Slosser was surprised that that the Hummers belonged to Kapak. He had always assumed that Kapak was a crook, but not the ugly, violent kind. He had seemed to be the sort who skimmed cash and understated his income. He seemed like someone who would someday find himself owning a club that wasn’t profitable anymore and would set fire to it for the insurance. He didn’t seem to be the sort who would send people to a construction site after midnight. The only two reasons that seemed to make sense were large-scale theft and extortion, and both seemed to be somewhere outside Kapak’s universe—too gritty and risky for a strip club owner. Slosser had never seen evidence that there was any enmity between Kapak’s company and Veruda Construction. It didn’t seem likely. The Coventry Towers project was a billion-dollar development, and it was only one of about five projects that Veruda had going. They were a herd of elephants, and Kapak was a gnat.
Slosser looked at his watch and felt frustration. It was 8:50, only five minutes since the last time he had looked. He had hoped Kapak would get here early so he could make him wait.
Slosser kept himself from looking at his watch again, and in a few minutes he heard footsteps outside his office door. Owens, his assistant, slapped his palm against the doorjamb once in a military knock and then opened the door. “Lieutenant, Mr. Kapak is here.” He added, “He brought his attorney.”
Slosser kept himself from swearing, but he was aware after a second that his jaw was working, and he was grinding his teeth again. He stood and watched the two men step into his office. The first, he knew, was Kapak. He was a big man in his sixties, with broad shoulders, the thick neck of a fighter, but a paunch that hung over his thin black belt. His hair was still a coal black that made Slosser suspect it was dyed. He had a sour, almost pained look on his face. The second was the attorney, a slight man in his forties with a sallow complexion, pale eyes, and thin, spidery hands that kept fiddling with his Blackberry as he stepped in with his briefcase on his wrist.
“Gentlemen. Right on time.” Slosser turned to Owens. “We’ll use Room Six.” To the others he said, “Follow me.” He set off down the hall, threading his way past the people in the hallway. He got to Room Six and opened the door to let the others in. He was mildly surprised that Kapak had brought his lawyer. In one way it was a gift. It meant he was scared of Slosser, and that meant he was guilty of something.
There was a quiet understanding in the world of police and criminals. When you first pulled them in, you would have a conversation. The suspect would use the time to rat out his enemies, try to strike a bargain, and listen for clues as to how much the police knew. The cop would use the time to try various stratagems—say somebody else had named them as the perpetrator already, or that cops had found the gun, or tested their DNA, or some other lie. Lying was a privilege that had been upheld a hundred times in a hundred court cases. When the suspect got tired of the discussion, he would ask for an attorney. That was the signal he was done talking, and it was time to end the interrogation. Cops seldom asked a question after the subject of attorneys came up, and the suspect tended not to answer any. Slosser looked at the attorney.
“I’m Lieutenant Nicholas Slosser. And you are…?”
“I’m Gerald Ospinsky, Mr. Kapak’s attorney.”
“Oh, yes. I remember the name from Mr. Kapak’s files.”
“Ahh. What files would those be?”
“As you know, Mr. Kapak has a couple of business licenses and liquor licenses, and you filed the papers for him. He’s also been cited for several violations of zoning, parking, nuisance, and noise codes. You responded to several of the complaints. Any other questions before we begin?”
“No”
“Mr. Kapak, could you state your full name, please?”
“Claudiu Vidor Kapak”
“Manco Kapak is a nickname, right?”
“Of course. The first king of the Incas. And the last was named that too.” Kapak shifted in his seat. He looked sick. He seemed to have some kind of skin rash. There were tiny red spots on his cheeks and forehead. He began to lean forward and put his elbows on the table, but stopped himself abruptly as though he had set off a pain. “What did you want to talk about?”
“You have two sport utility vehicles registered as property of Kapak Enterprises, correct? Two Hummers?”
“Yes. My staff use them to transport people and supplies.”
“What people and supplies?”
“All kinds.”
“Can you give me one example?”
“Some of the time, one will be used to pick up a visiting artist at her hotel and bring her to one of the clubs for a show.”
“You’re talking about your strip clubs, so it’s strippers?”
“Gentlemen’s clubs. The entertainers are exotic dancers, yes.”
“Got it. Why Hummers?”
“They’re big, they’re high, and they attract the attention of potential customers. They look as though you’re delivering something valuable. It’s like having an armored car pull up at the front door. People look to see what comes out.”
“Why do your vehicles have armor?”
As Kapak paused for a moment, Ospinsky interrupted. “Who said they had armor?”
“They both have steel plates welded to the insides of the doors. They have bulletproof glass on the side windows. Why do they?”
“It’s not illegal,” Ospinsky said to Kapak. “You don’t have to answer.”
“It’s all right, Jerry.” Kapak said to Slosser, “Do you know I got robbed just about a month ago right outside the Bank of America? I was there with the night deposit. It was probably because I drove there alone in my Mercedes.”
“I read the police report.”
“Then you can see the kind of things a businessman has to worry about. I would have been better off driving to the bank in a bulletproof Hummer with a couple of bodyguards.”
“Who did the robbery?”
“If I knew, I’d have told you already”
“I understand the North Hollywood division is investigating. Maybe they’ll be able to tell us both soon. But I was going to ask about the Hummers. Do you know where they are now?”
“Since you say it like that, I guess you have them”
“You’re right. They’re in our impound lot. Here are some photographs of them I got this morning.” He set them on the table in a row in front of Kapak.
He stared down at them for a few seconds. It was hard to imagine what had happened to his two vehicles to make them look that way. They appeared to have been pounded on all sides by a giant hammer. He became aware of Ospinsky leaning against his shoulder so he could get the best view of the pictures without craning his neck too much. His breath was horrible, a noxious vapor being rhythmically pumped into Kapak’s face. He shrugged Ospinsky off, then looked up at Slosser.
Slosser said, “What happened to your cars?”
“You tell me.”
“I think a few of your guys drove your Hummers to the Coventry Towers building site, trying to cause some trouble. The chain that secured the gate had been broken, so they weren’t invited.”
“Who are you accusing?”
“The crime scene people are running the fingerprints now, so we should know before long who was in the vehicles.”
“What if somebody stole both Hummers and drove them to the building?”
“What were your men doing at the building? Did you have some business with the Veruda Construction Company? Did your men have orders from you, or did they just go there on their own?”
“That’s all ridiculous,” Ospinsky snapped. “Don’t answer any of these questions.”
“Then was it a burglary? Were your men there to fill the two Hummers with tools and equipment?”
Ospinsky was incensed. “Another ridiculous accusation. Mr. Kapak is a businessman with no record that would suggest anything of the sort. He had two vehicles stolen from his company and then, apparently, utterly destroyed.”