Vol 1 Chapter 2.3 (2/2)
To be frank, Gamou did not hate Graham.
Due to poverty, Graham had not been able to receive a proper education, but he had later built a family with his own hands, taking a wife of respectful descent through wealth, and even earned the seat of the British Consul. Beneath the surface of the benevolent old man was a cunning face which fascinated and excited Gamou, however…
To a spy, personal preference and feelings are separate from a mission.
A disguised spy in foreign land must spend a few years, or longer carrying out missions alone on unfamiliar ground. At times they would even marry local women and have children. All of this occurs naturally to mask yourself from those who surround you.
Once a mission has been completed, the spies would leave without a trace.
Should their families discover their secret, whether it be their wives or children, they are to be dispatched of without question (of course, it must be under the guise of an accident or suicide).
Gamou’s mission this time was to confirm of Graham’s guilt.
For this, he had used all means at his expense.
Gamou had been tracking Graham right from the beginning of his mission.
From Graham’s departure from the estate to take a car to the emba.s.sy, followed by his visits throughout the day to contact the public, right until his return to the estate in the evening, almost not a single moment had been out of Gamou’s sight.
The chances of having people aside from spies who were to observe the members of the D-Agency behind them was highly unlikely, but Gamou had dressed himself in different disguises while he had been tracking Graham for precaution.
For days, Graham had telephoned “Tailor Terasima” to invite Gamou for chess games once he had returned to the estate.
After Gamou had confirmed of this, he had nonchalantly accepted the invitation and made his way to the estate.
Gamou had discovered some things that struck his interest during his investigation as he tracked Graham earlier.
Concealing their pasts was a common distinctive trait among upstarts, disguising themselves as conservatives completely, and Graham was no exception. He would never forget to dress the part of an English gentleman: a hat, a starched s.h.i.+rt, a herringbone or a navy blue three-piece suit, and a pocket square. When he went out, he would always have an umbrella which replaced a walking cane hanging on his arm.
Coming to j.a.pan, far from Britain, where the customs and climate are vastly differently, Graham seemed like caricature of an English gentleman, even appearing as slightly comical. Graham would often go out dressed this way, and the places he went to were…
An office of a British company, a bank, a customs house, a news agency, a coffee house…
Many of which overlapped with the communication posts of the terrorist organization the man had provided before his death.
And the frequency of his outings seemed a bit much even for the usual work for a Consul General.
Aside from that, Graham’s stubborn habit of tipping even in j.a.pan posed another troubling issue.
Door-opening, luggage delivery, services.
Graham would leave a tip every time he was attended to.
Did Graham simply tip the person, or had he brought along something else (a letter for example) with him this time? Gamou, who had been following behind Graham, had not been able to make an immediate judgment. He had even suspected that the habit of tipping was a practice developed by spies to make the exchange of information seem natural, which irritated and caused him concern.
Judging from the state of his actions, Graham has a certain secret mission in j.a.pan.
This would provide a logical reason for his suspicious movements.
Yet, consuls or diplomats stationed in foreign countries are, in truth, “overt spies” recognized by both sides, and was nothing out of the ordinary.
The question lies in the information which they handle.
As long as the information does not bring about serious harm to j.a.pan, severe restrictions should not be imposed upon their activities, because when viewed from a certain angle, they all stood in the same situation.
But should they be a.s.sociated with the organization that had planned to a.s.sa.s.sinate prominent members of the government with a bomb, it would be an entirely different matter. In the current situation, the possibility of the British, in the name of the government, planning a terrorist bombing that emphasized on important j.a.panese government officials was very low. On the other hand, if a bombing were really to occur, and the British Consul General had been confirmed to be a.s.sociated with the incident, the diplomatic relations between Britain and j.a.pan would be severed, or cause the outbreak of war.
Meaningless activities of some organizations that would bring about war to both countries must be avoided no matter what.
—Since suspicion is present, a thorough investigation should be done immediately.
It was not as though Gamou did not understand the views of those members of the military police.
But if Graham was confirmed to be innocent, interrogating him with the charge of involvement in terrorism would be a lethal hit to the already tense Anglo-j.a.panese relations.h.i.+p.
After an investigation that had lasted for a week, the suspicion placed on Graham was still ambiguous.
—Should I continue using this method of investigation, or should I come up with something else?
Gamou laid on the tatami with his arms folded at the back of his head, looking up at the ceiling.
He had thought of setting up a trap, and wait for Graham fall into it himself, yet, if Graham really proved to be innocent, it would only allow the invisible foe to see through the actions on his side.
—And time is running out.
Gamou furrowed his brows.
Based on the current situation, the General Staff Headquarters are unable to suppress the military police much longer. The latter had already started causing trouble, a solution must be found before the incident goes beyond return.
—It’s me who has to personally confirm of this in the end…
This was the best approach he had thought of just then.
<script>