“No. He’s nothing like Lin Yubo.”
Manning raised an eyebrow. “Government service, then? A vice minister, perhaps?”
She adopted a fey expression and turned her face away from him slightly. “I’m really not able to say. What is it you do for Lin Yubo, Jerry?”
Manning grinned. “Whatever he tells me to do.”
She clasped her hands in front of her and looked at him again. “And is that difficult?”
“It depends on what he asks me to do.”
“You said you spend most of your time in Japan? Do you live there, or...?”
He nodded. “I have a residence there, but I also live over in San Francisco. Lots of flights to Japan from here, so it makes for a good home base. I presume you live in China?”
“Hong Kong. Have you been there?”
“Of course. I enjoy it there. Hong Kong’s a bit easier for a foreigner than Japan. It’s more like New York City, only the MTR tends to run on time.”
Meihua laughed. “That it does.” She looked past his shoulder at the big mansion. The courtyard was filling up now as people made their way to the bar.
“It’s interesting that even wealth as great as this is never enough to buy happiness,” she said after a pause.
“You think Lin Yubo is unhappy with his life?”
She looked at him again but didn’t answer immediately. She smiled softly after a time and took a step toward him.
“Do you intend to stay for dinner, Jerry?”
He shrugged. “I hadn’t planned on it, nor do I think I’ve been formally invited. It seems more of a closed affair.”
“I won’t be staying either,” she said. “Ren Yun has already informed me he will not be requiring any additional translation services tonight, as he will remain here with Lin Yubo.”
“Really.” Manning met her gaze for a moment, trying to get a read on her. He presumed that her occupation was a lonely one, as man like Yun Ren required much but usually gave little in return. And for the uninitiated, America could seem a cold, forbidding place.
“Have you seen much of San Francisco?” he asked.
She only shook her head, her eyes still on his. He caught a trace of her perfume, a subtle scent that reminded him of lilacs. The aroma was suddenly arousing, leaving his senses tingling.
“We should find the opportunity to change that, then.”
###
Ryker stopped his Malibu beside the guard station at the end of the gated driveway and handed the invitation to the security guard on duty. The man checked it against whatever was written on his clipboard, then motioned toward the driveway.
“Valets will take your car,” he said.
“Any chance they’ll lose it?” Ryker asked dryly.
The guard smirked and stepped back into his shack. Ryker took his foot off the brake and accelerated up the winding driveway. It was a long one, and it was not lost on Ryker that Lin had likely chosen the villa for its remoteness. He pulled up at the end of a long covered walkway and stepped out of the car. A Hispanic man in a red vest hurried toward him, and handed him a small card with the number 16 on it. Ryker wondered if a tip was in order, but if it was, the valet didn’t wait for it. He hopped inside Ryker’s car and drove away immediately. Ryker put his hands in his pockets and watched the taillights fade away for a moment, then slowly turned and regarded the mansion behind him. That it was huge and impressive was not surprising. He ambled up the walkway and showed his invitation to the man at the door, and was immediately granted entry. Ryker nodded his thanks and stepped inside the gigantic mansion.
The outright affluence of the entry hall alone was enough to take his breath away. Gleaming marble floors, gold lamé on the ceilings, artful wainscoting abounded. Partygoers reveled deeper in the house, and a tuxedoed butler waved Ryker on.
“You’ll find most of the guests in the courtyard, sir.” With his pallor and accent, he could only be British.
“Thanks,” Ryker said. “Is Lin there, as well?”
The butler looked at him with vacant eyes. “Mr. Lin is also present, of course.”
Ryker nodded and headed down the long hallway, hands still in his pockets. He glanced at the artwork on the walls, and found he recognized some of the signatures. It appeared that Lin favored the finer things in life, even if some of those things were mere decorations. It was not lost on Ryker that his entire net worth might not even be enough to fill a simple 6 inch by 6 inch frame.
What the hell am I doing here, he asked himself, for the thousandth time. He knew the answer, of course. He just didn’t want to articulate it to himself. Still, it rose in his mind, completely against his will.
Because she might be here.
Slowly, his reluctant feet delivered him to the sprawling courtyard where most of the revelers had congregated. Some of them regarded Ryker with expressions that ranged from near-dismissal to outright interest. From his suit alone, it was obvious he did not fly in the same rarified air as they did. It didn’t take much to determine he was an outsider.
He made his way to the bar and asked what beer was available. He barely recognized some of the names, so he settled on a gin and tonic. He walked toward the pool area, the babble of English and Chinese and even some other languages assaulting his ears. Most of the conversations he couldn’t understand; even those he could were completely uninteresting. Ryker felt lost as he sipped his drink and scanned the crowd, looking for a familiar face.
He found one in Manning. The tall man met his gaze from across the courtyard, and he lifted his beer bottle in a gentle salute. He stood with a Chinese woman who looked nothing like Valerie Lin—she was too tall, too hard, and her face was perhaps a touch on the severe side. Ryker nodded back and turned away, looking out at the gleaming vista of San Francisco twinkling in the distance. It was a definite jetliner view. Despite his discomfort, Ryker found it to be a pleasant evening. The slight breeze uncharacteristically warm and dry.
“Didn’t think you’d make it, detective sergeant.”
Ryker turned and found Manning and the Chinese woman were standing behind him. She took in the view while Manning looked at him.
“My dance card was a little empty tonight,” Ryker told him.
“So this isn’t a conflict of interest? You showing up here while you’re in the middle of your investigation?”
Ryker reached into his jacket and pulled out a notebook. “I can interview people here more easily than when I’m rousting them at work or at their homes, right?”
Manning nodded. “So no play for you, eh?”
Ryker shook his head as he slipped the notebook back inside his jacket. “Unlikely.” He looked at the woman standing next to Manning. Her gaze was cool.
“Maggie Shi, meet Detective Sergeant Ryker. Sorry, I’ve forgotten your first name—”
“Hal,” Ryker said, extending his hand toward Maggie. “Hal Ryker. Pleased to meet you, Miss Shi.” He couldn’t quite pronounce the name the same way Manning had, and he wondered if that would be considered insulting.
“Good evening, Mr. Ryker. What brings you here?” Her grip was strong and firm, nothing dainty about it.
Ryker didn’t know how to answer that. “Police business,” he muttered.
“Oh? What business is that?”
“Ryker’s investigating what happened to Lin Yubo’s son,” Manning said softly.
Her expression did not change, but her eyes remained on Ryker for a long moment, sizing him up. The examination did little to make him feel at ease.
“It would be wrong of you to use this night to your advantage,” she said finally.
Ryker sipped his drink and glanced at Manning. “The law never sleeps, Miss Shi.”
“Of course not. But you should respect Lin Yubo, and not use this occasion to treat the people attending this event as suspects.”
Ryker sipped his drink again and turned away from her. He took in the view instead. “Sounds like you don’t care for the police, Miss Shi.”
“That’s not what I meant. I have no problem with policemen.”
Manning cut in. “I think what Maggie is trying to say is that this is a social gathering. Lin has lots of important folks here. And face it Ryker, you have the social skills of a pirate.”
Ryker smiled and looked over his shoulder at Manning. “Think I was too rough on you at the station?”
Manning shrugged. “I’ve been treated worse. But you probably don’t want to unwind the same attitude here, especially since your jurisdiction is way over there.” He pointed to the lights of San Francisco, twinkling in the distance.
“I’ll take that under advisement,” Ryker said. He scanned the rest of the crowd in the courtyard. Everyone was in their silken fineries, doing their best to look important and successful even if they weren’t. Ryker was definitely among the lower class here, barely at the level of the hired help.
“Just try not to be the bull in the china shop,” Manning said. “I imagine Lin invited you here to take in the crowd anyway.”
That seemed to capture Maggie’s interest. “You think Lin Dan’s—” She stopped herself and glanced around, then continued with her voice bordering on a whisper. “You think Lin Dan’s killer might be here?”
Manning shrugged. “Not my department. What do you think, Ryker?”
“Like I said before: the law never sleeps.” But the truth of the matter was, no one in the courtyard looked out of place. Some might have felt uncomfortable with the charade they were playing, but they had been at it for a long while and hid their true feelings well. And most of the guests were Chinese. They spoke a different language, were intimate with different customs that Ryker had only glimpsed through movies, books, and the occasional job in Chinatown. If Danny Lin’s killer was among them, she had picked the perfect camouflage. There was no way Ryker could get any traction without shaking things up, and that wouldn’t be very wise. Danny Lin’s murder was a political time bomb, and Ryker didn’t want it blowing up in his face.
“But who knows,” he continued. “Maybe. You think one of Lin’s people might have killed Danny, Manning?”
“I’m not saying anything of the sort. But in my line of work, we poke around in the immediate area before casting the net wide.”
Ryker sipped his drink again. “And just what is your business, anyway? And don’t give me that corporate security horse shit again.”
Manning smiled. “Later, Ryker. I’m sure we’ll be talking again at the stationhouse tomorrow.” He paused. “Try not to be a prick this time.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Ryker watched as Manning and the Shi woman disappeared into the courtyard. Ryker took in some more of the view and finished his drink, then handed the glass to one of the many waiters navigating through the crowd. He walked around the edge of the courtyard and examined the partygoers openly. There was no need to be discreet about it. Manning was right, the only reason Lin invited him was on the off chance that he might ferret out something among his inner circle. He was still a cop working a case, and he acted like it.
Until he saw Valerie Lin.
She stood near the patio, her arms crossed beneath her breasts. She had seen him before he had noticed her, and she didn’t smile when their eyes met. But she didn’t look away either, and that alone made Ryker’s heart start to pound. He’d hoped she would be here, and now that he found she was, he felt as nervous as a schoolboy on his first date. Was it because she was Lin’s daughter-in-law? Was she still considered so in the eyes of Chinese society, even though her husband was dead?
Well, we’ve seen each other. Let’s get on with it.
Ryker cut through the crowd, heading her way. He noticed Lin standing amidst a small group of people, and from the corner of his eye, Ryker saw Lin watching him as he walked through the partygoers. Ryker didn’t let that deter him for a moment. He couldn’t care what Lin thought about anything at the moment. He refocused his entire attention on Valerie Lin, still standing by the open sliding doors that led into the mansion. She watched his approach, and gave no indication if she welcomed it. Ryker didn’t quite know what to make of it, but he didn’t allow it to deter him.
“Mrs. Lin,” he said when stopped in front of her, hands in his pockets.
“Detective Ryker. I’m surprised to see you here.”
“And I’m equally surprised to be here, at your father-in-law’s request.” He turned and nodded to where Lin stood, still surrounded by his adoring public. Ryker noticed another man in the group, one of Lin’s contemporaries who resembled a frog, looked at him and Valerie as well.
“That’s some dress,” he said, when he turned back to her.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, of course. So…are you doing well?”
She thought about it for a moment. “I’m…doing as well as can be expected. I’m wondering why Lin Yubo invited you here, however. You’re not really…not really his type of person.”
But am I yours? he wanted to ask. But of course, he didn’t. One drink wasn’t enough to make him lose all control, and saying such a thing would be the next best thing to suicide as far as this woman went.
“I suspect he wanted me to have a look at the rest of the guests. He didn’t say any such thing to me, but that’s really the only reason I can think of that Danny Lin’s father would allow me to even get close to this place.” He looked up at the mansion that towered over them. “As you said, I’m not really this kind of guy.”
She looked at him with her flat, expressionless eyes for a long moment. “I would like to ask you a question. Was my husband responsible for the death of the Young woman?”
The question came out of left field and Ryker bobbled it for several moments, not sure what to do with it. He decided to catch it and play ball.
“I believe he had more than just something to do with it, yes.”
“And my father-in-law made that go away.”
“Same answer. Why are you interested in this now?”
She shrugged. “When I married Lin Dan, I was still…an innocent girl. But over the years, I grew to know him quite well. He was not someone I admired.” She looked around the courtyard, at the beautiful people, the rich and shameless, as they mingled and spoke and smoked and drank and ignored both her and Ryker. “I just wanted to know the truth of the matter, but I think I always did.”
Ryker said nothing.
Valerie looked around the courtyard once again. “I don’t want to be here. I want to leave.”
Ryker nodded.
She looked at him significantly. “Do you want me to leave, Sergeant Ryker?”
“I…” It took a moment, but Ryker figured it out. “Yes, if you want to leave, you—”
She turned and walked into the house without saying anything further. Ryker watched her go for a moment, then straightened his jacket and looked around. Lin still watched him, and Ryker was torn. How to play this?
Only one way.
Ryker stepped into the house and followed Valerie Lin’s wake as keenly as a Great White shark would follow a ribbon of blood in a dark sea.
###
“Manning.” Baluyevsky’s voice was just as brittle and intrusive as ever. Manning sighed and turned away from Maggie. The big Russian stood at the end of the hall, and his body language said it all: Come with me.
“Will you excuse me for a moment?” he said to Maggie in Mandarin.
“Of course.”
Manning nodded his thanks and walked toward Baluyevsky. The Russian faded back into the security center, and Manning followed him inside. The same operator sat facing the monitors, and Baluyevsky pointed to the one that showed the main dining area.
“Mr. Lin and his primary guests are sitting down to dinner, and the rest of the guests will begin their departures. You are no longer required. Mr. Lin wants you to go to the police station tomorrow and get another update from Ryker.”
“Very well.”
“Did you notice Sergeant Ry
ker left immediately after Lin Dan’s wife?” Baluyevsky asked. He strove for a conversational tone, but failed miserably.
“I noticed no such thing, nor is it at all relevant to what I’m here to do. Unless you feel Mrs. Lin is a potential method for Ryker to use to expose the murderer?”
“That is why I bring it up. Is she?”
“I don’t know, Alexsey. My job is to look after the law enforcement side. I’d thought that you and Lin had the family relations angle under control?”
“I leave nothing to chance. I do not think she is involved in her husband’s murder. But she may have some information. And now it looks as if she has left with the policeman.”
Manning spread his hands. “So?”
“So? So we expect you to find out from Ryker what he was talking about with Mrs. Lin.” Baluyevsky pointed to a monitor. Manning hadn’t noticed it was a freeze frame of Ryker and Valerie Lin, apparently speaking on the back patio. He looked at the image and sighed.
“You recorded them?”
“Video only. We have no audio pickups there.”
“I’ll see what I can find out during tomorrow’s meeting with Ryker. But if it’s not in the murder book, he’s not going to tell me anything about it.”
Baluyevsky wasn’t impressed. “You must find a way.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Then you may start now. Your services are no longer needed for the rest of this evening.”
That brightened Manning’s day. “And to think I thought you were just another Russian ass. Thanks, Alexsey.”
Baluyevsky’s face darkened, and he drew closer to Manning, towering over him. Most men would have been intimidated. Manning was not most men. “Do not try and ‘press my buttons’, Manning. You will not like what happens.”
“You better remember who came to who, Baluyevsky. And don’t ever walk up on me, unless you want to take this to the next level.”
Baluyevsky thought about that for a moment, then turned and opened the door. “You may leave.”
“Thanks, don’t mind if I do.”
Manning returned to the hallway. Maggie had disappeared, and he spent several minutes winding his way through the mansion, looking for her. He finally found her stepping in from the courtyard.
White Tiger Page 31
