The helicopter\u2019s spotlight froze the dead guy. Three holes in his chest leaked white feathers. They twirled in the rotor wash, forming a vortex\u2014a grim snow globe.<\/p>\n
Only thing missing was a sign: CHRISTMAS IN KOREATOWN.<\/p>\n
Air 18 circled over a side street north of Olympic. Her cold, unforgiving beam swept the asphalt. Crooked lines of black-and-whites, flickering red and blue, pointed to the main event.<\/p>\n
My partner Kevin Han and I got there late. We\u2019d been on the other side of Wilshire Division when the \u201cofficer needs help\u201d call came out. We shut down our code-3 run when someone put out a code-4\u2014all officers accounted for.<\/p>\n
The street was a valet\u2019s nightmare. Ingress blocked. Forget about egress.<\/p>\n
Kevin and I parked a block away and walked in.<\/p>\n
He lit up a Marlboro on the way.<\/p>\n
We joined the other blue-suited spectators watching the tan-shirted CHP guys work the scene. Their circus, not ours.<\/p>\n
Center stage: the dead clown.<\/p>\n
He\u2019d led the chippies on a vehicle pursuit, got off on Vermont, then tried his luck in Koreatown.<\/p>\n
He drove his car into a light pole, jumped out, and bum-rushed the chippies with a loaded .45.<\/p>\n
They scored three in the ten ring. Not bad for guys who work triple-A with a badge.<\/p>\n
Kevin lit a new cigarette off the cherry of the old one. Too windy for his Zippo.<\/p>\n
I caught a whiff of gunpowder.<\/p>\n
We stood near a makgeolli bar. Some guy poked his head out and ducked back in. The garlicky, spicy smell of Korean food followed him\u2014along with the tangy, sweet scent of rice wine.<\/p>\n
My stomach growled.<\/p>\n
We stared at the dead guy locked in the cold spotlight. The white feathers kept rising from the bullet holes.<\/p>\n
How many feathers could there be in a puffy jacket?<\/p>\n
How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?<\/p>\n
Another person peeked through the door, releasing the scent of homesickness.<\/p>\n
Kevin smoked his cigarette down to the butt. Flicked it into the gutter. The glowing embers bounced off the pavement and fizzed into the air.<\/p>\n
The smell of smoke lingered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat a fucking idiot.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
Kevin got tired of staring at a dead man.<\/p>\n
So did I. We had shit to do.<\/p>\n
I took one last look at the eerie snow globe before we walked away.<\/p>\n
A month later, Kevin said he was sick of working Koreatown. Transferred to Southeast Division. I never saw him again.<\/p>\n
That was 20 years ago.<\/p>\n
The other day I heard he jumped headfirst from an overpass onto the 101.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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