“We’ll see. Perhaps you changed teams just in time. At the very worst you could be guilty of collusion in a deception. Nothing that would have you behind bars for any length of time. In fact, you saved a lot of lives today. That’s worth something. And it seems to me that you have a sizable fortune coming to you.”

“Me? I doubt that,” said Beer. “I’ve been disowned by that family.”

“That might not be a problem. There are tests you can take to prove you’re the legal offspring. Your father can’t deny you your birthright. In fact our socialist states would love nothing more than to redistribute wealth to the poor. I think you qualify as poor, don’t you? Wear those sandals at the hearing. And who knows? Perhaps your father would enjoy meeting his only living son.”

Almost the end of the actual story

Epilogue One

Epilogue One

The Torn Pages

I am Dr. Siri Paiboun and I am attaching this prelude to the pages torn from Hiro Uenobu’s diary as a sort of warning. The diary itself is back in the hands of Teacher Satsai, who deserves to keep it as a memento of the diarist he loved unashamedly every bit as much as I love my own Madam Daeng. I have held on to these loose pages because I am not certain whether destroying them in a traditional way would be a wise move. I’m afraid that doing so might unleash the evil contained in the words of the diary. I have attended many exorcisms, but I do not profess to be an expert. Hiro was able to subdue a mob of evil spirits for a long period of time, but not even he could keep the lid on the pot forever. His account of those last few weeks is disturbing and may offend those of you with a nervous or easily appalled disposition. Even I consider a lot of the reportage to be sickening and I strongly recommend that you skip to Epilogue Two. Reading these pages will not add any insight to the tale as it has been told. That story is complete. These last few entries would provide detail that is nothing short of gratuitous. But, as I said, I’m afraid that suppressing or destroying them would provide a back door for the yokai to leave that two-dimensional plane and join us in our own dimension. Those of you who are susceptible to supernatural influences might inadvertently trigger such an exodus. If you doubt the strength of your skepticism at all, I beg you not to read these pages. And if damage is done, do not say you haven’t been warned.

3/10/1945