The Old Road (5)

In the light spilling through the window, smoke billowed around Sheriff Jones.

He spoke with such certainty that it sounded as if he knew for a fact that I'd eaten two bowls of noodles.

"Oh? And why do you say that?"

Fu Qian wasn't about to prove his innocence by insisting he'd really only eaten one bowl. Instead, he asked with a cheerful smile.

As he spoke, he even took the opportunity to assess the man's gear. He had a baton, but no gun.

If Fu Qian couldn't explain things away, he was still confident he could take the sheriff down, precautions or not, then drive off before anyone inside came running.

Of course, that was the last resort. It would greatly limit his options later, and he'd only do it if he had no other choice.

There was one other thing he could be sure of from the sheriff's earlier question.

He hadn't been imagining things: something was off about Cartman and the other two, and the car was far too clean.

"I've been a police officer for many years. I've seen a lot of people."

Jones answered Fu Qian in a flat, wooden voice, without even looking him in the eye.

"I may not have any special abilities, but I'm good at judging what a person is capable of."

"From the moment you walked in, I knew you were different from the others."

"Of all of you, you're the only one who'd do something like that and still have the nerve to visit a police officer's home."

Good eye! So a dazzling man like me really did stand out wherever he went.

Fu Qian marveled to himself.

But there was one problem with that. Having the nerve didn't mean he'd actually done it.

"So the call you just