Nine Dragons

by Michael Connelly

  “That’s wonderful. Bo-Jing Chang?”

  “I’m in the lab. Let me go to my desk. It was a Chinese name but not the one on the print card your partner gave me. Those prints didn’t match. Let me put you on hold.”

  She was gone and Bosch felt a fissure suddenly form in his assumptions about the case.

  “Harry, are you coming?”

  He looked up and out of the cubicle. Gandle had called from the door of the conference room. Bosch pointed to the phone and shook his head. Not satisfied, Gandle stepped out of the conference room and came over to Bosch’s cubicle.

  “Look, they are folding on this,” he said urgently. “You need to get in there and finish it off.”

  “My lawyer can handle it. I just got the call.”

  “What call?”

  “The one that changes—”

  “Harry?”

  It was Sopp back on the line. Bosch covered the mouthpiece.

  “I have to take this,” he said to Gandle. Then, dropping his hand and speaking into the phone, he said, “Teri, give me the name.”

  Gandle shook his head and went back toward the conference room.

  “Okay, it’s not the name you mentioned. It’s Henry Lau, L-A-U. DOB is nine-nine-eighty-two.”

  “What’s he in the computer for?”

  “He was pulled over on a deuce two years ago in Venice.”

  “That’s all he’s got?”

  “Yeah. Other than that he’s clean.”

  “What about an address?”

  “The address on his DL is eighteen Quarterdeck in Venice. Unit eleven.”

  Bosch copied the information into his pocket notebook.

  “Okay, and this print you pulled, it’s solid, right?”

  “No doubt, Harry. It came up glowing like Christmas. This technology is amazing. It’s going to change things.”

  “And they want to use this as the test case for California?”

  “I wouldn’t jump the gun on that just yet. My supervisor wants to first see how this plays in your case. You know, whether this guy is your shooter and what other evidence there is. We’re looking for a case where the technology is an integral piece in the prosecution.”

  “Well, you’ll know it when I know it, Teri. Thanks for this. We’re going to move on it right now.”

  “Good luck, Harry.”

  Bosch hung up. He first looked over the cubicle wall at the conference room. The blinds were down but open. He could see Haller gesturing toward the two men from Hong Kong. Bosch checked his partner’s cubicle once more but it was still empty. He made a decision and picked up the phone again.

  David Chu was in the AGU office and took Bosch’s call. Harry updated him on the latest piece of information to come out of latent prints and told him to run Henry Lau’s name through the triad files. In the meantime, Bosch said, he was heading over to pick Chu up.

  “Where are we going?” Chu asked.

  “To go find this guy.”

  Bosch hung up and headed to the conference room, not to take part in whatever was being discussed, but to inform Gandle of what appeared to be a major breakthrough in the case.

  When he opened the door, Gandle put his it’s-about-time look on his face. Bosch signaled him to step out again.

  “Harry, these men still have questions for you,” Gandle said.

  “They’ll have to wait. We’ve caught a break on the Li case and I need to move on it. Now.”

  Gandle got up and started toward the door.

  “Harry, I think I can handle this,” Haller said from his seat. “But there’s one question you need to answer.”

  Bosch looked at him and Haller nodded, meaning the remaining question was a safe one.

  “What?”

  “Do you want your ex-wife’s body transported to Los Angeles?”

  The question gave Bosch pause. The immediate answer was yes, but the hesitation was in measuring the consequences for his daughter.

  “Yes,” he finally said. “Send her to me.”

  He let Gandle step out and then closed the door.

  “What happened?” Gandle asked.

  Chu was waiting out front of the AGU building when Bosch pulled up. He was holding a briefcase, which made Bosch think that he had found some information on Henry Lau. He hopped in and Bosch took off.

  “We’re starting in Venice?” Chu asked.

  “That’s right. What did you find on Lau?”

  “Nothing.”

  Bosch looked over at him.

  “Nothing?”

  “As far as we know, he’s clean. I could not find his name anywhere in our intelligence files. I also talked to some people and made some calls. Nothing. By the way, I did print out his DL photo.”

  He leaned down and opened his briefcase and pulled out the color printout of Lau’s driver’s license photo. He handed it to Bosch, who stole quick glances at it as he drove. They got on the Broadway entrance to the 101 and took it up to the 110. The freeways were congested downtown.

  Lau had smiled at the camera. He had a fresh face and a stylish cut to his hair. It was hard to connect the face with triad work, particularly the cold-blooded murder of a liquor store owner. The address in Venice didn’t fit well either.

  “I also checked with ATF. Henry Lau is the registered owner of a nine-millimeter Glock Model Nineteen. Not only did he load it, he owns it.”

  “When did he buy it?”

  “Six years ago, the day after he turned twenty-one.”

  To Bosch that meant they were getting warm. Lau owned the right gun and his purchase of the weapon as soon as he was of legal age most likely indicated that he had had a long-term desire to acquire a weapon. That made him a traveler in the world Bosch knew. His connection to John Li and Bo-Jing Chang would become apparent once they had him in custody and started taking apart his life.

  They connected to the 10 and headed west toward the Pacific. Bosch’s phone buzzed and he answered without looking, expecting the caller to be Haller with news about the meeting with the Hong Kong detectives being over.

  “Harry, it’s Dr. Hinojos. We’re waiting for you.”

  Bosch had forgotten. For more than thirty years he had simply moved with an investigation when it was time to move. He had never had to think about anybody else.

  “Oh, Doctor! I’m so sorry. I completely—I’m on my way to pick up a suspect.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We got a break and I had to—is there any way that Maddie could stay with you a little while longer?”

  “Well, this is…I suppose she could stay here. I really just have administrative work the rest of the day. Are you sure this is what you want to do?”

  “Look, I know this is bad. It looks bad. She just got here and I left her with you and forgot. But this case is the reason she’s here. I have to ride it out. I’m going to grab this guy if he’s home and come back downtown. I’ll call you then. I’ll come get her then.”

  “Okay, Harry. I could use the extra time with her. You and I are also going to need to find time to talk. About Maddie and then about you.”

  “Okay, we will. Is she there? Can I speak to her?”

  “Hold on.”

  After a few moments Maddie got on the line.

  “Dad?”

  With one word she imparted all of the messages: surprise, disappointment, disbelief, terrible letdown.

  “I know, baby. I’m sorry. Something’s come up and I need to go with it. Go with Dr. Hinojos and I will be there as fast as I can.”

  “All right.”

  A double helping of disappointment. Bosch feared it would not be the last time.

  “Okay, Mad. I love you.”

  He closed the phone and put it away.

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” he said before Chu could ask a question.

  “Okay,” Chu said.

  The traffic opened up and they made it into Venice in less than a half hour. Along the way Bosch took another call, this
one the expected one from Haller. He told Harry that the Hong Kong police would bother him no further.

  “That’s it, then?”

  “They’ll be in touch about your ex-wife’s body, but that’s it. They’re dropping any inquiry into your part in this.”

  “What about Sun Yee?”

  “They claim he is being released from questioning and that he faces no charges. You will need to contact him, of course, to confirm.”

  “Don’t worry, I will. Thank you, Mickey.”

  “All in a day’s work.”

  “Send me the bill.”

  “No, we’re even, Harry. Instead of billing you, why don’t you let my daughter meet your daughter? They’re almost the same age, you know.”

  Bosch hesitated. He knew that Haller was asking for more than a visit between the two girls. Haller was Bosch’s half brother, though they had never met as adults until they crossed paths on a case just a year before. Hooking up the daughters meant hooking up the fathers, and Bosch wasn’t sure he was ready for that.

  “When the time is right we’ll do it,” he said. “Right now, she’s supposed to start school tomorrow and I’ve got to get her settled in here.”

  “Sounds good. You be safe, Harry.”

  Bosch closed the phone and concentrated on finding Henry Lau’s residence. The streets that made up the neighborhoods at the south end of Venice were gridded in alphabetical order and Quarterdeck was one of the last before the inlet and Marina del Rey.

  Venice was a bohemian community with uptown prices. The building where Lau resided was one of the newer glass-and-stucco structures that were slowly crowding out the little weekend bungalows that had once lined the beach. Bosch parked in an alley off Speedway and they walked back.

  The building was a condominium complex and there were signs out front advertising two units for sale. They entered through a glass door and stood in a small vestibule with an inner security door and a button panel for calling up to individual units. Bosch didn’t like the idea of pushing the button for unit 11. If Lau knew police were at the building entrance, he could escape through any fire exit in the building.

  “What’s the plan?” Chu said.

  Bosch started pushing the buttons for the other units. They waited and finally a woman answered one of the calls.

  “Yes?”

  “Los Angeles police, ma’am,” Bosch said. “Can we speak with you?”

  “Speak to me about what?”

  Bosch shook his head. There was a time when he would not have been questioned. The door would have been immediately opened.

  “It’s about a homicide investigation, ma’am. Can you open the door?”

  There was a long pause and Bosch wanted to buzz her again but he realized he was not sure which of the buttons he had pushed was the one she had responded to.

  “Can you hold your badges to the camera, please?” the woman said.

  Bosch had not realized there was a camera and looked around.

  “Here.”

  Chu pointed to a small aperture located at the top of the panel. They held up their badges and soon the inner door buzzed. Bosch pulled it open.

  “I don’t even know what unit she was in,” Bosch said.

  The door led to a common area that was open to the sky. There was a small lap pool in the center and the building’s twelve townhomes all had entrances here, four each on the north and south sides and two each on the east and west. Eleven was on the west side, which meant the unit had windows facing the ocean.

  Bosch approached the door to number 11 and knocked on it and got no answer. The door to number 12 opened and a woman stood there.

  “I thought you said you wanted to speak to me,” she said.

  “We’re actually looking for Mr. Lau,” Chu said. “Do you know where he is?”

  “He might be at work. But I think he said he was shooting at night this week.”

  “Shooting what?” Bosch asked.

  “He’s a screenwriter and he’s working on a movie or a TV show. I’m not sure which.”

  Just then the door to number 11 cracked open. A man with bleary eyes and unkempt hair peered out. Bosch recognized him from the photo Chu had printed.

  “Henry Lau?” Bosch said. “LAPD. We need to ask you some questions.”

  44

  Henry Lau had a spacious home with a back deck that was ten feet over the boardwalk and had a view of the Pacific across the widest stretch of Venice beach. He invited Bosch and Chu in and asked them to sit down in the living room. Chu sat down but Bosch remained standing, positioning his back to the view so that he would not be distracted during the interview. He wasn’t getting the vibe he was expecting. Lau seemed to take their knocking on his door as routine and expected. Harry hadn’t counted on that.

  Lau was wearing blue jeans, sneakers and a long-sleeved T-shirt with a silk-screened image of a long-haired man wearing sunglasses, and a caption that said, THE DUDE ABIDES. If he had been sleeping, he had slept in his clothes.

  Bosch pointed him to a square black leather chair with armrests a foot wide.

  “Have a seat, Mr. Lau, and we’ll try not to take up too much of your time,” he said.

  Lau was small and catlike. He sat down and brought his legs up onto the chair.

  “Is this about the shooting?” he asked.

  Bosch glanced at Chu and then back at Lau.

  “What shooting is that?”

  “The one out there on the beach. The robbery.”

  “When was this?”

  “I don’t know. A couple weeks back. But I guess that’s not why you’re here if you don’t even know when it was.”

  “That’s correct, Mr. Lau. We are investigating a shooting but not that one. Do you mind talking to us?”

  Lau hiked his shoulders up.

  “I don’t know. I don’t know about any other shootings, Officers.”

  “We’re detectives.”

  “Detectives. What shooting?”

  “Do you know a man named Bo-Jing Chang?”

  “Bo-Jing Chang? No, I don’t know that name.”

  He looked genuinely surprised by the name. Bosch signaled Chu and he pulled a printout of Chang’s booking photo from his briefcase. He showed it to Lau. While he studied it, Bosch moved to another spot in the room to get another angle on him. He wanted to keep moving. It would help keep Lau off guard.

  Lau shook his head after looking at the photo.

  “No, don’t know him. What shooting are we talking about here?”

  “Let us ask the questions for now,” Bosch said. “Then we’ll get to yours. Your neighbor said you’re a screenwriter?”

  “Yes.”

  “You write anything I might have seen?”

  “Nope.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because I’ve never had anything that actually got made until right now. So there’s nothing out there you could’ve seen.”

  “Well, then who pays for this nice pad on the beach?”

  “I pay for it. I get paid to write. I just haven’t had anything hit the screen yet. It takes time, you know?”

  Bosch moved behind Lau and the young man had to turn in his comfortable seat to track him.

  “Where did you grow up, Henry?”

  “San Francisco. Came down here to go to school and stayed.”

  “You were born up there?”

  “That’s right.”

  “You a Giants or Dodgers man?”

  “Giants, baby.”

  “That’s too bad. When was the last time you were in South L.A.?”

  The question came from left field and Lau had to think before answering. He shook his head.

  “I don’t know, five or six years at least. Been a while, though. I wish you could tell me what this is about because then I might be able to help you.”

  “So if somebody said they saw you down there last week, they’d be lying?”

  Lau smirked like they were playing a game.

 
; “Either that or they were just mistaken. You know what they say.”

  “No, what do they say?”

  “That we all look alike.”

  Lau smiled brightly and looked to Chu for confirmation. Chu held his ground and just returned a dead-eyed stare.

  “What about Monterey Park?” Bosch asked.

  “You mean, have I been there?”

  “Yes, that’s what I mean.”

  “Uh, I went out there a couple times for dinner, but it’s really not worth the drive.”

  “So you don’t know anyone in Monterey Park?”

  “No, not really.”

  Bosch had been circling, asking general questions and locking Lau in. It was time to circle closer now.

  “Where’s your gun, Mr. Lau?”

  Lau put his feet down on the floor. He looked at Chu and then back at Bosch.

  “This is about my gun?”

  “Six years ago you bought and registered a Glock Model Nineteen. Can you tell us where it is?”

  “Yeah, sure. It’s in the lockbox in a drawer next to my bed. Where it always is.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Okay, I get it, let me guess. Mr. Asshole in unit eight saw me holding it out there on the deck after the beach shooting and he made a complaint?”

  “No, Henry, we haven’t spoken to Mr. Asshole. Are you saying that you had the gun with you after the shooting on the beach?”

  “That’s right. I heard shots out there and a scream. I was on my own property and am entitled to protect myself.”

  Bosch nodded to Chu. Chu opened the slider and stepped out onto the deck, closing the door behind him. He pulled his phone to make a call about the beach shooting.

  “Look, if somebody said I fired it, they are full of shit,” Lau said.

  Bosch looked at him for a long moment. He felt like there was something missing, a piece of the conversation he didn’t know about yet.

  “As far as I know, nobody’s said that,” he said.

  “Then, please, what is this all about?”

  “I told you. It’s about your gun. Can you show it to us, Henry?”

  “Sure, I’ll go get it.”

  He sprang up from the chair and headed toward the stairs.

  “Henry,” Bosch said. “Hold it there. We’re going to go with you.”

  Lau looked back from the stairs.