Alex smiled at the detective.

"Honestly, I don't see why not. But it's so, uh, unremarkable that I wonder if you'll believe me."

"Try me."

"Well, besides reviewing field reports, the Directorate of Information is always looking at newspapers, broadcasts, and other public sources to get ideas about what's going on. Then they produce analytical reports which are distributed to high level government officials."

Alex finished his own beer and motioned to the waitress to bring two more.

"Anyway, one of the guys in our Japanese section noticed the two articles about Doi and Kamatsu and wondered if there could be a connection. You know us spooks, always suspicious."