Chapter 22

With a lack of anything else to go on, Shan finished his cigarette and headed to Day's old apartment building. It was crappy, but he could have guessed that based on the address alone. Four flights of stairs later he found himself at the end of a hallway, facing a door with one door next to it. Shan was sure Wen had already been here and searched the old apartment thoroughly. Had there been anything to find, Wen would have found it. There was one place, however, Wen was less likely to have had success.

Banging loudly on the next door, Shan only had to wait a few moments before it swung open to reveal a small woman peering curiously at him.

"Hello, uh, ma'am. I'm looking for the man you reported missing, I'm uh, a family friend. I have some questions for you."

Two minutes later Shan was sitting in an over-decorated kitchen munching on biscuits and drinking tea. It took him about this long to realize that this was a waste of time. The woman knew nothing of importance.

"The little buns miss him. You know, rabbits connect very closely with humans. They bonded with him. And he's gone and vanished. Terrible, really. Without him coming every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday my whole schedule's thrown off. I can hardly remember what day of the week it is now."

"I also don't know what day of the week it is," Shan said sympathetically, showing another biscuit in his mouth, "but did he ever tell you anything about himself? Where he's from, anything?"

"No, he sure liked to chat, which is good for a lonely old lady, you know? But nothing about himself. Didn't bother me, I figure he can talk about what he wants. Some people have a past they don't share lightly, prying does more harm than good sometimes."

"Sure, sure," Shan said with a sigh, "but that doesn't give me much to go on."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out, you seem like a smart young man! Besides, he's got quite a few people looking for him."

Shan narrowed his eyes. "Quite a few people looking for him? Other than me?"

"Well, sure, first it was that handsome one. Looked rather like you, now that I think about it. Not quite as nice though. Wouldn't eat any of my biscuits and was a bit sharp with me. Needs to learn some patience, that one."

Shan snorted, "Yeah, yep. Could have guessed that. Anyone else?"

"Quite a few, and the rest were even meaner. A bit frightening really. Every few days one or two would show up, wearing face coverings. First, they were asking about a girl, said she lived next to me. But I don't know anything about that, and I said as much. After a bit more came around, this time asking about a young man. I only told them he used to be here, and then one day he wasn't. Really, such a shame. Did I tell you about my rabbits? They miss him."

"Right, right," Shan felt he was missing something, but nothing was connecting. "Was this after you told the cops? Were any of them officers?"

"Oh no!" The lady leaned back and laughed, only stopping to push her slipping glasses further up her nose. "I may not know much of anything anymore, but I could tell those lot were…well, a bit like you actually. I mean, not quite the lawful type. None of them seemed like they had gone to the police, so I did it myself. Not that that's done much good."

"They often don't," Shan said, reaching across the table to pat her hand, "but I'm much better than the cops, promise. I'll find him in no time."

At that, the woman smiled and pushed more biscuits towards Shan.

"I really should be going," Shan said, after shoving his pockets full. He paused. "But…well, would you mind if I took a look at your rabbits? I should probably question them too, just in case."