Qiu Xiaolong - Death of a Red Heroine

At the bureau gate, the old doorman Comrade Liang reached out to him with an envelope in his hand. “Got something for you.”

“For me?”

“This morning Chief Inspector Chen received his assignment package here. There were some tickets along with the schedule. Some extra tickets, in case some others wanted to join the group at the last minute, but no one did. So he left two Beijing Opera tickets for me, and two karaoke tickets for you.”

“The Shanghai Foreign Liaison Office spared no expense arranging activities for the Americans,” he said. “It’s very considerate of him.”

“Yes, Chief Inspector Chen is a really decent man.” Comrade Liang then said. “You are his assistant, and you have your work cut out for you.”

“Yes, I know. Thank you, Comrade Liang.”

Putting the tickets in his pocket, Yu hurried toward the restaurant.

The meeting with comrade Yang turned out to be more fruitful than Yu had expected. After interviewing this witness for more than one hour, and taping his testimony on a micro-cassette recorder, he thought of one of Old Hunter’s favorite old Chinese sayings: “The god’s net has large meshes, but it lets nothing through.”

What would be the next step? Whatever Detective Yu was going to do, he had to contact Chief Inspector Chen. It was even more urgent as he was going to be stationed in Jiading County the following week.

Chen must have discovered something in Guangzhou, and so had he, here in his interviews with Jiang and Ning, along with the newest information he had just gotten from Yang. Only as a team could he and Chen hope to ride out the crisis.

It was not easy, however, for him to reach Chen. As an escort for the American Writers’ delegation, Chen had to accompany the guests from one place to another. Besides, it was not safe for Yu to call the Jinjiang Hotel where Chen stayed with the American guests.

A case had already been rigged against Chen, according to Old Hunter. Yu’s movements might be watched as well. Signs of their continuing the investigation would prompt further reaction. It was not that Detective Yu hesitated to take a risk, but they could not afford to make any mistakes.

There had to be a way to discuss the situation with Chen, a way discreet enough not to arouse any suspicion.

At the bus stop, several people were lining up along the railing. Yu stood behind them. They were talking excitedly about some new exotic show in the Meixin Theater, but he listened absentmindedly, without really making sense of their conversation.

His mind was still a blank when he got back home.

There was no light in his room. He knew it was already past ten o’clock. Qinqin had to get up early for school. Peiqin had had a busy day all alone. At six, he had promised her he would come back immediately. He felt guilty as he closed the door behind him. He was surprised to see Peiqin still awake, waiting for him.

“Oh, you’re back,” she said, sitting up.

He slumped onto a bamboo stool to take off his shoes. She came over to him, barefoot. Lightly, she sank to her knees to help, bringing her head to his level.

“You’ve not had your supper, Yu?” she said. “I’ve kept something for you.”

It was a steamed rice ball stuffed with minced pork and vegetables.

She sat with him at the table, watching him in silence.

“I’m late, Peiqin. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to say that to me. I should not have been so fretful this afternoon.”

“No, you were right. The rice ball is so good,” he said between the bites. “Where did you get the recipe?”

“Remember our days in Yunnan? Those Dai girls sang and danced the whole night. When they were hungry, they took rice balls out of their pockets.”

He remembered, of course. In those long nights of Xishuangbanna, they had watched the Dai girls dancing against the rugged line of the Dai bamboo bungalows, nibbling at their rice balls at the intervals. And they had both thought that the rice balls were a good idea.

At that instant, holding the rice ball in his hand, Detective Yu had an idea.

“Have you heard of a Dai-style restaurant at the Jingjiang Hotel?” he asked. “A fabulous one, called the Xishuang Garden.”

“Yes, the Xishuang Garden,” she said. “I’ve read about it in the newspapers.”

“What about going to the Xishuang Garden tomorrow evening?”

“You’re kidding!”

He experienced a twinge of regret at her surprise. It was the first time he had asked her out for a date since they had Qinqin. Now he was going to do so, but with an ulterior motive.

“No, I’ve just got an urge to go there. You have no other plans for tomorrow night, have you? So why not go out and have fun?”

“Do you think we can afford it?”

“Here are a couple of all-inclusive tickets, covering drinking, dancing and singing-along, or karaoke. You know what it is, so fashionable nowadays. Free tickets.” Yu took the tickets out of his shirt pocket. “A hundred and fifty Yuan for each, if we had to pay out of our own pocket. So it would be a shame not to go.”

They were the tickets Chen had left for them. Perhaps Chen just did not want to waste the tickets. But perhaps Chen had meant for him to go there.

“Where did you get the tickets?”

“Somebody gave them to me.”

“I’m no dancer,” she said hesitantly. “And I’ve no idea how to karaoke.”

“It is easy to learn, my wife.”

“Easy for you to say.” She was not untempted with the prospect of a special night. “We’re already an old husband and wife.”

“There are older people dancing and singing in People’s Square everyday.”

“But why are you asking me out all of a sudden?”

“Why not? We deserve a break.”

“It does not sound like you, Comrade Detective Yu, to enjoy a break in the middle of an investigation.”

“Well, that’s exactly where we are, in the middle of it,” he said.

“And that’s also why I want you to be there.”

“What do you mean?”

“I want you to pass some information to Chief Inspector Chen. He may be there, too. It’s not a good idea for us to be seen together.”

“So you are not inviting me out to a party,” she said, making no attempt to conceal her disappointment. “On the contrary, you are asking me to join your the investigation.”

“I’m sorry, Peiqin,” Yu said, reaching out to touch her hair. “I know you are worried about me, but I want to say one thing for Chief Inspector Chen-and for myself, too. This is a case that really gives meaning to our job. In fact, Chen is ready to sacrifice his career for justice.”

“I understand.” She took his hand. “Chief Inspector Chen shows his integrity as a police officer. So do you. Why apologize to me?”

“If it upsets you so much, forget it, Peiqin. It may just be another lousy idea of mine. Perhaps it will be my last case. I should have listened to your advice earlier.”

“Oh no,” she protested. “I just want to know what kind of information you want me to pass to him.”

“Let me make one point clear: As soon as this case’s over, I’ll start looking for another job. A different job. Then I can have more time with you and Qinqin.”

“Don’t think like that, Guangming. You’re doing a great job.”

“I’ll tell you about the case, and then you can tell me if it’s really a great job or not.”

So he started to tell her everything. When he came to the end of his account after half an hour, he reemphasized the necessity of exchanging information with Chen.

“It’s a job worth your effort, and Chief Inspector Chen’s, too.”

“Thank you, Peiqin.”

“What shall I wear?”

“Don’t worry about that. It’s a casual event.”