Chapter 21

Colin flipped through the various pages. ’Apart from an incidental small nodular protuberance on his forehead, this official autopsy report does not list any head injuries, and it does not list any major bruising or contusions to his body,’ Colin said.

‘It records the official finding as death by drowning,’ Colin read out. ‘It says in here the coroner found evidence of water in Miles’ lungs. The report is consistent with the latest newspaper article.’ Colin gestured towards Monday’s newspaper article on the table.

‘But it is not consistent with the events that transpired,’ David said, with an abrupt tone. ‘Look… The serious head injuries the police observed, even reported to the media Friday morning, had healed by Saturday, had they?’

‘Well…’ Colin began, ’Either the detectives misrepresented what they saw Friday morning, or this report…’ he lifted the autopsy report. ’Is not accurate.

‘And if we are going to question an official autopsy report… Well, we need nothing short of solid compelling evidence,’ he said, before gently dropping the report on to growing document pile.

‘And right now… You don’t have it,’ Colin said with a single shake of his head.

To David, Colin’s tone appeared a little defeatist. David raised a finger. ‘Maybe I do,’ David said. ‘Allow me to continue, and we can come back to that thought.’

Colin extended a hand to David.

‘Now..’ David continued. ‘It concerned me why Miles’ watch and wallet were not in his property. It didn’t make sense to me. The police report did not suggest robbery or theft,’ David said.

’So I checked his on-line transaction statement for his missing credit card and I discovered the card had been used after Miles had been found in the harbor.’

David navigated to the image of the on-line statement on his cell phone’s photo gallery. ‘I haven’t had a chance to print this out yet.’ He handed the phone to Colin. ‘But if you look at the image of the statement there, you will see Miles’ credit card had been used four times after he had been… found.’

Colin examined the image. ‘OK…’ He nodded his understanding. ‘Someone clearly had possession of your son’s card,’ he said. ‘But do we know how they came to be in possession of it?’ Colin asked.

‘I think I do,’ David said. ’But I will get to that. The last entry there is a $4000 purchase at the Downtown store in Causeway Bay.

‘I obtained a copy of the security footage from that store, which clearly depicts the people involved in that fraudulent transaction.’

David removed his USB thumb drive from his envelope and handed it to the investigator. Colin inserted the storage device into the laptop, projecting the video footage to the large screen, via the overhead projector.

David gingerly pushed himself away from the table and hobbled over to stand beside the screen, adopting his corporate presentation mode.

‘If you look at the man at the counter there,’ David indicated Mohawk man. ‘He is wearing a watch that looks remarkably like my son’s missing watch.’ David tapped the watch on the screen.

’He has my son’s credit card, taken from my son’s missing wallet, so it is probable that is my son’s missing watch,’ he said.

‘But we don’t know for certain,’ Colin said. ‘We have to work on facts… or on what can be proven.’

’I understand. And I think I can prove it,’ David said, confidently. ‘But there is more here. If we keep rolling,’ David said. ‘You will see when he uses the card.’ David paused to monitor the footage. ’There...’ David jabbed a finger at the screen.

‘Ah,’ Colin said. ‘He keyed in the PIN. He knew the PIN from your son’s card,’ Colin added.

‘Correct,’ David said. ‘How did he know the PIN to my son’s credit card? Doesn’t fit, if he claimed to have found the credit card and then used it, does it?’ David said.

‘That is a good question.’

‘Now… I understand you are a man who requires facts, not supposition, so let me tell you that my son does not carry his PIN in his wallet, or on his possession,’ David said. ‘That is something we taught him at an early age…’

‘Do we know who this guy is?’ Colin gestured to the screen with his pen.

‘No I don’t, but his offensive head keeps popping up all over the place,’ David said. ‘Here, let me show you.’

David returned to his seat and lifted his phone from the table ‘Can you access your emails on that?’ he gestured to the laptop on the table.

‘Yes, I can.’

David obtained Colin’s email address and forwarded to Colin, the photos Bryce had sent through to him.

David returned to presentation mode moving to stand beside the large screen, while Colin retrieved his emails and one-by-one projected the images onto the screen.

‘These photos were taken by Miles, or Bryce throughout Thursday – the day before they found Miles,’ David said. David pointed to the first image displayed. ‘That first photo there was taken up at –’

‘Victoria Peak.’ Colin finished David’s sentence.

‘Yes, but if you look back here,’ David indicated the gathering of people standing in the photo’s background. ‘Does he look familiar?’ David’s focus shifted back to Colin.

Colin nodded. ‘Our credit card thief from the Downtown store. But… the female standing with them… Is she a friend?’ Colin asked. ‘Isn’t she the female in the same footage from Downtown?’

‘Ah, you are very perceptive Colin,’ David said. The investigator’s eye for detail impressed him. If he was going to get anywhere with the evidence he had discovered, David required Colin to be a discerning and resolute bloodhound.

’She is the same female. Her name apparently is Lee Sung,’ David said. Colin scribbled some notes.

All nine photos were displayed one-by-one onto the screen. Like a Where’s Wally challenge, David pointed out the recurring appearance of Mohawk man blending into the background in each photo.

He then presented the video footage he obtained from the La Vida Loca in Lan Kwai Fong, where Lee Sung was depicted talking to Mohawk man and his friends outside the bar, then later, how Mohawk man followed the boys and their group when they left the bar.

Colin steepled his fingers in front of his mouth. ‘So, let me get this straight…’ he began. ‘Lee Sung meets your son and Bryce at the Peak. They pose for some photos, appear to have a great time,’ he said.

‘Then they all visit some bars down in Lan Kwai Fong… have a few drinks, while this guy…’ He flicked a finger at the photo of Mohawk Man, still on the large screen.

‘Monitors from a distance. Roll forward two days and this same girl…’ He checked his notes. ‘This Lee Sung, is present when your son’s missing, or stolen credit card is fraudulently used, by him.’ Colin jabbed his pen at the screen.

‘I smell a scam. And this friend… This Lee Sung,’ he said. ‘Is definitely party to it.’

‘Interesting you should say that,’ David said. He removed a disc from his envelope and inserted it into the Laptop’s disc drive.

David manually fast forwarded the footage to when the group arrived back at the hotel, from Lan Kwai Fong.

He then indicated Mohawk man and his friends arriving at the hotel, shortly after Miles and Bryce.

He indicated how Mohawk man waited in the lounge chairs by the ground floor bar until he received what appeared to be a text message prompting them to move.

Colin’s note taking elevated to more deliberate.

David presented the footage of Miles and the group arriving at Bryce’s room, followed by the footage of Miles returning to his own room.

‘This is where it all comes together,’ David said.

‘OK,’ Colin said.

Colin’s mouth fell open as he watched Mohawk Man and his heavies exit the elevator and force their way into Miles’ room.

Colin collapsed back in his chair at the sight of Miles being forcefully assisted from his room in his semi-conscious state.

‘Oh, Shit,’ he said, cringing at the gutless blows Mohawk Man delivered to the unresponsive and defenseless Miles, while in the elevator. He then excused himself for his language.

David remained silent and let the footage do the talking. He allowed the footage to play through to when they exited the building, onto Convention Drive, until they moved out of sight of the camera towards the Harbor.

‘That’s the direction of the harbor, isn’t it?’ Colin said.

David nodded slowly. He returned his focus to the screen and the footage that continued playing. ‘If you look in this area here…’ David indicated the top of the screen. ‘You will see the three thugs walking away from the harbor. My son is no longer with them… There.’

Colin focused on the screen. ‘Definitely only three of them.’

‘Now that you have viewed this…’ David indicated the footage on the screen, ’Do you still think my son’s death was the avoidable accident the police would have us believe?

‘You saw my son leaving Bryce’s room, returning to his own room. He walked fine. Do you still think an overindulgence of alcohol and drugs caused my son to slip and fall into the harbor…?’ His questions were of course rhetorical.

Colin didn’t respond, he only slowly shook his head.

‘If you recall back to the footage of Mohawk Man and his friends waiting by the bar… The timing clearly demonstrates they received a text, I assume, to call them up to the 12th floor, after Miles left the room. Someone informed them Miles had returned to his room,’ David said.

‘And you think Lee Sung sent the text?’ Colin said.

‘I do. Bryce told me he noticed her sending a text shortly after Miles left the room,’ he said. ‘It all fits doesn’t it…?’ David asked, with a hint of desperation.

‘Can’t you access telephone company records under warrant, or something and seize her SMS records? That will show if she sent a text and to whom,’ David said as he returned to his seat.

Colin watched David sit. ‘We can certainly try to do that, but we don’t know who she is,’ Colin said. ‘Well, not yet.’

’It shouldn’t be too hard to find her with all this social media they use these days…’ David watched Colin making notes.

Colin lifted his eyes from his notes. ‘So all this footage shows a possible suspect for your son’s death, but how does all this involve the police in your corruption allegation…?’

David glared at Colin for an extended period, before responding. ‘By failing to act… By trying to cover up the facts of the case and write it off as an accidental drowning by a drug affected tourist,’ David clarified.

‘Do you know if the police reviewed this footage…?’ Colin asked.

David ejected the disc from the drive. ’Not only did they view it… The Duty Manager at the Renaissance Hotel – Frances, said they insisted that they seize all copies, and without a warrant, mind you.

‘They were specific… No copies were to remain. They watched her delete all the remaining CCTV files,’ David said.

‘So… How did you get this copy?’ Colin lifted his chin to the disc in David’s hand.

‘Frances, God love her, surreptitiously created a copy for hotel records, without their knowledge.’

‘Well done,’ Colin said. His faced beamed a satisfied smile. He returned to his note taking.

‘They clearly didn’t want this footage getting out. Do you think they know you have a copy?’ Colin asked.

‘I doubt it. How could they, if they think all copies were deleted?’

Colin checked back through his notes. ’OK… It appears from what you have presented. These people… Mohawk Man and Lee Sung, may have been responsible for your son’s death.

’It is more than apparent, your son certainly didn’t throw himself into the harbor, and it appears he didn’t fall in either; which is now a matter for homicide investigators. I am just wondering if what we have is enough to fall within our jurisdiction though.’

Colin sorted through the evidence in front of him. ‘Circumstantially, there is evidence to suggest the police may have tried to suppress, or hide the offence… Or maybe they were just too lazy to investigate it because they didn’t want the paperwork…’ Colin said. ‘Please don’t take this the wrong way, sir… because I am only playing devil’s advocate here. But maybe they were disinterested in the case because the body was that of an American tourist,’ Colin said. ‘But are those actions corruption…? Or is it just police ineptitude, or even laziness?’

‘OK… Hold that thought. Maybe what I am about to tell you, and show you, will hopefully allay your concerns,’ David said.

Chapter 22

David informed Colin how the US Consulate advised him to report his issues to a senior Police officer; advice he took and later regretted.

He mentioned how he met with Superintendent Alan Cheng Chi-Wong, who showed complete disdain towards him, and held not the slightest interest in his concerns.

‘I took with me to this meeting my iPad, which had a number of photos of Mohawk Man in the background of various locations frequented by Miles and his friends.’ David flicked a finger to the laptop. ‘Those photos that I sent to your email that you projected onto the screen earlier…’ David clarified.

Colin nodded. ‘Aha, OK.’

‘During this meeting the superintendent asked me if the iPad belonged to me. At the time I thought that was an unusual question. But now I understand its relevance,’ David said. ‘Given they then attacked me, stole my room key and stole my iPad from my room.’

‘Ah, I see…’ Colin began. ‘This is where you’re alleging the police assaulted you,’ he said. ‘Can you prove the police assaulted you? Can you prove the police entered your room?’

David held up a finger. ‘I will get to that. If I may continue…’

Colin extended a hand to David.

‘I also took with me video footage from the Downtown store that showed Mohawk Man using Miles’s credit card.’ David gestured to the USB drive on the table.’

Colin nodded his understanding.

‘The superintendent asked to look at the video footage, so I handed it to him and he inserted it into his computer. Then, he deleted the files. All the footage of Mohawk man in the Downtown store had been deleted. It was clear to me that he wanted any evidence of Mohawk Man gone…’ David said.

Colin rubbed a hand across his mouth. ’There is software that will recover deleted files from a USB. This will show there were files on the drive before they were deleted,’ Colin said,

‘There is more. I became so angry… pissed, if you will, at the obnoxious superintendent, that in my rage, I mistakenly told him I had a copy of the footage he had just deleted,’ David said.

‘Mistakenly…?’

David glared at Colin. ‘Mistakenly,’ he repeated. ‘None of this was elective plastic surgery,’ he said, pointing to his face.

‘Yes, but how can you prove the police did that to you…?’

David face wore a smile of confidence. ‘After the attack from last Wednesday, I spent the following fourteen or so hours in hospital. I had no idea who the attackers were, or why they attacked me – at that time,’ David said.

‘When I woke up in hospital several hours later, I still had my wallet and my $280,000 watch, so the attending uniform police ruled out robbery as a motive.’

‘So, nothing was taken during the assault.’

‘It didn’t appear so, at first,’ David said. ’When I returned to the hotel from hospital, Thursday afternoon, the Customer Service Officer at the front desk asked me if I had remembered my room safe combination.

’When I questioned the comment he ‘reminded me’ that I had called reception from my room, the previous night, claiming I had forgotten the room safe combination and I asked if the hotel could open the safe in my room.

‘The front desk obviously thought that caller was me, only I had been laid up in hospital,’ David said. ‘Hotel staff never reset the combination.’

’OK. So someone accessed your room, while you were in hospital. And you are saying they used your room key, which they took from you after the assault…’

David nodded his confirmation. ‘Correct,’ he said. ‘My room key was still in the light slide when I returned from hospital, and they only issued me one room key at check in, so, I needed that same room key to access my room. Obviously I didn’t leave it there when I left the room,’ David said.

’So… What did you have in the safe that you think they wanted?’ Colin asked.

David lifted the thumb drive and held it out to Colin. ‘This is what they were after,’ he said definitively. ’This contains a copy of the footage Superintendent Chung deleted. I kept it in my room safe.

’When they turned my room upside down and couldn’t find it, they obviously deduced it must be in the safe and they were right. So they rang reception and tried to pass themselves off as me, while requesting the hotel reset my room safe.

‘When that didn’t work, they took my iPad with the photos of Mohawk man. Nothing else was taken.’

‘How would the burglars know where to find that footage?’ Colin asked.

David gave a tired half grin. ‘Do you remember I told you that when the superintendent deleted the footage I mistakenly told him I still had a copy of the footage…?’

’Is that the only reason why you think the police assaulted you and broke into your room?’ Colin asked. ‘It is supposition at best and quite frankly, not enough for me to use,’ he said. ‘Please understand… It’s not that I disagree, or think you are wrong with your beliefs of what happened. It’s just that… Well, I need facts, evidence that will prove conclusively what you are alleging.’

David’s mouth straightened. ‘Do you really think I would be here if I didn’t have evidence to support my allegations?’ He asked rhetorically.

’The superintendent said to me before he ordered me out of his office, and threatened to arrest me for interfering with an investigation, “If you know what is good for you… You will let this go. It is over.”

Colin jotted down some notes. ‘So… He threatened you with arrest for interfering with an investigation? How were you interfering?’ Colin asked.

David leaned both hands on the back of his chair. ‘I wasn’t. He just didn’t appreciate me looking for, and locating all this evidence.’

Colin nodded slowly. ‘So then you say he warned you to…’ Colin paused to read from his notes. “Let it go, if you know what is good for you,” Colin said. ‘Do you have anything else not so circumstantial?’

‘The hotel duty manager at the Grand Hyatt Hotel told me someone had called claiming to be a friend of mine from New York and asked for my room number,’ David said. ‘So who ever had my room key now had my room number…’

‘OK,’ Colin said. ’But that still doesn’t prove who broke into your room.’

‘Maybe this will.’ David lifted the last of his discs and inserted it into the laptop drive. The CPU whirred as the footage projected onto the large screen.

David fast forwarded to the footage of the man in black entering the Hyatt Hotel lobby. ’Now, you need to look at this guy very closely.

Look at his clothing, anything to help you remember him,’ David firmly instructed.

‘Now. Watch this…’ he gestured to the screen. ‘There… A clear look at his face, when he looked up at the camera.’

Colin squinted as he focused on the screen. ’OK. But I don’t recognize him. Should I?’ Colin asked. ‘Wait.’ Colin watched as the man in black approached the front desk. ‘Do we know what he said to that staff member at the front desk?’ Colin gestured to the screen.

David nodded. ‘We sure do. He asked if Mr. and Mrs. Bower were in their room tonight-’

‘But you traveled alone… didn’t you?’

‘Correct.’ David said. He pointed to the man in black on the screen, ’He knew I was in hospital, so I believe he asked if anyone else was in my room, before they unlawfully entered it, to look for any incriminating evidence.

‘The CSO told him they only had record of me staying on my own,’ David said. ‘See that,’ David pointed to the screen as the footage continued to play. ’He exited as soon as he found out that I traveled on my own.

‘The Hotel staff said they received a telephone call a short time after this man in black left the hotel, from a person claiming to be a friend of mine from New York. The caller apparently said he wanted to surprise me with a visit, so he asked for my room number,’ David said

Colin rolled his eyes. ‘And they gave it to him…’

David nodded his confirmation.

‘OK. So who is he? Why do you think he is a cop?’

‘Allow me to show you this first,’ David said. He moved the footage forward to the three men in black exiting the elevator and accessing his room with a room key. ‘See the guy with the room key…’ David moved closer to the screen and touched the image on the screen.

‘Look at his clothing. His build. His shoes. It’s definitely the same guy from the lobby footage,’ David said.

’It certainly looks like him,’ Colin agreed, before making further notes. ‘But we still don’t know for certain, and we don’t know who he is, or his friends.’

’When I visited my room with the Hotel Duty Manager, my room key was in the light activation slide. They obviously left it there when they left my room.

‘My room looked like a bomb had detonated. There were items strewn everywhere,’ David said.

‘I agree that there is more than a strong possibility those three men were involved in your assault and took your room key –’

’Only my room key…’ David emphasized. ‘None of my other possessions were taken during the assault.’

‘But why do you think they are cops? I certainly don’t recognize them, and they are not identifiable from that vision.’

‘No,’ David said. ‘But the newspaper reporter knew one of them. He knows the one who approached the front desk,’ David said with a beaming smile. ’Tony Huang, a reporter from the South China Morning Post recognized him immediately. Why? Because he has reported on his cases on numerous occasions.’

‘Who did he say it was?’

‘Detective Sergeant Kevin Chung from… Get this-’.

‘Central CID.’ Colin finished David’s sentence. He nodded his understanding.

‘And if you need more… Surely the staff member from the Hyatt he spoke to could identify him from a line up or something,’ David suggested.

‘Or a photo board…’ Colin said quietly.

‘A what…?’ David asked.

Colin waved his hand. ‘Just thinking out loud.’

David clapped his hands together once. ‘There you have it. That’s all I have for you. Surely you can use some of that?’ He said.

‘That is pretty impressive, Mr. Bower. I have got to tell you,’ Colin said. ‘Let me recap what we have, and what we can actually work with.’

He lifted his note pad and returned all the pages to the front. David lowered himself into his chair.

‘We have photograph and video evidence of a male person, “Mohawk Man”, I think you called him,’ Colin said. ‘Following your son and friends. Then we have video evidence of this person forcibly entering your son’s room.’

Colin flicked over a page on his notes.

‘OK…’ Colin continued. ‘What else do we have? The video evidence shows Mohawk Man and friends escorting your son from the hotel and out into the street, towards the harbor, and then later walking away without your son—?’

‘And you saw the state of Miles,’ David quickly added. ‘Did he look like he could stumble over those safety barriers and fall into the harbor?’ he asked rhetorically.

Colin continued to read from his notes. ’We also have video evidence of Mohawk Man, in the company of others, using your son’s missing credit card and possibly wearing your son’s watch.

‘He also appears to know your son’s PIN. OK. This is where it gets a little messy.’ Colin flipped the over the page.

‘You have a copy of a property sheet where the last entry–the one relating to a plastic bag containing the suspected drugs, appears to have been added at a later stage, due to the different hand writing.’ Colin’s eyes lifted to David.

‘There could be a valid explanation why that occurred, you realize?’ Colin said.

David nodded. ’Of course. But you are forgetting my son didn’t use drugs. So there is no way he would have them in his property, in the first place.

‘I have no doubt the cops planted them in the evidence – after the fact, to help support their fabricated finding of an unfortunate accident by another drunken, drug addled young tourist.’

Colin nodded. ‘You may be right.’ He returned to his notes. ‘OK… So you went to the cops and reported your concerns about the investigation and findings about Mohawk Man to a Superintendent Chung.’ He underlined the name several times.

‘You allege he deleted the video footage on the USB disk drive after you handed it to him.’ Colin’s focus shifted to David. ‘Of which he will vehemently deny, you realize.’

David nodded his understanding.

Chapter 23

Colin returned to his notes. ’You told Chung that you had a copy of the footage. Did you actually say you had a copy in your hotel room?’ Colin asked.

David took a moment. ‘Ah…’ He slowly shook his head. ’No… I don’t think I did. I just told him I had a copy.’

‘OK.’ Colin nibbled the end of his pen. ‘OK… But he then threatens to arrest you for interfering with an investigation and warns you to let it go. Again, comments he will say never happened.’

Colin flipped the page over. ‘Right. You were attacked, resulting in hospitalization for several hours from severe concussion, broken ribs, facial swelling and contusions to your face and body.’

David nodded in response.

Colin continued. ’OK. Now. You established that nothing had been stolen during the assault. Your watch and wallet were still in your possession in hospital.

’It wasn’t until you later returned to your hotel that you realized your room key was missing. When you accessed your room, you found it had been trashed and your room key was in the light activation slide. So it appears your attackers took your room key–only your room key.

‘So they were definitely looking for something specific in your room,’ he said. ‘The only thing missing from your room was your iPad – the same iPad that contained potentially incriminating photos of Mohawk man, which you had discussed when you visited Superintendent Chung. Who else knew those photos were on the iPad?’

‘Nobody… That’s the thing,’ David said. ’The superintendent is the only person who I discussed the photos and the USB thumb drive with, and then someone entered my room and stole only my iPad, shortly after that discussion.’

‘OK. Good.’ Colin made additional notes. ‘Now…’ he said continuing with his recap. ’We have video footage of a lone male, dressed in dark clothing, whose facial features are clearly depicted, approaching the front desk at the Grand Hyatt.

’Hotel staff will allege this person asked if Mr. & Mrs. Bower were in their room that evening. This staff member apparently informed this man in black that you traveled alone.

‘We will allege the person asked the question to ascertain, if in fact, your room was empty, a point we believe we can prove with the video evidence we have.’

David simply nodded in response.

‘Would you like a water, or something?’ Colin offered David before continuing.

David raised his hand. ‘No. I’m good. I’m just listening with interest at your recap.’

‘OK,’ Colin said. ’Hotel staff will also allege, a short time after this male departed the lobby, they received a call from a person claiming to be an old friend just in from New York, asking what room you were staying in, for a surprise visit.

‘We will allege, circumstantially, that the caller… this friend from New York, and the male in black who earlier approached the front desk are the same person trying to ascertain your room number,’ Colin said. ‘Just to be certain… Did you have any visitors from New York visit you?’

‘No.’

’OK. Good. Now. We have video footage of three males accessing your room using a room key, presumably your missing room key. Hotel staff will allege they took a call from your room, while you were in hospital.

‘The caller requested staff open the room safe because you had apparently forgotten your combination.’

Colin made a notation at the side of his notes. ’I have just noted here that we should be able to show from the records on the front desk computer, and the security footage, that they received the call from your room, while those three men were in your room.

‘Of interest, is that although wearing baseball caps concealing their faces, the male who opened the door physically, and by his clothing, matched the male who earlier approached the front desk.’ Colin added.

‘Now this is what we require,’ he said ’We need your newspaper reporter to positively identify the male person in the video from the Hyatt front reception area. Maybe this ID can be supported by the Hyatt front desk officer.

‘If they both identify the person who approached the front desk, before your room was accessed, we are in a strong position to link the police to your assault,’ Colin concluded.

‘Not only the assault,’ David said. ’What about Mohawk Man and the obvious cover up of what happened to my son?’ He added.

Colin scratched under his chin in contemplation. ’By identifying it was the police from the CID who accessed your room and took only your iPad, containing Mohawk Man photos, and the fact that they also tried to locate your thumb drive copy of the video, is probably enough to circumstantially link them into knowledge of Mohawk Man.’

Colin pointed to David. ‘Who was the Duty manager from the Renaissance? Frances was it…?’ he asked.

‘Correct. Frances.’

‘She will allege that the police viewed all security footage, so it is fair to assume the police viewed the same footage we have just seen of Mohawk Man and his accomplices entering Miles’ room and then forcibly assisting Miles from his room, even assaulting Miles in the elevator on the way down to the ground.

’These three men then escorted Miles towards the harbor and were later captured on video walking away without Miles. Later that same morning Miles was found in the harbor.

‘Frances will further allege that the police insisted on taking the footage and instructing her to delete any remaining copies. This is not Police standard operating procedures,’ Colin said. ‘Hopefully Frances can also identify the police who attended and seized the hotel footage.’

‘So how can the police say so conclusively my son died as the result of an unfortunate accident, when they could see how these men physically dragged my son from the hotel, towards the harbor?’ David asked.

‘How can they say my son’s drowning was an accident when all this video footage shows Mohawk Man waiting in the hotel lobby, waiting to be called upstairs,’ he asked rhetorically.

‘Exactly. Especially after the police viewed the footage and insisted on Frances deleting the remaining incriminating vision,’ Colin added.

‘So that would surely show they knew about Mohawk Man’s involvement in this incident,’ David said.

Colin eyes darted. ’You said only Superintendent Chung knew about the copy of the video of Mohawk man using the credit card, and the photos of this person on your iPad?’ Colin said.

‘Correct. No-one else knew about them, and as I said, my iPad was the only thing stolen from my room, after they failed to locate my thumb drive,’ David said.

‘So that definitely shows a prior knowledge, and an attempt to pervert the course of justice by trying to dispose of vital evidence in an investigation, most probably a murder investigation.’ Colin nodded. ‘There is a lot more here than meets the eye, isn’t there?’

David nodded. ‘Thank you. Welcome to the last five days of my life. The only thing I don’t understand is the why,’ David said. ‘Why did they go to all this trouble to cover up this crime…?’ Colin shook his head.

‘You asked me earlier about the autopsy report…’ David said. ‘If they did plant the drugs on my boy, as I suspect, then doesn’t that bring into question the veracity of the autopsy result?’ David asked.

’We haven’t proven the drugs were planted… But the extent these police appear to have gone to, certainly challenges their integrity.’ Colin steepled his fingers.

‘Let me look into it further,’ he said. ’The coronial inquest formalizing the finding hasn’t been held yet, so the autopsy toxicology samples will still be available.

’We can seek an order to have the blood samples independently re-tested. That will confirm conclusively if Miles did have drugs in his system,’ Colin said. ’I will have to lodge the paperwork with the Coroner’s Court, disputing the findings and request a re-testing of the same samples.

‘But you don’t to have concern yourself with that. In fact, you don’t need to do anything else. You have certainly done enough. You have given me plenty to work with here.’

Colin provided David with his business card then confirmed David’s contact details in New York City. He informed David that, depending on the outcome of his inquiries, David would probably be required to make a full and detailed statement at a later stage.

Colin told David he would arrange for a copy of their recorded conversation to be emailed to him at a later stage and he would also keep him updated on his inquiries.

Once all formalities had been completed, Colin escorted David down to the ground floor lobby. Following a reassuring shake of hands, David left the building.

---

After walking out onto Java Road, towards his waiting vehicle, David’s eyes lifted skywards to the clear blue midday sky.

He drew in a deep breath, exhaling long and slow. It was as though a weight had finally been lifted from his shoulders.

He was relieved his concerns were supported and he trusted Senior Investigator Tseng to capably address each of the issues he presented.

There wasn’t much more he could do now. It was up to the powers-that-be, as to whether they found any wrong doing in Miles’s death and the manner with which Miles’ investigation was conducted.

With his visit to ICAC out of the way, David had no further plans for his Friday afternoon. He decided there were three people to whom he would like to express his gratitude, for their invaluable assistance afforded to him during his amateur investigation.

Although liquor stores were limited by number in Hong Kong, his driver took him to a liquor store in Soho. There, he purchased two gift boxed bottles of twenty-one year old Glen Fiddich Gran Reserva Malt Scotch and a gift boxed 1998 bottle of Dom Perignon Brut Champagne.

First, he visited Tony Huang at the South China Morning Post in Causeway Bay. After expressing his heartfelt gratitude to Tony, David presented Tony with one of the twenty-one year old malts, in appreciation for his assistance and candor while doing so.

Tony appeared deeply touched. ‘You are too kind,’ Tony said. ‘I love a good scotch and I know for a fact these are over $200US a bottle,’ Tony exclaimed.

David waved his hand at Tony’s comment. ‘Think nothing of it, Tony. It is a small price to pay for your kind assistance.’

From there, his driver dropped him off at his hotel where he located the Duty Manager, Frank and presented him with the remaining bottle of twenty-one year old Malt scotch in appreciation for his assistance in locating the crucial video footage and allowing David to review it.

Finally, he visited Frances, the duty manager from the neighboring Renaissance Hotel. Frances appeared genuinely touched when David presented her with the bottle of Dom Perignon and expressed how important her initiative in covertly copying, what proved to be key video footage, was to him and that of his son’s name.

A brief but warm embrace of appreciation finalized the exchange before David exited the Renaissance Hotel.

David informed each person he visited that he had reported his concerns and findings to ICAC. He further alerted each of them to the fact they may be contacted at some time in the near future by a Senior Investigator Colin Tseng.

The incessant and audible rumbling complaints emanating from the pit of his stomach reminded him that his lunch was well overdue and prompted him to make his way to his favorite restaurant for some lunch.

Chapter 24

Back in his office, Senior Investigator Colin Tseng took a moment to read back through his notes compiled during his lengthy meeting with David.

When he read the name Lee Sung in his notes, he drew several heavy circles around her name.

He realized that she was a connection to the unknown male person David Bower referred to as “Mohawk Man”-the primary suspect in the death of Miles Bower.

“Must locate her”, he scribbled beside the circled name, before heavily underlining it several times.

David had provided Colin with some key incriminating evidence, as well as some strong circumstantial evidence, all of which pointed to the possibility that David’s son, Miles Bower, had been killed by this unknown person, who also stole Miles’ property.

And, for reasons unknown to Colin, the police appeared to have tried to cover up the incident through their investigation.

Colin lifted his eyes towards the roof as he clasped his hands behind his head at the sudden realization at just how deep this could run.

It was possible that a police superintendent could be complicit in what had transpired. There were CID detectives possibly involved in the serious assault of David Bower, resulting in his hospitalization and the burglary and theft committed on his hotel room, to pervert the course of justice by interfering with evidence that was crucial in an investigation.

If the information received that Miles did not use illicit drugs proves reliable, then the evidence suggesting the drugs were planted in Miles’ property and added to his property sheet at a later stage became credible.

This then meant that if the amphetamines were planted by police, then that would discredit the finding in the forensic pathologist’s toxicology report.

If this was considered with the conflicting stories relating to Miles’ injuries, and the autopsy finding that there were no injuries, it was probable that the police had someone at the Public Mortuary on their pay roll.

Colin rolled his eyes at the thought of just how involved this matter could be.

He scribbled an addendum to his notes. “Sight crime scene photos taken at time of discovery – What injuries are visible in the photos? Witness statements – Who found the body and reported it to police? Drowning finding – Was the body found floating face up, or face down?”

Colin took a moment to map out his investigation plan, which would become his road map of where he intended his investigation to head, who he intended to interview, and what search warrants he would require.

One of his first priorities was to prepare a report for the Coroner challenging the autopsy findings and to seek an order from the Coroner to have the blood samples re-tested by an independent pathologist.

Then he would obtain a search warrant compelling the CID to produce all photographs, witness statements, information, notes and records pertaining to their investigation into the death of Miles Bower.

Based on his review of the Grand Hyatt hotel security video, he would obtain witness evidence identifying the man in the video as Detective Sergeant Kevin Chung from Central CID. Then he would also obtain a warrant to search Chung’s residence, motor vehicle, lockers, and desk at his police office, seeking evidence in relation to the assault on David Bower and the burglary on Bower’s hotel room.

Colin needed admissible evidence to confirm the identity of the male dressed in black, who was depicted in the Grand Hyatt lobby video footage approaching the front desk.

The best way for that to happen was to have the staff member, this person approached, select the male from a photo booklet of twelve faces.

He knew he had to act quickly before the passage of time affected the memory recall of the Hyatt Hotel Customer Service Officer.

After logging on to the administration panel of the Hong Kong police database, Colin randomly selected and printed the file photographs of eleven current serving Hong Kong police officers.

He then accessed the file of Detective Sergeant Kevin Chung and printed his photograph, to make a total of twelve photos, all head shots of various male police officers.

All twelve photos were then affixed to the inside of a manila folder, with six photos on either side, in three rows of two.

Colin assigned each photo a number from one to twelve. He assigned the number nine to the photo of Kevin Chung. No names were recorded against the photographs.

Colin’s telephone calls to the Grand Hyatt Hotel and South China Morning Post confirmed both people he intended to visit this afternoon were available to meet with him.

Following a short drive, Colin arrived at the Grand Hyatt Hotel where he spoke with the Hotel duty manager, Frank, who was well aware of everything that had transpired in relation to David Bower.

Frank then introduced Colin to Alan LO Kwok-Chung, the Customer Service Officer Colin wanted to speak with.

Frank escorted both men to his nearby office, where he remained while Colin conducted the interview of Frank’s staff member.

Frank played the relevant video footage for Alan LO to watch. At the completion of the brief footage review Colin asked Alan, ‘is that you in the video footage standing behind the front desk?’

Alan looked at the computer screen. ‘Ah, yes it is.’ Alan said, somewhat timidly.

Colin removed a manila folder from his brief case. ‘That man in the footage who approached you at the front desk…’ He lifted his chin to the computer screen. ‘Do you recall what he asked you?’

Alan’s eyes returned to the paused image on the computer monitor. He nodded slightly. ‘Yes, I do. The gentleman asked me to ring through to a guest’s room to see if both he and his wife were in their room.’

Colin nodded. ‘Do you remember the name of the guest this person inquired about?’

Alan nodded. ‘Ah, Yes. He is still staying with us at the moment,’ he said. Alan looked towards Frank, before continuing.

Frank returned a slow single nod of his head. ‘His name is, Mr. Bower,’ Alan said. ‘He is staying in one of our top floor luxury suites,’ Alan said.

‘Good,’ Colin said. He slid the manila folder in front of Alan. ‘There are a number of photographs inside that folder.’ He tapped the closed folder twice. ‘I would like you to open that folder up and carefully look at each photograph, and then tell me if you see the man who approached you at the counter on Wednesday night, in those photos. OK?’ Alan nodded in response. ‘Open it up and have a look thanks, Alan.’

Alan opened the folder, leaving it lying flat on the table. Starting on the left, he looked at each photo one-by-one, pausing slightly longer at photo number nine, before continuing.

Once he had moved his eyes through to the last photo, Alan’s eyes lifted to Colin; a silent indication that he had completed his examination.

‘Do you see the man who approached you at the desk on Wednesday evening, in any of those photos you have just looked at?’ Colin asked.

Alan nodded and tapped photograph number nine. ‘That’s him,’ he said. ‘Number nine.’

‘Are you absolutely certain?’ Colin asked.

Colin monitored whether Alan’s body language indicated any possible sign of doubt under the perceived pressure from the direct response.

The last thing he wanted was to present Alan to the court as a key witness and watch on helplessly as his body language displayed visual signs of doubt, as his confidence folded under the weight of a relentless defense cross examination.

Alan again nodded his head, this time more confidently. ‘Absolutely,’ he said. ‘That is definitely the man who approached me at the front desk on Wednesday evening,’ Alan said with his finger resting on photograph nine.

Colin nodded. ‘Good. Good,’ he said. ’It is vitally important that you are certain,’ Colin said. ‘Had you ever seen, or met this man in photograph nine before he approached you at the front desk, or again since?’

Alan slowly shook his head. ‘No.’

Colin prepared a statement for Alan detailing his evidence.

Once all formalities were concluded, Colin left for his next appointment with journalist Tony Huang at the South China Morning Post.

A telephone call in advance from Colin, as he navigated Hong Kong’s busy roadways, had Tony Huang expecting Colin when he arrived.

Following the introductions and explanations regarding the purpose of the meeting, Tony escorted Colin to a small, windowless interview room.

A small rectangular laminate table and two chairs positioned on opposite sides of the table, occupied most of the room. Apart from a desk phone on the table, there was no other furniture in the room.

Tony sat directly opposite Colin and watched Colin place his brief case onto the table, flick open the locks and remove a small laptop and a manila folder.

Tony smiled at Colin. ‘Ah yes… The good old photograph ID booklet?’ he said.

‘Have you been through this before?’ Colin asked.

Tony shook his head gently, as he smiled. ‘No. No. But I have reported on numerous court cases where this type of evidence was led, so I am aware of the procedure.’

‘OK, good. Then let’s jump straight into it.’ Colin replayed the relevant video footage of the man in black in the foyer of the Hyatt hotel for Tony. ‘Do you recognize anyone in that video?’ Colin asked Tony.

Tony smiled and nodded. ‘I do… That male there.’ He touched the screen. ‘I recognize him to be Detective Sergeant Kevin Chung from Central CID.’

‘How many times have you seen, or met this person?’

Tony shrugged. ‘More than one hundred times,’ he said. ‘I recognized him instantly. I have no doubt at all in my mind that is Sergeant Chung.’

‘Excellent.’ Colin slid the manila folder over to Tony. ‘What I want you to do is look at the photographs in this folder and tell me if you see the male person you identified in the video, in any of those photographs.’

Tony dragged the folder closer to himself and opened it up, leaving it lying flat on the table. He leaned forward and quickly scanned his eyes across the photos.

He stopped at photograph nine. ‘That’s Sergeant Chung there.’ He tapped photograph number nine.

‘OK, great.’ Colin said.

Colin subsequently compiled a statement from Tony Huang.

The evidence he obtained from two independent witnesses, who positively identified Sergeant Chung, would assist him in applying for a warrant to search Chung’s private residence, his vehicle, his office and property at the police station. He hoped to find the stolen iPad, or evidence from the assault on David Bower.

Colin checked his watch. His mouth straightened. It was too late in the afternoon to prepare the required paperwork and present it before a Magistrate to obtain the relevant search warrants today.

He had simply run out of time, and with the weekend looming, he would be forced to wait until Monday.

Upon return to his office, Colin decided to prepare the relevant search warrant affidavits and the detailed report to the coroner to challenge the autopsy finding, as well a request seeking an order to have the blood samples re-tested by an independent pathologist.

Monday would prove to be the start of what would be a very busy week.

With everything in readiness for his 10am flight back home to New York City tomorrow morning, David enjoyed a relaxing drink in his hotel’s exclusive Grand Club Lounge.

David reclined in a soft leather lounge by the extensive wall of windows. He casually glanced out over Victoria Harbor, watching the sunset through the heavy pollution that had drifted in.

The ring tone from his cell phone broke the tranquility. He removed his phone from his pocket and checked the unrecognizable number before answering the call.

‘David Bower,’ he said, then took a sip.

A female caller responded. ‘Good afternoon David. This is Nancy King calling from the US consulate. How are you this evening?’

‘I’m well thank you, Nancy.’ David replied. ‘Is everything alright? Are we still OK for tomorrow’s flight?’ he asked with a hint of concern in his voice.

Now that he had mentally prepared himself for his return home, the last thing he wanted right now was to encounter any further speed humps that would cause delays ahead of his imminent departure. He just wanted to take his son home.

‘Everything is fine David. I am calling to let you know that everything is in readiness and I will meet you at the airport tomorrow morning, near the United Airlines check in counter at 7am. I will be arranging for Miles to be boarded onto the plane and then I will have some paperwork for you to sign.’

‘OK, Good.’

‘As we discussed, once you arrive in New York City, legally, Miles can only be handed over to a licensed Funeral Director. You advised you will be using the services of Riverview Funeral Home, so I have contacted them to confirm that a representative from Riverview will be available when you land at JFK to take possession of Miles’ body. You won’t have to do anything at all. Just collect your baggage like you would after any other arrival and head home. Riverside Funeral Home will contact you at some time after arrival,’ Nancy said.

‘Good. I want to thank you for all your invaluable assistance, Nancy. I don’t know what I would have done without you,’ David said.

‘These are very difficult times for me and my family, and by facilitating the transport arrangements, you have saved me from another very unpleasant task.’

‘It has been my pleasure David. Now, don’t forget your travel times in the morning. Where are you staying again? Ah yes, The Grand Hyatt in Wan Chai. OK. The airport is about a forty-five minute drive from your hotel. You need to leave yourself plenty of time to meet me at 7am before you check in.’

‘Got it thanks, Nancy. I will see you tomorrow morning at 7am.’ David said, before ending the call.

Chapter 25

‘Good Morning, Mr. Bower,’ the smiling female flight attendant greeted. ‘Can I offer you some light refreshment while we wait to complete our boarding?’

Lounging in the comfort of his spacious first class booth, David glanced at the selection of beverages on offer. ‘An orange juice would be great, thank you,’ he said.

Due to his 6am departure from his hotel, David opted to have breakfast on the flight, rather in the hotel restaurant, so he welcomed a glass of orange juice at this time.

The flight attendant smiled in response as she placed a glass of orange juice onto the beverage pad on his chair’s arm rest. She then offered a welcoming smile before moving on to her next passenger.

David sipped on his tangy O.J. He started to relax now all the formalities had been completed. He was comforted in the knowledge Miles was on board his final flight home.

He met Nancy as planned and after several signatures, he accepted the receipt of Miles, effectively releasing him from the responsibility of the US Consulate.

The time had arrived to take his boy home after what had been one of the most harrowing and tumultuous weeks of David’s life.

Although still unsure whether his efforts would result in any form of justice for his son, David’s thoughts right now were on his boy. It was difficult not to think of him lying there all alone in the plane’s cargo hold like a piece of luggage.

David rubbed a hand across his forehead and face. He wanted to concentrate his memories of Miles on the happier times, but he found it difficult to block the more gruesome memories from his time in Hong Kong that kept appearing in his conscious thoughts.

This was going to be a long and difficult flight. He looked forward to seeing Madison again, but the circumstances guaranteed it would not be a happy home coming.

---

With the service of his in-flight meals out of the way, David tried to rest during his lengthy trans-Pacific flight back to New York. The past week had been both physically and mentally taxing on him.

With headphones comfortably attached and his chair fully reclined into the flight bed, David fell asleep under the distraction of an in-flight movie.

“This is Captain Simon Weaver…”

The unwelcome male voice crackled through David’s headphones. His eyes sprung open. He found himself staring into the darkness of the dimmed cabin ceiling while his senses awoke.

The announcement continued.

“You may have realized we have commenced our descent into New York City. At this rate we are on schedule and expect to have you disembarking at the terminal around 1.50pm local New York time…The weather in New York is fine and clear with the temperature a very pleasant 73 degrees… With little wind to speak of the remainder of the flight is expected to be relatively smooth. Thank you and enjoy the rest of your flight.”

David checked his watch. The time is 12.57pm, New York time. About fifty minutes to go.

He briefly mused at how he could depart Hong Kong at 10am Saturday 16 June and arrive in New York at 1.50pm on the same day, yet he has flown almost sixteen hours to get there.

The disruption from the captain’s untimely announcement had broken his sleep. The anticipation of his impending arrival had David returning his seat to a comfortable recline, ordering a scotch and listening to some select music for the remainder of his journey.

---

The pit of David’s stomach become heavy as he exited from Customs, into the airport terminal. He was excited about seeing Maddie, but he was also very anxious. It would certainly be an emotional greeting.

David made his way past the rows of faceless people until he saw the welcoming face of Madison smiling at him.

Their chauffeur Philip and another unknown male person, dressed in a dark suit, stood beside her. Maddie ran to David and hugged him close.

‘I can’t believe he’s gone, David,’ she said with her head buried into his shoulder. ‘I just can’t believe it.’

‘Neither can I, Maddie.’ Visions of the last time he saw Miles on the gurney flashed into his mind. A silent tear trickled down his cheek. ‘Neither can I.’

‘I miss him so much. I still expect him to walk through the door… his smiling face telling me he is home…’ Madison said. David hugged her tighter.

David and Maddie stood in their tight embrace, neither one electing to let go of the mutual support each felt from the moment.

After a brief period, Maddie gently pushed herself away from David and looked deeply into his blackened eyes. ‘Oh my God, David.’ She regarded him up and down before reaching out and gently cupping his left cheek. ‘What happened to your face?’

David placed his hand over his wife’s hand while. ‘I’m OK–Really,’ he reassured. ‘It’s nothing for you to worry about.’

‘Will the pain of losing him ever ease…?’ Madison asked. She had a tone of solemn desperation in her voice.

David slowly shook his head. His mouth straightened. ’It never gets any easier, Maddie.Every day we will just have to learn how to live with the pain,’ he said.

They both embraced, mutually absorbing whatever support they could draw from the other, as they wept together for their lost son.

David lifted his eyes from his comforting embrace and noticed the man in the dark suit standing with Philip. The man started to move towards him and Maddie.

‘Who’s that with Philip…?’

Madison glanced over a shoulder. ‘Oh. That’s Mr. Jenkins, from Riverside Funeral Home.’

David nodded slowly. ‘Ah yes, Nancy mentioned something about them…’

Jenkins represented to David the finality of what happened to Miles. Deep down he knew sooner or later he had to accept his boy was gone and he would have to attend to the unpleasant task of finalizing the difficult arrangements to lay his son to rest.

‘He has been wonderful, David. So helpful to me while you were away,’ she said.

David moved towards Mr. Jenkins and extended his hand. ‘David Bower,’ he said. ‘I’m Madison’s husband.’

Jenkins shook David’s hand. ‘Michael Jenkins,’ he said. ‘Very pleased to meet you, sir.’

‘My wife informs me you are from Riverside Funeral Homes. I assume everything is in order with my son’s transport from Hong Kong.’

Jenkins stood with his hands overlapped in front of himself. ‘Most definitely, sir. I am only here to welcome you home and to answer any questions that you may have.’

‘I appreciate your help, Mr. Jenkins, but right now, there is nothing I need to talk about. I just want to take my wife home. I’m sure we can meet at a later time to finalize anything that remains outstanding.’

‘Absolutely, sir. You just take your wife home and leave everything else to me,’ Jenkins said. ‘If there are no questions, I will contact you tomorrow,’ Jenkins said.

‘Thank you.’ David shook Jenkins’ hand.

---

Not a lot was said during the drive home from JFK. David had no intentions of sharing his experiences in Hong Kong, and at that moment, it hurt too much to discuss Miles’ tragedy.

So, David and Madison sat in the back of their luxury Maybach, each one silently glancing out their side window, exchanging only the occasional small talk.

David was glad to be home as he stepped from their private elevator. He walked ahead of Madison and made his way directly to Miles’ bedroom. He stood at the open doorway staring into his son’s empty room.

His eyes passed over everything that once belonged to his son; his photographs, his sporting achievements, his academia awards.

David knees weakened when he noticed Miles’ Medical Degree parchment from Harvard sitting on the tall-boy dresser. It was still rolled up and secured by the light blue ribbon. They hadn’t had the opportunity to frame it for him.

David’s shoulder fell against the door frame. He wept openly at the stark realization Miles was never coming home. He would never see his son again.

What was once his son’s private retreat, was now a pseudo shrine, still filled with all his possessions that served as a constant and painful reminder of what they had lost.

Maddie quietly walked up behind David and gently placed a hand on his shoulder as she moved to stand beside him.

Madison and David stood shoulder-to-shoulder at the doorway staring silently into the empty room.

She rested her head on David’s shoulder. She spoke first. ‘It’s not fair, David. It’s just not fair. What did he do wrong? Why was he taken so young?’

David placed his arm around his wife’s shoulder as drew in a deep, shuddering breath. He couldn’t help but wonder how things would’ve been different if Miles hadn’t met Mohawk Man and Lee Sung.

His son would still be enjoying his overseas adventure, before returning to pursue his medical career. But now, that was all lost.

David exhaled long and slow while he stared helplessly into the room. ‘I wish I knew, Maddie…’ He slowly shook his head. ‘I wish I knew…’

The vision of his semi-conscious son being forcibly dragged from his hotel room, flashed into his memory. This wasn’t an accident. Miles didn’t have to go–he was taken, by low life scum that don’t deserve to breathe our air.

The strong façade David had erected in support of his grieving wife had finally crumbled.

For the past week in Hong Kong, David deliberately fought back his emotions, as best he could, while he searched for answers.

He knew he had to stay focused, so he tried to keep his grieving under control. It hadn’t been easy.

But after seeing his son’s empty bedroom, the dam finally burst. Stark reality finally hit home. He covered his face as his own grief took hold.

He succumbed to the uncontrollable tears for his son. Madison embraced her crying husband as he openly wept.

As he calmed, the dilemma of his situation bounced around inside his head. Madison had no idea what happened to Miles. Up until now, David chose to protect Madison from the devastating details.

As far as Madison knew, Miles had been involved in an unfortunate accidental drowning. David had to remain in Hong Kong for the past week while he attended to all the necessary ‘red-tape’ and foreign protocols, before he could bring Miles home.

But standing there embracing his wife and staring into what was his son’s room, he wondered if she should be told. Would she want to know?

The tragedy of losing Miles was bad enough without having to cope with a possible murder scenario. So right now, he opted to let sleeping dogs lie.

f he decided to tell her, it didn’t have to be right now. He could tell at any time.

---

Back in Hong Kong…

Monday had been a busy day for Senior Investigator Colin Tseng, with mixed results.

First off, his visit with the coroner proved successful. The coroner granted permission to have an independent government pathologist re-test the blood samples taken from Miles, at autopsy.

Following his visit with the coroner, Colin took his search warrant applications to the magistrate court.

Based on the evidence provided, the magistrate issued the search warrants on Detective Sergeant Kevin Cheng.

However, and much to Colin’s surprise, the magistrate wasn’t satisfied that Colin provided sufficient evidence to convince him to issue the search warrants compelling the central police to produce all files and records relating to their investigation into Miles’ death.

Colin spent the balance of his Monday preparing for his search warrant operation, scheduled for first thing Tuesday morning.

The search warrant Colin applied for could only be executed between 7am to 7pm, so a surprise visit at 7am would be the most effective option.

Colin arranged two teams of investigators to assist in executing the search warrants. One team would visit the Central Police Station and execute the search warrant on Cheng’s property and possessions, including his locker and desk.

While simultaneously, Colin would lead the other team to execute the more difficult search warrant on Cheng’s home address, where it was expected that an unwelcoming Cheng would be home during this proposed 7am intrusion.

Chapter 26

The early morning air was brisk at 6.30am. The emerging daylight slowly awaking from its slumber, revealed a covert rendezvous.

Three men stood closely huddled together by the roadside in the quiet residential street of Monmouth Terrace in Wan Chai, approximately 200 yards along from Kevin Chung’s apartment building.

Dwarfed by the towering apartment buildings, Colin Tseng and two of his ICAC colleagues gathered in readiness, finalizing plans before their unannounced attendance at Kevin Chung’s 20th floor apartment, to execute a search warrant.

Previous recognizance of Chung’s apartment building revealed that the building security prevented uninvited visitor access to the upper floors from the ground floor foyer.

Colin therefore arranged for the building superintendent to meet him in the foyer of Chung’s multi story apartment building at 6.55am, to facilitate their unannounced access to the 20th floor.

Following a short telephone call to the team poised to execute a search warrant on the Central Police Station, Colin confirmed all was in readiness. He met with the building superintendent who, after examining the search warrant, used his security pass to grant Colin and his team access to Chung’s floor.

The time approached 7am when the search warrant posse, led by Colin, exited the elevator at the 20th floor.

After exiting the elevator, the men silently made their way along the hall towards their target residence. The décor in the hall was plain and the diffused lighting created an eerie quiet.

Once they located Kevin Chung’s apartment, Colin paused momentarily to verify the time on his watch displayed 7am. He offered a single nod to his colleagues. ‘We’re good to go.’

Colin knocked on Chung’s apartment door; four firm raps that echoed down the length of the empty hall. He was prepared for what could potentially follow.

Colin’s experience executing search warrants on serving members of the police force was that they were usually perilously volatile situations, often met with aggressive resistance and angst. This one would be no exception.

Police officers like Kevin Chung were a proud lot with inflated egos, who seemed to possess an intrinsic belief they were untouchable; above the law.

While charged with the sworn responsibility to uphold and enforce the law, when it came to their own accountabilities, they hypocritically perceived they were above legislative compliance.

When suddenly faced with the humiliation of themselves being investigated, they often struck out in frustration.

The initial knock went unanswered. Colin moved his ear closer to the door.

It took a further two knocks before the door opened to a forty-five degree angle. The head of a disheveled Chung peered from behind the partially ajar door.

Colin immediately identified the similarities between the stern face who answered the door and the person depicted in the police file photograph.

‘What!’ Chung blurted. His assessing glare flicked between the three suit-wearing strangers at his apartment’s door.

Chung regarded Colin in an up and down glower before arrogantly blurting, ‘Fuck off,’ as he stepped from view and started to close his door on the unwelcome visitors.

Colin stepped forward and shunted the closing door with his hand.

‘Kevin Chung,’ Colin said with his straight arm firmly holding the door ajar.

Chung’s head moved back into view from behind the partially closed door. ‘Who wants to know?’ He regarded Colin in an assessing up and down glare.

Colin rested his foot against the door while he handed Chung a copy of the search warrant.

‘My name is Senior Investigator Colin Tseng from with the Independent Commission against Corruption—’

‘I really don’t give a fuck who you are. Just leave me alone,’ Chung blurted. He commenced to apply pressure to close the door.

Colin stepped forward and placed his shoulder against the door. He again offered the search warrant to Chung. ‘I have here search warrants authorizing us to conduct a search of your premises and vehicle.’

Chung’s eyes dropped to the warrant in Colin’s extended hand. ‘Are you fucking kidding me? Search for what?’ he blurted. ‘What the fuck do you think you are going to find here?’

‘You know how it works, Sergeant Chung. It’s all detailed in the search warrant,’ Colin said. With the warrant extended to Chung, Colin moved to enter the apartment.

Chung aggressively pushed a forceful hand against Colin’s chest, to prevent him accessing the apartment. Colin stopped walking. His eyes dropped to Chung’s hand pressed firmly against his chest.

‘You’re not going anywhere until I check this search warrant,’ Chung snatched the warrant from Colin’s hand.

With one hand remaining firmly against Colin’s chest, Chung commenced to read the warrant.

It was unclear whether Chung was ignorant of, or elected to arrogantly ignore Colin’s visual cues, but he kept his blocking hand pressed firmly into Colin’s chest while he read.

Colin’s eyes dropped to the hand pressed into his chest. ‘You can read the warrant while we conduct the search. Remove–Your–Hand,’ Colin requested, in a direct and assertive tone.

Unfortunately for Chung, he must’ve mistaken Colin’s inaction as a sign of weakness, because he chose to ignore Colin’s firm request. He arrogantly continued to read the warrant.

While appearing to be a composed and unassuming man, which was in complete contrast to that of Chung’s personality, Colin had another side that rarely showed its head, but when it did, you did not want to be the recipient.

With over twenty-five years’ experience, Colin was a much revered exponent of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a martial arts style that utilized submission holds involving joint-locks and choke holds, to subdue or submit an opponent.

Many of his colleagues were unaware of his black-belt capabilities because he rarely discussed it. His past achievements winning national and international titles did all his talking for him, and it spoke volumes for his expertise in his chosen martial arts field.

Colin’s eyes fell toChung’s hand pressed firmly against his chest. Chung clearly wanted to show he was in charge here.

‘This is the last time I will ask. Remove your hand. Now!’ Colin ordered. His firm gaze locked on Chung.

Chung ignored Colin’s request and continued to read the warrant; a mistake he would ultimately live to regret.

Colin moved forward pushing against Chung’s extended arm. Chung appeared to take offense. He lifted his eyes from the warrant and he firmly grabbed the lapel of Colin’s suit.

He twisted the lapel as he pulled Colin close to him. Chung spoke through gritted teeth when he said, ’you will come in when I say you can come in. Are we clear?’ He threatened through narrowing eyes.

Colin’s eyes dropped to the hand twisting into his suit jacket. He smiled at Chung.

He pushed the heel of his hand firmly against Chung’s jaw, forcing the man’s head up and back. This was merely a distraction for his next counter.

Almost immediately, he grabbed Chung’s hand that was twisting his lapel, and in a deft and precise move, he quickly and forcibly twisted the wrist outwards, against the natural movement of Chung’s shoulder.

In a blink of an eye, Colin maneuvered Chung down onto the floor. Chung was lying on his stomach, with his cheek pressed firmly into the carpet.

As Colin stood over Chung, he twisted Chung’s elevated right arm up and behind Chung, in a position that could only be described as bio-mechanically unnatural for the shoulder joint.

Colin applied controlled pressure against the shoulder joint with a wrist lock that would’ve sent immense pain screaming through Chung’s joints.

Chung shrieked in pain. He demanded Colin release his grip. He ignorantly shouted futile threats against Colin if he failed to comply. Colin smiled as he glanced at his colleagues.

‘I can either snap your shoulder, or your wrist. Your choice,’ Colin offered.

He slightly increased the pressure on Chung’s joints to punctuate his comments and to demonstrate who was in control.

Chung screamed in response. ‘Or. You can elect to act civilly, and I will let you up,’ Colin said. ‘Your choice. What’s it to be, sergeant…?’

‘OK. OK. Just let go of my fucking arm,’ Chung screamed.

‘If I let you up you will remain civil…?’ Colin said as a question.

Chung failed to respond. Colin reapplied a slight increase in pressure to Chung’s arm lock. Chung again screamed out in pain.

‘OK. OK.’ Chung screamed through gritted teeth. ‘Yes. I will remain civil.’

‘OK then…’ Colin said. He slowly released his grip and untwisted Chung’s arm, before lowering it down into more natural position beside Chung’s body.

Chung remained on his stomach for a moment before lifting himself to his feet. With a hand grabbing and massaging his traumatized shoulder joint, he glared at Colin.

Chung waved a hand a Colin. ‘Do what you have to do and get the fuck out of here,’ Chung said, while he continued to massage the muscles surrounding his right shoulder joint.

Colin motioned with his head to his colleagues to move in and start searching. Colin remained in the doorway with Chung.

‘Now. We are not going to have any more trouble from you, are we…?’ Colin calmly asked, almost condescending in his tone.

Chung refused to answer. He continued to hold his shoulder joint as he pushed passed Colin and moved into his apartment lounge.

---

After an hour of systematic and methodical searching of Chung’s three bedroom apartment, Colin failed to locate any clothing that resembled those worn by Chung in the Hyatt Hotel security video, especially the distinctive white ASIC runners with red stripes.

With every room Colin entered and searched, Chung leaned in the doorway monitoring the searches. With a smug expression he offered derogatory commentary and opinion on how low he considered Colin and his colleagues were on the food chain of life.

‘You pricks disgust me,’ Chung sneered. ’Not good enough to be real cops, so you become a plastic wannabe–pathetic.

‘You’ve made a big mistake, my friend,’ Chung jabbed a finger at Colin. ‘You have fucked with the wrong person.’

After completing the search of his last room, Colin returned to the apartment’s lounge room, ignoring the tirade of abuse from Chung. He stood with his hands on his hips as he cast surveying eyes around the room.

The single shake of a head from each of his colleagues when they entered the lounge room empty handed from their respective room searches, suggested they too failed to locate any property or other evidence.

‘Where do you keep your runners?’ Colin asked Chung.

Chung moved to lean his back against the kitchen breakfast bench, where he stood with his arms folded. He failed to answer, but returned a cocky smile.

‘Your runners. Where do you keep them?’ Colin repeated.

Chung pushed himself off the bench and glared at Colin. He held a glower for several seconds. ‘Fuck you,’ he eventually replied. His face distorted in anger. ‘Fuck you. You come in here with your plastic friends…’

Chung sneered as he lifted his chin towards Colin’s colleagues. ‘And you search my place, and when you can’t find what you’re looking for… Yu ask me to find it for you… Well fuck you!’ He flicked a hand at Colin.

Colin ignored Chung’s outburst. He ran a thoughtful hand across his chin. ‘Is your car parked in the downstairs garage?’ Colin calmly asked.

The question appeared to hit a raw nerve with Chung. His facial expression tightened under his furrowed brow. His mouth shortened.

Chung snatched up his copy of the search warrant from the kitchen bench. ‘This warrant doesn’t permit you to search my car,’ he said without conviction. He read over the search warrant conditions.

Chung’s eye lifted slowly from having read the warrant did authorize a search of his motor vehicle. He threw the search warrant back on the bench top without comment.

‘Do you have an allocated car parking space?’ Colin asked.

Chung smirked as he slid onto a stool at the breakfast bar. His smug expression clearly articulating that he had no intention of answering that question.

Colin addressed his colleagues. ‘We are finished here. Let’s head down to the basement garage. We are looking for a Black BMW X5 SUV,’ Colin said ‘You have the license number and details in your information folders.’

Chapter 27

Chung followed the unwelcome intruders to the basement garage, trailing two steps behind.

Colin exited the elevator first into the lower level parking garage. He took a moment to survey the floor space.

The poorly lit garage had a noticeably low roof line, giving an uncomfortable closed in feeling. The dusty smelling air in the garage was considerably cooler. A continuous dull hum emanated from nearby mechanical equipment, situated behind a chain wire fence.

The allocation of parking bays appeared to lack any planning, or system with parking bays assigned to any available floor space. The numbering of the parking bays did not appear relative to the occupant’s apartment numbers, which only compounded their efforts to locate Chung’s vehicle.

Despite their thorough efforts in searching the garage, they failed to locate Chung’s four-wheel drive.

‘Where do you park your car, Mr. Chung?’

Again, Chung returned a smug smirk, while he slowly shook a disapproving head at Colin.

He held Colin’s gaze for several seconds. He then scoffed, ‘This whole exercise proved to be nothing but a huge waste of everyone’s time,’ Chung said.

Colin checked his watch. It showed 8.53am. He began to accept that his operation had been unsuccessful. He removed his cell phone and called the search team at the police station to inquire if they had located the black clothing and white runners in Chung’s locker.

Colin’s face wore a dejected expression when they informed him that they too were unsuccessful in their searches.

He desperately wanted to locate the dark clothing and white ASIC runners with red stripes that he believed Chung wore in the security video, and probably earlier in the assault of David Bower.

Unfortunately, they were not in his apartment and they were not in Chung’s work locker.

Colin considered the possibility that the items of interest may have been discarded afterwards, to dispose of any potential evidence.

Chung noticed Colin’s reaction from the phone call. He must’ve realized they had failed in their searches. ‘Now can you finally fuck off and leave me alone,’ he blurted.

He jabbed a finger towards the garage exit. ‘The street is that way, gentlemen…’ Chung said.

‘Colin…’ One of Colin’s the colleague called.

Colin made eye contact with his colleague, who lifted his chin towards the garage street entry. A black BMW X5 SUV had entered the garage, having just activated the security boom gate.

The smug expression had left Chung’s face.

The female driver parked the car about forty yards away from where they were standing and alighted from the vehicle.

Colin approached the female driver, who had started to walk in the direction away from Colin, towards the lift lobby.

From his research Colin was aware that Kevin Chung lived with his wife from his second marriage, Mandy Chau Wai-Yin.

He had been married for just over five years. His inquiries revealed Mandy worked as a ward sister in Hong Kong’s Matilda International Hospital.

As he quickly approached the woman from her rear, he called out to her. ‘Excuse me, ma’am…’ Colin called to the female. ‘Mrs. Chung, is it?’ he asked as he approached.

The female stopped and turned towards the fast approaching Colin.

‘Can I help you…?’ she said.

‘I’m terribly sorry to bother you… Are you Kevin Chung’s wife?’

The female regarded Colin before responding. ‘I am. What seems to be the problem?’ she said. Her eyes moved to her rapidly approaching husband.

’What’s going on here, Kevin?

‘Don’t tell them anything. They’re ICAC,’ he ordered. ‘Say nothing.’ He moved to stand beside his wife.

‘Could you please unlock your vehicle,’ Colin asked. ‘We have a search warrant authorizing us to search the vehicle.’

Mandy’s puzzled expression shifted to her husband. ‘Look, I’ve just arrived home from night shift. I’m tired,’ she said. ‘I don’t know what is going on here, but I just want to go to bed.’

‘I understand,’ Colin said. ‘And I don’t wish to keep you from your bed, Mrs. Chung-.’

‘It’s Chau… Mrs. Chau.’

‘I’m sorry… Mrs. Chau,’ Colin corrected. ‘Your husband can remain here and you are free to go up to bed if you choose. But before you leave, please unlock your vehicle.’ Colin gestured to the parked BMW SUV.

Chung put his arm around his wife’s shoulder. He lifted his chin in apparent defiance. ‘The car stays locked.’

Colin momentarily held Chung’s glare. He nodded once then turned to his colleagues. ‘Go and get the tire iron from the trunk of our vehicle,’ he said. He then re-addressed Chung.

‘You know as well as I do, sergeant, the warrant permits us to break in to your vehicle, if necessary,’ he said. ‘I have no problems smashing a window to access your vehicle, if that is what you prefer.’ His comment was for the benefit of Mandy.

Mandy forcefully pushed herself from her husband’s arm. ‘Kevin…’ she said. She glared at him. ‘What the hell’s going on here?’ she said.

She gestured to Colin. ‘They are not smashing my car’s window. What’s wrong with you?’ She lightly pushed her husband in the chest. She lobbed her car keys to Colin. ‘I don’t know what you are looking for, but, use these to open it,’ she said, then glared at her husband.

Colin caught the keys with a snatch and unlocked the vehicle. He lifted the tail gate and noticed a black NIKE sports bag. ‘Who owns this bag?’

‘Don’t tell them anything,’ Kevin quickly responded. Mandy stood silent.

Colin shook his head in disappointment, as he removed a pair of latex gloves from his pocket and snapped them onto his hands. He then commenced to search the bag.

‘Why are they searching my car, Kevin?’ Mandy asked. ‘What have you done?’

‘Shhh,’ Kevin replied. ‘I’ll explain it all later. It’s a big mistake. They have the wrong person.’

Colin removed a pair of white ASICS with red stripes from the bag. He lifted them up and held them out towards Kevin Chung. ‘Who owns these runners?’

Mandy glared at her husband, who remained silent.

Colin placed the runners to the side and continued searching the black sports bag.

The remaining items from the bag were all removed and placed into the vehicle’s rear boot area. The contents consisted of a gym membership photo ID in the name of Kevin Chung, a pair of navy blue shorts, a white t-shirt and a black baseball cap.

Colin lifted the ASIC runners and examined them closely. As he did so he detected a faint, but sharp chemical smell. He lifted the runners closer to his nose. The strong odor of bleach suggested the runners had been cleaned.

He noticed Chung’s smug expression beaming across his face. ‘Oh no…’ Chung said, sarcastically. ‘Have they been cleaned…? Sorry about that, Mr. ICAC Investigator,’ Chung said.

Colin dropped the runners onto the boot space of the car. He move to inspect the baseball cap. As he did so, he did a double take back to the runners, to the right shoe specifically.

He lifted the runner and re-examined it closely. A grin emerged out the side of face at what he saw. He slowly unlaced the runner, peeling away at the lengthy white lace, to reveal the white padded tongue underneath.

He pushed the tongue down into the shoe and tilted the toe of the runner away from himself. A smile beamed across his face at what he saw–a small drop of dried blood.

Chung let go of his wife’s shoulder and moved towards Colin. ‘What…? What have you seen?’ Chung approached Colin.

Through natural wear over time, the runner’s tongue had slipped forward under the stitched leather trim, located just below the lowest lace holes, forming an indiscernible small pocket under the leather stitching.

Chung obviously hadn’t pulled the tongue out tightly when he laced up his runners.

After removing the laces, Colin noticed a small dried, blood drop had splashed through the laces and onto the tongue, where it remained hidden in this small pocket.

It had obviously been missed when he wiped down the runners with bleach.

Colin smiled at Chung. ‘You didn’t remove the laces when you bleached your shoes, did you…?’ He said. ‘You missed a spot.’ He indicated the wayward blood drop.

Colin placed the runner into the vehicle’s rear boot in preparation to take of photographs of the vehicle and the property.

Chung extended his hand, as he moved towards the vehicle. ‘Let me see that,’ he demanded.

Colin stepped in front of Chung, to retard his progress. ‘No. You know how it works,’ Colin said. ‘You can look at the evidence photos when you receive a copy of the brief.’

Chung flicked a finger at the runner and said, ‘this is bullshit… That’s my shoe.’ He tried to move around Colin.

Colin pushed a hand into Chung’s chest to restrain him. ‘Not anymore,’ Colin said. ‘It is now evidence in the assault of an American tourist,’ he said.

‘What…?’ Chung’s face distorted. ‘What bullshit are you talking about?’ Chung blurted. ‘And since when does ICAC investigate assaults?’

Colin ignored the comment and directed his colleagues to begin cataloging the NIKE bag and its contents.

All items were eventually sealed in transparent plastic evidence bags and recorded onto a property seizure record.

‘Why are they taking your shoes, Kevin?’ Mandy asked. She moved to stand in front of her husband. Her arms were crossed firmly in front of her. ‘What assault is he talking about?’

’Don’t worry about it,’ Chung replied. He gently nudged her aside, then moved closer to Colin.

Chung jabbed an aggressive finger at Colin. ‘This is bullshit. You know it is.’

‘Is it?’ Colin said. ‘You think this is bullshit, do you? If I am correct, analysis will reveal that the blood I found inside the tongue of your runner,’ Colin gestured to the runners now securely sealed inside the clear evidence bag. ’Will match the father of the young American tourist who you say drowned in the harbor about one and a half weeks ago,’ Colin said.

‘And if I am correct,’ Colin continued. ‘That blood will be the least of your worries.’

Chung held his glare on Colin. He moved his head closer to Colin and quietly whispered, ‘you naïve little fuck… None of this will ever see a court room,’ he declared. He stepped back from Colin, slowly shaking his head.

‘Is that right?’ Colin wasn’t fazed by Chung’s threats. ‘We will just have to see, won’t we?’

Once all the formalities were completed, Colin handed Chung a copy of the property sheet that itemized the property they had seized.

Colin and his team then moved to exit the garage towards their vehicles parked on Monmouth Street.

Prior to exiting the garage, Colin glanced back towards Chung for the last time. Chung had not moved from the spot where Colin handed him the property sheet.

As the two men’s eyes met, Chung smiled as he lifted his hand and slowly dragged his extended thumb across his throat, simulating a throat-cutting action.

Colin returned an unfazed smile back to Chung. He lifted a hand in a condescending wave as an act of defiance to Chung’s thinly veiled threat.

---

Back in New York City…

David leaned his elbows onto the handrails of his 16th floor balcony, clutching his near empty glass of single-malt scotch with both hands.

He had taken the time to slip away from his lounge room to collect his thoughts. He took in the serenity of the afternoon sun, lighting up Manhattan below him and bathing the city in a rich golden glow.

‘There you are… I’ve been looking for you everywhere.’

The deep voice of David’s long-time friend and business partner, Julian Davis, broke the period of extended solitude David had been enjoying.

David glanced over a shoulder towards Julian who had stepped out onto David’s Penthouse balcony. ‘I brought you a fresh drink. You’ve been sitting on that one for a while now.’

He handed David a fresh glass of single-malt scotch. ‘Three fingers of single-malt –just how you like it.’

David accepted the drink with a perfunctory smile before returning his gaze to the peaceful Manhattan skyline.

Julian placed a comforting hand on David’s shoulder. ‘Are you OK, my friend?’ he asked with genuine compassion in his voice.

David remained on his elbows. His face appeared strained. His eyes were sunken and understandably, lacked their usual sparkle.

He paused as if carefully choosing his words. He inhaled deeply followed by a long and controlled exhale. ‘I feel like I expect I should feel, Jules…’ he said with his voice breaking.

‘Like someone who has just buried their son… And these…’ he lifted his glass of scotch. ‘Don’t seem to be helping.’

Julian glanced back inside the apartment to all the people gathered in David’s lounge, each suitably dressed in black. He leaned on the balcony hand rail beside David and joined him in silent contemplation.

Wednesday was the day David feared the most since returning from Hong Kong, and inevitably, it had finally arrived.

Only a few short hours earlier, over 100, dark sunglass-wearing family and friends had gathered for Miles’ graveside funeral ceremony.

The cemetery’s manicured lawn hosted the heart-rending occasion that celebrated the life of someone taken way too early.

The casket, adorned with large colorful floral arrangements, was positioned atop of a gold colored frame, suspended over the excavated shaft below.

The mortarboard Miles so proudly wore at his Harvard graduation took pride of place at the head of his coffin.

At the conclusion of the moving service, a graveside piper squeezed out an emotion stirring rendition of Amazing Grace.

The coffin slowly descended from view, farewelled by grieving mourners, each of whom lined up to gently lob a symbolic, single white rose into Miles’ final resting place.

The fully catered, post-funeral gathering held at David and Madison’s home provided an opportunity for family and friends to remember their times with Miles and pay tribute to their lost son, brother, nephew, cousin and close friend.

No amount of planning could have prepared David for this day, and it was everything he had feared, and more.

While earlier silently surveying his lounge room guests, David noticed a recurring constant; all their faces were taut, unsmiling and conversation seemed strained.

To David, it became obvious that everyone in the room shared his overwhelming sense of loss.

He lamented the cruel irony. The same people who had gathered to celebrate Miles’ graduation some five weeks earlier, had now returned to mourn his untimely passing.

Only this time, there was no excitement, no laughter, no adolescent merriment and certainly no DJ blasting out the relentless heavy bass music.

David struggled with the finality of the day and the uncontrollable, recurring visual flashbacks replaying in his mind, like a horror movie.

Try as he may, he couldn’t prevent the images of his son being physically dragged from his room, moments before he died.

He couldn’t stop the vision of Miles being assaulted in the elevator, his son’s sheet covered body at the morgue and the anger and contempt he felt for this Mohawk Man for what he did to his son… to his family. It became all too consuming.

The atmosphere in the lounge room had become claustrophobic and he needed some fresh air. He craved to be alone to collect his thoughts, to try and cope with the harsh reality of having just buried his son.

The balcony off his lounge offered the temporary sanctuary he needed. And that was where he remained, until Julian arrived.

While leaning out on the balcony with David, Julian lifted his glass towards David before offering a tribute.

‘To a great young man who will be sadly missed by all those fortunate enough to have known him. Rest in Peace, Miles,’ Julian said.

David clinked his glass against Julian’s and took a large sip to his lost son.

Chapter 28

Although scheduled to finish at 6pm, the Friday afternoon Senior Executive Group meeting went considerably later than initially planned.

The 9pm finish only served to increase the appetite of the executive team. They were collectively looking forward to the post-meeting drinks in David’s office, to go with the sizable order of Chinese takeout David had arranged to be delivered for his hungry team.

It was a fitting and relaxing way to end what had been a long and mentally arduous week for David.

Although he didn’t realize it, the social drinks and post-work interaction with his executive staff was a relaxing distraction from the thoughts that had plagued him since Miles’ funeral.

David chatted with colleagues and took in the mesmerizing views across Manhattan, to the Hudson River, when he heard Julian call out to him from across the room.

‘David,’ Julian called. He held up David’s cell. ‘You have a call.’

Julian sliced his way through the gathering and handed David the ringing phone. ‘You left it on the bar…’ Julian jabbed a thumb over his shoulder.

‘It’s probably Maddie looking for me,’ he said, then answered the call.

‘David Bower…’ He moved away to a more private area, within his office.

‘David… Colin Tseng from ICAC in Hong Kong. How are you this evening?’

‘Colin…’ David said, clearly interested to hear from the caller. ‘I am well, thank you. How are you?’

Although only 10am Friday morning in Hong Kong, Colin had just received results from the initial tests conducted on the blood drop found in Chung’s white ASIC runner.

They identified the blood group as AB Positive. Colin needed to confirm this was a match against David’s blood group, before any further DNA analysis could be conducted.

‘Sorry for the late call. What time is it there in New York…? It must be about 10pm.’ Colin said, answering his own question.

‘Correct. Ten Pee em. But that’s OK. It is always good to hear from you. What can I do for you, Colin?’ David eagerly asked.

Colin updated David on how the Coroner granted him permission to have the blood samples that had been taken from Miles at autopsy— the same blood samples that were assessed as containing amphetamines—to be re-analyzed by an independent Government Pathologist. He expected those results soon.

He also told David how, during search warrants he’d executed on Kevin Chung, he located a pair of white ASIC runners with red stripes.

One of the runners had a small blood drop, deep down in the tongue of one of the runners.

‘Which is the main reason why I am calling,’ Colin said. ‘I need to ascertain what your blood group is to compare it to the analysis of the blood in Chung’s runner. Do you happen to know your blood type?’

‘I do… I’m AB Positive,’ David said. ‘And I’ll bet you anything you like, that it match the blood in that runner?’

Colin chuckled. ‘I can’t accept your bet, that would be unfair… I know the result.’

‘The blood will be mine from when that excuse-for-a-human-being put me in hospital. That you can be sure of,’ David said.

’You are correct…’ Colin said. ’It is a match – AB Positive.’

‘So… What happens now?’

‘I will send a formal request to the New York Police for you to provide a victim sample of your DNA.’ Colin said.

’It is a fairly straight forward procedure. You will attend at your local police station and they will take a mouth swab for analysis and notify me of the result.’

‘I can do that. When will all this happen?’

‘I will send the paperwork today,’ Colin said. ‘What is the address of your nearest police station?’

’Ah, the nearest one is the 19th on East 67th’

‘Nineteenth Precinct on East 67th Street, New York,’ Colin repeated, presumably as he jotted it down. ‘OK. Once I have the results of your DNA, I can authorize the sample to be run to compare the results to the blood droplet.’

‘Tell me… How is everything else coming along?’ David asked. ‘Will this actually help expose the cover up of my son’s investigation?’

‘I hope so David-’

‘Or are we merely chasing rabbits down burrows without any likely chance of an outcome?’

‘I certainly don’t think we are chasing rabbits down burrows,’ Colin said. ’I still have a number of avenues to explore, David. As you know… It’s all about what we are able to prove. But I will keep you posted next week.’

After ending the call, David returned his phone to his pocket and made his way back to his colleagues.

‘OK… Now where is my drink?’ He rubbed his hands together as he disappeared back into the gathered group.

---

Being a man that had to keep himself busy, Sunday had been an unusual lazy day for David and the afternoon was even less productive.

Through no fault of his own, he had found himself home alone. His young-adult children, Ben and Felicity were both at the movies with friends.

Maddie had enlisted Phillip to drive her into the city for some retail therapy with ‘the girls’, to allow David time to concentrate on some weekend paperwork he brought home from work.

Although he had plenty to keep himself busy, including preparation for Monday morning’s meetings, David recognized his impromptu solitude as an ideal opportunity to momentarily escape from the reality of past events.

It provided a rare chance for him to have some ‘me’ time and visit one of his most cherished and relaxing pleasures- playing his piano.

The soothing and enchanting rise and fall of Beethoven’s Für Elise emanated from the lounge room and soon replaced the familiar quietude of David’s spacious penthouse residence.

Being an accomplished pianist, David found it relaxing, on the rare occasions when opportunity presented, to sit at his black Steinway grand piano, that took pride of place in his lounge room, and float away to his dexterous playing of his favorite classical music.

To him, time from that moment ceased to exist and the hours literally flew by, as he became lost in his arrangement of the classical masterpieces.

He became so focused, so enthralled by his sonata, that he didn’t notice his cell phone on the nearby coffee table alerting him to a recently received message.

He was so focused that when Maddie returned from her shopping and entered the lounge with her hands full of shopping bags, David failed to notice her return.

She lowered her shopping bags onto the coffee table, walked over and gently kissed David on his cheek. He halted his play.

‘Oh. I’m sorry, Darling. I didn’t hear you come in.’ He spun his piano stool around to face Maddie.

‘That’s OK. You play so beautifully. I feel guilty for stopping you,’ Maddie said. ‘You should keep playing. I’ll just go and try on some of my new purchases.’ She lifted her collection of shopping bags from the coffee table.

In doing so, Maddie accidentally knocked David’s cell phone onto the floor.

The phone’s display illuminated on impact with the floor. ‘Oh…’ she said. ‘It looks like you have an email, darling. Were you aware of that?’

David closed the piano’s cover and accepted his phone from Madison. ‘No I didn’t, actually. I must really tune out when I am playing.’

David wondered who had contacted him on a Sunday. ‘Ah…’ David’s eyes widened. ’It’s from my friend at the South China Morning Post, Tony Huang,’ He said. ‘I wonder what Tony has for me?’

He opened the file with piqued interest.

David read the email from Tony.

“Hi David.

I hope you are well. The link below will take you to the story that I will be running in tomorrow’s paper. I think you will find it particularly interesting… and helpful.”

‘Helpful?’ David repeated. He frowned. ‘Helpful for what?’

David activated the link in the email and watched while the attachment loaded on his phone. Maddie remained in the lounge, curiously watching David.

Once the email attachment loaded, David’s heart skipped a beat. His smile of eager anticipation instantly wiped from his face. His eyes widened and his mouth rounded as he stared silently at the phone in his hand.

Maddie must’ve noticed her husband’s shock reaction. She moved towards him. ‘David… What is it?’ She asked firmly. ‘What’s wrong?’

David didn’t respond. Instead he returned a blank expression, almost one of shock. His mouth fell open. He quickly brushed passed Maddie as he moved from the lounge.

‘David…’ Maddie asked. ‘David. What’s going on?’

David spoke back over a shoulder. ‘Excuse me will you… I have to view this email on a larger screen, Hon. My phone is too small,’ he said as he quickly moved to his Den.

Once in his den, David booted up his new iPad and re-visited the same email he had just accessed on his phone.

When the attachment opened, David slumped back into his chair. A head and shoulder photo of Mohawk Man stared back at him from his iPad screen.

This was the one person responsible for his recurring nightmares and sleepless nights. He was the one person responsible for irreversibly changing David’s life, and probably the only person in the world David loathed.

He rubbed a hand across his mouth. ‘Why are you sending me this, Tony?’ David said to no one.

He read on. The complete attachment that eventually loaded was a newspaper article by Tony Huang. David read the headline out aloud to himself.

“Top Cop’s Son Killed in Deliberate Hit-Run”.

David’s eyebrows arched. Don’t tell me this lowlife has killed someone else,’ he mumbled.

He continued to read.

“The son of one of Hong Kong’s senior police officers, CHENG Kwok-Leung (pictured) was struck by a motor vehicle while walking along an illuminated designated paved footway in a quiet Wan Chai residential street, in the early hours of Saturday morning.

A spokesperson from the police Accident Investigation Unit advised that a vehicle approaching the victim from behind has mounted the curb and traveled a short distance along the footpath and struck Mr. Cheng, carrying his body approximately fifty yards, before fleeing the scene without stopping.

Ambulance officers responding to a call frantically fought to treat Mr. Cheng at the scene before transporting him to hospital, where he later died from injuries sustained in the collision. Police are treating the accident as suspicious.

The victim’s father, Superintendent CHENG Chi-Wong from Hong Kong Central Police declined to comment on the matter andhas asked that people respect his family’s privacy at this very difficult time.

Police request that anyone seeing a vehicle with front end damage or with any other information in relation to this accident is asked to contact their local police station.”

David’s eyes darted. He pushed himself away from his desk and moved to his filing cabinet, where he retrieved the file containing copies of the information he had gathered in Hong Kong relating to Miles.

He placed the file on his desk then walked his fingers through the various pages. Two-thirds of the way through the file he lifted a page.

‘Oh-My-God,’ David exclaimed out loud. The color instantly drained from his face.

The notes he checked of his meeting with the arrogant police superintendent from Hong Kong Central confirmed what he suspected; the superintendent’s name –Alan CHENG Chi-Wong is the same superintendent referred to in Tony’s article.

The realization stunned David like a forceful slap to the face – Mohawk Man is the superintendent’s son. He could not believe it. But now it all made sense.

Unbeknown to David, Maddie followed him to his den where she stood casually leaning a shoulder on the doorway. She monitored him while he read the email and must’ve noticed his change in demeanor.

‘What’s wrong, David? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.’

David startled when Maddie spoke. Up to this point he had resisted informing Maddie of the full details of what occurred in Hong Kong with Miles. Her emotional wounds were still too raw.

He worried that if he were to fully expose her to the traumatic circumstances of how she lost her son at this stage, it would affect her healing process and her coping.

He therefore knew he couldn’t explain to Maddie what this email truly meant to him.

He couldn’t explain to her how Tony Huang provided the missing piece of what had been a complex jigsaw puzzle that now brought everything that happened in Hong Kong into perspective.

And he couldn’t explain how it was now apparent to him that the investigating police must have discovered that the person responsible for Miles’ death was the son of their superintendent, so they tried to cover it up.

‘Oh… It’s just this email from Tony.’ He flicked a finger towards the iPad. ‘He’s just letting me know that someone we both knew in Hong Kong has been killed in a hit-and-run car accident on Saturday night. It’s just a bit of a shock.’ David carefully chose his words so as not to lie to his wife.

‘Oh, no… I’m so sorry to hear that, David. Are you OK?’ Maddie moved to comfort her husband.

David raised a hand to Maddie. ‘No. I’m fine… Really,’ he said. ’I actually didn’t know the kid that well. I only knew of him, but I had the pleasure of meeting his father,’ David said. His sarcasm was fortunately lost on his unsuspecting wife. ‘I will be fine… Truly. It’s all just a bit of a surprise.’

Maddie regarded her husband. ‘Alright then. As long as you are sure you’re OK.’ She moved towards the door. ‘I’ll leave you be and go and try on my new outfits.’

Maddie left the office with David offering a reassuring smile.

Everything instantly flooded back to him with incredible clarity. David suddenly began to rationalize everything to himself. As he did so, the burning question that had plagued his conscious thoughts for weeks, became apparent. He now knew the ‘why’ for everything that happened to him in Hong Kong.

He now understood the superintendent’s demeanor during their meeting. While the superintendent tried to suppress and cover up all evidence that could incriminate his son in a possible murder charge, David, a foreigner and someone not under his control or authority, worked to uncover and expose new incriminating evidence against the super’s son.

Chapter 29

David felt a weight lift off his shoulders. This news confirmed Miles had not dabbled in illicit drugs before he died.

He was satisfied, more than ever, that it was the police who planted drugs on Miles’ property to give credibility to their cover up. They needed to convince the court of public opinion that Miles was just another young drug addled tourist, who met an unfortunate, but avoidable accidental death.

David’s face tightened. His eyes began to dart in contemplation. ‘Wow,’ he said. He rubbed a hand across his forehead at his new found realization.

David realized that with this latest information all but confirming the police did plant the drugs on Miles, as he suspected, then that meant the pathologist’s toxicology report must have been falsified.

‘Holy Shit,’ he blurted to himself. He collapsed back into his chair. ‘This is huge.’ He ran a hand through his hair.

David stared blankly as he contemplated life’s cruel irony. Superintendent Cheng had callously dismissed the torment David went through, as a parent having just lost a child in such horrific circumstances.

The superintendent showed nothing but contempt towards David by deliberately destroying evidence that would implicate the superintendent’s criminal son, with no consideration to David and his family.

Now, as fate would have it, the superintendent now had to endure exactly what he and his son put David through; the anguish of losing a son – cruelly taken by the hand of another.

With a blank expression, David glanced at the photo of Mohawk Man still staring back at him from the article on the iPad screen.

Although David was not a cruel or uncaring man, he felt nothing as he looked at the picture, even knowing this young man was now deceased.

He slowly shook his head as he muttered to himself, ‘Obviously you did the wrong thing to one too many people…’

A quick check of his watch confirmed the time was too early in the morning in Hong Kong to ring Colin Tseng from ICAC, to inform of the news – plus it was Sunday after all.

David noticed Colin wasn’t included in the email’s address list from Tony Huang, so David decided to forward the email article to Colin, so it would be available for him to read as soon as he arrived in his office Monday morning.

He then typed out a quick email reply of gratitude to Tony Huang, before closing down his iPad.

---

Back in Hong Kong…

When Colin arrived at work he was more upbeat than usual, for a Thursday morning. Thursdays were usually a nothing day to Colin, but not today. Today he was scheduled to meet with Lee Sung at his office at 11am for an interview. He hoped she would provide the breakthrough he needed in relation to his investigation into the police cover-up of Miles’ death.

His meeting with the elusive Lee Sung came about after he received David’s email, first thing last Monday morning, about the death of Mohawk Man.

From that information, he ascertained that the funeral service for Mohawk Man, or Cheng Kwok-Leung, was to be held on Wednesday at 10am.

Colin subsequently attended Mohawk Man’s funeral service and briefly spoke with Lee Sung. Lee initially denied any knowledge of Miles, or any involvement in his death.

She was uncooperative and unwilling to speak with Colin. She waved him off and attempted to walk around him.

While keeping a watchful eye out for the superintendent and Detective Sergeant Kevin Chung, Colin showed her some incriminating photos that demonstrated she did in fact know Miles. Once he had her attention, he then advised her of the incriminating video footage from the Downtown store.

Lee appeared to reluctantly concede. She relented and admitted knowing Miles, but emphatically denied any knowledge that Kwok intended to kill Miles.

Colin informed Lee that unless she was prepared to officially explain her involvement, she risked being prosecuted as a principal offender in the murder of the American tourist.

Needless to say, Lee accepted it would be in her best interests to meet with Colin. She agreed to a meeting that Colin promptly scheduled for 11am today.

Prior to his meeting with Lee Sung, Colin arranged for a detective from the Hong Kong Crime Unit to be present at the interview with Lee, to involve the police as early as possible.

This was because the investigation of a murder was outside Colin’s enforcement jurisdiction. However, if during his investigation he discovered evidence that implicated a suspect for a murder that appeared connected to his corruption investigation, then he was compelled and authorized to follow it through.

Any admissible evidence relating to a murder would eventually be handed over to the detectives for further investigation and prosecution. Colin would continue with carriage of the corruption investigation, but would subsequently become a key witness in any murder trial.

Colin revisited his notes to refresh his memory of dates, events and available evidence in preparation for his 11am meeting this morning.

He was deep in concentration when a passing colleague dropped the morning mail onto his desk.

Colin eyed the short the pile of envelopes. He spread the pile apart to quickly assess if any were worth opening right now. Two envelopes with the same branding – The Office of the Hong Kong Independent Pathologists, caught his interest.

He slid them from the pile hoping these were the results he had been expecting. Like an excited child on his birthday, Colin eagerly ripped open the first envelope and removed the letter. He sat back in his chair while he read its contents.

The letter and attached analysis report officially confirmed that the results of a DNA sample taken from David Bower by the New York Police, and later provided to the Hong Kong Independent Pathologist, was found to be a 99.8% comparative match to the blood sample tested from the white ASIC runner.

Colin nodded as he dropped the letter onto his desk. As expected. That placed Kevin Chung at the assault and hospitalization of David Bower.

He lifted the second letter from the pathologist. All he had to do now was connect this assault to Miles’ murder, and the subsequent police cover up.

He ripped into the 2nd envelope, unfolded the letter and commenced to read, but his desk phone rang before he completed reading the letter.

Colin answered the call. ‘Colin Tseng.’

‘There is a Detective Michael Weng Tung-Sung from the Hong Kong Crime Unit down here. He says he has an 11am meeting with you…’ The female from the front reception desk said.

’OK, Thanks. I will be down shortly to collect him.’

After hanging up the phone, Colin returned to reading the second letter.

The Pathologist’s report from the re-analysis of the blood taken from Miles during Autopsy had been completed.

Colin’s eyebrows arched and his mouth fell open as he read the report.

The attached report concluded that Miles did not have evidence of amphetamines in his blood. He did however, have high levels of gamma hydroxybutyrate.

‘Shit.’ Colin’s eyes lifted from the letter. He realized they had drugged Miles with ’GHB. ‘No wonder the poor kid appeared out on his feet,’ he mumbled to himself.

Colin drummed contemplative fingers on the desk. He checked his watch, then quickly located the telephone number for The Hong Kong Independent Pathologists listed on their letterhead.

He decided to make a quick call to the pathologist who conducted the re-test – Doctor Kwok Kim Hung.

After introducing himself, Colin sought an explanation of what the effects of gamma hydroxybutyrate would do to a person.

’Tell me doctor…′ Colin began. ‘How long before GHB takes effect after being administered?’ Colin asked.

‘It will usually start to work in about fifteen, to thirty minutes, and the effects last from three to six hours,’ the Pathologist said.

‘The effects are similar to those of alcohol, and if alcohol and GHB are taken together, the effects of each are intensified.’

‘Your report identified high levels of GHB in the blood… What would that do to a person who was already intoxicated when it was administered?’ Colin asked.

‘Well…’ the Pathologist began, ‘Larger amounts of GHB, similar to the levels found in the sample I re-tested, interfere with motor and speech control and can cause vomiting, followed by unconsciousness, or a coma-like sleep,’ Doctor Kwok said.

‘And you found no trace of amphetamines in the sample you tested,’ Colin said as a question.

‘Correct. Only gamma hydroxybutyrate.’

‘OK. Xie xie, Doctor Kwok. Thank you for your time,’ Colin said, then ended his call.

Colin returned to his file and sorted through to the original Pathologist’s toxicology report. He checked the report.

The report clearly indicated that analysis detected amphetamines in Miles system, but there was no mention whatsoever of GHB. This was clearly in complete contrast to the latest toxicology report received.

This latest report now questioned the integrity of the previous pathologist and suggested his complicity in the cover up. Things were now starting to get interesting as the case gained momentum.

Colin was now, more than ever, very interested to see what Lee Sung would divulge in her interview later this morning.

He placed his file to the side of his desk and made his way down to the foyer to meet with the waiting detective.

---

When Lee Sung arrived at ICAC Headquarters for her 11am interview, her head was constantly lowered and she failed to make eye contact, even when responding to Colin’s questions or comments.

Colin escorted her to a windowless room where she was instructed to sit at the end of a small rectangular laminate=top table.

A video camera was positioned facing Lee from the opposite end of the table.

Colin and Detective Weng Tung-Sung from the Hong Kong Crime Unit sat on the side of the table. Colin conducted the interview of Lee Sung, with Detective Weng involved as a corroborating observer.

Prior to the interview commencing, the Crime Unit Detective reassured Lee that if the information she provided during the interview assisted in the arrest and prosecution of offenders, the court would be informed of her cooperation in the investigation.

For reasons unknown to Colin, Lee waived her right for legal representation.

During the ensuing interview, Lee’s head remained lowered, and she fidgeted with her hands on her lap. At times she sat with arms holding her legs, which were pulled up close to her chest.

Colin established very early on that Lee Sung’s name was actually, Maggie Yu Sum-Tong. She said that she only used the alias Lee Sung to hide her true identity.

She admitted that the now deceased Mohawk Man was her boyfriend. He was the one who devised a scam to rob wealthy male tourists and they had been quite successful at it.

‘My role was to make friends with rich male tourists and gain their trust, and when the time was right, I drugged them. Then, my boyfriend would move in and rob them while they were unconscious,’ she said. ‘But no-one was ever supposed to get hurt. It was just business.’

Colin raised an eyebrow. ‘Business…?’ He repeated.

Lee nodded. ‘Aha. A way to make money…’

Colin exchanged a brief glance with the detective before continuing. ‘Why did you choose this American, Miles Bower as a target?’

’They both appeared to be wealthy Americans, so I tried to get to know them better, to find out more about them. I found out that Miles had a US Billionaire father who gave him the round-the-world holiday as a graduation gift.

‘The American showed me his US$45,000 watch and he told me how his father gave him US$50,000 cash on his debit card’

‘So, is that why you chose Miles and not his friend, Bryce Fleming…?’ Colin said.

Lee nodded. ‘It took a bit of work on my part to win Miles’ trust, and because I was paying so much attention to the American… I think my boyfriend became very jealous of the American. I think he thought the American was trying to steal me away. That’s when I think it became very personal for my boyfriend. He hated the American,’ she said.

‘The American you refer to… Is that Miles Bower?’ Colin clarified.

Lee nodded. ‘Yes.’

‘So what was your plan to rob the American, Miles Bower?’

‘We decided that after we left Lan Kwai Fong, I would suggest we go back to the other American’s hotel room for late night drinks. My boyfriend told me to make sure I suggest going to the other one’s room…’

‘The other one…?’ Colin repeated. ‘Do you mean, Bryce Fleming’s room?’

Lee nodded. ‘At the room, I slipped something into Miles’ drink to make him feel drowsy and sick.’

‘What did you give him?’

’I don’t know. Possibly “GBH”, but I used whatever it was my boyfriend gave me to use.′

Colin nodded his understanding. ‘What happened then?’

‘Once Miles left the room, I sent my boyfriend a text. He was waiting downstairs in the hotel lobby. My boyfriend then went to Miles’ room. I have no idea what happened after that and I never saw the Americans again.’

‘What did your boyfriend steal from the American…?’

‘He took his watch and credit card…’

‘How did your boyfriend know the American’s PIN for the card he stole…?’ Colin said.

Lee’s head lowered. She allowed several seconds to pass before responding. ‘He told me he beat the American until he gave up the PIN.’ Lee’s eyes lifted to Colin. ‘But that wasn’t part of our plan. No one was supposed to get hurt.’

‘Did you receive anything from the stolen credit card?’ Colin asked.

Lee nodded her lowered head. ‘Yes… I got an iPad. Some Jimmy Choo shoes. Um, a hand bag and some clothes.’

‘What happened to the American your boyfriend robbed?’ Colin said.

’I had no idea the American had died. My boyfriend never said anything about that. He told me the Americans left Hong Kong and moved on to another country.’

Colin considered that most of the information Lee provided during her lengthy interview appeared credible, except for her comments about having no idea Miles had died. That, he couldn’t accept.

At the completion of the interview Detective Weng escorted Maggie to his office to process her for aggravated robbery and theft charges, for her part in the drugging and theft from Miles Bower.

Chapter 30

The peak hour traffic contributed to the mid-afternoon drive to the Public Mortuary taking considerably longer than expected.

Colin had arranged for a 3pm meeting with the Forensic Pathologist who prepared the original toxicology report from Miles’ autopsy, and he was now running late.

He impatiently checked his watch. It was 3.15pm and he still had a way to go. Colin started to stress that he would miss his appointment.

It was important to him to discuss how one toxicology report from Miles’ blood analysis recorded Amphetamines in the blood, while a subsequent analysis found only GHB in Miles’ blood.

Colin eventually arrived at the 3.40pm.

The first thing he noticed upon entering the public foyer of the Mortuary was the distinctive strong chemical smell.

As he approached the reception counter to introduce himself, someone to his right called his name.

‘Ni Hao… Are you, Colin Tseng?’ the voice called.

Colin turned towards the voice. A man in a white, full-length coat stood by a partially open door, situated off to the right of the reception area.

’That’s right. Are you Doctor Kong Tze San?’ he asked. He approached the man.

‘No. But if you follow me, I will take you to him. He has been expecting you,’ the escort said.

Colin followed the male into what appeared to be an office administration area. With the exception of three glass fronted offices lining the side wall, the rest of the office area was open plan, with all the desks sitting fully exposed, without privacy partitions.

The escort directed Colin into the middle office. A male with light grey wavy hair seated at the large desk peered up at Colin over the top of the reading glasses, perched on the very end of his nose.

‘Ni Hao, Doctor Kong?’ Colin asked, as he entered the office.

‘Ni Hao… Colin Tseng, I presume?’

The doctor stood and extended his hand. Colin shook the man’s hand. The Doctor checked his watch. ‘We were scheduled to meet at 3pm,’ Doctor Kong said.

‘I apologize for that, but I’m sure you know how traffic on the island can be,’ Colin said.

‘Well, I have about ten minutes, or so now, so what seems to be the problem?’ Doctor Kong asked. He gestured to the visitor seat at his desk, as he returned to his chair.

Colin handed the Doctor a copy of the toxicology report from Miles’ autopsy. The Doctor accepted the report and feigned a cursory glance at it.

‘Do you recall your blood analysis from that deceased?’ Colin flicked his finger at the report in Kong’s hand.

The Doctor held the report out to return it back to Colin. ‘No. I don’t remember every report I prepare.’

’You did conduct the analysis and after which, you prepared that report, didn’t you?’ Colin said.

The Doctor held Colin’s gaze for a moment before glancing at the report.

‘That is my signature, so, yes, I assume I conducted that analysis,’ the Doctor said. He again held the report out for Colin to take back. ‘I don’t remember every test I conduct, you understand.’

Colin smiled at the Doctor’s comments. ‘No, I suppose you do not,’ he said. ‘But this one was taken from an American tourist who was found floating in the Harbor about five or six weeks back.’

‘So…’

‘Do you recall performing that autopsy and toxicology tests?’ Colin asked.

‘I don’t know. It sounds vaguely familiar,’ the Doctor said. His facial expression tightened.

Colin removed the report from the second test of the same blood sample and handed it to the Doctor. ‘There were certain concerns over the toxicology analysis result that –’

‘What sort of concerns?’

‘Well… Your analysis found levels of amphetamines in the blood of the deceased,’ Colin said.

‘If that is what my report says, then that is correct.’

‘Well… The deceased’s family disputed the result of your analysis, so we obtained an order to re-test the same sample. You have the fresh result there in your hand,’ Colin said.

‘Where are you going with this?’ the Doctor asked, without even looking at the second analysis report in his hand.

’You will see on that report in your hand that the subsequent analysis disputed your original finding. According to that subsequent analysis, there were no amphetamines in the blood sample you took, but there were elevated levels of gamma hydroxybutyrate,’ Colin said. ’Yet your report failed to identify this drug.’

The Doctor peered at Colin over the top of his glasses without responding and without examining the report still held in his hand.

‘How could your report be so inaccurate, Doctor?’

‘Who says it was…?’

’That report in your hand… A report prepared by an accredited and highly qualified government pathologist, who re-tested the same blood sample that you took from the American tourist,’ Colin said.

The Doctor’s eyes dropped to the report for a brief moment, before he disinterestedly handed the report back to Colin.

‘So I take your silence to suggest that you have no idea how the two analyses of the same blood sample could produce such different results?’ Colin said.

‘Correct. I have no idea. Do you?’ The Doctor was sarcastic. ‘Maybe the sample had been contaminated, or something. I really don’t know. We do quite a number of tests in here, you know.’

Ignoring the Doctor’s sarcasm, Colin asked, ‘Why didn’t you take a sample of the deceased’s hair to test for any drugs in his system?’

The Doctor held his gaze at Colin for a considerable pause before responding. ‘Because I didn’t think it was necessary. Are you a Pathologist?’ he asked rhetorically. ‘How many toxicology samples have you tested in your time, Mr. Tseng? The test I conducted was quite conclusive. If my report shows there were amphetamines in the blood, then there were amphetamines in the blood.’

Colin noticed the Doctor’s demeanor had clearly changed. He fidgeted with his hands. His face had tightened and his mouth had straightened. His eyebrows dipped considerably causing a distinct V shape at the bridge of his nose.

The conversation clearly unsettled the Doctor. His mannerisms and the physical ‘tells’ were that of someone with something to hide.

‘Now…’ The Doctor checked his watch. ‘If you will excuse me, I am late for another appointment. My assistant will show you out.’ He extended a hand to the door of his office.

‘Xie xie,’ Colin said. He rose to his feet. He extended his hand to the Doctor. ‘I appreciate your time.’

The Doctor glared at Colin’s outstretched hand momentarily before returning a brief hand shake.

---

Back in New York…

David slumped back in his leather, high-back chair and exhaled heavily, having just completed a lengthy, late night video conference with his business managers in Europe, UK and Asia. He checked his watch: 2.30am.

With some time zones being ahead of New York, any international conference link up must take place late in the day for David, usually close to midnight, which by contrast, was often early morning for the overseas managers. It was the cost of doing business globally.

David gently massaged his temples, then rubbed his weary eyes. They had become dry from hours of staring at his computer monitor.

He yawned as he pushed himself from his desk to prepare himself a strong espresso. It wasn’t long before the aroma of freshly ground coffee began to tantalize his weary senses.

After taking the first sip of his much anticipated espresso, David closed his eyes to savor the first taste explosion. As he did so, his desktop computer made a ‘ding’ sound.

A pop-up message appeared on his computer screen that read, “Colin Tseng is trying to connect–Do you wish to accept?”

The lure of a strong coffee had been so distracting to David, following the International video conference, he had inadvertently failed to log out his SKYPE connection.

Colin Tseng was now apparently trying to call him via SKYPE.

David re-positioned himself at his desk in front of his computer monitor and accepted the SKYPE call. The recognizable, smiling face of Colin Tseng soon appeared on his screen.

‘Ni Ha Ma, Colin.’ David greeted his friend.

‘Ni Hao Ma, David,’ Colin replied. ‘What are you doing up at this time of the morning? What is it… 2.50am there?’ Colin checked his watch.

‘Correct,’ David replied, then sipped on his coffee. ‘I felt like a good coffee,’ he said. He lifted his coffee cup to the webcam, so Colin could see it. ‘But there are not too many places open at this hour, so I came in to my office to make one,’ David said with a beaming smile.

‘I see,’ Colin said, obviously not picking up on David’s early morning, western style humor.

‘No, seriously though…’ David began. ‘I have only just finished a video conference with my overseas business managers, so I was still logged in while I made a much needed coffee.’

‘Oh right,’ Colin said. ‘It’s just that I saw you were connected. I did wonder why you would be up at such an early time of the day over there. But that makes sense now,’ Colin said.

‘Do you have time to discuss some updates I have for you… Are you happy to have a chat about these now, or would you prefer I contact you at a more reasonable hour?’

‘No, I’m good Colin. I’m not much of a sleeper these days. Besides…’ He again lifted his coffee cup into view. ‘This has started to kick in, so I’m good for a little while yet… or until the next one,’ he said.

Colin proceeded to update David on events of recent times, which included the results of the DNA test that confirmed the blood in the runner was close to a 100% match to David’s DNA.

‘I knew I should have made that bet,’ David joked.

Colin smiled at David’s humor then informed David that the re-test of the blood taken from Miles found high levels of gamma hydroxybutyrate in the re-test, but no trace of Amphetamines.

’Are you familiar with gamma hydroxybutyrate, David…? Also known as GBH on the street.’

‘No, I can’t say that I am Colin. What is it…? A sedative?’

‘That and much more…’ Colin said. ‘My recent research into it suggests consuming GHB with alcohol may induce nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, agitation, visual disturbances, depressed breathing, amnesia, unconsciousness, and even death,’ Colin said. ‘So it is nasty shit.’

David nodded. ‘That explains why Miles looked so out of it in that video footage I saw.’

Colin continued to update David on his interview with Lee Sung and how her actual name is Maggie Yu Sum-Tong. He updated David on all the information he had elicited from her during the interview. David sat in silence while Colin relayed the information to him.

He told David that the new evidence from Lee Sung, or Maggie Yu, which ever you chose to use, combined with the results from re-testing the blood samples, convinced the Coroner to issue two search warrants; one to search Superintendent Alan CHENG Chi-Wong’s property and the other was a warrant compelling the police to produce all notes, records and files that related to their investigation into Miles’ incident.

‘Good work, Colin,’ David said. ‘When do you expect you will execute these warrants?’

’You mean…When did we?’ Colin replied with his proud smile filling the screen. ‘You would have loved to have been there when we searched the superintendent’s home address,’ Colin said. ‘He had no idea we were coming and there was not a damn thing he could do about it. And didn’t that piss him off.’

David smiled. He wanted to know more.

‘Oh… Also, I think we may have found your iPad, David… It was a white 64GB model, wasn’t it?’

‘That’s correct. Where did you find it?’

’We found it in Cheng’s daughter’s room, believe it or not. Cheng maintains it was his daughter’s iPad, but he couldn’t produce the purchase receipt. So I seized it any way until I can confirm otherwise.

‘I looked at some of the files on it and there was nothing on there that would suggest it previously belonged to you,’ Colin said.

‘I have the serial number, if that will help,’ David said. ‘I always keep these records for insurance and tax purposes. I actually took a photo of the IMEI and serial number details that are listed on the rear of the iPad–Give me a second and I’ll send you the .JPEG image to compare.’

‘That will be great,’ Colin said. ‘It will confirm if it is yours, or if we have to return it to Cheng.’

David accessed his email, attached the photo of the serial number from his stolen iPad and sent it to Colin.

Within seconds Colin had opened the image David sent via email. Colin compared the serial number in the photo to the details on the rear of the seized iPad while David eagerly watched on in silence.

’Surprise, surprise,′ Colin said sarcastically. ’The serials are a match. It is your iPad we found in Cheng’s place.’

‘I also have the purchase receipt as well, to further confirm it,’ David added. ‘I’ll send you a copy of that later.’

‘The superintendent is in a lot of trouble, David…’ Colin said. ‘And he knows it. The evidence is starting to mount up against him, and his accomplice, Sergeant Kevin Chung.’

‘How was the superintendent’s attitude towards you when you were searching his house?’ David asked. ‘A person like him would find that very difficult.’

‘Very similar to Kevin Chung, actually. Made threats and abused me and my colleagues,’ Colin said. ‘His ego took a savage blow more than anything else. Plus… I suppose he is concerned about being called to answer for their corruption.’

David liked what he heard, but then his expression firmed. ‘Someone once warned me to be very careful in dealing with these people, Colin,’ David said.

‘I learned first-hand that these are very dangerous people you are dealing with. You must make sure you stay alert, Colin,’ David said with genuine concern.

Colin smiled at his friend’s concern. ‘Don’t worry about me. I am used to dealing with these types,’ Colin said.

Colin continued to update David. He told how first thing tomorrow he would execute the warrant from the Coroner that ordered the police investigation files be made available to Colin for viewing.

With all the updates completed, the men ended their SKYPE chat a short time later. Colin was mindful of keeping David up longer than necessary.