Wang pengyu

The UK， 1994

September 11

Matt was walking along the field in Waterford with his pet dog Edward II. Yellow heaps of wheat straw stood quietly in the field， some with a steel fork stuck on top， and some with several cuckoos perching. Everything appeared more peaceful and mysterious under the purple red sky in the evening.

Matt Pressley had lived in the countryside villa in Waterford， the UK since his parents passed away. He married Rachel 14 years ago. The life here was simple and tranquil for him.

As usual， he walked along the wheat field. Suddenly， a reckless cuckoo jumped onto the road. The dog chased after it in excitement.

The small yellow butterflies brought in a yellowish whirlwind above the wheat field， which seemed to carry a blue flowing light.

Suddenly， the dog ran back and barked at him. He looked up and saw a man approaching in a hurry on the stone bridge ahead of them.

“Mr. Pressley” the man shouted from a distance， “Oh， thank God， you are here.”

It was Dewy. He came over in a fluster.

“Whats the matter？” Matt smiled and asked.

The peasant said urgently， “Sir， some policemen came to your home and wanted to see you. They told us nothing else. Madame sent me to bring you back now.”

It had no effect on the face of Pressley.

“All right， thanks， I will go back now.”

“Fine， sir， but I hope that they just came for tea.”

“Me too. There should be no problem.” Matt answered. The peasant left in a hurry. Matt gazed at the field in the distance， a flicker of unease crossed his mind.

When they arrived at the gate， the dog barked fiercely at the stranger standing there. That man looked uneasy， “Mr. Pressley， there seemed something wrong with your dog.”

“Quite， buddy.” Matt ordered.

“You are Helson， arent you？” Matt asked.

“Yes， sir.”

“Worde has mentioned you to me. You are an energetic young man.”

The young policeman looked shy. He adjusted the position of his police cap and stammered， “Oh， you mean Superintendent Fox？ Well if thats what you mean.”

“I grew up with Worde in the same shire. We were in the same class in the senior high school. He would not tell a lie to me.” Matt tied his dog quietly and then asked， “Whats the matter？”

“Sir， as far as I know， there was a traffic accident in a dependency of the UK.” Helson answered， “And there were casualties in the accident.”

“Anything else？” Matt asked， seemingly unconcerned.

“An American was involved. I heard it outside the Sheriffs office.”

“Fine， Helson.” Walking into the house， Matt stamped on the carpet to get rid of mud at the soles of his boots.

“Darling， are you there？” The voice of Rachel， the wife， came.

Matt took off his boots and hung his skullcap on the coat hanger and replied， “Its me.”

He walked into the broad living room. Rachel was standing at a long wooden table， looking worried.

Grant stood up from the deerskin sofa and reached out his hand as he walked over， “How are you， Mr. Pressley.”

“This is Sheriff Welder， darling.” Rachel said.

“Mr. Sheriff， how are you？” Matt stepped forward and said.

“Sorry to disturb you and your wife. Please accept my apology.” Grant made a bow.

Matt invited the Sheriff to take a seat and sat on a single sofa chair.

“Now please tell me why you are here.” Matt said.

“All right， we have received a case that happened in a dependency of the UK. A national of our country was killed.”

“But I am wondering what it has to do with me？”

“Sir， thats also the issue we want to ascertain.” Grant sat down slowly and said， “So we have to occupy some of your time.”

“Then， go ahead.”

Grant continued， “It happened 11 days ago in Hong Kong， a dependency of Britain. On the road around the island， a pair of couples were driving and fell into the sea. It was found out that the wife was a British citizen， and the husband was a local citizen of American ancestry. So far only a body was found. Further tests are under way.”

（To be continued）