White Ghost

by Steven Gore

  “What did you use as probable cause in your affidavit?”

  “You.”

  Gage pulled back. “Me? You weren’t supposed—”

  “As an anonymous informant. I just said someone called into the drug hotline with a tip.”

  “That’s not entirely true.”

  “It is true, it just isn’t factual.”

  Gage narrowed his eyebrows at Casey. “When did you start talking like that?”

  “I was reading one of my wife’s books. It’s called The Greater Truth in the Lesser World by Dr. Heinrich Weisener. According to Heinrich, there are facts that are uncertain, fleeting, and relative, and then there’s truth that is absolute. So I figure as long as there’s dope in the container, the affidavit is absolutely true.”

  “I don’t think that’s what he meant.”

  “Doesn’t have to be. The book said we each have our own truth. So I can believe whatever I want to believe and the judge can believe whatever he wants to believe.”

  “Just to be on the safe side, give me the drug hotline number. Somebody better make a call.”

  “1-800-Badboys. Ask for Skip.”

  “Is the same judge going to arraign Ah Ming?”

  Casey shook his head. “Probably not. By the time we get him down to the federal building and booked and photographed, it will be too late. We’ll either hold him over till tomorrow or see if we can get a magistrate to stay after hours.”

  “Let me know when; I’d hate to miss it.”

  “Bring some popcorn.”

  “I’ll even bring Faith. She’s ten minutes away, waiting at my office with Linda Sheridan.”

  “For now, why don’t you go get set up with our surveillance people outside of East Wind. They’re expecting you. It’s in a fifth-floor office across the street. It used to be the headquarters for California Seismic Consulting. The nameplate is still on the door.”

  “Good choice. With any luck we’re going to rock Ah Ming’s world. Maybe I should have brought Linda along, I would’ve liked her to watch Ah Ming being led out in handcuffs. Even though his arrest won’t be for the death of her son, at least she’ll know the guy will never be getting out of prison.”

  Casey nodded. “One way or another, he’s gonna die in a federal pen.”

  “That was the whole point. All this was set up so Ah Ming gets taken alive.”

  Even as he said the words, Gage knew he shouldn’t have. Since the infusion he’d been worried the drugs and the weakness would lead him to say and do things that in stronger days he wouldn’t have—and he just did.

  Casey gave Gage a hard look. “What do you mean, set up?”

  Gage waved off the implication. “I just mean how things are supposed to work today.” He pushed the conversation back Casey’s way. “Just be careful. Ah Ming isn’t a guy who’ll want to live in a little box for the rest of his life. And I’d hate to see you get hurt.”

  “I was thinking the same thing.” Casey reached down and picked up a piece of body armor large enough to cover him from shoulders to knees. “There’s nothing he’s got that can break through this. But it was nice to hear your concern.”

  “It wasn’t my idea,” Gage said, now smiling. “Faith made me say it.”

  Casey laughed. “Screw you, too.”

  CHAPTER 88

  At a little after 11:30 A.M. Gage walked through the front door of the International Trade Building northwest of East Wind. He took the elevator to the fifth floor and entered California Seismic Consulting. He knew one of the two FBI agents manning the post. They’d met at a money laundering conference a few years earlier. Felix Melendez had impressed him as a grunt with a good heart and a man with none of the annoying habits that made a small surveillance room seem smaller.

  Even though he’d never seen him before, Gage had no trouble recognizing the other agent, for Casey had described Buddy Eng, a former Oakland Police officer, as looking like nothing so much as an unmade double bed.

  “Hey, gumshoe,” Buddy said. “Casey said you’d be coming by. What’ve you got to do with this?”

  “Nothing. I signed up for the cop ride-along program and they sent me over here. They said I could watch you guys give out traffic tickets.”

  “No can do. I left my ticket book at OPD when I left.”

  “Damn. I always seem to arrive too late for the real action.”

  “Have a seat,” Felix said. “Don’t mind Buddy. He was hoping to bust a head or two today, but Casey gave him surveillance instead.” He pointed toward Eng’s stomach. “I’ll send out for an extra large, all meat and triple-cheese pizza. That’ll put him in a better mood.”

  Gage looked across the street at East Wind. “What did I miss so far?”

  “Ah Ming arrived at about nine.” Felix pointed toward the parking lot. “That’s his black Mercedes. He hasn’t come out since. The GPS shows the container is still in the bonded warehouse at the port. The latest word is that it’s not going to be released until about two.”

  “Look over there,” Buddy said. “Ah Ming’s on his way to his car.”

  “I’ll call Casey,” Felix said. “This may screw up the timing. We want Ah Ming there when we go in.”

  “You guys have a bathroom around here?” Gage asked, needing a place where he could call Lucy.

  Felix made a curving motion with his arm and handed Gage a key. “Down the hall to the left.”

  Gage walked into the hallway and pulled out his cell phone. He felt a weary shudder pass through him and his legs weaken. He found that he couldn’t target his thumb to search his directory. He leaned back against the wall to steady himself and skimmed down recent calls until he found Lucy’s number.

  “I just saw Ah Ming leave,” Gage said. “Where’s he going?”

  “I think just for lunch. He told the receptionist he’d be back for some appointments this afternoon.”

  “If anything changes call me. The container’s now supposed to arrive at about three, so Sylvia will get there at two thirty.”

  Gage thought for a moment; there was something else he was supposed to ask her.

  Lucy’s voice broke the silence. “Is there anything . . .”

  Then it came to him.

  “Did you get your personnel file?”

  “It was easy. There’s this law that companies have to show it to you.” She giggled. “I can’t believe they obey a little law like that and break the big ones.”

  “That’s the key to their success. And the arrival notice from InterOcean?”

  “I got it.” She giggled again. “I hope I didn’t look too much like I was guarding the fax machine.”

  Gage returned to the surveillance office in time to hear Felix ordering the pizza he’d promised Eng.

  “You want something?”

  “No thanks, just ate.”

  Two days ago.

  CHAPTER 89

  Chau sat at his desk at Sunny Glory, rubbing his thumbs against his fingers, his legs bouncing under his desk. On the one hand, he was relieved he didn’t have to handle the container. He’d heard rumors over the years that the big boss at East Wind was connected with United Bamboo in Taiwan and Thailand. But drugs? No one actually said drugs. All that would happen was that a container would arrive at Sunny Glory and East Wind trucks would come pick up specially marked boxes a few at time. They were always gone in a few hours. It could have been anything hidden inside. And the money was good. In cash and tax free.

  On the other hand, what did it mean that East Wind was taking the container directly? Were they cutting him out altogether? If so, he knew he’d have to live a more modest life. He glanced at the Rolex on his wrist and the Mont Blanc pen set on his desk. They reminded him it had been East Wind money that had raised him above the other Asian food importers and wholesalers on the West Coast. Without it . . .

  Chau stared at his phone, wondering whether he should call the president of East Wind. Feel him out about what was going on. No, better wait for Lew to come bac
k. He and Ah Tien had warned him never to contact the boss. If he hadn’t yet been cut out of the operation, contacting him now would do that, or worse.

  CHAPTER 90

  Felix Melendez pointed at the monitor showing views from the cameras Casey had installed both inside and outside the Golden Mountain Transportation truck.

  “The undercover agent just hooked up the container.”

  They watched the truck pull out of the Hanjin terminal and work its way toward the freeway. The driver pulled over just before the on-ramp and hopped down.

  Side cameras showed him checking the tires, working his way clockwise around the truck and trailer, beating each one with a tire iron and listening to its sound, gauging the tire pressure.

  A young man and woman walked by with a leashed beagle that leaped toward the container as it passed. The couple restrained the dog, apologized for its misbehavior, and walked on.

  They didn’t turn back until the truck drove out of sight.

  THE WOMAN CALLED CASEY WITH THE RESULTS.

  “Chief, we got it. The dog went nuts, almost snapped the leash.”

  “Give it to me.”

  “At 2:06 P.M. at the intersection of Maritime and Alaska Streets in Oakland, California, Drug Detector Dog Freddie D alerted on Hanjin container EISU5605394/455440 being hauled by Golden Mountain Transportation Services, California commercial license plate number 5J4687.”

  Casey radioed the agent standing by the duty judge’s chambers and had him fill in the blanks in the search warrant affidavit. Four minutes later, the judge signed the search warrant and thirty seconds after that Casey’s radio crackled.

  “You’re good to go.”

  Casey alerted the search team, then called Gage on his mobile.

  “It’s here, man. It’s really here. The dog went berserk.”

  Gage stifled a sigh as relief merged with fatigue. No reason for Casey to catch on that the certainty Gage expressed hadn’t been the uncertainty he felt, for it was a long, long way from the east coast of China, to the west coast of California, and lots of people were ready to go to any deadly length for heroin worth a billion dollars on the street.

  “Then it’s all in your hands.”

  CHAPTER 91

  Clarence Tung and his men waiting outside Sunny Glory were groggy from the heat and humidity released from their bodies trapped in the closed vans. Uncomfortable though he was, it thrilled him to think about how the heroin’s arrival at Sunny Glory and its smooth distribution would move him up in Ah Ming’s organization.

  He knew it was a test and he was determined to pass it.

  From a tinted side window, Clarence watched a parade of express mail couriers and clerks come and go through the front doors of Sunny Glory. Cargo vans arrived empty and left riding low on their shocks. He saw businesspeople arrive for meetings and clerks and warehouse workers leave for lunch and return. All that interrupted the stillness inside his van were the sounds of passing traffic and commercial jets that vibrated the van as they swept down toward the San Francisco International Airport, a few miles south.

  As the sound of an airplane engine faded, Clarence heard one of his men yawn. Clarence turned to prod him to keep him quiet.

  The doors on the van swung open.

  Clarence and his men stared up the barrels of Glock pistols brandished by Asian men who climbed in and disarmed them.

  “Who are you?” a flat-nosed invader asked. His voice was low and hard, and his eyes moved from man to man, trying to identify who was in charge.

  Clarence straightened up.

  “None of your—”

  The barrel of a Glock cracked down across the bridge of Clarence’s nose. It made a crunch that reverberated to the back of his head. His eyes blurred with tears, blood flowed into his mouth.

  “Let me try again.”

  “We’re just waiting to pick up some goods. That’s all.”

  Flat Nose raised his gun.

  Clarence cringed, covering his head with his hands. He felt his fingers crack, then numbness, then nauseating pain.

  “We were hired to watch for a container,” Clarence said.

  “And then what?”

  “Call in.”

  “To who?”

  Clarence couldn’t think of an answer, knowing his uncle would murder even one of his own relatives for disloyalty.

  Flat Iron ratcheted back the slide on his Glock.

  Clarence broke. “His name is Ah Ming.”

  Clarence felt his whole body slump with relief when Flat Nose tucked his gun into his shoulder holster. Then fear again when Flat Nose issued orders to gag them.

  FLAT NOSE LEFT ONE OF HIS CREW in each van and walked to the driver’s side of a Taurus parked close by.

  The driver lowered the window.

  Flat Nose leaned down. “You’re right. They’re Ah Ming’s security people.”

  “Let’s go in.”

  The driver grabbed his suit jacket and a briefcase from the passenger seat and followed Flat Nose through Sunny Glory’s swinging front doors. They walked up to the reception desk where Flat Nose asked to speak with Chau.

  “Do you have an appointment?” the receptionist asked, glancing up at the sound of his voice.

  One look at his face and she grasped that he was a man who didn’t make appointments.

  Flat Nose shook his head.

  “May I give him your name?”

  “No.”

  The receptionist buzzed Chau and told him he had visitors.

  “Please sit down,” the receptionist told them. “He’ll be out in a minute.”

  The men were still standing when Chau appeared. He looked back and forth between the two, then swallowed hard and led them to his office. Chau sat behind his desk, and the suited man sat in a chair next to the door. Flat Nose stood facing Chau.

  “We want the container,” Flat Nose said.

  “Which container?” Chau tried to hold his voice steady even as fear welled inside him. “Containers are arriving here all the time.”

  “The one for the guy who runs East Wind.”

  “For . . . for . . . who are you?”

  Chau flinched as Flat Nose stepped forward.

  “That’s not important. There’s something inside that belongs to us. We’ll take what’s ours, then leave. No one gets hurt unless you decide to fuck with us.”

  Chau’s voice rose in panic. “But the container isn’t coming here.” He couldn’t give what he didn’t have. “I signed it over to East Wind yesterday.”

  Flat Nose drew his gun. “I told you. Don’t fuck with us. If you fuck with us, you’re dead.”

  “I have a copy of the bill of sale. I signed it myself.”

  Chau reached into his out-tray with shaking hands, dragging the whole stack of paper out onto his desk. He tore through them, finally locating the copy and handing it to Flat Nose.

  Flat Nose scanned it.

  “Shit.” Flat Nose turned to his companion. “Stay here.”

  Flat Nose looked back to Chau, then balled up the bill of sale and threw it at him.

  “If it isn’t at East Wind, I’m coming back here to fuck you up and your whole motherfucking family.”

  As the door closed behind Flat Nose, the impassive man in the business suit extracted a handgun from his briefcase.

  “Call the receptionist,” the man said. “Tell her you don’t want to be disturbed. And speak calmly.”

  Chau reached for the phone and passed on the message, then looked up at the man and asked, “All right?”

  The man didn’t respond. He just stared ahead.

  Although Chau hardly noticed him when Flat Nose was in the room, he found this visitor far more unnerving and frightening than the one who had left.

  The man stared and stared.

  Chau finally lowered his eyes.

  FLAT NOSE LEFT TWO MEN to guard Clarence’s group and took the rest with him toward East Wind. He called his boss in Big Circle in Bangkok as he drove.

&n
bsp; “The container isn’t on its way to Sunny Glory. It’s going straight to East Wind. Chau showed me the bill of sale. Signed yesterday.”

  “Do you believe him?” Catfish asked.

  “He’s too scared to lie. It looks like they were going to have the container stop first at East Wind, then take the white powder to Sunny Glory for distribution. That must be why they had security set up there.”

  Silence followed Flat Nose’s analysis.

  Finally, Catfish said, “It doesn’t really change anything except now we can hit Ah Ming at the same time. How soon can you get there?”

  “Fifteen minutes. We’re on our way.”

  “Then do what you need to do. General Kew is here waiting.”

  CHAPTER 92

  Just after 2:50, Gage listened in as Felix radioed to Casey that Ah Ming was in his office and that the GPS monitor now showed the container was about ten minutes away from East Wind.

  Casey confirmed with the two other surveillance teams posted around East Wind that they’d heard the update.

  Felix handed the radio to Buddy who read to Casey from his log.

  14:03 Asian female arrived. Left at 14:11.

  14:16 Two white males in suits arrived. Left at 14:27.

  14:32 UPS truck arrived and dollied boxes inside.

  14:35 Black female entered.

  14:36 UPS driver exited.

  14:37 Delivery truck pulled away from the loading dock.

  14:40 UPS truck returned and dropped off another package.

  14:33 UPS driver exited again.

  14:46 Asian male in overalls sweeping the sidewalk in front.

  FROM INSIDE A VAN parked a few blocks from East Wind, Casey monitored the communications between the undercover driver of the container truck and the communications officer in the staging area.

  The driver had noticed no one following him, and video from the drone showed no one.

  The radio chatter that had previously been mere background noise now came in clearly, the voices crisp, distinct, and urgent.

  Only two voices spoke: the driver and Casey as Control.