The Chinese Tiger Ying

by Larry Darter

  Just when it seems the darkest sometimes, comes the dawn. I got the action I was looking for on my fifth storage facility stop. As soon as I showed the attendant the photo, he said he remembered Zhang Yong. He had been working on Sunday morning when he said the guy in my photo had arrived to lease a storage unit. With over three hours before I had to be at Dr. Nix’s office, I had plenty of time to follow up the lead.

  The attendant was a short, pot-bellied man of about fifty. His gray hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and he sported a shaggy three-date gray beard. It didn’t appear he was trying to grow a proper beard but was only too lazy to shave. He wore a light grey uniform shirt with a patch on the right side of the chest with “Chet” embroidered on it with matching pants.

  Chet was a chatty guy. He told me Zhang Yong had shown up in a rented cargo van, rented a unit, and had paid six months rent in advance. The great thing about Chet was he had a good memory for details. The worst thing about Chet was he stared unapologetically at my chest the entire time we talked. I was wearing my jacket but had unzipped it when I’d walked in which had given Chet something to feast his eyes on. As much as I wanted to remind Chet my eyes were a bit above his line of sight, I needed something from him and supposed the thrill the douche was getting staring at my chest was a small enough price to pay. At least it was the price I was willing to pay until after I got the information I wanted. Then I might have a word to him about his manners, or lack thereof.

  At one point in my conversation with Chet, the breeze from a ceiling fan in the center of the room blew the photograph I’d shown him off the counter. It floated away to settle to the floor about a meter from the desk. I bent over and picked it up. When I straightened and turned back toward Chet, it was obvious from the lecherous smile on his face he had been leaning over the counter checking out my arse. I was feeling dirty because I was quite sure I knew the kind of things Chet was fantasizing about doing with me. I wanted to end our visit as soon as possible.

  “Chet, think you could let me have a squizz at your security camera video recordings around the time my guy came in to rent the space?” I said.

  “Well, we rarely do that for anyone except the police, darling,” Chet said. “But I am the owner of the place, so I might be persuaded to let a good-looking lady private detective like you have a look at the recordings.”

  “That would be sweet of you,” I said.

  “Of course, it might cost you a little something sweetheart, for my time and all.”

  Why was I sure Chet wasn’t talking about money?

  “Yep, sure, Chet, I’d be willing to pay you a reasonable sum to see the recordings, especially if you’re willing to make copies of anything I could use for my case,” I said.

  “All right then, come on around the counter, and I’ll pull up the videos on my computer here,” Chet said.

  I walked around the counter and stood to the left of Chet where I could see the computer monitor screen. He manipulated the mouse until he brought up the recordings from the past Sunday. There was a grid of images which were the different views from all the on-site security cameras. Chet clicked on one image which brought up the full-screen view from one camera.

  “I’d say it was about eight-thirty when he came in Sunday morning,” Chet said. “We’ll start the playback at eight-fifteen.

  We watched the recording until the time stamp read eight-thirty-eight. Then a white cargo van with the rental company name on the side pulled into the car park. A large man got out. He was Zhang Yong.

  I felt Chet’s left arm snake around my waist, and he pulled me toward him.

  “Come a little closer,” Chet said. “You can see the guy’s face better.”

  It didn’t make the image any clearer than it already was. But, I had got no copies of the video recordings yet, so I would play along for a short bit. Chet manipulated the mouse with his right hand and changed to the view from the camera inside the office pointing at the front door. I watched Zhang Yong walk through the front door on the video, then felt Chet’s left hand slip down to manipulate the left cheek of my arse.

  “Let me show you the one where he pulls in through the gate and unloads the truck,” Chet said while rubbing my bum.

  I reached back and grabbed his hand, then rotated out of his grasp and let go.

  “Yeah, nah, I don’t really need to see that bit,” I said standing beyond arm’s length. “It would be great though if you could make me a copy of that video recording, along with the ones showing my guy arriving in the van Sunday morning and walking through your front door.”

  Chet grinned. “I could do that. As long as you understand—”

  I interrupted. “It may cost me a little something for your time and trouble?” I said.

  Chet’s grin widened. “Yeah, a little something. But don’t worry. I can be a very reasonable guy, darling.”

  “I’m sure you can, Chet,” I said.

  Chet reached down and pulled out a blank compact disc from a bin on the shelf beneath the counter. He inserted it into the computer drive and manipulated the mouse for several minutes. Once he had finished copying the video files that I’d asked for he popped out the disc. He held it up.

  “There you are, the recording you wanted, sweetheart,” Chet said.

  Instead of offering me the disc, Chet slipped it into his shirt pocket. I imagined he intended for me to settle the account before he’d hand it over.

  “Listen, Chet, you’ve been great, but what would really be helpful is having a squizz at the rental agreement my guy signed. Getting a copy as evidence would be sweet as.”

  Chet scratched his beard and stared at my chest.

  “We usually don’t do that for anyone but the police, sweetheart,” Chet said.

  “Of course—”

  “Yep, got it, Chet,” I said. “You might make an exception, though it could cost me a little something for your time and all.”

  Chet smiled proudly. “You’re a smart lady. I could use a woman like you around here. You’re a fast learner.”

  I gave him a friendly smile. “If I’m ever in need of part-time work, I will look you up first, Chet.”

  Chet beamed. He pointed to a door across the room marked “private.” His face looked a bit flush now. I was sure I knew what that was all about.

  “I live on the site, and that’s the door to my living quarters over there,” Chet said. “I have a computer and printer in my living room. Let’s go in there where we’ll be more comfortable. I’ll print out the copy of the rental agreement for you. Then I’ll get out a bottle of scotch. We can have a drink or two and see what develops.”

  “My, you’re quite direct aren’t you, Chet?” I said giving him my best fake smile.

  “I always say life’s too short to beat around the bush,” Chet said. “Sound like a deal?”

  I gave it a think. How much was I willing to let Chet grope me to get what I needed from the douche? Not too bloody damn much. That was for sure. But he didn’t have to know that until I got what I wanted. I gave Chet another big smile I hoped looked titillating.

  “Yep, sure, a drink never sounds bad,” I said.

  Chet nodded and smiled. I followed him across to the door. He opened it, and we went inside a small lounge with a loveseat, coffee table, and a reclining chair. There was also a desktop computer and a computer printer on a small desk in one corner. At the desk, Chet moved the mouse to get rid of the screen saver. There was a porn site on the screen. A naked voluptuous bleached blonde reclined on a bed with her hands cupping her boobs and her knees spread apart. It seemed she’d recently had a nice Brazilian wax job. Chet turned his head to look at me leeringly.

  “Sorry about that, darling,” he said.

  He hadn’t sounded sorry. Guess I knew what Chet had been about this morning before work. I reckoned everyone needed a hobby. He turned back to the computer and clicked the mouse to close the browser. Then he went to the document files and clicked on the rental agreement I wanted t
o see. Once it was on the screen, he stood up.

  “Why don’t you sit down here and have a look at the agreement,” Chet said. “I’ll go get the drinks.”

  “Awesome,” I said.

  Chet went out of the room to the small kitchen. I sat down on the swivel chair and looked at the agreement. My theory had been correct. Zhang Yong wasn’t the name or signature on the agreement. He had used an alias. But the date and time on the agreement matched the time stamps on the security camera video recordings, so I reckoned a copy of it would be useful. It also had the storage unit number printed on it.

  Chet returned. I swiveled the chair to face him, trying my best to look like a prim and proper lady with a dash of eager to please tossed in. He was holding two heavy low ball glasses. Each glass held two ice cubes and amber liquid.

  “Hope you like scotch,” Chet said handing me a glass.

  “Yes, I enjoy scotch whiskey sometimes,” I said.

  Chet sat on the loveseat. He took a long drink of scotch. Then he patted the cushion beside him.

  “Sweetheart, take your jacket off and bring that cute ass of yours over here,” he said with a mischievous grin. “Sit beside me where it’s more comfortable while we talk.”

  “Couldn’t you print a copy of the agreement for me first?” I said.

  “We can talk about that in a little while,” Chet said patting the cushion again.

  Bloody marvelous. I stood up, took off my jacket, and draped it over the back of the chair. I went over to the loveseat and sat beside Chet.

  “Drink your scotch, darling,” Chet said. “It’s good whiskey.”

  I smiled coyly and pretended to sip. Chet impressed me as a guy who wasn’t above secretly slipping a little something like GHB or Rohypnol into a girl’s drink. I had no plans to wake up naked in his bed wondering what the hell had happened.

  Chet leered at my chest. “Hope you didn’t think I’m expecting you to pay me cash for the little favors I’m doing for you, sweetheart.”

  “Yeah, nah, Chet,” I said. “I reckoned you likely have a trade of favors in mind.”

  Chet smiled at me. “You’re not just another pretty face, darling.”

  Chet put his left hand on top of my thigh. I put my right hand on top of it and trapped his hand there before he went exploring.

  “Chet, I’ll show you mine if you show me yours first,” I said.

  “Show you mine?”

  “Yep,” I said smiling, batting my eyes. “I’d like to get the copy of the rental agreement and the disc in your pocket before we see what develops.”

  “Don’t you trust me, darling?” Chet said.

  “It isn’t that, Chet. But, what if we, you know, we do whatever you have in mind and then you have a change of heart about giving them to me?”

  Chet grinned. “Darling, I wouldn’t screw you. Not like that, anyway.”

  I smiled back at him. “I’m sure you wouldn’t, but a girl has to be careful.”

  “Let me put your mind at ease,” Chet said with an encouraging grin. “We don’t have to go all the way. We might, you know, take our clothes off and touch each other a little in the right places. I don’t have to get on top of you or anything. I’m easy to please.”

  “Touching is nice,” I said. “But, the agreement copy and disc first. Okay?”

  “Oh hell,” Chet said getting up. He set his glass on the coffee table and went to the computer. He clicked the mouse, and the printer whirred to life. He grabbed the copy off the printer tray and came back to the loveseat. After he laid the copy on the coffee table, he took the disc out of his pocket and put it on top of the copy. Despite the potbelly, I couldn’t miss the new bulge a bit below it. He sat down next to me and grinned.

  “Okay, darling, I’ve shown you mine,” Chet said. His left hand flashed to my inner thigh before I had the chance to grab it. “How about you take your shirt and bra off now and give me a look? I like to start slow.”

  I set my glass on the coffee table, pushed his hand off me, and stood up. I leaned over, swept up the disc and rental agreement copy off the table and backed away toward the computer table.

  “Cheers and thanks for the drink, Chet,” I said grabbing my jacket off the chair. Then I started toward the door.

  “Where the hell do you think you’re going?” he said.

  “I’m sorry, but I’ve got to dash,” I said. “You know, places to go and people to see.”

  Chet sprang up from the loveseat and made it around it in time to beat me to the door. Bloody hell. I hadn’t thought him capable of moving so fast.

  “You’re nothing but a damn tease,” Chet said. “I gave you what you wanted.”

  “Yep, and I appreciate it, Chet,” I said. “But, to be fair, I never intended to give you what you wanted. I’m going now, please stand aside.”

  Chet looked so disappointed. I almost felt pity for him. Almost.

  “You’re not going anywhere you lying bitch. We had a deal.”

  “Don’t be that way, Chet,” I said.

  I stepped close to him and leaned in as if I would give him a pash on the lips. He relaxed, with our lips close. The smell of the scotch was the most pleasant thing about his breath. Giving it my best effort, I attempted to drive my right knee upwards from his crotch to his tonsils. I stepped back as Chet doubled over and screamed in pain. Then I drove the same knee into the side of his head. He fell hard to the floor grabbing his crotch with both hands.

  Chet started to cry. “Teasing bitch. You’re all teasing fucking bitches.”

  I sighed, stepped past him, and went out the door. I didn’t look back until I was outside next to my motorbike. I stowed the rental agreement copy and disc in the bin below the seat. Then I shrugged into the jacket, got on the motorbike, and pulled on my helmet.

  Despite Chet being a total douche, I felt a bit bad, and kind of dirty for having pretended I would put out to get the things I needed. On the other hand, I was in a tough business. Sometimes you had to use whatever advantages you had at hand. I rode away.

  Thirty-Two

  After saying goodbye to Chet, I still had time to dash home for a shower and a change of clothes before I had to be at Dr. Nix’s office. I needed the shower badly because dealing with Chet had left me feeling grotty, and I was wearing the same clothes from yesterday I’d put on before going to Nick’s flat. They had passed the night rumpled on the floor of his lounge.

  I’d stepped out of the shower and was at the wardrobe choosing what I wanted to wear when my mobile rang. It was Mike.

  “Hey, Mike,” I said. “Have you got news about the case?”

  “Not really, babe,” Mike said. “I was sitting here thinking about you and wanted to hear your voice.”

  “Aw, how sweet.”

  “We arrested two employees from the air freight terminal this morning,” Mike said. “They are the ones who took a payoff to release Bryce’s shipment. But, they claim they don’t know the name of the guy who paid them off. They might be telling the truth, and they were paid in cash.”

  “Were they able to provide a description?”

  “Yes, and the description fits Chambers’ houseman, the guy we saw at his house. But it’s not enough to get an arrest warrant for him or Chambers. We need a positive identification.”

  I said, “You still have the employees in custody?”

  “Yes, the manager of the air freight company has made theft complaints against them over the shipment they turned over for cash,” Mike said. “They will sit in jail until they get lawyers and make bail.”

  “Sweet,” I said. “I’ve got something you’ll like that will help you.”

  “Babe, you have lots of stuff I like and find helpful, not to mention enjoyable,” Mike said with a chuckle.

  “Be serious, Mike,” I said. “I have photos of Zhang Yong, Chambers’ houseman. You could show them to the guys you arrested to get a positive identification.”

  “How did you get the photos?” Mike said. “We’ve se
arched every database for a photo of the guy and found nothing.”

  “Long story I’d love to tell you, later,” I said. “On second thought, if I told you I’d be dobbed in on a minor crime, so maybe I won’t tell you.”

  Mike laughed. “Yes, if you broke the law, it’s best you plead the fifth.”

  “I also have in my hot little hands a copy of the security camera video that shows Zhang Yong renting a public storage unit and unloading something from a hired cargo van,” I said. “And, I have a copy of the rental agreement he signed though he used a different name. Still, the date and time recorded matches the time stamps from the video recordings.”

  “Seriously? Wow, you’ve been a busy girl haven’t you?” Mike said.

  Mike didn’t know the half of it about how busy I’d been of late. At least he didn’t know the getting busy with Nick half of it.

  “Yep, I’ve been all over the show.”

  “Care to tell me how you got all that?”

  “Trust me, you don’t want to know,” I said. “It didn’t involve criminal activity, but what it involved I’d rather forget.”

  “That will be enough to get a search warrant for the storage unit,” Mike said. “Can you bring it all here to the station so I can get started on the warrant?”

  “Yep sure, but not until around three. I have a medical appointment at two this afternoon.”

  “Medical appointment? Is something wrong, babe?”

  “Yeah, nah, Mike, just a smear test,” I lied. “You know the regular maintenance we girls must get when we’ve run up a bit of mileage.”

  There was no way in bloody hell I was telling Mike about seeing a therapist. Hence the wee lie. But, as I contemplated it, I did likely need to make an appointment for a smear test. Between Mike and Nick, I’d truly been running up the bloody mileage since my last one.

  “Ah, okay, got you,” Mike said. “But, you can swing by here after you’ve finished with it?”