Wayne's apartment turned out to be only five minutes away from hers. So it didn't take much to convince Officer Liang—who had escorted Jubilee from the station and was just as eager for dinner as she was—to let her go on her own from there.

Wayne's complex was even nicer than Jubilee's, and he, too, lived on the top floor. She exited the elevator into a tiled hallway, facing a door with a number that matched the address inside the Bible. Looking up and down the grand hallway, she saw only one other entry.

Her brow crinkled. How could a personal assistant afford to have almost an entire floor to himself? But, then again, she'd gotten pretty lucky herself when it came to living quarters. Shrugging, Jubilee lifted a hand and knocked.

The door opened a moment later, and mouth-watering food smells hit Jubilee's nostrils. Wayne stood in the doorway, looking surprised but delighted to see her.

"Miss Wong!" he greeted, the aura around him bright and cheerful. "Do come in!"

"Oh, no," she said quickly, taken aback by his warm welcome even as her stomach protested at her refusal. "I'm just here to return this." She held out his Bible. "And to let you know that Mr. Law said not to wait for him."

The older man's eyes lit up, and he took the worn book carefully from her hands. "Thank you, my dear," he said, then opened the door wider and stepped back. "Please, stay for dinner then. Law won't be having any if that's what he said, and someone needs to eat his portion." The gentle glow around him spilled out towards Jubilee, radiating a sense of welcome and safety.

Jubilee stood at the threshold, deeply conflicted. Law ate dinner here? Did that mean that this was actually his apartment? She did not want to encroach on her boss' home territory.

But, on the other hand, that food smelled delicious. And the truth was, she'd been rather lonely since leaving the orphanage.

She was also curious about the strange detective. Jubilee still didn't fully trust Law and knew next to nothing about him. Could this be an opportunity to learn more from his assistant?

"Alright," she said at last, stepping forward. "Thank you, Mr. Quell."

His eyes twinkled. "I told you to call me Wayne."

She smiled as she followed him through the door. "Then you'll have to call me Julie." A slight crack sounded over her head at the use of her false name, like that of a dry twig snapping. She flinched, but Wayne didn't seem to notice.

"Done." He led her through the foyer into a dining room scented with the delicious aroma, and pulled out a chair from the table for her.

She sat, ogling the spread before her. The table was laden with plates of fried rice, steamed vegetables, and roast duck—along with an assortment of tiny plastic squares marked with letters, swept to the side. She eyed them with perplexity. "Are those…Scrabble pieces?"

"Bananagrams," Wayne corrected, gesturing to a bright yellow bag beside the squares that was shaped like a banana. "Similar game, but minus the board. I'm rather fond of it. Mahjong may be the tile game of choice in this country, but this one is mine. Law and I sometimes play during dinner."

Jubilee's eyebrows shot up. Detective Law played Bananagrams?

Wayne retrieved a plasticware container from the kitchen and began heaping generous portions of food into it. "For Law, when he finally decides to have a real meal," he told Jubilee with a wink. "And he will. It's my job to make sure of that."

"Does—does he live here?" Jubilee asked uncertainly.

"Oh, no, not here." Wayne set the container aside and sat. "Across the hall."

Ah. So that explained having the entire floor. The detective didn't seem like the type to enjoy many neighbors.

Wayne said a short prayer, then picked up his chopsticks. "Dig in!" he urged.

Jubilee instinctively reached for the fork set out, then hesitated, glancing at the older man. If he was using chopsticks, she'd better too—even if she was slower with them. She picked up the pair of chopsticks beside the silverware with reluctance, which quickly faded as she took the first bite. Within minutes, her plate was nearly empty. "This is delicious!" she exclaimed. "Mr. Law is lucky if he gets to eat like this all the time."

Wayne waved off her praise. "I’ve had much time to practice and little else to preoccupy me.”

“Oh?” She eyed him surreptitiously, wondering if he’d yield to a little gentle probing. “Mr. Law doesn’t have you help with casework?”

“Well, I’m made aware of all the case details. Enough to organize paperwork, at least.” Wayne reached out to slice off portions of tender duck, adding more to her plate. “And to handle the people involved, which is my area of expertise.”

Jubilee frowned. Did this mean Wayne knew everything about her that the detective did?

The old man continued, “But I leave all the thinking and analyzing to Law, which—” He paused to chuckle. “Is his area of expertise, as I’m sure you can tell by now.”

His humor made her momentarily forget her unease. “All too well,” she said dryly. “Apparently he read the whole Bible in three days, and now he’s practically a theologian.”

Wayne gave a long laugh. “I would say that that is very like him, except I’d almost given up all hope that he’d ever touch that book.”

“It sounds like you know him well.” She finished her plate and set it aside. “If I may ask, how long have you been working for him?”

His expression softened. “Oh, it’s been some years now. But I’ve known him for far longer than that. Since he was a boy.”

Jubilee’s eyes widened. “Oh. So you two are...close.” She might need to be careful what she said around the older man then. Nervous, she shuffled the lettered game pieces in front of her to give her hands something to do.

“I like to think so.” Setting down his chopsticks, Wayne sat back and smiled warmly at her. “We have a shared interest in many things. Riddles, word games, and languages. But, alas, not this.” He waved at the Bible, which lay beside him on the table. “That is, until now. For that miracle, I have you to thank.”

Jubilee stared in surprise. “What? I didn’t do anything.”

“On the contrary, it’s only because of you that he’s gained any interest in it at all.”

Jubilee’s brows knit together. It struck a nerve to be reminded that the detective knew more of the Bible than she did after only three days. How disappointed Mary—the one who’d gifted Jubilee with the barely touched book—would be if she knew. But...maybe she’d also be pleased that Jubilee had actually inspired someone else to read it. If that someone else didn’t know it a million times better than me, the one who’s actually been to heaven and back. Jubilee sighed and absently poked at a letter J on the table.

Wayne smiled knowingly. Reaching out, he shuffled some of the tiles on his end of the table and began arranging them as he spoke. “Law is understandably difficult to get along with, however. Don’t worry, my dear.”

Jubilee gave a guilty start. Was she that obvious? ”Um...no, he’s just very—” She floundered for something gracious to say. “Thorough,” she finished lamely.

Wayne laughed again. “That is putting it mildly. If it is any consolation, he never means anything he says as an insult.”

Jubilee struggled to keep her expression neutral. “Really.” Wayne clearly either got special treatment from Law or saw him through rose-colored glasses.

Wayne nodded. “Poor man just doesn’t realize that most of the world would take it as such. From his perspective, he is just making honest observations.”

Jubilee couldn’t help arching a skeptical eyebrow. With some of the zingers the detective had dropped on her, she found that hard to believe. Though, to be fair, she’d been particularly blunt with him herself more than a few times.

“Don’t think too badly of him, Julie,” Wayne went on. In front of him, the letters had been arranged to spell ‘illusion.’ “He really does have a big heart...it’s just that he’s still learning how to use it.”

She held back a snort of disbelief. Detective Law had a big brain, that much was obvious. But a big heart? “With all due respect,” she said without thinking, “I think you may be biased. He can’t be that oblivious. Nobody is.” She winced as soon as the words left her mouth. So much for being subtle. Embarrassed, she reshuffled the letters in front of her.

Wayne’s eyes twinkled. “With all due respect, you are more like him than you think. Law often doesn’t think of other people, that is true. But when he does, he doesn’t actually think badly of them. As smart as he is, there are still some things that go right over his head—like the concept of offense. You see, he didn’t have parents to teach him social niceties.”

Jubilee started and looked up from where she had been attempting to piece together a word. He didn’t have—what?

“Law grew up in the foster care system,” Wayne explained. “I was the social worker for his case. That is how we first became acquainted, you see. And this game—” He gestured at the letters, “Is how I coaxed him into first interacting with me. The boy wouldn’t speak a single word to me during our first few meetings.”

Jubilee’s head spun. Detective Law is an orphan…like me. In fact, he’d been one for even longer.

“All that is to say,” the old man continued, “That he didn’t have much normalcy when it came to social interactions. Went to a new school with every new home for the first decade of his life. That and his…shall we say, unusually high aptitude, made it difficult for him to fit in, or understand others his age.” Wayne spread his hands. “So, Law learned the art of reading social cues rather late in life. Hence his tendency to unintentionally offend others because it simply does not strike him as offensive in the first place. You might notice that he rarely seems insulted by anything himself.”

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Jubilee considered this. It was true. Never once, in the last two months of working together, had the detective so much as batted an eyelash whenever she lost her patience and snapped at him. She’d always assumed, subconsciously, that that was his way of acting superior. But what if Wayne was right? What if Law wasn’t even thinking of himself...because he was single-mindedly focused on the task at hand, which, in this case, was the investigation? Maybe that was the sort of focus and selfless thinking she needed herself.

Her head lowered. “That makes him a better person than me then.”

Wayne tsked gently. “It’s not a contest, my dear.”

She gave an exasperated laugh. “I know. It’s just hard not to feel that way around someone who, frankly, acts like a know-it-all. Ah—I get now that he doesn’t mean it, though,” she amended quickly, abashed by the sudden candidness spilling out of her. She shouldn’t be so open with the older man, who was clearly some kind of father figure to the detective.

But Wayne only nodded at her with an understanding smile, no condemnation in his eyes. That look of acceptance made her next words come out before she could stop them. “The truth is, it’s hard not to resent him a little, especially after he arrested me for nothing,” she admitted. “You’d think I’d be past holding grudges, considering all the things I claim to have been through—”

At this, Wayne nodded again, the light around him softening with understanding. So he did know about her near-death experience and spiritual sight. Passing a hand over her eyes, she gave a shaky laugh. “But...I’m still not, not completely. And just when I think I am, he does something else that makes me feel like I don’t measure up. Honestly, who reads the Bible in three days?! As if I don’t already feel like a sorry enough excuse for a...a...” She paused. A what? A prophet? A ‘chosen one’ of God? What was she, anyway?

“A believer?” Wayne gently suggested.

Her mouth twisted. “I am a sorry excuse for a believer,” she muttered. “In fact, I may just be the most unbelieving person on the planet, considering everything I’ve seen.” Law’s statement from earlier came back to her. I would’ve thought you, of all people, would’ve stopped believing anything to be impossible. Her lips thinned and she clasped her hands over the tabletop, eyeing the Bible beside Wayne. “On top of that, I can’t seem to stop heaping judgment on someone else, even after narrowly escaping judgment myself. All because someone else understands what I should, better than I do.” Jubilee avoided Wayne’s gaze. “And now that I know his motive isn’t to show off but simply to do his job, it just makes me dislike myself even more—for disliking him.”

Now she’d done it. This was neither the subtle nor lighthearted dinner conversation she’d been going for. She closed her eyes. This is why I can’t have friends.

A hand gently patted hers. She opened her eyes to find Wayne reaching across the table, his gaze on her compassionate.

"My dear," he said, "You blame yourself far too much. Don't you know," he went on, a twinkle in his eye, "That blame is the devil's game?"

Jubilee stared back at him. The memory of a voice, strong and soothing, whispered through her mind: Your sins are forgiven, my daughter.

She blinked and found that, suddenly, the world seemed brighter. Then she realized it was because she could see Hellenos again, his gentle glow basking her with warmth as he smiled down at her. There was no judgment in his gaze either, no disapproval at her for having lost sight of him yet again due to her fear and doubt.

Jubilee blinked hard to keep her eyes dry and looked down. “Thank you...for being so gracious towards me,” she said to both Wayne and the angel. “I don’t think I deserve it, but...I am grateful for it.” Was this, perhaps, the same kind of attitude she needed to extend to her employer then? Grace, and the benefit of the doubt, regardless of whether it was earned or not? She took a deep breath. “Would you be willing to tell me more,” she began haltingly, “About—about Law?”

Wayne smiled wide and settled back in his chair. “Certainly,” he said. “He is one of my favorite subjects. What would you like to know?”

Where to even start? Jubilee wondered. “How did he learn to speak Chinese so well?”

Wayne’s smile broadened at that. “Well, he first learned it from me.”

Her eyes nearly jumped out of her head. “You speak Chinese, too?”

He laughed. “Somewhat,” he said in slightly accented Mandarin, then switched to English. “Law surpassed me a long time ago. You see, my late wife was Chinese. Originally from Hong Kong.”

Jubilee’s eyes widened further. “Oh...and she passed away? I’m so sorry.”

Wayne waved a hand. “Don’t be, my dear. I miss her, of course, but I know that she’s in a better place and that I’ll see her again.” Leaning forward, he went back to arranging letters. “While she was still alive, I made it a habit to speak her native language to her as often as possible. Law overheard me answering her phone call one day and, well, if ever there was a little boy who didn’t like not understanding what the grownups were saying, it was him.”

Jubilee’s lip twitched. That did sound like the detective. She bent to join Wayne in the game, sliding more letters to her side. “So, he decided to learn Chinese so that he’d never not know what was going on.”

“Exactly,” Wayne chuckled, then sobered. “But there were other incentives, too. Unfortunately, he did not have the best of relationships with most of the families he lived with. I realized later that he didn’t wish to speak to me during our initial meetings because he didn’t wish to speak in front of them. So, Mandarin became our ‘secret language’ of sorts.”

A twinge of empathy stirred within Jubilee. “I see.” It was ironic that she had grown up with parents and Law hadn’t, and she’d consequently rejected Chinese culture while he’d sought it out. But they’d done opposite things for the same reason—to escape judgment. Contemplatively, she arranged letters, sliding a U next to a J, then instinctively reaching for a B before stopping herself. Wouldn’t do to spell out her name and blow her cover through Bananagrams. Hastily, she grabbed an S and a T, spelling out the word ‘just.’ “You said that he moved around a lot during the first decade of his life,” she continued. “What about after that? Did he eventually settle down with a family?”

Wayne shook his head. “Law went to boarding school.”

Her fingers paused over the letters she was arranging. “They shipped him off to boarding school?”

“No, no.” In front of Wayne, the words ‘coalescence’ and ‘placate’ had been spelled out, along with other smaller words. He really was good at this. “Law applied for boarding school on his own. Quite a good one, too. Naturally, he was accepted. However, the foster family who barely knew him wasn’t so keen on funding the tuition. So I did.”

Jubilee stared. “You paid for his schooling?”

“I did. Had just enough saved up over the years to do so, and my wife approved, too. It would’ve gone to our own children if we’d been able to have any. But the boy clearly had a gift. It would’ve been a shame not to nurture it.”

She considered him anew. “Wow. That’s very kind of you.”

“Perhaps. But it wasn’t any easier for Law in another environment, even if he did get to hone his talents there. As I said, it can be difficult for him to get along with others.”

“Oh. You mean he was bullied.” Considering Law’s albinism and aloof demeanor, it wasn’t surprising to Jubilee. She’d experienced mild bullying herself as a kid, over her race. It was easy to pick on someone for being different. Her sympathy for the detective grew.

Wayne nodded. “He held his own well, though, mostly by using his smarts. For example, one time an older boy tried to frame him for stealing from the principal. Law quickly proved that the actual culprit was the boy himself.” A fond smile touched Wayne’s lips. “Even the teachers were impressed. They were the ones I got the whole story from. I do believe that might’ve been when Law first decided to become a detective.”

Jubilee mulled over the story. “So, not only did you help him attend a top-tier school, but you also kept tabs on him the entire time,” she realized. “It sounds like you’ve really done a lot for him.”

“Well, to be fair—” Wayne gestured at his lavish surroundings. “He has since paid me back tenfold.”

“By hiring you as his personal assistant?”

“Yes. However, I don’t see it so much as a job. I get to do a lot of what I like—cooking and talking—and he gets to avoid a lot of what he doesn’t like—phone calls and interacting with people.” Wayne laughed. “It is a good arrangement. And he is a generous employer.”

Officer Liang said the same thing. Tentatively, Jubilee inquired, “If I may ask—how exactly does he afford to pay so well?”

“Ah.” Wayne leaned back, wearing a proud smile. “Well, for one thing, Law is very resourceful. He has some robust real estate investments—hence why he was able to provide you with housing on such short notice. For another thing…well, let’s just say that he is highly sought after for his skills.”

Jubilee blinked, remembering something else Officer Liang had called the detective. The famous Graeson Law. “Oh. I could tell he was good, but...I didn’t realize he was such a big deal.”

“Just in the law enforcement world. After getting promoted to detective within only a few years after graduating top of his class from the police academy, and then solving some very high-profile cases, he managed to make quite a name for himself. Speaking of names...” Wayne slid two more pieces into his growing crossword arrangement, spelling out the word ‘law.’ “People found his very fitting. All of that contributed to his being able to quit the force and take on private clients of his own, which can be quite a lucrative business.”

“And that’s when he hired you to help him?”

“Yes,” Wayne affirmed. “Though I’d say it was more to help me. In fact, I’d hazard a guess that he proposed the entire arrangement solely to make sure I was taken care of—because my wife had just passed at the time.”

“Oh.” The thought made Jubilee soften. Since the night at the internet cafe, she'd been able to tell that the detective saw his assistant as more than a mere employee. Now it was apparent that he saw him as family. Glancing at all the leftover food, she added, “It looks like you take care of him, too.”

Wayne smiled. “As I said—it is a good arrangement.”

She smiled back. They played for a few minutes in silence, Jubilee adding more words to her crossword. “Can I ask something else?” she said after a moment. “Why China? How did you two end up here?”

“Back when Law was still in the police force, Interpol dispatched him to an international case in Beijing,” Wayne explained. “Long story short, he played a big role in solving the case with little to no losses. It made a good impression on some important people in the Ministry of Public Security, and forged connections for him with their police force.”

Ah, Jubilee thought. That explains why he’s famous here.

“And, overall, I believe he simply enjoys this country and its language,” Wayne continued. “So, once he branched out on his own, this is where he eventually relocated. I was only too happy to join him in the country near my wife’s birthplace. It makes me feel closer to her somehow.”

Jubilee nodded. “I get that.” It was one of her own reasons for coming here—to feel closer to her family, even though there were gone. Absently, she moved a few letters around to expand ‘just’ into ‘justice.’

Wayne noticed and dipped his head. “A fine word, that one. Law would approve.” Smiling, he tapped the pieces in front of him that spelled out the detective’s last name. “But one that is superseded by another word I think.” With rapid precision, Wayne slid over several pieces, adding them perpendicularly to Law’s name to spell the word ‘grace.’

Jubilee considered the pieces. “We are no longer under the law but under grace,” she murmured, remembering a verse Mary had often quoted.

“Quite so,” Wayne said, his smile widening. “You see? You know more than you think.”

Jubilee continued to regard the words on the table solemnly. “That’s a verse that’s easy to say to someone when you don’t actually know everything they’ve done.” Because surely, if anyone knew her past—even Mary or Wayne—they would all agree that Jubilee deserved to be in jail.

“I don’t need to,” Wayne said. “It would still be true for you.”

Jubilee’s head snapped up to meet his gaze before she looked back down. “I know in my head that that’s true,” she said softly. “I just—don’t always feel it in my heart. But...” She took a deep breath and looked up again. “I’m working on it.”

“The work is already done, my dear,” Wayne said. He picked up the banana-shaped bag on the table and scooped his tiles into it, then pushed the bag over to Jubilee. “For you. To remember that though there is law, there is also grace.”

She gawked at him. “I can’t take this. It’s yours—”

Wayne waved a hand and laughed. “I have a whole bunch more!”

She paused. “Was that supposed to be a pun? Because...bananas?”

He pointed at her. “See? You are good at word games as well.” She giggled, and he continued with a smile, “It is good to remember to lighten up once in a while. I find this game helpful for that. Go on, take the rest.”

Giving in, she scooped the pieces on her side into the bag. “Thank you.” Putting the bag in her purse, she stood. “I guess I should get going now. Thank you so much for dinner as well.”

“Don’t mention it.” Wayne rose to walk her back to the foyer, where he opened the door for her. “Come back anytime, Miss Julie. It’ll be good to have the company.”

Jubilee hesitated in the doorway. Then she turned and smiled. “I will.”