by Cath Ferla
Now, as he looked out the window to where his wife tended her gardenias, Justin ran over the conversation with the English tutor in his mind.
Clearly he’d made a mistake up there in the room with that girl. He shouldn’t have told her the truth. Things had gone very wrong and now he could be implicated in a murder.
He scanned his memory for evidence that could link him to the crime. There were the earrings, marked, according to the English tutor, and the DVDs he’d purchased, but he’d always paid cash and had burned the last of them the evening before. He thought about the phone calls he’d made to the mobile phone number – those could catch him out if the police ever found a reason to check his records. Justin thought hard about any other possible traces he might have left. He brought the glass of water down hard against the benchtop, cracking it. Fucking idiot. The real problem, Justin considered, as his rage gave way to fear and dread, was that he had given them his address. It could be on their database. The police only had to access it and they would be knocking on his door in no time.
Justin pummelled the benchtop with his knuckles. He had to get back to the shop and speak to the guy at the counter. He’d use the threat of what he knew if he needed to. He had to make sure they erased all trace of him from the system.
Jin Tao had insisted they drive into the city. As she watched the rain beat patterns onto the glass of the window, Sophie was thankful she’d agreed. Outside, Oxford Street was a smear of neon and black. In the dark, the saturated asphalt glistened like oil and bounced light from the brightly lit shopfronts and their fluorescent signs.
‘Would have been a terrible ride,’ she started, and threw a smile Jin Tao’s way.
He wasn’t buying. He’d hardly spoken in the hour since he’d arrived home from the restaurant and announced he would accompany her. Now he simply gripped the wheel tighter and clenched his jaw in a sullen scowl. Rain peppered the windscreen, turning it opaque.
‘Aren’t you going to use your wipers?’
Jin Tao switched on the wipers and they swished once across the glass to reveal the sodden night. ‘You going to tell me how to drive, too?’
Sophie folded back into her seat, studied the tension in Jin Tao’s jaw and neck. ‘I didn’t mean to coerce you into this.’
Jin Tao raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Sophie tried again, threading lightness into her voice.
‘I mean, you can just drop me off. I’ll be okay on my own.’
Jin Tao drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. ‘I thought you, of all people, would understand.’
‘Understand what?’
Jin Tao slowed the car as they cruised past Spice I Am on Wentworth Avenue. He caught Sophie’s eye as he looked past her to check out the queue of hungry punters on the footpath. ‘Pissing down and they still come.’
‘Understand what?’
Jin Tao sighed and spoke through gritted teeth. ‘That if you neglect to look after people, you live with the consequences.’
She was silent as her mind groped wildly to find the meaning in Jin Tao’s words. And then the confusion gave way to rage.
‘You don’t need to look after me.’
‘I do.’
And then they were pulling over and Jin Tao had placed a hand on the back of her neck. She jerked away and knocked her forehead against the window.
‘Careful.’ Jin Tao’s voice was soft.
‘Fuck off.’
‘I’m quite serious, Sophie,’ he said. ‘What you’re doing here, I think it’s less to do with those girls and everything to do with what happened.’
Sophie didn’t bother to reply. If she’d brought an umbrella, she’d get out and walk; as it was, she was tempted to make a break for it anyway. The car suddenly felt too hot. The carpet’s damp scent flooded her nostrils and she thought that just maybe she would be sick.
‘It’s not going to bring him back, you know.’ Jin Tao had withdrawn his attempt to comfort her and again his voice sounded pragmatic and cold.
Sophie pulled the muscles in her face taut. ‘Really, I have no idea what you’re on about.’
‘Come on.’
‘No, really. You’re not making any sense.’
‘It’s no coincidence these girls come from China.’
‘You’re right about that, officer.’
‘I mean it’s no coincidence that you’re attracted to their plight because of China. Fuck, Sophie, you’re half Chinese.’
‘That’s got jack-all to do with it,’ she said. ‘You can’t just pull out the race card when it’s convenient.’
‘You’re right,’ Jin Tao said. ‘This isn’t about race. It’s about David.’
And he’d done it. He’d done what she’d begged him not ever to do. He’d brought her back there, raised the memory, dragged it to the forefront of her consciousness. The memory swamped her senses like a rotting carcass breaking the surface of a murky pond.
女孩
After the park, after the search and the police and the press conference and the photographs and the media frenzy that surrounded David’s disappearance, it had been just the two of them. Sophie and Li Hua.
For days and weeks they had stood together, side by side, riding the media storm caused by the fact a foreigner had been in charge of the Chinese boy when he disappeared, using it to their advantage in their search for Li Hua’s son.
But each lead had proved futile and each new piece of information had contributed more to the confusion than to a solution. The police quickly lost interest and the story soon lost its currency. Thousands of Chinese children go missing every year. David was simply another. And like the others, he was never found.
‘I don’t blame you,’ Li Hua said one day, her eyes glistening with fresh tears. It was the first time she’d said it.
Sophie felt the air scream out of her lungs, leaving her empty, deflated, at risk of collapse. ‘You should,’ she said, her voice a shadow of its usual self.
‘And what good would it do?’ Li Hua asked. ‘I’d only lose my son and my soulmate at the same time.’
Soulmate.
‘Am I that?’ Sophie asked.
Li Hua nodded.
‘I should have watched him more carefully,’ Sophie said. ‘It’s my fault.’
‘You are right and you are wrong,’ Li Hua said, eyeing her. ‘Yes, you should have watched him more carefully. But it is not your fault there is evil in the world. You were not to know someone evil was lurking so close.’
‘What would you do to him?’ Sophie asked. ‘If you found the person who took David?’
Li Hua contemplated the question for a long time. Then she took Sophie’s hand and placed it against her heart. ‘I’d take a cleaver and drive it through his spine,’ she said, and Sophie felt the pulse of Li Hua’s blood beneath her breast. ‘I wouldn’t hesitate. Not for a second.’
鬼
‘C’mon, Sophie, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.’
Jin Tao’s voice stabbed at her like a knife. She lifted a hand to her cheek and brushed the skin to find it wet. He’d made her cry and that made her mad. ‘Let’s go,’ she said to the window as she pulled down the seatbelt and buckled herself in.
‘Does this mean you’re talking to me again?’
‘I didn’t share my past with you for you to use it against me.’ Her voice contained the right amount of ice.
‘Sure.’ Jin Tao stepped on the accelerator. ‘Sorry.’ They drove the rest of the way in silence.
Liverpool Street smelled of wine and garlic. Plates of olives and chorizo smothered sheltered sidewalk tables where sangria-flushed patrons ate and smoked. Sophie sloshed past them along the puddled footpath and out from under the shelter into the open night. The rain fell hard on her head and neck.
‘Stick closer to me,’ panted Jin Tao as he again shoved the handle of the umbrella close to her face. ‘You’re soaked.’
Sophie stuck her hands deeper into her pockets and increased her speed. ‘It’s only wat
er.’
The lane ran parallel to the street that housed the butcher shop. As they entered it, Jin Tao shoved the umbrella into the crook of Sophie’s arm. ‘Take this,’ he said.
‘But we’re here.’
Jin Tao’s voice was firm. ‘And since we’re here together, you’ll not mind if I go in first.’
She started to protest but Jin Tao interrupted. ‘It’s as simple as this,’ he said. ‘If there is something suss going on here, then the last thing you want is for the wrong person to see you poking around.’
Sophie leaned into the wall. He was right.
‘Let me go, ask some questions, check it out,’ Jin Tao said. ‘I’ll report everything back to you and we can decide what to do from there.’ His eyes searched hers for some acknowledgement. ‘Sound like a plan?’
She shooed him with a flick of her wrist. ‘Go on then.’
As soon as Jin Tao disappeared around the corner, Sophie turned a sharp left into the lane. She knew Jin Tao would ask for Han Hong by name, and she loved him for it, but she didn’t think it would get him far. She’d give him five minutes then she’d follow him in.
There was the clatter of metal against asphalt. Sophie jumped, her body tensing. She listened to the whir of something metallic – a hub cap maybe – spin a lazy circle against concrete, its vibrations bouncing. Somebody else was in the laneway, she was sure of it. Sophie twisted to face the entrance to the alley. A familiar, fearful gurgle tickled her stomach as she strained to silence her breathing, ears attuned to the other sounds – the rhythmic patter of rain a backdrop to the more brutal rush of gutter water, the low flat drum of an air-conditioning system, the splat of footsteps moving through puddles, the click and roll of an umbrella letting down, a low-pitched curse as…
‘Fuck!’ He was upon her and she whacked him with all her strength. The stick of her umbrella connected with bone and the man lurched backwards, his own umbrella clattering against the wall as his hands swooped to his head for protection.
‘What the fuck!’ He crouched low in the gutter like an ambushed soldier, one open palm stretched out in surrender, the other massaging the side of his head. ‘You can have my wallet, man. You can have it,’ he yelped, his last words catching in his throat. ‘Just don’t hurt me. Don’t hurt me, please.’
Sophie crouched low to the ground. The man glanced up and Sophie reeled back.
‘You.’
It was Justin Holmes. He groaned.
‘What are you doing here?’
‘I could ask the same question of you,’ he said.
‘You had something to do with the murder. The earring. It really did belong to Joy Lin.’
‘I thought you knew that,’ he said. ‘You told me it was initialled with some bloody Chinese name.’
‘It’s called a bluff,’ Sophie said. Seamus’s favourite PI trick. ‘There must be thousands of cheap fucking earrings in Sydney. I just wanted to make you sweat.’
Justin groaned again and rubbed the side of his head. ‘Did you have to hit me with that thing?’ he said, nodding to the umbrella.
‘Tell me what’s going on.’ Sophie pointed the tip of the umbrella at him. ‘Why are you here and what do you know about the operations of this place? A whole bunch of girls are missing, kidnapped, sold into the sex industry, used as slaves and prostitutes. Someone killed Zhou. Don’t tell me it was you.’
The man laughed. ‘What are you? A cop?’
‘No, but there’s one just inside the store.’
‘He won’t find anything. They’ve gone.’
‘Who’s gone? Where?’
Justin shrugged his shoulders. ‘The whole shop’s shut up, moved out, as if it never existed.’
They were too late. Sophie felt tension drop into her stomach like a lead ball. ‘So you came here because I told you about the murder?’
Justin nodded. ‘I freaked out. When I met the girl in that room I had the earrings in my pocket. I was going to get her to wear them but we never got to that. They must’ve fallen out. I didn’t kill anyone. I can’t be implicated. I came down to make sure they took my name and address off the records. If my wife finds out about any of this, I’m screwed.’
‘Where did you lose the earrings?’
‘An upstairs room. They had a girl there. I gave her some information.’
‘What information?’
‘It’s none of your business. I did the right thing but the information I gave her made her very upset.’
‘Was this room above the butcher shop?’
‘No idea,’ he said, backing away. ‘But it was up some stairs. Look, I’d appreciate it if you forgot you ever saw me here. I can pay you, give you whatever you want. I didn’t do anything to any girl and I have never cheated on my wife.’
Sophie lowered the umbrella. Justin scrambled to his feet, turned on his heel and broke into a run. Sophie watched him reach the corner, take a sharp left and disappear. She was alone again – now with not even the rain for company. She tilted her head to the snatch of sky striking black between the outlined edges of the buildings. It hung dark and starless and Sophie knew it would not be long until it started to pour again.
And then she saw her.
Sophie’s gaze fixed on a crooked fire-escape serrating its way up the brickwork to the sky. At the lower landing, light burned a triangle into a first-floor window, escaping from curtains that did not quite meet. And framed in the triangle, squashed up against the glass like a tanked puffer fish, was Su Yuan.
女孩
They sat at a corner table in the food court near the Happy Chef. The place bustled with night diners sucking on noodles and watching the overhead TVs. They were safe enough here, Sophie reasoned, at least until the crowds thinned out. Jin Tao had positioned himself several tables away at Sophie’s request, when she realised his presence made Su Yuan nervous. They needed to get some answers fast and for that Sophie guessed she’d need to speak with Su Yuan alone.
Su Yuan twisted a paper napkin between her fingers. She’d taken two tentative sips of her wonton soup when it first arrived, but it now sat untouched, an oily slick glistening on the surface.
‘What’s going on?’ Sophie tried again, hoping the girl would talk now that Jin Tao had excused himself. ‘I need to know why another student took your place at the school, where you went and why you decided to come back. I need to know what’s happening.’
Su Yuan bit into her knuckles with enough force to draw blood.
Sophie leaned forward and took Su Yuan’s free hand in her own. ‘I thought maybe they’d killed you.’
A slight smile appeared on Su Yuan’s lips. She picked up the soup spoon she’d laid carefully at the edge of her bowl and used it to scoop up broth. She sipped a tiny amount, as though eager only to moisten her lips. Then she began to speak.
‘My sister disappeared from my hometown last year,’ she said.
‘Kunming?’ asked Sophie, jumping in before she could stop herself.
‘A town near Kunming. Actually, disappeared is the wrong word. She left my hometown last year. She won a scholarship to study English in Australia. It was called Golden Opportunities Scholarships. They advertised on the noticeboards around my hometown. The scholarships were open to girls under twenty-four only.’
‘Was that fairly unusual?’
Su Yuan shook her head. ‘Not really. With the one-child policy, there are many more boys than girls in China. So it can be harder for girls to compete. There are many opportunities like this for girls. To give them a chance.’
‘But your parents had two children.’
Su Yuan nodded. ‘My parents are farmers. There are exceptions for farmers if the first child is a girl. A chance for them to have a boy.’
‘And so your sister applied for one of these scholarships?’
‘She went for an interview. They filmed her. She told me it felt like an audition. But then, maybe only two weeks later, she got a message that said she’d won a scholarship. We were so h
appy for her. I’d started training in the police academy. It’s not much of a job but it’s more interesting than farming or factory work. But my sister, she had a chance at a proper education – it was a dream come true.’
‘Who gave her this message?’
‘The man who ran the business, an Australian.’
‘Do you know his name?’
‘Yes,’ said Su Yuan. ‘It’s Michael Disney.’
Sophie tried to quell the anger rising within her. ‘So what happened next?’
‘My sister went to Australia. Mr Disney organised all the passports and the visa. My parents were so excited for her.’ Su Yuan paused, twisting the napkin. ‘At first my sister called home maybe one time a week. My mother would go down to the corner store and wait by the public telephone every Sunday afternoon. Sometimes she would wait there for three hours. My sister always called.’
‘And then that stopped?’
‘One day my mother came home very late in the night. She had waited for my sister’s call all afternoon and most of the evening. But it never came. The next week was the same. We never heard from her again.’
‘But you must have had contact details for her?’
‘I’d been emailing her but I didn’t have a street address and my parents never thought to ask. This was such an unusual thing for them. My parents have only left the province once, on a pilgrimage to Beijing. They’ve never been overseas, they can barely read or write. They trusted my sister knew what she was doing.’
‘Did you report that she’d stopped making contact?’
‘I knew there was more to the story. My sister had emailed me and indicated she was thinking about doing something to do with sex work. She didn’t go into a lot of detail but I was shocked. I encouraged her not to do it. I told her it would devastate our parents if they found out.’ Her voice caught in her throat. ‘She said they wouldn’t find out unless I told them. So even though I’d been training with the police, I decided to keep her secret. How fucked up is that?’
‘It’s called loyalty,’ Sophie said.
‘So after she stopped calling I left the police academy and I visited Michael Disney’s language school. I wanted to speak to him to find out what he knew or if he had a contact address for her.’