Kowloon Bay (Abby Kane FBI Thriller Book 3)
Page 19
Leslie gave Po Po a hug. “Come on. Let’s get out of here,” she said as she helped Po Po into the back of the SUV.
I climbed in the front passenger seat and buckled up. Leslie got in a few seconds later, and we drove off. No one said anything for the next few minutes, but I could sense Leslie looking at me.
“I don’t even know where to start,” I finally said, still staring out my window at the passing buildings.
“Just start,” she said.
I took a deep breath and summarized the story of Po Po’s love affair with Jack. She said nothing as I spoke. There was a period of silence when I finished. I guessed she understood my earlier comment about where to start—she struggled with her own response. Hearing that Jack Woo, the head of the notorious Wo Shing Wo, was Po Po’s lover and had fathered both of her sons…well, the tale doesn’t get any taller than that.
“So he’s—”
“Peng’s father. And Ryan and Lucy’s grandfather. That’s correct. And no, he’s never had any contact with his grandchildren. And it will stay that way,” I said with conviction.
“So does this mean he and his men are not responsible for Rong’s death? Because it seems from what you said that he’s practically admitting they are responsible for the other body and since both were buried within the building at the same time, it doesn’t quite jive.”
“He did not kill Rong,” Po Po blurted, breaking her silence. “Jack would never hurt his son.”
“That may be true,” I said, “but it doesn’t mean Rong didn’t cross another Triad and that person ended up killing him.”
“Maybe the other body is the person responsible for Rong’s death,” Leslie said.
“Those were my thoughts,” I said as my fingers lightly drummed the passenger-side armrest.
“A cover-up,” Leslie said.
“Yup. It also feeds into his remark about this being Triad business. That body has to be one of their own. If it were a person from a competing faction, they wouldn’t have bothered to go through such lengths to hide the body. This person had to be high enough in the organization or powerful enough. Jack being responsible for killing one of their own—it wouldn’t go over well with the others, no matter what the reason.”
“Well, the Dragon Head before Jack was his older brother, Tony, who had reportedly died in a plane crash.” Leslie allowed her hands to leave the steering wheel briefly to make a pair of quote marks around “plane crash.”
“I got ten bucks that says that second body is Tony.”
“I’m there with you,” Leslie said with a quick glance my way. “Rong does something to anger Tony, who then has him killed. This in turn angers Jack, who probably already had an ambitious eye toward taking over the Wo Shing Wo. He orchestrates a hit that kills two birds with one stone: revenge and ascension to the top.”
“Sounds completely plausible to me.” I crossed my legs. “I figure he stuck both bodies into Peng’s building, thinking it would be the perfect way to cover up his assassination of the boss.”
“Now if we continue to follow this line of thinking, Jack can’t be responsible for Peng’s death. He wouldn’t kill his own flesh and blood. So that leaves Peng’s murder still unsolved.”
I sighed. “Yes.”
“And all of this information was given up for what?” Leslie asked. “What am I missing here?”
“Po Po’s release was conditional. Jack wanted the investigation into the identity of the other body to stop. He wants me to call off the FBI, and he wants you to file the case as unsolved.”
“What? Abby, I can’t—”
“Trust me,” I said, patting her arm gently. “I told him I couldn’t answer for you. But if you think about it, all you have now is a DNA profile. Surely he’s destroyed those bones by now. I realize you have video footage of his men stealing it. You can charge them with battery and theft and a few other infractions, but that’s it. I’m sure that’s something Jack can easily live with. Without the body, there’s nothing to identify. Even if you and I both ignored his request, how far do you think we can get? It was hard enough when you had possession of those bones. When Jack took them, he forever sealed the case shut.”
“That’s not true. Jack practically admitted he was responsible for that second body. I can go after him with murder.”
“Leslie, who did he murder? With no body, how do you cobble together a case?”
I didn’t want to tell Leslie how to do her job, but it was clear to me the case was dead. I wasn’t thrilled. I still walked away without answers to my husband’s murder. I had honestly thought there might be enough to seriously pursue it. I thought all of these new revelations would unlock a missing piece. Whatever delusional hope I had about finally solving my husband’s murder had been dashed that night.
After a few quiet minutes, Leslie piped up. “Everything you said is right, and I hate it. However, there’s still one thing that bugs me. If Jack and his men weren’t responsible for Rong’s death, how did he end up in the building with the other body?”
I shrugged. “Well, if Tony Woo had indeed ordered Rong’s hit, and Jack found out about it and killed him shortly after, he would need to hide his body. Jack probably kept tabs on both of his sons. If that’s true, he would have known Peng was constructing a building and figured he’d take advantage of it. Maybe as a way to disgrace Tony, he buried him alongside Rong. Peng might have never known those bodies were buried in the foundation of that building.”
I turned to Po Po in the backseat. “Do you have any idea how Rong’s body ended up in that building at that same time with the other body?”
She shook her head.
“Look, Leslie, if you want to continue pressing Jack for answers, I respect that. But I’m putting a stop to the Bureau’s involvement if we don’t get a hit on the DNA profiles.”
“I understand. I’m still not sure what my next steps are.”
“Right now, the only people privy to this information are you, Po Po, and me. Opening up the circle is your call.”
We rode the rest of the way back to the hotel in silence. My thoughts were filled with the dark family secret that had been revealed. I was sure Leslie’s were consumed with the case and how to proceed. As for Po Po, I couldn’t be sure, but I believed she was the one most content with what had happened that night. She had kept those secrets for most of her life. I had to image it was actually a relief to be free of that burden, to have someone else besides Liu to talk about it with. But then again, after all those years, it had probably become a distant memory—until the trip.
I supposed we were all affected by the truth in different ways. I could only wonder if there was more to learn or if what we had come to know would have further repercussions down the line.
Chapter 59
There was one thing that Po Po and I agreed upon that night as we rode the hotel elevator up to our floor: we wouldn’t tell Ryan and Lucy anything—at least not before I had time to process whether there would be any foreseeable ramifications. Honestly, I wasn’t sure spilling the beans would do them any real good. In fact, I was pretty sure it wouldn’t. How would revealing the past, a past that happened before they were even born, bring any positivity into their lives? Would it better their situation? I couldn’t think of any reason it would.
However, there was one thing that I had to come to grips with: lying. Telling the truth had always been a no-brainer for me; even tiny little white lies bothered me. Sure I’d told them. Who hadn’t? But ultimately, I liked knowing the truth and I liked telling it. Maybe that was why I choose a career in law enforcement. There was never a gray area for me when it came to right and wrong. But this situation…well, it was one of the few times I found myself conflicted. Living with this family secret would bother me. Maybe over time I would feel differently. I might even forget about it, like Po Po had.
As far as she was concerned, she wasn’t. She had kept this secret from the kids their whole lives so far, and it wasn’t a problem for her
to continue. “What you do after I die is up to you,” she told me.
Maybe Po Po had a point, that being wrong was the right thing to do. For her, it wasn’t about lying; it was about protecting. The truth can magnify the problem. This was an underlying theme in Asian culture, a driving force in saving face. Why hurt someone if you didn’t have to? Why embarrass someone if you could avoid it? Why not simply lie for the betterment of all parties involved? Keep the peace instead of instigating a war.
There was still the outstanding issue of Peng’s murder. I spent that night revisiting all the new information I had learned and came to the decision that there simply wasn’t enough there to reopen his case. My initial feeling about talking to the Chans had subsided after learning about Po Po’s relationship with Jack Woo. The Chans were telling the truth. They might be foul human beings, but they weren’t responsible for Rong’s death or Peng’s.
There were some unanswered questions still floating around in my head, but none of it would bring me any closer to finding my husband’s murder. I believed Po Po when she said Jack wouldn’t do anything to hurt his sons. She loved Peng as much as I did. If she was fine with Jack’s answer, then why shouldn’t I be?
I may never find out who murdered my husband, but I could always take solace in the fact that as an FBI Agent, I could right a wrong for another person. And that was definitely something I could happily live with.
We still had two full days in Hong Kong before returning to San Francisco, and believe it or not, it turned out to be two wonderful days. No drama. No calls from Leslie to tell me something in person, though we did have one last lunch with her before we left. She mentioned to me that she was leaning heavily toward filing the case as unsolved. “No body, no case” That was the driving force.
By the time we settled in on our flight home, the whole family was ready to return to the Bay Area. Lucy was eager to see her friends at school. Ryan missed training at the dojo. I imagined Po Po couldn’t wait to get back into the kitchen and resume her fight for control of the household. As for me…well, I just looked forward to sleeping in my own bed again. You know that feeling, right?
We found our house still standing, not that I expected anything bad to have happened. I did monitor the local news while we were away. Aftershocks continued for about a week after the quake, which isn’t uncommon, but their strength diminished over that period.
A few days after returning home, I received an email from Leslie. She had heard back from the Bureau, nothing in their database matched with the DNA profiles sent over by Fang. She had also requested Jack provide his DNA so she could at least confirm if that second body was Tony Woo. He refused. Even if she could prove it was his brother, she had no proof that Jack was responsible for putting him in that building.
In the end, she filed the Missing Mummy case away as unsolved. However, she was able to track down Fai and charge him with every infraction she could think of. “I’ve got to make someone pay for all this running around,” she had written. I laughed. She would have no problem making the charges stick. I wrote her back and told her that was exactly what I would have done.
In many ways, Leslie and are I were very much the same person—except I didn’t feel the need to give my hand a name. It was probably the reason we got along so well and why she easily picked up where I left off. The OTCB was in excellent hands, and the Triads would continue to be managed by HKP.
I heard from my father upon their return to Harbin. I debated on whether or not to clue him in on what had happened in Hong Kong. In the end, I decided against it. No good would come out of it. Instead, I told him about all the fun things we did. “You should bring the kids to Harbin for the ice festival,” he said. “They’ll love it. And if you’re too busy, send them alone. Your mother and I can watch after them just fine.”
Neither the kids nor Po Po had actually met my parents in person. They had moved to Harbin before I met Peng. However, there had been plenty of video chats since then. Knowing my father, I worried a little about how the kids would adapt to life under his roof. I’d never seen two more well behaved children than those two when they were video chatting with him. His physical presence alone was enough to strike fear in most, but underneath all that gruffness was a gentle, loving, “ask you once and never twice” man.
Hmmm, maybe I should send the kids off to boot camp.
Get ready to meet Mui.
Sei Assassin Thriller #3
Summer 2016
A Note From Ty Hutchinson
Thank you for reading KOWLOON BAY. If you’re a fan of Abby Kane, spread the word to friends, family, book clubs, and reader groups online. You can also help get the word out by leaving a review. If you do leave one, send me an email with the link. Or if you just want to tell me something, email me anyway. I love hearing from readers. I can be reached at thutchinson@me.com.
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There’s a lot of procedure in the FBI, and I don’t always stay true to it. If I leave something out or change the way things are done, it’s because I don’t think it helps the story. A dear friend of the family is a retired FBI agent, and that person does a pretty good job of keeping me in check, both verbally and with eye rolls. But in the end, I write what makes the story better, and that’s the way it is. After all, this is fiction.
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The Novels of Ty Hutchinson
Sei Assassin Thrillers
Contract: Snatch
Contract: Sicko
Contract: Primo (Late Spring 2016)
Abby Kane FBI Thrillers
Corktown
Tenderloin
Russian Hill (CC Trilogy #1)
Lumpini Park (CC Trilogy #2)
Coit Tower (CC Trilogy #3)
Kowloon Bay
Darby Stansfield Thrillers
Chop Suey
Stroganov
Loco Moco
Other Thrilling Reads
The Perfect Plan
The St. Petersburg Confession
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the author, Ty Hutchinson.
Published by Ty Hutchinson
Copyright © 2016 by Ty Hutchinson
Cover Design: Kay Hutchison
Table of Contents
Title Page
Description
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Contract: Primo
A Note From Ty Hutchinson
The Novels of Ty Hutchinson
Copyright