Page 36 of Flash and Bang
“Yes. That’s right. Is it clear now?” Chang’s speech was clipped and Thayne could tell she was not at all pleased. He stood up and Jarrett followed.
“Yes, much clearer. Thank you for your time, Investigator Chang,” he said.
“Of course. I hope you two agents realize that I made a judgement call here. I really didn’t think there was anything suspicious about the explosion. The LAPD issued the woman a citation and I doubt she’ll be welcomed back to the parade next year.”
Thayne’s blood was boiling. People had ended up in the hospital as a result of the fireworks explosion… if it really was only a mishap. He looked over at Jarrett who was glaring at the woman and realized his partner was thinking something along the same lines. “Thank you for your time, Investigator Chang. If you would consult your notes and get back tous with her name, that would be great.”
“Of course.”
He and Jarrett shook her proffered hand before exiting the house. Jarrett was vibrating hard beside him as they walked down the steps in front of the house to their car. As soon as they were in the car, Jarrett turned toward Thayne.
“Somethin’s fishy as hell with her. She was lyin’,” Jarrett drawled.
Thayne nodded. “Agreed. I read that police report and I don’t remember reading anything about the officer issuing a citation.”
“Something was totally off with that woman, Wolfe. Obviously, she left off the name of who she interviewed, glossed over the whole incident, and why the hell does she have a Buddha in her house if she’s wearin’ a cross around her neck?”
“I noticed that too. Maybe the Buddha is just symbolic of her Asian culture?” Thayne started the car and pulled away from the curb.
Jarrett shook his head. “I suppose that’s possible but I got other questions. I know I’m from West Virginia and I may sound like a hick, but did you even hear an accent on her?”
“No. She sounds like she was born here,”Thayne frowned.
“Yeah, she does for the most part, but something about the way she pauses between words makes me think English ain’t her mother tongue. She also should know the difference between he and she. Unless she’s translating it in her head from Chinese to English, and then I could see her makin’ that mistake. Otherwise, she was lying.”
“Why, though?” Thayne asked.
“Spy comes to mind.” Jarrett frowned.
Thayne was speechless for a second. That was a leap if there ever was one. If Chang was a Chinese national, she couldn’t obtain the security clearance needed to work at the ATF. He shook his head. “I don’t know, Jarrett. It’s probably just that she was raised by Chinese native speakers and she thinks in Chinese.”
“I have no fuckin’ idea what it is. I just know that somethin’ about the woman is off. We need to check her out and find out why she left the name of the woman she interviewed off the report. I mean, fuck, I hate paperwork more than anyone and even I know, ya need to list the witness’s name on a report if you’re gonna put it down on paper. And it’s a good point about the citation, though why she’d lie about something so easy to check is beyond me. Gotta checkthat out too.” Now it was Jarrett’s turn to shake his head. “I have a niggling suspicion about this one, Thayne. It seems strange.”
“I feel really strange to be investigating one of our own.”
Jarrett reached for Thayne’s hand as he drove. “Let’s just wait and see before I start making accusations. I may be totally off base. Where are we headed?”
“I thought we should go talk to Ari Deukmejian, the LAPD officer who filed the report about the incident in Chinatown. I want to know why he didn’t interview anyone connected with the explosion. If he issued a citation, he should have noted it. In addition, at least a hundred people must have been on the street. Yet the only two witnesses he interviewed about what happened were the parents of the kids admitted to the emergency room. I also think we should check out the site in Chinatown where the lantern fireworks exploded. It’s been months since the parade but I still want to get a feel for where it happened.”
Jarrett squeezed his hand and smirked at him. “Okay, partner. You’re drivin’. I’m at your mercy.”
Thayne smiled back, pointing the car toward downtown to talk to the LAPD.
****
Ari Deukmejian worked out of the LAPD’s Chinatown substation in downtown LA. It took them only about twenty minutes to get there. They’d called ahead to make sure the officer was there to meet them when they arrived, and he greeted them with a smile and a handshake, introducing them to his partner, Chin Wu. The officers ushered them into the conference room. Deukmejian held a file folder in his hands.
“Here’s my report. I know you said you wanted to look at some pictures from the scene of the accident.”
Jarrett lifted an eyebrow as Thayne took the file from the officer, sitting down and flipping it open as the others took seats at the large table. “Are you sure that’s all this was?” Jarrett asked. “An accident?”
Deukmejian frowned and nodded. “Yes. We had the ATF out there right after the explosion and your investigator concluded there was nothing to indicate anything different. Is there a reason it’s coming into question now? It’s been nearly six months.” The officer frowned.
“We can’t be sure,” Thayne said, pagingthrough the photographs of the scene.
Deukmejian leaned forward a little. “What’s this all about?”
“We’re followin’ up at this point because there was a fireworks explosion down in San Diego at a fireworks show. One man died and several people were seriously injured,” Jarrett added.