Red Light

Coffee

There was a knocking at the door. Jin Guangshan groaned as he tried to open his eyes. Fury followed by alcohol wasn't necessarily a good choice. His head was killing him.

Again the knock.

"What the fuck do you want!" he yelled and instantly regretted it.

"Sir?" He recognized the day butler's voice.

"There are two police officers downstairs. They have an arrest warrant for Jin Zixun. It's for murder, sir." The man's voice was matter of fact. As if this was no surprise to him.

Jin Guangshan shot out of his bed and yanked open the door.

"WHO IS DOWNSTAIRS?" he yelled. Again, he regretted it as his head gave him a heavy pulse of pain.

"Two police officers, sir. They are here to arrest Jin Zixun. They are looking over the premises for him as we speak."

The mayor just stared for a moment. 'This cannot be happening.' he thought in fear. If they knew about Jin Zixun, how long until they knew about him?

"Give me a moment. Offer them coffee and pastries. Cops love coffee and pastries." he muttered as he closed the door. He walked to his bathroom and rinsed his face.

He looked at himself. Wrinkles were beginning to show up in droves. A slight sag under his chin. Life was catching up with him. His eyes? They showed fear.

He turned from the mirror and grabbed a bathrobe. He wouldn't let them see the fear.

Downstairs, Feng Mingjing looked sourly at the third pastry he'd been offered. He gave up and took it as he walked up the stairs with the pastry in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.

The butler was finally taking him to Jin Zixun's room. He had put his foot down and suggested maybe the butler needed to visit the station as well.

It worked as well as it usually did.

Who had he pissed off that they kept giving him these awful assignments? First Madame Yu and now the Mayor's kid? He needed to make offerings at the temple. Maybe that would help.

At least the pastry was delicious. He shoved the last of the pastry in his mouth and chewed vigorously. Yep. Delicious.

The butler stopped in front of a door and opened it. "This is the Young Master's room. Please, excuse me." A slight bow and the man left.

Feng Mingjing took a large swallow of coffee and set it on a table in the hall. Ready to look at the room, he entered carefully.

The room reeked of cleaning solutions. He coughed slightly.

'What the hell were they cleaning up?' he wondered.

Everything was in its place. The room could have come out of a magazine it was so perfect. He shifted his attention to the peripherals. That's when he saw several spots where the wall was bowed in. Someone had thrown something at the wall and hit it with force. Bending down, he checked the carpeting directly below the impact points. Tiny pieces of broken glass were caught between the carpet and the wall.

Someone had thrown a helluva tantrum in this room recently. Perhaps a man who realized the police were coming for him? The butler said 'the Young Master' left on a trip rather abruptly last night. He claimed not to know the destination. It seemed reasonable Jin Zixun had been tipped off and run for it.

He would scan the rest of the house but it was a fair bet, Jin Zixun was trying to leave the country before they could catch him.

Walking back down the stairs, he saw the Mayor charming his assigned rookie who appeared to be indulging in yet another treat. How many could that boy eat?