Shanghai Twilight: A Noir Thriller by Matthew Legare

Author:Matthew Legare [Legare, Matthew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Mist Books
Published: 2019-07-30T16:00:00+00:00

*****

A harsh, jangling sound stirred Tom awake. He groaned and rubbed his head, still sore but no longer throbbing. Sunlight leaked through the narrow window, illuminating the jail cell. It was January 28th, 1932, possibly the last day of his life.

“Rise and shine, Mr. Yankee!” Sergeant Frankenstein bellowed as he opened the barred door.

Tom slid off the bed and walked out the cell. Frankenstein guided him down the long hallway, passing cells overcrowded with the riff raff of Shanghai – beggars, dope addicts, pickpockets, and thieves. Small timers to be sure, since the major league criminals were the ones running the city.

They reached a white door marked “Interrogation” in English and Chinese. Frankenstein opened the door and pushed Tom inside. A slim police officer in similar dark uniform and white collar patches sat at a desk across the room. A wry grin clashed with his hooded eyes and sharp, thin face.

“Lieutenant Kuo, I presume?” Tom said, taking a seat across from him.

“Yes. It’s a pleasure to meet you Thomas Lai...or should I say Lai Huang-fu?”

“You can call me Charlie Chan so long as you let me out of here.”

Lieutenant Kuo waved his hand, dismissing Sergeant Frankenstein, who closed the door behind him. He reached into his tunic pocket and pulled out Tom’s cigarette case.

“Would you care for a smoke?”

“I was wondering where that went,” Tom said, plucking a Lucky Strike out.

“Forgive me, but I do love foreign tobacco, so I had a few,” Kuo said with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry for your treatment. The Sergeant didn’t know you were the Thomas Lai.”

Lighting up, Tom took a drag and said, “After all the donations I’ve made to your superiors, I’m glad someone here knows who I am, Lieutenant.”

“I’ve been to Club Twilight several times, but we received a very distressing call last night.” Lieutenant Kuo slid two photographs across the table; Yoshida full of bloody holes, and Yan Ping sliced nearly in half. Guilt and shame squeezed Tom’s gut, leaving him shaken. He took a deep drag to steady himself.

“The poor bastard on the right is Yan Ping, my bodyguard. He died protecting me from this turtle’s egg,” Tom tapped on the ronin’s photo. “His name is, or was, Yoshida, a Japanese agent. Tried to hara-kiri me next but luckily I managed to reach my pistol.”

Apart from his slight grin, Lieutenant Kuo remained expressionless. “Yes, we have a file on Gen Yoshida. He has been stirring up all sorts of trouble in the International Settlement. Your staff gave statements that this man tried to kill you last night.”

Tom blew out a trail of smoke. “Great. So, I’m free to leave now?”

“Not quite. Perhaps you can enlighten me as to why a Japanese agent was in your club in the first place?”

“I made his boss, a Japanese Navy officer by the name of Fukuzaki, lose face. You’re aware of how important that is, right Lieutenant?”

Kuo nodded with a widening grin. “Oh yes, I’m very aware. I wonder if Yoshida was there

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.