by Mi Lei
"I..." the cleaning woman choked, "did not." Her face briefly drained of all color as she stammered in answering. "It was just..."
"Don't be afraid," Fang Mu consoled her. "We have no interest in pinning anything on you. But you must tell us what really happened that day."
Ms. Chen hesitated for one more moment, and then she told them what she knew: That evening, she had been assigned to the restrooms on level four. After she had completed the job, however, she had discovered that her cleaning-cart had gone missing. Afraid of a reprimand, she had kept it to herself and begun looking for the cart on her own. It took her more than an hour to find it in the ground level trash dock on the west side of the mall.
For a moment, Fang Mu sat in silence, and then he asked: "What about the staff uniforms, did any of those go missing?"
"Why yes." Ms. Chen seemed somewhat surprised at the question. "Ms. Su from level seven lost hers. She had to pay one-hundred-twenty yuan to cover it."
"When did this happen?" Fang Mu immediately followed up.
"Just that day," Ms. Chen answered, sounding a little alarmed.
Fang Mu nodded and motioned for her to leave. Ms. Chen, however, now had other things on her mind. She haltingly pleaded with them not to tell anyone that she had lost her cart. Otherwise, she told them, she might well lose her job. Fang Mu smiled and agreed to keep her confidence. It was a much more relaxed Ms. Chen who stood and opened the door to leave, only to stumble back, her eyes wide in fear.
A mass of security guards and the shift manager were standing outside the door, waiting for her. The shift manager was particularly eager. Fang Mu intervened just in time to stop him from jumping Ms. Chen.
Struggling not to smile, Fang Mu hastily explained the situation. "We have conducted a thorough investigation. She has nothing to do with the case."
"Are you sure she has nothing to do with it?" Xiao Wang asked on their way back to the Bureau, his hands on the steering wheel as he drove. "Couldn't Ms. Chen be an accomplice?"
"No," Fang Mu replied flatly. He was lost in thought, staring out the car's window. "I can sense that she has nothing to do with it."
"Sense?" Xiao Wang chuckled. "Did you also rely on your special senses to find that woman in the security footage?"
"Not at all." Fang Mu straightened his back ever so slightly before continuing. "Someone entered and left the women's restroom without arousing suspicion; it had to be a woman."
"Eh?" Xiao Wang was clearly not convinced. "Our very first assumption was that only a man could have subdued Pei Lan quickly enough to avoid being noticed."
"Not necessarily. A piece of cloth soaked in ether is enough to knock pretty much anyone out," Fang Mu pointed out as he turned to him. "If you were in a restroom, what kind of person would not arouse your suspicion if they were holding a cloth right next to you?"
Xiao Wang's smile disappeared as he digested the question. Then he quietly said, "A cleaning person."
"Absolutely," Fang Mu agreed with a sharp nod. "The suspect probably waited for Pei Lan to wash her hands before striking from behind, covering her mouth and nose. Then she stuffed her in the cleaning-cart and pushed her all the way out of the mall."
"But there were so many female cleaners in the security footage," Wang said. "How did you pick her out?"
"She was wearing a disposable respirator," Fang Mu said, pointing to his mouth. "The mall is well-maintained and dust-free. There really was no need for her to put it on." He paused again, then added, "Other than to conceal her identity, that is."
Xiao Wang felt his eyes drawn away from the road and to Fang Mu, appraising him anew. He sure appeared unremarkable enough, but this fellow was quite something.
"The caller making the ransom demands is a male, so we always assumed that the kidnapper had to be a man," Xiao Wang mused before asking, "But you knew right away that a woman was involved, didn't you?"
"Yes," Fang Mu nodded.
"How did you figure that out?" Xiao Wang wanted to know.
Fang Mu had turned his gaze back outside. "The ransom video."
Fang Mu, Xiao Wang, Deputy Commissioner Wang Keqin, Captain Deng Xiaosen, and Deputy Captain Xu Tong had gathered around the table in the conference room of the Municipal Bureau. Every eye in the room was fixed on a freeze-frame, suspended on the room's TV monitor. The picture showed Pei Lan, frozen in her pained and futile struggle to avoid the camera's unrelenting gaze. A pair of large, rough hands were pressing down on her shoulders.
"From the footage we can see that the video was most likely taken in a cheap rental apartment. It's possible that it is a short-term rental the suspects are using for the sole purpose of the kidnapping." Pointing to the video, Fang Mu continued. "We can see a man in the video. The person taking the footage, however, is almost certainly a woman." He watched as the Commissioner and the captains gasped in shock. "Take a look at this." Fang Mu pointed at the upper-right edge of the screen. His finger indicated the corner of a nightstand. On it, they could see a row of glass bottles. A logo was clearly visible on the flasks.
"If I am not mistaken, those are Dior cosmetics," Fang Mu explained. "Taking beauty products to a kidnapping; only a woman would do that. This afternoon we visited the shopping center and we were able to confirm that a woman had kidnapped Pei Lan."
"A man and a woman." Deng Xiaosen frowned. "That will certainly help us narrow the scope of our investigation, but..."
He left the natural following of ...but it does not really help much, does it? unspoken.
Fang Mu smiled. "What do you think of the footage?"
All around the table, eyes widened in confusion and alarm.
Finally, Li Keqin said, "It is grisly. Clearly the product of a depraved mind!"
It was the expected response. Deng Xiaosen and Xu Tong were looking down at their feet in embarrassment and revulsion. Only Xiao Wang kept his gaze fixed levelly on Fang Mu.
"It was, in fact, Xiao Wang who alerted me to it," Fang Mu said as he turned to Xiao Wang with a friendly smile. "In many ways, it's a dime a dozen video."
"What?" Xiao Wang almost shouted as he sat up straighter. "When did I say that?"
"You said 'It's shot like some kind of porn'," Fang Mu reminded him as he pressed Play on the controls. "And make no mistake, the person behind the camera knows what she is doing; she is focusing on Pei Lan's face, doing her best to capture the agony and tears. She's got talent." Fang Mu gave a grim smile as he looked at the shocked faces. "This video almost looks like a professional porn production. The male, on the other hand, interferes with her shot on several occasions, pushing the camera down to point it at Pei Lan's exposed breasts and private area. That tells us something important: The male and female do not want the same thing from this kidnapping."
"So you think the two are at odds?" Xu Tong blurted out, his excitement at learning more about the kidnappers outweighing his disgust for the moment.
"Yes," Fang Mu confirmed. "The female suspect's goal is to humiliate and destroy Pei Lan. The male suspect is only interested in the money. Their first ransom demand was for two million yuan. A few days later that skyrocketed to four million yuan. That by itself shows us that something is not right." He paused, looking around the table. "Why such a massive increase? I would think that the female suspect was the one who planned and initiated the kidnapping. Two million, four million, she's probably just coming up with those numbers as they go along. It's all just posturing to keep the male suspect happy and cooperative."
"If the female suspect is really out to humiliate and destroy Pei Lan, then wouldn't she just post this kind of footage on the web?" Deng Xiaosen mused. "Our Internet Division is constantly monitoring the web, but so far they have found no signs of anything like that happening."
"True," Fang Mu said. "I would guess the male is holding her back; perhaps the balance of power is slowly shifting. And the male almost certainly does not want any footage released to the public—that would damage Pei Lan and reduce the ransom they can expec
t. So Pei Lan is, at least for the moment, safe. However, it is important that we keep that risk in mind when we make the arrest. We do not want the woman uploading something to the internet at the last moment."
"Arrest?" Xu Tong shook his head. "We don't even know who they are."
"We can start with the kidnappers' motives, especially those of the female suspect." Fang Mu lit a cigarette. "When we carefully watch the video, we can sense that the woman is full of hate toward Pei Lan. She is literally itching to destroy her. What makes one woman hate another so much?"
There was no need for Fang Mu to answer his own question. "Envy!" Xiao Wang called out like an eager schoolboy.
"That would be my first guess as well." Fang Mu turned to the gathered officials. "That, together with Pei Lan's status as a celebrity, makes it likely that the suspect herself is somehow connected to the arts scene. I think that we should start with Pei Lan's social circle. And of course, we should also take a closer look at Liang Zehao, especially as far as his relationship with the victim is concerned."
They quickly agreed to take the investigation in this new direction and the task force sprung into action. Fang Mu handed the tape to Deputy Commissioner Wang with the request that the technical department extract the video's background noise as soon as possible. He also asked for a careful examination of the tape itself for any physical evidence that might tell them where it had been shot. Deng Xiaosen and Xu Tong immediately dispatched officers to the field to begin inquiries into the victim's social circle.
It turned out that Xiao Wang, however, was to be the real driving force of the investigation, picking up work wherever he could while ensuring that nothing was left undone.
The young officer was just rushing down one of the Bureau's corridors when Fang Mu stopped him.
"What is it?" Xiao Wang asked, a little out of breath. He could see that their newly-acquired criminal psychology expert was clearly apprehensive about something. "Is something wrong?" he asked.
"Well..." an embarrassed grin flashed across Fang Mu's face as he pulled a photo from his jacket, "since you are working on the investigation, would it be possible for you to keep a look out for this person while you are at it?"
Xiao Wang looked at the picture in Fang Mu's hand. It was a girl in a blue and white gym suit, smiling shyly for the camera. "And she is?" he asked.
"A relative's daughter. Her name is Liao Yafan. She ran away from home a year ago." It was obvious that Fang Mu was being evasive. "She's probably not in Suijing City, but I don't want to let any opportunity slip me by."
"Leave it to me." Xiao Wang took the photo. "We're brothers. I'll be happy to look for her," he added with a heartening smile.
"Thank you so much." Fang Mu blushed for a second, but immediately reclaimed his calm demeanor, the change so swift that it was almost like looking at two different people. "If it turns out to be too much of a hassle, it can wait until after this case is wrapped up."
"You're one of us now, relax." Xiao Wang turned to leave. "Go get something to eat. I'll report to you if there are any developments."
With that, he strode off down the corridor. Fang Mu remained standing where Xiao Wang had left him. For a while, he watched the other officers and personnel bustle about. They all had their part to play now; he, on the other hand, could only wait for the investigation to unfold. He turned to the window. Staring out at the darkening sky, he allowed his mind to wander. Immediately, it leapt to the little girl in the picture.
Liao Yafan's mother had died to protect him. He had wanted to look after her, to protect her, but she had chosen to run. She could be anywhere by now.
But maybe, just maybe, she was looking at that same dark sky right now.
CHAPTER
2
A Robbery
Before the man came down the tunnel, she had already let three girls and an elderly couple get away. Now she waiting again, squeezing the glass shard between her fingertips.
It had always been the same: She had charged forward, looking as menacing as she could manage – and in her mind that was plenty scary – but each time she had stopped in mid-charge and just stood there, embarrassed beyond belief. And then, she had simply watched her frightened or just baffled victim-to-be walk away. In the end, all she had gotten out of it was a newfound hate for her own weakness.
They said that robbery was a skill-less trade. Still, it was far from easy work.
Again, the terrible, aching pangs of her empty stomach burned through her entire body. Her vision began to blur as she dizzily grabbed hold of a roadside tree. She was panting and it took all her strength just to hold herself upright. The little spark of life inside of her seemed to decide that she had not suffered enough and it began to wildly and violently twist and turn.
You're hungry, too, aren't you?
The sky above darkened until the sun disappeared behind the horizon. As it did, the lights in the tunnel flickered to life. She could not have chosen a more deserted spot for her attempt at robbery. The quiet, empty tunnel was only very occasionally disturbed by a truck rushing through. Every pedestrian was a little miracle.
A sense of utter despair had slowly taken hold of her mind, but in it she also found a sliver of desperate courage. She had not eaten a thing for an entire day and two nights. If she did not finally manage to rob some money for food, she would not make it much longer.
Live. She was determined to live.
The faint sound of footsteps echoed through the tunnel. To her it was the sound of noodles, of a steamed bun—the sound of food. It was the most beautiful sound imaginable. No matter whom it was, this time she would do it.
She pressed hard on her throbbing belly. It seemed to calm the unruly little fellow, at least for a moment. Then, she picked up her glass shard and took her first faltering steps toward her victim.
It was a young man in a suit. His head hung low, he single-mindedly stared at his feet, slowly putting one foot in front of the other. The man looked tired enough to fall asleep in mid-step. It did not matter. As long as he had money, as long as she could take his money, nothing else mattered.
"Money!" she shouted, brandishing her glass shard. It took everything she still had and more to make her stand. "Give me your money!"
The man took a startled step back, his expression alert with surprise and confusion. He turned, looking about the tunnel. Obviously, he thought that she had shouted at someone else.
"You..." He finally turned back to the ragged, trembling girl. "...What did you say?"
"Money!" she snarled, her voice on the edge of breaking. "I want your money!"
Without so much as a hint of fear or even nervousness, the man studied her with a frown. His expression slowly changed, stopping halfway between laughter and tears. The look soon faded and his gaze turned to ice. He reached into his pocket and took out a small, black leather case.
The girl's breath immediately grew heavy with excitement, anticipation at money to buy food; then it caught in her throat.
That was no wallet. It was a police ID.
She nearly burst into laughter. A few months ago, the situation really would have seemed like a terrible joke.
Then she did laugh, covering her face with one hand as she chortled.
Great, just great, went through her mind amid the pangs of hunger. It actually could get worse; a robber robbing a police officer.
Looking between her fingers, she could see the corners of the policeman's mouth twitch. It almost looked as if he was smiling. His smile turned her laughter to tears. Standing before this strange policeman, all that she had suffered in the past few months suddenly burst out of her.
Had someone else walked down Yu-Ning Tunnel at that moment, they would have been witness to a bizarre scene: A girl in rags crying bitterly as she menaced a man in a suit with a shard of glass.
She cried for a long while. When the heaviest sobs subsided, the policeman quietly said, "Put that down, you'll only cut yourself."
Ten minutes
later and she had followed him to a beef-noodle house.
The policeman lit a cigarette and deeply inhaled the smoke. Then he turned to her, studying her face through the slowly rising wisps. She had just snuffed down a bowl of beef noodles with truly alarming speed. As the last drop of broth disappeared from the bowl, the girl's eyes slowly lost their feverish edge. Now her expression hardened into a state of cold detachment; she appeared entirely indifferent to the policeman, the restaurant, and even herself.
"Would you like more?" the policeman asked.
The girl's gaze drifted from the window toward his face. She hung her head and nodded.
She devoured a plate of spiced beef and then another of steamed chicken. When she was done, the plates had been picked clean of even the smallest scrap.
The policeman paid the bill, stood up and told her, "Let's go."
The girl obediently followed him out the door and into a taxi. She never considered making a run for it. For all she cared, he could take her to the Public Security Bureau. As long as she lived, as long as she had a full stomach, it was all the same to her. But when this man took her to a hotel, her heart did twitch with the slightest pangs of disappointment. She sneered as she thought, So much for the police and buying me food. Oh, well...
She knew exactly what he wanted. Still, when she saw the soft bed, a spark of warmth ignited deep inside. It was followed by the raw fatigue of the past few days engulfing her. The still-warm food in her belly did the rest as she felt her eyelids droop closed. That was that. She fell head first onto the bed and almost immediately drifted off.
You want to start something, go ahead, she thought, succumbing to sleep. It won't stop me from sleeping.
With the last glimpses of consciousness, she realized that the policeman standing behind her was not, as she had imagined, taking off his clothes. He was not even touching her. To her sleep-addled surprise, he quietly turned off the lights and then quietly left the room, locking up on his way out.
The click of the lock wrenched one final conscious flash from her mind. In that flash, her brain, for reasons entirely of its own, decided to recall the name on the policeman's ID.