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“Why are they called triads?”
    “Because each monk started his own triad.
Tian di hui
. It means ‘heaven and earth society.’ Each group had a flag in the shape of a triangle symbolizing the relationship between heaven, earth and man. From that they became known as the triads.”
    “Great, and they brought it over here.”
    “It’s been here a very long time. But they didn’t bring it over. Americans brought it over. It came with Chinese labor brought to build railroads.”
    “And they victimize their own people.”
    “For the most part, yes. But Mr. Li was religious. Did you see the Buddhist shrine in the storage room yesterday?”
    “I missed that.”
    “It was there and I talked to his wife about it. Mr. Li was very spiritual. He believed in ghosts. To him, paying the triad might have been like making an offering to a ghost. To an ancestor. You see, you are an outsider looking in, Detective Bosch. If all you knew from day one was that part of your money went to the triad just as simply as money goes to the IRS, then you would not view yourself as a victim. It was simply a given, a part of life.”
    “But the IRS doesn’t put three slugs in your chest when you don’t pay.”
    “Do you believe that Li was murdered by this man or the triad?”
    Pointing at the man on the screen, Chu was almost indignant in asking the question.
    “I believe it is the best lead we have at the moment,” Bosch countered.
    “What about the lead we developed through Mrs. Li? The gangbanger who threatened her husband on Saturday.”
    Bosch shook his head.
    “Things don’t match up there. I still want her to look at the books and ID the kid but I think we are spinning our wheels there.”
    “I don’t understand. He said he would come back and kill Mr. Li.”
    “No, he said he would come back and blow his head off. Mr. Li was shot in the chest. It wasn’t a crime of rage, Detective Chu. It doesn’t fit. But don’t worry, we’ll run it down, even if it’s a waste of time.”
    He waited for Chu to respond but the younger detective didn’t. Bosch pointed to the time stamp on the screen.
    “Li was killed at the same time on the same day of the week. We have to assume that Li made regular payoffs. We have to assume that this man was there when Li was killed. I think that makes him the better suspect.”
    The interview room was very small and they had left the door open. Bosch now stepped over and closed it, then looked back at Chu.
    “So tell me you didn’t have any idea about this yesterday.”
    “No, of course not.”
    “Mrs. Li didn’t say anything about making payments to the local triad”
    Chu stiffened. He was much smaller than Bosch but his posture suggested he was ready for a fight.
    “Bosch, what are you suggesting?”
    “I’m suggesting that this is your world and you should have told me. I found this by accident. Li kept that disc because there’s a shoplifter on it. Not because of the payoff.”
    They were now facing each other less than two feet apart.
    “Well, there was nothing before me yesterday that even suggested this,” Chu said. “I was called out there to translate. You didn’t ask me my opinion about anything else. You deliberately shut me out, Bosch. Maybe if you had included me, I would have seen or heard something.”
    “That’s bullshit. You’re not trained as a detective to stand there with your thumb in your mouth. You don’t need an invite to ask a question.”
    “With you I thought I did.”
    “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
    “It means I watched you, Bosch. How you treated Mrs. Li, her son…me.”
    “Oh, here we go.”
    “What was it, Vietnam? You served in Vietnam, right?”
    “Don’t pretend you know anything about me, Chu.”
    “I know what I see and I’ve seen it before. I’m not from Vietnam, Detective. I’m an American. Born right here, like you.”
    “Look, can we just drop this so we can get on with the case”
    “Whatever you say. You’re the