They went to work on the statements and other voluminous paperwork that accompanied every murder investigation. Chu arrived first at ten o’clock, making his way right to Bosch’s desk unannounced.

“Yee-ling isn’t here yet?” he asked by way of greeting.

Bosch looked up from his work.

“Who’s Yee-ling?”

“Yee-ling Li, the mother.”

Bosch realized he had not known the full name of the victim’s wife. This bothered him because it was an indication of how little he really knew about the case.

“She’s not here yet. You come up with anything over there?”

“I checked through our photo albums. Didn’t see our guy. But we’re making inquiries.”

“Yeah, you keep saying that. What exactly does ‘making inquiries’ mean?”

“It means that the AGU has a network of connections within the community and we will make discreet inquiries about who this man is and what Mr. Li’s affiliation was.”

“Affiliation” Ferras asked. “He was being extorted. His affiliation was that he was a victim.”

“Detective Ferras,” Chu said patiently. “You are looking at it from the typical western point of view. As I explained to Detective Bosch this morning, Mr. Li may have had a lifelong relationship with a triad society. It is called quang xi, in his native dialect. It has no direct translation but it has to do with one’s social network, and a triad relationship would be included in that.”

Ferras just stared at Chu for a long moment.

“Whatever,” he finally said. “Over here I think we call that bullshit. The vic had lived here almost thirty years. I don’t care what they call it in China. Over here it’s extortion.”

Bosch admired his young partner’s adamant reaction. He was contemplating joining the fray, when the phone on his desk rang and he picked it up.

“Bosch.”

“This is Rogers downstairs. You’ve got two visitors, both named Li. They say they have an appointment.”

“Send them up.”

“On the way.”

Bosch hung up.

“Okay, they’re on their way up. This is how I want to play this. Chu, you take the old lady into one of the interview rooms and go over her statement and have her sign it. After she signs it I want you to ask her about the payoff and the guy on the video. Show her his photo. And don’t let her play dumb. She’s got to know about it. Her husband had to have talked about it.”

“You’d be surprised,” Chu said. “Husbands and wives wouldn’t necessarily talk about this.”

“Well, do your best. She could know a lot whether she and her husband talked about it or not. Ferras and I will talk to the son. I want to find out if he’s paying protection at the store up in the Valley. If so, that could be where we grab our guy.”

Bosch looked across the squad room and saw Mrs. Li enter but she was not with her son. She was with a younger woman. Bosch raised his hand to draw their attention and waved them over.

“Chu, who is this?”

Chu turned around as the two women approached. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t know. As the two women got closer Bosch saw that the younger woman was in her midthirties and attractive in an understated, hair-behind-the-ears sort of way. She was Asian. She was dressed in blue jeans and a white blouse. She walked a half step behind Mrs. Li with her eyes cast down on the floor. The initial impression Bosch got was that she was an employee. A maid pressed into service as a driver. But the deskman downstairs had said they were both named Li.

Chu spoke to Mrs. Li in Chinese. After she responded, he translated.

“This is Mr. and Mrs. Li’s daughter, Mia. She drove her mother here because Robert Li is delayed.”

Bosch was immediately frustrated by the news and shook his head.

“Great,” he said to Chu. “How come we didn’t know there was a daughter?”

“We didn’t ask the right questions yesterday,” Chu said.

“You were the one asking questions yesterday. Ask Mia where she lives.”

The young woman cleared her throat and looked up at Bosch.

“I live with my mother and father,” she said. “Or I did until yesterday. I guess now I live with just my mother.”

Bosch felt embarrassed that he had assumed she spoke no English and she had heard and understood his annoyed response to her showing up.

“Sorry. It’s just that we need all the information we can get.”

He looked at the other two detectives.

“Okay, we are going to need to interview Mia. Detective Chu, why don’t you continue with the plan and take Mrs. Li into an interview room to go over her statement. I will talk with Mia and, Ignacio, you wait for Robert to show up.”

He turned back to Mia.

“Do you know how long your brother is delayed?”

“He should be on his way. He said he was going to leave the store by ten.”

“Which store?”

“His store. In the Valley.”

“Okay, Mia, why don’t you come with me, and your mother can go with Detective Chu.”

Mia spoke in Chinese to her mother and they proceeded toward the bank of interview rooms at the back of the squad. Bosch grabbed a yellow legal pad and the file containing the print off the camera video before leading the way. Ferras was left behind.

“Harry, you want me to start with the son when he gets here?” he asked.

“No,” Bosch said. “Come and get me. I’ll be in room two.”

Bosch led the victim’s daughter to a small, windowless room with a table in the middle. They sat down on either side of it and Bosch tried to put a pleasant expression on his face. It was hard. The morning was starting off with a surprise and he didn’t like surprises coming up in his murder investigations.

“Okay, Mia,” Bosch said. “Let’s start over. I am Detective Bosch. I am assigned as lead investigator on the case involving the murder of your father. I am very sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you.”

She had her eyes cast down to the tabletop.

“Can you tell me your full name?”

“Mia-ling Li.”

Her name had been westernized with her given name first and the family name last. But she had not taken a wholly western name like her father and brother. Bosch wondered if this was because the men were expected to integrate into western society while the women were held back from it.

“When is your birthday?”

“February fourteenth, nineteen eighty.”

“Valentine’s Day.”

Bosch smiled. He didn’t know why. He was just trying to start the relationship over. Then he wondered if they even had Valentine’s Day in China. He moved on with his thoughts and did the math. He realized that while she was still very attractive, Mia was younger than she looked, and only a few years older than her brother, Robert.

“You came here with your parents? When was that?”

“In nineteen eighty-two.”

“You were only two.”

“Yes.”

“And your father opened the store then?”

“He didn’t open it. He bought it from someone else and he renamed it Fortune Liquors. Before, it was called something else.”

“Okay. Are there any other brothers or sisters besides you and Robert?”

“No, just us.”

“Okay, good. Now, you said you have been living with your parents. For how long?”

She looked up briefly and then back down.

“My whole life. Except for about two years when I was younger.”

“Were you married?”

“No. What does this have to do with who killed my father? Shouldn’t you be finding the killer?”

“I’m sorry, Mia. I just need to get some basic information and then, yes, I will be out there looking for the killer. Have you talked to your brother? Did he tell you I knew your father?”

“He said you met him one time. You didn’t even really meet him. That’s not knowing him.”

Bosch nodded.

“You’re right. That was an exaggeration. I didn’t know him but because of the situation we were in when I…met him, I feel like I sort of knew him. I want to find his killer, Mia. And I will. I just need you and your family to help me wherever you can.”