The Gate of the Middle Kingdom

Chapter 8: Megan Hunter

Mankind has always held a fascination for the future, and there are few things which humans have not tried to predict before. The weather. Speculation on the financial market. Political upheaval. Love relationships. Deaths. Those who make accurate predictions are usually hailed for their ability, yet some unfortunates have been ignored or met with disbelief, and there have even been those who were condemned for spreading their knowledge. No one will dispute, however, that knowledge of the future is valuable; and that those who choose to share it must be aware that they carry a great responsibility.

Madam Hong was an exception. Fortune telling was nothing more than a side job to her, something to pass leisure time. Nonetheless, she was proud of her work, which was why she refused to remain silent when she overheard Mr. Blake ridiculing the fortune she had written for him.

He was holding up between his fingers the slip of paper he had found in his fortune cookie. "You actually believe this?" he said to the boy sitting across from him, smirking mockingly.

Madam Hong strode up to their table. "I believe we've another naysayer," she said. "Stephen," she turned to her newest employee, who had not yet left the table he'd been serving, "what happened the last time you didn't believe in your fortune?"

Stephen blushed. "I need to serve another table, Madam," he replied evasively. He quickly fled her presence.

Madam Hong smiled, extending her hand to her customer. "Madam Hong," she introduced herself, "restaurant owner and part-time fortuneteller."

Mr. Blake shook her hand with more than a little surprise. "You write these fortunes yourself?"

"Yes," Madam Hong confirmed, "it's my specialty." She turned to the boy and grinned. "Right, Daniel?"

Daniel frowned. Madam Hong's chilly grin was sending tingles down his spine; there was certainly more to her than she let on. "You're the granddaughter of the fortuneteller who fled," he deduced, "you inherited the family business."

She laughed. "An interesting theory. I cannot discuss it with you, however, as I'm about to be very busy."

In that exact moment, several cops entered. "Where's the owner of the restaurant?"

Madam Hong gave Daniel a polite smile. "As I said, duty calls."

She left Mr. Blake and Daniel's table to address the policemen. "What seems to be the problem, officers?"

"A murder case, the victim was a regular here," one of the police agents said. "I'm Inspector Hunter," she extended her hand, "I lead this case."

Madam Hong shook her hand. "Ms. Inspector, it's my pleasure. I'll do what I can to help."

"Then you could perhaps tell me more about this girl?" Inspector Hunter flashed a photo in front of Madam Hong's face.

"That's Mary," Madam Hong said. "I assume she's the victim of this case?"

"She is."

Madam Hong shook her head, sighing, "She and Johann hadn't come to my restaurant in ages; they had a fall out, I believe, because of a friend who had passed away last year. His name was... Yude Silvermunt, I think."

Both Mr. Blake and Daniel sat within hearing range of the conversation between Inspector Hunter and Madam Hong, and the revelation of Mary's death shocked Mr. Blake to his very core.

Mary was dead? Mary DelFleur?

He'd been her teacher last year. He would've been her teacher this year too, but she never showed up, so he'd assumed that the girl had dropped out of school, as those things unfortunately happened more often than he wished. Now it was revealed that this had not been the case. He'd lost a student, because she was murdered. What sort of monster would do such a thing to an innocent girl? How could anyone do this!