Part 11 – Trouble in Chinatown – Part 3

Back at the station, they briefed their boss on the situation at hand.

"He's in the clear," Sasuke said, "He was with an Attorney by the name of Andrew Walton all night planning their case against Mr. Trang."

"Did this Andrew Walton confirm this," Iruka asked.

"He was our next stop before coming back here," Shikamaru said, "Walton is straight as an arrow, and has a portfolio to match. He confirms Adam Marco was with him all night until just 7:00 this morning."

"In other words, we are completely lost we're firmly entrenched in square one until that safecracker gets here from the capital," Iruka said.

"Pretty much," Sasuke said.

"What about Ms. Wong," Iruka asked, "She did say that it was Adam that threw that laptop against the wall."

"She was all the way in the front," Sasuke said, "There's no way she could have known who had thrown the laptop."

"Didn't Adam say that Mr. Trang had a violent temper," Iruka asked, "If we can tie his abuse to one specific employee maybe we can find another suspect."

Flashback

The next stop was the top of the Empire State Building where Sasuke thought it prudent to bring his mother in on his plan.

The elevators in the Empire State Building are extremely fast, the numbers above the door go up in multiples of ten, and they go up ten floors at a time.

You'd think it'd take half an hour to reach the top, nope, it only takes a few minutes.

It certainly was worth it, up on top of that tower, looking out into what appears to be oblivion, the whole of New York passing underneath you is one of the most beautiful sights you can see on Manhattan Island.

"So that's your plan," Mikoto said, "To become a cop and find make Alexandria a safer place?"

"It's either that or work for dad," Sasuke said, "I want to help people, and looking out for the little guy is noble enough for me. Being a cop isn't my dream, but I'll be helping people, I'll be helping my own town, and I'll be around friends."

"You know I'll support you in whatever you do," Mikoto said as she grabbed Sasuke's arm.

"Thanks, mom," Sasuke said as he gave Mikoto a small kiss on the top of her head.

End Flashback

"How do you want to handle this," Shikamaru asked.

"We want her to know that we think Adam is innocent," Sasuke said, "If we talk to her about Mr. Trang's temper, then maybe we can get a name of our new suspect out of her."

"You think we'll be able to get something out of her," Shikamaru asked.

"I don't know if we'll be able to get a name out of her," Sasuke said, "But I do know that we might be able to get something. The tiniest thing might be significant enough to give us a small clue."

The front window was still smashed, but the staff had cleaned it up, and there was no sign of blood on the ground.

The restaurant staff was still sitting around despite the fact it had been a little over seven hours since they had found their boss dead.

"Detectives," the Head Chef said as he saw them enter, "I'm afraid we're still closed."

"We're not here for dinner," Sasuke said, "Although, it would be nice. Is Ms. Wong still here?"

"She's in the private party room in the back," the Head Chef said as he pointed over his shoulder.

"Thanks," Sasuke said.

Sasuke and Shikamaru walked into the back where Ms. Wong was sitting with a face that Sasuke knew well.

It was Minato Uzumaki (when he and Kushina got married, Minato took Kushina's surname), the biggest personal injury lawyer in Alexandria, Naruto's father, and his father's corporate lawyer.

"Sasuke," Minato said as he looked up to see him entering, removing the thin-rimmed reading glasses he wore in his office, "What are you doing here?"

"This is my case," Sasuke said as he pushed his coat aside to show off his shield.

"I heard you made detective," Minato said as he stood up to shake Sasuke's hand, "I didn't know this was your case."

"And I'm afraid this fact is the reason that it's going to require me to steal your client away for a few minutes," Sasuke said, "Can you give us a few minutes?"

"Of course," Minato said as he stood up, picking up the insurance papers he had on Mr. Trang, "I have to go over these papers for a few minutes anyway."

Sasuke and Shikamaru sat down in front of Ms. Wong who looked at the two of them, "So, have you two found Adam," she asked.

"Yes, we did," Sasuke said.

"And," Ms. Wong asked.

"We don't think he did it," Shikamaru said, "He has an alibi."

"But what about that argument they had in the back office a few days ago," Ms. Wong asked.

"We believe it was Mr. Trang that started the confrontation," Sasuke said, "Adam let us know that Mr. Trang had a temper. We believe that it was him, not Adam that threw his computer against the wall."

"Are you calling me a liar," Ms. Wong asked.

"We're not making any accusations," Shikamaru said, "You were all the way in the front of house, there was no way for you to have known what was happening. But we do think that you might have known more about Mr. Trang's temper."

Ms. Wong's face changed to an expression of 'I've been found out', "Mr. Trang's temper knew almost no limits," she said, "He was rude, short-fused, and verbally abusive at times."

"Verbally abusive," Sasuke asked, "How?"

"Most of the staff didn't want to talk to him," Ms. Wong said, "He would go toe-to-toe with anyone. He actually had a fist-fight in the dining room with a customer who stood up for his girlfriend who was a server at the time."

"I take it he didn't win the fight," Sasuke asked.

"No," Ms. Wong said, "He would often reduce the staff to tears, telling them they're pin-heads, bimbos, dumb-asses, and every other nasty thing in the book."

"I take it he went through a lot of staff then if he was that bad," Sasuke asked.

"I know we went through twelve line cooks in the years we were open," Ms. Wong said, "At least forty waitresses."

"How many people has he fired vs. how many have quit," Sasuke asked.

"Out of the forty we've had, about twenty-nine have quit, the rest were fired," Ms. Wong said, "A few of them actually took getting fired well."

Shikamaru then received a call on his phone, "It's Tsunade," he said, "I'll take this," he then stepped outside

"Has there been a particular employee that he was overly abusive too," Sasuke asked.

"Pick a number," Ms. Wong said, "A former waiter that punched him because of his abuse, a former waitress that threw water on him for calling her a bitch, and the food-service guy who gave him a black eye because he accused him very harshly of price boosting."

"Could you give us a few names," Sasuke asked.

"I have a list on my computer up front," Ms. Wong said, "I can get it for you."

"Thank you, Ms. Wong," Sasuke said, "In the meantime, can you send Minato back in?"

"Of course," Ms. Wong said.

As soon as Ms. Wong left, and Minato entered, Minato instantly started talking, "Hello there, detective," he said, "How can I help you?"

"Take a seat," Sasuke said as he ushered toward the opposite seat, as Minato sat down, Sasuke leaned over the table, "I need your opinion on the situation," he whispered, "If you have an opinion about Ms. Wong?"

"She defiantly seems like the kind of woman that is passionate about her job," Minato said, "But I can't see her shooting a man to death for being abusive."

Shikamaru walked in to interrupt the conversation, "That was Tsunade," he said, "She says she has something that we absolutely have to see."

"Then what are we waiting for, then," Sasuke asked as he stood up before looking back at Minato, "Keep an ear to the ground, if she says anything that seems suspicious, then don't hesitate to call me."

"You got it," Minato said, "I have another few hours with her so I'll talk to her."

As Sasuke and Shikamaru walked out of the restaurant, Shikamaru broke the silence, "Ms. Wong was pretty quick to get defensive," he said.

"She's hiding something," Sasuke said, "The entire atmosphere of the place changed."

"I think that'll happen when somebody's been murdered in a place," Shikamaru said.

"Touché," Sasuke said.

The coroner's office

"You missed me that much that you had to call us here while on the job," Shikamaru asked as they entered the autopsy room.

"The day I miss you Shikamaru," Tsunade said as she moved closer to Sasuke, and grabbed his arm, "Is the day this handsome devil withdrawals from the force."

Sasuke chuckled and shrugged, "What can I say," he asked, "The girls love me."

"And so does crime," Tsunade said as she let go of his arm, and pointed at the body lying on the table, "In the case of this poor man, rather violent crime. Shooting a man eleven times is bad enough," she then picked up a rather large Petri dishes that was full of copper splinters, "But this takes the cake."

"What," Shikamaru asked.

"R.I.P. rounds," Sasuke said, "Whoever shot him used controlled fracturing rounds for maximum wounding effect."

Controlled fracturing rounds are bullets that are designed to break up in the body, mostly designed for self-defense they are sold on the civilian market but are illegal to use in warfare, and probably useless being as Kevlar might be able to stop them dead.

"Yep," Tsunade said as she pointed at the two shots that were high on Mr. Trang's chest, "I found two shots were the first which tore holes in his aorta and heart which would be lethal enough," she then moved to the middle of the chest, "The five down here went clean through his lungs, effectively turning them into corkboards."

"I take it the two shots in the head were equally as vicious," Shikamaru asked.

"That was putting it lightly," Tsunade said as she grabbed Mr. Trang's head, and turned his head onto the side to show the exit wounds, "He was wearing a hairnet which kept it all inside, but as soon as I took it off, everything inside his head just flopped out onto the table. What was apparent was how absolutely shredded the brain was."

"Our killer didn't want him to survive," Sasuke said, "Whoever did this hated Mr. Trang deeply."

"Yep," Shikamaru said as he checked his phone, "From Iruka, his safe-cracker is back at the office."

"Alright," Sasuke said as he put his hand on Tsunade's shoulder, "I'll try not to keep you missing me for too long."

"Please don't," Tsunade said, placing a hand over her heart, "I don't know if I can go any further without seeing that face."

Sasuke chuckled as he and Shikamaru walked out of the building, and out to Shikamaru's truck, "You two seem to be very friendly," he said, "You two started seeing each other behind Sakura's back."

"Nope," Sasuke said as they climbed into the truck, "But we have been talking a little bit after work. I actually introduced her to Sakura and the two have become almost like a mentor and an apprentice."

"That's interesting," Shikamaru said as he started up his truck, and took off down the street.

The Alexandria Coroner's office and the Alexandria Police station are literally right down the street from each other (albeit it's a half-mile drive between the two), but it is rather convenient for police officers.

"It is," Sasuke said, "Sakura was only interested in her career when I first started a few years ago."

"Well, maybe you should have found things she liked doing," Shikamaru said, "Then you'd two might have gotten together a lot sooner."

As they pulled up outside and got out, Sasuke spoke up, "Maybe," he said, "Maybe."

As they entered the station, Iruka was waiting for them in the office and directed them into the evidence locker where the safecracker was hard at work.

"Sasuke, Shikamaru," Iruka said, "This is Tazuna Bernson, best safecracker this side of the Mississippi."

"Gentlemen," Tazuna said as he was busy with his drill, being as there is no way to determine what the combination is without bringing Mr. Trang back to life, which was impossible, he had to drill a hole through the area above the dial and look into it with a special camera.

As soon as he was done with the drill, he pulled out his special camera and took a good look inside of the combination dial.

"How long do you think he's going to take," Shikamaru asked.

Within a few seconds, there was a click, and the door swung open, "Done," Tazuna said.

As he opened the door, it revealed a treasure-trove of unusual things for a restaurant owner to have.

"That is most defiantly a .410 revolver," Shikamaru said as he pulled a S&W governor out of the safe, and opened the chambers, "Loaded and ready."

"If he had this on him we'd be picking our killer off of the floor," Iruka said as he took the revolver after Shikamaru handed it to him, and removed the shells from the revolver, "Why would a restaurant owner have this?"

"He was protecting something," Shikamaru said as he reached inside, and there was a small file containing green certificates, "What are these?"

"U.S. Treasury Certificates," Sasuke said as he took the one in Shikamaru's hand, "Written by the federal reserve in Los Angeles back in 1998."

"How much are they worth," Shikamaru asked.

Sasuke looked at the amount on the certificates, "Back in 1998 about 1.5 million," he said.

"And now," Iruka asked.

"About 2.2 million," Sasuke said as he handed it back to Shikamaru said.

"So he had about 2.2. million sitting here in his safe," Iruka said as Sasuke pulled out another envelope, and opened it to reveal something shocking, "Then why'd the check bounce when he tried to pay back Mr. Marco?"

"Because he probably got it illegally," Sasuke said as he pulled out two pictures from the envelope showing two young mixed Caucasian-Asian girls about four to six years old holding up cardboard signs that both had $750,000 written on them in a thick permanent marker, "Look at the time stamp on these photos."

"03/12/1998," Iruka said, "That coincides with the certificates. What would an honest man like Mr. Trang want with something like this?"

"Because he was hiding something," Sasuke said as he pulled another item out of the bag: F.B.I. poster from 1998 with Mr. Trang's picture on it, but the name on the poster read, 'Marcus Wong', "Our 'local business owner'," Sasuke turned the poster around to show them, "Was apparently a fugitive."

I know it's unbelievable, but I promise and swear it's true