The Old Road (Twenty-Six)

"The mountain's on fire."

Amid the cries of alarm, the officer behind the wheel slammed on the brakes and stared at the column of smoke shooting into the sky.

"Looks like one of the houses halfway up the mountain."

He muttered to himself, then instinctively looked back at Jones, only to see him gripping his gun tightly, his face ashen.

The officer was right. From this close, they could clearly see where the smoke was rising: the abandoned estate.

"What's going on?"

By then, the car behind them had caught up. Mrs. Mary scrambled out in a panic and stood there staring blankly.

"We don't know yet."

Jones offered a quiet reassurance, then turned to Fu Qian.

The latter was resting his chin on one hand, deep in thought.

"Do you know what's going on?"

"The fire's spreading fast. There seems to be more than one point where it started."

Fu Qian didn't even turn around.

"It was probably set deliberately."

Jones hadn't expected Fu Qian to actually be analyzing the situation so seriously. After a moment's silence, he opened his door and took his wife's hand.

"Get in over here. We'll go take a look together."

After helping the dazed Mrs. Mary into the car, Jones told the officer to change their destination and drive straight up the mountain.

Click!

At the same time, a gleaming handcuff snapped shut around Fu Qian's wrist.

"Isn't that a little improper?"

Fu Qian glanced down, his expression unchanged.

"I'm not even a suspect yet, am I?"

"You can report me."

Jones was just as blunt. He cuffed Fu Qian's other hand as well, then put his gun away.

By the time the two cars reached the mountain, plenty of other vehicles had already crowded the area.

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