Chapter Fifteen #3
“Yes,” Lennox said, “but I wanted to update you on a few things. We had to cut Ricky Nicchi loose last night. There wasn’t enough physical evidence to hold him for the shooting in front of Ella Sherman’s house.
Not yet, anyway. He had an alibi that checked out.
He was at his office where he was seen by two people.
Even though I think those people are lying, we don’t have evidence to the contrary right now.
We had LAPD search his house for the M40 and they couldn’t find it, or any ammo.
I put in a request for the lab to try to find a DNA sample in those size thirteen shoes so we can at least place him in Mary Sherman’s house at some point. ”
“Do we know where Ricky is?” Kit asked.
“No. I put a pair of uniforms on him, but he gave them the slip.”
Kit scowled. “We need to find him. He’s the only one standing who can ID that third man in the photo Leo Sherman took.”
“I figured he’d go home to LA,” Lennox said, “to see Ito if nothing else.”
“I hope so,” Kit said. “You said you had a few things to update. What else?”
“I went to see the Sherman twins last night.”
Kit’s scowl deepened. “I should have done that.”
“Navarro wouldn’t have told you where they were,” Lennox said pragmatically.
Kit winced. “True enough. What did you tell them?”
“That we had a lead on their mother’s killer, that their mother was Akiko’s aunt, and that Ito was Akiko’s grandfather, meaning he’s theirs, too.
They’ve attended his San Diego dojo from the time they were ten years old.
He was never their direct sensei, but they knew him.
They knew that he came in and watched the classes. ”
“I bet that was a shock,” Sam said. “Finding out who Ito was to them.”
“Oh yeah. Why would Ito do that? Kit, you know him, right? Why would he keep that kind of a secret?”
Kit sighed. “He said it was because Akiko would be in danger. And then he slid back into unconsciousness. I don’t know him well, so I don’t know what kind of man he is. I wasn’t the best candidate for martial arts.”
“I wasn’t, either,” Lennox said. “I tried, but I always made some smartass remark that got me in trouble. The sensei told me that maybe I should try kickboxing.”
Kit laughed. “That’s what Ito said to me!”
Sam smiled as the two women compared experiences. It was like watching a friendship bloom, and he wanted this for Kit. She was slowly coming into her own and he loved seeing it happen.
“Anyway,” Kit said when they’d stopped laughing, “Ito was never mean or rude or cruel. He was standoffish, though. Even to Akiko. He was never warm with her. He was simply her teacher. A trusted teacher, but still just a teacher. That’s why I was stunned when she said he’d made her his medical power of attorney. Now that makes a lot more sense.”
“It could be that that’s just his way,” Sam said. “But I’m interested in Ito’s relationship with Nicchi. Nicchi said Ito was his father when the medics came. Was that a flat-out lie, a symbolic representation, or do they have a legal relationship?”
“Nicchi also had Ito’s medical power of attorney,” Lennox said. “Kit, can you make a list of questions? Is Nicchi legally related to Ito? And if he is, is Paolo also?”
Kit noted the questions on her phone app. “I’d like to know whether the Sherman sisters know either of the Nicchi brothers.”
“They knew Paolo and they remembered Akiko. They didn’t remember her right away, but once they got to the safe house they looked through old photos on their phones and realized she’d been their sensei one summer.
Raisa remembered thinking that she looked like their mom, but they were fifteen at the time and were not focused on their karate teacher.
They’re mad that Ito kept them from each other. ”
“So did Mary,” Sam observed.
“Yeah.” Lennox sighed. “There was a lot of anger toward their mother, too. More subdued since they’re still deep in shock and grief, but they’re angry.
I told them that Mary had been meeting with Nicchi and Ito in LA.
I showed them the photo of the third man, but they didn’t recognize him.
Although you can only see a sliver of his face. What you mostly see is his glasses.”
“What about Danny Takahashi?” Kit asked. “Did Dahlia recognize him as her stalker when you showed her his photo?”
“She said he looked like the stalker, but she never saw the guy’s face.
They both recognized Danny from their dojo, however.
He joined back in August. Dahlia was asked to mentor him since he was new.
Knowing that he might have been stalking her after she’d spent time trying to get him settled upset her.
They were both even more upset when they realized that he killed their mother, as you’d expect.
I never said that he was Mary’s killer, but they figured it out and they were angry.
Demanded to know why we haven’t arrested him.
I told them we were looking for him so that we could do exactly that.
I did not tell them that Danny was Akiko’s half brother or that Nicchi was the second shooter that day in front of their aunt Ella’s house.
That wasn’t information I was authorized to share with the victim’s family. ”
“Are you authorized to share it with Akiko?” Sam asked.
“Navarro says yes,” Lennox said. “I figure you already told her that Nicchi was one of the shooters, but I am authorized to tell her Takahashi’s identity.
Once I do that, she’ll know who her bio dad is, so I’ll make sure she’s okay with that knowledge before I tell her.
Or, better yet, you could tell her, Kit. ”
“I think that’s a better idea,” Kit murmured. “Although I don’t want to tell her. Her world has already been turned upside down too many times.”
“I know,” Lennox said sympathetically. “But she’s going to find out. Better it comes from you. Plus, we have to make sure that Danny isn’t stalking Akiko, too. One of my next steps is to dig into Danny’s background. I meant to last night, but I got back from the safe house too late.”
“I did that digging last night,” Kit said. “I’m glad we didn’t overlap. We should make sure we split future research.”
“What did you find?” Lennox asked.
“Daisuke Takahashi, aka Danny, is seventeen years old and was born and raised in LA. His mother was Umeko Takahashi. She died when he was eight. Suicide. Danny found her body.”
“Oh no.” Sam was sad for eight-year-old Danny, but that didn’t excuse his crimes. “What else?”
“He’s got felony convictions—grand theft auto, carjacking, assault, and possession of a firearm.
He hit the woman he carjacked with the gun and broke her cheekbone.
He was fifteen at the time. He served eighteen months in juvie and he’s been out since July.
He dropped out of high school while he was in juvie and hasn’t been back. ”
“He moved to San Diego within a month of his release,” Lennox said thoughtfully. “Did he run away from home?”
“According to his father, yes, but I’m not so sure.
His father is Kenzo Takahashi, millionaire businessman.
Kenzo is fifty-eight years old, born in LA.
He took over the family business when he was thirty-eight.
The business is privately held and consists of multiple companies, most of which were started by his father, Michitaka Takahashi, during the seventies and eighties. ”
“What kind of companies?” Sam asked.
“Luxury car exports, construction, real estate—mostly commercial space in the suburbs. Those were the businesses his father started. Kenzo owns one of the smaller casinos in Vegas, which appears to be his primary addition to the family empire. From what I could gather, a lot of the businesses that Kenzo started—other than the casino—have failed, including a vineyard and a brand of frozen foods that both tanked publicly. There was an article in the financial pages that wondered why he hadn’t been ousted as the head of the company.
The reporter said he was made of Teflon, that his failures didn’t seem to stick to him.
But despite the failures, he lives very well.
He has a house in Bel Air and a condo in Vail.
Company jet. He attends galas and charity functions and in every photo, he has two big bruisers behind him.
Not the same two guys, but the same look. ”
“Bodyguards,” Sam said. “Because he’s rich?”
“For now, we’ll think that. I mean, all his businesses fall into the ‘classic organized crime’ category, but that doesn’t mean he’s dirty just because his son is.”
“Especially if they’re estranged,” Lennox said. “Why did you say you weren’t sure about his son running away, Kit?”
“Well, Kenzo started a charity for troubled kids, stating publicly that his son had had psychological issues that they hadn’t been able to address.
But some comments on one of the charity’s social media posts claimed that Kenzo was a hypocrite who’d disowned his son when he went to juvie.
That he’d told Danny that he’d shamed the family and was now disowned. ”
“Ouch,” Lennox said.
“I know. The comment had been left only ten minutes before I saw it. But I went back to double-check the post this morning and it had been removed. Someone didn’t like Mr. Takahashi being called a hypocrite.”
“Are we going to approach Kenzo?” Sam asked.
Lennox didn’t answer. She was glancing at Kit, waiting for her opinion.
He was liking Lennox more all the time.
“I think,” Kit said slowly, “not right off the bat. I want to talk to Nicchi first. Or Ito, if he comes around. I don’t want to think either of them is involved in something illegal. I’m hoping there’s another explanation.”
No one said anything, letting Kit gather her thoughts.
“Ito cares for Akiko,” she finally said.
“He could have kept his identity secret and stayed out of her life, but he didn’t.
He was always there, watching her. And that could be creepy and nefarious, or it could have been his way of keeping her safe.
Danny Takahashi has killed three people that we know of and shot three cops.
According to the LAPD detectives who interviewed us at Ito’s condo, a person matching Danny’s overall description was seen leaving Ito’s place shortly before we got there. ”
“Are you going to involve the LAPD detectives?” Sam asked.
“I don’t know,” Kit said. “I didn’t get a bad vibe off them, but I don’t know anything about them.”
“I do,” Lennox said. “I’ve got a few friends in LAPD and I asked them. They appear to be good guys. No service record dings, no IA investigations, no complaints against them. They aren’t even angry with you for…” She cleared her throat. “Being less than honest about why you’d gone to see Ito.”
Kit winced. “Did you tell them?”
“Didn’t have to. They figured it out on their own. They called me and I told them the details. They knew you’d been suspended. That came up in their Google search.”
“Tamsin Fucking Kavanaugh,” Kit muttered. “I wish I knew where she’s getting her information. Navarro has a leak.”
“Add that to your list of questions,” Lennox said. “So the plan is to find Nicchi. Then talk to the LAPD detectives.”
Kit nodded. “But first, I need to talk to Akiko. I need to tell her about her half brother and her bio father. I want to do that face-to-face.”
“Okay,” Lennox said gently. “If you don’t mind, I should probably be in the room. Just to cover us with Navarro.”
“All right.” Kit exhaled. “Sam, is there any chocolate in the snacks you brought?”
“A six-pack of full-sized Snickers bars in the bag at your feet.”
Kit made a pleased sound. “You’re the best. Thank you.” She tore into the package of Snickers, then held one out to Lennox. Lennox shook her head.
“I’m not a chocolate lover.”
Kit squinted at her. “And here I thought we were getting along so well.”
“More for you,” Lennox said.
Kit chuckled. “True,” she said before taking a big bite.
The little moan she made was…well, it was sinful.
Think about other things. Not about how you want to hear her make that sound in your bed. Sam cracked his window an inch to get some fresh air.
Kit swallowed the candy and sighed heavily. “That’s better. I’m going to save the rest of these for after I talk to Akiko. I’m going to need them.”
And her glum tone was enough to quiet his need, and he rolled the window back up.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“I know,” she whispered. “I haven’t told her about her house yet, either. It was awful enough telling her about Paolo.”
“What do you know about Ito?” he asked, trying to divert her attention.
She flashed him a grateful smile. “Not a lot.”
“Then we’ll fill in the gaps,” Lennox said. “Start with what you know.”