man kept the steady eyes on me, then mumbled something in Japanese and the other two old men stood up. No one said
I’ll be seeing you
or
Nice to have met you
or
See you again some time
. Bradley walked the Tashiros to the door, but I don’t think they looked at him. Then they were gone.
When Bradley came back, he said, “I didn’t appreciate all the smart talk in front of the Tashiros. They’re nervous as hell and breathing down my neck. You’d be a lot farther along without the wit.”
“Yeah, but along to where?”
His jaw knotted but he didn’t say anything. He strode over to the glass wall and looked out. Holmby Hills was due north. With a good pair of field glasses he could probably see his house. “Now,” he said. “My wife is frightened because of this threat she received. Do you think there’s any merit to it?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “It’s not professional. You steal something, you’re looking at ten years. You kill someone, you’re looking at life. Besides that, the cops are already in and these guys know it. If they’re hanging around, that means they want something else. What else do you have that they would want?”
“Nothing.” Offended.
“Has there been any communication between you and them that I have not heard about?”
“Of course not.” Pissed.
“Then I’d treat it seriously until we know more.”
Bradley went back to his desk and began to flip through papers as if he couldn’t wait to get back to work. Maybe he couldn’t. “In that case, we should expand your services. I want you to oversee the security of my family.”
“You’ve got Titan.”
Jillian Becker said, “Sheila was not comfortable with Titan. They’ve been let go.”
I spread my hands. “All right. I can put someone in your house.”
Bradley Warren nodded. “Good. Just be sure that the Hagakure investigation continues to proceed.” First things first.
“Of course.”
“And the Man of the Month banquet is tomorrow,” he said. “We can’t forget that.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t go.”
The frown came back and he shook his head. “Out of the question. The Tashiros will be there.” He tamped some papers together and fingered their edges and looked thoughtful. “Mr. Tashiro liked you. That’s good. That’s very, very good.” You could see the business wheels turning.
I said, “Bradley.”
The frown.
“If someone is genuinely committed to killing you or your family, there isn’t much we can do to stop them.”
The skin beneath his left eye began to tic, just like it had in my office.
“You understand that, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
His phone buzzed and he picked it up. He listened for a few seconds, still staring at me, then broke into a Cheshire cat smile and asked someone on the other end of the line how the Graintech takeover had gone. He glanced at Jillian Becker and made a dismissal gesture with his free hand. Jillian stood up and showed me to the door. Bradley laughed very loud at something and put his feet up and said he’d like to get some of those profits into a new hotel he was building on Maui.
When we got to the door, Bradley cupped a hand over the receiver’s mouthpiece, leaned out of his chair, and called, “Cole. Keep me posted, will you?”
I said sure.
Bradley Warren uncupped the receiver, laughed like he’d just heard the best joke he’d heard all year, then swiveled back toward the big glass wall.
I left.
With the security of his family now in my trusted hands, apparently it was safe to resume business.
8
Twenty minutes after Bradley and Jillian resumed business, I drove down to a flat, gray building on Venice Boulevard in Culver City, and parked beside a red Jeep Cherokee with a finish like polished glass. It’s industrial down there, so all the buildings are flat and gray, but most of them don’t have the Cherokee or an electronically locked steel door or a sign that says BARTON’S PISTOL RANGE . I had to ring a bell and
I’ll be seeing you
or
Nice to have met you
or
See you again some time
. Bradley walked the Tashiros to the door, but I don’t think they looked at him. Then they were gone.
When Bradley came back, he said, “I didn’t appreciate all the smart talk in front of the Tashiros. They’re nervous as hell and breathing down my neck. You’d be a lot farther along without the wit.”
“Yeah, but along to where?”
His jaw knotted but he didn’t say anything. He strode over to the glass wall and looked out. Holmby Hills was due north. With a good pair of field glasses he could probably see his house. “Now,” he said. “My wife is frightened because of this threat she received. Do you think there’s any merit to it?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “It’s not professional. You steal something, you’re looking at ten years. You kill someone, you’re looking at life. Besides that, the cops are already in and these guys know it. If they’re hanging around, that means they want something else. What else do you have that they would want?”
“Nothing.” Offended.
“Has there been any communication between you and them that I have not heard about?”
“Of course not.” Pissed.
“Then I’d treat it seriously until we know more.”
Bradley went back to his desk and began to flip through papers as if he couldn’t wait to get back to work. Maybe he couldn’t. “In that case, we should expand your services. I want you to oversee the security of my family.”
“You’ve got Titan.”
Jillian Becker said, “Sheila was not comfortable with Titan. They’ve been let go.”
I spread my hands. “All right. I can put someone in your house.”
Bradley Warren nodded. “Good. Just be sure that the Hagakure investigation continues to proceed.” First things first.
“Of course.”
“And the Man of the Month banquet is tomorrow,” he said. “We can’t forget that.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t go.”
The frown came back and he shook his head. “Out of the question. The Tashiros will be there.” He tamped some papers together and fingered their edges and looked thoughtful. “Mr. Tashiro liked you. That’s good. That’s very, very good.” You could see the business wheels turning.
I said, “Bradley.”
The frown.
“If someone is genuinely committed to killing you or your family, there isn’t much we can do to stop them.”
The skin beneath his left eye began to tic, just like it had in my office.
“You understand that, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
His phone buzzed and he picked it up. He listened for a few seconds, still staring at me, then broke into a Cheshire cat smile and asked someone on the other end of the line how the Graintech takeover had gone. He glanced at Jillian Becker and made a dismissal gesture with his free hand. Jillian stood up and showed me to the door. Bradley laughed very loud at something and put his feet up and said he’d like to get some of those profits into a new hotel he was building on Maui.
When we got to the door, Bradley cupped a hand over the receiver’s mouthpiece, leaned out of his chair, and called, “Cole. Keep me posted, will you?”
I said sure.
Bradley Warren uncupped the receiver, laughed like he’d just heard the best joke he’d heard all year, then swiveled back toward the big glass wall.
I left.
With the security of his family now in my trusted hands, apparently it was safe to resume business.
8
Twenty minutes after Bradley and Jillian resumed business, I drove down to a flat, gray building on Venice Boulevard in Culver City, and parked beside a red Jeep Cherokee with a finish like polished glass. It’s industrial down there, so all the buildings are flat and gray, but most of them don’t have the Cherokee or an electronically locked steel door or a sign that says BARTON’S PISTOL RANGE . I had to ring a bell and
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