Victor paced the room in long strides, both hands thrust deep into his trouser pockets, shirt cuffs folded crisply and secured with silver cufflinks. Not a hair out of place, but his eyes were red and swollen. This shocked me more than anything; it drove our loss home. Vic had no immediate family in Taiwan that we knew of, although he’d occasionally refer to cousins who lived here. Lingyi had told me she suspected Victor sent most of what he earned in his deals back to his family in the Philippines, but he never hinted as much to me. The facade of careless ease was what he projected best, but Dr. Nataraj had found ways to win even Vic over, always pulling him aside to speak to him in soft tones. Asking how he was doing. Making sure he was all right. She was the one person he talked to after Lingyi broke it off after a few months of dating. Once, when he had had one too many shots, he confessed that Dr. Nataraj reminded him of his own mother. It was the only time in the three years I had known him that he had ever mentioned his own mom.

Victor nodded at me, his tanned face drawn. He made a strong impression. No wonder he was faceless in all his transactions. You didn’t often see a striking, young Filipino man wearing sleek suits and a silk tie wherever he went in Taipei. If you saw Victor once, you’d likely remember him. He wasn’t born to blend in.

Today, he was dressed as sharp as ever but lacked the usual swagger. I nodded back at him but went immediately to sit by Arun, who looked broken. I didn’t know what to say and clasped his shoulder for a second.

“Sorry I’m late.” I took a butterfly knife from my jacket pocket and began flipping it between my fingers. “I stopped by the Longshan Temple on the way.”

No one had to ask why.

Iris jumped down from the wall onto the bamboo floor, stalking, noiseless as a cat, to sit on the rug near Lingyi’s feet. She looked pissed. But I’d learned some time ago that this seemed to be a default emotion Iris displayed in place of sadness, fear, or disappointment. Lingyi’s eyes were red-rimmed, but she thrust her chin forward, as if ready for war. “I’ve found something,” she said.

The energy in the room coalesced. I swung my blade closed, feeling its cold weight against my palm.