thought someone had killed them to…”
“To what?” I asked.
She took a deep breath. “We had cameras in the clinic. We would take movies of what happened in the rooms, and then Mr. Hu would look at them. If he recognized a man, he would take the tapes away.” She began to cry in earnest. “I thought one of those men-came and killed the girls-because of the tapes.”
Ray got up and got her a paper towel from the kitchen, which she used to wipe her eyes. “You have any idea who those men might be?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I didn’t recognize them. And Mr. Hu took all the tapes.”
“Even the ones from Friday?” I asked.
“Yes. When he came, he took everything. Even the cameras.”
I wasn’t sure what to do next. Treasure didn’t know how to get hold of Mr. Hu. That meant that I was the only person who might be able to find him. And if I didn’t soon, then both Treasure and Brian Izumigawa could be at risk.
WHO AMONG US IS INNOCENT?
I looked out the window and saw a jet coming in for a landing at Honolulu International. Another planeload of tourists coming to spend a week in paradise. “Who else knows about this apartment?” I asked Treasure.
“Mr. Hu bought this place so that a guy who worked for him could meet with high-profile clients.” She lowered her voice, as if Mr. Hu was listening in. “There are cameras in the bedroom. But this guy, Lucas, was always locking himself out, so Mr. Hu gave me a spare key. Then Lucas disappeared a few weeks ago, and I knew the apartment was empty. You see how good the security is. I thought I’d be safe here.”
“Did you know that Lucas was dead?”
Treasure shrugged. “I’m not surprised. He was using way too much ice. Men didn’t want him anymore, and Mr. Hu wasn’t happy.”
“Does Mr. Hu have a key to the apartment?”
“I’m sure he does.”
We waited for Treasure to make the connections on her own. “You don’t think that Mr. Hu…”
I shrugged. “I don’t know what to think yet. But somebody’s tying up loose ends. Lucas, Jingtao, Norma, the two girls. Logic says Mr. Hu could be behind it. Or somebody who wants to take over Mr. Hu’s operation. Which is pretty much the same thing when it comes to you.”
“Where can I go?” she asked.
Ray and I looked at each other. I didn’t think there was much chance we could get Treasure into any kind of protected witness program; there wasn’t a case against anyone yet. And I had a feeling she knew more than she was telling us, so I wanted her someplace where I could keep tabs on her.
“Did Mr. Hu know you and Norma didn’t get along?” Ray asked.
“He agitated it. He’d tell me things about Norma, and then he’d tell her things about me.”
“So he’d never think you’d hide out at Norma’s, would he?”
“That shithole in Chinatown?”
“You have a better idea?” I asked. “A sugar daddy who might put you up?”
Treasure sighed. “I guess I could stay at Norma’s for a few days, until you find Mr. Hu and lock him up.”
I wasn’t sure that Mr. Hu was behind the murders yet. But if Treasure believed it, she’d be willing to hide out for a while.
We waited while Treasure packed up. By the time we were ready to leave she’d camouflaged herself, darkening her skin a few shades, pulling her shoulder-length black hair into a ponytail, and donning a UH T-shirt, a pair of shorts, and rubber slippas. Instead of a high-class madam, she looked like a college student.
We walked out of the building, Ray first, scanning the street. It was dark, and we both had our weapons ready, not knowing what to expect. But the only people we saw were a middle-aged couple heading to Restaurant Row and a group of teens who’d just come from a movie.
Ray climbed in the back of the Jeep with Treasure’s rolling suitcase, and she sat up front with me for the drive to Norma’s building in Chinatown. “Where were you today?” I asked as we drove.
Treasure looked out the window. We were passing the Aloha Tower, all lit up like a beacon welcoming tourists to our beautiful islands. “There was an office,” she said. “I thought maybe Mr. Hu kept the information he was using to blackmail people there. I thought if I could get hold of the tapes, I could use them to protect myself.”
“Where was the office?” I asked.
“Across the street from the shopping center. But there was nothing there.”
“Define nothing,” I said. “Cleared out like the acupuncture clinic?”
She nodded.
“You had a key?”
“No key. A combination lock. I found the combination one day on a piece of paper and I memorized it. You never know.” She gave us the address and the number, and Ray wrote it all down.
When we got to Chinatown, Ray remained in the Wrangler with Treasure, while I headed to Norma’s building. I didn’t know what to expect, so I moved carefully, looking left and right, my hand on my gun and ready to draw if I had to.
A black cat scrambled across in front of me and my pulse raced. But there was no one around except a young Chinese couple hurrying home in the dark, and I got into Norma’s building unmolested. The crime scene tape was still stretched across her door, and I was glad I’d kept the key Norma’s neighbor had given us Tuesday morning.
I unlocked the door and slid under the tape. The apartment had a lingering smell of death, but I lit a couple of sticks of incense. It didn’t look like anyone had been there since the medical examiner’s office had taken away Norma’s body.
“Everything looks fine,” I said, when I got back to the Wrangler. “I think we should leave the crime scene tape up, though. Makes the place look uninhabited.”
“I’d better get some food,” Treasure said. “I hope Norma had cable.”
We took her to the Foodland on Ala Moana and stocked her fridge. On our way back, Ray called Julie and arranged for her to pick him up at Norma’s. I parked across the street, checked the area one more time, and then we got out of the Wrangler, Ray and I carrying her bags of groceries like loyal vassals. At least she was pulling her own rolling suitcase.
Ray saw Julie sitting in their car, and he waved. Just then Treasure tripped and sprawled to the ground. Her suitcase fell over and the zipper burst, and her clothing started spilling out. She began to cry.
Julie got out of the car and hurried over. I’d met her a couple of times, when I was picking up or dropping off Ray. She was Italian, with dark, curly hair pulled back into a ponytail, wearing a polo shirt and shorts. “Can I help you?” she said, kneeling down to Treasure. “I’m Julie, Ray’s wife.”
Treasure let Julie stand her up, and then Ray held her while Julie stuffed the lacy lingerie back into the suitcase. Between the three of us, we got Treasure, her clothes, and her groceries up to Norma Ching’s apartment.
Julie went into the bedroom and stripped the bed, making it up with new sheets and waving around the incense smoke. Treasure sat on the living room sofa like a lost child as I made tea and helped Ray put away the groceries. Ray saw me looking at my watch and said, “Why don’t you head out? Julie and I will stay with Treasure for a while.”
“Thanks. I’m beat.” I walked out to the hallway where there were no signs of life, not even the nosy woman who’d been Norma’s friend. It was about ten thirty and I was due to meet Sergei at eleven. It had been a long day, and the last thing I wanted to do was spend the next couple of hours with Sergei cruising the bars, hoping one or both of us would get lucky.
But I’d promised, and there was always the chance that we’d end up together. Our first romp had been a lot of fun, and though I was tired, my dick stiffened at the thought of a second round-especially when I remembered
