by Larry Darter
"Yep, better to accept help now instead of after I've stuffed up," I said.
"That's right," Kevin said.
Kevin went inside the house to get more beers. My mobile rang. It was Mike.
"I was just at your apartment," Mike said. "Where are you?"
"At Kevin Laanui's house, Greg Yu's friend."
"What are you doing there?"
I quickly filled Mike in on the problem with the Triads.
"Why didn't you call me?" Mike said. "Give me the address, and I'll come to pick you up. I can stay at your apartment with you until we get this figured out."
"Nah, it's sorted for now," I said. "I'm staying here at Kevin's for a few days. We decided it would be too easy for the Triads to find my flat."
"Well, if you don't want to stay at your place, you can stay at my apartment," Mike said.
"This place is out of the way, and it's safe," I said. "They won't look for me here. I am already settled, and I don't want to pack and move again until I can go back to my flat."
"Well, if you had bothered to call me, you could have moved in at my place to begin with, and then you wouldn't have to move again," Mike said.
"Mike, I am not looking for an argument," I said. "It's all good here, and I'm staying. Kevin will watch my back."
"You don't think I could do that?"
"Of course, you could, Mike. But you have to work. Kevin is retired, so it isn't a bother for him."
Kevin came back out on the deck and handed me a beer. "Ta," I said.
"I could have taken time off, just like I offered to do to go to Hong Kong with you," Mike said.
"Yep, and it wasn't necessary for you to do that," I said, "and it isn't necessary for you to miss work on my account now. It's sorted."
"So, I don't even get to see you until this blows over?"
"I'm sure Kevin wouldn't mind if you want to bowl round for a visit," I said.
"And, spend the night?"
"No, Mike, I said visit."
"Well, I think that sucks," Mike said.
"I'm sorry you feel that way, Mike. If you're saying you can't be bothered to visit if we aren't going to shag, that's just awesome. I don't want you showing up anyway if that's how you feel."
"No, I didn't mean it that way, T.J.," Mike said.
"I reckon you did, Mike," I said. "So, forget it. When this gets sorted, I'll let you know when I'm back at my flat and then we can have a chat about all that."
"Please, T.J., I'm sorry," Mike said. "I just want to see you."
"I'll give it a think, and let you know," I said. "See you." I disconnected the call.
"That went well," Kevin said.
"You eaves-dropping on my phone conversation, mate?" I said.
"It was hard not to," Kevin said. "You were getting loud by the time you hung up on him. Pretty sure even the neighbors know you aren't shagging him."
I burst out laughing. "Well, good on them, because I'm not."
"You and what's his name, your boyfriend, not getting along?" Kevin said.
"Yeah, mate we're not having that discussion," I said.
"Sorry, didn't mean to get too personal."
"Why do you do that, anyway?" I said.
"Do what?"
"Instead of using his name, his name is Mike, you always say what's his name, your boyfriend."
"Do I?"
"Yes, you do. You must have heard me say his name when I was on the phone."
"I'll try to watch it, just being lazy I guess," Kevin said. "It's not like I know him. I'm not great with names until I've known someone a while."
"I guess we're not getting along so well at the moment," I said. "Me and Mike I mean. It's just that lately he seems to be smothering me."
"How so?"
"He is overly protective. It winds me up. I've told him that, but he never stops."
"I expect it's because you mean a lot to him, T.J.," Kevin said. "I mean if I were a young detective and were dating a woman like you, I'd probably be the same way."
"I believe you, Kevin," I said. "In fact, in your own way, you already are."
"Maybe it's just part of being a guy."
"Maybe," I said. "I mean it's sweet and all, but it just winds me up when I ask Mike to ease up and still he doesn't stop."
"I can see how that could get annoying," Kevin said. "After telling someone that something they’re doing is annoying, but they keep doing it, I mean."
"Were you ever a detective, Kevin?" I said.
"Me? No, it never interested me, and I never even took the test for sergeant. A career as a beat cop is all I ever wanted. It suited me, I liked it, and I was good at it. It always made me feel like I made a difference."
"I'm sure you did," I said. "You still have skills, I've noticed that. I'm sure you were a great cop. How long did you work in Chinatown?"
"My whole career," Kevin said. "I spent part of my field training there, and I really liked it, I liked the people. So, I asked to be assigned there after training, and they gave it to me. I got acquainted with the shop owners, the people who lived there, and I never wanted to go anywhere else."
"That's why you still have contacts there, people who pass on information to you?"
"Yes. I got to know people, treated them fair, earned their trust, and the loyalty developed."
Kevin and I talked more for a while and had more beersies. Then he had a pizza delivered for our dinner. It was a bit early for dinner, but neither of us had eaten lunch. Afterwards, I showered, told Kevin goodnight, and went to bed early. I felt shattered. Probably from having had too much to drink, not eating properly, and maybe from spending too much of the day angry.
20
Sunlight streaming through the cracks in the window blinds woke me the next morning. Even with the guest room door closed, I caught a whiff of the unmistakable aroma of coffee. That was enough to entice me from the bed. I slipped on the shorts and top I'd worn the day before and then walked to the kitchen. Kevin handed me a steaming mug.
"There’s sugar on the table, and cream in the refrigerator if you want it," Kevin said. He was busy ladling fried eggs, and some kind of fried meat, from a large skillet onto two plates.
"Black is how I take my coffee, thanks," I said. I pulled a chair out from the small dining table in the nook off the kitchen. Kevin set a plate in front of me. There were fried eggs, the fried meat, toast, and sliced tomatoes on it. Kevin returned from the kitchen with his own plate and coffee cup.
Fried foods weren't something I was in the habit of eating. Sludge building up in my blood vessels over the course of my life seemed a bit grotty. But, due to the early dinner we'd had the evening before, I was hungry. I cut the eggs with my fork and took a bite.
"What's this meat?" I asked. "Ham?"
"No, Spam," Kevin said. "It's an island staple. More Spam is consumed in Hawaii than in any other state in the union."
I explored the mystery meat with the tines of my fork. I found it tender enough to cut with the fork.
"Hawaii's love affair with Spam began in World War II when the military served it to GIs because it didn't require refrigeration and had a long shelf life," Kevin said. "Back then it was difficult to get fresh meat out here to Hawaii."
"Exactly what is it?" I said, tentatively lifting a fork full to my mouth.
"It's canned, processed luncheon meat," Kevin said. "Pork, with ham meat added."
I chewed a mouthful of Spam for a moment.
"It's quite salty, but nice, actually," I said.
"Back in the day, Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino migrant workers all had their own methods of incorporating Spam into their own cultural dishes," Kevin said. "As a result, the popularity of Spam exploded in Hawaii. On the mainland, Spam is something you only eat to save money or when it's all you can afford, but just about everyone in Hawaii eats it, and likes it."
"Interesting," I said. "I've seen it on menus here but didn't know what it was."
"Any plans for today?" Kevin said
.
"Not really," I said. "I suppose I should ring Mike or Greg Yu and see what the police think they can do about the Triads."
"After you went to bed last night, I called Yu and told him all about it," Kevin said.
"Did you? What did he have to say?"
"Yu said when he interviewed him, Clements told him that five gang members had flown with him from Hong Kong to Honolulu. Yu also said the three you tangled with on Beach Walk were Chinese nationals from Hong Kong. They are all in police custody."
"Really? On what charges?"
"They were all still out of it when the cops arrived at the scene. They were all armed with handguns, so the cops arrested them for unlawful possession of loaded firearms," Kevin said.
"Sounds serious," I said. "What will happen to them?"
"The charge is a class B felony," Kevin said. "But since they are Chinese nationals, I expect the state will have the feds deport and bar them from reentry, rather than prosecuting them."
"That's good then, eh?" I said. "That takes care of three of the five. Only two more to be a worry."
"The muscle from Hong Kong, yes," Kevin said. "But, there are also the local thugs to consider."
"Hard out," I said. "Let's not forget that bit. I reckon I need to suss out a plan to deal with it."
"We're about to get a little help from the HPD," Kevin said. "Yu also told me they got enough from Clements to get a search warrant for the Triads' fencing operation in Chinatown. SWAT will raid the place this afternoon at closing time."
"Awesome," I said. "Maybe they will bag the lot of them then."
"The fencing operation isn't the organization's headquarters in Chinatown," Kevin said. "But, they will take a big hit in the pocketbook. I'm sure the place is packed with stolen property, and the cops will seize it all. But, I have a plan for how we might help cut them down to size."
"What do you reckon?"
"I expect someone is sitting on your apartment, in case you show up there," Kevin said. "I thought we should head over there this morning to find out."
"Oi, good thinking, Kevin," I said. "We front up to them. Then we take them down like we did their mates on Beach Walk."
"Not exactly," Kevin said. "We only do reconnaissance. If we spot anyone, then we call the cops and let them handle it. With any luck, the cops will snag the other two Chinese nationals on weapons charges, then all we have to worry about is discouraging the local crew."
"Ah, mate, I'm gutted," I said. "Letting the cops collect the rubbish doesn't sound like near as much fun as my idea."
"Maybe not, but it's the smart move, T.J.," Kevin said.
"Ahkay, then, I'm up for it," I said. "Anything that cuts the odds."
We finished brekkie, and Kevin cleared the table while I changed clothes. Then we got into Kevin's ute for the drive to my flat.
Kevin parked the ute on Saratoga, and we walked the rest of the way to the complex where my flat was. Kevin had brought along a pair of binoculars so we wouldn't have to get too close to have a look. We walked around the area, checking the obvious places the gangsters might use to watch my flat. They were either lazy or lacking in imagination. We spotted a dark sports utility vehicle with tinted windows in plain sight, backed into a parking space in front of Gordon's, an Irish pub south of my flat. From that vantage point, they could see the entrance to the complex car park and the stairway that led up to my flat. The front windows of the sports utility were down, and even from a distance, I could see there were two blokes dressed in black in the front seat. Kevin lifted the binoculars to his eyes.
"It must be the other two guys from Hong Kong," Kevin said. "I don't recognize either of them."
"Give us a squizz," I said.
Kevin passed me the binoculars and I put them up to my eyes. The guys looked similar to the three I'd dealt with on Beach Walk, same black clothing, and similar wraparound sunnies.
"What's the front license plate number?" Kevin said.
The plate was quite visible, and I read off the numbers and letters. I glanced at Kevin, who was scribbling the plate number on his left palm with a ballpoint pen.
"Now we call it in," Kevin said. "We'll just hang back and watch them until HPD arrives."
Kevin dialed the police on his mobile. He identified himself as a retired HPD officer and told them he had a suspicious vehicle under observation, occupied by two Asian males he had reason to believe were armed.
In less than five minutes after Kevin had made the call, four marked Honolulu police cars converged on the car park, two from each direction. One car turned into the car park and stopped, blocking the exit. The other three stopped at the curb with lights flashing. I watched through the binoculars as all the officers got out with shotguns and service pistols at the ready.
The officer who had been driving the car that blocked the entrance was kneeling beside his open car door with the radio mic in his hand. He was using the public address to speak to the occupants of the sports utility vehicle. Because of the distance and the fact that the surrounding buildings were absorbing most of the sounds, I couldn't make out what the officer was saying. But in only a moment, both front doors of the sports utility opened, and the men got out. As if on cue, both put up their hands, turned to face the pub, and then walked backward toward the police car where the officer was giving the commands.
About halfway between the two vehicles, both men went down to their knees. Then they went prone on the pavement, their ankles crossed, and their arms straight out to their sides. The two officers from the car blocking the entrance converged on the prone men cautiously. While one officer covered the men with a shotgun, the other quickly handcuffed them both behind their backs. I saw him taking pistols off both men and sticking them inside his wide black gun belt.
The other officers in the street quickly converged on the SUV. They opened the back doors and the hatch at the back. There weren't any other occupants in the vehicle. Two officers lifted the gangsters from the ground and hustled them out to the street and into the back seats of two different police cars parked at the curb.
"Well, guess that's it then," I said to Kevin. Both were armed."
"Our work is done," Kevin said. "See how much easier it is when you let HPD do the heavy lifting?"
"You're taking the piss, mate," I said. "But, it's all good. You were right after all."
"I wouldn't let your guard down just yet," Kevin said. "We have to wait until the cops take down the fencing operation later today and then see how the local thugs react."
"Yep, sure," I said. "I didn't expect this ended it."
"Let's head back to the house and celebrate with a few beers," Kevin said.
"Yep, sure, I'm all over it," I said.
We walked back to Kevin's ute, and he drove us back to west Honolulu.
Back at Kevin's place, we had beersies, then put on our togs and walked over to Kahe Point Beach Park. We passed the afternoon swimming and lying about on the beach chatting beneath the shade of the palm trees. It should have been relaxing, but didn’t feel much that way. I had too much on my mind. It worried me what was going on with Maddie, what was happening with my uncertain relationship with Mike, and whether the thing with the Triads was finally over or if they were plotting their next move.
When we got back from the beach, Kevin grilled some marinated chook on the barbie and made some Hawaiian-style macaroni salad, another island delicacy according to him. We were just about to have a feed when Kevin's phone rang. It was Greg Yu with the details from the raid in Chinatown. They chatted for a bit and then Kevin hung up.
"Yu confirmed the two guys at your apartment this morning were the other two from Hong Kong, so they are all accounted for. He also said they arrested four individuals during the raid in Chinatown and recovered a lot of stolen property."
"Awesome, it seems a bit of progress has been made," I said.
"Yes, but don't forget what I said earlier. It's too soon to let your guard down."
After we
finished dinner and washed the dishes, I said goodnight to Kevin and went to bed. Mike hadn't called. We hadn't spoken since I'd hung up on him. And, I wasn't ready to ring him either. Things were a bit up in the air on that front. Before I drifted off to sleep, I'd decided I would visit Madison at her hotel the next day to see how she was going.
21
Over Kevin's objections, I rode my motorbike to Waikiki the next morning, instead of allowing him to drive me. The same young woman I'd spoken with before was behind the desk when I walked into the lobby of the hotel. I asked her to ring Madison's room for me. But, after looking at her computer screen, the woman told me that Madison had checked out the previous afternoon and was presumed to have returned home to the mainland. That was a bit of a relief. It was one less thing for me to worry about.
Several uneventful days passed. Kevin's confidants hadn't reported rumors of any new arrivals from Hong Kong. It seemed that perhaps the issues with the criminal syndicate had been resolved with the deportation of the men the Triads had sent to Honolulu. It wouldn't have surprised me if the head of the organization had decided extracting retribution from an inconsequential Honolulu private detective who had impugned their honor wasn't worth the trouble. I was sure the Triads had more pressing matters of thuggery to attend to.
On the other hand, things felt a bit like one of those ominous situations where things have gone quiet, but you reckon there still could be danger lurking about. It seemed safe for now though... or was it? It sort of felt like a scene I remembered from an A-Team episode, an old American television series, where the character Face says, “It’s quiet out here; too quiet.” I stayed on at Kevin's a while longer, just to be cautious.
Bernie Clements was still confined in Honolulu County jail awaiting trial on sundry charges. Kevin had told me that Greg Yu believed it was a slam dunk that Bernie would soon be on his way back to state prison where he belonged.
