Red Light

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Song Lan hung up his phone. "Did you hear it all?"

The man curled against his chest grunted. "Of course."

With no cases demanding their immediate attention, Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen had taken a highly enjoyable afternoon for themselves. Xiao Xingchen held his lover closer for a moment before pushing himself into a sitting position.

"I guess we should shower." He stood and began to walk toward the bathroom. He turned with a flirtatious sway to his hips. "Will you be joining me?"

Song Lan smiled. "Who am I to refuse such an invitation?"
~~~~~

Dinner was ready and laid out when Nie Huaisang arrived. The three men sat and ate spaghetti bolognese, cheese and mushroom ravioli in a white wine sauce with bread and a salad. Between bites, they shared the information they had either discovered or deduced.

"The idea of Yiling knowing someone at the station is interesting. Unfortunately, we don't even have a picture to show." Nie Huaisang paused in thought. "There's no reason to believe the person would just step forward either. Considering the number of people in the station at all hours, it would be damn near impossible to confront each person and watch for signs of recognition." Another bite of ravioli and a moan. "I have to know where you ordered this from. Delicious."

"Text you the information." Lan Wangji answered. "Two things stood out to me on the coroner's report. There were no bodily fluids from a second party. No saliva. No semen. The second was no weapon marks other than the facial cut. Who ever killed Mo Xuanyu did it with either their hands or something padded enough to disguise any edges. That level of violence is not common. Can we run a database search for offenders with a history of this type of calculated assault?"

"I haven't had the chance to read the report yet but I agree. Those are noteworthy points. Good idea on the search. I'll set up the parameters and run it tonight while you're in the field. Are you both feeling up to going out tonight?" Nie Huaisang included them both but he was looking at Lan Wangji. He was the one who had been face to face with Wen Chao.

"Mn."  said around a mouthful of spaghetti. An affirmative nod.

It was good enough for the inspector. He glanced at Yu Bin who was obviously enjoying his meal. "Yu Bin?"

The man looked up and smiled. "Good to go, sir. We do need to be careful." He glanced at the detective. "After last night, we don't want you running into Wen Chao again. He might get suspicious and that's the last thing we want. If we can't find Yiling, we might have to follow Wen Chao. The less he thinks about you, the better."

"I agree." Lan Wangji didn't want a repeat of last night.

Nie Huaisang fastidiously patted at his mouth with a napkin. "Good point. It would be much easier to locate Yiling if we knew where he was turning tricks. If he's in a brothel, finding him will be harder. Most hookers get up quite late understandably but, like everybody else, they have to go to the store etc. Hmmm It might be highly productive to go out in the early afternoon tomorrow. Say one-ish? See if he's out and about. Worth a shot anyway." He helped himself to a bit more bread, absentmindedly tearing off small pieces before eating them.

 He looked at the other two men. "What do you think?"

A nod from Lan Wangji but Yu Bin answered him. "I agree, sir. Perhaps even go in a different guise. Something more ummm average? Jeans and sweatshirt. Add a baseball cap or a mask with sunglasses and we're effectively pretty much covered. It would be hard to identify us." He laughed. "I won't talk to any lamp posts."

Nie Huaisang was nodding along to the various points Yu Bin was making until he mentioned the lamp post at which point he started laughing. Even Lang Wangji had a small smile.

"That was a really nice touch! I would've avoided you too." Another dab at his mouth and a glance at his watch. "It's almost 5:30. We'll get you two ready and then go get tonight's conveyance. It's an old light blue sedan with one white door. Totally recognizable and totally forgettable.  Too many cars piecemealed in the district for it to stand out. Tonight there are different drop points and extraction points. No routine. Makes it harder to follow you or figure out what we're actually up to."

Two nods.

"Okay, go get ready, I'll do your hair when your done. I'll also put dinner in the fridge if you'll show me where your bowls are."

Lan Wangji took the Inspector into his kitchen. He watched for a moment as the man started storing the leftovers from dinner. Who would ever believe this was the infamous Spider? Nie Huaisang was definitely a complicated man. He left to change his clothes.

It didn't take Nie Huaisang long to put the food away and get the dishes into the sink. Taking out his files, he took pictures of the important parts of Jiang Cheng's files. The photos of both the missing and the suspect, their basic paperwork as well as known associates were all forwarded to Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen. He carefully returned the hard copies to their appropriate files and put the files back in his briefcase before quickly typing out a message regarding the items he had forwarded.

By the time, Yu Bin came out of the guest room, Nie Huaisang had almost completed the message. He glanced up. "I have to finish this then I'll help you." He went back to his phone. A few more moments and he hit send.

"Now, you get the oil. I'll get the dirt." he grinned.

By the time, Yu Bin looked appropriately unwashed, Lan Wangji was dressed. While Nie Huaisang played hair dresser and make up artist, he reminded them. "Watch the street prostitutes. They are the lowest rung in the sex trade hierarchy so there's more of them. And keep an eye out for those on display. For most, there are several dancing in the window, the customer makes a choice and they go elsewhere for the actual deed. There are some though that work out of the room with their window. Rare but it happens. Especially if the prostitute is higher priced for some reason. Good looking, a talent or a sexual specialty."

He looked at the two men critically, assessing their appearance. A nod.

"Last night was a chance to dip your foot into the sewer. Tonight, you are actively looking for Yiling. Try to avoid Wen Chao if at all possible. You kept in touch and watched out for each other well last night. Keep it up."

Yu Bin realized it was The Spider standing before them. It was interesting how fast Nie Huaisang cycled through seemingly completely different personalities. Whatever served his purposes at the moment. He had gone from complimenting Lan Wangji's hair and bemoaning how thin his own hair was (it wasn't) to the commanding figure of The Spider to the inspector with his omnipresent fan wafting a light breeze. There was no way to know what facet he would show you at any given moment.

'I think I kind of like that. Never a dull moment, that's for sure.' the beat cop smiled to himself.

"Let's go, gentlemen." Nie Huaisang grabbed his coat and briefcase then headed for the door.

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Today, Red Light reached 1000 reads. I am blown away and so grateful to all of you for being willing to read my scribbles. Thank you and HUGE HUGS for each and every one of you!!!

I hope everyone looked at the sky at least once today. Looked at it and smiled.

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