White Tiger

leisurely pace. But just to demonstrate his angst, he turned up the stereo and sang with the music. Thankfully the music was so loud that Ryker couldn’t really hear his warbling voice.

Eventually they made it to the Lin estate. The guard manning the gate looked at the Lexus with a dour expression. He wore a sharply pressed gray uniform and walked with military precision. He was also armed, and had a radio transceiver clipped to one shoulder epaulet.

“Help you?” he said.

Chee Wei showed him his badge. “Detective Fong, S.F.P.D., along with Detective Sergeant Ryker. We’re investigating the Lin Dan murder.”

“So?”

“So? So? So open the gate, huh?”

The guard looked at Chee Wei’s identification card, which was next to his badge. “S.F.P.D.? A little outside of your jurisdiction, right?”

Ryker leaned toward Chee Wei and caught the guard’s eye. “Maybe you should call the house. Tell Lin we’re here to see him. After all, it was his son who got killed. Maybe he wouldn’t take too kindly to you holding us up?”

“Yeah well, maybe. Of course, he’s not here.”

Ryker frowned. “Where did he go?”

“Didn’t say. He doesn’t exactly report to me, you know.” The guard put his hands in his pockets.

“What about his guest? Mister Ren.”

“What about him?”

“Listen, we don’t have a lot of time. We need to get inside. You going to open the gate?”

“You have an appointment?”

Ryker unfastened his seat belt and got out of the car. Chee Wei started to say something, then closed his mouth. Ryker looked over the car’s roof at the guard with steely eyes.

“Do yourself a favor. Call your boss. Tell him who’s here. Tell him we need access to Mr. Ren. Because if you don’t, rent-a-cop, I might just have to break my foot off in your ass.”

The security guard glared at Ryker for a long moment, then shot him a crooked smile. He reached for the radio at his shoulder and spoke into it as he walked back to his little shack. Ryker didn’t hear the answer, for he stepped inside the structure and pulled the door halfway closed. Ryker kept standing outside of Chee Wei’s idling car.

The gate slid open, and the guard waved them through. Ryker got back into the car without thanking the guard, and Chee Wei accelerated the Lexus up the driveway.

“Gosh Hal, think you were a little harsh on the guy?” he said.

Ryker chuckled. “Never underestimate the power of the po-po.”

Chee Wei pulled up into the huge drive in front of the mansion and slipped the Lexus’s transmission into park when the front door opened and a man in a suit stepped out of the house. Ryker made out the telltale bulges of a radio and a sidearm under his jacket immediately. He threw open his door and stepped out of the car. The man walked toward the vehicle and stopped by the front left fender as Chee Wei got out himself.

“Gentlemen, I’m Christian Nyby. How can I help you?”

“Ryker and Fong, San Francisco Police. We’re actively working the Danny Lin murder case. I’m sure you know about that.” Ryker looked from the man to the imposing mansion behind him, eyes scanning the windows, looking for anyone who might be watching. He caught a glimpse of movement in one of the second story windows as someone pulled open a drape. And there was Ren Yun, glaring down at Ryker and the others as if they were nothing more than putrid waste that hadn’t gone down the toilet on the first flush.

“I do know that, but I’ll still need to see your identifications, if that’s all right,” the security man said.

Chee Wei pulled his and handed it over. Ryker slowly walked around the car and reached for his. Nyby checked the IDs, then handed them back. He looked at Ryker for a long moment, and Ryker looked back.

“What?”

“Weren’t you wearing that suit last night?” Nyby asked.

Ryker ignored the question, and Chee Wei’s inquisitive expression. His only response was to stare at Nyby as if he was a common hood. Nyby got the message.

“Anyway, Mister Lin isn’t here. So I’m afraid you’ve wasted your time.” Nyby smiled sympathetically, but it looked 100 % false. “Maybe next time, you can call ahead, save yourself some trouble.”

“We need to speak with Ren. Is he still here?”

Nyby didn’t miss a beat. “Mr. Ren isn’t available, I’m afraid.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Ryker nodded to the second floor window where Ren stood watching them. He was now smoking a cigarette. “Seems to me he’s pretty free at the moment.”

Nyby turned and looked up. His expression didn’t change a bit when he faced the policemen again.

“As I said. Mister Ren is not available.”

Ryker put his hands on his hips. “Let me talk to your boss. What’s his name, Baluyevsky?”

Something flickered behind Nyby’s eyes at the mention of his boss, and Ryker caught it like a shark seizing a fish in its teeth.

“What happened to the Russian?” he asked.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Nyby said.

“That’s bullshit.”

“That’s total bullshit,” Chee Wei added. He must have seen the flicker as well, and he took a couple of steps toward Nyby. “What are you hiding, Nyby?”

Nyby stepped back, keeping both men in sight. “I’m hiding nothing. No one is available to speak with you gentlemen now. Next time, please call ahead, or bring a warrant.”

Chee Wei’s cell phone was in his hand in a flash. “I’ll get a telephone warrant right now. Marin and San Francisco counties have full reciprocity, did you know that? I can get a Marin county judge to sign off on a warrant, and a Tiburon detective will deliver it.”

“Fuck that.” Ryker walked directly to the house. Nyby started to reach out and stop him, but thought twice about it. He tried to put himself between Ryker and house instead.

“You can’t go in there. It’s private property, and you’re not even in your jurisdiction! We’ll have your badge for this!”

“And I’ll have Danny Lin’s killer. A suitable trade, right? Now get out of the way, pencil neck.” Ryker slipped past Nyby as Chee Wei approached him from the other side, his hand already resting on the butt of his pistol. Nyby saw the stance and kept his hand well away from his own weapon, but he continued to try and block Ryker.

“You can’t go in there!” he said.

“Then call the police. I think you’re hiding something, so I’m pretty sure you’ll be happy to have them roll up, right?”

Nyby faltered slightly at that, and Ryker pushed past him. He threw open the great wooden door and walked into the house, his footfalls echoing loudly in the granite entry hall.

“What is it that you want with me,” Ren said. Ryker determined his manner to be a combination of imperious, surly, and just plain nasty as they sat in second floor library. The same room Ren had looked down at them from. If he’d known Ryker and Chee Wei had been looking for him, Ryker was certain he wouldn’t have exposed himself at the window.

Chee Wei translated the statement into English for Ryker. Ren maintained he didn’t speak English, so Chee Wei was stuck with the translation duty. The suited Ryker fine; at least he could trust his own partner. Another Chinese man and Nyby stood in the room as well. The Chinese man hadn’t been introduced, but he was one of Lin’s people. Not a security guard, probably more of a personal assistant, Ryker guessed. He had offered to translate on behalf of Ren, but Ryker had refused.

“Tell him we’re going to talk about the days in China when he was with the Communist party. Specifically, tell him we’re going to talk about his meeting with Lin Jong before coming to the United States.”

Chee Wei looked at him oddly. “This guy-?”