Chapter One-Three Summary

Elvis Cole is alone in his office when a beautiful, sharply-dressed woman enters. Her name is Jillian Becker and she is accompanied by her boss, Bradley Warren. They hire Cole to find and return an eighteenth-century Japanese artifact, the Recorded Words of the Hagakure Master, which was stolen from Warren's home. They have reported the theft to the police but have heard acclaim about Cole's work and hope he can produce faster results than law enforcement.

Cole's first stop for clues is Bradley Warren's home. He meets Hatcher, the guard they have stationed at their property's gate. Cole enters the magnificent home and meets Sheila Warren and their daughter, Mimi. Sheila is drunk despite the early hour and Mimi barely responds to Cole; he assumes she is high. Cole ignores both, gets a picture of the Hagakure book and leaves.

An...