New story sneak peek - but, I haven't come up with a title for it yet. Leave your suggestions in the comments!
There was a knock on the door; Rachel looked up from the book she was reading and called, “Who is it?”
“Hong Kong police,” came the reply — in a quiet man’s voice.
“Jesus Christ,” she swore, “is this some kind of joke?!”
“No, Ms. Lane, this is not a joke,” said a different man — this one with a harsher, more familiar New York sound.
She wasn’t stupid — there was no way in hell she was opening the door. “And who are you,” she asked the second man, “Paris police?”
“NYPD,” he replied. “Please open the door.”
“Shit,” she swore under her breath. Then, to the two men at her door, she said a little angrily, “Look, I haven’t done anything. And I haven’t even been to Hong Kong since I was 15. So unless you’ve got a warrant, you can just leave.”
“You are Rachel Lane, aren’t you?” the first man asked, sounding a little puzzled.
“Yes, I am.” She started to say something else, but he interrupted her.
“And your sister is Cherry Yen? Married to one of the Chinese ambassadors currently here — Bai Yen?”
“Yes,” she replied hesitantly. Of course, Cherry was a Hong Kong cop, too, but she would’ve said something if she knew something was up.
“Ms. Lane,” the New York cop said again, “we need you to open the door right now.”
The Hong Kong cop cut him off. “I am not here to arrest you,” he assured her. “I am here about your sister.”
She was still puzzled, but the Hong Kong cop sounded like a fairly nice guy. She looked out the peep-hole of her apartment door. “What about my sister?” she asked suspiciously.
“May I come in?” he asked gently.
She paused. “You can,” she replied. “But he can’t.” She gestured toward to NYPD cop.
The Hong Kong cop nodded to the other man and said, “Thank you for your assistance. I can handle it from here.” The NYPD cop looked disappointed, but he tipped his hat and left. As soon as he was gone, Rachel opened the door for the Hong Kong cop.
When she did, he looked surprised. “What?” she half-snapped at him.
“I…I’m sorry,” he stammered. “It’s just…you don’t look…” He shook his head.
“I don’t look Chinese,” she finished, sounding slightly bitter.
“Yes,” he conceded. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean —“
She shook her head and interrupted, “No, don’t worry about it.” She sighed. “Come on in.” She shut the door behind him and muttered, “Guess they don’t have the fact that my mother’s a slut in your files.” When she saw the uncomfortable — but unmistakably puzzled — look on his face, she continued, “Cherry’s technically only my half-sister. We don’t have the same father — mom was always sleeping around, and I’m the product of one of her many affairs.” She sighed again. “So, you’re here about my sister,” she said, changing the subject. “What about her? I mean, I thought she’s one of the best cops on your force.”
“Yes,” he replied, “she was.”
“Was?” Rachel exclaimed. “What do you mean ‘was?’ I just saw her yesterday; she didn’t say anything about quitting!”
Again, he looked both uncomfortable and puzzled all at once. “You mean you haven’t been told yet?” he said carefully.
“Told what?!” she barked.
He hesitated. “You should probably sit down,” he replied gently.
“What happened?” she demanded.
“Your sister…was found dead this morning, along with her husband,” he finally said. “I am very sorry, I thought you’d been told already.”
“Then why are you here, if it’s not to tell me that?” she snapped again.
“It appears they were shot with Cherry’s own gun,” he said delicately, trying not to upset her more. “Unfortunately, the only fingerprints on it are hers; her wounds seem to be self-inflicted. We were hoping you might have some information…”
“You think it was a murder-suicide,” she accused. “No way. Cherry would never do that, not in a million years. My sister was murdered.”
He nodded sympathetically. “I know it’s difficult to imagine,” he began.
“It’s impossible,” she interrupted, adamant.
“Do you know if she had been planning to go anywhere?” he asked. “See anyone?”
As the reality of the situation finally started to sink in, she shakily lowered herself into a chair. “Not really,” she replied. “We went out to lunch, but she said she had to get back to the hotel early — she was going to an Embassy dinner with Bai. That’s all I know.”
“Had she mentioned any threats against either of them?”
“No. But she probably wouldn’t have told me if there were — she never wanted me to worry.”
