Distant Cousins
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Chinatown
Henry McLean-Caine entered the office of Captain Simms and closed the door. He waited for a moment until the Captain was done with her paperwork then approached her desk.
"I'm Detective McLean-Caine. I was told to report to you." Henry pulled out several sheets of paper from the inside pocket of his jacket and handed it to the woman sitting behind the desk. He watched as she looked them over and began to read.
"So your precinct seems to think that Bon Bon Hai is back in town and going to stir up trouble?"
"Yes, Ma'am." Henry stated.
"Let's get one thing straight, Detective. Don't call me ma'am."
"Uh, yes Captain."
Captain Simms scanned the paper one more time. "So, that's where Bon Bon Hai disappeared to for a couple of years. One of my detectives before he left the force seemed to think that Bon Bon Hai was a major threat. Looks like he tried to spread his little operation. What is your take on it?"
"I wouldn't say his operation is little. We'd been keeping an eye on him since he came to Chinatown in Los Angeles. There was a jump in heroine sales and several stolen Chinese antiques showed up in a few Chinatown shops. Rumors of the one called the Tiger kept creeping up. We would make busts, but they were usually small and nothing to link Bon Bon Hai to. Every time we wanted to question him, he would manage to slip through our nets. Then we received an anonymous tip. Oddly enough it came from this part of the country. It stated to look for large areas of warehouse property that had been purchased with cash. We did and sure enough, we found six warehouses that had been bought, but only one had Bon Bon Hai's name attached to it. So, last month we made a raid on the warehouses. Most of them were legit, but the last one contained a lot of stolen Chinese antiques worth millions of dollars. We also found several large bags of heroine. This time we thought we had him, but once again, he slipped threw. I received another tip that he came back here. I was sent here to apprehend him and bring him back to Los Angeles."
"Is that all?"
"Yes, Captain."
"First of all, Bon Bon Hai is back in my jurisdiction. You're precinct probably won't get him until we're through with him. You've been assigned to my precinct so you're going to have to turn him over to me first."
"Catching him isn't going to be easy. The man's a ghost. He disappears very quickly. There's rumors that he's no ordinary man."
"Then we'll just have to send in our best ghost busters then. Do you have a file on the man and his activities?"
"The file's back in my hotel room," Henry stated sheepishly. "I wasn't supposed to report in until tomorrow, but . . ."
"But what?"
"It was recommended that I see a Kermit Griffin, but I figured I should report in before doing that."
"Why do you need to see Kermit?" Captain Simms asked.
"I was told that he had first hand experience with Bon Bon Hai. He might be able to shed some light on the suspect."
"And who told you that?"
"Uh, Peter Caine."
"And how do you know Peter," Captain Simms questioned.
"He's my cousin."
"Oh I didn't know Peter had any cousins."
"I'm really a distant cousin, and it's a long story."
"So which is it going to be?"
"What?" Henry asked confused.
"McLean or Caine?"
"Uh . . ."
"What name should I call you?"
"Caine will do."
"Good," Karen Simms got up from her desk and moved to open her office door. "I hope you have just as good a reputation as your cousin did. I hated to loose him. He was one hell of a detective."
"I'll try to remember that."
The noise from the bullpen once again intruded on the silence that the closed office had provided.
"Good. You can report to Chief Strenlich. His office is over there. He'll assign you a desk and get you squared away." Karen Simms pointed to another set of blinds. The door of that office was closed but a strip of light could be seen shining from under the door.
"I'd like to see Kermit Griffin," Henry stated, getting straight to the point.
"His office is across from mine, but Kermit's not in right now. I don't expect him back until Friday. Today's Tuesday."
"Where is he?"
"At a computer conference. Don't worry, you'll see him soon enough, if you're still here. Besides, you're going to need to go over the files that we have on Bon Bon Hai. Just get settled in, and welcome to the 101st, Detective Caine."
Those within hear-shot raised their heads when they heard the name of the man who had exited from their Captain's office. Had they heard right? His name was Caine? Phones could be heard ringing in the background, but the voices had all ceased and several pairs of eyes watched as Detective Henry Caine crossed the bullpen, knocked on Chief Strenlich's door, and was commanded to enter.
"Has crime stopped all of a sudden?" Captain Simms shouted. "Get back to work people. You'll meet our newest Detective soon enough."
Continues with Part 14
Alisa Joaquin Copyright@2003.
This story cannot be reprinted or sold in any other form without strict permission from
the author. It is being distributed here solely for your enjoyment.
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