Qiu Xiaolong - Shanghai Redemption

“No. No, you don’t. Not when jackals and wolves run amuck in this country. That’s one of the reason I’m so into Suzhou opera. It represents a different world-that of law, of justice, and of everything you can’t find in the real world today.” Old Hunter continued, draining his cup, “Oh, yes, I remember. That nightclub on Wuning Road is the Heavenly World. By the way, there was some disturbance there a couple of days ago. Have you heard of anything about it?”

“How did you know?”

“I went there that night, but long after everything had happened. I was there after eleven thirty, and people were talking about something like a police raid. But apparently no one was caught. No one seemed to have any idea about what really happened, so of course it was all anyone could talk about.”

“An unexpected disturbance at a place like that should actually be expected.” Tang’s answer was curt.

A seasoned cop like Tang would not let his falcon loose without spotting a rabbit first. Old Hunter, sighing inaudibly, leaned over to pop another bottle of beer.

“I used to be so proud of my job. The People’s police, the proletarian dictatorship, and all that. But now I’m too old to be befuddled by the editorials in the People’s Daily . What’s the point of us working our butts off for those fattened red rats? At the agency, at least I earn my money without getting involved in dirty politics.”

“But I still work at the bureau. So does your son, Detective Yu,” Tang said slowly. “He was the longtime partner of Chief Inspector Chen. Have you heard anything from him lately?”

That sounded like a probe. Old Hunter chewed on a frog leg with his remaining good teeth before responding, “Nothing. Chen knows better than to contact Yu with the way things are now. When I think about Chen’s trouble, I can’t help but feel even more justified in taking on the PI job. Let me make a suggestion, Tang.”

“What’s that?”

“Why don’t you start working for the agency now? Just part-time. Over the weekend, let’s say. A simple visit to a nightclub could fetch you a thousand yuan.”

“That’s really something.”

“Start working on the side now, and by the time you’re retired, you’ll be an experienced PI. A number of agencies will be interested in you. I know a few people in this line of work, and I’ll introduce you to them.”

“That’s fantastic. You would be doing me a huge favor, Old Hunter.”

“If we old-timers don’t help one another,” Old Hunter said after a deliberate pause, “who will?”

“Exactly. For old-timers’ sake,” Tang said, raising the cup. “Now, what were we talking about before you opened this bottle? Oh yes, the disturbance at that nightclub. Believe it or not, I was there that night. We were on some sort of a special mission. It was one of the raids I don’t know anything about, either before or after.”

“It sounds just like a suspenseful Suzhou opera. Go ahead, Tang. Now I’m all ears.”

“In our squad, it’s no secret that these raids are often performed for political reasons. For example, when people start loudly complaining about the ‘moral landslide,’ or when there happens to be a political campaign to fight sex crime, then the number of raids our squad is set out on increases. It’s more like a show than it is police work. How could those salons and clubs have mushroomed up in the city otherwise? Here, in our undeveloped neighborhood, if you walk along Wulian Road for ten minutes, you’ll see four or five Wenzhou Massage Palaces or Yangzhou Foot Paradises.”

“In Socialism with Chinese characteristics, that’s definitely one of the characteristics.”

“Since these places can be very connected politically, it’s not uncommon that we don’t know anything about a raid beforehand. Ji, the head of our squad, frequently is the only one with any information, and even that may be no more than some vague clue about the target. It was like that this time. Without any notice, we were sent to a city government office, where a gray-haired man pulled Ji aside and whispered instructions in his ear. Outside, there was a black van waiting for us. The driver was a stranger, who drove in silence the whole way. It wasn’t until the van pulled up on Wuning Road that I realized why everything was so secretive.”

“Why, Tang?”

“It was the neon sign of the Heavenly World. It was the one place we never dreamed of touching. There are so many stories about the owner being connected to the very top. The government might occasionally slap at a fly, but not at a tiger like that. So I was excited that the city government was finally determined to crack it.

“But then we were told not to rush in but to maintain silence instead. A manager came out to discuss something with Ji, and then he led us to the elevator in the back. In silence, and taking care not to disturb any of the clubgoers, we were taken straight to a large luxurious suite on the second floor. So the Heavenly World is still untouchable except for-”

“Except for one man who was there. You’ve got it right, Tang. Sorry for the interruption. Please go on.”

“When we got to where we were going, it was a large suite that was decorated for some event. It looked like a party had just finished. There were drinks and snacks still scattered around, a long table with books on it, and some chairs here and there, but there was no one in the room. Then a faint sound came from an attached room. We burst in on two girls sprawled on a large bed. One had greenish paint on her bare breasts, and something like whiskers painted on her face. The other was stark naked, with only a towel wrapped about her groin. They were shocked speechless at first, and then became hysterical and started screaming. The manager seemed to be no less astonished. It took him several minutes to sort things out with the sobbing, stuttering girls.

“Apparently, they’d been entertaining someone in that room, but then he got a call and stepped out. He left not five minutes before we got there. They didn’t know anything about him, not even his name. But he was a very important client, obviously, because a Big Buck had booked them both for that man-those two in particular-and had paid for the full service. They were just waiting for him to come back when we broke in.”

“So where was the mysterious client?”

“I haven’t finished yet, Old Hunter. We were told to wait for him. We turned off most of the lights so the room was as before, and we stood there, holding our breath. Nobody came back. After about ten minutes, the manager got a phone call from the security. There’s no telling what they really discussed, but from what I overheard, there was no sign of the man anywhere in the building.

“Then the manager called someone and reported their failure to find the man. He talked apologetically. Ji looked on with confusion written on his face, just like the rest of us. Whatever was going on, it was a raid carried out on specific instructions from someone higher up. A young cop in the squad suggested that we search the other rooms in the nightclub, but we were told not to bother.

“There was no point waiting there any longer-our target had obviously fled, so we left quietly. With a group of seven or eight cops in the club, none of us dressed like regular clients, not to mention the screams and shouts of the two girls when we burst into the inner room, it’s no surprise that some ‘disturbance’ was noticed.”

“What a story,” Old Hunter exclaimed. “Did you hear anything more afterward?”

“We were told not to talk to others about it-and in particular, not a single word was to be spoken outside the department. Of course, you’re not an outsider.”

“Of course. I won’t say a word to anyone,” Old Hunter said, raising the cup again. “Have you talked to Ji?”