By the time he reached the street tea shop where he'd arranged to meet his father and the Ancient, he was both jumpy and irritated. He strode over to the table where the older gentlemen sat. Spinning his chair around and straddling it, he asked sourly, "Are you sure the two of you want to be seen with me?"

Caine and the Ancient exchanged glances over their teacups as they sipped the brew. "Good day to you, too, my son," Caine said calmly.

"I am always happy to be seen," the Ancient cackled. "I much prefer that...to the alternative."

Peter ducked his head and muttered, "Don't mind me. I'm just the local social outcast here."

"What troubles you, Son?" Caine asked as he poured Peter a cup of tea.

"What troubles me? Pop, haven't you noticed the way everybody looks at me? The way they wag their heads and talk?" Peter drank too deeply and scalded his tongue. Making a face, he blew over the cup several times. "Whew! You shoulda warned me this was so hot!"

"You were too busy being angry to have heeded a warning." Caine reached out his hand and gripped Peter's arm. "My son, you have always worried too much about what you think others are thinking." He sighed. "Have you forgotten all our lessons?"

"Oh, don't start in on me, Pop. I've already got enough to deal with without being reminded that I'm not living up to your expectations!" Shocked by his own rudeness, Peter's head dropped and he bit his lip. He looked up again, hazel eyes cloudy with remorse. "I'm-I'm sorry, Father. I don't know why I'm lashing out at you. You're one of the few people in this world who has always believed in me."

Caine's eyes spoke his forgiveness and he patted Peter's arm. "Tell us what has you so unsettled."

Peter absently twirled the teacup around on the table, staring into it as he spoke. "I can't believe you haven't already heard, but maybe the people down here are trying to spare your feelings. I'm being accused of working for the Wong crime family. I guess Jack Wong has been shooting his mouth off all over Chinatown that I'm supposed to be in his pocket."

"That is...ridiculous!"

Peter looked up, surprised at the anger in his father's voice. "You hadn't heard?"

Caine shook his head vehemently. "No one would dare speak such a lie to me."

"Are you sure of this, young Caine?" Lo Si frowned. "I have heard no such thing, either. And I am the first to hear anything." He smiled proudly. "That is because I can keep a secret."

Caine did a double take at Lo Si, then chose to ignore the elderly man. "Why would Jack Wong say such a thing?"

"I don't know. Maybe to feel important?" Peter raked a hand through his hair. "I think he or someone associated with their family 'business' was responsible for killing Jason Fischer, but I don't have any proof. There is no physical evidence anywhere, other than the shurkin they pulled out of the back of his neck, to give a clue as to who killed him. No one knows anything. No one saw anything." He sighed. "Fischer's sister is raising hell with the commissioner because the murder isn't getting solved."

"And she is blaming you, and creating suspicion about your work."

Peter looked startled. "How-how did you know that, Pop? I've never said..." His voice trailed off and he rubbed the back of his hand across his forehead. "Never mind. You don't have to answer that."

"Maybe your father and I can...investigate...on our own." Lo Si's face lit up with excitement. "Kwai Chang Caine, we will be partners again!"

Peter groaned and couldn't help laughing. "Oh, great. The Hardy Boys ride again."

"You wish us not to interfere?" Caine asked solemnly.

Peter's expression grew thoughtful. "Maybe you should, Pop. Oh, I don't mean interfere; I mean investigate. We've got a man undercover here in Chinatown, but even he doesn't have the connections you two do." He brightened considerably. "I'd really appreciate it if you would ask around, Pop. If we could find out who really did kill Fischer, maybe that would satisfy his sister and she'd leave me the hell alone."

"You are not concerned with justice?"

Peter slowly shook his head. "I wish I could say I was, but I'm not there yet, Pop. Kacie's home, and she's well, and the baby is getting bigger all the time, but every time I see the scars on her back, I get angry all over again."

"To recognize the problem is the beginning of finding the solution."

Peter stared at his father hopefully. "You think I can really conquer my emotions, Pop? That one day I will be able to put it all in the past?"

Caine nodded, a faint smile turning up the corners of his mouth. "You will."

"You are, after all, your father's son," Lo Si added. "He has not always been as you see him now."

"Oh, really?" Peter looked interested. "How would you know about my father's younger years, Lo Si?"

Lo Si merely smiled beatifically as Caine glared at him.

Peter laughed at his father's obvious discomfiture. "I'm seeing a whole new side of you, Pop. Maybe there's hope for me after all." He glanced down at his watch. "Oh, my gosh. I gotta run." Swinging his leg around the chair, he stood up. "I'd really appreciate it if you two would keep your ear close to the ground for me."

Both men stared at him. He laughed and explained, "I mean, see what you can find out for me. This case is going nowhere fast, and I...we...need all the help we can get." He started to leave, then spun around again. "Pop, Kacie and I want you to come over for supper sometime next week, OK?"

"May I bring a date?"

"What about me?" Lo Si demanded. "May I also come and bring a date?"

"Our place isn't that big, Lo Si, but I'm sure we'll have you over sometime soon, too." He grinned at both of them and bowed, fist in palm. "Thanks for the tea. See ya."

Caine and Lo Si watched Peter disappear among the people on the crowded sidewalk, a newly confident spring in his stride.

"Your son reminds me very much of you, my friend."

"A dark side of my youth that I do not care to share with my son," Caine remarked pointedly.

Lo Si chuckled gleefully. "I understand, Kwai Chang Caine. My lips are sealed."

"That would be a wise decision, old friend." Caine took a sip of his tea. "And a perfect example of 'a first time for everything'."

To Part 11

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