by Brian N. Cox
‘Li Mei’ was a cover name assigned to her by the Ministry of State Security. Her real name was Zhen Xiaomei, but she had never revealed this to anyone, not even to Sean, the man she loved. There was no need for Sean to know her real name and she couldn’t risk her family being traced by her enemies. She knew she would eventually reveal her name to Sean, but she didn’t feel it was necessary at this point in time.
Sean was a brilliant investigator and spent most of his service in the Criminal Investigation Division until last year when he was transferred to New York for a one-year posting to the Counterterrorism Division. As much as he enjoyed his experience in New York, not to mention the excitement and pressure of the job, he decided to return to Seattle which he had adapted as his home. Working for what Sean believed to be the best SAC in the FBI, Jim Bridges, certainly had much to do with this decision. Now Sean was second in charge of the Seattle Field Office as the new Assistant Special Agent in Charge.
“Li Mei, what are you doing here? I had planned to meet you at the Airport this evening,” said Sean as they hugged a little longer than the casual observer would have deemed appropriate.
“Hi Sean; I’m so happy to see you again,” she said with a big smile that always made Sean’s knees weak. “I arrived yesterday after lunch. A friend had located a furnished apartment for me. It was quite adequate so I rented it and got settled. I didn’t want to call you as I know how busy you are.”
“I wish you had. We could have had dinner together, but I guess you had your hands full settling into your new apartment. Where is it?”
“Here’s the address. Please don’t tell anyone else the location,” said Li Mei as she handed him a slip of paper.
“That’s a pretty good area of the city. Also very close to lots of shops and restaurants; you can walk everywhere.”
“My friend got me a car and there’s underground parking under the block, but I prefer to walk whenever I can.”
“Dare I ask what brings you to Seattle? Not that I care as long as you are here.”
“Is there someplace we can go to talk in privacy? If Gary is here, please ask him to join us.”
As Sean lead Li Mei down the hallway to his office he called Gary Webster on his cellphone and asked him to join them in Sean’s office.”
Gary Webster had worked with Sean for several years, including on their assignment in the Counterterrorism Division in New York. He had proven to be an excellent criminal investigator working under the guidance of his mentor, Sean McNamara, and was now Supervisory Agent in charge of Organized Crime investigation at the Seattle Field Office. Although Gary had strong feelings for Li Mei, who had saved his life more than once, he realized that he had no chance with her as he was about five years her junior. His knowledge of Chinese culture made him quite aware that there could never be a relationship with a traditional Chinese woman (and Li Mei was very traditional) if the man was younger than the woman. Aside from romantic love, Gary had never met a woman he admired as much as Li Mei…courageous, intelligent, confident and independent. Gary didn’t spend his time pining over his fate with Li Mei however. He was the Field Office stud…tall, blond, handsome and muscular with the gift of the gab. Gary Webster never lacked for female companionship and all these female companions were beautiful.
Gary greeted Li Mei in Mandarin, as he always did, with an enthusiast hug, something they would never do in China where such physical contact is considered a social faux pas. The three friends then closed the door of Sean’s office and made themselves comfortable in the chairs situated around a coffee table.
“I won’t go so far as to say we will be working together, as we did in New York,” began Li Mei, “but I will be able to assist you in your investigation of the Mei Hua Triad. Are they still a high priority with the FBI?”
“For Gary and I,” replied Sean, “they are the highest priority. Our SAC here, Jim Bridges, is fully onboard but the Bureau, in general, doesn’t seem to be too interested. They support our investigation but they aren’t convinced the Mei Hua Triad even exists as an important group in organized crime. They understand the Mafia, the biker gangs and the ethnic gangs, even the Hong Kong Triads, but they don’t understand the Mei Hua.”
“The problem is, Li Mei,” interjected Gary, “the Mei Hua keeps such a low profile no one seems to know what they are doing. If they hadn’t brought in that big load of drugs last year, and one of their members hadn’t assassinated the American General in Barbados, we wouldn’t know they existed and the FBI brass would tell us to quit wasting our time.”
“Let me assure you,” said Li Mei, “the Mei Hua Triad is a bigger problem than all these other organized crime groups combined. We estimate their profits in counterfeit products alone exceeds half a $trillion. The total global trade in Triad controlled counterfeit products is estimated at $2 trillion and we think the Mei Hua control at least 25% of that, probably more. They are very sophisticated and avoid all the usual organized crime operations, i.e., protection rackets, gambling, prostitution, loansharking, etc. They may dabble in this, but it would have to be very lucrative and low key. Avoiding the attention of law enforcement is a big part of their modus operandi. They are often source suppliers of drugs to American and Mexican drug gangs, but never enter the local market.”
“So why does the Chinese Ministry of State Security care about what the Mei Hua Triad is doing in Seattle?” asked Sean.
“Although this is their American headquarters, they are not just in Seattle,” replied Li Mei, “they are all over your country. The government of China is interested in their activities because the Mei Hua specializes in economic crime. The economic stability of the United States is very important to China because we are basically an export nation and America is our biggest customer. If the American economy collapses, we lose our biggest customer which would do great harm to the Chinese economy, in fact it would be disastrous.”
“In other words,” interjected Sean with an ironic chuckle, “our own Congress doesn’t seem to care about our economy but China does.
“China will probably become the world’s biggest importer due to the growth of its middle-class,” said Li Mei, “which means it can become a big customer for American products, which in turn, means American jobs. In other words, both countries are dependent upon the other for a strong economy. If America enters a recession or depression, it can’t create jobs and can’t manufacture products for export.”
“So where does the Mei Hua Triad come into this?” asked Gary.
“The Mei Hua doesn’t care about America or China, but unlike other organized crime groups, they can do great harm to the economies of both countries. The sale of counterfeit products in the US has cost America tens of thousands of jobs, probably hundreds of thousands. It has hurt the Chinese economy because counterfeit products are replacing legitimate Chinese products on store shelves in the US and Europe. The Chinese Police have shut down many factories manufacturing dangerous counterfeit goods, such as prescription drugs and auto parts, but it is reluctant to shut down Triad factories making harmless goods, such as counterfeit clothing and shoes, for example. The reason for their reluctance is that these illegal factories employ about ten million people, and putting ten million people out of work would be disastrous in these tough economic times.”
“I don’t want to dwell on counterfeit products, even though that is probably the Mei Hua’s biggest money-maker,” continued Li Mei. “They are in a position to buy American politicians so their votes will reflect the best interests of the Mei Hua, not the state or country.”
“Holy shit,” said Gary, “do you know they are doing this?”
“Our sources say they are,” replied Li Mei. “They are using, how do you say?…cut-outs or buffers, so no one knows where the money is coming from. An election campaign in the US requires millions of dollars for a candidate to get elected, and the Mei Hua have $millions at their disposal. Some politicians will be innocent dupes, while others will be crooks who assume t
hey will get rich as partners of their unknown benefactors. Others just don’t care, as long as they have the money.”
“In all probability, the Chinese government and Chinese multi-millionaires are also buying American politicians,” added Sean. “If one candidate has several million dollars at their disposal, and another candidate has nothing and is scrambling for donations, there is no question who will get elected. Promotional materials, commercials, attack ads, an office and a large staff of campaign workers cost a great deal of money.”
“I’m not a spokesperson for the government of China, but in my personal opinion, foreign countries and multi-millionaires are probably lining up to buy American politicians. That may or may not be in the best interest of America, but if key political leaders are in the pocket of the Mei Hua Triad, that is a recipe for disaster.”
“They are also buying big companies and banks and you can be assured that millions of people will eventually be defrauded in the future,” continued Li Mei.
“We’re pretty sure they already own a bank in Seattle,” said Gary.
“Actually, they own four in this area,” replied Li Mei, as Sean and Gary looked at each other in surprise.
“I have to admit, Li Mei,” said Sean, “we haven’t been making much headway investigating the Mei Hua. Informants with inside information are nonexistent and electronic surveillance has revealed nothing. We have suspicions about four or five people who we believe are probably members, but other than that, we don’t know who they are.”
“I can help you,” replied Li Mei. “We know quite a few of their members here in Seattle, thanks to Inspector Gao Hui of the Shanghai Police, and it’s my job to expand that list . Our agents are conducting both physical and electronic surveillance on them so we will know quite a bit about their activities, associates and family members.”
“You have met their leader, Ma Shan,” continued Li Mei.
Both Sean and Gary looked at each other, not knowing what Li Mei was going to say next.
“He uses the name, Paul Chan, in Seattle and you saw him in Barbados, the man who usually dressed in white clothing. He was formerly a Superintendent in the Taipei Police and is currently a member of the Taiwan National Security Bureau. He was born in Beijing but his Triad roots are in Shanghai. He is extremely intelligent and capable. Less violent than his predecessor, Wu Xing, not because he doesn’t have the inclination, but because he believes violence attracts the attention of law enforcement. He can be every bit as ruthless as Wu Xing if it is in his best interests.”
“Gary and I have talked about him many times,” said Sean. “We have speculated about him being a member of the Mei Hua, although not the leader. We checked him out with Taiwan and found his story about his police and security background to be true, so we sort of thought of him as an enigma, a mystery man.”
“Enough talk of unpleasant things,” said Li Mei with a smile, “Let us three friends go out for a nice dinner together and become reacquainted.”
It wouldn’t be long before Li Mei was to learn that the Mei Hua Triad was just as interested in her and she was in them. She knew never to underestimate the Mei Hua, but she was to learn that they could be more resourceful and cunning than even she realized.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Well, you’ve been watching these Starbuck videos all afternoon. Find anything?” said Detective Gonzalez to the two Acting Detectives, Ron Bonnan and Steve James.
“We’ve seen nothing to connect the women. They haven’t sat with or talked to any men in common. There’s been lots of men leave shortly after the women left, but there’s a bit of a problem. There are two exit doors but the camera is basically aimed at the cashier counter. You can see a bit of one exit but not the other. Also, this isn’t the best quality video, if you know what I mean.”
“In other words, no particular male has made you suspicious in any way?”
“No, not really. We’ll go over them again, but we scrutinized all the men who talked to or looked at the women, but none of them left shortly after the women did, at least not through the door the camera could see,” replied Steve James.
“I can’t remember the layout of that Starbucks, vis a vis the CCTV camera,” said Gonzalez. “Are there tables situated where someone could sit without ever appearing on camera?”
“About four tables are entirely off camera, although anyone who sat there would have to have been at the cash counter if they had bought anything.”
“OK, check to see if anyone buys something and then goes directly to the off camera tables, and then check to see if any of those guys show up at the restaurant when more than one of the victims was there.”
“Will do, Detective,” said Bonnan. “I should have thought of that myself.”
“Don’t worry about it. There has been a complete lack of evidence in these cases so we have to go the extra mile.”
“Rick, I’ve just had an idea,” said Rita Tessier. “I’m going to call the Oregon State Police to see if any similar killings have occurred outside of Portland, possibly in the rural areas.”
“Good idea, Tess. It’s a long shot though; I’d assume Portland Homicide would know about all homicides in the Oregon and Tourenne never mentioned any.”
“Yah, you’d think they would be up on all unsolved murders in the State, but I’m thinking maybe the M.O. was slightly different and they didn’t connect it with ours.”
“Go ahead and make the call Tess.”
Within three minutes, Detective Tessier made contact with the Oregon State Police, Criminal Investigation Division.
“Investigations. Sergeant Kerry here.”
“Hi Sergeant, this is Detective Rita Tessier, Seattle Homicide. Am I on caller ID or do you want to call the Department to confirm my identity?”
“No Detective, I can see you’re Seattle Police.”
“This is confidential; nothing has been released to the media.”
“Gotcha, go ahead.”
“There’s been three sexual assault killings here within the last month and a half probably committed by the same guy. The killer is very careful and has left no evidence behind. He has attacked three women in upscale apartment blocks but we don’t know how he gets into the blocks or how he gets into the apartments. We find the victims on their backs on the bed, with their arms outstretched overhead and tied with a nylon rope looped around the headboard. It seems he either forces them to give him oral sex or fucks them in the mouth. They were all strangled to death and their mouths washed out with alcohol, mouthwash and bleach. Has anything like that occurred in Oregon? The Portland Police say they haven’t had any like that.”
There is a pause on the line for about ten seconds, while Rita hears a rustling of papers, and then Sgt. Kerry speaks.
“I’m not sure about the M.O. but there might have been something like that at a town about 50-60 miles from Portland. I’m going to phone the Detachment Commander for that area and tell him what you told me. He’ll either phone you back, or I’ll call you back if I can’t get hold of him.”
“Good enough, Sarge. I’ll be waiting in the office.”
“There may be something Rick. They’re going to call me back.”
Within fifteen minutes Detective Tessier’s phone rang. She didn’t wait for a second ring as she usually did and answered immediately.
“Homicide. Detective Tessier.”
“This is Corporal Ted Young, Oregon State Police. Sergeant Kerry told me about your case and asked me to call you. I’m not sure, but this may be connected.”
“Go ahead Corporal,” replied Rita getting more and more excited.
“There’s a town about forty to fifty minutes drive east of Portland where a murder occurred about two months ago. The town is called Eggletown and they have their own police department, probably ten or twelve officers. I’m going to have to tell you about the Eggletown Police so you’ll understand what happened there. Don’t quote me on any of this.”
“I understand; go ahe
ad.”
“The Police Chief in Eggletown is the Mayor’s cousin. We call him Chief Barney because he looks a bit like Barney Fife from the old Mayberry show but may not be quite as bright as Barney. His name is Percy Beck.”
“Oh, oh. That doesn’t sound good,” laughed Rita.
“They’ve got one detective, a Detective Murray Olcen, and to tell you the truth, he couldn’t track a menstruating elephant through a snow bank.”
“I’m already suspecting the case got screwed up,” said Rita, losing a bit of her excitement, but laughing at the description.
“That’s putting it mildly. The States Attorney is aware of these clowns, so when he heard of the murder, he sent in the State Police Crime Reconstruction Unit and the Forensic Services Division to take over the crime scene.”
“Are you one of the crime scene officers?” asked Rita.