by Mai Jia
In actual fact, both Secretary Bai, watching him, and Police Chief Wang Tianxiang, listening to his sobs at the other end of the wire, were hoping that he wasn’t Ghost. They wanted him to pass this test. In order to pass it, assuming he didn’t confess to being Ghost, he had to point the finger at one of the other three, even if that were a complete guess. Those were the rules that had been laid down by Colonel Hihara, and that was why Secretary Bai now said, ‘Okay, Section Chief Jin, you have to pick one of the three. Just make your choice and that’ll be it.’
It was in these circumstances, with no other option, that Jin Shenghuo chose Gu Xiaomeng. His reasoning was that she’d often said things that might be considered pro-Communist and that she regularly went off base.
Secretary Bai wanted him to give details: dates, places, examples. Jin Shenghuo furrowed his brow, thought long and hard, and then began to stammer out his answers.
‘The rules say that unmarried personnel aren’t ordinarily allowed off base, but she goes quite regularly without permission from anyone…
‘Sometimes she says things – I hardly dare to listen, it makes me so nervous…
‘Once in the office she was cursing the Imperial Japanese Army. She called them “Japanese bastards”, and she used swear words too…
‘She isn’t serious about her work – last year she forgot all about a telegram that came in concerning an anti-insurgency campaign: it nearly ruined the whole exercise…
‘If she is the Communist, that’s a really terrifying prospect; she’s been going to meet senior officials in Nanjing quite regularly with her father. I’ve heard she’s even been to President Wang Jingwei’s house…’
Colonel Hihara found listening to this man bloody exhausting. He stammered and kept going off the point; like a child, he’d start a sentence but wouldn’t finish it, or he’d come to a conclusion without any context, or he’d make a statement without considering its implications. As a result, having listened right through to the end, Hihara decided that he’d heard nothing of significance; he simply pushed the Section Chief’s comments to one side with a smile.
4
Next, it was Li Ningyu’s turn.
Maybe it was because Chief of Staff Wu had already accused her directly, but Hihara felt that Secretary Bai was unusually firm with her; he was sure the man must have a self-satisfied smile fixed on his face.
Secretary Bai: You’re a clever woman, so you must know why I’ve summoned you here.
Li Ningyu: …
Secretary Bai: You’re an experienced cryptographer and you’ve deciphered a lot of encrypted telegrams. Yesterday, when you all cracked the dictionary code so quickly, I imagine you played an important role. I hope you’ll be able to solve today’s puzzle, the issue of Ghost’s identity, equally quickly.
Li Ningyu: …
Secretary Bai: What’s going on here? Are you refusing to speak, or is it just that you haven’t decided what to say yet?
Li Ningyu: …
Secretary Bai: I know you’re not a talker – I’ve heard people say that nature intended you for a cryptographer of classified documents, since you don’t ever speak to anyone. Right now, though, you’re not a cryptographer but one of four people suspected of being Ghost. You can’t keep silent any longer. You have to talk.
Li Ningyu: …
Secretary Bai: Come on, Li Ningyu! It doesn’t matter whether you accuse someone else or whether you confess, you just have to say something.
All the while that Secretary Bai was questioning her, the microphones didn’t pick up the sound of her voice at all, but there was a continuous rhythmic hissing, almost as if he were talking to a pendulum clock.
‘What’s that noise?’ Hihara asked.
‘I don’t know,’ Police Chief Wang replied.
It was the sound of hair being combed. Li Ningyu wasn’t answering Secretary Bai’s questions because she was too busy combing her hair. What a way to behave!
Secretary Bai had had enough of this. ‘Li Ningyu!’ he shouted. ‘I can tell you that other people have already said they believe it’s you that’s Ghost. If you sit there in silence, does that mean you admit it?’
Finally, Li Ningyu raised her head and looked straight at Secretary Bai. She spoke quite calmly. ‘Let me remind you, Secretary Bai, that fifteen years ago my father was beaten to death by the Red Spears, and that six years ago my older brother was murdered by that bald Nationalist bastard Chiang Kai-shek.’
Secretary Bai: What are you trying to say?
Li Ningyu: I am not a Communist insurgent and nor am I working for the Nationalists.
Secretary Bai: If you’re neither a Communist nor with the Nationalists, why are you lying about Chief of Staff Wu?
Li Ningyu: If I am lying, then I must be psychic.
Secretary Bai: What on earth are you talking about?
Colonel Hihara and Wang Tianxiang, listening in the shadows, were similarly bemused.
She began by asking Secretary Bai whether on the evening before last he’d had any idea why they’d all been brought to the Tan Estate.
Of course he hadn’t. Nobody knew that.
‘You didn’t know,’ Li Ningyu said, ‘and nor did I. So just think about it: if I had no idea what I was here for, how could I have already invented false accusations to tell Commander Zhang when he phoned us all before we were brought here?’
The fact was that nobody had known why Commander Zhang had summoned them, so it was unthinkable that Li Ningyu could have invented a false accusation against someone; not unless it had been prearranged with the Commander. But that… Surely that was impossible! Secretary Bai obviously saw her point, because as Hihara and Wang Tianxiang listened in on the line, they could hear that both his language and his tone of voice had become more friendly.
Secretary Bai: So you’re saying it’s Chief of Staff Wu that’s lying.
Li Ningyu: Of course he’s lying.
Secretary Bai: So do you think he’s Ghost?
Li Ningyu: Who?
Secretary Bai: Chief of Staff Wu.
Li Ningyu: I have no idea.
Secretary Bai: What do you mean, you have no idea? You’ve just said he’s lying!
Li Ningyu: He is lying, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s Ghost.
Secretary Bai: What?
Li Ningyu: Asking about the contents of an encrypted telegram is against the rules, even if he was only interested in staff appointments. It would be really embarrassing for him to have to confess that to his superiors, so he’s lying and refusing to admit what he’s done. That’s entirely possible.
Secretary Bai: So who do you think is Ghost?
Li Ningyu: Right now, I really wouldn’t like to say.
Secretary Bai: You may not like it, but you have to give me a name.
Li Ningyu remained silent. The silence lasted a long time. It was the silence of a statue. No matter what encouragement Secretary Bai offered or how much he tried to provoke her, she completely ignored him. This made Secretary Bai furious and anxious, to the point where he said, ‘Have you been struck dumb? Li Ningyu, I’m talking to you!’
At that, Li Ningyu leapt to her feet and shouted, ‘I’m not saying anything because I don’t know! If you think I’m going to play guessing games about this kind of thing, you’re a fool.’ And she grabbed her comb and stalked off, leaving Secretary Bai so shocked his mouth hung open.
Wang Tianxiang was amused by this. ‘Bai Xiaonian has really annoyed her.’ He turned to face Colonel Hihara. ‘That’s the kind of person Li Ningyu is – she’s got a nasty temper. Normally, she doesn’t have much to do with anyone; she’s happiest in her own company – it must be a boring life. But if you annoy her, she can get really angry, and she’ll make life absolutely miserable for you, no question about it.’
It was his opinion that the reason Li Ningyu dared to openly disrespect Secretary Bai like that (and indeed the reason she was disrespectful to Wang Tianxiang himself) was because of her close personal con
nection with Commander Zhang. Some years back, Li Ningyu had been a military nurse while Commander Zhang was exterminating the Red Army in Jiangxi province; the Commander had been bitten by a poisonous snake and so, with no doctor nor any medicine available, Li Ningyu had sucked the poison from his wound and saved his life. As you might imagine, the two of them were very close.
Colonel Hihara listened to this but expressed no opinion on the subject.
5
Gu Xiaomeng was the last to be interviewed.
She got straight to the point the moment she entered the room. ‘Don’t imagine that I’m going to let you interrogate me, Secretary Bai. All I have to say is that I don’t know anything about it. I’m not Ghost and I don’t know who is, so you’re going to have to ask the others.’
Even though they couldn’t see her, Colonel Hihara and Police Chief Wang could easily picture the arrogant, impassive expression on her face. But Hihara soon found himself fascinated.
Secretary Bai: I’m asking the same question of everyone. They’ve all said their piece and now you must say yours.
Gu Xiaomeng: I’ve already told you that I don’t know whether any of the others are Communists – all I know is that I’m not.
Secretary Bai: And how are you going to prove that you’re not?
Gu Xiaomeng: How are you going to prove that I am?
Secretary Bai: There’s at least a one in four chance that you are.
Gu Xiaomeng: Well then, how about you kill one fourth of me – head or leg, whatever you like.
Secretary Bai: Gu Xiaomeng! All you’re achieving by this is annoying Commander Zhang and Colonel Hihara. No good will come of it.
Gu Xiaomeng: I can tell you for nothing, Bai Xiaonian, that you’d better kill me right here and now. Otherwise, if I get out of here, it’ll be your head on the block.
Secretary Bai: Miss Gu, I know who your father is… [A conciliatory laugh] It’s my job to ask these questions, and I’m hoping that you’ll help us out here.
Gu Xiaomeng: I really have no idea whether any of the others are Communists or not, and I don’t think it’s right to just guess.
Secretary Bai: How to put this, Miss Gu… Section Chief Jin and Unit Chief Li are both your superior officers, so you must know them well. If you had to choose one of them, which would it be?
Gu Xiaomeng: I have no idea.
Secretary Bai: You have to choose someone.
Gu Xiaomeng: Well, in that case I choose myself, okay?
Hihara could hear the clip of Gu Xiaomeng’s shoes as she walked away. Everyone had passed the test – he hadn’t expected that. He’d assumed that they’d all be scared witless, that all he’d have to do would be to utter a few empty threats and they’d turn on each other, ripping each other to shreds until everything came out. He’d even thought that this one round of questioning would be enough.
His many years of experience had told him that whether he was dealing with Communists or Nationalists, none of them could withstand much; a bullet or a slash of the sword would reduce them to a heap – it was really quite laughable. He often said that the reason he was always so cheerful was that he’d seen too many laughable things in the way that Chinese people behaved, and so he was endlessly amused. Sometimes he simply couldn’t help himself, he just had to laugh out loud. But these interviews hadn’t given him the laugh he’d been expecting, so he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.
However, he remained convinced he’d be able to winkle Ghost out. He still had a really lethal manoeuvre up his sleeve – his trump card. Police Chief Wang, on the other hand, was looking and sounding panicky as he speculated on who Ghost might be.
Hihara tried to cheer him up as he headed out of the listening room. ‘Don’t be in such a hurry – you don’t have to try and guess who it is. You need to have faith. Ghost is under our control now, and whoever it is, they’re not going anywhere. Just wait patiently and all will be revealed.’
Wang Tianxiang followed him out. ‘That’s right,’ he replied ingratiatingly, ‘Ghost won’t be going anywhere. With Colonel Hihara here, no matter how tricky this Ghost is, they won’t get away.’
Hihara retired to his room for a cup of tea. ‘You say that Ghost is tricky,’ he said to Wang Tianxiang. ‘Well, that’s fine by me – it’ll make this so much more interesting. If the four of them had given us the name today, where would be the fun in that? There’d be no sense of accomplishment. The whole fun of the thing is in the process by which you are victorious, not in the victory itself.’
He was drinking Dragon Well tea, grown locally in Hangzhou, a tea of the highest quality; the leaves were shaped like swords, and the tea itself was a clear light green and intensely aromatic. In an instant the room was filled with a perfume so deliciously pure and fresh, it was almost as if the leaves were still growing on the bush.
FIVE
1
What does it mean to have each day feel like a year?
Right then, every day felt like a year to Ghost. As the minutes ticked by, so Ghost’s chances of keeping K and the others safe trickled away. Ghost was trapped, unable to do a thing about it. Outside the window there was the sky, and from time to time a sentry passed in complete silence, but in Ghost’s heart there was only darkness and despair.
Ghost knew how carefully the comrades would have planned each detail of K’s journey. Ghost kept urging them, ‘Call off the Gathering of Heroes! Call it off now!’ But the only person who heard the shouts was Ghost. It was the worst possible punishment. As another comrade had once said, for people in their line of work, operating as undercover agents, the absolute worst thing was that they sometimes had no option but to stand by and watch while their own comrades were killed by the enemy. Ghost had been afraid that this might happen, and now it seemed unavoidable.
It was much harder to bear than Ghost could have imagined. Ghost kept asking the same question, over and over – How can I get my message out? – as if this might in some way lessen the pain, when in fact all it did was make it worse.
2
Who is Ghost?
That afternoon one of the sentries brought important news to Colonel Hihara, pointing the finger of suspicion at Gu Xiaomeng.
It happened like this: by the time Secretary Bai had finished interviewing everyone, it was almost time for lunch. According to the rules, if the group was going to eat or if one of them wanted the toilet, they had to be accompanied by Police Chief Wang. However, this particular mealtime, Wang Tianxiang couldn’t go with them. Because Colonel Hihara couldn’t appear (being supposedly back in the city), Wang Tianxiang was going to have lunch with him. Hence it fell to the fat staff officer to take them instead.
Gu Xiaomeng promptly made herself difficult. She wasn’t hungry and didn’t want any lunch.
The situation was delicate. Staff Officer Jiang wasn’t at all sure whether he should allow that or not. If he denied her, he would have to drag her out by force, since Gu Xiaomeng was lying in bed and refusing to get up. What could he do? Nothing! But what if something happened to her? He left a sentry on guard to watch her.
He had no idea that that was exactly what Gu Xiaomeng was hoping for.
When Colonel Hihara and Police Chief Wang noticed that she was missing from the group going to lunch, Hihara wondered if she was pretending to be ill.
‘If she were to say she’s sick, what would you do – would you let her leave the estate?’ Hihara put this to Wang Tianxiang as they watched through the window, almost as if he were testing him.
‘If she was pretending, I wouldn’t pay any attention,’ Wang Tianxiang said. ‘But if she really was unwell, I’d call a doctor. Either way, I wouldn’t let her leave.’ His answer was careful and considered, as if he’d prepared it in advance.
‘That sounds nice and easy,’ Hihara said, ‘but how would you know if she was faking or not? She’s a woman; if she said it was some kind of gynaecological problem, how would you decide? And if you did get a doctor in, what would happen if
he worked out what’s really going on here and then went off and told everyone he met?’
That was a good question. If Gu Xiaomeng were to pull that kind of stunt, there might be all sorts of ramifications.
Fortunately, Gu Xiaomeng did nothing of the kind. However, she did cause Wang Tianxiang a lot of extra work and worry, so much so that he couldn’t even eat his lunch in peace. It was a very nice lunch they’d been sent too, and he’d been looking forward to sharing it with his boss. It was a rare opportunity to sit there one on one, just chatting, almost like old friends. But before they’d had time to exchange more than a couple of words, before he’d taken more than a mouthful or two of his lunch, one of the sentries knocked hurriedly on the door and came in to announce that something was up.
Something was indeed up.
It turned out that once Secretary Bai and the others had left for the dining hall, Gu Xiaomeng had gone downstairs to try and make friends with the sentry. She’d begun by chatting about this and that, mainly with a view to making sure that he knew of her special status, and then she’d explained what it was she really wanted. And what was that? She wanted the sentry to phone someone for her and tell them to come immediately to the Tan Estate because she had something really important to tell them. Of course, she wasn’t expecting the sentry to help her for nothing – she promised to show her gratitude properly later on. As to who she wanted to contact, the sentry said that it was someone called Jian, a Mr Jian, and that there was a phone number. That was all he knew.
3
Who would this Mr Jian turn out to be and why was Gu Xiaomeng in such a hurry to see him? Was he part of the conspiracy or was this about trying to divert attention? Hihara stood looking out of the window, lost in thought. After a long pause he turned round and gave instructions to the sentry. ‘Go back and tell her that you made the call but nobody answered.’