9 Dragons

there?”
    “That’s right.”
    “You a Giants or Dodgers man?”
    “Giants, baby.”
    “That’s too bad. When was the last time you were in South L.A.?”
    The question came from left field and Lau had to think before answering. He shook his head.
    “I don’t know, five or six years at least. Been a while, though. I wish you could tell me what this is about because then I might be able to help you.”
    “So if somebody said they saw you down there last week, they’d be lying?”
    Lau smirked like they were playing a game.
    “Either that or they were just mistaken. You know what they say?.”
    “No, what do they say?”
    “That we all look alike.”
    Lau smiled brightly and looked to Chu for confirmation. Chu held his ground and just returned a dead-eyed stare.
    “What about Monterey Park?” Bosch asked.
    “You mean, have I been there?”
    “Yes, that’s what I mean.”
    “Uh, I went out there a couple times for dinner, but it’s really not worth the drive.”
    “So you don’t know anyone in Monterey Park?”
    “No, not really.”
    Bosch had been circling, asking general questions and locking Lau in. It was time to circle closer now.
    “Where’s your gun, Mr. Lau?”
    Lau put his feet down on the floor. He looked at Chu and then back at Bosch.
    “This is about my gun?”
    “Six years ago you bought and registered a Glock Model Nineteen. Can you tell us where it is?”
    “Yeah, sure. It’s in the lockbox in a drawer next to my bed. Where it always is.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “Okay, I get it, let me guess. Mr. Asshole in unit eight saw me holding it out there on the deck after the beach shooting and he made a complaint?”
    “No, Henry, we haven’t spoken to Mr. Asshole. Are you saying that you had the gun with you after the shooting on the beach?”
    “That’s right. I heard shots out there and a scream. I was on my own property and am entitled to protect myself.”
    Bosch nodded to Chu. Chu opened the slider and stepped out onto the deck, closing the door behind him. He pulled his phone to make a call about the beach shooting.
    “Look, if somebody said I fired it, they are full of shit,” Lau said.
    Bosch looked at him for a long moment. He felt like there was something missing, a piece of the conversation he didn’t know about yet.
    “As far as I know, nobody’s said that,” he said.
    “Then, please, what is this all about?”
    “I told you. It’s about your gun. Can you show it to us, Henry?”
    “Sure, I’ll go get it.”
    He sprang up from the chair and headed toward the stairs.
    “Henry,” Bosch said. “Hold it there. We’re going to go with you.”
    Lau looked back from the stairs.
    “Suit yourself. Let’s get this over with.”
    Bosch turned back to the deck. Chu was coming through the door. They followed Lau up the stairs and then down a hallway that cut back to the rear of the unit. Framed photographs, movie posters and diplomas lined both sides. They passed an open door to a bedroom that was used as a writing office and then entered the -master bedroom, a grand room with twelve-foot ceilings and ten-foot windows looking out over the beach.
    “I called Pacific Division,” Chu said to Bosch. “The shooting was on the night of the first. They have two suspects in custody on it.”
    Bosch flipped back through the calendar in his mind. The first was the Tuesday one week before the killing of John Li.
    Lau sat down on the unmade bed next to a two-drawer side table. He opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a steel box with a handle on the top.
    “Hold it right there,” Bosch said.
    Lau put the box on the bed and stood up, hands up.
    “Hey, I wasn’t going to do anything, man. You asked to see it.”
    “Why don’t you let my partner open the box,” Bosch said.
    “Suit yourself.”
    “Detective.”
    Bosch pulled a pair of latex gloves from his coat pocket and handed them to Chu. He then stepped over to Lau so that he was within arm’s reach if necessary.
    “Why’d you buy the gun, Henry?”
    “Because I was living in a complete shithole at the time and the bangers were all over the place. But it’s funny. I paid a million fucking dollars for this place and they’re still right out there on the beach, shooting the place up.”
    Chu snapped the second glove on and looked at Lau.
    “Do you give us permission to open this box?” he asked.
    “Sure, go ahead. I don’t know what this is about but why the hell not? Just open it. The key is on a