It had been agreed between them that, since Brian's relationship with Kurtz was better than Alex's, he would give most of the presentation.

"Sir, you asked that if we noticed anything unusual going on in Japan, you be notified. We found this. A cluster of deaths, all older men, wealthy, prominent if not famous, and major LDP supporters."

Brian laid out the folder with the obituaries and Kurtz and Manning leaned over the desk to look at the clippings.

"Then in New York, two stabbings, called muggings by the press, of two men, one the Japanese consul, one head of a bank, two weeks apart. The same profile as the others, but this time the deaths were violent. As Alex was going to be in the city, he volunteered to contact the police in charge of the cases and see if there were any connection."