Number 19

One of the officers pulled Ann’s arms back and, while reciting her rights, secured her wrists in plastic ties.

After Ann was led out of the apartment, one of the police detectives, a Korean-American who spoke Korean, turned to the masseuse. “Did you have a relationship with that woman?” he asked.

(Illustration by Ken Garduno)

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More About

• Denise Hamilton
• Naomi Hirahara
• Mas Arai
• Edgar Allan Poe
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The masseuse kept shaking her head as if she were trying to erase any thought of the girl from her mind. “Just a customer,” she said. “No one special.”

Naomi Hirahara is the author of the Mas Arai mystery series; her latest novel, Snakeskin Shamisen, has been nominated for a 2007 Edgar Allan Poe Award for best paperback original. She lives in Los Angeles.