chapter two     

And so, the hunt begins. bring on the clues. start the mystery. sherlock lu is here.

        It took Yifan a few seconds to recover from his shock, but when he did, he was adamant.

“Na-uh. Absolutely not,” he said, picking up the shuffled papers on his rather cluttered desk. Hmm, strange behavior. Kyungsoo and Jongdae stepped out of his way as he rounded the desk. Kris is an imperious man, to say the least. Tall and sturdy, he has that sharp jawline, perfectly chiseled jaw that seemed to be even more pronounced when he’s a work, giving him that ignorant, strong look. I swear he wasn’t changed a bit since that first time I’ve met him. Besides, I kept a photo album replete with childhood photos of me and my friends since I was young. Yes, perfect for blackmail indeed.

“Come on, Yi- Kris.” I quickly corrected myself. Oops, I nearly forgot that he didn’t want his real name to be brought up in front of his so-called friends. But who could blame me? I’ve been called his man Yifan since forever. I crossed my arms over my chest looking up at him, trying to convey resolution with my eyes. Dang, if the guy couldn’t be freakin’ tall this might actually work. “I’m all over this. You know me. I’ll be walking out the front gates of that dump with you suspect in hand in less than a week.”

Audacious, I know, but I had to be. He was giving me the look all dubious like I was some kind of feeble person. So not the case. I may look fragile just from my delicate looks, but hey, I’m manlier than you think jerks.

“Luhan, I don’t know what you overheard, but I’m not sending you on this case, and that’s final,” Yifan said, his jaw clenching. “You’re not even on the force.”

“But you said yourself that you could deputize somebody. Anybody.” I toss back, throwing out a hand as he turned his back of me and went behind his desk again. I could feel the adrenaline mounting in my veins, and I refused to be deterred. “I’m eighteen. I’m totally deputizable.”

Okay. Sometimes I make up words.

Yifan sighed as if he was suddenly encumbered by the weight of the world. He did that a lot recently actually. I think he would have rather had a more acquiescent friend, but I’m sure that I was probably the best out of the rest. Deep down, he appreciated my fervent spirit. Not that we didn’t have a good relationship, but I just wore him out sometimes. Okay fine, maybe all the time.

“Luhan, this is not even an issue,” Yifan responded, looking me in the eye. “I’m not sending my friend into a potentially dangerous situation. It doesn’t even have anything related to you whatsoever.”

I scoffed. “How dangerous could it be? It’s Hereford. What are you afraid they’re going to do to me -make me wear Burberry?”

Jongdae laughed, and Yifan shot him a reproving look that could have melted steel. Kyungsoo, meanwhile, cleared his throat and started to grow flushed and patchy around his cheeks and neck. I could tell there was something he wanted to say, and from the almost penitent way he was looking at Yifan, I had a feeling he was going to agree with me.

Nice!

“What is it, Kyungsoo?” Yifan demanded.

“Well, Chief,” he said, shifting from one foot to the other. “I think Luhan would be perfect for the job.”

“Oh, you do, do you?” Kris asked, lacing his fingers together. His face went flat, and Kyungsoo’s only reddened further.

“I’m with Kyungsoo on this,” Jongdae put in. “Luhan was a stellar recruit in last year’s summer program. He can handle those tarts over at Hereford.”

I smirked at his use of the word “tarts.” Jongdae was nothing if not politically incorrect and, well, crude. But everyone in Morrison had the same opinion of the kids who attended Hereford. It was a well-off town, but compared to the students at the private school, we were practically indigent. It wasn’t just about money either. These kids were total snobs. All they ever did was come into town in their brand-spankin’ new BMWs and toss out insults to all of us “townies,” as they so originally called us. Either that or race their rides out on Route 23 and put each other in the hospital. They were nothing but a bunch of jerks.

“Come one, Chief,” Kyungsoo said, “Give Luhan a chance.”

I had to preen slightly. It was kind of cool how both Kyungsoo and Jongdae had such confidence in me. If only Yifan could jump on the bandwagon.

I grinned at Yifan, and received a blank stare in return. A[[arently Jongdae and Kyungsoo’s arguments hadn’t exactly been efficacious. Not that I was surprised. Yifan’s hide was as hard as rock.

“Would you two excuse us, please?” Yifan asked, keeping his eyes pinned on me.

“Sure Chief,” Kyungsoo said quickly, exhibiting a clear propensity for escape. He smiled warmly at me as he walked by, and Jongdae gave me an encouraging wink before closing the door behind them softly. I steeled myself as the door closed, turning to face the steaming Yifan. My hear was still fluttering with excitement, and I wasn’t about to give up this fight.

I wanted to take part in this case. Almost as if I was meant to take part in this case.

“Luhan, I don’t think you understand this situation,” he began, “I know you’re a very self-sufficient person, and I know you did well in the course last summer, but that does not mean you are prepared to take on a case like this on your own.”

“I won’t be on my own,” I told him. “You guys will help me, right? It’s not like you’re going to drop me off in the hallowed halls of Hereford and just leave me to my own devices.”

“Of course not. If I were to send you in, we would be in constant contact,” he replied calmly. “But Luhan, going undercover is a very delicate skill. It takes finesse . . . it takes cunning . . . it takes imagination...”

“Like I don’t exemplify all those things,” I respond, with a slight roll of my eyes.

“Luhan—”

“Listen,” I said, curtailing whatever he had planned for his next harangue. I walked over and leaned my hands on his desk, so I could look down on him. It wasn’t often I got to take the domineering stance with him. But I knew I was being pertinacious, but I had to do what I had to do. Thank goodness that he was finally sitting down, because I always hated his towering height.

“If there’s a drug problem at Hereford, I want to help.” he blinked, and I could tell he was starting to understand why I was so resolute about this. “I have to help,” I added, just to drive the point home.

“Luhan…”

“Please, Yifan.” I said, “Just give me a chance. I swear I won’t let you down.”

Yifan took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Fine,” he said finally, closing his eyes, “But one thing goes wrong up there on that campus and you’re outta there. No questions asked.”

“Yes!” I said, jumping up. A pack of butterflies went wild in my stomach. “Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

I ran around the desk and choked him with a tight hug, and he squeezed me back a bit reluctantly. I knew he was doing this against his will, but I’d show him. I was going to bring home the bad guys and clean up that school.

Whoa. Did I just say that?

---

“Okay, these are your suspects,” Jongdae told me, laying three photographs on the table in front of me. It was the following morning, and I was sitting in the conference room at the police station, my back rigid. I had worn most most boring brown sweater and cleanest jeans to engender an air of responsibility, but Jongdae’s business-like demeanor only served to make me feel like the inept rookie I was.

I’d woken up with slightly less confidence that I’d exhibited the day before. Maybe that rush of aplomb I’d had was just an extension of the roller-coaster emotions I’d been experiencing, but by the light of a new day the truth was clear.

I mean, yeah, I was a good actor. (Witness the lightheartedness at the funeral and the total dupe I’d pulled on my counselor. The man is a dunce, but still.) So maybe I could make the population of Hereford believe that I was just another rich student, but who knew if I was a good detective? What is I went in there and tanked? What if I let Yifan down and embarrassed him? This was such an important case. What was the headmaster of Hereford going to think if the emissary from the local police department couldn’t even navigate the school or keep the suspects straight? (I don’t have the greatest attention span.)

I couldn’t do this. Who was I kidding?

I supped my Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and glanced at the closed door as Jongdae momentarily turned his back on me. What were the chances I could abscond with a jelly donut and make a clean getaway? Negative, well I tried.

“Luhan, have you even looked at the photos?” Jongdae demanded.

I glances up at him with trepidation. For all the acclaim he’d heaped upon me the day before, he was back to being abrasive today. Talk about fickle. But if Jongdae was having his doubts, maybe my doubts were well founded. Still, somehow I didn’t want to let him see me sweat. Damn my blabbering mouth.

“Sorry,” I told him, setting the coffee aside. I used my fingertips to slide the three photographs toward me. The first depicted a handsome guy with light brown hair, a genial smile, and a noticeable dimple. It was clearly his class picture, because he was posed in an uncomfortable position in front of a featureless background. The piece of tape slapped on the bottom of the picture read “Zhang Yixing.”

“Yixing has a record,” Jongdae began, sitting down across from me. “He’s from Changsha, and he’s got one arrest under his belt. One, for breaking and entering, although no charges were brought. And two, he was included in some kind of drug ring for the possession of .”

Possession of , interesting. The guy looked nearly harmless from the photo, but he was definitely hiding some secrets behind that sweet face. And that dimple. Like that was such a shocker in this day and age. Not that I would ever dare to say that to Jongdae, who would definitely go on a tirade enumerating the evils of drug use. I didn’t need to hear it because I was right there with him. My generation may have been all about the easy high, but I had never touched the stiff, nor anything worse. I kind of wished no o