First step was to shut down the wireless Internet connection at the Tiger Palace and temporarily jam all forms of communication. This gave security precious seconds to wander through the crowds with military strength magnets, send out malware disguised as gifts from the Tiger Palace, and discreetly take cell phones away briefly from customers to insert data-destroying programs.
When Wing got back, Garret discreetly gave the waiter twenty-five thousand dollars and told him to make sure the slots and tables stayed open. He knew this wasn’t going to be too hard because most of the cops were already in the Tiger Palace’s pocket.
Customer service personnel reassured the patrons that “everything was under control” and encouraged them to return to their tables and slot machines with an extra fifty dollars’ worth of chips. For others that still wanted to gawk, a free coupon expiring in fifteen minutes for the normally fifty-dollar-per-person buffet was a great incentive to leave.
Busboys quickly reset the private dining room Garret was in, putting the table upright again with two used settings and two unused settings.
First responders were fast on the scene. A crime photographer snapped pictures of Tommy’s body with the arrow sticking up while CSI techs dusted for prints and examined the arrow in the wall. There were two interrogators but, with most of the patrons bribed or incentivized away, those that were left were curiosity seekers, not real witnesses.
All, that is, except for Garret. Two policemen stood with him. One conducted the interview and the other recorded their conversation and took notes.
“Would you please summarize what happened, Mr. Southam?” one of the cops asked.
“Of course, Officer. I was having dinner with Mr. Sung in a private room that our firm reserved. Mr. Sung is involved in the management of this complex, and our firm, Pittman Saunders, is their corporate attorney. Mr. Sung was in a celebratory mood and had a few drinks, quite a bit more than he might normally have.” Garret paused, then continued. “Quite unstable, he knocked the soup over both of us.”
Garret pointed to the stains on his shirt, jacket and pants. “We both had to clean up and left the room. As we left, two arrows came flying. One of them hit Mr. Sung, and the other planted itself into the wall.”
“Can we assume the other arrow was meant for you?” the officer asked.
“No, I don’t think that can be assumed at all.” Garret frowned, as if the thought was foreign to him. “No one knew we were in the room. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision for two business associates who were also longtime friends to share a meal after we just ran into each other at the craps table. But, as you have asked me to speculate, I will do so. There are two possibilities. The first possibility is that we were the wrong people in the wrong place at the wrong time. In other words, a random act of violence.”
“Do you think that likely?”
“What I think is immaterial. What is important are the facts. The Tiger Palace is an extremely successful entertainment complex. With its success comes enemies. What better way to destroy its reputation by having it linked to random murders of patrons or staff?”
“Right.” The cop nodded. “You mentioned a second possibility.”
“Yes. The second possibility is that both arrows were meant for Mr. Sung. One was insurance in case the first one missed.”
“So you rule out the possibility that you were a possible target?”
“I’m a lawyer, Officer. And a damned good one. I never rule out any possibility, but let’s go over the facts.” Garret stood a little straighter. “I’m a senior partner specializing in corporate and commercial blue chip clients only. Do your due diligence on our firm, and you will discover an extraordinarily clean record. Pittman Saunders is extremely boring but extremely safe.”
“Why were there four place settings if dinner was only for you and Mr. Sung?”
Garret continued with a hint of chastisement. “You don’t know much about the entertainment industry, do you, son? The answer is public relations. Mr. Sung often spontaneously invited patrons, especially young ladies, to join him. Having structured his contract with the Tiger Complex, I can tell you that part of his job description is to spend $250,000 per month entertaining clients, patrons and any other potential for new business. What is called client development is an entirely normal legal expense. Had you come by, there is a good chance he would have invited you in the interests of maintaining an excellent relationship with our public defenders.” Again, he paused. “I hope we can keep this low key, officers.”
The two officers looked at each other. They nodded, indicating the questions were answered to their mutual satisfaction.
“Thank you, Mr. Southam. We will be in touch if there are any further questions.”
The other police officer turned off the recording device and packed his notes. “I’m good to go.”
The officers started to leave. Garret quickly joined them and discreetly placed an envelope into the bag of the policeman carrying the recording device and another envelope into the hand of the interviewing officer. “Thanks for your understanding,” he said quietly.
“Always glad to be of service to the public, Mr. Southam.”
Sitting at the bar a hundred and fifty feet away were Olivia and Abby. While Garret wanted them out of the way, they knew they were part of the unfolding story and had to know how it would play out.
When they were safely out of the immediate danger zone, they refused to accompany Wing any further. With chaos demanding his attention, Wing had no choice but to acquiesce to their demand.
Olivia and Abby had a complete view of the whole exchange. Their eyes filled with confusion and consternation. They knew their lives had just been forever changed.
Chapter 25
For someone like Chad whose passion in life was to help kids, owning Chad’s Caffeine Emporium was a natural. It could barely squeeze in a dozen people at any time, but that was no big deal to the kids who hung out there killing cops, vampires and dragons in cyberspace or dueling to the death with mercenaries and wizards, maybe half a world away, maybe on the computer next to them. They all had smart phones, tablet computers and laptops, but there was something about the camaraderie of being in a place where you could see and be seen that made the café a great place to hang.
The gregarious Chad was a natural at it. He got to meet kids, talk to them, find out more and then, if they needed it, found some way to assist. Sometimes, it was helping with homework; sometimes it was parental issues. Sometimes, there were kids like Sam who needed a hand to pull them out of shit before the cesspool dragged them under.
Chad knew because he was one of those kids. The hands that pulled him out were Noah’s parents, teachers who were more concerned about their students’ personal lives than their academics. When Chad and Noah met at the Reids’ school, they got along like oil and water. That was pretty normal—you couldn’t expect everyone to like everybody. However, one day Chad pulled a knife and stabbed Noah because Noah wouldn’t give Chad the T-shirt he was wearing, and that’s when the Reid parents stepped it up.
They found out Chad was an orphan and had been living on his own for a couple of years. Some people collected stray animals. The Reids collected stray people, and Chad became part of the Reid household. After that initial rough start, it took a while, but Noah and Chad became soul brothers. It was that kind of brotherly heart-to-heart they were having at the Caffeine Emporium.
The love-struck Noah sat across from barista Chad, who was preparing cappuccinos for the two of them.
“So? Who is she? Who is this fringe benefit?”
Noah sighed. “A girl who has everything.”
“Oh, one of those. Can’t afford, can’t touch, can’t get to first base. I know too many of those.”
“Olivia’s different.”
“You mean she’s not a spoiled rich kid who thinks the world should cater to her every whim?”
“Well... she’s not that bad.” Noah said.
“Not th
at bad means not that good.” Chad made perfect sense, but who said love was logical? “Let me guess. She makes Miss America look like yesterday’s breakfast.”
“Well... like I said... she’s not that bad.”
“You shallow bastard,” Chad said disdainfully. “Falling in love with someone just because she’s some good-looking chick? Dangerous, you know what I mean? So, is she part of the secretarial pool or someone who hands out the muffins? Or maybe she operates the elevator?”
Noah sighed. “None of the above. She’s a lawyer. And the boss’s daughter.”
“She’s gorgeous and smart. What’s she doing with a slime ball like you? Hey, does she have a sister?”
“Damned if I know.” Noah sighed again. “What can I do to make her see what a wonderful guy I am? That her life is incomplete without me? What kind of present can I get her?”
Chad rolled his eyes. “Gag me. Remember, we had the same problem every Mother’s Day. What can I get you, Mom? And her answer was always the same.” He put on a feminine voice. ‘Oh, nothing, son. Just give me your love’.”
Reverting to his natural voice, Chad offered, “The answer is you don’t get her anything because you can’t ever match up to anything she already has. So if she’s everything you say she is, you gotta be different, think different, act different because you won’t make an impact in a normal way.”
“I’ll get her a dozen roses,” Noah said as if it was the most original idea in the world. “No, two dozen roses.”
“Duh,” Chad scoffed. “Someone like that gets flowers from every guy who has ever hit on her.”
“Mom loved flowers.”
“Mom was the wife of a missionary who could barely afford the rent, let alone flowers.”
Chad put the cappuccino in front of Noah. Like a true barista artist, he made a design using a combination of foam and coffee. This time, it was a rose. “Sweep her off her feet. Be different. Get her something she would never think of herself.”
“Maybe daisies instead of roses?”
Chad made motions of tearing his hair out. “Hey, you got a picture of this ravishing creature?”
“Yeah, there’s one on the Pittman Saunders website.” Noah moved to one of the computers and started typing, narrowing his brows with unsettled intensity. “Something’s wrong. I can’t get in. Maybe they got some kind of firewall or something? My password is Reid, but I can’t get in.”
Chad walked over to Noah’s computer and typed r-e-i-d. As the computer displayed Noah’s opening screen, he said, “Bingo.”
“How’d you do that?” Noah said. “I mean, I’m not a computer geek like you, but I think I know how to spell my name.”
Chad shook his head in disbelief over his friend’s ignorance. “The light on the CAPS LOCK key is broken. It needs to be replaced.”
“Then why don’t you fix it?” Noah inquired.
“Funds are in serious shortage for this cowboy. Want to lend me some?”
“Gave everything I had to Sam. Wait until I get a paycheck.” Noah pointed to Olivia’s picture. “That’s her.”
“You got good taste, bro.”
Chapter 26
Garret had been driving for ten minutes. He checked the Bentley’s rearview mirror to see Abby and Olivia, sitting numb in the back seat. They had been so quiet he could hear the purr of the car. There were times when words could be a comfort but Garret knew this was not one of them. The girls had seen too much and anything he said would only upset them or make them more suspicious of him. They had seen too much to offer an inanity like, “Don’t worry. Everything will be okay.”
Garret needed the quiet time, too. His best friend had just been killed and he had been part of it. Yes, he and Tommy both knew it was coming but they never suspected it might be like this. Once again, Chin had managed to surprise them.
But before he could dwell on it, the dam broke. Abby wailed, “It’s not fair. Why?”
Olivia held her friend tightly. Staying silent, she knew Abby had to get the hurt out.
Tears streamed from Abby’s eyes as she whimpered, “I should have suspected something. This morning, I found Daddy with a suitcase full of money. When I asked him about it, he said it was from a casino.”
Garret’s ears picked up. He listened more intently but remained mum.
“Your dad is part owner of more than a dozen casinos. That’s entirely possible,” Olivia consoled her friend.
“Except, Olivia, the armored car service comes by to scoop up the cash every two hours, twenty-four hours a day. And the bills were in foreign currency. He said it was for a deposit.”
Olivia turned from Abby and lashed out at her father. “You’re Tommy’s lawyer. You must know what’s going on.”
Garret focused on the road, trying to hide his inner turmoil. “I knew your father better than anyone else alive. If he said he was going to make a deposit, there is no doubt in my mind he made a deposit.” Just not at a bank.
“You don’t need to lie,” Olivia said calmly. “I saw what happened at Tiger. I saw you bribe the cops. Why didn’t you want them to know Abby and I were there?”
“Protection.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Despite their difficult relationship, this was the first time Olivia swore at her father.
“See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.”
“Dammit, Dad. I’m not eleven years old,” Olivia blurted. “Stop treating me like a child.”
“Knowledge is dangerous. The less you know―or more important, the less anyone thinks you know―the safer you will be.”
Olivia spat out in frustration, “That’s the problem with you. Knowledge is not dangerous; it is power. You think you’re protecting me by hiding things.”
“No employee speaks to me that way,” growled Garret.
“Is that what you really think of me? Well, I have news for you. I am not your employee; I am your daughter.”
“As far as Pittman Saunders is concerned, you are an employee, an employee I am responsible for, including deciding what you’re privy to on a need-to-know basis. As your father, who cares infinitely more for you than I care for my own personal well-being, there are things I don’t want you to know about.”
“You have a strange way of demonstrating that. After Mom was killed in the plane accident, you sent me away to boarding school so you almost never had to speak to me.” Olivia’s voice steeled. “You told me to use Mom’s maiden name of Novak for whatever reason. I never, ever had a cell phone, credit card or Internet account in my own name. It’s like you were ashamed of anyone knowing I was your daughter. You never told me anything, but I deserve to know.”
“Do you honestly believe that I would do nothing if I thought there was something I could do? The reason I haven’t told you anything is that there is nothing to tell.”
Before Olivia continued her tirade against her father, Abby interrupted quietly. “Mr. Southam, I want to go back to New York as soon as possible. Can you help me arrange my father’s funeral as quickly as possible?”
“Of course, Abby. Can we set it for tomorrow afternoon?”
“Can you do it sooner?” sobbed Abby.
“It’s one in the morning. I can arrange for the service in two to three hours.”
Abby’s gentle voice intoned, “I would like that.”
Chapter 27
Garret was on the phone non-stop while he drove to the morgue. It was a task that Garret had to perform every year or so for Chin, so he knew that a hundred thousand in cash would cover costs. He kept several times that amount stored in secret places in the Bentley.
When Garret and the girls arrived, they were taken to the room where Tommy’s body was stored. After Abby confirmed the body was indeed her father’s, Garret ordered the attendant to remove the arrow. After carefully using a knife to enlarge the wound, he pulled the arrow from Tommy’s heart, placed it into a plastic bag and gave it to Garret. This process had taken less than an hour.
At hi
s arrangement, three white-robed Taoist monks, along with a morgue attendant, entered the storage room. Garret nodded at the monks, who lit incense sticks and began to chant. Carrying a framed photo of Tommy, Garret led a procession of monks and the attendant, who placed the body onto a gurney, then rolled it out of the morgue.
Garret was never one to leave things to chance. By evading an autopsy and careful examination of the body, he avoided unnecessary questions about the legality of any of the pharmaceuticals that might be found in Tommy’s corpse. This also ensured that the arrowhead in his heart would never be found, never be traced.
The monks, Garret, Olivia and Abby accompanied Tommy’s body to the crematorium. Master Wu was waiting when they arrived.
“Who’s he?” whispered Abby to Garret.
“Master Wu was the father that Tommy and I never had. He’s always out of the limelight, but he is always there for us,” replied Garret.
Under normal circumstances, Olivia and Abby would have grilled Garret more but, in their present state, Garret’s short, enigmatic answer was good enough.
They changed into white garments, then walked with the monks who chanted, sang, waved incense sticks, rang bells and beat drums as they carried Tommy’s body to the altar where it was placed on the funeral pyre.
By 4 a.m., the altar had been prepared, complete with ten oranges assembled to form a pyramid, incense sticks, a cooked fish and sweet candies. A lamp in the center was flanked by two lit candles symbolizing sunlight, moonlight and a human’s eyes.
Abby and Master Wu approached the altar. Arriving, each picked up seven incense sticks and lit them. Holding the sticks in a single bunch with both hands, they held them worshipfully and prayerfully. They took three steps in tandem and stood before Tommy’s body. Holding the incense straight-armed in front of them, they bowed three times. The smoke from the incense created little wisps that floated upward. Master Wu took the sticks from Abby and stuck them into a small sand-filled copper vessel.
The Noah Reid Action Thriller Series: Books 1-3 (plus special bonuses) Page 15
