Higher Law Box Set, Volume 2: Novels 5-7 by Sheldon Siegel

Author:Sheldon Siegel [Siegel, Sheldon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Bundle, Fiction, Legal, Retail, Thriller
Publisher: Sheldon M. Siegel, Inc.
Published: 2014-09-13T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 26

“SHE WAS SCARED”

Tuesday, July 14. 9:30 a.m. 4 days, 14 hours, and 31 minutes until execution.

It doesn’t take long for Pete to track down Jasmine Luk’s aunt. Sunshine Printing is a high-tech operation housed in a forties-era building on Webster Street in Oakland’s Chinatown. It publishes Chinese-language phone directories, menus, and coupons for the local businesses. A dozen employees are manning state-of-the-art computers and noisy, industrial-strength printers. The smell of photocopier ink hangs in the cold, dry air.

The petite woman with the short gray hair eyes me suspiciously from behind the counter. She strikes me as the sort who hasn’t missed a day of work or taken a vacation in forty years. She’s wearing a tidy blue house dress. Her reading glasses hang from a simple gold chain. I’d guess she’s in her sixties, from the depth of the crow’s-feet at the corners of her eyes.

“How may I help you?” she shouts over the sound of the machines.

I extend a hand. “My name is Mike Daley. This is my brother, Pete. We’re looking for the owner.”

“I’m Amanda Wong.”

I look around. “How long have you been in business?”

Her voice fills with pride. “My family started this business seventy-five years ago.”

Oakland’s crowded Chinatown is a modest step cousin to its more famous counterpart across the bay. The working-class community is a combination of mom-and-pop businesses, restaurants, low-rise tenements, and modern apartment buildings, all within a few blocks of the 880 Freeway. Except for the computers and a fresh coat of bright blue paint, Sunshine Printing probably hasn’t changed much since World War II. It fends off competition from larger, national operations by focusing on the needs of the Chinese-speaking community.

“What can I do for you gentlemen?” she asks in perfect English. She was giving instructions to her staff in Chinese when we walked in.

“We’d like to ask you a few questions.”

A burly young man appears from behind a row of printers. He surveys the situation and responds with protectiveness. “Is there a problem, Mother?”

She touches his arm. “Let me handle this, George.”

The dutiful son takes the hint and returns to the printers. The fact that she spoke to him in English suggests she has nothing to hide. In all likelihood, it also means she has nothing useful to tell us.

I spot a collection jar packed with bills on the counter. A handwritten note in English and Chinese says that an effort is under way to raise money for medical treatment for the girl whose photo is taped to the jar. I pull a twenty from my wallet and stuff it inside. It’s a good faith gesture of concern and an attempt to curry favor.

I get the grateful nod from Amanda that I was hoping for. She reminds me of Sylvia. “That’s very kind of you. Now, what can I do for you?”

“We represent Nathan Fineman.”

“I recognized you. I saw you on TV last night.”

So much for the element of surprise. “We were hoping you might be able to help us locate a woman named Jasmine Luk.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.