CHAPTER 9
That afternoon Hutch went to the downtown courthouse to check on the records for the land sales in the neighborhood where the Changs had their restaurant. Hutch was standing at the counter waiting for service. A man came out of a back room, his arms loaded with files. He looked as if he had been working in the office since the building opened. He was stooped over with gray hair and thick glasses.
"I need the names of the people involved in the sales, land use and when it was obtained." Hutch told him. He had already informed the clerk about the information he was seeking.
"I suppose that would be this one." The clerk said as he thumbed through the files. He pulled one out of the stack and handed it to Hutch.
"Any chance I could take this with me?" Hutch asked even though he was already fairly sure of the answer.
The clerk looked at Hutch as if he had lost his mind. In a prim voice, he said,
"No, sir. Our files do not leave this office. I can make Xerox copies for you but no file leaves this office. In the twenty-five years I have been here we have never lost a file."
Hutch began leafing through the file. "Uh…I'll take this one…and this…and this…" he glanced at the clerk with an arched brow. "Do you want me to mark them or something?"
The clerk sighed and handed Hutch a pad and a pen. "Write down the page number and how many copies you want and then we can do business."
Hutch started scribbling down numbers while the clerk watched him with increasing uneasiness. "Please remember, sir, that there are other people waiting their turn for service…"
Hutch looked and noticed the line of people standing behind him. He scribbled down a few more numbers and handed the paper to the clerk.
"That should do it." Hutch said
"I should hope so." The clerk said in an annoyed voice as he grabbed the paper and disappeared into another room. Hutch turned to smile placatingly at the line of people behind him as he waited. All he saw was undisguised hostility on the other faces. Scowling, he turned back around.
The clerk finally returned with a stack of papers and handed them across the counter to Hutch. "Here you are, sir. That will be $9.75"
"What?" Hutch said in a startled voice.
"You think we just give these away? How are we supposed to keep our county on a budget if we gave copies away to people like you? Really, sir!"
Exasperated Hutch began digging through his pockets. He started pulling out change, lots of it. It took him several minutes to get it all counted out while the clerk watched with an eagle eye.
"I want a receipt." Hutch said when he finished. The clerk smiled thinly as he wrote one out and handed it to Hutch, who snatched it and put it in his pocket. He took the copies and left the office, glad to be out of there.
Hutch climbed into his car and sat there glancing through the papers. The dispatcher's voice came over the radio breaking into his train of thought.
"Zebra three…zebra three. Come in please."
"Yeah, go ahead." Hutch said into the mike as he continued glancing through the papers in his lap.
"Hold for Captain Dobey."
"Hutch?" Dobey's voice came over the radio. "We got a make on those two hoods. Joe Vicco and Tomaso Santez. They both have records a mile long. Last known contacts include a Sam Kaufman. Didn't you nail him on an extortion charge a couple of years back?"
"Yeah, but he got off." Hutch said into the mike as he sat the papers beside him for safe keeping. "That's interesting, Cap. I just got a bunch of papers on the land deal and Kaufman's name is on most of them. He was a guest of the main broker. Give me that address."
"9123 Towelridge Drive.'
"Thanks, Cap." Hutch said. He hung up the mike and started the car expertly merging with the rest of the downtown traffic.
Back at Hutch's apartment, Starsky was leaning over trying to tie his shoelaces when the phone rang. He reached for it and picked it up.
"Detective Hutchinson?" said Lee Chang's voice in his ear.
"He's not here right now. This is Detective Starsky. Can I help?"
"This is Lee Chang, Detective Starsky. There's nothing left…they can't hurt me anymore. She's dead. My wife is dead. They blew her up."
"They?" Starsky said coming to attention. "Who? Who, Mr. Chang? What happened?"
"They blew up the Ming Lion this morning. I wouldn't go along with their 'offer'. They killed my Mei. They could kill me now…it wouldn't matter."
"What offer? What men? I don't understand." Starsky said calm but confused.
"Oh yes, Detective Starsky. I'm sorry. I was never able to thank you for helping me before.'
The sudden shift of subject bothered Starsky.
"Hey, that's okay…but what's this about Mei?"
"Detective Starsky…can I tell you?"
"I'm at Hutch's place. You'll have to come here because I can't get around right now. Okay?"
"Yes. It may take awhile but I will be there." Chan promised
"Fine. I'll see you then." Starsky said. He hung up the phone and sat back to think about what Mr Chang had just told him.
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Across town from his apartment, Hutch entered the office of Randy Miller. The receptionist glanced up with a frosty smile.
"May I help you?"
"I need to talk to Mr. Miller." Hutch said with his most enticing smile.
"Do you have an appointment?"
"No, I don't have an appointment but I have to see him."
"He's a very busy man. I think he has some appointments available next week."
"This is official business, lady." Hutch told her flashing his badge at her. "Now get me in there to see him."
Startled, the receptionist complied. Picking up the phone, she hit a button and said into the receiver,
"Mr. Miller? There's a Detective Hutchinson here who says that it's important that he see you right away." She paused "No, sir. He doesn't have an appointment." She listened for a moment and then said to Hutch, "If you'll have a seat he'll be right out."
Hutch took a seat and flipped through a magazine disinterestedly. He glanced up when he heard the inner office door open. Miller came out of his office. His shoulders were stooped and he looked as if he hadn't slept in days. He was perspiring heavily in spite of the heavy air conditioning.
"I'm sorry for the hassle, Detective Murchinson." Miller said with a plastic smile
"Hutchinson." Hutch corrected him in a resigned voice.
"I'm sorry. We're in the middle of big deal and things are a bit crazy around here. Discouraging uninvited visitors. Why don't we step into my office?"
Hutch followed the other man into his cluttered office. He sat in front of Miller's desk while the other man took the chair on the opposite side.
"How can I help you, Detective?"
"I'm investing several cases of assault, threats and as of this morning a bombing and a fire." Hutch told him
"And you think that I'm involved?" Miller said with another plastic smile.
"It seems that all of this is going on in an area that your company is handling for the government…the site for the potential new medical center."
"Oh?" Miller said in a startled voice. "Well, it's a rough neighborhood down there. That was the rationale for behind choosing that for the proposed site for the medical center. Give them some civic pride in themselves and in their neighborhood. You know what I mean?"
"I think so." Hutch said wryly.
"You say all these problems are in that area? I though everyone had left?"
"There are still a few holdouts and someone has been leaning on them pretty hard. There was a bombing this morning. A woman was killed and her husband is missing."
Hutch watch Miller's reactions carefully. The man paled noticeably. This was apparently news to him.
"That's too bad." Miller said cautiously "But, I'm afraid I don't understand what any of this has to do with me."
"They were threatened into selling…if they wanted to or not." Hutch said. He paused to let his words sink in. "I want to know how you acquired that land."
"I…uh…hired a sub-agent to go around and feel the owners out about selling." Miller said nervously. "I delegated authority to him. He got it. I didn't ask how he did it. I haven't heard of any trouble until now."
"My partner and I interrupted one of the assaults and my partner was badly injured as a result." Hutch said grimly. "Supposing you're telling the truth and you don't know what's going on…let's talk to your sub-agent and see what he has to say."
"Of course. I'll have my secretary get you the address."
Hutch reached out and grabbed Miller's hand as he reached for the phone. In a cold voice, he said, "We BOTH know who it is. Sam Kaufman, right?"
"Uh…yes…" Miller admitted in a guilty voice as he eyed Hutch nervously.
"I don't know how much your covering, Miller, but I intend to find out." Hutch said as he gracefully rose to his feet. He smiled but the gesture never reached his eyes. "I'd advise you to call your attorney."
On that note, Hutch turned and left the office leaving a shaking Miller behind.
