Chapter Twenty-Two #3
The old woman sighed wearily. “That’s all of it. I have photos of Sakura, Minnie, and Ichiro. Mary didn’t want her husband to find them and ask questions, so I kept everything. It’s in a storage locker. Tell your sister to come see me.”
“I will.” When I find her. “Thank you.”
“Akiko needs to know how many people loved her. How many people risked everything to keep her away from her father. He would have made her work for the mob. Please tell her.”
“I promise,” Kit said, then looked away from her phone screen when Sam stiffened beside her. “We need to go, ma’am. Please rest now. Thank you, Lieutenant,” she said to Navarro, who’d turned the phone back to his face. “I’ll call you, sir, and bring you up to speed when I have information.”
“Kit,” he said. “Wait.”
“I can’t, sir.” Because Kenzo Takahashi’s gates were opening. “Bob appears to have finally contacted Kenzo for whatever it is he’s planning. We’re going to follow him. I’ll call Lennox for backup.”
She ended the call as he demanded answers.
She winced. She was going to get in trouble for that. But she’d worry about that later.
It was time to get her sister back.
Bel Air, Los Angeles, California
Thursday, February 2, 1:00 a.m.
“He’s going to know we’re following him,” Sam said as he put Anson’s car into drive.
“I know.”
Kenzo Takahashi had left his massive fortress, driving a Bentley.
No driver. No security. He was also driving at a steady pace and making no sharp turns. Kenzo didn’t seem to want to shake them. At least not yet.
“I didn’t expect to learn that Joe is Akiko’s grandfather,” Sam said.
“Same. I’m wondering if Ito knows. If he doesn’t, finding out the truth about Joe and Sakura might make him finally spill the tea on Joe.
” She bit at her lip. “I hate this for Akiko. At least when Ito was her grandfather, she knew he cared about her. But finding out that it’s really Joe?
It just keeps getting worse. But I’ll worry about that when she’s safe. ”
“She will be.” I hope. Please let her be safe. He’d tried to stay positive for Kit’s benefit, but every hour Akiko remained missing was…well, it wasn’t good.
From the corner of his eye, Sam saw Kit’s phone light up with a new text.
“Oh thank God,” she breathed. “Anson says Pop’s in recovery and his vital signs are stable. He’s gonna be okay. And so is Akiko.” She pulled her gun from its holster and checked the chamber. “But Bob is going down. Where’s your gun?”
“In my back holster.” He’d applied for a concealed carry permit after being hired by the police department but hadn’t started carrying his gun consistently until recently, when he’d really needed a weapon and hadn’t had it with him.
Luckily Navarro had loaned him a gun when he’d needed one.
It had enabled Sam to keep Kit safe. Since then, Sam was never without his firearm.
Because he’d continue to protect his Kit.
“When was the last time you fired it?” she asked.
“Last week at the target range.”
He’d been practicing for the past few months.
Sam hoped he wouldn’t need to shoot anyone tonight.
His one experience with shooting a human being had left him shaken.
That feeling would stay with him always, but he was pragmatic enough to know he’d do it again.
He’d do almost anything to keep Kit McKittrick safe.
The Bentley put on its turn signal as it slowed for a right turn, cementing what Sam had suspected. “He’s letting us follow him.”
“I thought he might,” Kit said. “He wants to save Akiko. He knows we want the same. And, if push comes to shove, we can be his cannon fodder.”
He was startled into a breathless laugh. “I can always count on you to see the situation clearly.” He turned right, sticking closer to Kenzo’s sedan. The Bentley was slowing and pulling over. He followed suit, coming to a stop behind Kenzo’s parked car. “What’s this?”
“Let’s find out.” Kit got out, her gun held loosely at her side.
Gripping his own gun firmly, Sam followed Kit to the Bentley. Together, they waited as Kenzo slowly emerged.
He now wore a suit and tie, his silk pajamas retired for the evening. He looked gaunt and utterly exhausted.
For a long moment Kenzo and Kit regarded each other silently, opponents sizing the other up for weaknesses. For strengths. For commonalities.
Akiko.
“Detective,” Kenzo finally said. “Dr. Reeves.”
“Mr. Takahashi,” Kit said. “Did you hear from your VP of security?”
Kenzo dipped his head in a nod. “I did. He asked me to meet him at one of our warehouses. The code to the lock on the rear door is six-one-three-four-star. I intend to go through the front door as I was instructed.”
“You want me to come in through the back?” Kit asked. “Come to the rescue?”
“Whatever it takes.”
“Bob wants to hurt you,” Kit told him.
“I know. I am grateful for your insight into my VP of security. I admit to none of his accusations, of course.”
She lifted a brow. “Of course.”
“The warehouse is mostly one big, cavernous space, but there is a back hallway that runs the width of the building. You’ll be able to use that hallway to access the storage area.”
“Do you think Bob has reinforcements?” Sam asked.
“From what I’ve ascertained from the local authorities, Bob used a stolen ambulance to gain access to your brother’s residence.
He had at least one person helping him, the man driving the ambulance.
I don’t know who that is, but his people are very well trained.
If they shoot you, they will not miss. Now, I need to hurry.
I’ve been given a deadline. I must meet him in a few minutes.
He says he wants to ‘show me something.’ ” Kenzo used air quotes.
“I’m quite certain that he knows you stopped by my house.
He has access to my external security cameras. ”
“Did he mention Akiko at all?” Kit asked.
“No. At this point, I don’t know if he knows he is a suspect.”
“I’m going to assume that he knows,” Kit said. “Are you going in alone?”
“I am. I wasn’t told to come alone, but if my VP of security is corrupted, my bodyguards may be as well. I don’t know who, within my household or my company, I can trust.”
“But you trust me.”
“We share a goal, Detective.”
“Yes, we do. Is there any other security that we’ll need to bypass in order to get inside?”
“The keypad code is nine-two-one-five, if the alarm has been set. That should be all. The warehouse itself is filled with crates, most of which are filled with products we ship.”
“Guns?” Kit asked.
“No, Detective. They’re supplies for our hotels. Towels and toilet paper. My point was that there are many places to hide among the crates. Be careful.”
“Thank you.” She gestured to his car. “After you, sir.”
She waited until she and Sam were back in the sedan before speaking again. “I don’t believe there’s toilet paper in that warehouse.”
“Neither do I. We never did find out where Danny got those guns.”
“I thought the same thing,” she said. “Kenzo has to know by now that Special Agent Brewer arrested his son.”
“And that Danny named both Joe and Bob as being involved,” Sam added. “Maybe not as co-conspirators, but at least as people of interest.”
“That expensive attorney definitely told Kenzo he named Joe and Bob. Especially since Danny made a point of saying that he was helping his father clean his own house.”
Sam waited until Kenzo turned back onto the road and then followed him. “It’s possible that Kenzo didn’t believe Danny until Bob called him tonight. Danny has been out of control lately. Or at least out of Kenzo’s control.”
“He’s been under Bob’s. There is a very small part of me that almost feels sorry for Danny Takahashi.
He’s been either manipulated or groomed ever since he was born.
His mother was a drunken viper who ordered Minnie Nakamura’s death.
His father used him to raise money for a phony charity and discarded him when he went to juvie.
And Bob has been using him for God knows how long to get revenge on Kenzo. ”
“You sound like Dawn.” Sam thought about the outspoken teenager whose own upbringing had forced her to become wise beyond her years. “She was sorry for him, too.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll tell her later. It’ll make her feel not so guilty. But I did say ‘almost.’ I can pity his upbringing and still not feel sorry for the young man he is today. People make choices, and Danny’s made some bad ones.”
“He couldn’t kill Ito or Ricky.”
“I know. So…brownie points there? Although, I think that was more a dojo mentality than any kind of moral compass. Do you think he’s redeemable?”
“I don’t know. I want to believe so, but he’ll have to find redemption behind bars. What do you think we’re going to discover in that warehouse, other than boxes that are not filled with toilet paper?”
“I have no idea. I’m wondering if this is a trap to hand Kenzo over to Brewer. We’ve been so sure that Bob intends to hurt Akiko as a way to hurt Kenzo, but that might not be Bob’s plan at all.”
It would be beyond terrible if they got there and found Brewer and his people but no Akiko.
“I’ve thought about that. Bob’s worked for Takahashi Corporation since he was sixteen years old.
He’s been silently attacking Kenzo all this time.
But he could have turned him in at any point.
He could have killed him at any point. As Kenzo’s VP of security, he had full access and the ability to cover it up. But he hasn’t.”
She turned in her seat to study him. “What do you think Bob’s endgame is?”
“I still think he’s going to ruin Kenzo, but not go all scorched earth.
If he turns Kenzo over to Brewer, it could topple the entire Takahashi empire, and I don’t think that’s what Bob wants.
He wanted Akiko arrested, but I don’t think he ever planned to turn Kenzo in to Brewer.
He wants the throne. And once he’s sitting on it, he can gloat over having crushed Kenzo Takahashi like a bug. ”
“Which killing his daughter might do.”
“In front of him,” Sam emphasized. “I think Bob wants Kenzo to see it. Just like Bob saw his parents killed while hiding in the closet. We still have time to get her out.”
“Either way, we could be walking into a trap.”
“But we’re going in anyway.”
“You can stay back, Sam.”
He reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You know I’m not going to.”
Her exhale sounded relieved. “Then let’s do this.”
“Are you going to contact Lennox and tell her where we’re heading?”
“I just texted her. Told her the direction we’re going and to stand by for a location.” A few minutes later she made a surprised sound. “She says to wait for them before going in, that they’re five minutes out.”
“How?” Sam frowned. “Are they tracking us?”
“I don’t know.” Her fingers flew over her phone screen. “Are…you…tracking us?” A moment later she laughed, a flat sound. “She says, ‘Oof. Um, no.’ ”
“You hurt her feelings.”
“Not gonna apologize. I think it was a fair question. Then how do you know where we are?” She spoke aloud as she typed. “Oh. Well, that’s unexpected. She says Ricky Nicchi told them where to go. That Joe wasn’t at his own house, but Ricky was. She says she’ll explain when she meets us.”
“Are we going to wait?”
Kit was quiet for a long moment. “I think that from the second that Kenzo walks in the front door, Akiko’s time will start running out.
I think we should go in, get eyes on Akiko, then wait to see what Bob has planned.
If he makes a move toward her, I’m aiming for his head.
But I will give Lennox the combination to the rear door lock so she can bring in the cavalry.
” She typed for a few seconds. “It’s done. ”
And it was just in time, because Kenzo Takahashi turned in to a warehouse complex and pulled into a parking place right next to the front door.
“Stop here,” Kit said. “Don’t take us into the parking lot. I don’t want to give Bob any more warning than we have to.”
Sam did as she’d requested, parking Anson’s car on the street just before the warehouse’s driveway, and then he shut off the engine. “Let’s go.”