[The story so far]
“Charlie, you really need to get over that thing with your ex,” I said. “I’m worried it’s going to get in the way of our investigation.” We were waiting in the lobby. A murder investigation on a double platinum had high priority, and now that we’d found a connection between two of them, headquarters had handed off all our other priorities. So I wanted the prognosis on our suspect before leaving, and maybe, if we were lucky, we could continue the interrogation.
Charlie opened his mouth as if to speak, then closed it again and sighed. “It’s just… it’s been tough, you know?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I know.”
“Well how could you know, Vick? You live for the job. I’ve never seen you dating anyone, not even a man. You never take time off, and you never talk about your love life.”
“Trust me,” I told Charlie. “I know. But the past is the past, and the future is the future. Chairman Liu said it, I believe it, and it’s why I’m here.”
I got up, walked over to the vending machine, and ordered three soft drinks. The money was automatically deducted from my account. Admittedly, I had a lot of overtime pay, but I didn’t always have a choice. I tossed the first to Charlie.
Charlie caught his easily. “Chairman Liu Cola. Very funny.”
“Best soda made in Outer Hong Kong,” I said.
“Only soda made in Outer Hong Kong,” Charlie replied.
“That’s not true. There are some unlicensed soda vendors down by the dock markets. I mean, if you don’t mind getting sick, of course. Just a little sick.”
I passed Huan his green can of soda. Then I leaned against the wall, cracked mine open, and had a drink.
Huan looked contemplative as he drank his soda.
“Who is Jack?” He asked. “And who is Camille?”
“You think this goes deeper?” I asked.
Huan took another drink.
“I’m thinking it’s a problem if our only suspect and lead on the case dies without any follow-up.”
“True, but there are probably a million Jacks on Earth,” I said, “so it doesn’t help us narrow it down that much - assuming she was even telling the truth. Say, do you guys think maybe she was concussed?”
But inside, I was worried that I might know just who “Jack” was.
“Maybe,” said Huan, “but don’t they check for that?”
A door opened at the far end of the room, and a man in a white hazard suit stepped through. We all looked over at him.
“Officers Charlie Lin, Victor Fang, and Zhang Huan?” The man asked.
“That’s us,” I said.
“I need you to come with me, please. We need to check whether you’ve been exposed.”