her uncle ran back to his truck and returned with a camera.
London stared at the water as she called, “Yes… I’m at Yellow’s Point in Portland. It’s a little cove across the street from Jerry’s Pizza Palace. You need to get here ASAP.”
Her uncle Benjamin snapped pictures.
“You have to get here quickly! A body just washed up on the shore.”
CHAPTER 2
ALAN’S FUNERAL
FIVE DAYS LATER
The 200 – year – old basilica held approximately 300 guests attending Alan Jiang’s funeral. Cherry blossoms were sprinkled along the steps of the main entrance. Reporters from various television stations were on the perimeter and were roped off away from the family. The pipe organ could be heard blocks away. Many of Jiang’s colleagues and friends came to pay their respects. Without question, everyone respected him, and it was clear where the power would shift after this day. Alan’s parents were somber as they walked into the church. Jiang’s mother was a stout Chinese woman. She had straight, silver hair and rosy cheeks. His father was tall and strong looking for his age. His hair was gray. He wore glasses and peeked over them from time to time, whenever he was unsure of something he saw. Jiang’s father seemed unshaken as he helped his wife up the front stairs.
The other Chinese people with Jiang’s parents must have been other family members and close family friends about whom Jiang never spoke. There were about 30 people in attendance. Jiang didn’t want people involved in his family life. He didn’t want them to be watched or be used as a means to influence Jiang’s decisions, so he lived as if he was estranged from his family. Secretly he loved them very much and created false business meetings to pay them an occasional visit. The parents and family stood outside of the front door awaiting the arrival of Alan’s wife.
Erin Moore pulled up in a limo. She exited the limo with Darren Hall, another executive from Chapel and Case. Moore was wearing a simple, all–black dress with four inch stilettos. A slim gold belt was tightened around her waist. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a sloppy bun. She wore a pair of small gold hoops, conservative makeup and a gold Tiffany necklace. Darren Hall had on a dark gray Armani Suit with a white handkerchief in the jacket pocket. He wore a pair of Armani eye glasses with a slight burgundy tint. He was rather flashy for corporate America and had been warned to keep his color choices to gray, blue and black. Many thought he might have homosexual tendencies, but Erin Moore had been sleeping with him for two years. There was even a pregnancy scare rumored about the office. When the former CFO heard about it, he and the board had a serious conversation with the couple. Nine months later, there was no baby in sight. Erin whispered something in Darren’s ear once he was out of the limo.
She reached over and helped him straighten out his tie. “You look stunning.”
“As do you.” Darren winked.
“Let him know we are here, and we will head back as soon as it is over.”
Hall nodded and pulled out his phone. He began to text someone and put the phone away by time they reached the stairs. He straightened his tie. On their way into the sanctuary, Erin and Darren acknowledged Jiang’s parents and expressed their condolences. She handed Alan’s father a card from Chapel and Case containing a check for $10,000. Erin Moore noticed a tear drop down the face of one of the Chinese women standing behind Alan’s parents. She reached in her purse and handed the woman a tissue, then nodded and walked in. Erin and Darren chose a row on the right side of the room next to a few corporate colleagues they knew from business dealings, both shady and legitimate. They shook a few hands before settling in and finally sitting down.
Another limo approached. It carried Alan’s wife, Katherine, and Katherine’s mother, father and her brother, Jake.
“You ok, Katie?” Jake was very