White Tiger

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.