by Dave Daren
The food was just as delicious as always. The wedge packed a punch, with plenty of blue cheese, egg, and onion, all smothered by a hefty dose of the dressing. If it had just been Ari and me, I probably would have scraped the last of the dressing up with my fork, rather than let it go to waste. If I’d been home, with no one watching, I probably would have licked the plate.
The steak appeared, still sizzling from the grill. It was incredibly tender and had just enough pepper to bring out the deep flavors of the meat. I slowed down for the steak, and just let each bite melt in my mouth. Our table had been talkative during the other courses, but as soon as the main dish arrived, everyone focused on the food. I know I only looked up when the final french fry had been used to mop up the remaining bit of juice on the plate.
“I needed that,” Sofia sighed as she sucked down the last of her mashed potatoes.
“Glad you enjoyed it,” Ari replied. His plate looked like it had already been run through the dishwasher. Twice.
“So, oh master of RICO,” I said as I finally leaned back from the table. “What pearls of wisdom do you have to share?”
“Tell me what you’re seeing so far,” he suggested.
My phone rang at that moment, and I checked the I.D. It was Agent Smart.
“Let me take this,” I said as I stood up. “You guys keep going.”
I made my way outside and found a quiet spot near the parking lot. Agent Smart had already hung up, but I called her back.
“Mr. Creed,” she answered. “You’re a hard man to find.”
“Sorry,” I apologized, “We were just finishing dinner. So, to what do I owe this pleasure?”
“Unfortunately,” she replied, “It’s nothing at all pleasurable. I felt I should alert you to some chatter we’ve picked up.”
“What kind of chatter?”
“You understand, that this is an ongoing investigation,” she began.
“Yes,” I agreed.
“And I’m really not supposed to share such information except in extreme cases,” she continued.
“Okay.”
“But I think you deserve to know,” she finished.
“I appreciate that,” I said as I wondered where this was leading. “So what’s the chatter?”
“The Mizuchi is unhappy with the way things have been handled in parts of his North American operation,” she replied. “Now, there have been a few issues across the U.S., but two things have drawn his attention.”
“Let me guess,” I sighed. “Our lawsuit is one of the two.”
“It is,” she agreed. “We believe he may be coming here to deal with the problem on his own.”
“Like he took care of his competition all those years ago,” I said as an image of bloody and mangled bodies popped into my head.
“Something like that,” she agreed. “You should know that we’ve contacted all of the points of entry and asked them to be on the lookout. TSA agents at the airports, cruise ship terminals, and pretty much everywhere else, are now looking for him.”
“That’s great if he flies commercial,” I pointed out. “But I have a hard time imagining the Mizuchi booking a flight on Expedia.”
“No, probably not,” Agent Smart conceded. “We’ve done our best to cover the small airports as well, but there are quite a few places he could fly into without anyone noticing.”
“So what do we do?” I asked.
“Keep on with what you’ve been doing,” she replied. “Just, maybe be a bit more vigilant.”
“Still no offers from D.C.?” I wondered.
“I think I may get approval soon,” she said quietly. “Especially if we believe that he’s made landfall in the U.S.”
“Great,” I murmured.
“I also think, at least for the next few days, you might be safer outside of our protection,” she added.
“Right, the spy,” I said.
“We have information on that situation as well,” she explained after a long pause.
“That’s good,” I replied.
“I hope so,” was all she said, and then she hung up.
I returned to the table and found Ari holding court. Sofie and Anna both had intense expressions on their faces as they listened to Ari explain the finer points of reading between the lines.
“Was he actually helpful?” I teased as I took my seat.
“Yes, he was,” Sofia replied and Anna nodded. Ari beamed.
“You look glum,” Anna noted. “Who was on the phone?”
“Agent Smart,” I replied. “She wanted to warn me.”
“This can’t be good,” Ari sighed. “FBI agents don’t just casually call people up to warn them.”
“They’ve picked up chatter,” I said. “The Mizuchi is coming here.”
“Here?” Anna gasped. “To L.A.?”
“He’s decided to take care of certain problems with his own two hands,” I admitted with a shiver.
The table went silent. Sofia looked like she was ready to start throwing punches on the spot, and I could see Ari’s brain hit high gear, no doubt calculating escape plans for the three of us who had drawn the Mizuchi’s ire. Anna just stared at me with large, fearful eyes.
“The FBI’s on top of it,” I tried to reassure her.
This was greeted with another round of silence.
“Look,” I sighed, “At least we know he’s coming. That’s half the battle.”
“True,” Ari conceded. “But that’s all you know. No idea as to when he might get here?”
“Nothing that Agent Smart was willing to share,” I replied.
“If we knew where he was going to be, we could set up our own watch,” Sofia said thoughtfully.
“Umm, I think the FBI will have their own people watching him,” I pointed out.
“Pffft,” Sofia waved off the suggestion. “He’ll be looking for them, and clearly, he knows how to avoid them.”
“Our own spy ring,” Ari said gleefully as he rubbed his hands together.
“We’re not starting a spy ring,” I protested.
“I’d feel safer,” Anna said so quietly I almost missed it.
“Where would we even find people who were willing to watch this guy?” I demanded.
Sofia smirked.
“I think Sofia’s already proven that her network can handle quite a lot,” Ari replied.
“Please,” Anna begged. That did it. As ridiculous as the whole idea sounded, Anna’s simple ‘please’ had me onboard.
“We just need to know a place where we can find him,” Sofia said. “Once we pick him up, it’ll be easy enough to follow him around.”
“The house on Green Oak,” I predicted. “At some point, he’ll go by the sister’s place.”
“What makes you so sure?” Ari asked.
“He spent a small fortune on her wedding,” I replied. “And he spared her husband, even after he spoke out against the yakuza.”
“I’ll make some calls when we get back to the office,” Sofia declared.
“This could work to our advantage,” I said.
“How so?” Ari asked.
“I’m guessing that if the FBI has heard chatter, then so has Mizuchi’s organization,” I replied. “Kurzak, Watts, and the rest of them will be feeling the heat. All I need to do is find the right triggers during the upcoming depositions, and maybe I can get someone to talk.”
“It could work,” Ari admitted.
“It may be our best bet,” I said as I stared at Anna. “The only way we can be sure that we’ve saved the company is to root out the yakuza completely. And that will be a lot easier if we can turn someone.”
“Kurzak,” she replied with a nod. “He’s your best chance.”
It was time to go to war.
Chapter 16
It took a couple of days, but Sofia’s network was soon up and running. It wasn’t anything as dramatic as guys in cars, sitting outside the house with binoculars, though the various Calderon men had all volunteered for that dut
y. It was the people who worked in that part of town, every day, who came and went, and no one noticed. It was house cleaners, pool boys, yard crews, construction guys, and a lot of other jobs I didn’t even know existed. The mission was simple: keep an eye out for Mrs. Daigo’s brother and report back as soon as he appeared. Nothing more.
The network had been in place for nearly two weeks, and so far, we’d learned a lot about the people living in the neighborhood, but no one had spotted the Mizuchi. Given the unsolicited information that was rolling in, I found it hard to believe that he could be there without someone in our spy ring spotting him.
Nonetheless, I called Agent Smart a few times for updates. The chatter was still there. The Mizuchi was angry and was determined to deal with certain issues personally. She hinted that there were events in Japan that kept him at home for the moment, but the FBI still expected him to attempt entry into the U.S. any day now.
I pushed the Mizuchi and his looming arrival to the back of my mind and turned my attention to the depositions. My first interview was with Tucker Watts, and I was up early that day. I had just finished breakfast when the phone rang. I answered without checking the caller I.D.; I assumed only Sofia would bother to call that early.
“Hola,” I said.
“Vince?” It was a woman’s voice, but not Sofia’s. It took a second, but then it came back to me. The last time I heard that voice, I’d been busy exploring the tattoo that came with it.
“Miyo,” I replied. “How are you?”
“I’m fine,” she said. “I could ask you the same question.”
“I’m keeping busy,” I hedged.
“I went by the office the other day, but no one was there,” she continued. “Just a sign on the door saying you were doing some repairs to the office, and then a phone number to call.”
Sofia had put the sign up after our dinner with Ari. At the time, we’d thought the Mizuchi’s arrival was imminent, and we decided that giving him such an easy target was a really bad idea. Sofia was working from home, with one or more of her brothers always nearby. Anna had collected Heath, and checked into a pet-friendly, women’s-only retreat. Ari had secured another month for me at the corporate apartment. It wasn’t ideal, but it was the best we could come up with on short notice.
“Yeah, we had a leak,” I said vaguely.
“So, any news?” she asked hopefully.
“We filed a complaint,” I replied, “But we haven’t received their answer yet. I have a draft of our initial discovery requests, but I won’t be able to do anything more until they respond. Their deadline to answer is approaching, so if they don’t file by then, we can make a motion for a summary judgement.”
“Good,” Miyo said. After a moment, she asked, “Vince, are you angry with me?”
“What?” I yelped. “No, of course not. Why would you ask?”
“I haven’t heard from you,” she replied. “I sent a couple of emails and you didn’t answer, and you didn’t call back after I left a voicemail. I thought maybe you were upset about what happened that night. Or maybe that you didn’t enjoy our night together.”
“We’re good,” I rushed to assure her. “I’ve just got this really big case right now.”
“Of course,” she said, but I could hear the disappointment in her voice.
“I promise, Miyo, I’m not angry at you, and I don’t regret what happened that night,” I replied.
“Can we at least meet then?” she asked. “I’d like to talk more about my case, and to tell you about a couple of things that have happened.”
“Sure,” I agreed. “I have a deposition today, but I can call you when I’m done to set up a meeting.”
“Can we meet for dinner again?” she suggested. “It’s just easier for me than trying to set something up around my work schedule.”
“I’ll call you after the deposition,” I said. “We can figure out where we want to go.”
“Thank you,” she replied. “I’ll talk to you later.”
I called Sofia as soon as I was off the phone with Miyo.
“Vince,” a familiar male voice answered.
“Theo! How’s it going?”
“Good, my man,” he replied. “Sofia’s just tending to a personal matter.”
“I can call back,” I volunteered.
“Nah, it’s okay,” Theo said. “She’s quick. Hey, here she is.”
“I can’t believe you guys,” was the first thing I heard from Sofia. “Vince, I’m sorry.”
“No problem,” I replied. “Theo and I are buds.”
“Right,” she groaned. “I never should have introduced you two. You’ll be hanging out at the pool hall with him next. So, you ready to get Watts?”
“Damn straight,” I laughed. “Hey, I just heard from one of our other clients and I wanted to check on how your background search was going.”
“Sure,” she said. “Which case?”
“Miyo Tatsuda,” I replied. “The suit for lost wages.”
“Right,” Sofia remarked. “I can tell you the boss has been sued before for the same scheme, so this seems to be a regular thing with her. I managed to talk to the other girls who work there now. It took some persuading, but they all told the same story as Miyo. They don’t like the woman that runs the place, so they’d happily rat her out, but they’re scared that she might bring in some new muscle.”
“Same story as Miyo,” I mused.
“Uh-huh,” Sofia said doubtfully. “But, Vince, don’t you think it’s odd that she works there?”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “She’s here on an expired visa. There aren’t a lot of employment opportunities.”
“That’s true,” Sofia admitted. “But she’s Japanese.”
“Um, okay?” I raised an eyebrow since I really had no idea where this was going.
“Japanese women don’t work in nail salons,” Sofia explained.
“That doesn’t sound right,” I replied.
“It’s true,” Sofia insisted. “Go in any salon, and the women working there are all Vietnamese.”
“But,” I protested, “I know I’ve seen Japanese women working in salons before.”
“Maybe twenty years ago,” Sofia replied. “But not now.”
“So where do Japanese women work then?” I laughed. “Sushi bars?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Sofia sighed. “Those are all run by Koreans. There’s more weird stuff, too.”
“Like what?” I demanded.
“It’s just that none of the ladies at the nail salon were willing to talk about Miyo,” Sofia replied. “They’d just go all quiet. And nobody has a picture of her.”
“Weird,” I conceded.
“I’ll keep looking,” she said. “Call me when you’re done.”
“I will.”
With the phone calls completed, I wrapped up my morning routine and made my way to the lot where I now kept the car. Theo’s friend had been rather upset to see the little Honda back in his shop, but he’d made the repairs much more quickly. It looked like it had just rolled off the showroom floor, and Theo seemed quite taken with it. I decided that if I ever wanted to sell it, I would offer it to Theo first.
The depositions were all being held in a conference room we rented near the courthouse. I arrived early, and found cold drinks and snacks already laid out, along with pads of paper, pens, pencils, and a coffee machine. The transcriptionist arrived as I was setting up my laptop, and we chatted while she hooked up her equipment.
Watts arrived five minutes late, with Bertoch and another attorney on his heels. Watts gave me the stink-eye and took his seat. Bertoch and his junior shook my hand, greeted the transcriptionist, and then unloaded their own laptops and other paraphernalia. It was nearly a half hour after the scheduled start time before we could get down to business.
We went through the required routine of identifying everyone in the room and confirming Watts’ basic info. I then turned my attention to Watts’ background.
&n
bsp; “You worked in Singapore before joining ArDex, is that correct?” I asked.
“Yes,” Watts admitted grudgingly.
“And for whom did you work?” I pressed. I was curious to hear his answer, since no one seemed to know, and his own on-line bio was rather vague.
“A small company called Three Dragons,” he replied.
“And what type of work does Three Dragons do?” I continued. Clearly, Watts had taken the attorney’s advice to heart, and he wasn’t going to utter one more word than necessary.
“They’re a delivery service,” he sniffed.
“Like UPS?” I asked.
“In a way,” he hedged as he glanced at Bertoch. “Strictly for businesses in Asia. They primarily handle things that other companies are reluctant to handle, like hazardous materials.”
“And how were these deliveries made?” I kept on.
“What do you mean?” he asked suspiciously.
“Is this mostly done with trucks? Or do they have a fleet of planes, like Federal Express?”
“I don’t see how this is relevant,” Watts complained as he glanced at Bertoch. Bertoch didn’t respond, so Watts huffed and turned his attention back on me. “Mostly trucks, but obviously, ships and planes were used as well.”
“So, what was your position with Three Dragons and what type of responsibilities did you have?” I replied.
“I was in charge of logistics,” Watts sighed. “It’s a fairly complex task, one I doubt you fully grasp. My primary purpose was to ensure that each shipment arrived when and where it was expected.”
“Did you meet with clients?” I asked.
“It’s part of being a manager,” he replied.
“How did you move from Three Dragons to ArDex?” I queried. I hoped the sudden shift in topics would catch him off-guard.
“What do you mean?” he stalled.
“ArDex didn’t exactly post a listing for a chairman of the board position, so how did you end up working for them?” I explained. “I mean, everyone seemed certain that Arturo Bernardi would return.”
“Everyone familiar with shipping in and around Asia heard the news about Arturo’s illness,” he said carefully.
