Russian Hill (Abby Kane FBI Thriller - Chasing Chinatown Trilogy Book 1) by Ty Hutchinson Page B

feet. I looked him in the face. He smelled like urine, but his breath was what sent my head reeling back. “Why’d you run?”
    “Piss off!” he spat.
    Kang spun him around, and we proceeded to walk him back to his house.
    “Listen,” I said, “you’re not in trouble.”
    “Why the fuck you enter my property, huh?”
    “We have some questions to ask you. That’s it.”
    When we reached his building, we sat him down on the curb. “Vitaly, if we take the cuffs off, will you stay put?”
    He let out a breath of air and nodded.
    Kang uncuffed him, and I watched Vitaly rub his wrists.
    “We don’t care why you ran. Whatever the reason, we’re not here for that. We understand you work for Yellow Cab.”
    He nodded.
    “Last Saturday, do you remember picking up this girl in Sausalito?” I showed him Piper’s picture.
    He shook his head.
    “Take another look. It’s important.”
    I watched him focus on the picture, and once again, he shook his head. “I don’t remember this girl.”
    “Do you remember picking up anybody in Sausalito that day?”
    “No. I don’t pay attention to my fares. Fuck them. What do I care? Just pay me and get the fuck out.”
    Vitaly was a young man, maybe in his late twenties—probably a functioning alcoholic. Wouldn’t surprise me if he had been drinking that morning. He lowered his head, giving me a bird’s eye view of his thinning hair. It was hard to tell if he was lying or if he really couldn’t remember.
    “Hey, look, a girl is dead. Why don’t you try a little harder?” Kang said, his voice heightened with irritation.
    Vitaly continued to stare down between his legs with his mouth sealed tightly.
    Why not help? What’s the problem? “You remember her, don’t you, Vitaly?” I questioned. “We know you had nothing to do with her death, so help us out. She was an only child. Did you know that?” I knew he didn’t, but sometimes guilt can be a big motivator. Unfortunately, Vitaly continued to hide behind his Iron Curtain of emotions and resisted my attempt to tug on them.
    I knelt down and handed him my card. “Call me if you remember anything, okay? It’s important we find out what happened to her.”
    “We done?” he asked.
    “Yes, we’re done,” I answered.
    Vitaly stood up, and we watched him head back to his apartment. After he slammed his door shut, Kang turned to me. “You think maybe he’s the—”
    “The killer? I don’t think so.” I rested my hands on my hips and twisted my torso from side to side. All that driving around had made my body stiff.
    “We know he picked up Piper. He might have been the last person to see her alive. Maybe we should bring him in for more questioning.”
    “On what charge?” I asked.
    “No charge. We’re questioning a potential witness, except we take a really long time to get him his coffee so that sitting in that room starts to gnaw on him. He’ll talk soon enough.”
    I liked Kang’s thinking, but it was risky. Vitaly could completely clam up in that sort of environment and never trust us. Once that happens to a witness, forget about them saying anything, short of it being beaten out of them. “No, we have to do this on his turf, where he won’t feel threatened.”
    Kang studied me for a minute before nodding. “All right. I’ll put a patrol car outside in case he feels like taking a walk.”

 
     
    Chapter 25
     
    The plan was to circle back to Vitaly’s apartment later that night, after he’d had a chance to sober up more but before he had a chance to start his next binge.
    “You want to hang out at the precinct while we wait, or shall I drop you off at home and pick you up later?” Kang asked.
    I opted for home. It was nearly four in the afternoon, and the kids would already be back from school. “Just give me a ten-minute heads-up before you come by.”
    I watched Kang drive off before turning and heading up the walkway to the house. Before I hit the porch stairs, the smell of something