I could tell from the way he fidgeted that Min had something to say. He was waiting for me to acknowledge his presence. After a minute or two, he coughed, a sign of surrender. “Pardon me, Professor.” Min sometimes used mild sarcasm to cover a retreat. “If we’re not too busy, if we’re settled again in the office after our vacation, perhaps we could discuss police business.” He paused for dramatic effect, one last effort to recapture the offensive. “There’s been a bank robbery.”

For a moment the sound of the sandpaper scratched at the quiet afternoon. “ ‘We’ weren’t on a vacation,” I said at last. “ ‘We’ were on a delegation.” I turned the oak over a few times in my hand to check for rough spots before looking up to acknowledge his main point. “A bank what, did you say?”

“The central file must still have you listed as liaison. Why would they send an inspector on a delegation like that?”

“I just go where they tell me, Min.”

“Right. Remind me to check next time I’m near the file room.” He gave me a sly look. “Did you go out to any of those bars? Supposed to be some good places in Beijing.”

I nodded. “Supposed to be. Get yourself on a delegation sometime.”

Min shrugged. “The furthest I ever go is Nampo to deal with drunken sailors. Did I tell you about the one that got left by his captain, off one of those foreign ships?”

“Once or twice.”

“Out of curiosity, what is it you do on those trips? Your reports don’t say.”

“I sit a lot. Give advice.”

“You?”