Two men walked into the substation, their faces sober. Under their coats, they wore a tan-colored uniform.
"Can I help you gentleman?" asked the desk sergeant as they approached the counter. He took note of the emblem on their chests, a shield and staff inside of a circle.
"We're looking for Detective Beifong? We asked at your headquarters and they directed us here," replied the taller one, a forty-ish man with brown hair and an honest if plain face.
"May I have your names and purpose?"
"My name is Renshu, and this is Yanlin." The taller one indicated his partner, who had a slimmer profile with fine black hair and a sharp nose. "We're detectives from Luquan and I'm afraid we need to speak with Detective Beifong on a personal matter. It's something we need to tell her first."
"Newbie," called the sergeant over his shoulder. A young man came forwards.
"Yes, Sarge?"
"Escort these two to the smaller conference room and then ask Detective Beifong to come there. Tell her it's two detectives, Renshu and Yanlin, from Luquan."
"Yes, sir. This way." He unlatched and opened the gate in the counter. The strangers followed him into the interior of the station. He pointed them into a stuffy room, just big enough for the six-person table crammed into it. "I'll be back as soon as I can, sirs. I think I saw the detective at her desk."
"Thank you," said Renshu. When their guide had left, closing the door, he turned to his partner. "Fifteen years on this job and I still don't know whether to hope or not."
"Yeah. Bad either way."
The partners waited in quiet until the door opened again and a green-eyed, dark haired woman entered wearing the grey uniform tunic over armor. The men stood hurriedly.
"Detectives Renshu and Yanlin from Luquan, correct?" They both nodded. "I'm Detective Beifong. I understand you have something to discuss with me?"
"Yes, we do," answered Renshu. Beifong waved them back into their seats, taking one opposite them.
"Is it about a case?" Beifong asked.
"Yes, but not…" Renshu trailed off. He took a steadying breath and reached into his jacket's inside pocket. He laid a square of cloth, folded round something, on the table. "I'm afraid it's not your professional help we're seeking."
As he continued, he gently drew aside each fold of the cloth. "We found this on a young woman. It's the only clue we have as to who she might have been."
A ring lay on the linen. It held a turquoise stone in a setting of dulled and scratched gold.
...
White noise roared in Lin's ears. If he said more, she didn't hear it.
Her grandparents had sent it for her fourteenth birthday. The turquoise had a star-shaped splotch in the center. Lin remembered that clearly.
She'd been so proud of that ring. Worn it to school for three weeks straight. Her first piece of real, adult jewelry she'd said.
Lin couldn't have stopped herself from picking the ring up any more than she could have stopped the sun rising. Her hands didn't tremble as she turned it over to check beneath the stone.
A flying boar.
Suyin Beifong.
"How old was she?" Lin heard herself speak, but the words came without being chosen.
"Eighteen to twenty."
"Hair? Eyes? How tall?"
"Dark brown hair, green eyes we think but we can't be sure - five six or seven."
"Any other identifying marks?"
"Maybe but - there were - it's hard to tell what -" Renshu grimaced and fell silent.
"If you could come to Luquan, we could know for certain," added Yanlin.
"We understood your mother is no longer in -"
"the city, yes. She retired. I don't - I don't know where she is right now." With care, Lin replaced the ring on the handkerchief. She swallowed. "I'll come."
Pressing her palms flat on the table, she got to her feet. "How did you come here?"
"The train. They said there's one back in two hours," Yanlin informed her.
"Another three hours to Luquan. Too long." She felt split, one half of her talking and moving for the door. "Wait here."
The other half - inside her somewhere - rocked back and forth, its eyes screwed shut and praying to everything and nothing, please, please, please.
A matter of moments to notify her Captain, a few short sentences to her partner, a snatch of her coat from its stand; she returned to them. "Let's go."
She paid the cabby double his fare for speed to the docks. One of the harbor patrol's boats brought them to Air Temple Island.
Lin caught the first acolyte she saw. "Where's Tenzin?"
"I - he -" The woman's hands fluttered.
"Out with it."
"He and Master Aang took a dozen to meditate in the mountains," replied the acolyte, pointing beyond the city.
"Damn it. With Appa and Oogi?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Are there any other sky bison left?"
"Two I think."
"I'll take one of them. When Tenzin and Aang get back, tell them I've gone to Luquan to -" she looked at the officers.
"The main police station," offered Renshu.
"That. Got it?"
"Yes."
Lin dismissed her with a nod. Heading for the bison caves, Lin demanded, "If either of you are afraid of heights or flying, tell me now."
"No?" replied Renshu. He and Yanlin exchanged glances. They'd come expecting to need to be gentle and to guide, to offer comfort or a shoulder to lean on. They'd prepared for hysterics, for crying, for loud disbelief. Instead, they'd been swept along as Beifong had acted with decisive purpose.
When they entered an occupied cave, Lin went to the reins hanging on the wall. Beside them, a saddle leaned against the wall on its edge. Off the reins, she read, "Ensei."
The sky bison waffled, evidently knowing her name. Lin grabbed the reins and went to her head. After letting the bison sniff her, she slid the reins onto the horns. To the Luquan officers, she said, "The saddle's not heavy. Bring it closer. Please."
Having halted at the entrance, the two now stepped into the cave. Keeping one eye on the sky bison, they lugged the saddle to Ensei's side. Lin tightened the knots that kept the reins in place, then the three of them lifted the saddle onto Ensei's back as the bison squished herself as far down as possible to make it easier.
"Lin, what's going on?" Katara bustled into the cave. "Seiko came running into my lesson with Puja saying something about you going to Luquan on one of the bison. And who are these two?"
"Detectives Renshu and Yanlin of the Luquan police force, ma'am," replied Renshu.
"I need to go with them to identify -" Lin choked. Eighteen to twenty, dark brown hair, maybe green eyes, five seven or five eight, a turquoise ring with a star and a flying boar. Her composure frayed. "They found...I have to go with them."
Ensei whined. Lin loosed the hair she'd twisted. Her eyes stung and she tried to draw in a full breath. She managed but it shook her.
Please don't be her. Please don't be her. The mantra drummed in her skull. Please don't be her.
"In and out, sweetheart, in and out," murmured Katara. Lin clung to the feel of Katara's hand rubbing circles on her back. To the officers, Katara asked, "What is this about?"
"With all due respect ma'am, if you're not family -"
Katara interrupted, "I'm as good as. My name is Katara, yes that Katara, and I assure you that you can tell me."
It was Yanlin who answered. "We found a young woman. She had a ring on a chain around her neck with the Beifong crest."
"It sounds, the description," Lin whispered, "it might - they think it might be Su."
Katara's hand froze. "Su?"
"Yes," replied Yanlin. "I'm sorry, but we need Detective Beifong to make a identification to be sure."
"I...I see." Lin felt Katara's hand quiver. Then it shifted to grip Lin's shoulder. "I'm coming with you. Finish saddling Ensei while I get what we need and meet me in the courtyard, all right?"
"Okay? But what do we need?"
Gently, Katara suggested, "A map for one. Water. Some food maybe."
"Right. A map. I forgot."
"Finish saddling," Katara repeated, and let go of Lin's shoulder. "I'll take care of the rest."
...
In other circumstances, Katara might have been amused at the way the Laquan officers scrambled to hold onto the sides of the saddle as Ensei took off. Lin had needed to create temporary stairs for them in order to get them into the saddle at all.
From her position at the front of the saddle, Katara could see the stiffness of Lin's body. She stared at the horizon, her hands clenched on the reins.
The two officers huddled at the rear of the saddle, deliberately not looking over its sides. From time to time, they talked quietly to each other. Aside from directions, Katara and Lin spent the hour and a half ride in silence.
More than once, reassurances and theories bubbled to the tip of Katara's tongue. Su could have given the ring away. It could have been stolen from her. Su could have been forced to sell it. She could have lost it.
She didn't say them. She knew Lin would have already thought of such things, and that such hopes would be pointless until they knew the truth.
She thought of Su. She thought of the baby she'd cradled who loved to be tickled. Of the girl who delighted in the dance show to which Katara had taken Su, Lin, and Kya. And finally, of the headstrong, impulsive young woman who had so wanted to be grown-up and who had absconded from her grandparents house at the age of seventeen to 'travel the world.'
Su who might be lying in a cold morgue.
Ensei could not fly fast enough for Katara.
...
The four stood before the doors of the morgue. They kept their coats on for cold escaped the room, sweeping into the hallway. Ice maintained the temperature, blocks set in the air vents and refreshed by a Waterbender when needed.
"We'll get things ready," said Yanlin. The officers entered.
Her gaze fixed on the doors, Lin asked plaintively, "If it's her, how am I...I don't even know where Mom is. How am I supposed to…"
Katara tugged Lin into a one-armed embrace. "If it's her. If."
"If it is…"
"You won't have to do it alone, I promise." Katara's voice cracked and she pulled Lin in tighter. "You won't."
The door opened. Yanlin announced, "We're ready."
Lin peeled away from Katara, and they followed him. He led them through the doors, right a little bit, and into a partitioned area. Wood screens separated it from the rest of the morgue. It held a single table - and a single body draped in a black cloth.
An almost inaudible "Please no" slipped from Lin's lips. Katara seized one of her hands and squeezed.
Standing by the head, Renshu asked, "Are you all right to proceed?"
"No," Lin blurted. She took a shuddering breath. "But go ahead."
Respectfully, Renshu folded back the drape.
...
Her knees buckled.
If not for Yanlin, Lin would have ended up on the floor. Beside her, Katara emitted a strange gasped sob.
Hurriedly, Renshu restored the drape. He said, "I'm sorry, I know this must be -"
"It's not her." Lin found her voice and her legs. Fingers visibly trembling, she reached for the drape and uncovered the face once more. She took a long look, to be certain in her conviction, and shook her head. "This isn't my sister. I've never seen this girl in my life."
She did have dark brown hair like Su's and was about the right age and height, but the chin was too rounded and the nose too wide. Her skin was too pale. Her eyes weren't set right.
"You're sure?" asked Yanlin.
"I'm sure."
"So am I," added Katara.
They hid it well, but Lin caught the glimmer of disappointment in the officers' expressions. She understood. Without an identity, the chance of solving the case plummeted and chances were this girl would never be returned to her family and friends to be properly remembered and mourned.
She saw too why the officers had been hesitant to say there were other identifying marks - birthmarks or scars or tattoos. Bruises distorted the right side of the face, the nose and jaw broken, and if the rest of the body were as bad, it would be hard to sort out distinguishing marks. There was a red line around her throat; she'd been strangled.
"Someone really wanted to hurt her," Lin said.
"Yes, and while I'm glad for your sakes…" Renshu recovered the face. "This was our last solid lead. Is there any chance we could speak with your sister? Any idea where she is?"
"No. If I'd known where she was, do you think I would have come here without checking first?" snapped Lin. She bit her lip and continued, "I'm sorry. I know you're trying to give this girl justice. Last I heard, Su was somewhere on the southern fringes of the Si Wong desert. That was eight, nine months ago."
Renshu began, "If you hear from her -"
"I'll ask her. Would you be willing to provide me with a photograph?"
"We'll have one made and sent to you," declared Yanlin.
Katara asked softly, "What will happen to her now?"
"Unless we have a stroke of luck or someone recognizes her from the sketches we've posted about, she'll be buried in the city's common graveyard and the case will be left open," replied Renshu. "We'll try a few more avenues, but I can't say I'm hopeful."
"How sad," Katara murmured. The ensuing stillness bespoke the others' agreement.
"If no one claims her," Lin said abruptly, her posture straightening, "I will."
She'd surprised them.
"You will? Why?" asked Renshu. "You said you'd never seen her before."
"I haven't but if my sister gave her that ring, maybe they were friends. If they weren't, well, it doesn't matter," said Lin. "I'll give you my address. If the time comes and no one has come forward, send to me."
"We will. Thank you," replied Yanlin. He ushered them away from the body and out of the morgue. There, he took a pad and pencil from his pocket. Lin recited her address.
"I'm afraid we'll have to keep the ring as evidence at least for a while," Yanlin explained.
"That's fine. I understand," Lin said.
He escorted them out of the police station to Ensei who'd been given a trough of water and a bundle of hay from the nearby ostrich-horse stable for the police mounts.
"Thank you for coming, Detective Beifong, Master Katara," he said. "I wish I could have met you under more pleasant circumstances."
"So do we," replied Katara. He bowed and left them.
"It wasn't her."
"Lin? Lin!"
Katara darted for Lin, the younger woman slumping against Ensei.
Blotches spotted Lin's vision. She sucked in air in wheezes. Lin slid down the bison's side to the ground.
"It - wasn't - her."
"Head between your legs," Katara directed and sank to her knees beside Lin. She pushed on Lin's spine to encourage her to bend with one hand and dabbed at her own eyes with the other.
When Lin was able to sit up, Katara flung her arms around Lin. The two hugged for several minutes before mounting Ensei and flying home.
...
"I'm going after them," Tenzin declared, striding for the door. Aang leapt and snagged his sleeve.
"No, you're not." Aang towed his son to a seat. He pushed Tenzin into it. "Your mother said they would wire if they needed us or if they needed to stay in Laquan overnight."
"Something is wrong."
"Maybe but between those two, they can handle just about anything. Your mother's note didn't say anything about danger, just that Lin was needed in Luquan and she was going along."
"She doesn't say why," Tenzin exclaimed. "Why would Lin be needed in Luquan and what would make Mother think she needed to accompany her?"
"I don't know. I'm sure we'll find out when they return," Aang tried to reassure him. Judging from Tenzin's expression and fidgets, he wasn't convinced. Still, he stayed seated and yanked a book from a nearby table to read, or pretend to read.
Aang sat on a floor cushion and reached for the calm within himself, unsurprised when it eluded him. He disliked the vagueness of the note as much as his son did.
When sunset streaked the sky, and Tenzin had given up the book and begun pacing, they heard the thud of a landing sky bison. Aang scrambled to his feet, following only a pace behind Tenzin.
At a brisk trot, they arrived in the courtyard as an acolyte took Ensei's reins saying, "We'll see to her."
"Thank you," said Katara, her tone weary. Lin merely nodded. Aang took in their body language; they looked wrung out.
Something was very wrong.
"Lin? Mother?" ventured Tenzin, pattering down the steps.
"We're okay," Katara said quickly. She started for Aang - he was already heading for her too - and tilted her head towards Lin. In accordance, Tenzin bypassed her and went straight for Lin.
Katara didn't stop until she was in Aang's arms. Aang encircled her with them and asked, "What happened?"
With a pained sigh, Katara replied, "Give me a minute."
Looking over her head, Aang glimpsed Tenzin doing the same with Lin. Lin buried her face in Tenzin's chest, shaking her head at a low question. Aang's unease grew. Lin generally did not permit herself to be held thus in the middle of the courtyard where any random acolyte could see.
With a little encouragement, Aang and Tenzin brought the women inside and into the warmth of the living room. Lin walked tucked into Tenzin's side on the way, and she curled into him when they claimed a couch. Katara wasn't quite as bad, but she obviously didn't want to be separated either.
When neither woman had spoken for four or five minutes, Aang cleared his throat. "Have you eaten? Are you hungry?"
"Not hungry," Lin muttered.
"I'm not either." Katara patted Aang's hand. "Though I think, some tea would be nice."
"I'll get it," he said and stood. Once in the kitchen, Aang used Firebending to heat the water in seconds rather than minutes. He dumped a heaping spoonful of a camomile blend into the teapot and grabbed the first teacups to hand. On a last-second thought, he threw a tin of candied fruit onto the tray.
When he carried the tray into the living room, the only change was that Lin's and Katara's coats had been removed. Lin was still glued to Tenzin, her head on his shoulder.
Aang fixed and passed tea to each of them. Then he settled beside Katara who pressed against him, blowing on the tea and taking a tentative sip.
After a few sips, Katara looked at Lin. "Do you want me to explain?"
"No, I'll do it." Lin drew apart from Tenzin. She leaned forwards, cup held in both hands over her knees. "Do you remember the ring my grandparents gave Su for her fourteenth birthday? The turquoise one?"
"Of course. She wore it everywhere," replied Aang.
"Laquan police found it on an unidentified body. It was the only thing they had to go off of so they came here and wanted to know if I recognized it." She seemed shrink in on herself. Her voice roughened. "Their description, it sounded like it could have been Su."
"What?" exclaimed Tenzin and Aang together.
"It wasn't," Lin rushed to say. "It wasn't. But I - I couldn't tell from the description. So I had to go there and see if it was - or not."
Tenzin attempted to touch her, trying to pull her back to him. Lin jerked away. Her tea sloshed and a couple of drops hit the floor.
"It's fine. It wasn't her. Everything is fine," she muttered. She glanced first at Tenzin, then at Aang. "Don't look so worried. Su must've, she must've given that girl the ring. That's all."
"Lin -" began Tenzin.
"Don't. Just don't." Lin set the cup on the coffee table with a chink. "I don't want to talk about this. It's over and done with it and I just want to go to bed and forget about it."
She rose. Of Tenzin, she demanded, "Are you coming?"
As Tenzin stood, Aang said, "It's already dark. Why don't you stay here?"
"Please, Lin," added Katara.
Lin wavered for a moment before nodding. "Okay."
Tenzin brushed her arm to get her attention. When she focused on him, he suggested, "Why don't you go ahead to our room? Get out of the uniform and get cleaned up?"
Again, Lin nodded. She was at the door when she turned back.
"I'm sorry, Aunt."
"What for?" asked Katara, bewildered.
"For the trouble and for making you worry. This was my mess and I dragged you into it, and you had to - I'm sorry."
"If you've forgotten, I insisted on going with you," Katara declared firmly. "You didn't - you have nothing to be sorry for, do you hear me?"
"I do."
"Good."
Lin vanished from the doorway.
Katara turned to Tenzin. She stated simply, "She's not okay and this isn't over and done with. She was terrified, Tenzin."
His grey eyes remained fixated on the last spot Lin had been. "I know she's not okay. How could she possibly be okay?"
"If we had any idea where Su was, we could contact her. I'm sure that would help," said Aang.
"But we don't. That's the whole problem." Contempt laced Tenzin's words. "She's probably having a grand old time someplace without a care in the world."
"Tomorrow, I'll send out a message, see if anyone has seen her," Aang promised. "Maybe luck will be with us."
Tenzin's huff told what he thought of that likelihood. He asked Katara, "You said neither of you have eaten?"
"No, we didn't have time."
"Would you mind making something for Lin? Please? And for yourself too. I would but I want to be there when she gets out of the shower."
"I don't mind. It'll help settle me," Katara replied. She prodded Aang. "Your father can help."
"Sure, you go look after Lin," Aang directed.
"Thank you," Tenzin said, already three-quarters to the door.
When he'd gone, Aang pulled Katara into a full embrace. "It must have been terrible."
"It was," she admitted. "That poor girl, do you know, Lin volunteered to claim her and give her a proper funeral if no one else does."
"It doesn't surprise me."
Tears gathered on Katara's cheeks. Aang wiped them with his robe's sleeve.
"It could have been Su, Aang. I wish - Kya wires at least twice a month, she always lets us know when she moves, she writes weekly, Bumi is with the entire Army, he sends us postcards every time he's on shore, but Su - and Toph - they just don't. And I know Toph can't write but she could get someone to write for her or dictate a message so her blindness isn't an don't and Lin, we, have no way of knowing if they're alright. If they're alive. It's not right."
"I know," Aang replied. "I wish things were different. Maybe, with this, we can make them understand why they should stay in contact the next time we do see them."
"Maybe." Katara pushed herself to her feet. "Meanwhile, we'll take care of Lin."
"That we will."
A week later, Lin and Katara returned to Luquan. They and the two Luquan detectives attended the funeral of the young woman, still nameless. In keeping with Earth Kingdom tradition - their best guess of her ancestry based on features and clothing - Lin had arranged for her burial and for a young apple-pear tree to be planted at the head of her grave.
Her stone marker read only, "An unknown maiden, may her spirit reunite with those who loved her."
Tenzin woke as the bed squeaked and blankets shifted. He required several more moments - and the sounds coming from the bathroom - to realize why.
When he checked on Lin, her head hung over the toilet, there was pitifully little in the basin. Tenzin suppressed an empty platitude and instead replaced Lin's hand with his own where she held her hair back.
She stopped retching quickly, having nothing else to bring up. He helped her up and over to the sink. Lin rinsed her mouth, then splashed water on her face. Tenzin handed her a towel to pat dry.
The routine had become wretchedly familiar in the past month. He no longer asked the subject of her nightmares.
It was always a variation on the same theme: Su dead, nameless and lost, her body unclaimed.
Tenzin wrapped his arms around Lin from behind. She pivoted a corner turn and let him absorb some of her weight.
She wasn't crying.
She was just quiet.
A month of this torment had stolen the spring from her step and the healthy pink from her cheeks. Despite his best entreatments and nagging, she'd eaten less and was beginning to slip from trim to thin.
At first, Tenzin had hoped the nightmares would fade within a couple of weeks. Or that their extended network of contacts would locate Suyin.
Those hopes had proven futile. Lin had suffered three or four nightmares strong enough to send her to the toilet every week. Lesser ones disturbed her sleep without waking her, robbing her of genuine rest.
Anger had taken root inside of him; it now snarled and tangled, bristling thorns as sharp as needles. What had once been mild annoyance at Suyin had transformed into a well of rage and contempt.
One message.
One message: a few words, a couple of coppers, five minutes, a single considerate thought.
It would be so easily within Suyin's power to relieve Lin's suffering.
And yet there was nothing.
It wasn't wholly fair of him, he knew. Suyin had no way of knowing what had occurred, that Lin would be terrified and desperate for proof she was alive and well.
But seeing Lin in agony made it exceptionally challenging to remember that.
"Are you sure I can't come with you? I really don't like the idea of you going alone," Tenzin protested as Lin checked the straps of her pack. "With Oogi, we could cut travel time in half and -"
" - and he and you stand out. If Su doesn't want to be found, I don't want her getting wind of us and hiding or fleeing."
Tenzin continued frowning. "At least take your armor -"
"I'm not going as Detective Beifong, Tez, and armor will also attract too much attention." Lin fingered the steel coils twined thrice around her green-clothed biceps. The unobservant might mistake them for jewelry as Lin had added a dragon's head and tail to them. "I am taking some cable, my batons, and a couple of knives. That's besides my bending and hand-to-hand training. I'm not exactly a soft target."
"I'm still going to worry. I still don't like it."
"I'll wire you every day. If I miss more than one, then you can come after me, agreed?"
"Agreed."
Glancing about the bedroom, Lin declared, "That's everything." She picked up her coat, pulling it on over her sturdy attire of black tunic, long green undershirt, split grey skirts, and broken-in leather boots. In her pack, she had stowed lighter garments as she was heading south where the winter that gripped Republic City would give way to mild temperatures.
"Let's go," she said, slinging the pack onto her shoulders. Downstairs, Lin flagged a cab to take them to the train station.
Having bought her ticket the previous day, Lin took them straight to platform 5. They arrived with fifteen minutes until departure.
"You'll be careful?" Tenzin asked anxiously.
"I will be," she promised, lightly grasping his arm.
"I could still go with -"
"Tenzin."
"Fine." He sighed. "You have to do this."
"I do. Now that I have somewhere to start, I have to at least try to find her."
"All aboard!" shouted the conductor. He rang his bell. "All aboard!"
Shedding her pack, Lin rose on her toes and pressed her lips to his. He kissed her back with more ferocity than she expected, more than they usually displayed in public.
"A wire every day, Lin, and if you don't find her within two weeks…"
"I'll come home." Re-hoisting her pack, she gave him a second, fleeting kiss. "I've got to go."
Tenzin said, "Goodbye, Lin."
"Bye. I'll see you soon."
She boarded the train. Seconds later, she waved to him from a window in the second-class carriage.
Tenzin waved back.
With a hiss, steam billowed from the engine.
"All aboard! All board!" cried the conductor. He pealed his bell, pointedly looking at stragglers lingering on the platform. They hurried onto the train.
Doors slammed, latches were thrown, and the great wheels ground into motion. Tenzin stayed on the platform until the caboose rounded a bend and passed from sight.
The following afternoon, Lin disembarked from the train in a town called Tai'an. The hub of several farming communities, its main street boasted two hotels and a tea room, in addition to the usual tradesmen's shops, school, bank, and tavern.
She stopped in at the telegram office, sending a brief note of her safe arrival to Republic City.
Selecting the neater of the two hotels, a white-washed building trimmed in green, Lin registered and was shown to a second-story room. She bathed, dressed in clean clothes, and walked across the street to Merchants Bank. This far south, she left her coat in her room.
"May I speak with your manager?" she asked the teller. "In private?"
"Why don't we see if I can help you first?" he replied condescendingly.
"Your manager. Please."
They stared at each other for a few seconds, but the teller conceded first.
"Very well," he mumbled. From the back office, he retrieved the manager. Lin heard him whine, "She insists on seeing you sir. In private."
An older gentleman, the manager greeted her with more politeness than his subordinate. "Good afternoon, Miss. My name is Xie. Would you step this way?"
He escorted her into his office. Once seated, he asked, "How may I help you?"
From her belt purse, Lin extracted an emblazoned ticket and laid it on his desk. The manager's eyes went wide. They went wider still when she fished a chain from under her collar and slid a ring from it. Both ticket and ring bore the Beifong crest. She also produced a folded document, placing it beside the ticket.
"May I?" asked the manager. Lin nodded. He examined the ticket, document, and the ring.
"Lady Beifong, it's an honor," said the manager. "Please forgive my clerk's rudeness, if he'd had any idea -"
"It's fine. I'd rather my name not get around," she replied. "Call me Lin."
"You may trust my discretion," Xie assured her. "Now, how may I be of service?"
"Eight days ago, money was withdrawn from this location from an account held under my family's name. I would like to know what you can tell me about the person who made the withdrawal. Was she a young woman, about my height, dark hair and green eyes, with a sharp chin?"
"Yes. She said her name was Suyin. Is there something amiss? She had the proper credentials to access the account, I checked them myself," Xie said. "I thought she was simply one of your agents or employees, albeit a little young perhaps."
Relief spun Lin's head. She took a deep breath to steady herself. "She is, but...well...I need to get in touch with her. I'd appreciate anything you can tell me, especially about her current whereabouts or who she might be with."
"I'm afraid I don't know much, except - it did seem odd which is why I remember it - but one of those circus people was with her in the bank. They were talking like friends," answered Xie.
"Circus people?"
"A troupe comes through about this time. They rolled into town last Tuesday, had their grand finale on Saturday, and moved on the day after, now three days ago."
"Where do they go from here?" Lin asked pressingly. Her heart beat wildly; a circus sounded just the sort of thing Su would go for.
"To Altay, two days walk east. It's a small town, only a third the size of Tai'an with no railway." Pride touched his words and swelled his chest. Amused, Lin realized Tai'an residents probably considered those of Altay as much of country bumpkins as most Republic City denizens would consider Tai'an people. "The troupe goes the same route every year: us, then Altay, then Bengbu beyond."
"Is there anything else you can remember about her?"
"I'm afraid not." The manager looked apologetic. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"Yes, I need to make a withdraw myself." The two proceeded with the transaction. Lin left the bank with a modest sum in Earth Kingdom coinage and an eager step. As the afternoon waned, she visited several shops - buying a piece of fruit from the grocers, having tea in the tea room, purchasing a shoelace at the dry goods store. In each, she inquired about the circus troupe and drawing out information on its members.
She returned to the hotel confident that Su was among the troupe. On speaking with the hotel's proprietor, she learned of a farmer and his son traveling to Altay the very next morning, having come to town for supplies not available in Altay.
When asked, the farmer agreed to give her space in his wagon.
Lin emerged from the town hall slash post office slash telegraph office. Her eyes drew to the spire of a tent, just visible in the field at the edge of the town. The handful of stores and houses that formed the main square blocked the rest of the tent from view.
Traveling by wagon, her two day walk had shortened to a day and a half. She'd arrived in late afternoon, the farmer briefly stopping to allow her to hop down in the square. Thanking him, she'd offered him a basket filled with dried fruit and two yards of cloth - suitable for a pretty shawl for his wife - in lieu of monetary payment which he'd refused.
For a moment, Lin considered going to the inn first. In this small town, it was no more than a personal dwelling with rooms to let, but she could clean up and lay down her pack.
It would have been the sensible choice.
It would have given her a little more time to find the right words.
As the wagon had rumbled along, she'd struggled to determine what to say.
Hi Su, guess who? Hi Su, glad to see you're alive. Hi Su, I thought you were dead.
Each had seemed as idiotic as the next.
Lin adjusted her pack, and headed for the striped tent.
"Whoa there, what'd ya think ya doin?" A man blocked her path, dressed in breeches and shirt with a shaved head and patch of beard.
"I'm looking for my sister. I believe she's traveling with you."
Two more people came over, a set of a female twins in tumbling outfits.
"Your sister?" drawled the man, eyeing her suspiciously. "What's her name?"
"Su - Suyin." The three exchanged glances, as if in recognition of the name. Lin planted her feet and kept her gaze steady despite the thrill she felt. She rattled off Su's description, "She'll be nineteen, an inch or two shorter than me, dark brown hair, her eyes are a little greener than mine, she's got a birthmark on her right shoulder the size of my thumbnail, and she's allergic to bee stings."
"Well, that certainly sounds like her," said one of the twins. "She got stung last month, swelled up good."
"If she's here - and I ain't sayin' she is - what'd ya want to do with her?" demanded the man.
"To talk with her."
He regarded Lin, then shrugged and turned, waving as he did.
"Okay, follow me." He led her through the camp, past wagons and other performers and smaller tents. Stopping at one, he rapped on the canvas.
"Hey, Su, someone to see you. Says she's your sister."
"Ha! Nice try, Gopal. Like my sister would ever be caught dead -"
The canvas whipped aside. Su froze, jaw hanging.
"Hello, Su," Lin breathed.
Alive.
Su worked her lips, forming unintelligible sounds.
She looked well. A little older, but whole and healthy and in one piece.
One hand twitched towards Su; the movement aborted and her arms hung limp at her sides.
Alive.
Relief paralyzed Lin. If she could have, she would have jumped and hugged her sister, but as it was her body wouldn't move as she absorbed the simple sight of her very much alive sister. Her legs probably would have collapsed under her if she'd tried.
"Lin?" gasped Su finally. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Looking for you," Lin managed. She nodded at the tent. "Can I come in?"
"Ah...er...okay?"
On jelly-like legs, Lin walked inside the tent.
Dazed, Su let the flap fall closed. She stared at Lin while Lin looked around, taking in the camp bed with a trunk at its foot, a dressing screen draped with costumes, and the folding table with mirror and cosmetics.
She waited for Lin to say something - a comment on her living conditions, a remark on her current lifestyle, an explanation as to why Lin was here - yet her older sister remained quiet.
Lin bore a pack and her boots were covered in traveling dirt. Her short sleeves revealed the iron coils on her upper arms. She had her hair tied back.
"How did you find me?" Su asked.
"Mom gave me joint control of our bank accounts. I asked them to notify me when you next made a withdrawal."
Anger pursed Su's lips. Hands on hips, she demanded, "Tracking me? What for? Are you gonna haul me back to our grandparents - or to Republic City?"
"No, I -" Lin's throat rippled as she swallowed. "I hadn't heard from you in almost a year, Su. I - I needed to know you were okay."
"Tssst. Yeah, well, I'm fine."
"So I see." Lin's eyes flicked around again. "The circus, Su, really?"
Su bristled. "What's wrong with that?"
"It's just - you could do so much more."
"That's your opinion," snapped Su. She stomped over to the table and yanked out a chair. She sat, back to Lin. "If that's all you came to say, you can leave now."
"No, it's - I didn't come to argue."
Su turned back around to Lin. "Then what did you come for? If not to tell me how to live my life?"
"I told you, to see you," Lin insisted.
"Last I remember, you were happy to have me shuttled off to live with our grandparents."
"Because you were consorting with criminals!" exclaimed Lin. "And because you made me and Mom lie for you!"
"I didn't ask you to do that! Mom did!" Su leapt up.
"I didn't see you stopping her," snarled Lin. "You let us take the fall for your poor judgement."
"Spirits, will you get over that already? I screwed up, I was young, everyone does it. No harm done."
"No harm done - what do you -" Lin's teeth clicked as she slammed them together. She ground them. Su's stomach squirmed as the motion drew attention to the scars on Lin's cheek. She scowled and ignored the feeling.
With determination, Lin said, "I did not travel hundreds of miles to argue with you. I came to see you and to ask you about the turquoise ring our grandparents gave you."
Scrunching her nose, Su asked, "What? Why do you care about that ring? I lost it ages ago."
"It was found." Lin slid her pack to the ground and bent down. She rifled through it for a few seconds before straightening with looked to be a 5 by 5 paper sleeve in her hand. It was the sort of sleeve used to protect photographs. "Do you recall where you lost it? Or when you last had it?"
"I don't know, Luquan maybe?" Su shrugged. "I think I wore it there a couple of times and couldn't find it once I'd left. Don't tell me you came all the way out here for a stupid ring? What'd you want, it wasn't yours, why do you care if I lost it?"
"I care because it was found on the body of a dead young woman in Luquan." Lin fingered the sleeve. "Two detectives came to Republic City with it. They wanted me to help identify the girl."
Su tasted bitterness on her tongue. It pushed aside her instinctive pity for the dead girl.
"I should've know," she remarked snidely.
"Should've know what?" asked Lin.
"That this would be about your job, not me," Su retorted. "It always is, isn't it? Officer Lin, hero of Republic City, strong arm of the -"
"Shut up. Spirits, you haven't grown up at all, have you?" Lin demanded, her face hardening. "A girl is dead, maybe even someone you knew, and you're mad at me for wanting to give her a name so she can be returned to her family? Maybe find her killer? Don't you care?"
"No - I - of course I care. It's terrible, but I already told you, I don't know what happened to the ring. And even if it's someone I knew, I've met a lot of people. I have no idea who that girl might be," Su protested. "Sorry if I wanted to believe - for one second - that you'd go to all this trouble just to see your sister!"
"I did, but what's wrong with doing both? This girl, her family deserves to know what happened to her." Slipping the photograph from the sleeve, Lin held it out to Su. "If you recognize her -"
Gagging, Su recoiled from the photograph. "No, I don't. Fuck, even if I have met her, how could anyone recognize anyone from that?"
"Try, Su, please -"
Su risked another glance. She instantly shied away again.
"No. No idea."
"If you could think back, maybe she was someone you lived with or worked with? She looked a lot like you -"
"I don't know her," Su insisted. Lin returned the photo to its protective cover. Su asked, "Anything else?"
"No."
"Then I've got to change. You've done your damned duty and can go on back to Republic City." Su strode behind the screen. She started yanking at her clothes, tossing them over the screen. "Don't try tracking me again either! Unlike you, I have a life and I don't need your interference."
"I was planning to stay a day or two -"
"Don't bother. I don't need - or want - you around." Su took down a dress. She stepped into it and pulled it up.
"Is that what you really want, Su?" Lin asked, her voice softer than before. "For me to leave you completely alone?"
"Yes, it is," Su shouted. She settled the dress' straps on her shoulders. One by one, she did up the buttons that marched in a line down her front. She tugged the skirt to make it sit properly on her hips, and reached for a gold sash.
It was quiet.
Su peeked around the screen's edge. "Lin?"
The tent was empty.
…
Three photographs. A geode from a visit to the badgermoles. A scarf. A romance novel given in jest. A program with ticket stubs tucked inside from a dance exposition. A recipe card, sauce-spotted and tattered from use.
Still in her traveling outfit, boots heavy on her feet, Lin gathered the mementos from throughout the apartment.
She placed them in a cardboard box. With stout cord, she bound the box shut.
Only after the cords had been double and triple knotted did she shower, change, and unpack.
Lin paid one more visit to Luquan.
She told the detectives what Su had said. Yanlin and Renshu put the file in the back of the bottom cabinet drawer amongst other cold cases.
At the gravesite, Lin laid a hand on the headstone. She whispered, "I'm sorry."
She thought of the girl's parents, sister, brother, sweetheart, friend, thought of someone, somewhere hoping and praying and waiting for news that would never come.
She wondered if they would eventually give up. Concede their loved one as lost to them.
Otherwise...it hurt too much.
Su wanted her out of her life.
She would have to accept it - and move on.
The nightmares ceased for good a week after she returned from Luquan. Lin regained her normal appetite and normal weight. The haunted look vanished from her eyes.
Lin buried the box in a closet at her mother's old house. Unless someone else brought Su up, Lin never mentioned her sister. She didn't deny she had one if asked, but she didn't talk about her either.