dozen cars on the lot to new positions in an effort to make it appear that the inventory was changing, that there was sales activity and that business was good.
At 4 P.M. “Soul of Things” came out of the stack and Bosch couldn’t help but think that even Miles would grudgingly give Stan′ko his due. Harry was following the groove with his fingers on the steering wheel when he saw Chang go into the small office and change his shirt. When he stepped out he was finished for the day. He got into the Mustang and drove by himself off the lot.
Bosch’s phone immediately buzzed with a call from Chu. Harry killed the music.
“You got him?” Chu asked. “He’s moving.”
“Yeah, I see.”
“Heading up to the ten. You think he’s done for the day?”
“He changed his shirt. I think he’s done. I’ll take the lead and then you be ready to move up.”
Bosch followed five car lengths behind and then caught up as Chang headed west on the 10 toward downtown. He was not going home. Bosch and Chu had followed him the night before to an apartment in Monterey Park-also owned by Vincent Tsing-and had watched the place for an hour after the lights had gone out and they felt comfortable with the belief that he was in for the night.
Now he was heading into L.A. and Bosch’s instincts told him he was carrying out triad business. He sped up and passed by the Mustang, holding his cell phone up to his ear so Chang wouldn’t get a look at his face. He called Chu and told him he was now on point.
Bosch and Chu continued to trade off the point while Chang connected to the 101 Freeway and headed north through Hollywood toward the Valley. Traffic bogged down in the rush-hour crunch and following the suspect was easy. It took Chang nearly an hour to get up to Sherman Oaks, where he finally exited on the Sepulveda Boulevard ramp. Bosch called Chu.
“I think he’s going to the other store,” he told his surveillance partner.
“I think you’re right. Should we call Robert Li and warn him?”
Bosch paused. It was a good question. He had to decide whether Robert Li was in danger. If so, he should be warned. But if he was not in danger, a warning could blow the whole operation.
“No, not yet. Let’s see what happens. If Chang goes into the store, we go in with him. And we’ll step in if things go wrong.”
“You sure, Harry?”
“No, but that’s how we’ll play it. Make sure you make the light.”
They held the connection. The light at the bottom of the ramp had just turned green. Bosch was four cars behind Chang but Chu was at least eight.
Traffic moved slowly and Bosch crept along, watching the light. It turned yellow just as he hit the intersection. He made it but Chu wouldn’t.
“Okay, I got him,” he said into the phone. “No worries.”
“Good. I’ll be there in three minutes.”
Bosch closed the phone. Just then he heard a siren from directly behind him and saw flashing blues in the rearview.
“Shit!”
He looked ahead and saw Chang proceeding south on Sepulveda. He was four blocks from Fortune Fine Foods & Liquor. Bosch quickly pulled to the curb and hit the brake. He opened his door and jumped out. He was holding his badge up as he approached the officer on the motorcycle who had pulled him over.
“I’m on a surveillance! I can’t stop!”
“Talking on a cell phone is illegal.”
“Then write it up and send it to the chief. I’m not blowing a surveillance for this.”
He turned around and went back to his car. He bulled his way back into the traffic and looked ahead for Chang’s Mustang. It was gone. The next traffic signal turned red and he was stopped again. He banged the heel of his hand off the steering wheel and started wondering if he should call Robert Li.
His phone buzzed. It was Chu.
“I’m making the turn. Where are you?”
“I’m only a block ahead of you. I got pulled over by a motor cop for talking on a cell phone.”
“That’s just great! Where’s Chang?”
“Somewhere up ahead. I’m moving now.”
Traffic was slowly moving through the intersection. Bosch wasn’t panicked because the road was so glutted with vehicles that he knew Chang could not have gotten too far ahead. He stayed in his lane, knowing that he might draw attention in Chang’s mirrors if he started jockeying between lanes and cars to move up.
In