A Dubious Crime (A Colton Banyon Mystery Book 9) Page 3

  Another method for distribution of the diseases was to fly over a town and drop ceramic jars containing infested fleas. The researchers would wait a couple of weeks and then visit the village wearing bio-hazard suits and count the dead. All the while, the researchers kept meticulous records of their success.

  General Ishii, however, personally preferred the more intimate side of the research. He specialized in the destruction of human beings. He tested the effects of conventional war weapons by staking people in the ground at various distances from a grenade or flamethrower or even bombs and then detonated them. He froze people in huge freezers to see what effects the cold had on the human body. He injected sea water into healthy subjects, to see if it could be a substitute for saline. He starved logs to see how long before they would die and also exposed others to lethal doses of x-rays. All the while he compiled meticulous, organized, notes on the findings. His notes were extensive. He was obsessed with the data.

  The most demonic of his experiments, however, involved vivisection. He would infect logs, usually prisoners of war, with various diseases and then surgically remove organs from the logs. He did this without anesthesia and while they were still alive. He wanted to study the effects on the organs. He amputated arms to see how long it would take before the logs died. Ishii personally attended almost all of these atrocities. He became the reigning expert on biological weapons and vivisections. His research eventually caught the attention of the Imperial High Command. In 1940 he was appointed the Chief of the Biological Warfare Section of the Kwantung Army and was later invited to Tokyo to discuss applications of his research. When he returned to Unit 731 he held an emergency meeting with Colonel Mura.

  General Ishii was his usual abrupt and pushy self during the meeting. “The Imperial High Command wants us to implement some of the findings of our research,” he screamed at his subordinate as he paced around the room.

  “Isn’t that our purpose?” Mura asked.

  “Don’t they understand that my research is, by itself, more important than anything,” he said with emphasis. “They want me to work on developing stupid weapons? Let someone else do that dirty work. I am a researcher,” he proclaimed.

  “Have they made any specific demands?” Colonel Mura inquired.

  “They told me that the army will be making a major push in China very soon and they want me to supply them with some useful weapons.”

  “Did they give any suggestions?”

  “Yes,” General Ishii hissed out. “They want us to make some super-loaded biological bombs to drop on the Chinese.”

  “Sir, we can do that,” Mura said. “We have an airstrip to use and plenty of infected fleas. We can test several more types of biological bombs easily. We have already had some success in local villages.”

  “You don’t understand,” General Ishii yelled. “These are my fleas, my experiments, and I have no intention of wasting them on some stupid civilians without being able to measure the results.”

  “But you said that the Imperial High Command has demanded it. You can’t refuse the Emperor.”

  “I don’t want to do this, I want to continue my research, nothing else,” Ishii cried out like a spoiled brat.

  “We can replace the fleas,” Colonel Mura argued.

  “It will take time,” General Ishii cried out. “I have so many more experiments that I want to try. Can’t they just leave me alone?”

  “How soon before we are required to start producing the bombs?” Colonel Mura was starting to feel uncomfortable. Ishii was showing signs of being mentally disturbed and if he went down, Mura knew that he would not be far behind. “I mean, how many people do they want to kill?”

  “They want results by next month,” Ishii said in a defeated voice. “As many killings as possible I was told.

  “I will arrange for some of our planes to drop larger sealed ceramic jars full of infected fleas on several towns. I will do it tomorrow. We will begin seeing results in a few days. That should satisfy them.”

  “But there is more,” Ishii warned.

  “Like what?”

  “I am ordered to develop a biological weapon which can be carried by balloons to the United States. They also want me to test infecting kamikaze pilots who will launch their planes from submarines near America. They will crash into cities and spread disease. They want to call them ‘cherry blossoms’. When will this madness stop?” The General threw up his arms and stormed from the room.

  By the summer of 1942, Lieutenant General Shiro Ishii was promoted for his good work. He moved to the position of the Chief of the Medical Section of the Japanese first Army, while still controlling Unit 731. He and his team developed successful biological bombs by using Mura’s idea. They used ceramic vessels dropped from planes that broke as they hit the ground. The fleas infected anyone in the area and spread to others who came in contact with the infected people. By the end of the war, the bombs were estimated to have killed more than 200,000 Chinese military and civilian people. But the damage caused by some of the biological bombs continued well after the war. As recently as 2011, a pocket of the plague was discovered in Northern Manchuria.

  In November of 1944, the Japanese began sending high altitude balloons laden with bombs into the newly discovered jet stream. America was yet unaware of the phenomena. The balloons were sent from northern Japan and they began reaching the West coast of America three days later. More than 9,000 balloons were eventually sent towards America. The Japanese expected the balloons to ignite huge forest fires in the Northwest to cripple the moral of the Americans and disrupt industry in the area. A total of six people died from the devices. It was hardly a success.

  General Ishii sent several balloons with his ceramic bombs across the Pacific from Unit 731. His expectation was that when Americans came to fight the fires started by the weapons they would become infected and spread the diseases across America. None were ever found, not yet anyway.

  Chapter Four

  By the summer of 1945, it was clear that Japan was going to lose the war. Russia suddenly invaded Manchuria on August 9th, 1945. It was the same day the first Atomic bomb was dropped on Japan.

  The Russian invasion was called Operation August Storm. The Japanese army left in China was no match for the million man army sent by Stalin. Russia hoped to capture lands which they would then claim as spoils of war. They had their eye on Manchuria. The Japanese Army began collapsing almost immediately and continued on the run until the war ended several days later. The Russian plan didn’t work, but they were awarded several islands that were the northern most part of Japan at the end of the war.

  During that time Japanese troops completely destroyed Unit 731. The Japanese high command didn’t want any evidence of their crimes, nor did the Emperor. Allied carpet bombing had helped. General Ishii ordered the elimination of the remaining 150 prisoners and he and his team fled back to the comfort of Japan. In the end, nothing remained of unit 731 except for one building which survived the bombings. Today it is a memorial cared for by the Chinese government. Few people visit the memorial and no one has ever been charged with the crimes that took place there.

  Much has been recorded about the holocaust in Europe but estimates indicate the Japanese were responsible for several million deaths in China conducted by the leaders of the secretive Unit 731. Over one hundred Americans also died in the facility.

  At the end of the war, Ishii faked his own death but was captured by allied troops in his home town in the Chiba prefecture. He was slated to be tried by the Japanese War Crimes Tribunal, but when interrogated he announced he had something to trade for his life and the lives of his team. It was the research done at Unit 731. It took over two years for immunity to be approved and in 1948 Shiro Ishii returned to his home and lived there until he died in 1959.

  Even recently, several of the devices developed by Ishii have been found and more people have died as a result of his experiments. Lieutenant General Shiro Ishii’s work affected millions of p
eople and is still affecting people today.

  Part Two

  Damage

  Chapter Five

  When he first woke up Colton Banyon wasn’t sure where he was. His life had been so hectic lately that he had an unexpected senior moment and thought he was at his Las Vegas home. When he realized where he was, his second thought was that it was going to be a great day. He was home in his sprawling ranch in South Barrington, Illinois. No one was chasing him, no one was demanding information and the Patel clan was out of town. All he needed to do today was spend a few hours in the office to check up on the dig site that he was monitoring and the rest of the day was his to spend as he wanted. When he checked the clock he found it was still very early. Just after six o’clock in the morning.

  He quietly got out of bed and headed for the bathroom, cursing the fact that his body was getting older and required more maintenance than it used to. At a little over sixty years old, his six-foot sturdy frame was in reasonably good shape, but his body moved somewhat slower now and his organs sometimes had a mind of their own. As he passed a mirror, he noted that his hair had thinned dramatically. But he still displayed a craggy handsomeness which attracted some women and made him feel younger. He was okay with that.

  After finishing in the bathroom, he stealthily climbed back into his king-sized bed. He knew he would not sleep anymore, but he wanted to think and maybe even eventually wake his bed-mate.

  He rolled onto his side and marveled at the beautiful creature sleeping in his bed. During the night she had kicked off the comforter and her unclothed body was positioned on her back for his inspection. She was a little over five feet tall and about one hundred pounds soaking wet. Her unblemished soft skin was almost hairless like many Asian women. Well, except for the long black silky hair adorning her head. Her figure included a narrow waist, pert breasts and perfectly toned legs. She was always in great shape. Her face had the timeless appeal of an ancient Chinese statue. Banyon knew she was over fifty years old, but he was sure she could still pass for under thirty.

  Loni Chen was not just Banyon’s live-in lover; she was much, much, more. She was his best friend, partner in a detective business, constant companion and at times his fearless protector. She was a world class fighter and expert marksman, trained by the FBI. She was the very best thing that had ever happened to him and he told her so frequently. She told him she felt the same way.

  He had only met her a few years ago, when they both were involved in his first actual mystery, the finding of a written history of the Aryan race. At the time, both he and Loni were having a rough time with life, but once they became friends things changed rapidly. Today, they each felt like they were on top of the world and it was because of each other. Banyon had never been happier in his life.

  Suddenly, Loni rolled onto her side and dark-almond, slightly-slanted eyes, looked straight into his soul.

  “Did I give you enough time to look at me, Colt?” she asked in a silky singsong voice.

  “I can never get enough of you,” he replied hoarsely.

  “Good, but now it is time for touching,” she said as she opened her slender arms. It was another thing he loved about her, she was always ready.

  Chapter Six

  A few hours later, they emerged from the bedroom and entered the large kitchen in Banyon’s home. Loni immediately went to her pink laptop on the huge center island in the kitchen and began surfing the web. Banyon went to the refrigerator and began making them one of his favorite breakfasts, a Denver omelet. Banyon did all the cooking, Loni couldn’t or wouldn’t, he wasn’t sure which one was the actual truth. Her idea of cooking was a takeout menu. He didn’t mind though, he liked to cook and got to choose what they ate. He didn’t see it as a drawback in their relationship. But there were other drawbacks which did concern him and had worried him since he had met Loni.

  Loni was very easy going when it was just her and Banyon alone somewhere, but when other people, especially other pretty women were around she was different. She was aggressive, demanding, insecure, and insanely jealous whenever one of the women paid any attention to Banyon. Unfortunately, Colton Banyon had a very susceptible weakness for good looking women. He truly had no desire, and had never cheated on her, but women kept tempting him and he let them.

  Loni had confronted and physically damaged more than one woman over him. She was an emotional rollercoaster. He had learned to keep any contact with other good looking women a secret. The only exception was the Patel clan and Banyon had been friends with them before he had met Loni. The Patel’s were also members of his investigative team and shareholders in his company. They spent a lot of time together. Loni had gotten accustomed to them being around, but was always watching Banyon like a hawk.

  Loni was also incredibly impulsive and often jumped to conclusions before all the facts were in evidence. He loved that she was quick to make decisions, but she had gotten them into many scrapes because of that. Sometimes they were life threatening. It was Banyon’s biggest concern about his little partner. He didn’t know how to keep her under control.

  She was also very messy and never even attempted to clean up after herself. When she undressed, her clothes flew all over the room and stayed where they landed. This resulted in his part-time housekeeper, Elizabeth, becoming a full time employee. He didn’t mind though, he could afford it.

  Lastly, her background was very vague. Banyon had only found out recently that her mother had met his father during World War II in of all places, the country of Burma. She had known it all along, but had never told him until he had pressed her. It had almost caused them to break up. He sometimes wondered if she had been searching for him methodically for all her life. She was a beautiful, exotic, mysterious, uncontrollable, woman and he truly loved her just the way she was.

  He suddenly realized her eyes were on him as he chopped vegetables on the kitchen island. When he peeked at her she had a smirk on her beautiful Asian face. It turned into a broad smile.

  “What are we going to do today?” she asked in a tone sweeter than sugar. “I want to spend the whole day together.”

  “Well,” he replied as he continued to dice an onion. “I have to go to the office for a couple of hours. I need to checkup on the dig site, but I’ll be done by noon.”

  “Good,” she replied.

  “Then we can do whatever you want, little lady,” he said as he spread his arms. “Got any ideas?”

  “So I get to choose,” she quickly said pointing to herself.

  He hesitated, “Yes, of course,” he then replied. Banyon braced himself because he knew she already had some hair-brain scheme up her sleeve. Whenever she asked what they were going to do, it meant she had already decided. Sometimes her ideas were great, but sometimes they were not.

  “Then I’m going to the office with you today,” she announced. She quickly searched his eyes for a sign of concern.

  “Why?”

  “I’m interested in seeing where you spend your time when you’re not with me,” Loni explained sweetly.

  This Banyon translated into, “I’ve seen the pretty women who were our bodyguards on the last mystery. The ones sent from your office. I want to see the rest of them and decide who to destroy first.”

  “Uh-oh,” Banyon whispered to himself, as panic started to take hold in his chest. The truth was that every woman in the office was very flirty, some more than others and if Loni were to observe some of the exchanges, all hell would break loose.

  “Bart, the managing partner doesn’t allow visitors to the office,” he responded immediately.

  “But didn’t you take Eric there recently?” Loni returned the volley.

  “I had permission,” Banyon countered.

  “Well, get permission for me,” she said with a hint of annoyance. Banyon realized he wasn’t going to dissuade her.

  “I’ll call him after breakfast. He’s not in the office yet,” Banyon said as he looked at his watch. “Bart doesn’t come in until eight-thirt
y in the morning.”

  “Good,” she cooed. “After that, you can take me shopping for a new outfit.”

  “Where would you like to go shopping?”

  “At the adult book store on Schaumburg Avenue. I believe they have a maid’s outfit there which you will really like on me.” Loni liked to dress in very sexy outfits when they were alone. He liked it too.

  Banyon stopped cutting vegetables. “And, just how would you know that?” he questioned her with his hands on his hips.

  “Well, I was kind of hanging out there the other day,” she admitted. Banyon was not the least bit surprised by her comment. He knew Loni was forever trying to spice up their relationship and would do anything to excite him. In the past, she had taken lap-dance lessons, and even had a dancing pole installed in their bedroom. She was a true adventurist when it came to sex.

  “Okay, but you’ll have to try it on in the store,” he said as a penalty.

  “It’ll be my pleasure,” she said as she batted her eyes.

  As they ate breakfast, Loni continued to surf the web on her laptop. This annoyed Banyon to no end. He didn’t like that so many people today spent more time working an electronic devices than interacting with each other. It actually led to a lack of communications between people and was never good in his mind.