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.To the triad.”“Holy shit! We’ve got our case!”“Don’t get too excited.A case of extortion maybe—and that’s only if the kid cooperates.We’re still a long way from a murder charge.”Chu didn’t respond and Bosch suddenly felt bad about raining on his excitement.“But you’re right,” he said.“We’re getting closer.Which way is he headed”“He’s in the right lane for the southbound one oh one.It looks like he’s in a hurry.He’s tailgating the guy in front of him but it’s not doing him any good.”It looked like Chang was heading back the way he had come.“Okay.I’m going to talk to these guys a little longer and then I’ll clear.Call me when Chang stops somewhere.”“‘These guys’? Who else besides Robert Li?”“His assistant manager.Eugene Lam.He was in the office when Chang came in and told Li how things were going to be.Only, Chang was speaking Chinese and Lam only knows English.He won’t be a good witness other than to place Chang in the store?’s office.”“Okay, Harry,” Chu said.“We’re on the freeway now.”“Stay with him and I’ll call you as soon as I clear,” Bosch said.Bosch closed the phone and went back into the office.Li and Lam were still at their desks, waiting for him.“Do you have video surveillance in the store?” he asked first.“Yes,” Li said.“Same system we have in the south end store.Only we have more cameras in this location.It records in multiplex.Eight screens at once.”Bosch looked up at the ceiling and the upper walls.“There is no camera in here, right?”“No, Detective,” Li said.“Not in the office.”“Well, I’m still going to need the disc so we can prove Chang came back here to see you.”Li nodded hesitantly, like a boy being pulled onto the dance floor by somebody he didn’t want to dance with.“Eugene, would you go get the disc for Detective Bosch?” he said.“No,” Bosch said quickly.“I need to witness you pulling the disc.Chain of evidence and custody.I’ll go with you.”“No problem.”Bosch spent another fifteen minutes in the store.He first watched the playback of the surveillance video and confirmed that Chang had come in and made his way back to Li’s office, then left after three minutes off camera with Li and Lam.He then collected the disc and returned to the office to go over Li’s account of what happened with Chang one more time.Li’s reluctance seemed to grow with Bosch’s more detailed questioning.Harry began to believe that the murder victim’s son would eventually refuse to cooperate with a prosecution.Still, there was another positive aspect to this latest development.Chang’s attempted extortion could be used in other ways.It could provide probable cause.And with probable cause Bosch could arrest Chang and search his belongings for evidence in the murder, whether Li eventually cooperated with a prosecution or not.As he walked out the store’s automatic door, Bosch was excited.The case had new life.He pulled his phone and checked on the suspect.“We’re all the way back to his apartment,” Chu said.“No stops.I think he might be in for the night.”“It’s too early.It’s not even dark.”“Well, all I can tell you is that he booked it home.He pulled the curtains closed, too.”“Okay.I’m heading that way.”“You mind picking me up a tofu dog on the way, Harry?”“No, you’re on your own there, Chu.”Chu laughed.“Figures,” he said.Bosch closed the phone.Chu had obviously caught the case excitement, too.15Chang didn’t come out of his apartment until nine Friday morning.And when he did, he was carrying something that immediately put Bosch on high alert.A large suitcase.Bosch phoned Chu to make sure he was awake.They had split the overnight surveillance into four-hour shifts, each man taking a sleeping stint in his car.Chu had the four-to-eight sleep shift but Bosch hadn’t heard from him yet.“You awake? Chang’s making a move.”Chu still had sleep in his voice.“Yeah, what move? You were supposed to call me at eight.”“He put a suitcase in his car.He’s running.I think he was tipped.”“To us?”“No, to buying shares of Microsoft.Don’t play stupid.”“Harry, who would tip him?”Chang got into the car and started backing out of his space in the apartment complex parking lot.“That’s a good goddamn question,” Bosch said.“But if anybody has the answer it’s you.”“Are you suggesting I tipped off the subject of a major investigation?”Chu’s voice carried the requisite outrage of the accused.“I don’t know what you did,” Bosch said.“But you put our business out all over Monterey Park, so now it’s who knows who could’ve tipped this guy
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