Qiu Xiaolong - Death of a Red Heroine

There could be nothing more repulsive than having to squeeze into a bus-especially on such a summer night-in her borrowed dress.

The tall girl also came out, smiling at Yu with renewed interest, but she strutted away at the sight of Yu holding the door for Peiqin.

“Have you had a wonderful evening?” Shi asked.

“Yes. Thank you for your car.”

“You’re most welcome,” Shi said. “Your husband says you’ve been so popular tonight. He had no choice but to wait for you outside.”

“No, he just wants to smoke outside.” She smiled.

On their way home, Yu did not mention the case at all. Nor did she. They talked about the songs they had sung tonight- though not together. They had to be discreet in the presence of others. She was learning fast.

Instead, she played her right hand lightly over the front of Yu’s white shirt, a shirt he himself had carefully ironed for the party. Then she tilted her head to one side in a mock-serious assessment.

“Not too bad,” she said, pouting her lips provocatively.

All she needed was the feeling of Yu holding her hand tightly in the backseat.

Monday was Chief Inspector Chen’s first day back in his office.

Nominally, Chen was still head of the special case squad. Most of his colleagues greeted him cordially, but he sensed a subtle change in the office. No one mentioned the case to him, nothing but empty, polite talk. People must have heard about the twists and turns of the investigation.

Commissar Zhang, who was not in the office, was said to be on vacation, but how long or why, no one could tell him.

Detective Yu was away on a temporary assignment-temporarily suspended-just like him.

Presently Party Secretary Li telephoned. “Comrade Chief Inspector, welcome back to the bureau. You have done an excellent job. The American guests have just sent us a fax expressing their thanks, especially for your hard work. They have a very high opinion of you.”

“Thank you for telling me this.”

But the Americans’ praise could easily be interpreted as another indication of his affiliation with Western bourgeois culture.

“Take a break,” Li said. “We’ll talk about your work in a couple of days, okay?”

The Party Secretary’s voice sounded smooth, but his words merely confirmed Chen’s suspicion.

“Fine,” he said, “but I’ve been away for several days already.”

“Don’t work too much, young man. We are actually thinking about a vacation for you.”

“I don’t need a vacation, Party Secretary Li. I’ve had enough of sightseeing and opera-watching.”

“Don’t worry, Comrade Chief Inspector Chen. I’ll talk to you next week.”

It was nothing new-the always-politically-correct Party Secretary discourse. The case had not been mentioned. There was no point in discussing it on the phone, they both understood only too well.

There was nothing he could do now in the Guan investigation, and nothing else he could really bring himself to focus on. There was some routine political paperwork on his desk, accumulated during his absence. Signing his name to the Party documents he was supposed to read was increasingly vexatious. Once more, his temples started drumming. He pulled out the drawer and found an aspirin bottle. Tapping two pills into his palm, he gulped them down. He looked out of his cubicle. Most of his colleagues had left for lunch. After locking the door, he took out the cassette of Yu’s interview with Jiang. He listened to the cassette from the beginning once more.

If Jiang had discovered those pictures, so could somebody else-Guan. Jiang’s reaction was that of an avant-garde artist, but what about Guan? Guan wanted Wu all for herself.

What would Guan have done?

After looking at his watch, Chen went down to the canteen, which would close in half an hour. He bought a small portion of noodles with a soy-sauce-braised steak. The canteen was crowded, but still he had a table for himself. People were distancing themselves from him, he realized. No one wanted to share his table. And he did not blame them. It was just politics.

By the time he had almost finished, however, Little Zhou come over to him with a bowl of sweet and sour pork rice. “You’re not eating much,” Little Zhou said.

“I’ve stuffed myself,” Chen said, “dining with the Americans.”

“Oh, those banquets,” Little Zhou laughed. “But you do not look too well today.”

“No, just a little headache.”

“Well, go to a public bath and immerse yourself in hot water for as long as you can. When you are sweating all over, wrap yourself in a thick blanket, drink a large cup of ginger tea, and you’ll be a brave new man in no time.”

“Yes, that may help, especially a cup of herbal tea.”

Then Little Zhou said in a whisper, leaning over as if to clean the table, “Yesterday afternoon I drove Party Secretary Li to a meeting. He got a phone call in the car.”

“Yes?”

“Not too many people have Li’s cellular phone number. So I was curious about it. And I heard your name mentioned a couple of times.”

“Really!”

“I was driving along the Number One Overpass. The traffic was crazy there, so I did not catch all of their conversation. Li said something like-I think-’Yes, you’re right. Comrade Chief Inspector Chen has been doing a great job, he’s a wonderful, loyal young cadre.’ Something to that effect.”

“You must be kidding, Little Zhou!”

“No, I’m not. That’s what I heard. Whoever made that phone call, it must be somebody in a high position. Li’s tone sounded so respectful.”

“What about the second time my name was mentioned?”

“I was even more alert, but I did not understand the context of their conversation. It was in connection with some young woman in Guangzhou, I guess. Anyway, it’s not your problem, but hers. Again Li seemed to be putting in a word for you, or agreeing with whatever was said to him.”

“Anything else about that woman?”

“Well, she seems to be in some kind of trouble-in custody or something-for illegal business practices.”

“I see. Thank you so much, Little Zhou, but you should not have gone out of your way for me.”

“Don’t mention it, Comrade Chief Inspector.” Little Zhou added earnestly, “I’m your man, and have been so ever since my first day in the bureau. Not because you’re somebody, but because you’re doing the right thing. Your buddy, and my buddy too, Overseas Chinese Lu swore that he would smash my car if I did not help you. You know how crazy he can be. I’ll contact you if I have some more information. You just take care of yourself.”

“Yes, I will. I appreciate your concern.” He added in a raised voice, “In fact, I’m going to a herbal drug store during the lunch break.”

Instead, after leaving the bureau, he turned into a side street, then a small lane, where there was a kiosk for a public phone station, like the one at Qinghe Lane. Looking back, he made sure that he was not being followed before he stepped into the kiosk. A disabled phone service man nodded at him, coughing with his palm against his mouth, as Chen dialed Overseas Chinese Lu’s number.

“You have ruined me, Comrade Chief Inspector Chen,” Lu said.

“How?”

“The fried eel noodles there are so good, the soup creamy, thick, with a handful of chopped ham and green onion, but so expensive,” Lu said. “Twelve Yuan a bowl. Still, I go there every morning.”

“Oh, you mean the Four Seas Restaurant.” Chen sighed in relief. “Well, I’m not worried about it. Nowadays, with your pocket full of money, you can afford to enjoy yourself there like a true Overseas Chinese millionaire.”

“It’s worth it, buddy. And I’ve got some important information for you.”