11
With nothing in particular to do, Bikie suggested they should take a ride to the building where the girls have lived. They decided to go on the bus, in case everything worked out with the escort agency – since there was so little money.
The Japanese girls’ apartment was located in a pleasant looking district, although not in the center. Unfortunately they couldn’t find any cafes nearby that they could have used as an observation post. The building had no concierge, and the residents’ names were on the buttons of the entry phone. There was no tab for Kato or Okamoto, but they found the name Akiyama.
“Look, Akiyama. Could that be our Japanese rose?”
“Let’s check right now,” said Bikie, pressing the call button.
There was no response for a long time, but eventually a soft, mewing voice answered. The friends didn’t know what a Japanese accent sounded like, but it could easily have been one.
“Can I speak to Yoshi Kato,” Isaac asked diffidently.
“I’m sorry, there’s no one here by that name.” There was a brief pause and some bustling in the background. “Who’s looking for her?”
Bikie jogged Isaac with his elbow. Isaac leaned towards him and Bikie whispered that if they didn’t know that person here they wouldn’t have asked who was looking for her.
“I’m an old student of Professor Link’s. I’d like to talk to Yoshi. Are you her friend, Hiro Okamoto?”
There was rustling sound in the entry phone and a different voice answered:
“Wait.”
Bikie uttered a soundless “Yessss!” and slapped Isaac on the shoulder so hard that he winced in pain. When they were in the lobby, Isaac twirled his finger beside his head and told Bikie what he thought of him.
“Ouch! You’re crazy? That hurts.”
“Sorry,” Bikie muttered guiltily. “I was so excited.”
The girl, and it was Hiro indeed, proved to be very nice and hospitable. She didn’t know where Yoshi had suddenly disappeared to. But she showed them a photo and also said she suspected an elderly Englishman. So the most valuable thing the guys learned was what Link’s girlfriend looked like. Hiro asked to let her know if they find her former friend.
They left feeling a bit disappointed though. They hadn’t got anything new apart from confirmation of their guess that Yoshi was probably with Link. And it had been pretty clear that the two were together anyway. No leads yet again.
“Let’s go have a beer at Smokey,” Bikie suggested. “Evening’s coming and I need to relax my nerves.”
Isaac agreed. This was Amsterdam after all. And Smokey was right on Rembrandtplein.
No sooner had the friends drank a mug each, than Isaac’s phone rang. The number was not displayed, but he recognized the voice.
“I’ve found your Japanese girl, where shall I bring her?” “Mmm, don’t bring her to the hotel, we’ve rented an apartment.”
“We?” the caller asked in surprise. “That’ll cost extra.” “No, no, I’m the only client,” Isaac clarified.
“OK. I’ll be there in forty minutes.”
“OK,” Isaac replied uncertainly and hung up.
“What crazy shit is this?” asked Isaac, looking at Bikie. “I don’t know. Maybe Hiro was jerking us around.”
“It didn’t seem that way. But who can tell? Let’s meet her, it can’t do any harm.”
At the agreed time a car drove up to the building. The manager introduced himself as Paul, gave the building a disgusted look and suggested they go upstairs. In the apartment he looked around, sent a text, and soon a woman of about forty came up.
“Here’s your Yoshi,” Paul said with a broad smile. “Give me the money.”
“Do you know Hiro Okamoto?” Bikie asked the woman, smelling a rat.
She looked at Paul inquiringly, but still shook her head. “It’s not her,” said Bikie, annoyed.
“How do you know if it’s her or not? He’s the one who fell for the Japanese girl,” said Paul, pointing angrily at Isaac.
“But it really isn’t her,” said Isaac, trying to explain.
“I got you what you wanted, and she’s got the right name! Isn’t that right?” said Paul, starting to get angry. “What’s your name? Yoshi, right?” he asked, giving the woman a stern look.
This time she nodded.
“So let’s have the money, guys, and she’s yours. And no tricks. Don’t even think of scamming unless you’re looking for really big trouble.”
Bikie jumped up off his chair with his fists clenched. “Who’s trying to scam here?”
“Look, lad,” his opponent told him in an icy voice. “I’ll leave calmly right now. And then I’ll come back up and you’ll leave here for the hospital.”
Paul looked very confident and quite menacing, it obviously wasn’t his first time doing this, and Isaac was frightened by Bikie’s quick temper.
“Wait. This is a misunderstanding. We wanted a different Yoshi. Let’s settle this peacefully.”
“Money on the table,” Paul said quietly, calling a number on his cell phone. “We’ve got a problem here,” he said to someone.
Bikie kept on crowding him.
“Don’t give me this bullshit. I’ll call the police and they’ll stick you behind bars before you can even let out a peep. And then they’ll download you dry. No one will let you rip off tourists. This town lives on them, and you’ll get such a kick in the ass, you’ll forget your name.”
Isaac was already standing shoulder to shoulder with Bikie, feeling that a fight was inevitable.
Paul backpedaled with this rush. He lowered his voice and started making excuses.
“I looked for the one you wanted. Hassled people and found you a Japanese girl. You guys are setting me up. I already owe the middleman.”
“Do I kick you out, or you just leave by yourself?” asked Bikie, a genuine bar bouncer seething up inside him.
Completely deflated, Paul took the Japanese woman and cleared out.
They waited for another ten minutes, and it became clear that no one was coming back up.
“Get out of here,” Isaac summed up.
“Agreed.”
They quickly collected up their things and went downstairs. Isaac’s phone rang again and Wolanski’s number was displayed.
“Hey, Peter! I’ll call you back; we’re a bit busy here.” “Surprise, Isaac! I’m here in Amsterdam, in the Sofitel
Hotel. Shall we meet?”
“You know, Peter, your timing is just perfect. We’ve got nowhere to go,” Isaac replied, turning in the direction of the famous hotel.
In