by Mi Lei
He was just turning to leave when something slammed into him; hard. Staggering, he fought to regain his footing.
Two men had burst into the room. Fang Mu looked up just as the door closed again. He immediately recognized the two.
The taller one, clad in black leather pants, was Little Zhan. The shorter one, wearing his navy blue windbreaker, was Young Hai.
"Answer Captain Zheng's question," Little Zhan commanded coldly. "Or we're not letting you go."
Fang Mu looked at him, then at Zheng Lin. The captain had crossed his arms and was returning his stare with a frown. A smile crept onto Fang Mu's stony face. "And what exactly are you planning to do if I don't tell you?"
"In that case, don't blame me if I get a bit rude." Young Hai pulled something from behind his back. With a bang, he extended a telescoping baton.
Zheng Lin's frown deepened, but he did nothing to stop Young Hai. "Don't make this difficult, Fang Mu," he said softly.
"Just try it!" a voice suddenly shouted. It came from the door and was immediately followed by a tall figure charging into the room. Xiao Wang positioned himself next to Fang Mu.
"Hey, you, this is none of your business," Zheng Lin said harshly. "You don't want to get in our way."
"His business is my business," Xiao Wang stated flatly. He reached behind his back. "Just try anything and you'll see."
Zheng Lin took a menacing step toward Xiao Wang. He leaned in close enough for their noses to touch. "I'll say it one more time: This is none of your business. You don't want to get in our way."
Xiao Wang laughed humorlessly as he glanced at Young Hai's steel baton. An air of defiance came to his posture and tone as he returned Zheng Lin's stare. "If you want a fight in your Bureau, go ahead, but first you'd better clean up your mess."
"Eh?" Zheng Lin's fury turned to confusion. "What do you mean?"
"The commissioner wants to see you," Xiao Wang explained, derision edging his words. "Jing Xu has caused a bit of a stir in the interrogation room."
As they entered the interrogation room, Fang Mu could barely believe his eyes.
Jing Xu had removed his shirt, revealing a dense tapestry of bruises and contusions that covered his chest, abdomen, and both his arms. An open envelope lay on the table in front of him. It was stuffed full of yuan notes.
Zheng Lin reeled with shock. It took him a good minute before he regained his composure.
"What is this?" Even though he was whispering, his voice seemed to cut the air. "A little striptease?"
"He reported that you tortured him during questioning." The commissioner had been silently standing in a corner of the room. "And…"
"Corruption."
Turning to the speaker, Fang Mu saw a tall man in a suit and leather shoes enter the room. A smaller fellow clutching a briefcase followed right behind.
"Jin Yongyu, the manager of the Bay City Hotel," Xiao Wang whispered into Fang Mu's ear.
"And who are you?" the commissioner demanded, estimating the newcomer.
After Jin Yongyu had introduced himself, he pointed to the man behind him. "That is my lawyer."
"What do you want?" The commissioner glanced at Jin Yongyu's business card before dropping it onto the table.
"Jing Xu is an employee of my hotel. I filed the report detailing your officers' corrupt practices on his behalf: Extorting a confession by force, buying a witness and fabricating evidence. I demand those responsible be held accountable…"
"What does any of this have to do with you?" Zheng Lin interrupted. "Why are you sticking your nose in other people's business?"
"Look who's talking," Jin Yongyu said with a chuckle. "You forged evidence to support your little bogus investigation," he added more sedately, "an investigation that could have serious repercussions for the reputation and operation of my hotel. I could hardly turn a blind eye."
Zheng Lin's face went from red to pale as both his hands balled into fists. He twisted to face Jing Xu. The security guard was trembling. Even though he did not dare look at Zheng Lin, a hint of grim satisfaction snuck onto his expression.
"I guess I underestimated you," Zheng Lin said quietly. "You planned this all along, didn't you?"
Staring down at the table, Jing Xu slowly answered, "There was no need to threaten me. I am a law-abiding citizen."
"All right, enough!" The commissioner was glaring at Zheng Lin with mounting anger. Eager to get all of this behind him, he turned to Jin Yongyu. "What do you want?"
"I thought I made that rather clear." Jin Yongyu smiled triumphantly. "If you can't handle this fairly, I will be happy to report it to both the Procuratorate and the Political and Legal Affairs Committee."
The commissioner didn't respond immediately. He seemed to be carefully weighing his options. He straightened his back and loudly commanded, "Zheng Lin, Little Zhan, Young Hai, surrender your weapons and police IDs. You are hereby suspended pending a full investigation." He turned back to Jin Yongyu and noted in a detached tone, "I will inform you of the outcome of the investigation."
"Good." Jin Yongyu's smile widened. "We will reserve the right to pursue this matter further, should the need arise."
Jing Xu put his shirt back on and joined Jin Yongyu on the way out of the interrogation room. As he passed Zheng Lin, he stopped for a moment. Looking right into the officer's frozen face, he chuckled, and then strutted out of the room.
CHAPTER
12
The Baixin Bath Palace
On set for a TV series shoot.
Decked out in the latest fashion, Pei Lan slowly towed her pull along bag down the outdoor set. Tears welled up in her eyes. She wiped them away as she walked. A tall, handsome man caught up to her and grabbed her arm. He spun her around and fervently began to implore her. Sobbing, she shook her head, and then buried her face in the man's chest as he put his arms around her waist…
"Cut! Cut!" the director shouted as he got up from behind his monitor. Judging by his expression, he didn't like what he'd seen.
"Get the next take ready," he said and then he turned to the young actress. "Pei Lan, I need bigger emotions from you, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah," Pei Lan vaguely acknowledged as she left the staging scene and took a seat. A woman was already rushing to her side to retouch her makeup. Pei Lan paid her no mind. She was watching a black Mercedes as it slowly approached the set. Her face lit up ever so slightly.
It stopped and a man and a woman stepped out, she carrying a thermos. The man was Liang Zehao.
He amicably greeted the set crew while signaling his assistant to take the thermos to Pei Lan's nearby trailer. With a smile, he walked up to Pei Lan. "How's your day going, baby?"
Before she could answer, another actress approached and butted in. "Elder Brother Liang, did you bring soup again? You take such good care of Elder Sister Pei."
"Yeah." Liang Zehao sat down in a spare chair, letting his eyes wander up and down her body before his gaze locked on her ample bosom. "You're growing more beautiful by the day."
The actress giggled as she tilted her head to shoot Liang Zehao a coquettish glance.
Annoyed, Pei Lan turned away.
The young actress casually excused herself, a smug smirk on her lips. "I don't want to interrupt..." Gracefully turning to accentuate her feminine curves, she leisurely strolled away, but not without a final flirty look over her shoulder.
Liang Zehao continued to watch her gently swaying backside, an appreciative smile on his face. Pei Lan couldn't take another second of it and with a loud cough finally caught his attention. Reluctantly, her boyfriend returned his gaze to her.
Seeing her obvious displeasure, he quickly attempted to sweet talk her, but all his mollifying led nowhere. When his charms failed to work their magic, Liang Zehao quickly ran out of patience. "Don't forget your soup," he said, nodding toward her trailer. He got up and left.
Pei Lan didn't need to guess where he was going. Just thinking of him with that fame-starved curr of a wannabe made her he
art burn with jealous rage.
She dismissed her still-hovering makeup artist and got up. It felt as if a heavy weight was resting on her chest and mind. Doing her best to keep her composure and carry on, she turned and walked away. She had barely taken the first few steps before she heard a yell and the rapid clicking of the cameras.
It was her fans. A cheerful, confident smile returned to Pei Lan's face as she gracefully strode toward them, gathered at the set sidelines to see her shoot. Patiently, she met them and signed autograph after autograph, writing her name in bold strokes at their eager requests.
Right now, this feverish crowd seemed to be the perfect antidote to her anger. In the midst of it all, she remembered her name, written in an unassuming notebook, belonging to another not-so-rabid fan. The moment she recalled that policeman, with his piercing yet gentle eyes, her heart warmed.
Even though school wasn't yet out, a dense throng of waiting parents was crowded in front of the No. 6 Primary School. A parade of cars, electric vehicles, and bicycles lined both sides of the street, filling every available parking space. It raised more than a few eyebrows, but the moment the passersby learned the reason why, they offered a reassuring, understanding smile and walked on.
The epidemic of missing children had spread to Changhong City and no one wanted that terrible tragedy to befall their family's baby.
From his vantage at a street-side fast-food restaurant, Fang Mu watched them gather. He took another sip of his soy milk. The girl behind the counter was keeping a curious eye on this strange customer. It had been over an hour since he'd arrived and so far he had done nothing but smoke and nurse that one measly glass of soy milk. The weather outside was chilly, leaving the restaurant's windows covered in condensation. It hadn't stopped the man from looking outside. Periodically, he wiped a small area of the window, ensuring his clear view of the street outside. The girl guessed that he was waiting for someone. When she saw the neatly folded bank notes in his hands, she came to the conclusion that he owed somebody money.
The hands of the clock crept ever so slowly toward five. With every tick, the girl was growing more and more anxious. In a few moments, school would be out and a small army of parents would bring their children through her doors. It was hardly acceptable for this lingering fellow to just block one of her valuable seats. She hadn't quite decided whether or not to tell him to leave when he suddenly got up and rushed out the door.
Jostling his way through the waiting parents, Fang Mu spotted the man in the gray windbreaker. He reached out and grabbed hold of his arm.
Old Ghost turned around and recognized Fang Mu. From the look of stark surprise on his face, he might as well have run head first into a wall. Before Fang Mu could get a single word out, Old Ghost was already quietly pleading, "Not here, not here; my kid is about to come out."
The girl had just picked up the soy milk that the dreadful customer had left behind as he rushed off when she saw him return. This time, he was dragging a miserable-looking man along.
"Sir, what can I get you?" she asked reflexively.
"I'll tell you in a moment," the man said dismissively and rather rudely.
She returned to the register, pouting and altogether displeased.
The moment that dreadful customer – Fang Mu – had pulled the miserable-looking man called Old Ghost into a chair, he asked, "Why haven't you answered my calls?"
"I must have missed them." Old Ghost's eyes wandered around the restaurant. "I'm a very busy man and—"
"I asked you to make inquiries. Any news?" Fang Mu interrupted.
"No." this time Old Ghost's answer came immediately and definitively. "Excuse me. I have to go pick up my kid," he said as he rose from the chair.
Fang Mu stopped him. Alarmed, Old Ghost looked up. When he saw the police officer's grimly cold stare, he sank back down.
"Let me go, boss." Old Ghost bowed. "You know how my ex can be; it's been a month, and today is the only day I get to see my kid..."
"Fine." Fang Mu slowly lit a cigarette and leisurely smoked it. "Then go on, tell me the truth."
Cursing under his breath, Old Ghost looked down at his watch. When he looked back up, there was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "Get me a drink first. I want a pearl milk-tea."
"All right." Fang Mu stood up, but as he did, he pushed a finger toward Old Ghost's nose. "Don't you dare run..."
"Hey, I'd never dare." Old Ghost impatiently waved him off, his eyes now glued to the window. He was watching the school's main gate. "Just hurry up."
As Fang Mu pulled out the money to pay for the kiddy drink, he saw the girl behind the cashier roll her eyes at him. Somewhat confused by her annoyance, he watched her pour the tapioca balls, the so-called 'pearls', into a plastic cup and then squirt the milk-tea on top of them. Once she was done, he took the now bubbly drink and a thick plastic straw and returned to his seat.
Old Ghost didn't wait for the milk-tea to cool, sucking at the straw the moment he had the cup in hand. As he slurped the drink and chewed the pearls, he muttered, "No two bones about it, this stuff's yummy."
"Tell me what you've found," Fang Mu requested again, more than a little aggravated.
"That missing Ding fellow, nobody's seen him recently. I'd think he's made a run for it." Old Ghost lowered his voice. "And the thing with Old Xing; everyone on the street knows that he's being done-over. I hear it's got something to do with a case he was investigating."
"What case?" Fang Mu immediately demanded.
"I don't know the details, but rumor has it that it's got something to do with the missing children."
Fang Mu digested this news with a thoughtful nod. "Who's behind it?"
"I wouldn't know; only that it's a local." Old Ghost quickly checked the empty restaurant to make sure no one else was listening, then added in a whisper, "Officer Fang, you are a good man, so I'm going to warn you..."
"Huh?" Fang Mu sounded more curious than concerned.
"Don't mess with these people. I hear this goes deep. If they can take out Old Xing, then you'd better watch out." Old Ghost seemed genuinely concerned. "Don't wade into those dark waters, or they'll suck you under."
"Oh?" Fang Mu raised an eyebrow. "So, there's still something you haven't told me."
"No, no, nothing like that." Old Ghost hastily looked away. "I don't know anything."
"Tell me the truth." Fang Mu's eyes narrowed on the older man. "You know that you can't fool me."
Old Ghost attempted a laugh, but it was hollow and couldn't conceal his mounting anxiety. Hiding behind the plastic cup, he continued to suck down on his pearl milk-tea. Suddenly his eyes opened widely and he began to choke. His hands immediately shot to his throat.
Fang Mu realized that a "pearl" must have gotten lodged in Old Ghost's airway, but he didn't move a muscle to aid him in his struggle.
A shade of blue slowly began to spread across Old Ghost's face as his eyes grew wider than Fang Mu would have ever thought possible. Old Ghost jumped up and desperately jammed a finger down his throat. Sticky saliva ran down his chin and onto his shirt, but the deadly pearl would not be moved. The girl behind the counter was already on her way to help, but Fang Mu held her off with a stern gesture. Frightened, she stood frozen, her eyes now almost as wide as Old Ghost's.
White-hot fury burned in Old Ghost's bulging eyes as he stared at Fang Mu. When Fang Mu continued to do nothing to aid, he turned, ready to run for the door to get help. He had barely moved to flee when Fang Mu gave the table a kick, sending its edge straight into Old Ghost's stomach. Trapped by the table and gagged by the tapioca pearl, he began pleading Fang Mu with folded hands. Fang Mu responded with a notepad and pen. Old Ghost grabbed the pen and hastily scrawled two characters on the pad. Jerking his head back up, he began to hysterically gesture toward his throat.
Fang Mu moved his foot from the table and quickly positioned behind Old Ghost. He slung both arms around his waist and balled his left hand into a fist. Feeling his way up, he rested the t
humb of his left hand just above his navel. He grabbed his fist with the other hand and made a quick thrust inward and upward. A few thrusts later, he finally heard a violent cough from Old Ghost. The pearl shot onto the table, bounced across its surface, and rolled off into a corner of the floor.
Fang Mu waited for his forceful coughing to subside, and then offered Old Ghost what was left of his milky drink. "Rinse your mouth," he told the still retching man.
Old Ghost hastily waved his hand, blocking the cup. "No more," he said hoarsely. "No more of that stuff."
With a smile, Fang Mu ordered a glass of water from the still shocked girl at the counter.
After a few big gulps of the water, Old Ghost slowly started to look like himself again.
Fang Mu offered him a cigarette. "You all right?"
"Yeah." There was still a hint of panic on his face and voice. "Fuck, I almost suffocated."
Fang Mu gave him a friendly clap on the shoulder and then picked up the notebook. There were two barely legible characters on the page: Baixin, Hundredfold Prosperity—dime a dozen names for establishments and companies. Turning back to Old Ghost, he pointed to the scrawl. "And what is that supposed to tell me?"
"Nothing." Old Ghost closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "I just jotted whatever came to my oxygen-deprived mind."
Fang Mu fixed him with a heavy stare.
"Staring at me won't help." Old Ghost turned away. "I like myself better alive."
The restaurant was suddenly flooded by a tidal wave of school children that streamed through the door and broke against the counter in a wild babble of orders. Chicken wings, yogurts, and ice creams were soon being passed to eagerly reaching hands.
In the midst of the chaos, one boy turned to the two men at the corner table. Immediately he shouted, "Daddy?"
Old Ghost shot to his feet, his eyes wide open with happiness this time as a smile spread across his entire face. "Yang Yang!"
Suspiciously eyeing Fang Mu, Yang Yang cautiously approached them.