-3-
I had no doubt he was dead.
As the albino turned away from the corpse, I ran out of the alley. People stared at me as I rushed away from Chinatown. The crowds actually parted as I passed among them. I must have stunk with fear. I felt I was leaving a trail.
I kept checking over my shoulder, but I didn’t see the albino. He probably never knew I’d watched him.
Or maybe he didn’t care.
The rest of the day seemed to take place at a distance. I know I ate dinner and went to bed, but part of me never left that alley. My first thought when I woke up was that I’d had some sort of vivid dream.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t explain away my experience that easily. The murder made the paper. Next-to-last page. But nobody knew it was a murder. The article merely said that Shaoming Li, owner of the Golden Dragon Novelty Supply Company, was found dead of an apparent heart attack. The body was discovered by an employee.
I called John. “We gotta talk.”
“It’s not even noon. Can’t it wait?” He sounded like he was still half asleep.
“No. It’s important.”
“Okay. I’m awake now, thanks to you. Come on over.”
I thought about the alleys and the scorpions. “How about you come here?”
There was a pause. Then a click. He’d hung up. But that was okay. I knew he was on his way over. That’s the kind of friend he was.
When John got to my place, I showed him the paper. “Did you know this guy?”
“Sure. Everybody knew Li. He’s one of the three main import-export guys.” John winked, then said, “Import-export,” again, as if it was a secret code.
The wink told me nothing. “I don’t have a clue what you mean.”
“Anything you want to bring into the country, Li was the man to see. Tiger paws, bear gallbladders, ivory—you name it. He was deep into all kinds of traffic.”
“How do you know?”
“People talk. And they never pay any attention to me. They act like I’m just a kid. I hear stuff. But it’s no secret. It’s the same all over. Any part of the city, you’ll find a couple of guys doing import-export. Chinese, Russian, Mexican, Irish. Crime is multicultural. I’m sure some of your Czech relatives or neighbors are involved in something.”
“I’m not Czech. I’m Polish. And only half that.”
“All you Slavs look alike to me,” John said. “Anyhow, why this sudden interest? And what does any of this have to do with me getting robbed of sleep?”
“I saw something.” That sounded like such an empty description.
“What?”
“You wouldn’t believe me.” I wasn’t sure I really believed it myself.
“I might. Now that I’m awake. You got anyone better to tell?”
He was right. I told him. Sharing it, crazy as the whole thing had been, was a relief.
“You saw this for sure?” John asked after I finished the story. “You weren’t that close, were you?”
“I was close enough.” As I thought back, doubt invaded my memories. “It looked like a scorpion stinger. But maybe he just had something in his hand. I guess it could have been a long needle, or an ice pick. Or maybe some kind of knife.”
“Forget it,” John told me. “That’s best. Just forget it. So what if he was killed? Do you think Li was some innocent businessman? I’m sure he had plenty of blood on his hands. Andy, these guys don’t just import animal parts. They bring in guns. They bring in drugs. Maybe your albino friend was just doing the world a favor.”
I had no idea what I was supposed to do. I was the only one besides the killer who knew Shaoming Li’s death was a murder. Normally, if you witness a murder, you have to speak out. It’s the right thing to do. They tell us that in school. They tell us that in the movies and on TV. They tell us that in novels and comic books.
But, right or wrong, there was no way anyone would believe me. I’m pretty sure John didn’t. And there was no way I wanted the albino to learn that I was a witness. Maybe John was right. It was best for me to forget all about it. Or maybe I was just a coward, looking for an excuse. I decided it wouldn’t hurt to think things over before I made a decision.
I was wrong.
– End Chapter Three –
