The Demon and the City

Ma nodded.
    "Yes, there is. The mining company's owned by Paugeng."
    "Paugeng?" Zhu Irzh glanced up with renewed interest. "Jhai Tserai's company. Well, well. Paravang Roche worked for Paugeng before his disgrace. And Tserai was a friend of the murdered girl." He sipped his tea, lost in momentary contemplation. Jhai was starting to feature heavily in this investigation, not to mention Zhu Irzh's dreams. The previous night had been restless and disturbing, filled with images of Jhai in his arms and the sweetness of orgasm running through him like water. Demons were renowned for their sexual stamina, but everyone had their limits and morning had seen Zhu Irzh exhausted. It would have been worth it if Jhai had actually been present in the bed, but Zhu Irzh rather resented so strong an attraction being placed upon him from afar. It put him at a disadvantage, and wounded his pride.
    "I think we'd better take a look at the site," he said now. "And the body."
    But Captain Sung, it seemed, had other ideas.
    "I told you, Zhu Irzh. I don't want you too involved with this investigation." Zhu Irzh held his breath, but Sung made no mention of his trip to see Tserai. "However, there is something you can do. I'd like you to check the feng shui of the site itself. See if there's anything peculiar about it. Sometimes meridians can attract elemental spirits, and they're often dangerous. We should take another look at the place where Sardai's body was found, too."
    "All right," the demon said. "I think I can handle that."
    When told of the plan, Sergeant Ma frowned. "Do you know much about feng shui? Because I don't."
    "I don't either," the demon said thoughtfully. "Only what I learned from my tutor. But I know someone who does."
    "Who, Paravang Roche? You can't involve a potential suspect in the investigation of a murder!"
    "Why not? It'll be interesting to see how he reacts. And there's no question about his skills, just his finances."
    "I really don't think—I mean, Captain Sung told me what he said to you and—"
    "I know what Sung said. Look, Chen left me in charge of you, didn't he? I'll take the blame if anything goes wrong."
    He was expecting further protests, but Ma merely muttered.
    Fortunately, it was still early, even by the time they had collected a protesting Paravang Roche from his little apartment and driven up to the site. The scars and tears in the earth were shrouded in the clouds that boiled down from the top of Wuan Chih. The damp air was refreshing after the humid heat of the last few days, but Zhu Irzh knew that it wouldn't last. Before noon the sun would swim up and burn out the mist in a burst of heat, and by midafternoon the humans would all be sweltering and sweating.
    "Nice morning," Zhu Irzh said to Paravang, who just grunted. The dowser's face was sourness itself. Paravang had gasped when he saw the demon once more standing on his doorstep, and Zhu Irzh's sensitive nose had caught the unmistakable odor of guilt. Interesting, the demon thought now. What had the dowser been up to, then, apart from unpaid license fees? Murder, perhaps? But he couldn't see what Roche thought he might achieve by murdering the man who had replaced him: it wouldn't get his license back, after all. Well, there was plenty of time to find out. It was always useful to have a dowser on board, given the ever-shifting feng shui of Singapore Three. Paravang would be working for him, now. Without pay.
    They surveyed the squares along the eastern margin, Paravang's dowsing rods twitching infinitesimally. At least he appeared to be taking his professional responsibilities seriously. Zhu Irzh, hands in his pockets, strolled around the segmented edges of the square, then stood, a shadow in the morning mist, and looked enquiringly at Paravang.
    "The meridian's running through here," Paravang at last volunteered, grudgingly.
    Zhu Irzh swung around, staring. "So the body was found on the same meridian, is that correct?" He glanced down the hill to where police tape marked off an orange square. A sheet concealed what remained of Paravang's luckless successor. Irritably, Paravang nodded.
    "And you're quite sure about that, are you?" The demon frowned, thinking back to an early lesson in the precepts of feng shui . That had been over a hundred years ago now. It was a long time to keep anything in your head, and Zhu Irzh believed in remembering only the essentials.
    "What do you mean, am I 'quite sure'?" Paravang asked, with some