Stalking The Angel

Ito said, 'You know what they were after?'

'They wanted this book.'

Ito gave me a look, then he and Griggs went out to the car. Pretty soon the same uniforms who had been at Bradley's murder site came, along with a couple of dicks from Beverly Hills and three more guys from Asian Task Force. The uniforms got the girls' names and parents' phone numbers and made some calls to try to get them picked up. The ATF guys brought in big photo albums with known yakuza members and had each of the girls look through them. One of the uniforms and I made instant coffee in the kitchen. I put three cups of coffee on a plate and brought it out and sat by the girls while they turned the pages. I said, 'Kerri, did Mimi say anything to you about leaving here?'

'No.'

'I was supposed to come get her this morning. She and I had talked about it and she said okay.'

Kerri turned each page slowly, lifting the next page and scanning the pictures at the same time. 'I think she changed her mind.'

'Why?'

'Eddie came over last night.' Eddie. Great.

'What happened?'

'They had this big fight. She said he didn't really love her. She said all he wanted was the book and that he didn't care about her and that no one cared about her. Then he left.' Joan finished one album and started another. She hadn't said a word in hours.

'But he didn't come back?'

'Uh-uh.'

In a little bit a couple of the ATF cops came over and Kerri and Joan identified three of the four men who had raided the house. One of the three was the stiff in Asano's office.

A short ATF cop with a puckered scar running along his right jawline said, 'You think this is connected with the torture-murder down in Little Tokyo?' He got a kick out of saying torture-murder.

Ito said, 'Yeah. I think our boy Eddie was making a power grab. He figured Ishida had the book, so he did Ishida to get it. Only Ishida didn't have it. Asano did. So he went after the girl. When she wouldn't come across, he sent in some goons this morning.' He looked at me. 'Sound good to you?'

I gave it a shrug. 'Some of it. Some of it has holes you could put a Cadillac through.'

The short cop with the scar smirked.

Ito put his hands in his pockets. 'I'm listening.'

I said, 'Eddie was working the girl a long time before Ishida was done. He'd know Asano had the book.'

'Okay. What about this morning?'

'If the yakuza grabbed her, how'd she get away to kill her old man?'

Ito said, 'I hear a lot of questions. You got the answers?'

'I don't know. I just know something isn't adding up.'

Ito thought about that, and me, then finally shook his head and walked away. 'Well, you had her for a little while.'

Poitras and Griggs and I stood there and watched Ito and the guy with the scar walk away and nobody said anything. After a while, Poitras told me I looked like I'd been through a Cuisinart and asked me if I was okay. I said sure. He wondered if I needed to see a doctor. I said no. He put a hand the size of a manhole cover on my shoulder, gave me a squeeze, and said if I wanted to call him at home later that it would be fine. I said thanks. Charlie Griggs drove me back to my car. Bradley's body was gone. There were just a couple of newsmen poking around, along with a motorcycle cop who was making out like he'd just busted the Hillside Strangler. We sat there a while, in Griggs's car, and he asked if I wanted to have a couple of drinks. I told him maybe later. When I got home I went in through the garage and took off the bloodstained shirt and pants and washed my hands and face in the kitchen sink. I put the shirt and pants in the sink and rubbed the bloodstains with Clorox Pre-wash and let them sit while I went up and took a shower. I used a cloth and lots of soap and hot water and scrubbed myself pink. I used a small brush to get Bradley Warren's blood from around and beneath my fingernails. When I was finished I threw the brush away. Well, you had her for a little while.

I put on a loose pair of dojo pants, then went downstairs and put the clothes into the washer. Cold water. I opened a Falstaff, drank most of it, and called Jillian Becker at her office. Her secretary was subdued and distracted and told me Ms. Becker wasn't in. Probably with Sheila. I hung up and drank the rest of the Falstaff. It was so good I opened another. I stood with it in the center of my quiet house and thought about Mimi Warren out there wherever she was and whom she might be with and what she might be doing and I drank more beer. I opened the big glass doors to let in the air, then turned on my stereo and put on an old Rolling Stones album. Satisfaction. Great bass. I made a sandwich out of some sliced turkey breast and egg bread and tomato and had another beer. Got family problems? Hire Elvis Cole, The Family Detective. Guaranteed to make things worse or your money back!

I called Joe Pike.

'Gun shop.'

'It's me. I found the girl.'

He grunted.

'I lost her again.'

He said, 'You been drinking?'

'No.' I sounded fine to me.

He said, 'You at home?'

'Uh-huh.'

He hung up.

Half an hour later Pike was in the living room. I hadn't heard him knock or use a key. Maybe it was teleportation. He was dressed exactly as always: sweatshirt with no sleeves, faded Levi's, blue Nike running shoes, mirrored sunglasses. I said, 'Are those new socks?'

There was a pretty good-sized pyramid of Falstaff cans on the coffee table. He looked at it, then went into the kitchen and rattled around. After a while he said, 'Come to the table.'

He had put out a ranch omelet with cheese and tomatoes, and whole wheat toast with butter and strawberry jam. There was coffee and a small glass of milk and a little bottle of Tabasco sauce and two glasses of water. The water was all he was having. I sat down and ate without saying anything. The omelet was fluffy and moist and perfectly cooked. The cat door made its noise and the cat walked through the kitchen and hopped up onto the table. The cat watched me eating, his nose working at the odors, then he walked over and sat down in front of Pike and purred. Pike's the only person besides me that the cat will let touch him.

When I finished, I closed my eyes and held my head and Pike said, 'Can you tell it now?'

'Yes.' I drank more coffee and then I told him what had happened to Bradley Warren and I told him why. I told him everything I knew about Mimi Warren, and how she was, and why she was that way. I told him about finding Mimi at Asano's and arranging to bring her to Carol Hillegas's and Eddie Tang and the Hagakure. I told him that there were things that didn't add up and that I didn't have answers for and that maybe I didn't give a damn anymore. Pike listened without moving. Sometimes, Pike might not move for as long as you watch him. There are times I suspect that he does not move for days. When I finished he nodded to himself and said, 'Yes.'

'And you're thinking you had something to do with her killing her father.'

I nodded.

Pike took a bit of egg off my plate and held it up for the cat. 'You were doing your best for her, something that no one in her life has ever done.'

'Sure.' Mr. Convinced.

'Ever since the Nam, you've worked to hang on to the childhood part of yourself. Only here's a kid who never had a childhood and you wanted to get some for her before it was too late.' Joe Pike moved his head and you could see the cat reflected in his glasses. The cat finished the bit of egg.

I said, 'I want to find her, Joe. I want to bring her back.'

He didn't move.

'I want to finish it.'

Pike's mouth twitched. I cleared my place and washed the dishes. I went back upstairs, took another shower,