The Chinese Woman: Mystery Assassin: A Spy Mystery Thriller: Li Mei Spy Action Series (The Chinese Woman: Li Mei Spy Action Series Book 3)

by Brian N. Cox

  “That’s OK, Chief. You’ve been very helpful. You’ve obviously got everything under control.”

  “Always ready and willing to team up with the FBI,” replied Chief Beck, looking very pleased with himself.

  “Do you mind if we drop over to the Welcome Inn, Chief? Just want to get the lay of the land, you know. See if the killer chooses the same kind of rooms; you know what I mean.”

  “No problem, Agent Swanson, but we covered things over there pretty well,” replied Beck.

  “I realize that Chief. As you said, you obviously have a handle on this case. Tell your detective teams we wish them good luck.”

  As the FBI agents were leaving, SA Swanson turned and said, “Oh, I almost forgot to ask. Was there anything in the victim’s mouth?”

  “Yes. Our Medical Examiner forgot to check until our lead detective asked that question. Apparently there was mouthwash and bleach. Luckily our investigators are on the ball or the ME would have missed that.

  “No alcohol present?”

  “No. No alcohol evident in the room.”

  “Thanks Chief. You’ve been a great help. The FBI thanks you.”

  Agent Dibotsky parked their rented car on the south side of the Welcome Inn and then both agents entered the hotel and Diane asked to speak to the manager. After the receptionist made a phone call, a man who appeared to be in his early thirties came out of a nearby office and approached them.

  “Hi, I’m Stan Couteau, the manager, how can I help you?”

  “Special Agents Swanson and Dibotsky, from the FBI in Seattle. We were just gathering some information about the murder that occurred here a couple of months ago. We are trying to ascertain if it could have been committed by the same person responsible for a murder in Seattle. I am sure the local police have already asked for this, but I have to cover all bases…do you have a CCTV video of the time in question and could we look at your register for that time period.”

  “Actually, I put the video aside because I assumed the police would want to examine it. The registers are kept for five years. The local police never asked to see either of these; they said the killer had followed the unfortunate young woman out from Portland, killed her and then returned to the city.”

  “That’s quite possible. If they said that, I am sure they have some evidence that made them draw that conclusion. Nevertheless, we would like to see the video and the register, just so some defense lawyer doesn’t claim we were negligent.”

  “No problem. I can give you the video disk. Will a photocopy of the register suffice?”

  “We’d like the original of the register page if you don’t mind. It will be returned to you in due course.”

  “OK, wait here and I’ll get it for you.”

  As the FBI agents were driving back to the Portland airport, SA Dibotsky said, “It’s unbelievable that in modern times there can still be such incompetent clowns responsible for major investigations.”

  “That’s the world we live in, Luke,” replied Diane Swanson.

  “I’m glad we didn’t meet their detective,” she continued. “The State Police said he’s even dumber than the Chief. I probably couldn’t have kept a straight face; that was really hard to do when we were talking to the Chief.”

  “It’s all I could do not to burst out laughing also,” laughed Dibotsky, “but actually it’s not a laughing matter.

  Even though they both realized this, they suddenly both started laughing and couldn’t stop. Dibotsky finally pulled the car over to the side of the road so they could compose themselves. If he didn’t do this, he was sure he would have lost control of the car.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Li Mei and Sean sat in the McDonalds enjoying their Egg McMuffins, hashbrowns and coffees. Li Mei had selected this particular McDonalds as it was the closest to Special Agent Gordon Paquette’s house.

  “Are you still working on your Anthropology PhD, Li Mei?” asked Sean. “You were studying the Indians of the Northwest as I recall.”

  “Yes; it’s slow going but I am still determined to submit my thesis, hopefully early next year. I was studying the NaDene or Athabascans of Alaska and northern Canada, following their movement into Arizona and New Mexico where they are usually called Apache and Navajo. Didn’t you study the Iroquois Confederacy in College?”

  “Yes; you’ve got a good memory. Sometime when we have more time, I’d like to discuss the NaDene with you. I am particularly interested in the Chiricahua Apache.”

  “As am I Sean. It is hard not to be interested in Geronimo, Cochise, Nana, Victorio and the other leaders. Most interesting of all was Massai. I can tell you some very interesting things about the Apache that even most of their own people don’t know.”

  At that moment, they both noticed Special Agent Paquette entered the restaurant with a very attractive blond woman, presumably his wife, and a young girl, also blond, who appeared to be about ten years of age. After Paquette had purchased breakfast for his family, they walked down the aisle where Sean and Li Mei were seated.

  “Sir,” said Paquette, “I don’t know if you remember me; I work on the fourth floor.”

  “Of course I remember you, Gord. Please call me ‘Sean’. Would you like to join us?”

  “Thanks, I’d like that…and congratulations on your promotion to ASAC; much deserved,” replied Paquette as he, his wife and daughter sat at the next table.

  Li Mei had suspected he would want to sit with them; and she was glad that Sean had suggested it. Paquette’s file indicated he was always trying to cozy up to his superiors, and Sean was the new Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Seattle Field Office.

  “This is my wife, Cindy, and my daughter, Ginger,” said Paquette. His wife smiled and shook hands with both Sean and Li Mei but the daughter just stared.

  “How many times have I told you to shake hands when you meet someone?” said Paquette angrily to his daughter, then immediately smiled and rolled his eyes when she did so.

  “I am Li Mei,” she said, smiling at the child, before Sean had time to introduce her.

  “And what kind of work are you in Li Mei?” asked Paquette.

  “Basically studying and research. I am working on my PhD in Anthropology at the U of W.”

  “I’m impressed. That must be very interesting. Don’t use too big words or Cindy won’t understand you,” said Paquette laughing at a remark only he thought was funny.

  Both Sean and Li Mei immediately disliked Paquette. What an insensitive jerk, thought Li Mei.

  Cindy attempted a laugh but it was easy to see she was hurt by her husband’s comment.

  “What do you do Cindy? Are you working?” asked Sean.

  “Just a housewife. I used to work at Applebee’s but Gord made me quit.”

  “Housewife and mother is the hardest job in the world,” said Li Mei. “I find it difficult just cooking, cleaning and keeping track of everything for myself without a family to look after.” Li Mei could see that Cindy was very fit, so she asked, “Do you play sports at all; you look very fit.”

  “I play tennis as often as I can,” Cindy replied.

  “We must get together then. I am just learning to play tennis but I enjoy it very much. I don’t have anyone to play with. Would you mind playing with me? You’ll have to be patient because I’m not very good.”

  Cindy glanced at her husband, and seeing that his face was not showing disapproval, she replied, “I’d love that. When is a good time for you?”

  “I have to go out of town for a few days this week. How is next Monday? Here’s my cell number. Please set it up and give me a call,” said Li Mei.

  Sean, Li Mei and the Paquette family sat talking for awhile but Li Mei noticed that Cindy always glanced at her husband’s face before talking about any subject, apparently looking for his approval or disapproval.

  Finally the Paquettes left the restaurant while Sean and Li Mei stayed behind to finish their coffee.

  “What an asshole,” remarked Sean.r />
  “I can’t argue with you there,” said Li Mei. “His wife is being abused. I worked in that area for awhile in the Chongqing Police, and I guarantee you she is both physically and emotionally abused.”

  “Yes, when you see someone wearing a turtleneck in this warm weather, it’s usually a sign they are trying to cover up some bruising on the neck.”

  “Even though she was wearing long sleeves, I could see a bruise on her right wrist,” added Li Mei.

  “Another thing that was apparent,” added Li Mei. “He was obviously trying to suck up to you…is that the right expression, “suck up”. I am trying to improve my American English.”

  “That’s the right expression,” Li Mei “and I agree with you.”

  At 11am, Seattle Detectives Gonzalez and Tessier sat in the FBI Criminal Investigation Division boardroom with Sean, Diane Swanson and Luke Dibotsky.

  “Interesting report on your visit to Eggletown, Agents,” said Sean. “I hope there aren’t too many more keystone cop outfits like that around. Nevertheless, the similarities in their case and ours are notable. I don’t think there is any doubt that we are dealing with the same killer. I think the killer adds alcohol to his mouth cleansing routine if he finds any in the apartment. The Eggletown victim didn’t have any alcohol in her hotel room so that part of his MO was eliminated.

  “Sir, Tess and I have been checking for the foot covers. There’s only one place in Seattle where you can buy them but that was a dead end. It’s a wholesaler and he only sells in bulk to law enforcement, hospitals and a few research facilities. The list of people who have access to them from all sources probably number over a thousand. They aren’t something that are normally kept under lock and key by these organizations.”

  “We’ve checked five marine shops so far re the nylon rope. Nothing so far,” added Tessier.

  “It’s a long shot but worth the effort. Thanks,” replied Sean. “Anything interesting from your Starbucks coffee breaks?”

  “We got photos of everyone sitting outside range of the CCTV and have given them to the two Acting Detectives that have been reviewing the CCTV videos. They’re pretty conscientious. If there’s anything there, I’m sure they will spot it.”

  “Good. How about the material from the Welcome Inn?”

  “I think we got something. Have a look at this guy on the video of the hotel front desk,” Swanson said as she turned her laptop around so Sean could see. “He knows where the camera is and he is always facing away. He also has a ball cap pulled down fairly low to block any camera shots. We found the name he registered with was phoney and he paid in cash. He gave a phoney license plate also; belonged to an old lady who lives in Portland and her car hadn’t left her driveway in a week. All we can tell is that he is probably over six feet with a husky build….not fat and not slim. Looks to be about forty although that is hard to say, and his hair is dark, probably dark brown. His phoney signature is written in a large looping backhand; fairly common when people disguise signatures. The room he stayed in has probably been cleaned almost a hundred times since the murder so any evidence would be long gone.”

  “OK, since I’m only an advisor here, and not the case manager, I’ll let the four of you put your heads together and decide what to do next. You’re in the lead Diane. Besides the source of the nylon rope, try and come up with how he gets into the apartment buildings and the victim’s apartments without being seen or heard. There is a probability that he works for, or has access to one of those organizations that buy foot covers in bulk. Also, Diane, keep that register page in the evidence locker as we may want the questioned documents people to look at it later.”

  “I hate to bring this up,” said Detective Gonzalez “but do you think the killer could be a cop? He has access to the foot covers and he certainly knows how to leave no evidence at a crime scene.”

  Immediately, all eyes turned to Sean.

  “It has certainly crossed my mind, as I hope it has crossed all your minds. A good investigator never ignores any possibility. Of course there are hundreds of people who are not police officers that have access to foot covers, and any bright individual who watches CSI has a fairly good knowledge of crime scene investigation.”

  “I’m sure we all hope it’s the latter option,” said Special Agent Swanson.

  About forty-five minutes after leaving the boardroom meeting with the JTF investigators, Sean’s secretary, Martha Wainwright, called him on his intercom.

  “Special Agent Cory Fournier from the BSU in Washington is here to see you.”

  “Thank you Martha; please send him in.”

  SA Fournier entered Sean’s office while Sean met him at the door and they shook hands like old friends.

  “How’s my favourite profiler, Cory?”

  “Overworked and underpaid…same as before,” laughed SA Fourner.

  “So you read the report, I assume,” said Sean. “What do you think?”

  “You’ve had the BSU course Sean, you could probably had done this yourself. Hopefully I can add a wrinkle or two. The advantage we at BSU have is we stay objective since we haven’t been involved in the investigation and therefore haven’t formed opinions or come to conclusions.”

  “I know the spiel, Cory; tell me what you think.”

  “This guy is ultra-organized and he plans methodically. The pristine condition of the crime scenes makes me think he has a law enforcement background or is very close to someone in law enforcement. This would include the various military investigative units.”

  “So you think this goes beyond someone who’s a devoted watcher of CSI and those types of programs?” asked Sean.

  “Yes. This guy knows much more than you could pick up from those programs. Having said that, this unsub is extremely intelligent, so with research, he probably could have gained the crime scene evidentiary knowledge without being a member of law enforcement. He would have to have gone way beyond watching TV cop shows though.”

  “I would also say he is a very confident and personable individual. Obviously puts the victims at ease before he begins his assaults.”

  “I found it interesting,” continued Fournier, “that he seems to have knowledge of ropes. There are so many different types of ropes available, but he chose the rope that is easiest to handle. Could have been in the Navy or Coast Guard and/or owns a yacht.”

  “I was thinking the same thing” said Sean. “Nylon would have been my choice also. Do you think that there is anything significant about his ejaculating into the victim’s mouth instead of her vagina?”

  “Well lots of men prefer blowjobs to intercourse, but having an organism isn’t as important to rapists as the power and control. He feels a lot of power with his victims tied to the bed and he’s astride them screwing them in the mouth. But I’d have to say his pleasure is a secondary reason. I think his primary reason for doing this is so he can destroy the evidence more efficiently. As I said before, this guy is no dummy; he’s knows what he is doing and it was all meticulously planned.”

  “That’s the way we were leaning on this also. Both the City crime scene people and our own ERTU say they have never seen a crime scene so pristine…a complete lack of evidence in every case.”

  “Due to his knowledge, experience and confidence, I’m guessing the unsub is mid-thirties to mid-forties…not a kid. He’s also fit and strong, probably above average size also. Unlike many rapists who are seeking the power and control they don’t have in their day to day life, I think this guy has a responsible job; probably a manager of some kind. Since the offences occurred at different times, I think he has control of his time…can come and go as he pleases. You can give me the more recent reports that weren’t sent to Washington and I may get more insight. I’ll be in town for another few days.”

  “I got a report yesterday from the geographic profilers, Cory. They gave me a two block area where he possibly lives, but stress that three offences are not enough to go beyond ‘possibly’.”

  “Generall
y, geographic profiling is very helpful, but in this case, I would guess it doesn’t apply. The reason I say this is because of his probable law enforcement background or knowledge. He would be familiar with geographic profiling so he would be operating outside of what the average criminal would consider their comfort zone.”

  “Thanks, Cory. You’ve been a big help. It’s always valuable to get some objective expertise on these type of cases.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “Sean, I am going to have to postpone our dinner tonight. I just got a call that I have to leave on my trip early Tuesday morning and I have some preparation to do this evening. My cooking is not the best, so you won’t be missing much. I was planning on Chongqing hotpot but I am not an expert hotpot cook. By the way, I played tennis today with Paquette’s wife…a very unhappy young woman. I’ll tell you more when I see you. Once again, please forgive me for cancelling on such short notice.”