Volvo in the museum parking, locked it, and went to the entrance and ticket counter, where he stood in a short queue. He showed his identification to an elderly gentleman and asked, “Could you direct me to Mr. Madison's office?”
“Yes, sir,” the man said as he pointed to a staircase wrapping around the left side of the building that went to a second-floor balcony. “Up those stairs, you will find a directory on the wall and a receptionist down the hall on your left.” The man, for some reason, handed Cale half of a ticket stub and turned to the next person in line.
Cale walked to the stairs, looking at the ticket stub. His shoes rasped on the stairs with each step like fine sandpaper.
In the main lobby just below Cale, a tour guide announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, good day. Our tour will begin in a few minutes. If you would please gather around, I will introduce myself and tell you a bit about the museum while we are waiting for a few more to join us.”
Cale stopped and looked down at the tourists gathering around the tour guide preparing to explain the history of the museum. As the guide spoke, Cale looked at his half stub again and decided to go down and join the tour.
“My name is John. I'm a graduate of Beijing University. I have a BA degree in Asian Studies, a Masters in anthropology, and a Doctorate in Archeology. My concentration was and still is in ancient artifacts. I've been working as a guide here for two years and still enjoy it. This building was originally an estate of a well-to-do Asian family, the Cho family, of Korean descent. In truth, most of the ancient Cho family disappeared on their way to a ‘said’ safe island. The story goes; at the end of their dynasty, a boat was to take them to an island to live out their days. Once the boat was out to sea, it sank and all hands were lost. I did say most disappeared, but not all; some didn't get on the boat. The name Cho either went underground or was changed to avoid persecution. A long time ago a Korean family showed up here in the United States, and bought this land, and have been building ever since. They called it “The Cho Estate” and donated three-quarters of the building to house visiting artifact collections plus their own private collection, which remains in the museum year round. The traveling exhibits come through every month or two, so don't think that the next time you come visit the museum you'll see the same artifacts or time period; you won't. Even the Cho collection rotates. Keep that in mind the next time friends visit from out of town or on the next rainy day.” The tour guide pointed at the directory posted on the wall with a small layout of the building above. “Please take note that the building has been shaped similarly to an old-fashioned key with a round end to hold, which you are in now, a long shaft of two parallel hallways of display rooms, which we'll walk down, and the private residence, which is the key itself. The residence is wider than the parallel hallways as you can see here.” John moved his finger across the layout of the building and ended near the key, “The Cho collection lives here, next to the residence. If you look around at some of these other diagrams on the wall, you'll see the seemingly endless construction and layout from above the building. There are also some photographs of the building under different stages of construction, and some sketches from before the age of photography, and before it was a museum. Feel free to have a look at them on your way out. If you would all follow me, we'll begin our tour. Down these halls you'll find many rooms, each representing different areas or times of the Asian world, not necessarily countries, because, as you know, country borders have changed over time. By the way, the acoustics in these halls are very good, so you should be able to hear me if you can see me, line of sight. If I fade out, then I have either entered a side room or I'm whispering at the far end of the hall. That's your cue to either catch up or be left on your own. Either way is okay with me. All right? Now, the Cho Estate family may very well be descendant relatives of the same Cho family that ran Korea for a long period of time. History recalls the Cho Sun Dynasty. The English alphabet and Korean alphabet do not exactly match up, so the spelling varies from scholar to scholar. Some spell it, ‘C – H – O’ and others spell it, ‘J - O.’ Before the Cho Sun were the Sam Han, and before them were the Kojo Sun. Most of the artifacts in the museum at this time are from these three dynasties, and some still have unknown origins. The Cho Sun Dynasty ran from approximately 1392 until 1910. Their two main rivals appeared to be Japan and China. In the 1590s there was a seven-year war between Japan and Korea, which Korea won. In 1910 Japan invaded for a second time. This war the Japanese won. It was the beginning of their overseas empire. This was late in Japan's Meiji period.
Well before Japan was a rival of Korea, there were other warring land neighbors. The Koreans historically lived below present-day China, but Korea was much bigger back then. Like borders of a country, the names of these countries changed numerous times throughout the years. Korea was once made up of three major countries; Kogurya to the north, which is now part of present-day China, the Beck-je to the southwest, and the Shin-la to the southeast. The Shin-la joined the people from the north, the Kogurya, to fight against the Beck-je. The campaign was successful, and sometime around the end of this period many people chose to flee the peninsula, fearful of the cultural changes that were going to accompany their new rulers. Some historians say that those who fled by boat ended up in Japan, blending with the people who lived there, bringing with them cultural developments, math, and further science. Back on the peninsula, as expected, much of the same was occurring among the Chinese, the Kogurya, and Shin-la. China gave lots of literature, textbooks of science, educational materials, and writings, and Korea gave materials such as gold, and silver, and also some medicinal tinctures and herbs. One item the Chinese brought with them was a small knife, which the Koreans fancied. It's called an Un Jang Do, or silver knife. This knife caught on like blue jeans. The Koreans began wearing this knife as a custom en mass. When this occurred, the Koreans began to send less silver to China because of the demand at home; they wanted it for these beautiful knives. There's a large collection of these knives along the wall and throughout the museum right now. There are artifacts from Southern China in the first room, Kogurya in the second, Beck-je in the third, and Shin-la in the fourth. Many of these knives, as you can see, have silver handles, iron blades, and silver-plated sheaths. These were for nobility. Many of the average people couldn't afford such knives, so theirs may have been made with wood handles, iron blades, and wooden sheaths. Many of the wooden handles and sheaths are badly decomposed and, in some cases, dissolved altogether. The handles that were made of silver were usually elaborately decorated with designs and sometimes jeweled. Most of the blades have etched sayings. A typical etched saying looked like these here in this case.” The tour guide pointed to a glass case full of blades with no handles. “Most of these blades have the same etched symbols. The first line translates roughly, ‘One woman has one mind for one man.’ The second line translates, ‘One man has one mind for one country.’ It became a customary ornament in daily dress. It was used for basically what it says, to protect women from other men and to support a man while protecting his country. If anybody has any questions, please feel free
to ask, and if you are of Asian descent and wish to add some information, please do so. We can all benefit from your culture and your knowledge.”
The tour guide continued walking slowly. He pointed to another room and explained, “This room tells of the disagreement between Korea and Japan, which country is oldest, who taught what to whom, and which bloodlines went where. There have been some heated arguments among Korean and Japanese tourists and historians in there. This next room is primarily devoted to a famous boulder in China that was at one time part of the Kogurya country. It tells the history of the region. When the Japanese invaded in 1910, they went to this boulder and changed some of the dates around to basically change the history of the two countries. The boulder is still there and quite an attraction for many Korean tourists. There are some drawings of the original story on the boulder, and there are some photos showing the changed inscriptions where the Japanese changed the past. I'll remain out here and give you a little more information on the history of the Un Jang Do while some of you take a few more minutes to look around these side rooms if you like. Here on the wall are some traditional costume dresses. Traditionally women wore the knife from two straps of silk or twine. The knife slung in front of the woman, inside her clothes and between her breasts. Chopsticks were often connected to the knife on a ring, as shown here. On this costume, the chopsticks are silver. While eating, silver chopsticks would turn a dark color, brown or black, signaling to the owner of the sticks that they had just been poisoned. Hence, the knife would be drawn and, more often than not, bloodshed followed. Un Jang Do is a classification of a silver knife. There are two branches of such knives; the Peado and the Nangdo. The Peado is worn in traditional costume between the breasts, and the Nangdo is basically the same knife, but held in an intricately designed, usually silk, pouch or pocket, also easily accessible. Here are some examples of the Nangdo in these cases. In this next room is a history of the pearl trade, which all of Asia has been involved in and Japan is well known for capitalizing. In 1498 the Korean government forbade the wearing of the Un Jang Do. It gets a little gray as to how many actually stopped. But around 1592, when Japan attacked Korea in a seven-year battle, the knife was still present. Both men and women, mainly of nobility, wore it. Many of the royal family knives have been passed from generation to generation. In costume dress today, many women still wear the knife. Traditionally, many women wouldn't remarry after their husbands died, and the knife became a symbol of virtue. If a woman was touched sexually or injured somehow by another man, suicide was an honorable way to end the pain for all.”
