“In the office.” For the first time, he seemed uneasy. A close inspection of his veneer of confidence might have shown hairline cracks. Chen picked up the phone and asked for Margaret to be brought in. They waited in tense silence. There was a knock at the door and Margaret made a tentative entrance. She saw The Needle and immediately felt sick.

Chen said, “Does everyone here speak English?” The Needle’s lawyer nodded. Chen turned to Margaret. “I am very sorry, Dr. Campbell, to drag you into this. But these gentlemen here have made a very serious allegation about the conduct of Deputy Section Chief Li. You might be in a position to help us clarify the matter.”

Margaret felt the colour rising on her face. She glanced at Li. But he was steadfastly avoiding her eye. “Of course,” she said.

“Do you know this gentleman?” Chen said, indicating The Needle.

“Sure. Deputy Section Chief Li spoke to him this morning.”

“Where?”

“We met him at the Hard Rock Café and . . .” Her hesitation was almost imperceptible, but she felt as if it lasted minutes. “. . . drove to some stadium or other.” She glanced again at Li, but his face was giving nothing away.

“And what happened?”

“We went inside.”

“And?”

“I don’t know. They were speaking in Chinese. I didn’t know what they were saying.” Until now everything she had said was true.

Chen took a deep breath. “It is alleged that Li put a revolver, armed with a single bullet, to this man’s head and repeatedly pulled the trigger. Is this the case?”

Again, her hesitation seemed to last a lifetime. “Not that I saw,” she said finally. After all, it was partially true. She had turned away, hadn’t she?

There was a long silence. Margaret could hear distant voices on another floor, a far-off rumble of traffic and horns from Dongzhimennei Street. The Needle glanced at his lawyer. His English had not been up to the exchange. But his lawyer sat stiffly, lips tightly pursed. Chen leaned across the desk towards The Needle and said, “Get the fuck out of here before I charge you with making false allegations against the police.”

Li was shocked. In all the years he had known Chen, he had never before heard him swear. As his lawyer pulled him to his feet, The Needle turned his hate-filled eyes on Margaret before being drawn reluctantly towards the door. The two men left the room.

There was another long silence. Chen looked at Li dangerously, and in Chinese said, “What’s going on, Li?”

Li shrugged. “Beats me, Chief.”

“It’s not how we conduct our business.”

“Of course not.”

Chen turned to Margaret, and in English said, “Thank you, Dr. Campbell. You have been very helpful.”

And again to Li, in Chinese, “Do it again and I’ll have you drummed out of the force.”

In the corridor, Margaret said to Li, “I want to talk to you.”