Nods all around.
“You can’t get a warrant for extradition based solely on Atoa’s statement, and it’s unlikely he’ll make the trip voluntarily.”
More nods.
“So we trick him.”
“The guy’s shrewd.” Hung sounded skeptical. “If he is expanding his distribution into Hawaii, why would he come here and place himself at risk?”
“Double that if he’s been living quasi-undercover for forty years.” Lo sounded as dubious as his partner.
“Could Lapasa know Kealoha and Faalogo are dead?” Ryan asked.
“Unlikely,” I said. “The media reported nothing about the remains. And Perry hasn’t verified the IDs.”
“But if Lo’s CI knew, wouldn’t SOS?” Ryan pressed.
“L’il Bud T’eo and his buddies are USO,” Lo said. “Lapasa and his crew are SOS Crips. Word might not travel across gang lines all that fast.”
“What’s your plan?” Hung asked.
“We have Nickie Lapasa’s lawyer call Al Lapasa and say he has a client who’s been searching for him for years. He’ll say that Al is mentioned in Theresa-Sophia’s will.”
“Why would Nickie go along with something like that?”
“We tell him Al could be his long-lost brother.”
“You just told him his long-lost brother is lying on a shelf at the CIL.”
“We say that since Danny talked to him, researchers at the CIL discovered they could be wrong, that Xander could be this man living in Oakland. We play to Nickie’s ego. Tell him he was probably right all along.”
“What makes you think Nickie isn’t already hip? If he does have drug connections, and Al Lapasa is in the game, why wouldn’t Nickie be aware of who Al really is?” Lo asked.
“Because Xander didn’t want Nickie to know. For whatever reason, he’s been lying low for forty years. JPAC queries spanning that entire time have obtained not a single hint to suggest any family member suspected Xander was alive. And I doubt Nickie knows the story on every drug dealer up and down the West Coast.”
“In this little fantasy, how’d Nickie finally track Al down?” Lo.
“The administrator of Theresa-Sophia’s estate has had lost heirs investigators searching off and on for years. They finally found him. Look, it’s worth a shot. Al may believe that he has to come to Honolulu, meet with the executor of the will, and prove his identity in person. I’m sure the attorney can come up with legal jargon that sounds convincing.”
A few moments passed while everyone considered my idea.
“Al was born in Honolulu,” Hung said. “Even if he’s not your long-lost Xander, he might figure he’s got relatives here he knows nothing about.”
“He’ll hit the Internet, learn the Honolulu Lapasas are loaded, get greedy, get sloppy.” Lo was coming around.
“And if he is Xander Lapasa, it’s even more likely he’ll buy into the story,” I said.
Lo and Hung exchanged glances. I knew what they were thinking.
“If you want to try selling this guy a line, we’ve got no objection,” Lo said. “But we can’t compromise the Kealoha-Faalogo investigation. If this falls apart without Al ever leaving Oakland, this is strictly a CIL inquiry. My partner and I never heard any of this.”
“Any of what?” I asked.
“So,” Ryan said. “Who calls Nickie?”
“I’ll be right back.”
I retraced my steps to the hall.
DANNY INSISTED ON RECIPROCITY. THOUGH HE DOUBTED THE scheme would succeed, he’d call Nickie if I’d take one more run at Plato.
I agreed.
Back in the squad room, I gave Lo and Hung a thumbs-up.
We chatted a moment, then Ryan and I left. Everyone said they’d keep in touch.
Little did we know how quickly we’d reconvene.
Ryan and I stopped for dim sum at the Chinatown Cultural Plaza Shopping Center. As Ryan made selections from an armada of carts, I called Plato Lowery.
“When will you people give up? I told that French guy and I told that army guy. No. N. O. This is harassment.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way, sir.”
“I do.”
