Page 58 of Inventing Vivian

She moved her hand toward him and hesitated, then slipped her hand into his.

The gesture was so unexpected that, for an instant, Benedict froze. He tightened his fingers around her gloved ones. She tightened her grip as well, her touch filling him with a reassurance that eased the tension in his nerves.

With her other hand, Miss Kirby wiped at her eyes, and he realized she was not only offering comfort but seeking it as well. The thought that she needed him was powerful. Miss Kirby was the most competent woman he knew, and yet, when she was upset, she’d turned to him. He leaned on the arm of his chair, touching her shoulder with his.

The door opened, and Detective Lester entered, followed by a handcuffed Zhang Wei. The man’s eyes were wide and frightened. He had a bruise on his jaw and bled from cuts on his knuckles and cheek.

When Benedict saw his friend, he jumped to his feet and crossed the room, looking closer at Zhang Wei’s wounds. “Remove these irons,” he said, glaring at the cuffs that bound the man’s wrists. “He is not a threat.”

“Begging your pardon, my lord,” Detective Lester said. “Put up quite a fight, he did. Sent two men to the hospital with broken bones and injured two others.”

“He went easy on them,” he muttered. Benedict rested his hands on his friend’s shoulders. The man was shaking. “Everything will be all right,” he said in Chinese.

“I did not kill Mr. Pang,” Zhang Wei said.

“I know.” Benedict switched his speech to English. “Please, tell these people everything that happened. They want to help you. Answer their questions honestly.”

Zhang Wei nodded. He allowed himself to be led to a chair at one end of the table, and at Benedict’s insistence, his cuffs were removed.

Inspector Graham waited until they were all seated. “Mr. Li, this is Detective Lester. He will conduct this interview. Please direct your answers to him. And if you require assistance with English, Lord Covington will translate. But the others in the room are simply here as witnesses. Do you understand?”

Mr. Li glanced at Benedict and nodded.

Detective Lester sat in the empty chair at the other end of the table. He opened a notebook and wrote something at the top of the page. “State your name, please, sir.”

“Li, Zhang Wei.”

“And where are you from, Mr. Li?”

“China. Hunan province.”

Detective Lester made another note. “Tell me what you did last night.”

“I went to Limehouse district to visit a friend.”

“And your friend’s name?”

Zhang Wei hesitated. He looked at Benedict.

Benedict nodded encouragingly. He worried the police would assume the pause meant his friend was constructing a falsehood.

“Pang, Yali.”

“What is the nature of your relationship with Mr. Pang?” Detective Lester asked.

“MissPang,” Zhang Wei corrected, looking down at his hands. The tips of his ears reddened. “She is a friend.”

“And why did you go to see her?”

“I just went for a visit.”

The young ladies shared a glance.

Detective Lester nodded. He motioned with a roll of his hand. “Continue, please.”

“Miss Pang lives in the apartment behind her father’s store. During the day, she works with him, but in the evenings, she goes home to prepare dinner.”

“Leaving her father to work the store alone.”

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