White Tiger

by Stephen Knight

  Ryker shrugged a shoulder. “Sure. Back in a jiffy.” Chee Wei followed Ryker out into the hallway, and closed the door.

  “Bad timing, huh? Wonder who this senator is?”

  Ryker thought about it for all of two seconds. “Might not matter. Lin hobnobs with the rich and shameless, so hearing a politician’s in the mix doesn’t surprise me.” He jerked his thumb toward the interview room. “But wants access to the girl. What do you suppose he wants with her?”

  “To ask her what she knows about Danny Lin’s murder. What else?”

  Ryker stepped up to the door so he could watch Xiaohui and Chin through the slit window. “You notice her reaction when I mentioned Lin’s name?”

  “Yeah, she pissed her pants. What do you think she’d say if I asked her out on a date?”

  “You’ve already got a hot date, remember? With that nice girl from Guangzhou.”

  Chee Wei made a sour face. “You had to go and remind me, didn’t you? I got her e-mail address. My parents don’t know. I’m gonna give her the bad news tonight. Hey bitch, I don’t do arranged marriages, it’s over, deal with it.”

  “You want some friendly advice?” Ryker winced inwardly. He’d almost said some fatherly advice. Jesus, he wasn’t that old. Not yet, anyway. “Don’t be so hasty. Ask her to send you a pic first. What if it turns out she looks like Miss Zhu? Or better?”

  “Come on, what are the chances? I don’t need to see a picture, I know she’s a pig.”

  Through the window in the door, Ryker watched as Victor Chin spoke rapidly while Xiaohui frowned and nodded her head a lot. Again she had a look of fear in her eyes. What the hell was he saying to her?

  “That’s funny, I thought the Chinese ideogram for happiness was a pig inside a house?” Ryker said, even as wheels turned in his head and he figured it out. He rapped his knuckles on the door and opened it without waiting for a response. Xiaohui looked positively relieved to see him, which was a clue that he’d guessed correctly.

  “My client can go now?” Chin said.

  “That depends entirely on her,” Ryker said. He stepped into the room and moved away from the door so Chee Wei could see and hear. “Miss Zhu, you’re under no obligation to accept, but I’m offering you police protection. At least for the next twenty-hour hours. If you say yes, Detective Fong Chee Wei here will accompany you when you leave this building. He’ll stay with you and be your chaperone, until you say otherwise.”

  Chin gaped, caught by surprise. Then he recovered his wits and snapped his mouth shut. Ryker saw doubt in his eyes and knew he’d guessed right. In the short time between the meeting upstairs and Chin’s arrival here, James Lin had made a phone call. Had he made Chin an offer he couldn’t refuse, appealing to his better nature, as had been suggested? Or had he threatened him, pure and simple? Ryker remembered the big Russian, and his tactics when he’d gone looking for Xiaohui in the Tenderloin. Cueball was big and mean but the Russian belonged in another class altogether.

  “My client doesn’t need police protection,” Chin said. “Protection from what? Just what are you implying, detective sergeant?”

  Ryker ignored him. “What about it, Miss Zhu? Mr. Chin seems happy to let you walk out the door and call a cab. There’s something you should be aware of. When we got to your sister’s there was a car parked across the street, a Mercedes, watching the house. Before that? The same car was at Roger and Vincent’s place.” Xiaohui’s eyes widened. “They’re okay. So is Suzy. She was very concerned for your safety. Frankly, so were we. The Mercedes peeled out before I got a chance to talk to the occupants. But I know who they are. They work for James Lin.”

  “That’s enough,” Victor Chin said. “You’re trying to frighten my client. Your behavior is insufferable. I want the name of your superior.”

  Xiaohui was frightened, all right. A pulse throbbed at the base of her throat. Ryker held the door open, an invitation for her to leave. She didn’t move. “Perhaps all Mr. Lin wants is to ask you about his son,” he said. “That’s understandable. But the fact is we’re no closer to finding out who killed Danny Lin. You were the only person seen entering the Taipan Suite with him. No one left after you did. The security tapes prove that. It’s looking as if a ghost cut off his dick and drove a knife clean through his heart, then vanished into the night. The question is, will James Lin accept that explanation?”

  She bowed her head to hide her anguished expression. Her shoulders shook. Ryker wished he had another job; this one sucked. Victor Chin spoke a rapid stream of Chinese that was beyond Ryker’s ability to decipher. Xiaohui shook her head. Chin spoke again, louder this time, more insistent. Xiaohui shivered like a deer caught in a bright light. Chee Wei pushed past Ryker and took hold of Chin’s arm. He went nose to nose and said something that made Chin flinch. Xiaohui’s head came up and she looked from one man to the other, puzzled and relieved at the same time. Chin tore his arm free, snatched up his briefcase and walked out the door without even looking at Ryker.

  Chee Wei crouched down beside Xiaohui and spoke in hushed tones that were clearly intended to reassure and relax. She listened to him and nodded several times. She said something that Ryker couldn’t catch. Chee Wei touched her shoulder, nothing sexual, simply more gentle reassurance. Her hand came up and covered his for a second before Chee Wei stood and turned to Ryker. His cheeks contained just a hint of a flush.

  “Miss Zhu would like to accept our offer of protection. She is afraid of James Lin and what he might do to her, even though she played no part in Danny Lin’s death.”

  Ryker nodded his approval. “I’ll clear it with Spider. You okay with the job?” What he meant was, Can you keep your python in your pants while you carry out your duty? And Chee Wei knew it.

  “I’m okay with the job,” he said.

  “Outstanding.” Ryker leaned into the room. “Miss Zhu?” She flinched when he said her name. “I’m going to leave you here with Detective Fong. I just have to arrange a couple of things. I’ll be back soon. Then you can both leave. All right?”

  “Yes. Thank you.”

  Ryker took Chee Wei outside into the hallway, making sure that Xiaohui could still see him from inside the interview room. “What did Chin say to her?”

  “He said it was only a matter of time before James Lin got her. She might as well go to him voluntarily. That if she tried to run or hide it would be worse for her. Can you believe that creep?” Ryker noticed Chee Wei was wound up tighter than a spring. “He said if she went back to Shanghai, Lin’s people would be waiting for her. He fucked with her head real good.”

  Ryker watched Chin’s retreating back disappear through the security door at the end of the hallway. James Lin had got to him, all right. “And what did you say to him? You didn’t threaten him, did you?”

  “No way. I wouldn’t do a thing like that.”

  “Things looked pretty tense there for a moment.”

  “I might have suggested bad luck would befall him and all his generations if he didn’t get the fuck out of here, but that’s just a traditional Chinese way of saying goodbye.”

  Under other circumstances Ryker might have smiled, but there was nothing funny about this entire situation, nothing at all. “When I give you the okay, take her back to her sister’s place. Call ahead and tell the sister you’re coming. I’ll ask Spider to call Taravel, arrange for a black-and-white to keep an eye on the street. You’ll be on the high priority watch list until further notice.”

  Chee Wei let out a whoosh of breath. “You really think this Lin guy will send his goons after her?”

  “To be honest? No. Victor Chin’s going to report what happened, and Lin’s going to come at this through the suits at City Hall. Jerko will chew Spider’s ass and he’ll chew mine. If we absolutely have to, we’ll arrange for Lin to see Miss Zhu, but on our terms. Until then, we haven’t got reason to keep her locked up here, so we keep her safe at home instead.”

  “I don’t get it. You don’t even like her. Now you’re bend
ing over backwards to make sure she’s okay.”

  “I am a complicated person,” Ryker said. He clapped Chee Wei on the shoulder and went to square things with Hoffer. Then he went upstairs and sought Spider, who was in his office talking with Wallace. Ryker knocked on the door and opened it. Wallace glared at him over his shoulder, his jaw rigid and his eyes ablaze. Ryker took enormous pleasure in pretending he didn’t exist. “Sorry to interrupt, Lou. Got some news for you.”

  “Wallace, give us a couple of minutes.”

  Wallace looked as though he were about to argue, but instead he got up and left the office without a word. Ryker gave him plenty of room. Spider beckoned him in, and Ryker shut the door and took a seat. He explained what had gone down with Victor Chin and voiced his opinion that Chin was now working for James Lin, or at least could be presumed to be acting with Lin’s interests at heart. Spider took the news without reaction. Not so when Ryker told him that he’d offered Xiaohui police protection. Spider slapped his pen down, sat back and stared at him.

  “We’re juggling manpower here so we can put maximum effort into solving this case, and you’re giving Chee Wei time off for babysitting duty? Jesus Christ.”

  “She’s no baby. The lab couldn’t pin anything on her but she might still know something. If she does? She might just pucker up for Chee Wei. He impressed her in the interview room. Even if she doesn’t ante up, the situation is going to shake Lin. He might think she knows something we want to keep from him.”

  Spider leaned forward, elbows on his desk, knuckles showing white. “Listen to me, detective sergeant. James Lin will have your head in a roll if you play games with him. I’m not sure I can stop that from happening. But that’s beside the point. You need a cataract operation. We’re not after Lin. We’re after whoever killed his son. I want Lin out of my life. That goes for Jericho, too. He’s already called me wanting an update only thirty minutes after the damn meeting broke up.”

  “Then give him an update. We’re getting at the Zhu woman another way. We think she’s more likely to loosen up if we release her, but keep someone close to her. Meanwhile, we’re still looking at the hotel security tapes and interviewing everyone we can think of. Something’s going to break, Lou, and I don’t mean Cueball’s brain.”

  “Funny man. All right, we play it your way, for now. Anything else?”

  “Need you to call the Lou at Taravel patrol and assign a squad car to Chee Wei.”

  “Just so you can needle James Lin.”

  “Nuh-uh. To protect a frightened girl from a bunch of guys who might not respect her civil rights. That Russian guy traveling with Lin? He’s trouble. Our paths have already crossed. If we hadn’t put a patrol car out front, they would have snatched Zhu from her sister’s house. I wouldn’t like to bet what they would have done to her to make her talk.”

  “No shit?”

  “That’s the people we’re dealing with, lieutenant. Don’t let the suits and the polite crap fool you. James Lin is used to getting what he wants. Just ask Victor Chin.”

  “I’ll make the calls. Oh, and stay out of Cueball’s way, he’s pissed as hell, got some crazy idea this is all your doing.”

  Ryker left Spider to it and went back downstairs. On the way he remembered Sandra Raymond. He’d meant to call her again but the big meeting with James Lin and the city’s finest minds had derailed his train of thought. She’d missed the morning’s excitement. He called her now, and she picked up after the third ring.

  “Detective Raymond. Missed you at the station house. Where are you?”

  “Are you kidding me? I’m still at the Mandarin,” she said, sounding weary. “We’ve interviewed over fifty guests. You have no idea. These people have social secretaries. They won’t let me in their rooms without an appointment. ‘Come back later this afternoon.’ I’m like, ‘We’re investigating a murder here, open the fucking door.’”

  Ryker squeezed into a corner to let a couple of female cops march a skinny junkie upstairs. “From the tone in your voice, I’m guessing no one saw anything.”

  “Damn right.” Raymond sighed into her phone, venting her anger. “Hey, I talked to Morales. He said the surveillance video only showed the Chinese woman and morning room service. You’ve arrested her, haven’t you? So why am I still here?”

  “You’re there in case someone reports seeing a ninja assassin climbing down the outside of the building.” Ryker almost missed his footing as the crazy thought solidified and hit him between the eyes. “Sandra, I want you to check with the manager. Find out who’s staying in the rooms beneath the Taipan Suite. Go talk to them.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “It’s worth a shot.”

  “No, I mean the CSI team already checked it out. I talked to that guy, Klein? He said they dusted the doors, checked the locks, blue-lit the entire balcony and the balcony below. Nada.”

  Ryker reached the holding pen and got himself buzzed in. Raymond’s signal faded as he passed through the doors and headed for Hoffer’s desk, but came back again as soon as he cleared the metalwork. “Can’t do any harm to talk to the occupants anyway, while you’re waiting for your next social appointment.”

  “Okay. I got it covered.”

  Hoffer had his book open and the envelope with Xiaohui’s belongings ready and waiting. Ryker signed the book and the clipboard that Hoffer held out, effectively releasing her from custody.

  “Did Klein say anything else?” Ryker asked Raymond.

  “You get brain cancer from these things,” Hoffer opined. Ryker crossed his eyes and stuck his tongue out, and headed for the interview room.

  “He hit on me,” Raymond said.

  “He hits on everyone. Don’t think you’re special. What did you say?”

  “I told him I have AIDS.”

  “Ouch. But he asked you for a date anyway, right?”

  She chuckled, a throaty sound which pleased Ryker no end. Maybe he’d lost the knack of pleasing women, but at least he could still make them laugh.

  “Keep doing what you’re doing, Sandra, it’s appreciated. News update, we’re releasing the hooker,” he said. “Not nearly enough evidence to hold her.” He didn’t go into detail about James Lin; plenty of time for that later, and Raymond’s diary was hectic enough at the moment.

  “With respect, Sergeant, what am I missing?” Raymond said. “If no one else was in the hotel room, she has to the killer, right?”

  Chee Wei stood in the interview room doorway with his hands on his hips, a classic David Caruso pose. All he lacked were sunglasses and a blue Miami sky. Xiaohui must be coming in her pants, Ryker thought. “Don’t worry, Chee Wei’s going to be keeping a close eye on her,” he said into his phone. “Got to go, call me if anything exciting happens.”

  “Roger that.”

  Ryker put his phone away and joined Chee Wei. “Just keeping Detective Raymond in the picture,” he said. “She’s feeling lonely. Are we good to go?”

  “Anytime.” Chee Wei half-turned to enter the room but Ryker stopped him and motioned him away from the door, turning so Xiaohui couldn’t possibly hear them. A cop walked by carrying a tray with covered plates, he nodded to Hoffer who opened a door for him. Ryker’s nose twitched at the rich food smell; criminals, it seemed, ate better than he did.

  “Whassup?” Chee Wei said.

  “If I wanted to talk to someone in the Shanghai police? Who would I go through? Any ideas?”

  Chee Wei thought about it. “I have a cousin who works for the Hong Kong police. I’m sure he still has contacts in the old country. You want me to ask him?”

  “That would be great.”

  “Tell me something. Is this about her?” Chee Wei jerked his head to indicate Xiaohui, who had her back to them and stood with her arms folded, almost hugging herself, a picture of insecurity. “Or is it about James Lin?”

  “Call me when you get to the sister’s place,” Ryker said. “After that, I want you to check in every thirty minutes. I’l
l make sure Debbie knows.” He meant Debbie Price, the department’s administrator/clerk, whose duties included screening incoming calls and passing them to the relevant Homicide detectives. A three-times-married fortysomething, Debbie was too much woman for Ryker, who’d been mildly tempted to pursue a social dalliance until he learned her only interests were her seven cats, and Mexican dramas piped in via cable, a habit she’d acquired from her last husband, a decorated Latino cop who’d stopped a bullet from a Desert Eagle and left Debbie financially secure, if a little eccentric. “Don’t miss a call. You hear?”

  Chee Wei nodded. They entered the interview room. Xiaohui turned to face them and Ryker saw she’d been crying. Was it an act to provoke sympathy? He couldn’t be sure, couldn’t read her accurately enough. He’d ask Chee Wei later; he was sure to be tuned into her more. Although hopefully not too tuned.

  “Detective Fong will drive you to your sister’s, Miss Zhu. You don’t have to worry about anything while he’s with you. The investigation into Danny Lin’s murder will continue. I’m hopeful we’ll make an arrest soon. That should satisfy Mr. Lin. He’ll call off his dogs.” Which was bullshit; at this moment Xiaohui was their best and only lead, but he wanted to reassure her that the entire S.F.P.D. was on her side.

  She sobbed a thank-you. Chee Wei escorted her to the desk to pick up her stuff. Ryker watched them go and knew he’d done the right thing. Chee Wei’s performance with Victor Chin had swung it, of course; he’d protected the damsel in distress and seen off the evil dragon. If Xiaohui was going to talk at all, she’d talk to Chee Wei. That was the plan, anyway, and while Ryker acknowledged its simplicity, he also thought it might just work.

  Which left him alone and wondering what the hell he should be doing next. His rumbling stomach told him. He remembered the effect the smell of food had had on him, and realized how hungry he was. Pity the station house didn’t do room service....