Authors: Michael J. McCann
Interesting to note was the fact that a comparison of cameras showed that the limousine left the garage while Tang was wiping his knife on Thatcher’s jacket after having killed him. If Billy and Tang had been hoping for a ride home they were out of luck.
This one puzzled Hank for a while and sent him back through the video once more. Eventually he found footage that showed another Asian male, not Peter Mah but perhaps another of his employees, entering the lower level from the parking garage about ninety seconds after Billy and Tang. This man also ascended the escalators to the upper level, but turned left and walked down to Concourses C and D, which included international departures. The man passed through security, circulated through the area as though searching for someone, then rode the crowded escalator back down to the lower level only sixty seconds behind Billy, Tang and Thatcher. As the trio stopped to argue, this man passed them without a glance. He preceded them through the door into the tunnel by about thirty seconds. He walked down the tunnel and through the door into the garage. Hank took a closer look at the video of the murder and thought he saw the far door open again briefly as Tang was stabbing Thatcher.
Mulling it over, Hank decided that this third man must have come back to see why Billy and Tang hadn’t come through the door with Thatcher. He’d seen Tang stab Thatcher and had hurried out to the limo to get Peter out of the garage before he could be connected to the murder. Unlike Billy, however, this third Asian was better at keeping his face averted from the surveillance cameras and they weren’t able to find a single frame that would allow them to make an identification.
On Saturday morning, while Karen continued her efforts to get a last known address on Billy Fung, Hank caught a ride into Chinatown with Horvath and Peralta, who were making another attempt to locate and interview John Li, son-in-law of the murdered grocery store owner. Li had disappeared under very suspicious circumstances and Horvath and Peralta were running into a frustrating series of blank walls.
Hank got out in front of the Bright Spot restaurant, tapping on the hood of the Crown Vic as Horvath tooled away from the curb. It was warm and Hank wore a spring suit in a grey worsted with a robin’s-egg blue tie and black oxford lace-ups. He checked his watch and saw that it was just past 10:30. The place looked like a dump, and as he opened the door and walked inside he saw that it was virtually deserted. Yi, the manager, glanced at him from a stool at the end of the bar before returning to the newspaper he was reading. An old man sitting alone at a table near the front window watched him with the absorption of a bird watching a cat. As Hank removed his sunglasses and slipped them into his jacket pocket the old man got up and left the restaurant.
A man sat at a table in the back talking on a cell phone. The remains of his morning meal lay scattered on the table in front of him. As Hank approached he ended his call and put away the phone, rising from the table and coming around to meet him.
“
My name’s Peter Mah,” he said, extending his hand.
Hank shook his hand while taking out the folder containing his badge and identification. “Lieutenant Hank Donaghue.” He opened the folder and held it up. “Got a few questions for you.”
Peter’s grip was soft and he released Hank’s hand quickly. He didn’t bother to glance at Hank’s badge. “An honor to finally meet you, Lieutenant. Won’t you sit down?” He indicated an empty table next to the one at which he had been sitting.
As Hank drew out a chair and sat down, Peter snapped his fingers at Yi and gave a curt order. Yi hurried over and began to clear away the dishes from Peter’s table.
Peter sat down across from Hank, his back to the wall. “Yi will serve us tea. Or would you prefer coffee, Lieutenant?”
“
Tea’s fine.”
“
I was speaking to Mr. Lee when you came in,” Peter said. “He’ll be here shortly. I hope you don’t mind a slight wait before I answer your questions.”
“
You think you need a lawyer present in order to talk to me, Mr. Mah?”
“
Please, call me Peter. I don’t want to appear uncooperative, but I prefer Mr. Lee to be here. I hope you understand.”
Yi returned from the kitchen with a tea service which he left for Peter before returning to his stool at the end of the bar. Peter poured tea into two small cups and placed one in front of Hank. He drank from his own cup, flipped the remnants into a bowl next to the tea pot and put the cup down. “You’ve been with the police department for quite a while, Lieutenant.”
“
That’s right.”
“
I understand you were a prosecutor before that.”
“
In a previous life.”
“
Your mother was State’s Attorney, I believe.”
Hank drank tea, emptied the rest into the bowl and put the cup down. “You’ve done your homework.”
“
Although we haven’t met before,” Peter said, pouring more tea into their cups, “I made a point of learning what I could about you. I have an interest in the people who police our city. I think you’re all to be commended for your bravery and your dedication to the safety of the people of this city.”
Hank made a noise at the back of his throat.
Peter looked hurt, but said nothing more. The front door opened and Henry Lee bustled in, looking as disheveled and harried as ever.
“
Mr. Mah,” he said, giving a slight bow, “Sorry for being late.”
“
Nonsense,” Peter said, indicating the chair to his right. “Please, sit down.” He took a third cup from the tea service and poured for Henry. “Have some tea. Lieutenant Donaghue and I were just exchanging pleasantries, but I think he has a few more serious things to discuss.”
Hank shook Henry’s hand as he sat down. “Counselor, nice to see you again.”
“
Lieutenant.” Henry nodded. “What did you want to question my client about?”
Hank looked at Peter. “I wanted to talk to you on Thursday when we had your employees downtown, but we couldn’t seem to find you. Same thing yesterday. Where’ve you been?”
Peter smiled politely. “Upstate. A little trip to see some people.”
“
Upstate. To see some people.” Hank looked skeptical. “This trip was spur of the moment, was it?”
Peter shook his head. “Not really. I have friends in Aberdeen who’ve been asking me for a while to come visit them. I decided to go on Thursday night because it was my friend’s birthday yesterday. I stayed overnight and came back late last night. It was nice.”
“
I’m glad. You’ll provide names and addresses, I take it?”
Peter looked at Henry, who nodded. “Of course, Lieutenant.”
“
Very nice.” Hank folded his hands. “So. What about earlier on Thursday. What were you doing then?”
“
This and that. I went to the airport late in the afternoon.”
“
Oh? What for?”
“
To meet a flight.”
“
Which flight was that?”
“
The United Airlines flight from San Francisco. I don’t remember the flight number, sorry.”
“
Why’d you want to meet that flight?”
“
I was told my Aunt Rose had arrived from Hong Kong and was flying in to visit us. But it seems she missed the connecting flight and will come east another time.”
“
Aunt Rose.” Hank stared at Peter. “You have an Aunt Rose?”
“
Apparently her grandmother was Irish.”
Hank chuckled. “All right. Aunt Rose. So what did you do when she didn’t show?”
“
I left the airport.”
“
Who was with you?”
“
My driver, of course.”
“
Who’s that?”
“
Benny Hu.”
“
Any one else with you?”
“
No, because after the flight came in I had Benny drive me to Aberdeen.”
“
You didn’t go up to the airport with Billy Fung and two other guys that work for you? Looking for someone trying to leave town?”
“
I went to the airport to meet my aunt, who didn’t show up,” Peter said.
“
Maybe I don’t understand the situation,” Hank said. “Billy Fung and this Tang guy, they work for you, don’t they?”
“
Billy works for me. Tang doesn’t. He’s a visitor. Hopefully he’ll leave soon.”
“
Oh? Don’t like him?”
Peter said nothing.
“
Where are they?”
“
I don’t know, Lieutenant.”
Hank pretended to be shocked. “Don’t your employees have a schedule? Is he AWOL?”
“
There’s no formal schedule,” Peter replied, “except for the restaurant staff. That schedule’s kept by Yi.”
“
But Billy doesn’t work in the restaurant deep-frying chicken balls, does he? He breaks legs for you, isn’t that right?”
“
Lieutenant,” Henry broke in, looking distressed. “Please try to respect Mr. Mah’s dignity in his own residence and place of business. He’s trying to answer your questions as best he can.”
Hank sat back. “You’re right, Mr. Lee. I apologize, Mr. Mah. What does Billy Fung do for you?”
“
He runs errands,” Peter said. “He makes deliveries for the restaurant and every now and again he takes some of our customers home.”
“
He takes customers home? I don’t understand.”
Peter shrugged. “It’s Chinatown, Lieutenant. The elders in our neighborhood like to get out and socialize. We have a little circle that gathers at the Bright Spot pretty much every night. They stay until we close. Old men, some of them in their eighties. We keep a few tables on the far side for their use. They eat and drink, gossip, enjoy themselves. Sometimes when it’s late I get Billy to drive some of them home. Make sure they get home okay.”
Hank frowned.
“
It’s a matter of respect, Lieutenant,” Henry Lee said. “Mr. Mah has a great respect for the elders of our community.”
Hank opened his mouth and closed it again, remembering Meredith’s frustration when he’d joked with her about traditional networks.
Watching Hank’s expression closely, Peter’s eyes sparkled with amusement.
“
All right, fine.” Hank shifted gears. “What about earlier on Thursday? Were they with you earlier in the day?”
“
Yes,” Peter nodded.
“
Oh?”
“
Billy was with me when I went to pay a visit to a man downtown.”
“
A man named Gary Thatcher, isn’t that right?”
“
Yes,” Peter replied. “That’s right.”
“
Why were you looking for Thatcher?”
“
Someone gave me his name as a man with connections,” Peter said. “I’ve been considering a move downtown for my business, and someone told me Thatcher was a man with excellent connections at city hall and in the local construction industry. I have some capital to invest and figured Thatcher could put me in touch with the right people in one of the new office towers that will be built downtown.”
“
I heard your boys threw their weight around. Scared Thatcher’s staff half to death.”
Peter grimaced. “I’m sorry about that. I was eager to find the man. At the same time, I wanted his people to understand that secrecy was important. To get in on the ground floor, these things often have to be done clandestinely and I understood that was how Thatcher worked. I’m very sorry, though, if it came off the wrong way.”
“
Did you order Fung and Tang to find Thatcher at the airport and kill him?”
Peter shook his head. “Why would I do such a thing?”
Hank leaned forward and rapped the table with his knuckle. “Maybe because you found out Thatcher was involved in Martin Liu’s murder. You wanted revenge. Eye for an eye.”
“
Can you confirm that, Lieutenant? Do you have evidence that connects this Thatcher to Martin’s death?”
“
Come on, Mah. Don’t bullshit me. You’ve heard what your cousin’s little boy has been saying about Shawn and Gary. Now we’ve got a dead ShonDale and a dead Gary, both killed by Asians who work for you. Do you really expect me to believe you didn’t order both these murders to take care of unfinished business?”
“
Lieutenant,” Henry Lee protested, “if you have a reasonable question to ask my client then ask it, but throwing around wild accusations will do no one any good.”
“
Did you kill ShonDale Gregg?”
“
I understand that Donald Sheng confessed to this murder,” Peter replied. “It seems like a waste of time to ask me about a murder someone else has already told you they committed.”
“
Did you order Donald Sheng and Foo Yee to kill ShonDale Gregg?
“
Absolutely not.”
“
Did you order Billy Fung and Tang Whatever to kill Gary Thatcher?”
“
Absolutely not.”
“
Lieutenant,” Henry Lee interjected, “Mr. Mah has now answered these questions. Unless there’s anything else….”
“
Do you know where Billy Fung and Tang are right now?”
“
No.” Peter shook his head firmly.
“
Where does Fung live?”
Peter shrugged. “He used to live with his mother on Crescent Street, but she threw him out a few months ago. I didn’t hear where he ended up.”
“
We’d like to talk to Tommy Leung,” Hank said, shifting gears again. “Any idea where he is?”