Blood Passage Read Online Free Page B

painkillers given to him by the doctor at the hospital. Hank asked him about his movements after arriving in town.
    “ I flew in on Friday afternoon,” Josh explained. “On Saturday I interviewed the mother of the previous personality, Meredith Liu. She’s actually Caucasian, despite her last name. She’s the only surviving parent. She goes by the name Meredith Collier now. Her maiden name, I guess.” He took a mouthful of salad and swallowed before continuing. “On Sunday I went to the apartment building where the previous personality lived.”
    “ By previous personality you’re referring to Martin Liu, I take it?”
    “ Mm hmm,” Josh nodded. “Sorry. Dr. Walsh insists that we be very precise in our terminology. Actually, no one that I talked to apparently lived there when Martin Liu did. So it was kind of a dead end.”
    Hank was thinking that any tenants who’d lived in the building when Martin Liu was murdered probably lied to Josh to blow him off. Few people were interested in talking to a complete stranger about a four-year-old violent crime.
    “ Then on Monday, uh, yesterday, I went down to the Golden Dragon, the place where Ms. Liu said her son liked to spend time. I wanted to see if I could talk to any of his friends there, and also I was hoping to run into Martin’s cousin Peter. Mrs. Liu mentioned that Martin used to meet his cousin there quite often.”
    “ But it didn’t go too smoothly, I gather.”
    “ It was kind of a strange place,” Josh admitted. “I was very uncomfortable. It was like some kind of gaming room, downstairs under a hairdressing salon. I went down and saw a sign that said ‘Members Only’ but there was no one at the door so I went in to find someone to talk to. There were a few men sitting around playing a game with dominoes and dice in a cup.”
    “ Pai gow,” Hank said.
    “ Pardon me?”
    “ The game’s called pai gow,” Hank said. “Go on.”
    Josh explained that as he approached one of the tables he was intercepted by a middle-aged Asian man in a rumpled white suit who took him by the elbow and steered him back toward the entrance.
    “ Sorry, pal, didn’t you see the sign? Members only.”
    “ I’m a student from Memphis,” Josh said to the man, who was apparently a waiter. They passed a small bar at which two men were drinking tea and looking at newspapers. “I’m doing research on a person named Martin Liu who used to come here four years ago. Was he a member?”
    At the mention of Martin Liu’s name the two men slid off their barstools and came over to where Josh and the waiter stood in the doorway. One of the men wore a blue suit jacket over a pale green shirt, blue jeans and red sneakers. The other, who was heavier and looked older, wore a black leather jacket and sunglasses despite the low lighting inside the club.
    “ We don’t talk about members here,” the waiter said, lightly pushing Josh’s elbow in the direction of the stairs.
    “ I understand,” Josh said. “That’s okay. Let me give you this.” He reached into his jacket pocket and took out a business card, realizing belatedly that the sudden movement had caused the man in the leather jacket to reach into his own pocket, possibly for a weapon. It began to dawn on him that it was not such a good idea to have come here.
    He held up the card for everyone to see, then handed it to the waiter. “I’m also looking for Martin Liu’s cousin, Peter. Maybe you could give him this and he can get in touch with me. I’m staying at the Airport Inn, or he can call me at the cell phone number on the card. I just want to talk to him about Martin.”
    The waiter took the card without looking at it. “Good idea if you leave now. Now .”
    “ All right, no problem.” Josh realized that the clicking of dice and the clacking of dominoes had ceased in the room. Everyone was watching him with expressionless faces: old men, young men, and the two tough-looking individuals who now stood on either