Read Online The Killing Hands by P.D. Martin - Free Book Online

in Long Beach and nowadays Asian Boyz Eastside and Asian Boyz Northside are based there.” He takes a breath. “Long Beach is also home to one of the world’s biggest ports.”
    I follow the train of thought. “So the DEA thinks they’re exporting? Using the port to ship the drugs?”
    â€œIt’s one possibility. That’s why they haven’t moved on the house yet. They’re watching for distribution.”
    â€œYou know much about gangs?”
    â€œYes and no. I’ve lived in L.A. all my life, so I guess I have a good general knowledge, but I don’t work gangs much. The LAPD has over three hundred cops in our GangEnforcement Division…it’s their bag, not mine. I even had to hand over that drive-by shooting last week, once the involvement of MS-13 and the Crips was confirmed. What about you?”
    â€œI’ve been reading up on them since I’ve been in L.A., but it’s not an area of specialization for me, either.” I haven’t had to profile any gang-related crimes yet, although it’s possible the young boy’s murder in the arcade has ties to L.A.’s gang culture. Fifty-seven percent of homicides in the city are gang-related, and there are specialized cops and FBI agents who work gang-related crimes. They know gang behavior, not me. Guess it’s time I learned.
    â€œWe’re in dangerous territory,” Ramos says. “And so was our vic. He was seen at the Long Beach house on three separate occasions. They’ve e-mailed me a sample of the shots and he looks pissed.”
    â€œCan you forward that e-mail?”
    â€œSure.”
    I hear typing in the background as Ramos sends the photos.
    The vic being annoyed ties in with my vision from the coroner’s office. I replay the images in my head and I realize…the car…it was a right-hand drive. It didn’t strike me as odd at first, because right-hand drive cars still look normal to me, even though I’ve been in the States for over a year. It means our guy got that call when he was in a country that drives on the left-hand side of the road. So we’re talking England, Australia or maybe an Asian country. The places that immediately spring to mind are Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan, but there are other Asian countries that drive on the left, too.
    â€œHey, Ramos. Maybe this guy is from overseas. He flies into the country to do drug business with the Asian Boyz, maybe the shipment’s even bound for his home turf. And the vic being from another country would also tie in with him suddenly appearing in the DEA’s surveillance shots. I bet he arrived in the States about three weeks ago. Let’s check his prints with Interpol and immigration. Our guy would have been fingerprinted on the way in.”
    Most visitors flying into the US have their prints digitally captured and recorded. If we match this guy’s prints, we’ll have a name—or at least the name on his passport, if he used an alias.
    â€œYou know anyone at the State Department?” Ramos asks.
    â€œNo, but leave it with me. I’ll get a name soon enough.”
    â€œGreat.”
    â€œOh, and I forgot to tell you yesterday—I went back to look at the body after you left.” Given I had to sign in, at some point Ramos will find out I had another look at our vic, and I don’t want him to think I was excluding him from part of the investigation. “I realized as I was sitting in my car that the victim’s hands struck me as odd. It’s probably insignificant, but when I went back I figured out what it was—his hands were manicured.”
    â€œManicured, huh? So he’s gay or one of those metro guys?” Ramos jokes.
    I laugh. “Could be.”
    â€œActually, male manicures in L.A. aren’t that uncommon. Actors, you know?”
    â€œI’ll take your word for it.” I pause. “His hands were very smooth, too. And