Book Talk: Thomas Perry, ‘Strip’

Poor Manco Kapak. He’s just making a night deposit at the bank when he gets held up by a thief who steals his $20,000. Then he gets robbed again. This time for about $60,000. Almost unbelievably, the same crook shows up with a trigger-happy girlfriend who sprays his agents with bullets from her big 45, hitting one of his trusted employees in the lower leg. Then, the combo raids one of his places of business, dragging his safe through the building, pulling down one of the walls, and taking another employee’s truck to transport the safe.

Manco is starting to get upset. He’s a gangster, owner of a nightclub in L.A. and a couple of strip joints in the valley. He’s not the kind of guy who can let word spread that he’s “gotten soft” or is an “easy score.” Because he’s well-known not only for his businesses but also as a money launderer for Manuel Rogoso, the local drug lord who has ties to a Mexican cartel, he’s not likely to be victimized by local crooks.

He has his men start asking around to see if there is someone new on the scene who seems to be throwing a lot of money around. A couple of girls (teenagers passing for 21) at his L.A. club mention Joe Carver, and Manco pegs him as the likely candidate. But Carver shows up in Manco’s office, showing his face so that Manco will know that he’s not the culprit. However, Manco needs to make an example of someone. Anyone. Why not Joe Carver.