"What do we have here?" Raymond asked as soon as the forensic doctor stood up from his initial examination.

Ruco Chan pulled off his latex gloves and handed them to his assistant before facing Raymond.  "Her cause of death is from her broken neck.  From the looks of things, she must have broken it when she hit the ground.  There are no other visible injuries that I can find on her body at this time."

With his thumb and forefinger, Raymond pinched his chin as he analyzed what Ruco had just told him.  "Was she on drugs of any sort do you know?"

Turning to look down at the corpse, Ruco shook his head, "Her pupils appeared normal and there were no foam on .  But I won't rule that out yet.  I'll know for sure when I perform an autopsy on her."

"When can I expect the report?" Raymond asked, and along with Ruco walked away to give some space to the people who were now placing the body into a black body bag.

Ruco halted in mid step to grin at Raymond.  "Ray, you know the process.  Why do you keep asking the same questions each time?"

The corners of Raymond's mouth lifted into a smile.  Patting Ruco on the back, he said, "Maybe I was hoping for a different answer from you for once."

Ruco laughed at the response and said more seriously, "I'll try to get it done as soon as possible as usual.  Come by my office early evening."

"Thanks," Raymond said.

Just then Nancy rushed over with a young boy in tow.  Looking uneasily at Raymond, she propelled the boy forward so that he was standing directly in front of Raymond.  "He claims that's his mother," she said solemnly inclining her head towards the black body bag that was now being lifted onto a gurney.

Raymond knelt down so that he was on eye level with the young boy.  The boy couldn't be more than eight or nine years ago.  Touching the boy's shoulders gently, he asked, "Why do you think that's your mother?"

The little boy pointed at the black body bag and with tears filling his eyes he cried, "Because I saw her go over the rail."

Astonished by the little boy's declaration, Raymond looked up at Nancy, "Where did you find him?"

"I didn't.  He came over to me while I was interviewing some people up on the third floor."

Looking at the boy again, Raymond asked, "Where is your Daddy?"  The little boy shrugged his shoulders and then burst into tears.

Nancy immediately took the young boy into her arms.  She touched his head gently and soothed, "Don't cry.  We're all here to help you.  You want us to help your Mommy don't you?"  The boy's crying eased up a little as he nodded his head.  "Good.  Come with me.  I'll get you something to drink and then we'll talk some more.  Okay?"  When the little boy nodded his head again, Nancy looked at Raymond.  "I'm going to bring him back to the station and try to locate his father."

Raymond nodded his head in agreement.  "There's nothing more we can do here.  I'm heading back to the station myself."

"I'll ride with you then," Nancy said.

Raymond looked over to where Charmaine and Kenneth waited for him.  With his eyes on Charmaine, he shook his head absently, "I have to make a stop first.  Go and catch a ride with the others.  I'll meet you back at the station," and walked away.

Nancy stared at Raymond's back with a look of disdain.  "Men!" she snickered under her breath.

Ruco heard it and with a wry smile said, "I take it that Raymond has done something you don't approve of."

Nancy had forgotten that he was still there.  With an embarrassed smile, she stammered, "Of course not.  Why would you think that?"

Ruco shrugged nonchalantly and said, "Maybe because you were glaring at his back when he walked away."

"I was not!" Nancy argued heatedly.  Remembering the young boy with her, she quickly softened her voice and asked, "Do you mind giving us a lift?"

Ruco smiled, a bright cheerful smile and said, "I would be happy to."

----------------------------------------------------

"Sorry to keep you guys waiting," Raymond said the moment he was upon Charmaine and Kenneth.

Charmaine stood up from the bench and said, "The police have already questioned us but we weren't able to provide much information."

"Yeah," Kenneth chimed in.  "We were standing with you when it happened."  Recalling the image of the dead body sprawled on the floor, Kenneth involuntarily shuddered in revulsion.  "I'm going to be having nightmares for a long long time."

"What about you?  How are you holding up?" Raymond asked Charmaine.  Her face remained very pale but it was the gloom in her eyes that worried him.

"I'm still a bit shaken from what happened," Charmaine admitted timidly.

Raymond bet it was going to take her a while before she can push the incident aside.  First with Joe Ma threatening her life and now this.  Why does every time he comes near her unfortunate things happen?

As if reading Raymond's thoughts, Kenneth looked directly at him and remarked dryly, "I've realized that every time we see you bad things seem to happen.  Why is that?"

Ignoring Kenneth's question, Raymond looked at Charmaine and took out his car keys, "I'll take you home."

"What about me?" Kenneth asked stepping in front of Charmaine.  "Do I get a ride as well?"

Raymond saw a strange gleam in Kenneth's eyes when he posed the question.  He was definitely up to something he thought sourly.  If Kenneth was still the same as he was back in the school days then boy was Raymond in trouble.  Kenneth was prone to pranks and his pranks at times borders on being childish.  Raymond could recall some of the pranks that Kenneth had pulled on him and Ron and he also remembered being angry at Kenneth because of them.  But that was over a decade ago.  Raymond was positive that even someone as childish as Kenneth has matured over the years.  "My original offer included you already."

"I thought so," Kenneth responded cheekily and the three of them made their way down to the underground parking lot.  Charmaine climbed into the back seat whereas Kenneth sat in the front passenger seat.  They rode in silence and only when Raymond made a right turn down an exit ramp did Kenneth finally break the silence with a casual question.  "Are you guys hungry?"

Raymond looked at the rearview mirror for Charmaine's response but she didn't make any.  Neither was she aware that he watching her.  Bringing his attention back to the road ahead, Raymond said, "As a matter of fact I am.  There are lots of good restaurants in this area."

"Let's stop and grab a bite then."  Kenneth turned in his seat to look at Charmaine and said, "I know you must be hungry too.  You haven't eaten anything since this morning."

Charmaine lifted her eyes and met Raymond's through the rearview mirror.  She knew without knowing why that he wanted her to go with them.  "Sounds good," she said softly and saw Raymond smile.

Raymond was elated that he was finally getting a chance to spend some time with her even if Kenneth was with them.  He pulled into a space and turned off the ignition.  "There's a great Shanghai restaurant a block away."

Kenneth got out of the car and said over the hood, "Perfect choice.  Charmaine's favorite food is crab dumplings and rice cakes."

Raymond couldn't be happier with his own choice.  He opened the back door for Charmaine and helped her out.  As they began to walk his cell phone rang.  Taking it out of his pocket he gestured for them to walk ahead.  "Hello?"  It was his mom asking when he'll be home for dinner.  "Sorry, something came up."  He could hear Gigi harping on the other end but in his current mood he didn't mind nor did he pay any heed to what she was saying.  "I have to go now.  I'll talk to you later.  Bye."  He ended the call and dropped his phone back into his pocket.

Hearing Raymond's footsteps jogging up behind them, Charmaine paused to ask, "Is everything alright?"

Raymond gave her a tender smile and said, "Everything is perfect."