“Do you know who she is?” Derek asked.
Zhang shook his head. “No.”
“On November twenty-third, 2050, you killed her. Your men wrapped her dead body in a carpet and dumped her in your SUV.”
“You are mistaken.”
Derek lowered the gun and shot Zhang in the foot. The shot reverberated through the suite, loud enough to dull Derek’s hearing. The man fell to the floor, crying out in pain, a small pool of blood staining the carpet.
“Try again, you piece of shit,” Derek said.
“I’ve never seen her before,” Zhang said, holding his foot.
“Wrong answer.” Derek shot Zhang in the knee cap.
He howled in pain, now in the fetal position.
Derek pressed the gun to Zhang’s temple and said, “Tell me what you did to her!”
“She was a whore! She fucked me whenever and however I wanted. But I never did anything she didn’t want.”
Derek stared at the gun, as if it were some alien object in his hand. Sirens were faintly audible, the volume increasing with each second. Tears flooded his eyes. Derek removed the gun from the small man’s temple, the handgun still pointed vaguely in the direction of Zhang Jun.
Zhang reached and grabbed the gun. As he did so, Derek squeezed the trigger.
54
Jacob and Fishing
Jacob straightened his tie, looking into the mirror over his dresser. Rebecca paced in their room, her cell phone to her ear.
She disconnected the call and said, “Still nothing. I’m worried that something happened to him.”
Jacob turned to his wife with a frown. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that he’s not your responsibility.”
“The last time I talked to him, he seemed off.”
“Off?”
“Not like himself. Depressed. Like he’d given up.”
“He lost his mother and his farm. What do you expect?”
“His girlfriend disappeared too.”
“Right.” Jacob looked away for a beat, remembering April’s face as she had been carried into Zhang Jun’s suite against her will. “That’s my point. It’s normal for him to be depressed after everything that’s happened.”
Rebecca wagged her head. “You don’t know him like I do. I feel like he was planning something terrible. I’m worried that he might’ve killed himself.”
Jacob blew out a heavy breath. “Why are you always so concerned about him? Sometimes I think you worry more about him than me.”
“It’s not like that. I’m worried because his life’s a mess.”
“And who’s fault is it that Derek’s life’s a mess?”
“Don’t be cruel.”
“What about me? I’ve had death threats. My company may have to file for bankruptcy.”
Rebecca sidled up to Jacob, taking his hand. “I worry about you every day.”
The doorbell chimed, but they didn’t react to it, knowing that it was likely a delivery and that Jeeves would answer the door.
“I should go by his house today,” Rebecca continued.
“I’d rather you didn’t,” Jacob said, letting go of her hand and fastening his wristwatch.
“Why not?”
“Because he’s desperate. You never know what he might do.”
She narrowed her eyes. “He wouldn’t hurt me.”
“He might try to sleep with you.”
Rebecca crossed her arms over her chest, but she was blushing. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it?”
“Of course it is.”
Jacob’s cell phone chimed. He grabbed his phone from atop his dresser and swiped right. “Yes, Jeeves?”
“An FBI agent is at the front door,” Jeeves said. “He’d like to talk to you and Mrs. Roth.”
They went downstairs, and Jacob opened the front door. A stocky man wearing a dark suit and with a buzz cut stood there.
“May I help you?” Jacob asked.
“Mr. and Mrs. Roth?” the agent replied.
“Yes.”
“I’m Agent Cromwell.” He showed his badge. “I’d like to ask you a few questions about Derek Reeves.”
Rebecca placed her hand to her chest. “Is he okay?”
“You’ll have to contact my lawyer,” Jacob said.
“I’d like to hear what he has to say,” Rebecca said, scowling at her husband.
“May we talk inside?” Agent Cromwell asked.
Jacob led them to the sitting area of his office. Jacob and Rebecca sat close to each other on the couch, the agent in a chair opposite.
“Mr. Reeves was arrested last night for murder,” Cromwell said.
“Oh my God,” Rebecca replied.
“Phone records indicate that Mrs. Roth called his phone repeatedly over the past few days.” The agent looked directly at Rebecca. “What was the purpose of those calls?”
Jacob felt a pang of jealousy. He knew she’d been checking up on him, but the agent’s use of the word “repeatedly” made it sound like Rebecca was stalking Derek.
“I was worried about him. He’s had a run of bad luck. His mother died. His farm was foreclosed. His girlfriend went missing. I was worried he might hurt himself.”
“Has he ever indicated that he wanted revenge for the foreclosure of his farm?”
“No. He complained about how it’s near impossible for a small farmer to survive, but he never talked about revenge.”
Agent Cromwell nodded, then turned his attention to Jacob. “Do you know a man named Zhang Jun?”
Jacob’s eyes widened for a split second. “He’s the CEO of the Bank of China.”
“Do you know him personally?”
“We have a professional relationship. The Bank of China is a large investor in my company.”
“Did you know that the Bank of China foreclosed on Mr. Reeves’s farm?”
“No.”
“Mrs. Roth.” The agent looked at Rebecca. “Did you know that?”
“No, I didn’t. Derek never said which bank it was. Does it matter?”
“I think it’s relevant, considering that Mr. Jun was murdered.”
Jacob’s body went rigid. “You think Derek killed Zhang Jun?”
Rebecca stared at Jacob.
“Yes,” Agent Cromwell replied, zeroing in on Jacob now. “Have you ever visited Mr. Jun at his suite in The Regal Hotel?”
Jacob stood from the couch. “This interview is over. I don’t appreciate your lack of transparency. If you need to talk to me or my wife further, you can contact my lawyer.”
55
Summer and Byron
Summer lay in the hospital bed, holding her sleeping son tight to her chest. It wasn’t a hospital like any she’d ever worked in. During the delivery, doctors and nurses wore scrubs, but during rounds they, along with the rest of the staff, wore army uniforms. Two guards stood just outside her hospital room. She focused on her son, Byron, not knowing how much time they had.
He had thin hair, like peach fuzz, chubby round cheeks, and a little button nose. He looked like Connor. Would he ever see his son? One of Byron’s hands was balled up in a fist, the other resting on Summer’s chest. He had perfect little fingers with perfect little fingernails. Summer kissed the top of his head, breathing in his new baby smell. A lump formed in her throat. She tried to focus on the here and now, to somehow stretch this moment into infinity.
A knock came at the door; then a woman entered followed by two men. The men were nurses, with medical insignias on their uniforms, two serpents wrapped around a winged staff. Summer knew that male nurses were often summoned when the patient was likely to be hostile. The woman had a different insignia, one that featured a sword crossed with a feather pen.
Summer looked up at the trio, instinctively gripping Byron a little tighter.
The woman said, “I’m Major Fellows. I’m from the Judge Advocate General’s Office.”