Chapter Six

John Martin stalked anxiously around a small ante room decorated with several impressive Chinese sculptures. Normally a devotee of Asian art, he was unable to appreciate the exquisite pieces surrounding him. He turned as the ornate doors, flanked by bodyguards, slowly opened. Martin's contact, the man known to him as Danny Lee, appeared and walked toward him.

"Mr. Martin," he began, "my employer will see you now. Follow me please."

Martin followed slowly and sensed the two bodyguards fall in behind him. He paused a few feet away from a large desk. Standing behind the desk, with his back to Martin, was a middle aged Chinese man. He seemed to radiate power, and Martin was slightly awed. The man spoke with a commanding and slightly accented voice. He still faced away.

"Mr. Martin, the death of your security man following so closely upon the death of Ms. Jensen is of grave concern to me. Yes, yes grave concern." he turned and sat in his chair. He gestured for Martin to sit. His assistant, Danny Lee brought a cup of tea which he placed in front of his superior. The older man watched the steam rising from the tea, and a tense silence filled the room. It was as if he'd forgotten Martin. All at once John Martin realized the reason for the silence. He had to explain himself.

"Sir," Martin began hastily, "as I assured Mr. Lee, you have nothing to fear. There is no way the police can trace you to me. As far as O'Day's death, I really have no idea why he was killed. I'm confident I can persuade the police that O'Day's death is not connected to Linda's."

The man nodded, "Can you deal with the Lorenzos as well? They are police detectives, yes? Friends have informed me that they are very talented and are currently guests of a Sgt. Yoshi Yokahana, who I believe, is the investigating officer. "

Martin was stunned, not only by his client's knowledge of the Lorenzos, but also that they had not gone home and were living with Yokahana. They couldn't know anything, but why were they staying with Yokahana?

"The Lorenzos are very far from home and have no knowledge of what's going on. As far as Yokahana, he's a fool and can't even get out of his own way. I don't see them as a threat."

"I hope your assumption proves correct, but if it does not, I may be forced to take drastic action, and you do not want me to do that, Mr. Martin." He took a sip of his tea and stared at Martin, then nodded toward Danny Lee.

Chris sat alone on a park bench waiting for Rita to return. After discussing the information Chris' friends had uncovered about Martin, they knew they'd have to tell Yoshi. A woman's voice brought Chris out of his musings, and he was surprised to find Nancy Martin standing before him. "Nancy, what are you doing here?"

Nancy smiled and took a seat next to Chris. "Shopping. I saw you sitting here and decided to see how you were. You seemed sad." Nancy glanced around. "So where is your pretty wife?"

Chris frowned slightly, "She's buying something for friends. She should be back anytime. Nancy, I have a question for you. Did you know Pat O'Day?"

Nancy nodded, "Yes I knew him well, or I thought I did. I was shocked when I heard he was found murdered. First Linda and now Pat, it's scary." She lit a cigarette.

"So then you have no idea why he might have been killed? Was he having money problems?" Chris asked.

"Not that I know of, but I do remember hearing that he was having an affair with a married woman, perhaps her husband killed him. He was not staying in the best hotel after all. But you're the expert, you tell me," she smiled at Chris and placed a hand on his shoulder. Chris tensed, and Nancy removed her hand.

"You know, Chris. Can I call you Chris?" she asked and he nodded. "I always wanted to meet you. I can still remember my brother's stories about you. He always made you sound larger then life, but at the time you couldn't have been older than 18. I'm glad I've been able to get to know you. It's been a real pleasure. You're more colorful then I ever dreamed possible." Chris wasn't sure what to say.

"Chris?" he turned and saw Rita walking toward him and Nancy.

"Hi, Sam. Look who I ran into," Chris said standing up.

Rita smiled, "Hello, Nancy, it's nice to see you again."

"Likewise, Mrs. Lorenzo. I must be going. Goodbye, Chris. It was nice talking to you." She turned to walk away.

Rita asked, "Chris, what was—"

"I'm not sure, Sam. I'm really not sure." Chris told Rita about his strange encounter with Nancy.

Later that night, Chris and Rita told Yoshi everything they'd learned from the reporter and DEA agent. Yoshi was pleased with the information and thanked them for their help. He then outlined what he'd found at the O'Day crime scene.

Yoshi took out his notes and began, "O'Day was killed by a 9 mm Smith & Wesson. He was shot twice, and because nobody heard the shots, the shooter must have used a suppresser. He had sex shortly before he was killed. The manager of the hotel saw a young woman enter the hotel about an hour before O'Day was killed. He said she was young and attractive and wore a short blue dress and heels. She had long blonde hair and was around 5'3" and between 105 and 110 pounds. He didn't see her face. Weirdly he didn't see her leave either. We found no prints in the bedroom, but we did find a partial in the bathroom, we're running it now. We also found a cigarette with pink lipstick on it. It was a filtered Virginia Slims. We also found pink lipstick on the sheets. The body must have been cleaned because we found no lipstick on O'Day. We know she was in the room, we just can't be sure she killed O'Day. I think he was surprised, but he may have fallen asleep and someone came in after the woman left. He was naked when he was killed."

"So he had to trust the person. Was there any sign of forced entry?" Rita asked.

Yoshi shook his head, "No, but the lock could have been picked, I guess."

"You can't enter the hotel without the manger seeing you, right? Okay. Did he see anybody else suspicious come into the hotel that day?" Chris asked.

"No, which leaves us with the woman again. Rita is right, he'd have to trust the person who killed him. If he was going to meet somebody else, he would have gotten dressed. So, if he was a loose end, then his killer, the mystery woman, might have been the one to order Linda Jenson's death," Yoshi reasoned.

"Could he have been killed for revenge?" Mariko asked.

Rita shook her head, "I doubt it. How would she have known O'Day killed Linda? As far as we know, O'Day and Linda Jensen weren't involved, but if they were, then Martin might have killed them both. A crime of passion?"

"No, no we were right the first time. The mystery woman killed O'Day to insure his silence about Linda's death. I'm just not sure why she wanted Linda dead," Chris said.

"We don't have enough evidence yet. We need a lot more, but we're getting close," Yoshi said. "I think we should all get some sleep." The suggestion was a good one, and the couples said their good nights.

Chris glanced over at Rita sleeping peacefully next to him and wished he could follow her example. He couldn't shake the feeling that he'd missed something. There was something. But what? He felt Rita move next to him. "What's wrong, Chris?" She asked in a sleepy voice.

He turned toward her, "I can't sleep. I have this nagging feeling we're missing something. I can't explain it."

"It's okay, Sam. We'll figure it out tomorrow." Rita moved to him and said softly, "Make love to me, Chris. Make love to me." Chris smiled in the darkness and was satisfied to follow his wife's directions.