Beijing ( CNN ) -- `` Please excuse me , I ca n't talk about this . '' Clunk ! The phone line goes dead . We had tried to get this British businessman to talk about the mysterious death of Neil Heywood . Heywood has emerged from the shadows to be a key link in a story of intrigue , mystery and betrayal that goes all the way to the inner sanctum of China 's secretive Communist Party . Heywood was found dead last November in his hotel room in the sprawling southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing . According to media reports , local authorities quickly ruled his cause of death as `` excessive alcohol use . '' An autopsy was not performed , media reports said , and his body was cremated . Slowly , however , media reports are raising more uncomfortable questions about Heywood 's death . He was married to a Chinese woman and had business interests in the country . He moved in the orbit of a company known as Hakluyt and Co. , a British strategic information consultancy formed by former officers of the UK 's spy agency MI6 . Hakluyt has released a statement on Heywood , saying , `` We had a long history of advising Western companies on China and we are among those who sought ( Heywood 's ) advice . We are greatly saddened by his death . '' Now , the British government is asking China to investigate Heywood 's death . `` Our embassy in Beijing and consulate general in Chongqing provided consular assistance to the family , as we would in any case involving a British national overseas , '' the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said . `` We recently asked the Chinese authorities to investigate the case further after we heard suggestions that there were suspicious circumstances . '' Heywood 's family has denied comment . CNN has spoken to a man who says he knew Heywood , but who would not speak publicly because he was worried about his safety . He confirmed the dead man had business in China and said that for someone who supposedly died from an alcohol binge , in his experience Heywood was not a heavy drinker . Heywood 's death on its own -- a man linked to former spies , a light drinker dead from apparent alcohol poisoning -- would be suspicious enough . But this case has more -- much more . Heywood has been linked to the scandal and sacking of a man once seemingly destined for the heights of power in China . The rise and fall of China 's Bo Xilai . Bo Xilai is what is known as a `` princeling , '' the son of a Maoist-era revolutionary hero . Bo rose through China 's political ranks and was appointed Communist Party secretary of Chongqing , a city of more than 30 million people . He quickly became known as an anti-crime crusader . Bo smashed criminal gangs and locked up corrupt businessmen . He won praise from locals , especially the poor . Migrant workers flocked to Chongqing seeking , and often finding , a better life . But Bo also made enemies . He relied heavily on Maoist slogans and revived cultural revolutionary songs . In a country embracing capitalism , Bo cultivated an image as `` redder than red . '' Just last month , however , Bo 's career started to unravel . His right-hand man and former top cop Wang Lijun spectacularly sought refuge in an American consulate . China axes Bo Xilai from Chongqing after scandal . Wang wanted asylum , apparently fearing for his life and allegedly holding incriminating information on his old boss . This is where Heywood re-enters the picture . The Wall Street Journal , quoting anonymous diplomatic sources close to the case , reports Wang clashed with Bo after raising his suspicions that Heywood had been poisoned . After leaving the U.S. consulate , Wang was taken away by state police and has not seen or heard from since . Less than two weeks ago , Bo was fired from his position , his career and ambitions to enter the politburo standing committee -- the nine men who run China -- shattered . Bo has not been seen in public since . In a year of political transition in China , with a new generation of leaders poised to inherit power , the Bo case has captivated the country . In the rowdy back streets of Chongqing locals gamble , drink and discuss Bo 's downfall . On a recent visit by CNN , they praised their former party boss . Some of them openly mocked Vice President Xi Jinping , the man likely to be China 's next supreme leader . `` This is a battle of the gods , not ordinary people , '' said one old man , who has seen leaders and revolution come and go . But the gods who made the law in Chongqing are now themselves under investigation . Bo , the man who ran the criminals out of town , now finds himself ousted . And Heywood , found dead in a Chongqing hotel room , may still yet have a tale to tell .
Britain asks China to investigate the mysterious death of a businessman . Neil Heywood was found dead in November in a Chinese hotel . The British government is investigating his death as murder, but has not released any details about what happened or who might have been involved. The mystery is part of a story that goes to the inner sanctum of China 's Communist Party .