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"They tortured him for the tape?"
"Yes. But Eddie must have surprised them. He didnt tell them. "
"How do you know?"
"Because," Connor said, "otherwise, there wouldnt be five Japanese nationals asking to inspect the wreck of a Ferrari in the middle of the night. "
"So theyre still looking for the tape?"
"Yes. Or evidence of the tape. They may not even know how many are missing, at this point. "
I thought it over.
"What are you going to do?" I said.
"Find the tape," Connor said. "Because it matters. People are dying for that tape. If we can find the original. . . " He shook his head. "Itll put Ishiguro in deep shit. Which is just where he belongs. "
I pulled up in front of my apartment building. As Elaine had said, all the reporters were gone. The street was quiet. Dark.
"I still want to go with you," I said again.
Connor shook his head. "Im on extended leave," he said. "Youre not. Youve got your pension to think of. And you dont want to know exactly what I am going to do tonight. "
"I can guess," I said. "Youre going to retrace Eddies steps from last night. Eddie left his house and went to stay with the redhead. Maybe he went somewhere else, too - "
"Look," Connor said. "Lets not waste more time, k?hai. I have some contacts and some people I can lean on. Leave it at that. If you need me, you can call me on the car phone. But dont call unless you have to. Because Ill be busy. "
"But - "
"Come on, k?hai. Out of the car. Spend a nice night with your kid. You did a good job, but your job is finished now. "
Finally, I got out of the car.
"Sayonara," Connor said, with an ironic wave. And he drove off.
"Daddy! Daddy!" She ran toward me, arms outstretched. "Pick me up, Daddy. "
I picked her up. "Hi, Shelly. "
"Daddy, can I watch Sleeping Beauty?"
"I dont know. Have you had dinner yet?"
"She ate two hot dogs and an ice cream cone," Elaine said. She was washing dishes in the kitchen.
"Jeez," I said. "I thought we were going to stop feeding her junk food. "
"Well, its all she would eat," Elaine said. She was irritable. It was the end of a long day with a two-year-old.
"Daddy, can I watch Sleeping Beauty?"
"Just a minute, Shelly, Im talking to Elaine. "
"I tried that soup," Elaine said, "but she wouldnt touch it. She wanted a hot dog. "
"Daddy, can I watch Disney channel?"
"Michelle," I said.
Elaine said, "So I thought it was better that she eat something. I think she was thrown off. You know, the reporters and everything. All the excitement. "
"Daddy? Can I? Sleeping Beauty?" She was squirming in my arms. Patting my face to get my attention.
"Okay, Shel. "
"Now, Daddy?"
"Okay. "
I put her down. She ran into the living room and turned on the TV, pushing the remote without hesitation. "I think she watches too much television. "
"They all do," Elaine said, shrugging.
"Daddy?"
I went into the living room and plugged in the cassette. I fast-forwarded to the credits, then let it run.
"Not this part," she said impatiently.
So I fast-forwarded to the beginning of the action. Pages turning in a book.
"This part, this part," she said, tugging at my hand.
I let the tape run at normal speed. Michelle sat in the chair and started sucking her thumb. She pulled her thumb out of her mouth and patted the seat beside her. "Here, Daddy," she said.
She wanted me to sit with her.
I sighed. I looked at the room. It was a mess. Her crayons and coloring books were scattered over the floor. And the large Tinkertoy windmill.
"Let me clean up," I said. "Ill be right here, with you. "
She popped her thumb back in her mouth, and turned to the screen. Her attention was total.
I cleaned up the crayons and put them back in the cardboard box. I folded up her coloring books and set them on the shelf. I was suddenly tired and sat down for a minute on the floor next to Michelle. On the screen, three fairies, red, green, and blue, were flying into the throne room of the castle.
"Thats Merryweather," Michelle said, pointing. "Shes the blue one. "
From the kitchen, Elaine said, "Can I fix you a sandwich, Lieutenant?"
"Thatd be great," I said. I found I just wanted to sit there and be with my daughter. I wanted to forget everything, at least for a while. I was grateful that Connor had dropped me off. I sat and watched the TV dumbly.
Elaine brought in a salami sandwich with lettuce and mustard. I was hungry. Elaine looked at the TV, shook her head, and went back into the kitchen. I ate my sandwich, and Michelle insisted on a few bites. She likes salami. I worry about the additives in it, but I guess its no worse than hot dogs.
After I had the sandwich, I felt a little better. I got up to finish cleaning up the room. I picked up the Tinkertoy windmill and started taking it apart, putting the sticks back into the cardboard tube. Michelle said, "No this, no this!" in a pained voice. I thought she didnt want me to take apart the windmill, but that wasnt it at all. She was cupping her hands over her eyes. She didnt like to see Maleficent, the bad witch. I fast-forwarded past the witch, and she relaxed again.
I dismantled the Tinkertoy windmill and put everything back into the tube container. I put the metal cap on the tube and set it on the lowest shelf of the bookcase. That was where it always went. I like to keep the toys low, so Michelle can get to them herself.
The tube fell off the shelf, onto the carpet. I picked it up again. There was something on the shelf. A small gray rectangle. I knew at once what it was.
It was an eight-millimeter video cassette, with Japanese writing on the label.
Chapter 3
Elaine said, "Lieutenant? Do you need anything else?" She had her coat on; she was ready to go.
"Hang on a minute," I said.
I went to the phone, and called the switchboard downtown. I asked them to connect me to Connor in my car. I waited impatiently. Elaine looked at me.
"Just another minute, Elaine," I said.
On the TV, the prince was singing a duet with Sleeping Beauty while birds chirped. Michelle was sucking her thumb.
The operator said, "Im sorry, there is no answer from the car. "
"Okay," I said. "Do you have a forwarding number for Captain Connor?"
A pause. "Hes not on our active roster. "
"I know that. But did he leave a number?"
"I dont have anything, Lieutenant. "
"Im trying to find him. "
"Wait a minute. " She put me on hold. I swore.
Elaine stood in the front hallway. She was waiting to go.
The operator came back on. "Lieutenant? Captain Ellis says that Captain Connor has gone. "
"Gone?"
"He was here a while ago, but hes gone now. "
"You mean he was downtown?"
"Yes, but hes gone now. I dont have a number for him. Im sorry. "
I hung up. What the hell was Connor doing downtown?
Elaine was still standing in the front hallway. "Lieutenant?"
I said, "Just a minute, Elaine. "
"Lieutenant, I have a - "
"I said, just a minute. "
I started pacing. I didnt know what to do. I was suddenly overwhelmed with fear. They had killed Eddie for the tape. They wouldnt hesitate to kill anybody else. I looked at my daughter, watching television with her thumb in her mouth. I said to Elaine, "Wheres your car?"
"In the garage. "
"Okay. Look. I want you to take Michelle and I want you to go - "
The phone rang. I grabbed it, hoping it was Connor. "Hello. "
"Moshi moshi. Connor-san desu ka?"
"Hes not here," I said. As soon as the words
were out of my mouth, I cursed myself. But it was too late, the damage was done.
"Very good, Lieutenant," the voice said, heavily accented. "You have what we want, dont you?"
I said, "I dont know what you are talking about. "
"I think you do, Lieutenant. "
I could hear a faint hiss on the line. The call was coming from a car phone. They could be anywhere.
They could be right outside.
Damn!
I said, "Who is this?"
But I heard only a dial tone.
Elaine said, "What is it, Lieutenant?"
I was running to the window. I saw three cars double-parked in the street below. Five men getting out of them, dark silhouettes in the night.
Chapter 4
I tried to stay calm. "Elaine," I said. "I want you to take Michelle, and both of you go into my bedroom. Get under the bed. I want you to stay under there and be very quiet, no matter what happens. Do you understand?"
"No, Daddy!"
"Do it now, Elaine. "
"No, Daddy! I want to watch Sleeping Beauty. "
"You can watch it later. " I had taken out my gun and was checking the clip. Elaines eyes were wide.
She took Michelle. "Come on, honey. "
Michelle squirmed in her arms, protesting. "No, Daddy!"
"Michelle. "
She went silent, shocked at my tone. Elaine carried her into the bedroom. I loaded another clip, and put it in my jacket pocket.
I turned off the lights in the bedroom, and in Michelles room. I looked at her crib, and the covers with little elephants sewn into it. I turned off the lights in the kitchen.
I went back into the living room. The TV was still playing. The wicked witch was instructing her raven to find Sleeping Beauty. "You are my last hope, my pet, do not fail me," she said to the bird. The bird flew away.
I stayed low. I moved toward the door. The phone rang again. I crawled back to answer it.
"Hello. "
"K?hai. " It was Connors voice. I heard the static hiss of the car phone.
I said, "Where are you?"
"You have the tape?"
"Yes, I have the tape. Where are you?"
"At the airport. "
"Well, get here. Right away. And call for backup! Jesus!"
I heard a sound on the landing, outside my door. A soft sound, like footsteps.
I hung up the phone. I was sweating.
Christ.
If Connor was at the airport, he was twenty minutes away from me. Maybe more.
Maybe more.
I was going to have to handle this on my own.
I watched the door, listening intently. But I didnt hear anything else on the landing outside.
From the bedroom, I heard my daughter say, "I want Sleeping Beauty. I want Daddy," I heard Elaine whispering to her. Michelle whimpered.
Then it was quiet.
The phone rang again.
"Lieutenant," the heavily accented voice said, "there is no need for backups. "
Christ, they were listening to the car phone.
"We want no harm, Lieutenant. We want only one thing. Will you be so kind, to bring the tape out to us?"
"I have the tape," I said.
"We know. "
I said, "You can have it. "
"Good. It will be better. "
I knew I was on my own. I was thinking fast. My sole idea was: Get them away from here. Get them away from my daughter.
"But not here," I said.
There was a knock at the front door. Quick, insistent rapping.
Damn!
I could feel events closing in around me. Things were happening too fast. I was crouched down on the floor, with the phone pulled down from the table above. Trying to stay below the windows.
The knock came again.
I said into the phone, "You can have the tape. But first call off your boys. "
"Say again, please?"
Christ, a fucking language problem!
"Call your men away. Get them out in the street. I want to see. "
"Lieutenant, we must have tape!"
"I know that," I said. "Ill give it to you. " While I talked, I kept my eyes on the door. I saw the knob turning. Someone was trying to open the front door. Slowly, quietly. Then the knob was released. Something white slid under the door.
A business card.
"Lieutenant, please cooperate. "
I crawled forward and picked up the card. It said: Jonathan Connor, Captain, Los Angeles Police Department.
Then I heard a whisper from the other side.
"K?hai. "
I knew it was a trick. Connor said he was at the airport, so it had to be a trick -
"Perhaps I can be of assistance, k?hai. "
Those were the words he had used before, at the start of the case. I was confused to hear them.
"Open the fucking door, k?hai. "
It was Connor. I reached up and opened the door. He slipped into the room, bent over. He was dragging something blue: a Kevlar vest. I said, "I thought you were - "
He shook his head, and whispered, "Knew they must be here. Had to be. Ive been waiting in the car in the alley behind the house. How many are there in front?"
"I think, five. Maybe more. "
He nodded.
The accented voice on the phone said, "Lieutenant? You are there? Lieutenant?"
I held the receiver away from my ear so Connor could listen while I talked. "Im here," I said.
On the TV, there was a loud witchs cackle.
"Lieutenant, I hear something with you. "
"Its just Sleeping Beauty," I said.
"What? Sreeping Booty?" the voice said, puzzled. "What is this?"
"Television," I said. "Its the television. "
Now I heard whispers at the other end of the line. The rush of a car going by on the street. It reminded me that the men were in an exposed position outside. Standing there on a residential street lined with apartment buildings on both sides. Lots of windows. People that might look out at any time. Or people walking by. The men would have to move quickly.
Perhaps they already were.
Connor was tugging at my jacket. Signaling me to undress. I slid out of my coat as I spoke into the phone.