The Familiar Man

When Jackson woke up the next morning and stepped out of his bedroom, he realized the sofa was already empty and his blanket was neatly folded.

"Did she leave without a word," he wondered with disappointment.

As he walked over to the coffee table, he noticed a little note: "Remember to come get your coats when you feel better."

Jackson sighed. That was right! He was supposed to get his coats back last night. But, wasn't he considering keeping his distance from her? Perhaps, he should just abandon the coats and never see her again.

But then he sighed. If he never took them back, there would always be a connection between them.

"I guess I'll see her one last time. I'll just get my coats and go," he decided.

At that moment, there was a knock on his front door. He peeped through the peephole in his door and saw two policemen, "Mr. Jackson Wu, this is the police. We would like to invite you to the station for a chat."

"It's regarding the murder of Marcus Chin."

...

After a long night, Halia did not wake up until midday.

That day, she had arranged to meet her handler at Chaoyang Park, the biggest green space in Beijing.

Many old people gathered in the park on Sundays to partake in all kinds of activities, including singing and dancing. There were also some old men fishing from the lake in the middle. Halia's handler, Sean, was seated amongst these old people.

Halia walked over and sat down next to him. The man quickly handed her a fishing rod. "Have you fished before?" he asked.

Halia shook her head.

Sean held up his own fishing rod and patiently showed Halia how to attach some bait and how to cast the line. The fishing line flew into the lake and made a light splash. Halia quickly followed. As they sat there waiting for something to bite, Sean turned to Halia and asked, "Any progress?"

Halia pulled out the napkin she found from the previous night and showed it to Sean. "It means Friday in French," Halia explained. "I know basic French from high school."

"Could he be meeting Remy Durand on Friday?" Sean asked.

"I'm thinking that might be the case too. I'll try and figure out where Jackson will be this Friday and that should give us some clues."

At that moment, an old man approached the two with a trolley of newspapers. "Would you like a copy of today's news for 1 yuan?" the old man offered.

Halia glanced at the paper in the old man's hands. In this day and age, it was rare to buy newspapers since news could be easily accessed online. So, she originally planned to reject the old man politely.

But, suddenly a headline and photo caught her attention.

[Gangster Boss Killed in Cold Blood]

Halia grabbed the newspaper and looked at the victim's photo closely. "I think I've seen this man before," she whispered under her breath.

She quickly handed the old man 1 yuan and started reading the article. The man had been killed last night in an alleyway not too far from her club by multiple stab wounds.

"What's wrong?" Sean asked.

Halia paused for a moment. She then pulled out her phone and opened her gallery. She quickly found a photo she had taken at the club the previous night. As she compared the photo on her phone to the photo on the newspaper, she froze.

The man that was murdered - the gangster boss - was the man that Jackson was with at the club the previous night!

The two men left the club together and she saw Jackson later that night with cuts across his arm and shoulder. He had been in a fight...

...or a struggle...

Halia's​ hands began to tremble...

Did Jackson kill someone? Was that why he didn't want to go to the hospital?

Halia didn't know what to do. It was only a matter of time before the police figured that Jackson was with the murdered man before his death, but no one knew that he had been injured except for her. Would those injuries incriminate him? With his history, the police were bound to jump to conclusions.

What if it was self defence? Or maybe it was an accident.

"Was that photo from last night? Was Jackson with Marcus Chin?" Sean asked as he peered over Halia's shoulder.

Halia nodded her head.

At that moment, Halia received a phone call.

It was Jackson.

"Hi Halia, I'm at the police station, can you come be my alibi?" he asked. Halia hesitated for a second and replied, "I'll be right there."