Desert Jade

by C. J. Shane

  Jade said, "Your name is Joe?"

  He nodded yes with a short, sudden downward movement of his head. "Not American name Joe, but Chinese name Z-H-O-U." He spelled the word, using the British "zed" instead of "Z". "I explain. My name sounds like your “Joe”, but in pinyin, it is spelled Zed-H-O-U. Zhou is my family name, and LiangWei is my individual personal name. Reverse of western names."

  "Zhou," Jade repeated. “Joe.”

  Letty and Zhou traded identification again, and both slipped badges back into pockets.

  "Why are you here?" Letty asked sharply.

  "Interpol informed the Ministry of Public Security in Beijing that possibly a Hong Kong triad criminal gang is moving into the Arizona region. I have experience working with Interpol. I was chosen to investigate."

  "Interpol?" Letty sounded dubious even to herself. Interpol was short for International Criminal Police Organization. She had read about it on the web just because she was curious after seeing a film with Interpol agents. She remembered that Interpol was headquartered in France, and its purpose was to help the police of member countries to cooperate on problems such as organized crime and terrorism. Most countries in the world were members of Interpol. The organization did not make arrests, but it kept extensive databases on criminal activity and provided that information to police to help them cooperate in bringing down criminals. She’d heard of triads but knew little about them. About the Ministry of Public Security in China, Letty knew absolutely nothing. In fact, this was the first she'd ever heard of it.

  "So you are a detective?”

  "Yes. I am one of the Detective Inspectors. Allow me to explain. I arrived at Tucson International Airport today. I arrived one day early. I expected to follow the triad gangster who is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. At the airport I saw the triad member. Not tomorrow. He came today. His name is Bao. I followed him. He did not lead me to see others in his gang. Instead he came to this woman's house.” Zhou gestured to Jade. “Bao looks for something or maybe looks for someone."

  Zhou turned to Jade. "Now I want to know why this man comes to your house," He looked at Jade directly. "Do you know this man? Do you have a business or a personal relationship with him?"

  Letty noticed that Zhou's eyes had narrowed. His voice was quiet yet firm, and his body was an odd combination of relaxation and tension. Letty had a sudden memory of a rattlesnake she'd seen once across a dry wash in the shade of a scrawny mesquite tree. The rattler was relaxed into a coil, quiet, watchful, and yet ready to strike at the least provocation.

  "Certainly not!" Jade said hotly. "I've never seen him before. I have no idea why he was here. I have no relationship of any kind with that man. He's a stranger!"

  Zhou frowned and looked at Letty. "This is not good. Bao is a very dangerous man."

  "This is hard to believe,” Jade said. “This isn’t California. We’ve had a small Chinese settlement here since the mid-nineteenth century, but these days, most of the Chinese in Tucson are students at the university. We don't even have a Chinatown."

  "What exactly are you investigating?” asked Letty.

  "The triads are involved in many illegal activities such as drug smuggling, people smuggling, counterfeit money, money laundering…” He shrugged his shoulders as if the list were too long to convey. “In recent times, an important triad gang called Wo Hop To is suspected of working in northern Mexico and southern Arizona. We do not know what they are doing. Possibly they are smuggling Chinese citizens into the U.S. across the Mexican border. Or perhaps smuggling illegal drugs. Or both. We do not know. We know only that triad members have been seen here. Interpol alerted the Chinese government to send an agent to investigate. I am the agent." He smiled.

  Letty considered this. An immigration investigation was definitely plausible. Every year hundreds of illegal immigrants crossed the U.S. border into Arizona. Most of the immigrants were poverty-stricken Mexicans or Central Americans looking for a job, a minimum wage job, any job. They just wanted to feed their kids. Many of them got caught, but for every one caught and sent back, two made it across the border successfully. They eventually found the jobs that other Americans wouldn't do.

  "I have heard that there were a few Chinese and some other nationalities, too, trying to cross the Arizona border," Letty admitted. “I read in the paper that a couple of our local Chinese American businessmen who still spoke some Mandarin were hired by the local police to talk to the Chinese illegals – to find out where they came from and who was trying to smuggle them in and, most of all, to find out where they were going.”

  "Yes, we have information about illegal smuggling. Also there are rumors of Chinese women forced to become..." Zhou hesitated, "sex slaves.”

  Letty nodded her head in agreement. Human trafficking and sex slavery were known problems.

  Jade interrupted. "That may be," said Jade, "but right now I'm hungry.”

  Letty sighed. Jade didn’t seem to be taking this seriously.

  “Please, sit down,” Jade gestured toward the table. “I made a little something to eat while we were waiting for Letty.” The table was covered with dishes filled with food.

  "I'm meeting Will later for supper, Jade. In fact, I need to go call him." Letty rose from the table and went into the backyard, closing the door behind her. She didn't want Zhou to hear her make her phone calls.

  Zhou sat and watched Jade make a burrito. He followed her example, starting with folding one end of the tortilla up so that the stuffing couldn’t escape and then wrapping it around the other ingredients. He ate with enthusiasm. Jade smiled.

  “What is this?” he asked.

  “What is what?”

  Zhou gestured to the food, and Jade gave names for each food item…some in English and some in Spanish. "Tortilla, shredded chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, salsa. And you just made a burrito."

  Zhou took a big bite and nodded. "Burrito. Very good."

  “How long has it been since you ate?” Jade asked.

  “Hmmm….two days...maybe three. I did not eat well before. Airport food is usually bad. I don’t like it. I did not sleep well,” His mouth was full. “I came from Beijing, before that, Zambia. Long trip.”

  “Zambia? That's in Africa,” Jade said. "Do you travel a lot?"

  Zhou nodded and filled his mouth again. Jade followed his example. They ate in silence.

  On the back patio, Letty made a quick call to Will’s cell phone and left a message that she might be delayed a little while. Then she called Marv Iverson. She could see Zhou and Jade in the bright light of the kitchen. The air around her had taken on a nighttime chill.

  "Hey, Marv."

  "What do you want? I'm watching football." He was always like that – gruff and short with her. Fact is that he was a teddy bear who had turned out to be someone that Letty could always count on.

  "Big deal, Marv. You know you’re always watching football. I need some help. Remember Jade Lopez, the woman whose husband, Carlos, disappeared about a year ago? She just called me. I'm at her house now. A Chinese cop is here...or so he claims. He says he's following a triad gangster. You know triads are those Chinese mafia-like criminal gangs. This Chinese cop says he followed a triad gang member to Jade's house. The triad member went into Jade's house. We don't know why for sure. Apparently he was looking for something."

  "Well, well. That’s different from the usual stuff we deal with. And it's not good if it's true. Triad gangsters are worse than the mafia from what I hear. They like to chop up people with hatchets. What was the intruder looking for?"

  "We don't know. In fact, the whole story might be a bunch of bull. I'll call Tucson Police. Don't you know someone high up in the police department or in Homeland Security who could tell us if they are expecting a Chinese policeman?"

  "Yeah, I'll call Sam Lambert. That dick head. He's not going to like this. Mere mortals like you and me are not supposed to know about Homeland Security business. I'll call you back in a few minutes."

  That'
s what Letty loved about Marv. He would drop whatever to help her. And this time she could tell that he was interested in what she was telling him. It's not every day that Interpol and Chinese cops come into their conversation.

  Next Letty dialed Adelita Garcia at Tucson police headquarters, but got voice mail instead.

  "Hello, Adelita. This is Letty Valdez. Please give me a call when you can."

  Letty went back into Jade's kitchen and sat down at the table.

  "Jade, are you sure nothing is gone?" Letty asked.

  "I didn't find anything obvious, but I can tell he got into my stuff."

  "Like what?”

  "Drawers opened. The bed covers are disturbed like he looked under the mattress. Books moved around on the shelf."

  Why would some Chinese triad gang member be at Jade's house and what the hell was he looking for? Could it be something as simple as the wrong address? Letty could think of no possible connection Jade might have with Chinese gangsters.

  "Here, Letty," Jade said. "Please have something to eat."

  Letty half-heartedly put together a burrito, made it thin, and took a bite. She still had hopes of eating with Will.

  Jade turned to Zhou. "Your English is good. Very good.”

  "Thank you. You are too kind,” Zhou said. “My father was a businessman, and my family frequently lived abroad.” Zhou paused. How easily the lie came. Actually his father had been heavily involved in espionage for the Chinese central government. His father’s “business” was a cover while he collected as much information possible – all of which went directly back to Beijing. He was part of a network of spies from every nation that spent time in the world’s major capitals. One of his assignments was to figure out which of the American and British embassy staff were actually spies for their own countries.

  Because of his father’s clandestine operations, Zhou had spent many of his growing-up years in the West although his father made sure he spent regular long periods in China as well. Later, working with Interpol led to long periods in France. As a result, Zhou knew he didn’t completely fit into the West, but he didn’t really fit into China either. Sometimes he felt homeless.

  “My father moved our family around a lot,” Zhou continued. “I went to an American high school for a brief time, and I earned my bachelor’s degree from University College London. Also, I watched American television to learn slang. I watched Friends, Sex and City, Desperate Housewife. That’s how I learned the traditional American lifestyle and language."

  “Oh, Lord,” Letty said. Friends, Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives. Traditional American lifestyles? Good grief.

  Jade covered her mouth with her hand to hide her grin. Her eyebrows arched upward.

  Zhou laughed at their reaction. His face, which had been all serious and professional cop demeanor earlier, was suddenly all dimples and flashing white teeth. Letty noticed for the first time that he was actually quite good looking. She also noticed that Jade was blushing. Hmmm…that’s not good, Letty thought. But then again, her blush may mean nothing. Jade’s red face was nothing new. Jade, the red-headed, freckled-faced Irish-American girl with the Mexican Spanish name, blushed at anything and everything.

  “You, please. What is your name?” Zhou asked. He was looking at Jade.

  "Jade. Jade Lopez."

  "Jade?"

  "Yes. You know, like the green stone."

  Zhou repeated the word in Chinese. “Jade in my language is…”

  “Yùe” interjected Jade.

  “You speak Mandarin?”

  “No. I wish. When I was a kid, we lived in Australia for one year. My dad had a consulting job. My parents hired a Chinese couple to cook and clean and organize everything and take care of me, too. They called me Jade… Yùe,” she explained.

  Zhou nodded.

  Letty's phone buzzed. Marv. She left the table and went to the backyard again, closing the door behind her.

  "Your boy may be legit," Marv said. "Lambert says that they were expecting a detective from the Chinese Ministry of Public Security to fly into Tucson tomorrow. He’s supposed to report to their office. And Lambert was not happy to know that I knew about this cop, and that you made contact with him first. I had to listen to him rant about security leaks and interfering people – meaning interfering me and interfering you. He wants you to come in, too, to find out why you are involved. But I gotta tell ya, Letty, it gave me a hard-on to jerk Lambert's chain." He laughed.

  Letty knew that Marv and Lambert went way back. There was bad blood between them that Marv had never explained. But they had both learned that helping each other out was in each man's own best interest. So they stayed in touch and shared info, always grudgingly.

  "Well, if Lambert asks again, I'm not involved. I'm just trying to help Jade."

  "You can tell him yourself. He wants you and the Chinese cop to show up in his office at eleven tomorrow morning.

  "Okay. I'll go. Marv, do you have an experience with foreign agents, or detectives...or whatever? He calls himself a detective inspector, and he says this triad intruder is dangerous."

  "Nope. I only have experience with local boys and the Mexican cartel scum. Anybody who lives near the border has to deal with those scumbags at some point. I've never been to China except a layover in Hong Kong once, but that was back when it was British. I know lots of Vietnamese but no Chinese. But I've heard about those triad gangsters. They have a rep for being really nasty, violent SOBs. Be careful, Letty. And let me know what happens."

  "Thanks, Marv. I'll stay in touch. Go back to your football."

  Back at the table, Zhou and Jade were finishing their burritos when Letty returned.

  "Mr. Zhou, aren't you supposed to report in to authorities here? And Jade, maybe we should think about finding you another place to stay until we figure out what's going on here."

  Zhou nodded yes, and Jade shook her head no.

  "No way, Letty. I don't want to go anywhere. This is my home. Where would I go anyway? My parents are on a trek in South America, Maggie has a full house for the holidays, Seri won’t be back from her trip until Sunday, and you don't have room for me. I'll be okay. And I promise, cross my heart, that I'll keep this place locked up, and I won't let anyone in. Promise."

  Zhou and Letty exchanged glances.

  Zhou turned to Jade and said, "The triad gangsters are very dangerous. We do not know why they came to your house. It is best to go to a safe place."

  "There's no safe place," Jade said with a frown. "I'm staying here. That's it. Period."

  Letty shook her head. She knew Jade was thinking of Carlos again.

  "Zhou, what about you?” Letty said. “I want to go with you when you visit the authorities."

  Zhou hesitated. "I must see your Homeland Security and Tucson police. I will call them tomorrow. Then I will call you. We can go together. You will see then that I am a good guy. Okay?"

  "Okay, Mr. Good Guy," Letty said. "Let's make it tomorrow morning. How about eleven o'clock? I have a client I have to see tomorrow afternoon. But first we're going to take a walk around and make sure this place is secure."

  Letty went room to room, Zhou at her shoulder, and together they made sure all the windows were closed and locked. Letty felt better seeing that all the windows had decorative wrought iron security bars that made a window break-in very difficult. The front door had a dead bolt on it. The back door also had a dead bolt and chain although the door itself looked old and easy to smash in.

  "And you. Did you just walk in past the side gate, too?” Letty sighed when Zhou nodded yes. “And where are you going to be tonight?"

  "I first came over back wall, I hid in trees, then I passed through the unlocked gate. My rental car is behind the wall. I will go to a hotel tonight."

  Letty shook her head. For a place that looked really secure in a neighborhood that was supposed to be safe, Jade's house was surprisingly vulnerable.

  "This place is way too easy to get into," she muttered to her
self. Zhou nodded in agreement.

  Finally Letty was as satisfied as she could be, and said goodbye to both. Jade started cleaning up from dinner. Zhou followed Letty into the backyard, closing the door behind him.

  "Miss Leticia?"

  "Call me Letty."

  Zhou nodded. "Bao is a 49er. The 49ers are the foot soldiers of the triad organization. Bao is hot-headed and impulsive. I can confirm that he has killed several people. He plays with them before killing...like a cat plays with a mouse. Bao enjoys hurting people. He forces his prisoners to cry and beg for release from pain before he kills them," Zhou looked at Letty intently. "Also he likes women. He will….," Zhou seemed to struggle for a word, "He will abuse women first, then hurt them, then kill them."

  Letty felt a chill go up her spine. A sensory memory exploded in her brain for about two seconds, leaving her shuddering. Then she was pulled back again to the present. "You mean he rapes them first, tortures them, then kills them in some really painful way."

  "Yes," Zhou said firmly, "You understand my meaning. He is very bad guy."

  “Yeah, a bad guy. Okay, then let's do what we can to keep Jade safe."

  "I agree. We cooperate. Let us make Miss Jade safe."

  Chapter 4

  Letty's cell phone rang again just as she pulled into the gravel driveway of her modest home in midtown Tucson. She had chosen the neighborhood because it was centrally located, and it was easy to get to most parts of the city from here. There were rentals, small apartment complexes and duplexes as well as single-family homes on the streets nearby. Also the neighborhood had a higher-than-average share of immigrants and college students.