Jiro felt surprised that she had asked. She was the first to directly ask him out of the other 3 he’d seen. Or even if the other 3 had realized they said nothing about it.

“I am.” Jiro replied. There was no reason to pretend he wasn’t. “So what was the conversation about?”

“Everyone’s aware that after someone passes away they leave behind a will. Hebe’s grandma left one and Keven received very little money. He seemed really pissed off about it.” Selina explained. “He told me that if he acquired the money from Hebe that I should go with him out of the country. I was actually recalling that before you called and it occurred to me, he’s really desperate for money. He’d probably do anything to get that amount of money Hebe received.”

Ella was right. Selina had information. The right information Jiro just needed. If she had joined the police force she’d be a very successful detective with the analytical skills she possessed.

“Do you know of his whereabouts?”

“Actually, I just returned from Shanghai not too long ago, so I don’t know. But Aaron and I had run into him earlier in the day. He told us to relay a message to Hebe, which Aaron wasn’t very happy about.”

Jiro waited for her to go on.

“He said to tell Hebe to stop waiting for her children and move on.”   

||||||||

When Jiro left the coffee shop he knew where exactly he needed to go. The police station would probably hold records about Lu Wei Lian. This day was going extremely well.

3 and a half hours after he’d arrived at the police station he finally found Lu Wei Lian’s files. Jiro was already beginning to look for specifics after going through Mr. Lu’s biography. This man was 5 years older than Keven and had moved to Taipei from Taichung because of his job transfer, Mr. Lu had apparently been a real estates agent until 5 years ago. He was stationed at one of the estates company near the police station so Lu Wei Lian must have managed some of the properties nearby and one of those properties could be the house the twins were taken from.

Jiro scribbled the estates address on a small piece of paper and decided that he’d pay the company a visit in the early morning. But right now since the sky had already left the sky he just had one more thing to do. If Lu Wei Lian was still in Taipei then he must be with Keven, Jiro wanted to know where he lived.

Jiro called one of the guys that was on the same investigation team under the chief, a loyal fellow, that stood behind him silently over.

“Look up a Lu Wei Lian and give me his address if you can find it. Do it asap.”

“Yes, sir.” he began to walk away but turned back. “How’s the investigation going? You’ve been working alone ever since the superiors turned their back on you.”

Jiro thought for a moment before replying, “It’s like a hike up a rocky mountain, but you know you’ll reach the top no matter what.”

“You’re smart investigator. I want to handle my own case in the future too. If I do, would you help me then?” Jiro hadn’t realized how bony the shy guy was.

“Of course.”

||||||||

Before the investigator left he had cautioned Selina not to speak a word about their conversation. And if she ever ran into Keven again to ask him where he was staying. Jiro had also cautioned her not to let anyone know that he was looking at Keven as the prime suspect, of course Selina realized that. The case could take a dangerous turn if someone did let it slip out that Keven Tian was the prime suspect.

In freshman year of university before she had set her mind on international business she’d been considering criminal justice as an option. She loved solving crimes and reading murder mysteries, her favorite genre. But she had decided to go for international business because Aaron was also tilting toward it and in the end she entered the same business as he had. Was it coincidental or fate that she was now involved with both things that interested her? She was just lucky, Selina concluded.

When Selina left the coffee shop she found herself walking throughout the city endlessly. Why wasn’t she returning to the apartment that waited for her? She suddenly found herself pacing back and forth outside the building where Aaron’s apartment was.

“What am I doing here?” asked Selina looking up at all the rows of windows on the building.

Aaron hadn’t sounded too well when she’d spoken with him. And he’s expressed that he wasn’t in a good mood. Selina wanted to go up and talk to him about her conversation with Jiro, but realized she’d be a nuisance and would probably annoy him to no end.

Pressing her lips together Selina took quick steps and dragged herself back to her apartment.

||||||||

After Jiro left Hebe prepared a small table of delicious food for herself. After grandma’s encrouagement and advice Hebe was really feeling better. Accept what has gone by and stop brooding over what has gone by. Her words really helped Hebe and she couldn’t agree any more that they were wise words from a woman who had suffered the same tragedy of losing her child.

“The twins must still be out there somewhere waiting for me to go to them,” Hebe thought. “Whatever happens along the way I won’t forget to keep looking for you and until I find you I won’t move from my position as your mother.”

After dinner Hebe took a long hot shower until the warm water turned cold did she step out of the bathroom. She walked into the twins’ bedroom and sat their teddy bears up against the pillow and sat there staring at them.

She arrived at work and ended her shift early. It was slightly after 2 when she got into her car. Her misery from the past couple of days had completely dissolved and she felt she was ready to call him. If not now she knew she would still call him tomorrow or maybe the day after that, but she wanted to call him now. The sooner the better, Hebe agreed.

Letting go of the tensions from the past was something basic she’d learned from Jiro and from the grandma she’d learn to accept everything that has gone by. Slowly she was really beginning to feel different toward the world and the challenges they would throw at her without warning.

Aaron picked up after the first ring and it was certainly nice to hear his voice.

“Hi, Aaron. It’s me Hebe. I remember I promised I’d call you sometime. I just got off work early today and was wondering if you’d mind having lunch with me.” Hebe said.

“I was thinking of lunch myself too. I’ll meet you there.”

Hebe had just returned from washing her hands when Aaron was arriving through the front doors of the restaurant. He waved to her with a smile and sat down when he reached the table.

“I was caught off guard when you called,” he admitted, “but I’m glad you called.”

He had no plans to talk to her about Keven nor the twins. He was afraid that if he brought them up it would ruin the good atmosphere. It was rare to meet Hebe or be around her when she was in an absolute good mood, but what she said next threw him off.