Talk

"New York is expected to receive 20 to 30 millimeters of rain today. City officials say the drainage system has been fully inspected."

The Cadillac's radio continued broadcasting the weather report.

Beta gazed through the rain-streaked window. In the cemetery, people holding black umbrellas stood in silence, like dark plants quietly sprouting from rain-soaked earth.

John, Matilda, and Leon had sunk into that frozen darkness.

Beta's Adam's apple bobbed, and his jaw tightened. He pushed open the car door—the black umbrella burst through the curtain of rain. His footsteps crunched over the waterlogged gravel, and at last he disappeared into the low-hanging shadows.

The idling Cadillac breathed out white plumes into the downpour. The muffled thud of the closing door was crushed beneath the waterfall roar of the rain.

The radio announcer continued reciting precise figures. Every umbrella tilted heavily toward Helen's grave, like black petals suddenly closing around the earth.

The mass of umbrellas swayed gently in the wind, like a colony of black fungi.

Mei Wa stood before a charred Ford sedan, cold rain dripping steadily from her umbrella. Ever since the Downing Street case, the far-fetched "mosquito-catching plan" had made no headway, so she had no choice but to keep following this lead.

The Ford had been devoured by flames, leaving only a twisted metal skeleton. The killer had used it to steal the hard drives and lure Eliot out. By now, the stolen drives had long since melted in the intense heat, becoming lumps of hardened polymer inside the car frame.

Mei Wa felt as though she were playing a carefully designed puzzle game, with the killer codenamed Beta as the question setter hidden behind the scenes.

From the murder of the American businessman to the assassination of the Downing Street journalist, Beta should have left the United Kingdom, but instead struck again, stealing the hard drives to lure Eliot out before delivering a fatal blow to the political scion at the Forest Club.

Mei Wa couldn't understand why this mysterious Beta was so relentless in pursuing a female journalist and a political scion. What motive lay behind this near-obsessive targeting?

Her deputy handed her the scene investigation report and shook his head. "We found nothing. The car was stolen, and the license plate was forged. The entire vehicle was burned clean. No fingerprints, no DNA, not a single useful trace."

Mei Wa took the report and asked pensively, "There's something I've never been able to figure out. Can you help me think it through?"

"Go ahead," her deputy replied at once, his expression serious.

Mei Wa furrowed her brow. "I don't understand why Beta had to assassinate that female journalist on Downing Street. What's even harder to understand is why he was willing to risk exposing himself by returning to the United Kingdom just to eliminate Eliot?"

She looked up. "One was a socialite who used her looks to ingratiate herself with the powerful. The other was a political scion who seemed shrewd on the surface. They came from completely different worlds."

Her deputy pondered for a moment. "Chief, I have a theory."

Mei Wa motioned for him to continue.

"Jasmine, the journalist, has always been known for currying favor with the powerful to get inside information. She even ran a column dedicated to exposing the private lives of political and business figures," her deputy explained. "As a political scion, Eliot may have had some damning secrets she knew about. To keep her quiet, he hired a killer to eliminate her."

Mei Wa raised an eyebrow. "Then how did Eliot end up being killed by the very killer he hired?"

Her deputy rubbed his chin. "Could Eliot have stiffed him? The killer couldn't get paid, so he decided to take out the employer too?"

Mei Wa couldn't help laughing. "Eliot was a shrewd political scion. He wouldn't make such a basic mistake."

Her deputy added, "Maybe Eliot didn't just intend to stiff him. Perhaps he also tried to use the police to get rid of Beta, a dangerous witness, but ended up playing with fire?"

Mei Wa's smile gradually faded, and her expression turned serious again.

She turned to her deputy. "Given Eliot's background, would he really stiff someone?"

Her deputy considered this. "Hard to say. We'd need to check his financial records, especially whether any large sums were deposited recently and then left untouched."

"Look into it at once." Mei Wa straightened her collar. "I'll speak with the Chief Superintendent myself."

As an MI6 operations team leader, Mei Wa kept the meeting process brisk and direct. She presented her credentials and identified herself, and Doyle's secretary immediately escorted her to the Chief Superintendent's office.

Fifty-five-year-old Doyle sat behind his desk. Decades of experience at Scotland Yard had etched an imposing authority into his features, and his keen, hawklike eyes still held the vigilance of a career police officer. Though he had just suffered the loss of his son, the Chief Superintendent showed no trace of grief as he faced Mei Wa.

Doyle scrutinized Mei Wa with a sharp gaze. "Have you made any progress on Eliot's case?"

Mei Wa met his eyes. "For now, it's still only speculation. But before we begin, I need to make my position clear."

She leaned forward slightly. "I'm not with the disciplinary department. My sole purpose in coming here is to close the case as soon as possible. I can assure you I'm not wearing any recording devices. Once we leave this office, neither of us needs to acknowledge what was said here today."

Doyle slowly leaned back in his chair, the leather creaking faintly. "This office is equipped with signal jammers. So I accept your proposal."

Mei Wa looked Doyle straight in the eye. "Was there some connection between Eliot and the murdered journalist, Jasmine, that you know about but can't disclose?"

Doyle picked up the pen on his desk and slowly rolled it between his fingers. "You mean my son was having an affair with that socialite, she got hold of something she could use against him, and he hired someone to kill her?"

He raised his eyes. "Then why did the killer murder the employer too?"

"Seems you already have a theory," Mei Wa said, picking up on the implication behind his words.

"I'm a police officer." Doyle slammed the pen down on the desk. "Naturally, I know how to draw conclusions from clues."

Mei Wa leaned forward slightly. "Could you provide me with some clues?"

Doyle considered this for a moment. "The key lies with Eliot's financial firm. That female journalist approached my son, most likely because she was after the company's secrets. Naturally, they would do everything they could to hide a relationship like that. I suspect some of the company's data caught that woman's interest."

Mei Wa pressed him. "What did the data concern?"

Doyle didn't answer at once. He lowered his head slightly and looked directly at Mei Wa.

Mei Wa understood at once. "Sorry, I overstepped."

She changed the subject. "Do you have any other leads you can share?"

"No." Doyle's answer was crisp and decisive.

Mei Wa rose and bowed slightly. "Thank you for your time."

Doyle merely nodded.

Mei Wa disappeared through the doorway. As the bolt clicked shut, the authority vanished from Doyle's face, and a vicious glint flashed in his eyes.