Hush, My Sweet Darling

Chapter 8: It Ain't No Hogwash

Kai parked his car in a car park near the Wan Chai Ferry Pier. He lit a cigarette and lowered his car window just enough to let the smoke out.

He didn't have to wait long. Just a few minutes later, he heard a tap on the window of his back passenger seat. He unlocked the door, and a figure wearing a black hoodie and a purple Los Angeles Lakers snapback promptly stepped inside.

"Boss?" David Yam greeted Kai as he looked around anxiously, making sure nobody was following him. He was a short and skinny young man with an oval face that was easy to recognize due to the prominent crooked nose.

Kai grabbed a paper bag from the front passenger seat and handed it to David, who was sitting in the middle of the back seat. The bag contained two burgers and one large fry that he'd bought from a nearby McDonald's.

David's eyes sparkled when he saw the familiar logo on the paper bag. He took the bag and rummaged through it. "Woah, you're the best, Boss!" he exclaimed, but his expression immediately turned to that of a hangdog. "Wait, no Coke?" he complained.

Kai puffed out a cloud of smoke. "No Coke; it's bad for you. There's bottled water in the back. You can drink that if you're thirsty," he answered.

David snorted as he unwrapped one burger and took a large bite. "Says someone who smokes... Seriously, Boss, quit it. If I could recover from my addiction, you can quit smoking too. You know it could give you lung cancer, right? And now you're smoking inside a car I'm also in. If I get lung cancer, can I sue you for negligence?"

Kai looked at David through the rearview mirror with his deep-set eyes. He stubbed out his almost finished cigarette and said, "Tell me more about Zagan."

"What d'ya want to know, Boss? I told ya before—they're the new force in the gangland. They rarely operate around here, though. East Kowloon is their territory," David answered with his mouth full.

"But Anson Yen was killed here," Kai countered.

"Yeah, I told ya before, right? The word on the street was that Little Fresh Meat stabbed him because of a gai [1] working at one of the girlie bars down on Lockhart Road. A pretty mainland girl, who goes by the name of Rong-Rong. Little Fresh Meat fancied her, but Little Fatty scored her first. That's what they said, but whatever. That's just the story they made up."

David leaned his body forward to get closer to Kai and continued. "I mean, there may be some truth to it. About them fighting over pretty Rong Rong. But I already told ya, Little Fatty was one of Zagan's new peddlers, and they sent him here to sling dope. Ya know, to test the waters? They're trying to expand their reach... And that didn't sit well with Red Sun. Wan Chai is still their turf, ya know...? So, they slashed him to make a statement."

"We couldn't find the girl. Still no information on her?"

David grabbed a bottle of water from behind his seat and took a sip before answering. "No, Boss. Sorry. She just disappeared. No one's seen her since the stabbing."

"What about Cherry Tsai?"

"Boss, what's with all the questions? Little Fresh Meat was acquitted, and he's dead now. Are you trying to reopen the case?" David leaned his body forward again as he peppered Kai with questions.

"The case was never closed. Cherry Tsai changed her statement in court. She refused to identify Leslie Wong as Anson Yen's killer. So, if Leslie Wong didn't do it, we still have to find the one who did it. So, what about Cherry Tsai?" Kai pointed out as he gave David a forehead flick.

David yelped and promptly slouched back in his seat. He let out a deep sigh before answering, "What do you think, Boss? She was Rong-Rong's friend... Rong-Rong's gone. She changed her statement, and now she's gone too. Nobody's seen her either after Little Fresh Meat was clipped. Who knows what happened to her?"