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before this news about his possible involvement with the Asian Boyz, I was thinking maybe he had a rough start but then turned himself around. That would explain the earlier injuries.”
    Ramos is silent for a few beats. “Or maybe he just moved up the gang hierarchy. Didn’t need to be hands-on anymore.”
    His conclusion is more likely than mine. Here I was romanticizing the guy’s past and thinking he’d grown up on the wrong side of the tracks and then straightened up, but he probably just got promoted. It certainly seems more probable now that we’ve got him associating with drug dealers with potential ties to the Asian Boyz.
    I notice my computer has booted, so I start my e-mail program. At the top of my message list is the one from Ramos. “I’ve got your e-mail from the DEA.” I open up the four attached images. In each one, our victim looks either stressed or very obviously angry. “He does look pissed.”
    â€œMaybe his lackeys weren’t doing their jobs.” He stops to consider. “If our guy is from overseas, we could have stumbled on an international drug ring.”
    â€œI guess we should meet with…” I scan down the e-mail to the bottom, and the signature. “Special Agent Joe De Luca of the DEA. See what he’s got to say about our mystery guy.”
    â€œI’ll set it up. You free all day?”
    â€œDepends if we’re going to sit in on Hart’s experiment at three. Although obviously a meet with DEA will take priority.” Watching Hart take potshots at the light might reveal some interesting facts, but our presence isn’t necessary.
    â€œI’ll try to set up something with the DEA today. And I better touch base with our Gang Enforcement Division, let them know our homicide’s looking like it might be their turf.”
    â€œGood idea.”
    â€œWe also have an Asian Crime Unit. I’ll give them a heads-up, too.”
    â€œWill the case be reassigned?” I ask.
    â€œMaybe. Depends how it pans out. DEA might want to take the lead.”
    Drugs and gangs are big business, especially in L.A., and there are multiple agencies and task forces involved, with local, state and federal law-enforcement personnel. At the federal level the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is a player because gangs are often involved in illegal firearms, and likewise with the DEA and drugs. Then you’ve got the United States Custom Service, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the US Attorney’s Office, the IRS…the list goes on. And unfortunately we don’t necessarily all play nice together. Lots of cops resent the FBI—see us as elitist egotists who take the credit for their hard work—and the DEA is referred to as “Don’t Expect Anything” in some cop circles. We’re just one big happy family.
    â€œWhat about task forces?” I ask.
    â€œYeah, we’ve got a few of them to consider, especially in the wider county area.”
    â€œLet’s start with the Safe Streets task force here in L.A.” The Bureau runs the Safe Streets project, which has over one hundred and forty task forces around the country. Given it’s Bureau-run and I know at least a couple of the FBI agents on it, it makes sense for me to take that one. “I’ll contact Safe Streets here and you can follow up with LAPD.”
    â€œOkay. The ATF also runs Violent Crime Impact Teams. You wanna contact them?”
    â€œSure.” I jot the task down. “Any other updates?”
    â€œNot really. We’ve run all the license plates from the parking lot and I’ve got officers doing the initial interviews with owners at the moment. Nothing looks out of the ordinary…yet.”
    â€œOkay.”
    â€œWell, catch ya later.” Ramos hangs up.
    I figure our victim’s name is the most important thing, so I get moving on the fingerprint search.