Little Mountain Read Online Free PDF Page B

new --Viseth was on spitting terms with most of the force.
             “Do you live here, sir?” Gonzalez said. He wiped his forehead with a hairy arm.
             “No.”
             “Then what are you doing here?”
             “This is a free country, right?”
             “Right. So what are you doing here?”
             “This is my sister’s place. First floor.”
             “What is her name?”
             “Kim.”
             “What’s her last name?”
             “Kim. That’s her last name. Teeda Kim.”
             The officer looked past him, probably to the name on the mailbox.
             “What’s your name?”
             “Kim.”
             “Your full name, please?”
             “Viseth Kim.”
             “Mr. Kim, can you tell me where you were last night?”
             “On a date.”
             “Where did you go on your date?”
             “The movies.”
             “What theater?”
             “Cinema 3.”
             “What did you see?”
             “Nothing. We stayed in the parking lot. I got the lay of my life.” He wished.
             Gonzalez smiled. “I’m happy for you, sir. What’s his name?”
             “You hurt my feelings. I only do girls.”
             “I’ll bet you do. When did you get home?”
             “About ten, ten-thirty.”
             “You’re a Battboy, aren’t you?”
             “No, Officer. I’ve been good.” He feigned his best hurt expression. Up the street, the Cambodian cop was talking to the little girl. Maybe Viseth could slip away.
             The cop’s expression didn’t change. “Let me try again. Are you a member of the Battboy gang?”
             “We’re not a gang exactly. Just a few Cambodian kids who hang out together.”
             “What kind of name is Battboy, anyway? You guys play baseball?”
             “Boys from Battambang. Place in Cambodia.”
             “Where’d you get that shiner?”
             Viseth rubbed his sore eye. “Fell out of bed. No, my old man popped me one.”
             This asshole cop had no reason to bother Viseth. His mother would swear that he was home for the night by ten, ten-thirty, whatever he told her to say. Yes, my darling son. I will protect you. She was a blind old woman, but she’d kept him out of jail before. No jail time, not even overnight. He was untouchable, and a lot smarter than his reputation.
             “Do you know Mister Bin Chea?”
             “Yeah, I know who he is.” There was no use lying about that.
             “How do you know him?”
             “He’s my landlord.”
             “And you live on -- ?”
             “Mersey Street.” Viseth wanted to rip that little notebook out of the cop’s hands and jam it up his nose, but being unarmed and a head shorter discouraged him. He pictured this skinny spic with tire tracks on his back. Road kill in a blue uniform.
             “Know anybody want to hurt him?”
             “Hurt him?” Oh, shit. “No. What’s this have to do with me?”
             “Why do you think this has anything to do with you?”
             Viseth placed his hand over his thumping heart. “No reason,” he said. “No reason at all.”
             Soon Gonzalez left. Rocky chucked another stone that sailed high above the sneakers and bounced off a car’s hood. The sun was too damn hot after all. Maybe Teeda had more beer in the fridge. Maybe Rocky needed a lesson.

CHAPTER FIVE
    The mongoose and the cobra, was that it? Two creatures with a mutual hatred built into their genes? Sam was still trying to understand his gut reaction to Nawath. Best not to take that analogy too far,