Qiu Xiaolong - Shanghai Redemption

“When I finally got to the hotel around two, two Internal Security officers were already there in the hotel room with Fei. Judging by the way they were talking to Fei, they hadn’t been there very long.

“There was a body covered by a white sheet lying on the floor. According to Fei, there weren’t any obvious signs of a break-in or a struggle in the hotel room.

“One of the Internal Security officers turned to me and said, ‘As we’ve just explained to Fei, we’re taking over from here. You two may leave now, but let me repeat what we just told Fei: Not a word to anyone else about any of this.’

“So we left. I was in the hotel room for only ten minutes or so, without even a close look at the dead body. I’ve got nothing to say even if I wanted to. Which isn’t the case with Fei, of course.

“On the way back, Fei didn’t say anything for a long time, except to pose a question, ‘Why Internal Security?’

“That’s my question as well. And that’s about all I can tell you about that day.”

At the end of Jiang’s narration, Chen started shuffling the mahjong pieces, as if that helped him think.

“Did he say anything to Internal Security while you were there?”

“No, not I can recall.”

“Now, did you ask him any questions afterward?”

“Nothing specific. Back at the station, I asked him what he’d seen in the hotel, but he was evasive. He only said that he hadn’t contacted Internal Security.”

“Let me establish a timeline here,” Chen said. “Fei sent you the first message around nine thirty in the morning, and by the time you got to the hotel, it was two in the afternoon. You said that it sounded to you as if Internal Security got there shortly before you. That means Fei would have been alone with the dead body in the hotel room for at least four, maybe five hours. What would he have done during that period of time?”

“Normally, he’d take pictures of the scene, and then, if it was a natural death, he’d leave everything else to either the hospital or the mortuary. But if anything was amiss, he might have waited for the forensic team, or called the city bureau. According to Fei, he called the district police bureau and the Foreign Liaison Office. He mentioned that to me the following day…”

“Hold on. Fei must have had a reason for making these calls.”

“I agree, but Internal Security warned us not to speak about the case, and they might have told him earlier that that meant even me. He had something on his mind, that much I could see. But it’s possible that he was just upset with Internal Security for taking over the case like that. We had dealt with cases concerning foreigners before, and there was no need for Internal Security to be dispatched to Sheshan this time.”

“Anything else?”

“The next day or the day after, we learned that the American’s body had already been cremated. Fei looked very confused, though he didn’t say why to me. However, I happened to overhear him talking to somebody about it on the phone.”

“Yes. What did he say? If possible, tell me his words verbatim.”

“I’ll try, but I wasn’t paying that much attention at first. What I heard was mostly fragments. I might not be able to give you the exact words, but the basic meaning should be close. One thing he said was something about cremation without autopsy. ‘A suspicious death like that should have had an autopsy done.’ And another sentence, ‘He didn’t drink. How could he die of alcohol poisoning?’”

“So that’s what you were told about the American’s cause of death?”

“No one told us anything, but Fei made inquiries on his own. By the way, the American’s name is Daniel Martin. He was a businessman. At one point, Fei might have tried to contact his wife or something like that, I’m not sure. Fei did tell me that she’s Chinese and she has two daughters.”

“A different question. What kind of hotel was it?”

“Wugong is not exactly a fancy hotel. It was built at the early stage of Sheshan’s development. Later, in accordance with new regulations, Sheshan was designated as an area for high-end villas with natural scenery. After that, no more construction of commercial hotels was permitted. Because of its premium location, it’s expensive, and modern facilities were installed and then reinstalled into the hotel.”

“So it’s a hotel for tourists?”

“Well, there are tourists who come here for the National Park and for Sheshan Notre Dame Basilica, but most people chose not to stay in the hotels here. There are lots of fancier hotels in the city, and they’re less expensive. It’s only a fifteen-minute drive away on the toll road.”

“So why did the American choose to stay there?”

“Why? I’ve no idea.”

“Did Fei say anything about why he chose to stay at the hotel?”

“Fei could have said something, but I don’t remember. Oh, the American had an apartment in the city, so why stay at the hotel at all? If he was planning a rendezvous, then why not a fancier hotel at a more convenient location? Unless the rendezvous was with someone who lived nearby, I suppose.”

“About Fei, you said he’s not in Shanghai now, right?”

“Right. He’s in Wuxi, helping the local police with a case.”

“What kind of a case?” Chen said. “Fei’s just a local cop, isn’t he?”

“I don’t know the details. The criminal is apparently from this area, and Fei knows a thing or two about him. So Fei left for Wuxi four days ago.”

“Have you talked to him since he left?”

“I’ve called him a couple of times, but his phone was turned off.” Jiang added belatedly, “He must be really busy. I really don’t know.”

With Internal Security lurking in the background, was there something Jiang wasn’t saying? In some delicate situations, the less said, the better. He would have done the same, but Chen decided to try and push a little.

“Have you heard of Liang’s case?” Chen started, lighting a cigarette.

“No, I’ve never heard anything about it.”

“It came to our squad as a missing person case. At first, nobody could get hold of him: his phone was turned off, and he wasn’t returning messages. Then his body was found in Fengxian, buried in a construction site. Detective Yu was told not talk to anybody about it.” He added, “Not because Liang’s that important, but because the people behind him are.”

“So you mean-”

“Did you find anything strange or unusual about his trip to Wuxi?”

“Now that you mention it, there is something strange about it. With only two of us in the office, we touch base with each other a lot. Nowadays it’s easy with cell phones and e-mail,” Jiang said, trying to pull himself together. “But maybe he’s lost his phone, or something like that.”

“Tell me something about his contact in Wuxi.”

“He did call Gong, a local cop in Wuxi. I happen to know Gong too. If I didn’t hear it wrong, Gong promised to pick him up at the station. They’ve known each other for many years.”

“Do you have his contact information?”

“No, but I know he’s with the Wuxi Police Bureau. And not just a local cop. That’s about all I know,” Jiang said.

“Oh, he got a phone call the day before he left for Wuxi. It was possible that it was from someone unknown to him, because he asked for the caller’s name a couple of times. It was a long conversation. It sounded like the caller was asking him questions about events in the hotel the other day. Possibly it was about the surveillance camera there, but I can’t be certain. All I heard was some fragmented words out of context. Afterward, Fei looked shaken, but he didn’t tell me who called.”

“With some political troubles, the less said, the better,” Chen said. “Perhaps he didn’t want to drag you into it.”