by Qiu Xiaolong
‘It’s unbelievable. The club must have been aware who Geng is in the Party system.’
‘Yes, but for a club like this, the people there have to keep some cards in hand. You can never tell what might happen to them one of these days.’
‘So it’s like a bargaining chip?’
‘Yes. Now Geng’s reaching his retirement age, and soon the younger ones will be coming into power. Things might be really complicated with the power struggle going on not only here but in the Forbidden City, too. Of course, some buyer could have offered an unbelievable price, and the club people could not say no.’
‘An offer he can’t refuse, like in The Godfather. Now just one more question. Do you have any idea when it was purchased?’
‘About a couple of years ago. But why?’
‘I don’t know yet.’
After parting again with Melong, it occurred to Inspector Chen that he had not had a bite since last evening.
The turtle mentioned in Melong’s message had just been a pretext, but it might be as well for him to skip a meal or two. The sensation of the steamed turtle the previous day still stayed heavy on his empty stomach.
He decided to walk by himself for a short while.
Then he realized something else. Far more worrisome than the monstrous turtle or the empty stomach.
With the video not yet edited into a viewable one, whoever had given the order must still have a copy of the original contents in their possession, including the pictures hacked from Shanshan’s computer or her husband’s, and the scenes recorded in the surveillance cameras. In the event of Rong’s failure to deliver, they just needed another man for the job.
It was a matter of time before Kang would try to turn the tables by releasing it earlier than Shanshan’s documentary.
What could the tourist guide/inspector possibly do?
He took out a rumpled pack of China, shaking out the last cigarette left in it. In a desperate need for nicotine, he lit it, pledging that it would be the last one for him, provided he could find a way – any way – to keep her from harm.
A terrible fit of coughing seized him again at the first two or three inhales, to the disgust of a young couple walking by, wearing large masks, holding each other’s hand.
All is justifiable in love and war.
When he looked up again, he caught sight of another restaurant across the street – Fishing in the Muddled Water.
The restaurant name, apparently highlighting fish as its chef’s special, was logical since the restaurants here were known for the sea- or river-food. Coincidentally, the name also came from The Thirty-Six Stratagems, in which ‘fishing in the muddled water’ is listed as the number twenty stratagem. When used for a restaurant name, it carried a touch of post-modernist irony.
As if reeling in a murky stream of consciousness, he thought of Kang’s video again. There was nothing the inspector could do – not until the situation got muddled up; only then an opportunity for him to catch fish in confusion.
He crushed the cigarette underfoot, pulled out the phone and called Zhao, still having a bit of a coughing fit.
‘I was thinking of calling you too, Chen. Are you coming down with a cold or something?’
‘No, it’s just because of the smog irritation. Don’t worry about it, Comrade Secretary Zhao.’
‘Well, first let me ask you a question about your last message,’ Zhao came straight to the point. ‘What do you mean by yourself being followed?’
‘The day after I talked to you in the hotel, I went to see Qiang, the head of the foreign liaison office in the Shanghai Writers’ Association. As your designated tourist guide, I needed suggestions about what a visitor may find interesting in the city – that’s what Qiang’s office usually does for visiting foreign writers. But about half an hour after our talk in the café that afternoon, he disappeared. And there’s still no trace or news whatsoever about him, even today. I cannot but wonder if his disappearance could have had something to do with my talk to him.’
‘Did you tell him I’m on vacation in Shanghai?’
‘No, he had heard of your visit to Shanghai through his own channels. He’s said to be a secret officer of Internal Security. But I talked to him only about the air quality at the local tourist attractions. It’s crucial for a fresh air vacation.’
‘Any other specific questions he asked of you?’
‘I remember he asked me whether you’re concerned with the air pollution, and with people’s complaining about it. He recommended me a new product called “Fresh Canadian Air”. It comes in an aluminum can made in Canada, which you may carry around and breathe in whenever and wherever needed. Usable for about one thousand inhales, but still quite expensive.’
What he was telling Zhao was mostly true. Like a lot of things in this world, however, whether something’s true or not really depends on the interpretation, and on the perspective one chooses.
‘Well, that can be something, I mean Qiang’s disappearance.’
‘I’m nobody, Comrade Secretary Zhao. I don’t see why they would have invited “somebody out for a cup of tea” simply because of a talk he had with me. For a more likely scenario, some people must have been suspicious of the investigation I’ve been doing for you, and detained Qiang at an unknown location for questioning.’
‘You’re being way too modest about yourself, Comrade Chief Inspector Chen, but it won’t hurt for you to be careful.’
That at least was not a downright no. The scenario proved not to be that unimaginable to Zhao. The inspector said nothing more, waiting for the theory to sink in.
‘Now what have you done with your report?’ Zhao changed the subject abruptly. ‘I need something with more solid details.’
‘I’m working on it. It’s quite a long and detailed report, that much I can assure you. Hopefully I’ll deliver it to you in a day or two.’
It was a self-imposed deadline, which he needed more urgently in the light of the latest information from the restaurant. He touched the flash memory stick in his pocket.
‘Good. I’m looking forward to reading it.’
When Detective Yu got back home that evening, it was past nine.
Peiqin was on their bed, reading a magazine with a pair of new glasses under the lamp.
‘Another busy day for you, I bet.’
Last night they had had a long discussion about the serial murder case, so Peiqin was looking forward to learning something new.
‘Yes, another lousy day.’
‘I’ll warm up the fried noodles with organic spinach. The purple seaweed soup will take just a minute or two on the stove.’
‘Don’t bother. I’ve had a bite on the way back. But a cup of tea may help.’ He added, ‘I think I’ve a lot to discuss with you.’
‘That’s fine, a cup of your favorite Uloon will be ready in one minute,’ Peiqin said, jumping barefoot from the bed. ‘Still about that serial murder case of yours?’
Sipping at the tea, Yu began to tell her what had happened during the day: about his following Lou to the New World in the morning, about the investigation done concerning Lou in his neighborhood, and about the bits and pieces from Lou’s company which Yu visited after the neighborhood committee, including some of the latest information he had not even discussed with Chen yet.
Like him, like Chen, Peiqin had little doubt about Lou being the one, but she maintained that Yu should discuss it with Qin and his people before attempting to do anything.
‘After all, it’s their case, and they have everything at their disposal for any action they want to take. And for any responsibility, too.’
Peiqin surely had a point, but she knew little about the politics in the bureaus. He did not think that Qin would listen to him. Not at this moment.
The sex video about Geng and Xiang must have so convinced Qin and Internal Security of the political direction they had been pursuing.
In contrast, Yu had nothing except an unlikely theory supported with neither e
vidence nor witnesses.
And he would have too much explaining to do about how he had come along to this point – with no cooperation with Qin’s squad.
Instead, Yu chose to talk more about the seven-seven ritual with Peiqin.
‘Lou’s such a grief-distraught husband,’ Peiqin said softly in response. ‘It’s not unimaginable that the sight of the caregiver walking out of the hospital – at that place, at that minute – triggered the killing. For the seven-seven ritual or not, he must have seen some real justification for the killings in his twisted mind.’
‘I think you’re right about that. Supposing he turned murderous on the spur of that moment, at that place – what about the other victims?’
‘His wife died of lung cancer, and people have been complaining about the polluted air as the cause of the disease. For such a long time, our weather bureau kept saying the air’s perfectly fine—’
‘Hold on, Detective Peiqin. That may really throw some light on the choice of his second victim in the People’s Square – the weather anchorman Linghu,’ Yu said, sitting up. ‘Still, what about the third and fourth victims?’
‘I don’t know, but people are angry about so many things, though the anchorman should not have been held personally responsible for it.’
‘It’s a brilliant point, I’ll discuss it with Chen. A solid connection there.’
‘So what else are you going to do?’
‘I don’t know,’ he said, guessing Peiqin would start arguing against what he planned to do the next morning. ‘I’ve not decided yet. After such a long day, I’m really beaten. I think I’ll sleep on it.’
But he was sure he would get up early again the next morning.
DAY FIVE
FRIDAY
Inspector Chen looked up from the computer to the clock on the wall. It was already past midnight. The silence of the apartment was intense.
He had tried to doze for a while with the printout of the incomplete report lying aside on the desk, but he was unable to do so.
It would probably make more sense for him to deliver the report to Zhao in a long, detailed email, rather than in person. He was not sure whether Zhao, sitting opposite with all the political seriousness imaginable, would permit him to say what he wanted to without stopping him after a few sentences.
For a senior Party leader like Zhao, he had to make the Party’s interests his first priority. No matter how Chen might try to spin the documentary, it would be a nearly impossible mission to win Zhao over with nothing but an objective report.
Still, the inspector had to make the attempt. After all, there are interpretations and interpretations of the Party’s interests.
He forced himself to sit down and begin writing.
I’m writing this report to you because it’s been such an unusual investigation, Comrade Secretary Zhao, with the complications unexpected and some of them unimaginable to me.
As I’ve mentioned, I managed to sneak into a meeting at the New World with Yuan Jing and her associates there without being recognized. An important part of the meeting was for a preview of a documentary in the making. I wasn’t able to get a copy of it, but afterward I double-checked and researched some of the things represented in it. It took me quite a while to do so, and what I can put in the report today may still not be detailed enough. For a general impression, however, it is a well-done and researched documentary and, at the same time, with the combination of texts and images, it is also easily understandable and acceptable to the broad mass of people.
The air pollution is such a serious problem for our country, as you have told me, and we have to deal with it in different ways, at different levels. One of the effective ways is to raise people’s awareness of the environmental crisis through a basic understanding of the causes. The documentary could be truly educational and enlightening for that purpose.
I, for one, have learned such a lot from it.
At this stage, I cannot tell what the documentary will eventually look like when completed. It could take a couple of weeks for them to finish it. And then, probably an even longer process of their submitting it to the censorship office for the approval of its eventual release.
For the battle against air pollution, it is imperative for our Party to lead the people, and I believe the release of the documentary under governmental guidance will demonstrate our Party’s determination to fight on the side of the people …
He moved on to a more detailed analysis, arguing that most of the points raised in Shanshan’s documentary would prove to be thought-provoking, not only to the ordinary people, but to the government officials too, as the mounting public outcry about the horrendous air quality could be seen as something threatening the legitimacy of the Party rule. As for some politically sensitive material in the documentary, he maintained that the censorship office would effectively take care of it, so there was no possibility of the documentary coming into conflict with the Party’s interests.
In the middle of all of this, he did not mention Shanshan’s plan to post it online instead of submitting it for approval of its release. Anyway, that was not something discussed in the meeting at the club in the New World.
Then came a crucial part in his report. Judging by Zhao’s earlier response to the info regarding Zhonghua Petroleum Company and Qiang’s disappearance, it might not be such a long shot to assume some conspiracies going on high up, even involving senior leaders like Zhao at the top.
As there are interpretations and interpretations about things working in the Party’s interest or against it, it was not unimaginable for Zhao to see any attempt against him as against the Party’s interests, though the other factions opposing him in the Forbidden City saw it the other way around.
Hence the possibility for Chen to apply the stratagem of ‘killing a man with another man’s knife’, as explored in that ancient classic Zhao had also read.
Chen continued his report.
In the course of the investigation, I’ve been more and more concerned with some Party cadres’ attitude toward the environmental crisis. One concrete example in the documentary is Yuan Jing’s interview with Kang of Zhonghua Petroleum Company. His argument is simply so GDP-oriented, careless of ecological consequences, and callous to people’s suffering. With the release of the documentary, we will convince our people that we’re opposing such practices as represented by Kang, making serious efforts to combat it and taking their interests to heart. So I’m enclosing a copy of the entire interview between Kang and Yuan Jing.
And during the investigation, I also noticed something else highly suspicious and disturbing. Qiang’s mysterious disappearance, which I have already briefed you about earlier. It’s a horror to think that they’re aware I’ve been doing the job for you – under your personal instruction – but they still went ahead like that. With clues and evidence still coming in, I think I’ll have to make a personal report to you about it in a couple of days. It could have been orchestrated by somebody higher above, with real power, and perhaps with Internal Security at his control, too.
These were shots in the dark, which Chen had to fire.
Those who backed the petroleum group behind the scenes, as whispered, had been involved in some power struggle at the top. If this was the case, how would Zhao have reacted?
It was worth trying to have Zhao do or not do something in his own interest, something that could have a bearing on the release of the documentary at the same time, otherwise Zhao would most likely go ahead and have the documentary nipped in the bud.
Perhaps there was not much more Chen could put into the report, but he nonetheless added a couple of sentences toward the end.
In the meantime, I’ve been trying to get a copy of the documentary for you, so you may make the call. She’s still editing it, and it’ll take a couple of weeks before its release. So we have the time to look further into it.
It was not likely that the report would appeal to a senior Party leader like Zhao in the normal circumstan
ces. Under the present circumstances, however, Inspector Chen thought he still had a slight chance. It might work. It might backfire, too. It was a high-stakes gamble.
He had to turn the report in today, though he was still not satisfied with it.
Finally, as Chen typed out his name at the end of the report, it was almost five in the morning.
The bridge was burnt, the boat was sunk, and there was no retreating.
But he did not click send. The first gray of the morning was already beginning to filter into the room as he got up from the desk.
There was no point going to bed now. He moved to the microwave, rewarmed a cup of coffee left overnight, and finished it in two gulps.
He thought about sending a text message to Yu, but decided against it. It was too early.
Putting a copy of the magazine into a large envelope, he was ready to set out.
Detective Yu woke up with a startle, breaking into a cold sweat.
Peiqin was sleeping beside him, one of her bare legs placed across his on the blanket, just like in their ‘educated youth’ days. She had hardly changed, at least not in this aspect.
But Yu did not fall back to sleep until past three, blinking at some patterns shifting across the ceiling, like crouching monsters in the shadows.
Now he was wide awake again, having closed his eyes for less than an hour.
It was the day that the murderer would most likely strike out again.
Yu sat up, placed Peiqin’s leg lightly on the bed, and got down on his tiptoes.
For Detective Yu, Friday morning in front of Lou’s apartment building in Zabei was pretty much a repetition of Thursday morning, except that it started earlier with his stationing himself behind a flowering apple tree.
If today was the day, Lou had to come out to reach the New World for the action before six – in accordance with the established time pattern.
At ten to five, with the sky still so smoggy and somber, Yu saw Lou stepping out, breaking into a jog for a block before slowing down and turning to the direction of the subway station.