‘Sorry about the rush,’ I said.
I ran up the stairs, unlocked the door and held it open for Shea, and just as I was about to slip in I heard Irene’s door open onto the lobby below. Irene stepped out into the hall, and Perez was with her.
I hustled Shea into my apartment, whispered, ‘Go in the living room, I’ll be right there,’ and shut the door as quietly as I could. Shea looked freaked as I put my ear to the inside of my door and listened.
‘Problem?’ he said.
‘Um, I have a thing that I need to handle,’ I whispered. ‘Let me just get rid of this cop, and then we’ll talk. Can you wait in the living room?’
‘Yeah, one of them is there,’ Irene honked. ‘I heard somebody go upstairs just now.’
So much for my plan of locking the door and pretending not to be home. I grabbed my keys, stepped out into the hallway and locked Shea in.
‘Ah,’ said Lt. Perez, coming up the stairs. ‘Just the person I wanted to talk to. Jade, you wanna take a ride with me?’
I halted, trying to look surprised. ‘Do I have to?’
‘I’m not arresting you. I just want to talk.’
‘Well, I got to be at work soon. I don’t have much time.’
Perez glanced significantly at Irene-the-Super and Irene retreated into her apartment and shut the door.
‘Let’s go up to your place,’ Perez said. ‘If you don’t mind.’
I shrugged. As I unlocked the door for a second time, my mind was racing with explanations for Shea being there. I was tempted to scream and point the moment I saw him. Then Perez would take him downtown and get him out of my hair. But Mr B would have me shish-kebabbed if I did that.
When I opened the door, there was a faint, almost subliminal smell: something damp and flowery. No sign of Shea. I put the box of donuts in the kitchen and looked around, but the apartment was empty. The doors to my room and Malu’s were both open, and so was the bathroom door. The living room window was open a few inches.
‘You shouldn’t leave your windows open,’ Perez said, leaning over and looking down into the backyard of the building. ‘Especially after what happened last night.’
‘Forgot,’ I said woodenly. ‘Malu’s not here. She’s totally freaked.’
‘I know,’ Perez said. ‘She made a statement last night. But I never got your statement, because of the subsequent crime around the corner.’
‘There’s nothing to state,’ I said. ‘I didn’t see nothing. I didn’t hear nothing.’
Perez exhaled and the smell of coffee wafted across to me, mingled with his aftershave.
‘It’s always the same with you, isn’t it? Hard to the end. You don’t even know what you’re dealing with, Jade. I’m investigating a homicide now. You sure you don’t want to say something to me? Because what I saw down the block last night wasn’t pretty.’
I winced. ‘You want a cup of coffee?’
He shrugged. I went into the kitchen and got out the instant.
‘So the cage fighting, it’s going good?’ Perez said, swaggering around the apartment looking at stuff.
‘Yeah,’ I said absently. ‘And I’m still working at Mandino’s. I’m all good now.’
‘Right,’ said Perez, picking up a copy of
Lonely Planet – Thailand
that was sitting on top of the TV. Shit, shit, shit.
‘You just got back from Thailand, huh?’
I nodded.
‘They do a lot of drugs out there,’ Perez said. ‘I got a homicide down the street, could be drug-related. An Asian man was seen earlier the same evening at your place. You say they weren’t in the apartment. I got eye-witnesses seen three guys come in the building and go upstairs. So whose apartment were they in? Grandma Bernstein’s next door? Or you?’
‘Milk and sugar?’
‘Two sugars. I can bring a dog out here and we can find out if they were here or not. Two of them are still out there. You think you can’t talk to me because they’ll come back here and kill you, something like that? That what you think? Come on, Jade. You know me better than that. I ain’t gonna let you get hurt.’
I gave him the coffee cup and closed my eyes. Shit.
‘They were here,’ I said. ‘They tied up Malu and said they wanted this phone I... found. They said they’d kill us if we involved the police. I gave them the phone. Then they went outside and we heard shots. They ran away. I tried to follow them but I got scared and came back. I told Malu not to talk. It’s my fault. It’s just that in my experience, Lieutenant, the police can’t always help.’
‘You should know me better than that by now, Jade.’
‘Nothing personal, Lt. Perez. No offense, you know what I’m saying?’
‘Sure, just looking out for
numero uno
, right, Jade? OK, I’m glad you come clean and talked to me because I already knew it. I took a statement from Malu and forensics have already been in. But I appreciate you telling me voluntarily. Now, what I want to know is where’s the guy who was up here this morning?’
‘Guy?’ What was he talking about? I forgot my annoyance at Malu.
‘You know who I mean. There was a guy in your window earlier today, maybe around noon. While you were out. I got my partner watching the building, so I know he didn’t leave. Tall, skinny guy. Spiky black hair. Is he in the closet?’
Now I was confused. Perez must be double-bluffing me. Stoically I said, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, Lieutenant.’
Perez went around the apartment opening doors and looking under beds.
‘I know he didn’t go out the window because my partner covered it,’ he said. ‘So where is he? You got an attic trapdoor or something?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ I said again. Perez got down on his hands and knees and looked under the sofa, which sits only about six inches off the ground and isn’t big enough for a child to hide under.
‘Well, what have we here?’ he said. My skin prickled.
He said, ‘You got the super’s permission to keep a cat?’
‘Cat?’
He got up, dusting himself off—we don’t vacuum much.
‘Yeah, cat. There’s a friggin cat under there—or are you going to deny that, too?’
I wanted to dance for joy. I looked under the sofa. It was Waldo!
‘Malu’s been feeding a stray,’ I lied. I suddenly flashed the thought that if Perez knew I’d brought Waldo from Bangkok, they’d cut him open to look for drugs. ‘I didn’t know she was letting it in. Look, go in our kitchen. We don’t have any cat food. We don’t have a litter box. It’s just some stray.’
‘Uh-huh. Whatever. I’m not the cat police. Jade, I need you to be straight with me. This situation is nothing to mess with. I can get the information I need without your help, but I can do it a lot faster if you cooperate. Maybe somebody asked you to bring something back with you, and you needed money so you said yes. And now they want it and they don’t want to pay.’
‘It was just a phone. Nobody gave it to me. I found it in my stuff. I didn’t even think about it.’
‘They use a lot of expensive phones at this gym in Bangkok?’
‘No,’ I said sullenly.
He grunted. ‘I been down to your gym to talk to Mr Bubba already.’
‘Mr. Big,’ I corrected.
‘Interesting character. Anything funny going on with him, Jade? I understand he has relatives back in Thailand and you were staying with them. You see anything when you were over there?’
‘Of course not. The gym is clean, Lieutenant. Mr. B doesn’t tolerate performance enhancement drugs or none of that stuff.’
‘Huh,’ said Perez. There was a long pause while he rocked back on his heels and thought. ‘OK, Jade. When you decide to talk to me, I’ll be ready. You talk, I can help you. You give me trouble, then I won’t stand in between you and the long arm of the whatever, you know what I’m saying?’
‘Yeah. I know.’
‘So where’s the guy?’ he said suddenly.
I groaned. ‘There is no guy, Lieutenant.’
‘I know what I saw.’ He seemed very sure. He was making me a little nervous, because those assholes last night had said they would come back. What if one of them had been in the apartment while I was training? Did they think I had something to do with the... animal... that had killed their boss? It was all getting
muoy
creepy and I just wanted Perez out of here.
‘Are you sure it wasn’t somebody else’s window?’
‘And here I thought you changed,’ Perez said. He handed me his coffee cup.
I shut the door behind him and leaned my head against it. I could hear Waldo purring. Waldo would be dangerous, if you were a little lizard or a bird. What if Waldo were really, really big? He’d be scary. I’d be scared of him.
He was winding himself around my legs like he used to do in Bangkok. Showing me he loved me.
‘Oh, no way,’ I said. ‘No way is this happening.’
This whole deal was dragging me back into the old days of being in trouble, and I didn’t want to go back there. Sometimes I feel like I’m in quicksand, and the harder I try to get out the more it’s pulling me down.
It sucks. Pun intended.
What the Cognoscenti Say About Me
I
ENDED UP
being early for work. Perez had spooked me, and Shea vanishing had spooked me, and instead of making something to eat and taking a shower, I’d packed Malu’s bag and gone out. I got the bus to work. I texted Malu telling her I was staying in Mr. B’s spare room to be closer to the gym. Telling her not to worry. Then I texted Mr. B telling him I’d be staying in Teaneck for a few days.It’s a junior high school trick, but it works.
I mean, come on, people. I’ve lived in Bangkok. I’m not going to fall apart just because of one little incident.
When I got off the bus, Shea turned up right behind me.
‘What’s with the disappearing act?’ I snapped, unnerved. ‘Did you
follow
me?’
Shea shrugged. ‘I’m sorry—did that freak you out? I thought it would be better for you if I wasn’t around to... er... complicate things with the police. Can we talk?’
I was hungry, so I let him pay for overpriced sandwiches and coffee. When he took out his wallet I said, ‘Is that your ID?’ and he showed me his UK driver’s license. He had just turned twenty years old. He had long hair in that picture. It looked good.
‘
Vijaralongkorn
Shea?’ I said. ‘You’re Thai?’
‘Nobody calls me that.’ He snatched it back and handed the barista an Amex. ‘My mother’s Thai. My father’s Irish. I grew up in Cardiff. That’s in Wales. All clear?’
I relaxed a little. He was still very nervous, though. It’s kind of fun standing next to a cute, nervous guy who is trying hard to get on your good side. Not an experience I’d had very often. OK, I never had that experience. It’s not bad. Shea was wimpy, but cute, and he had an Amex and he knew how to disappear. Which could have been hot, in different circumstances.
‘Aren’t you a little young to be doing this kind of work?’ I said. ‘How many guys your age have their own expense accounts?’
He was not comfortable talking about his age. He stammered and stuttered and finally mumbled, ‘I took a gap year in between school and university and ended up working for a... mumble mumble...’
‘What?’
‘Ahem. For a moderately famous investigative reporter. I was working as Marco Lewis’ translator and research assistant in Asia, sort of an internship. I kept meaning to go back to London and finish my studies, but I’ve learned so much on the job that it never seems worth it.’
‘That’s funny,’ I said. ‘I just got back from Thailand. Well, you know that. But if you’re Thai then shouldn’t you know more about boxing?’
We sat down to eat, and he said, ‘Are you a big baseball fan?’
‘Me? Baseball? Couldn’t care less.’
‘But you’re American, right?’
‘Yeah, so?’
‘Yeah, so, that’s why I don’t know about Muay Thai.’
‘That’s a stupid reason,’ I said. ‘You’re bullshitting me.’
He was looking straight into my eyes. It made my stomach unsteady. I told myself I was probably just hungry; I picked up half a BLT and tore into it. He watched me for a little, and I gave him my
you got a problem with me?
look.
‘Right,’ he said, still in that funny, lilty accent that I now knew was Welsh. ‘Here it is, then. You’re right. I haven’t been entirely truthful with you.’
‘No kidding,’ I said. ‘Go ahead. Confess. You just want the female angle on Khari, right? Well, I ain’t giving it.’
He frowned. ‘I wish it were something so trivial. No. Here’s where I bent the truth with your Mr B. I do work for the
Independent
, but I’m not writing an article on lady fighters.’ He leaned forward, lowering his voice. ‘I’ve been investigating a criminal ring, and I got a lead that brought me to your gym. I wanted to talk to you about your experiences in Thailand and ask you if anyone asked you to bring anything back for them.’
Speaking of geckos. When he said that it felt like six or seven of them were running up and down my back. I stopped chewing and scratched my tattoo.
He added, ‘But it looks like I was too late.’
‘What do you mean, too late?’ I said with my mouth full.
He shrugged. ‘I read the papers. I saw the TV report. And I know how to read between the lines. I’m concerned about you, Jade. Shouldn’t you be with your family or something? Should you be going to work as if nothing happened to you last night?’
I swallowed. ‘Nothing did happen to me,’ I said. ‘It was my cousin. And I didn’t bring nothing back.’
‘I know what you gave them. The question is, where did you get it?’
‘Get what?’ I batted my eyelashes cluelessly.
‘The phone, of course. Who gave it to you?’
‘How do you know so much?’
‘It’s my job to know things.’
‘And how do you know what happened to my cousin last night? Did you have something to do with that?’
He looked shocked. ‘I’m not a criminal,’ he said. ‘I’m a journalist. I’m a Buddhist. I’m a... a... I’m a vegetarian!’
I laughed. ‘OK, you’re a vegetarian. Does it offend you that I’m eating this BLT?’
‘Can we stay on topic, please?’
‘OK,’ I said, putting the sandwich down. ‘If you’re a non-violent vegetarian journalist, how do you know so much about the... item... I allegedly gave to a band of criminals? Were you snooping around my place? Do you know who these guys are? I don’t want to mess around, Vija... Vija...’