15th Affair (Women's Murder Club 15)

“That woulda made it worth the trip. But I think I saw the guy who slammed into you at the NTSB briefing.”

“You think?”

“His face was sort of triangular. Wide forehead. Eyes sort of wide apart. A narrow white scar across his chin.”

“That’s him,” I said. “That’s the guy.”

“He saw me looking at him and just dissolved into the crowd. What’s he got to do with Chan?”

“Maybe he wanted to confirm that Michael Chan is dead,” I said. “Maybe he doesn’t know which Chan is the real one and which is the doppelganger. Fifty bucks says he’s with Chinese intelligence.”

“You know what I think?” Conklin said. “Flight WW 888. That plane flew outta Beijing. Michael and Shirley Chan and the Chinese thugs who’ve been dogging you. They’re all part of the same thing.”

“I buy it, Richie. Now we only need to figure out what this ‘thing’ is.”

CHAPTER 58

AS SOON AS I got to my desk that day, I called Claire and asked, “Any news from Dr. Marshall regarding the whereabouts of Michael Chan, version two?”

Claire said, “This is what she said, and I quote. ‘I am still sorting out body parts. I’ll call you when or if I locate Mr. Chan or parts thereof. Any more questions?’ She’s made herself clear. Still, whatever she says, she’s responsible.”

I had just rung off with Claire when Brenda paged me. I picked up line two and turned to look at Brenda at the same time.

Standing at her desk was a tall, dark, and immaculately dressed man. Brenda’s voice came to me in stereo.

“Mr. Khan is here to see you.”

“Send him back,” I said.

Khalid Khan pushed at the gate and came through our gray and depressing squad room. He sat down in the chair next to my desk and blew his nose into a handkerchief. I could swear he’d been crying.

He said, “It’s hard to admit this, but when you left the house the other day, I knew I’d been an ass. I apologize for the way I spoke to you. No, you don’t have to say anything. Thanks for what you did. I’ve been deluding myself for years, and now that I’m willing to look at the truth, I don’t know where to find it.”

“Tell me what you do know,” I said.

Khan told me his daughter was sure that the woman in the Four Seasons security footage was Alison. Caroline had listed some of the lies Alison had told him, and he was shaken to his soles by her mendacity. Khan told me now of several times when Ali had gone on her “focus downs,” coming back a week later without telling him anything about where she’d been and what she’d done.

“We have always said that what was good for each of us was good for the marriage,” he said now. “That made sense. Ali was never cut out to be a traditional wife, and I loved that about her. And now I’m paying the price for my incredible gullibility. Please tell me what to do.”

I told Khan we were looking for his wife in San Francisco, that Monterey police were looking for her also, and that the FBI was involved because of the four people who were killed in the hotel.

I said, “The crash has sucked up the time of every law enforcement officer in the state, Mr. Khan. But no one has forgotten that Alison is missing. She hasn’t called you or your daughters?”

“No.”

“Before the hotel shootings, had you ever heard of Michael Chan?”

“Never.”

“What about Joe Molinari? Is that name familiar to you?”

“I don’t think so,” said Mr. Khan. “Who is he?”

“A person of interest, that’s all.”

I’m pretty sure my face colored, but Khan didn’t notice.

“I don’t know if I want her back,” he told me with a broken voice, “but I have to talk to her. It just can’t end like this. I need to see her.”