In less than ten minutes, Jubilee and the man sat across from each other at a table, in a small detainment room at the local police station. Once indoors the detective had removed his coat, face mask, and sunglasses, revealing ghostly gray eyes which pierced her with an owlish stare. He rolled up long sleeves. "Let's start with your name, Xiao-jie."

Jubilee eyed his pale arms and couldn't help thinking that the older people on the bus must've labeled him as, quite literally, the derogatory term bai-gui—white devil. "Wong Zhuli," she lied automatically, giving the same answer she had since entering the country. "What's this about, Law Xian-sheng?" She needed to figure out what he wanted with her so that she could leave, as quickly as possible.

He measured her for a long moment. Then, switching abruptly to English, he asked, "Are you American, Miss Wong?"

She jumped. "Um, er—" Be cool. It wasn't like he'd accused her of doing anything illegal. Yet. "Yes," she said in English. "How did you know?"

"You have a very slight accent." The man leaned back in his chair. "That, and you carry what the Chinese call an 'American aura.'" Jubilee must've looked offended because he added, "Most people might not notice. I just happen to be quite good at observing details. Part of my job description."

She took a deep breath. This guy weirded her out, but maybe if she cooperated she could get out of this interrogation faster. She'd still be late, but not too late. "Mr. Law," she said. "What did you want to ask me?"

"Before we get to that, would you mind telling me your American name? Just for the record."

She did mind. "Julie," she said. It wasn't a total fib. To the kids at the orphanage, that was her American name—the direct transliteration of her Chinese name.

"Fitting." His unblinking gaze was starting to make her eyes water. "What brings you to Beijing?"

The one question she hated most. Ironically, it was also exactly what she had tried to avoid on the bus with him. Forcing herself to sound neutral, she said, "Volunteer work."

"What sort of volunteer work?"

"I'm part of the missions-sponsored program at Honghua Orphanage."

"And how long have you been there?"

"Half a year."

"So, not a student then."

Jubilee paled, realizing she'd been caught in her deception from earlier.

The detective waved a dismissive hand. "Don't worry. I deduced as much from the beginning, when you said you had medicine for a child. Didn't line up with your excuse of being late for class. But I won't hold it against you."

So, he'd been on to her from the start. Her eyes narrowed. "I am late for class—that I have to teach. So, can we hurry this up?"

"Very well. To the point, then." He interlaced his fingers and leaned forward. "Why were you following Yang Zhengyi?"

Her brow furrowed. "Who?"

He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a photograph, sliding it across the table to Jubilee. It was of the young woman from earlier.

"You were following her for at least five miles," he said. "Why?"

This was the last thing Jubilee expected to be accused of. What did this man know about that girl? "Who is she?" she asked with genuine interest.

"I am the one asking the questions here, Miss Wong. Why were you following this girl?"

She pretended to look confused. "What makes you think I was following anyone? I was just running an errand."

"With all due respect," the detective said dryly, "You weren't very subtle." He gave her a once-over—she was wearing only a tee shirt and jeans, flushed from her earlier run, and her hair was still frizzing. "In addition, your unkempt state from...attempting to keep up, made you stand out."

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Jubilee's cheeks heated and one hand flew up to smooth the flyaways. She hadn't been blessed with the magical hair genes typical of her race, and her tresses were even more disheveled than usual from the sweat she'd worked up while racing haphazardly through Beijing.

But still. Who pointed that out aloud?

"I could ask why you were following me," she said hotly.

"I wasn't," he answered easily. "I was following her."

Jubilee's eyes grew round. "You were? Why?"

He lifted an eyebrow. "I asked first."

She scowled. What was this, preschool? And what could she say? The truth would make her sound crazy. How could she get him to tell her about the girl without divulging about the demon?

"Is she a friend?" The detective tapped the photograph. "Or family?"

Jubilee stiffened. "No."

"Oh?" He noted her tense countenance. "Do you have family here with you?"

She grew cold. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"The sooner you answer my questions, the sooner you may leave."

This was starting to enter territory she didn't want to touch, but she needed to get out of here ASAP. Which meant she'd have to answer his invasive questions. Perhaps, if she did, he'd slip in information about the mysterious girl. "No...I don't have any family here with me," she said, hands clenching over the table.

He eyed her whitened knuckles. "Not even extended family?" he prodded.

She stared down at the table. She'd been wrong. This was the one question she hated most. Her eyes lifted to meet his unnervingly pale ones. "My family is dead," she said coolly.

His face remained void of emotion. "All of them?" he said simply.

"Yes."

He watched her silently, expectantly, as though waiting for her to expound.

She exhaled angrily. What did he want from her? "My mom, dad, and younger sister died in a car accident. Got them all in one fell swoop. My parents were only children, and my grandparents died when I was a kid." She glowered. "Does that answer your question?"

"Very thoroughly, thank you, Miss Wong." As though it was an afterthought, he added, "I am sorry for the losses you have suffered."

He didn't sound sorry.

"Back to my previous question. If you aren't acquainted with Yang Zhengyi, why were you following her?"

Jubilee swallowed her indignation over his callousness and tried to think of a good lie. She couldn't. Perhaps...if she told him the truth, it would make him share his own reasons for following the girl. He'd think she was crazy, but what other choice did she have?

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I can see things," she began quietly. "Things that other people can't see. Angels, demons, and things going on in other people's souls." She looked down at the photograph to avoid eye contact with the detective. "I saw this girl talking with a demon—and I have never seen anyone else be able to do that. So, I followed her to find out why." Forcing herself to look back up, she met the detective's sharp gaze. "Why were you following her?"

She expected him to look incredulous, maybe even laugh at her claims. But his stoic expression never changed. Instead he simply said, "For work," and then continued without missing a beat, "How did you come to acquire this gift of yours?"

She gawked. "Wait, you believe me?"

"Should I not?"

She made a face. "Do you always answer a question with a question?"

"I could ask the same of you, Miss Wong."

Her brow wrinkled with irritation. This was getting her nowhere. She had learned nothing from him, and now he seemed more interested in talking about her than the girl. Jubilee had no intention of telling him any more about herself than she already had.

"I'm sorry," she said, standing up. "But I don't have time for this. It's been over twenty minutes, and I really have to—"

"Sit down, Miss Wong."

She blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You're not going anywhere until you have answered all my questions. I will detain you for as long as I see fit."

She stared at him, torn between fear and anger. First this man tricked her into coming here, and now he wouldn't let her leave? "Who do you think you are?" she demanded, more boldly than she felt. "You don't have the right to do that."

He met her glare with an unreadable expression. "I think you will find that I have more influence than you might expect."

Who was this guy? Jubilee pursed her lips. If she told him what he wanted to know, it'd be like feeding bits of meat to a shark. Even if he hadn't been after her, he might have reason to once he heard her story. Despite being rude, tactless, and a liar, he was clearly a lot sharper than most people and held some sway. If he decided to play Sherlock and pick apart the clues of her past, he might figure out much more about her than she wanted him to know. And then what would he do to her? Throw her in prison?

On the other hand, if she didn't tell him what he wanted to know, he might do that anyway.

She grit her teeth. Her best chance of getting released was to cooperate. She didn't have to tell him everything, right? Just enough to get him off her back. And perhaps it could give her some leverage…and knowledge of the demonically-endangered girl.

"Fine." Jubilee sat back down. "I'll tell you how I got this ability, if you tell me everything you know about this girl." She jabbed a finger at the photograph.

His eyes traveled down to where she was pointing, then back to her face. "That can be arranged."

Her eye twitched with annoyance. "Is that a yes?"

"Yes."

"Okay then." She lifted her chin. "Fair warning though...it's kind of a long story." Inwardly, she winced—she was definitely going to be late. But better late than imprisoned.

He gave a slow nod. "I have time."

"Alright." Taking a deep, nervous breath, she began to recall the events of three years ago. The day had started off like any other. Loud, painful, and far too bright...