Joe Ma ran up the stairs as fast as his legs could carry him. He was already on the eighteenth floor. Another two flights and he'll reach the floor which gave access to the building's roof. He paused every few steps to catch a few gasp of breaths. Time was running out. Every second that he was delayed would cause the corpse to change. With renew energy, he pushed himself upwards and finally made it to the roof.

An officer in uniform stood guard at the entryway. Seeing Joe approach he quickly moved to block Joe's path. In a voice as professional as he could make it sound, he informed the new arrival, "I'm sorry but you're not allowed up here."

Without casting a glance at the young officer, Joe flashed his badge and brushed past him.

Ron Ng, who was part of Joe's team, looked up from the victim's body at that moment and saw his superior. "Ma Sir!" The other detectives at once cleared a path for Joe.

Joe squatted down next to the victim's body to get a closer look. He slowly scanned the body, memorizing as much details as he could. From all his past experiences, he had learned that the first impression of a victim's body usually provides the best clues. "Who found the body?"

Ron pointed to the uniform officer who still stood guard at the roof's door. "He lives in this building and comes up here every morning to drink his coffee."

Joe glanced up briefly at Ron. "Get a statement from him." He continued to peruse the body. "Where is the forensic team?"

Ron squatted down besides Joe. "They're on their way."

Without responding, Joe continued his analysis of the body. The victim was a female in her twenties to thirties. Her clothes were neatly in place. Joe looked at her peaceful face. It seemed more like she was asleep rather than dead. He checked her arms and noted the smooth unmarked skin. No indication of a struggle. Her purse laid neatly beside her body.

Joe heard footsteps behind him and turned around to locate the source.

"Hi, I'm Jessica Hsuan. I'm from the forensic team and I'll be taking over from here."

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Raymond Lam looked steadily at his witness, Mr. Lau. His patience was exhausted and it showed on his annoyed face. For over two hours he had went through line for line reciting how he wanted the witness to answer the questions, which he knew the prosecuting attorney would pose. "Mr. Lau, can you please try to focus? The hearing is tomorrow morning."

Mr. Lau bent his head in shame, obviously uncomfortable with the entire situation. "C-Can you find another witness?"

"No!" boomed Raymond. "You're the only witness that can help us in our favor." Sensing Mr. Lau's fears, he softened his tone. "Don't you want to provide a better life for your sick mother and pregnant wife?"

Mr. Lau looked up at Raymond with pleading eyes. "Yes. But perjury is a crime."

Raymond walked around from behind his desk to sit next to Mr. Lau. "You won't be lying," he assured the nervous man. "You'll just leave some details out."

"B-But isn't that the same?"

Laughing softly Raymond patted Mr. Lau's back. "Its not. But by leaving out some important information, you can provide a better life for your family. Isn't that what you want?"

Mr. Lau did not answer Raymond's question immediately. He closed his eyes briefly lost in thought. After a few seconds he opened them and looked at Raymond with defeat. "Tell me what I have to say."

Raymond smiled confidently and resumed his seat behind the desk.

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Charmaine looked up from the files that she had been concentrating on for the past few hours. She rubbed her tired eyes and swiveled her chair to face the window. She noted that it was getting late. The sky wasn't as sunny and bright and she could see dusk heading their way. Stretching her arms she turned back to her desk and pressed the intercom button on her phone. "Shirley, can you bring me the outline for tomorrow's hearing?"

"Okay. Be right in."

Only a few seconds have passed when there was a knock on Charmaine's door. "Come in."

Shirley, who has been Charmaine's secretary for the past two years, walked in with the requested papers in hand. She stood in front of Charmaine's desk and laid the papers down. "Here's the outline as requested."

Charmaine looked up and smiled gratefully at Shirley. "You're the best."

Shirley smiled modestly and turned to leave. She paused at the door. "If there's nothing else then I'll be leaving for the day."

"Go ahead. Have a good night. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon. I have to attend one of Florence's hearing in the morning."

Once Shirley was gone, Charmaine returned her attention to the files and papers before her. Picking up the outline that Shirley brought in, she read it slowly. She had study the details for the case and was well prepared for the hearing. It was a civil case brought by their client against Pearl Orient Company for neglecting safety procedures on the construction site. Due to the company's ignorance, their employee, who was now the client of Charmaine's firm, accidently fell through an unobscured elevator shaft. According to Safety and Hazard laws, precaution should have been in place by erecting warning signs around that danger zone. Although the fall wasn't high, only a story up, it was the company's lack of responsibility that drove that employee to seek justice.

Charmaine was towards the end of the outline. Only a page more to go and she'll be free to go home and rest for tomorrow's trial. She read the lines carefully. Mr. Lau was tomorrow's witness. He has been with Pearl Orient for over a decade and was known to all to be a honest trustworthy man. She finally got to the bottom of the page where the name of the opposing counsel would be listed. She immediately recognized the name because his name has been related to many big cases. Although Charmaine have never met Raymond Lam in person, she knew of his reputation. She frowned and cursed silently.