Stephen Knight - White Tiger

Xiaohui looked shocked; Chin didn’t bat an eyelid. He said, “I think we both know the consequences of such a story ever being released. A certain party would destroy your career.”

“Along with yours. Might be worth it, just to see the look on your face when they tear up your license and run you out of the state.”

“Are you really so insane, detective sergeant?”

“Only when I haven’t had enough coffee. This is one of those moments. Don’t push me, Chin. First and only warning.”

Chin stared at Ryker for a count of five, then his lips twisted into a humorless smile and he said, “I think we might be inclined to drop the lawsuit. Assuming my client is released forthwith and receives no further harassment from the police.”

Ryker shrugged a shoulder. “Sure. Back in a jiffy.” Chee Wei followed Ryker out into the hallway, and closed the door.

“Bad timing, huh? Wonder who this senator is?”

Ryker thought about it for all of two seconds. “Might not matter. Lin hobnobs with the rich and shameless, so hearing a politician’s in the mix doesn’t surprise me.” He jerked his thumb toward the interview room. “But wants access to the girl. What do you suppose he wants with her?”

“To ask her what she knows about Danny Lin’s murder. What else?”

Ryker stepped up to the door so he could watch Xiaohui and Chin through the slit window. “You notice her reaction when I mentioned Lin’s name?”

“Yeah, she pissed her pants. What do you think she’d say if I asked her out on a date?”

“You’ve already got a hot date, remember? With that nice girl from Guangzhou.”

Chee Wei made a sour face. “You had to go and remind me, didn’t you? I got her e-mail address. My parents don’t know. I’m gonna give her the bad news tonight. Hey bitch, I don’t do arranged marriages, it’s over, deal with it.”

“You want some friendly advice?” Ryker winced inwardly. He’d almost said some fatherly advice. Jesus, he wasn’t that old. Not yet, anyway. “Don’t be so hasty. Ask her to send you a pic first. What if it turns out she looks like Miss Zhu? Or better?”

“Come on, what are the chances? I don’t need to see a picture, I know she’s a pig.”

Through the window in the door, Ryker watched as Victor Chin spoke rapidly while Xiaohui frowned and nodded her head a lot. Again she had a look of fear in her eyes. What the hell was he saying to her?

“That’s funny, I thought the Chinese ideogram for happiness was a pig inside a house?” Ryker said, even as wheels turned in his head and he figured it out. He rapped his knuckles on the door and opened it without waiting for a response. Xiaohui looked positively relieved to see him, which was a clue that he’d guessed correctly.

“My client can go now?” Chin said.

“That depends entirely on her,” Ryker said. He stepped into the room and moved away from the door so Chee Wei could see and hear. “Miss Zhu, you’re under no obligation to accept, but I’m offering you police protection. At least for the next twenty-hour hours. If you say yes, Detective Fong Chee Wei here will accompany you when you leave this building. He’ll stay with you and be your chaperone, until you say otherwise.”

Chin gaped, caught by surprise. Then he recovered his wits and snapped his mouth shut. Ryker saw doubt in his eyes and knew he’d guessed right. In the short time between the meeting upstairs and Chin’s arrival here, James Lin had made a phone call. Had he made Chin an offer he couldn’t refuse, appealing to his better nature, as had been suggested? Or had he threatened him, pure and simple? Ryker remembered the big Russian, and his tactics when he’d gone looking for Xiaohui in the Tenderloin. Cueball was big and mean but the Russian belonged in another class altogether.

“My client doesn’t need police protection,” Chin said. “Protection from what? Just what are you implying, detective sergeant?”

Ryker ignored him. “What about it, Miss Zhu? Mr. Chin seems happy to let you walk out the door and call a cab. There’s something you should be aware of. When we got to your sister’s there was a car parked across the street, a Mercedes, watching the house. Before that? The same car was at Roger and Vincent’s place.” Xiaohui’s eyes widened. “They’re okay. So is Suzy. She was very concerned for your safety. Frankly, so were we. The Mercedes peeled out before I got a chance to talk to the occupants. But I know who they are. They work for James Lin.”

“That’s enough,” Victor Chin said. “You’re trying to frighten my client. Your behavior is insufferable. I want the name of your superior.”

Xiaohui was frightened, all right. A pulse throbbed at the base of her throat. Ryker held the door open, an invitation for her to leave. She didn’t move. “Perhaps all Mr. Lin wants is to ask you about his son,” he said. “That’s understandable. But the fact is we’re no closer to finding out who killed Danny Lin. You were the only person seen entering the Taipan Suite with him. No one left after you did. The security tapes prove that. It’s looking as if a ghost cut off his dick and drove a knife clean through his heart, then vanished into the night. The question is, will James Lin accept that explanation?”

She bowed her head to hide her anguished expression. Her shoulders shook. Ryker wished he had another job; this one sucked. Victor Chin spoke a rapid stream of Chinese that was beyond Ryker’s ability to decipher. Xiaohui shook her head. Chin spoke again, louder this time, more insistent. Xiaohui shivered like a deer caught in a bright light. Chee Wei pushed past Ryker and took hold of Chin’s arm. He went nose to nose and said something that made Chin flinch. Xiaohui’s head came up and she looked from one man to the other, puzzled and relieved at the same time. Chin tore his arm free, snatched up his briefcase and walked out the door without even looking at Ryker.

Chee Wei crouched down beside Xiaohui and spoke in hushed tones that were clearly intended to reassure and relax. She listened to him and nodded several times. She said something that Ryker couldn’t catch. Chee Wei touched her shoulder, nothing sexual, simply more gentle reassurance. Her hand came up and covered his for a second before Chee Wei stood and turned to Ryker. His cheeks contained just a hint of a flush.

“Miss Zhu would like to accept our offer of protection. She is afraid of James Lin and what he might do to her, even though she played no part in Danny Lin’s death.”

Ryker nodded his approval. “I’ll clear it with Spider. You okay with the job?” What he meant was, Can you keep your python in your pants while you carry out your duty? And Chee Wei knew it.

“I’m okay with the job,” he said.

“Outstanding.” Ryker leaned into the room. “Miss Zhu?” She flinched when he said her name. “I’m going to leave you here with Detective Fong. I just have to arrange a couple of things. I’ll be back soon. Then you can both leave. All right?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Ryker took Chee Wei outside into the hallway, making sure that Xiaohui could still see him from inside the interview room. “What did Chin say to her?”

“He said it was only a matter of time before James Lin got her. She might as well go to him voluntarily. That if she tried to run or hide it would be worse for her. Can you believe that creep?” Ryker noticed Chee Wei was wound up tighter than a spring. “He said if she went back to Shanghai, Lin’s people would be waiting for her. He fucked with her head real good.”

Ryker watched Chin’s retreating back disappear through the security door at the end of the hallway. James Lin had got to him, all right. “And what did you say to him? You didn’t threaten him, did you?”