T. Parker - Little Saigon

Frye looked up at the fierce face. Loc’s flat-top seemed a foot and a half high. A cloud of smoke lowered into his eyes. Frye could feel his stitches yawning. He realized now that if he played his cards just right, Loc would kill him. “I was looking for Li Frye. I went to Stanley and found Eddie, too.”

Loc cinched up on Frye’s hair. “What do you care about Li Frye?”

“She’s my sister-in-law.”

Loc stared down at him, cigarette dangling. He released Frye’s hair and stepped back. “You are Bennett Frye’s brother?”

Frye nodded.

“What’s this shit about a box I have?”

Frye looked at Loc, wondering if this boy would give an inch. “Some friends saw you go into my house, Loc. Nice job — you creamed it pretty good. I don’t care about the house. I need the box back. It means a lot more to me than it does to you. Name your price.”

“What’s in it?”

“Shit, Loc, you don’t even know?”

“It was just a job, man.”

“For Lawrence?”

Loc studied him. “That’s right.”

“Did you already give it to him?”

Loc nodded.

Frye groaned. That video tape keeps getting farther away, he thought.

“What was in it, Frye?”

“It was personal. It doesn’t mean anything to anybody, except me. And whoever in hell Lawrence is.” Frye looked out to the darkened park. An older couple walked a tiny dog down the sidewalk. “Nice job with the Christmas lights, Loc. A very festive approach to residential burglary.”

“Christmas lights were the first thing about this country I liked. You’re really Li Frye’s brother-in-law?”

“Really.” Frye watched Loc pocket the big weapon, then light another cigarette.

“Man, I wouldn’t have ruined your house, if I knew that. I love Li Frye.”

“Me too.”

“Ever heard ‘Lost Mothers?’”

“Of course I have.”

“That’s my favorite.”

“I’m glad you’re such a fan, Loc. It’s really doing me a lot of good.”

Loc sat down on the bench. He called something toward the trees and his three friends materialized from the darkness. Frye turned to watch them approach.

“I believe you, Frye. Now what do you know about Duc?”

“I told you already. Nothing. The deal was that Lawrence would locate your brother, if you got that box for him?”

Loc nodded. “Duc disappeared Sunday afternoon. He and another Dark Man went out. They missed a party I had on Sunday night. They did not come home. They missed work on Monday... and lunch. He never misses lunch. He is like a dog. If I don’t find him soon, he will do something. He can be talked into anything. He’s a fool.”

“When did Lawrence talk to you?”

“Yesterday afternoon. He came to the restaurant. He said that it was Ground Zero that took Li Frye, and my brother and my friend, too. He said Eddie Vo would kill them, but he could prevent that. But he wanted something in return. Something that would save Duc’s life. It was easy to get. And Lawrence promised that Duc would be free soon.”

“That’s a pretty thin proposition, Loc.”

“Lawrence wasn’t asking much, in return for what he promised. I knew right away that he was dangerous. What choice did I have?”

“You could have gone to Minh.”

“I don’t trust Minh. Then Duc would die and Li would be gone and it would be my fault. Li helped bring Duc over from the camps.”

Frye watched Loc toss his cigarette. The boy seemed to diminish into his big black coat. What Frye saw now was a scared, skinny kid — a hundred and thirty pounds of anxiety under a wild haircut. “How did you get the box to Lawrence?”

Loc eyed him sullenly. “No.”

“Where is he? I need that thing real bad.”

“Lawrence said that Duc would die if I talked.”

“When was he supposed to get Duc free from Eddie?”

Loc sighed and looked down. “This morning.”

“Then you got screwed, Loc.”

Frye stood up. Loc’s friends sprang back, hands moving inside their jackets. Loc snapped something at them and they edged away.

“Loc, you know Eddie. If he even has Duc and Li, where would he keep them?”

Loc shook his head. “I’ve looked everywhere I know. Twice. Now Eddie has vanished, too.”

“Do you really think Eddie arranged the kidnapping? Do you think he could have done it?”

“Eddie is crazy enough to do anything. Minh would have him now, if not for you.”

If not for me, Frye thought. “If we can find Lawrence, maybe he can lead us to Duc. And Li.”

“He’d kill you. I could see it in his eyes.”

“What’s he look like?”

“Tall as you, but stronger. Dark hair and mustache. Very handsome, like a movie star without the smile.”

“Where can I find him, Loc?”

“I don’t know.”

Frye sat back down. “Okay, you won’t go to Minh because you don’t trust him. What are you going to do?”

“I was going to ask General Dien. He is the most powerful man in Little Saigon.”

“And?”

“He is... not to be trusted.”

“And what’s happening to Duc while you wait? Or to Li Frye?”

Loc stood glowering above him. “You insult me.”

“I’m trying to get my box back, for chrissakes. If I can find Lawrence, I can get it. Maybe he doesn’t know squat about your brother and Li, but maybe he does. It’s worth a try, isn’t it? He used you, Loc. Use him back.”

The look in Loc’s eyes was half terror and half hope. He looked at his friends, then back to Frye. “You will help me find my brother.”

“I need Lawrence.”

“I put the box in a brown grocery bag, as he told me. I brought it to the restroom here and left it. I got in my car and drove away. But I drove to another place and watched with binoculars. A few minutes later, a limousine arrived. It was General Dien’s. I am sure of it. Then a man went to the bathroom. When he left I went in and the bag was gone.”

“Did you see the general?”

“No.”

“What time?”

“I delivered the box yesterday night. A few hours after I broke into your house.”

“Did Lawrence put you up to burning out Ground Zero Records, too?”

“No, That was my own idea. Frye, I would not have disturbed your house if I knew it belonged to Li’s relative.”

“Where can I get a hold of you?”

“Call the restaurant. They will know.”

They took the same path back to Loc’s station wagon. The other Dark Men vanished into the trees. Loc dropped off Frye a block from Pho Dinh.

Frye leaned into the window. “Was Duc wearing a pair of red tennis shoes on Sunday?”

Loc nodded. “I bought them for him. Who cares?”

“One of the kidnappers wore the same thing.”

Loc glared up at Frye. “Duc is a fool, but he wouldn’t hurt Li.”

“Where was he going when he disappeared on Sunday?”

“To see the Dream Reader.”

“About what?”

Loc shrugged and lit a cigarette.

So, Frye thought, someone else went near the Dream Reader and never came back.

Like Li and her two escorts.

Like Eddie.

Like how?

Michelsen and Toibin were sitting in a car outside Bennett’s house when Frye drove up. Crawley was in the living room, sitting by the telephone. “He’s at the office, Chuck. Be home in an hour. You can wait here until he’s back.”

“This can’t wait.”

Frye was scrutinized by the FBI men as he went back to his car and started it up.

The commercial division of the Frye Ranch Company had been moved to Westminster at Bennett’s insistence, to the displeasure of Edison. The suites were on Bolsa, in the Cal-Asia Building, a block from the heart of Little Saigon. Frye parked, looking at the huge glass facade. A fountain gurgled in front of the main entrance, surrounded by pine trees carefully pruned to offer an oriental bonsai effect. He could see the shops and restaurants through the glass walls. Bennett’s van was in the space reserved for it.