Lei Mi - Profiler

"That's right. Who am I speaking to?" he asked politely.

"I'm Meng Fanzhe's mother."

His mouth fell open. How did she get his number? "Oh, hello, Auntie. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Well, I believe you already know what happened with Meng Fanzhe. Yesterday I finished organizing his final affairs…" Her voice choked with sobs. "And I just got home earlier today. After resting for several hours, I unexpectedly discovered that there was a letter in our mailbox. When I looked at it, I saw that it was from Fanzhe, and that he had sent it several days ago. I checked the date and it was the very day that all this happened."

He felt as if his heart was about to stop. "Meng Fanzhe…sent you a letter?"

"That's right. The letter is really confusing. He mentioned a bunch of strange things and said they had to with some doctor that he had met recently. He also wrote that if anything ever happened to him that I should give the letter to you, and he gave me your phone number and said that you were the only one who could help him…" At this point, she began to moan in pain.

"Auntie, Auntie, are you still there?" he asked anxiously. "What's wrong?"

"I'm here. My heart isn't doing too well. Just now…it felt a little agitated…"

"Is your medication nearby?"

"Yes. Wait a moment, I'm going to go take some."

Through the receiver, Fang Mu could hear the sound of footsteps. Then a drawer was opened, pills rattled in a bottle, and a faucet was turned on.

After a little while, Fang Mu again heard Meng Fanzhe's mother's voice. "Hello?"

"Auntie, I'm here."

"How can I get you the letter?"

"Auntie, please tell me your address. I'll come get it now."

"Okay, write this down: apartment four-zero-one, building three of number six, Golden Pedestal residential area, eighty-three North Riverbend Street, Baita District in Suijing City. Got that?"

After copying down the address, Fang Mu read it back to Meng Fanzhe's mother. Then he warned her: "Auntie, whatever you do, don't leave the house. Wait for me and then we'll figure everything out."

"Okay."

After hanging up, Fang Mu went back into the reading room and returned all the books to their shelves. He quickly collected his things and hurried back to his room.

It was already 3:50 p.m. and it would probably take him around three hours to get to SuijingCity. Fang Mu doubted he would be able to make it back that night. After returning to his dorm, he opened his drawer to find that he had only a little over 100 renminbi. He packed himself a small bag, left Du Yu a note saying that he wouldn't be back until tomorrow, and grabbed his bank card and ran to the local sub-branch at the campus gate.

The bank was filled with elderly men and women collecting their pensions, and there was a long line at the ATM outside. Fang Mu looked at all the old people in their thick glasses who were checking the figures in their bankbooks again and again, and weighed his options. At last, feeling helpless, he lined up at the back of the queue for the ATM.

The line wriggled slowly forward. Fang Mu kept looking nervously from his watch to the distant ATM. When it was finally his turn, he took out 1,000 renminbi and then sprinted over to the cab stand in front of the school gates.

By the time Fang Mu reached the long-distance bus station it was already 4:30. With a sinking feeling, he learned from the attendant at the ticket counter that the last bus for SuijingCity had just left. Hearing this, Fang Mu jumped in a cab and headed to the train station.

Luckily, there was still another train to SuijingCity leaving at 5:10. After buying a ticket, Fang Mu went to the train station supermarket and bought some bread and a bottle of water, and then sat quietly in the waiting room until his train arrived.

When he had seen Meng Fanzhe eating his cat alive in the bathroom that night, he had had a feeling that someone was giving Meng Fanzhe psychotherapy — and that there had been an error in his treatment, bringing his mind to the brink of collapse. Then on the night when Meng Fanzhe had gone raging mad and tried to kill him, Fang Mu began to suspect that someone might be controlling his classmate.

Meng Fanzhe's mother had just told him that the letter mentioned a doctor. This seemed to give preliminary proof to Fang Mu's suspicions. And if this person really did exist, then he was certain to have had something to do with the murders.

Fang Mu could feel he was getting closer and closer to the truth.

It made him burn with impatience, and as he waited, time seemed to pass much slower than usual.

The train traveled steadily along the tracks, sounding its horn with a kind of rhythm.

The train was much emptier than Fang Mu had expected, and he was even able to find himself a seat. The train attendant told him that it was a local train, making all the stops, so they wouldn't be arriving at SuijingCity for another four hours and 40 minutes.

It was hardly a long journey, but since Fang Mu knew that at its end laid the answers he had long been searching for, the wait felt unbearable.

He sat next to the window, watching the sky gradually darken. Every now and then the train would stop at a station and a smattering of passengers would get on, holding bags of all sizes.

The dress and social status of the each of the passengers was different, but almost everyone looked anxious to return home.

What was home? Hot food, warm slippers, a familiar bed, and the affectionate scolding of one's family members.

Perhaps Meng Fanzhe had thought these same thoughts when he took this train home, maybe even wearing the same sort of expression.

Fang Mu laid his head against the cold window as the image of Meng Fanzhe pressing his tear-streaked, frightened face against the cop car window appeared in his mind.

Save me, save me, Fang Mu.

Fang Mu closed his eyes.

Fang Mu walked out of the SuijingCity train station at a little before 10 p.m. He bypassed all the pimps incessantly touting, "Lodgings, pretty girls, very cheap," and hurried out to the public square where the cabs were parked.

His cell phone suddenly rang. He pulled it out and looked at it. It was Deng Linyue. After thinking about it for a moment, he decided to answer.

"Hey."

"Where are you?" Deng Linyue hadn't contacted him for a few days, and her voice was a little cold.

"I'm off-campus."

"Where? I'll come meet you."

"It's too far. I'm outside the city, in SuijingCity."

"Suijing? What are you doing there?" Her voice sounded surprised.

"Don't worry about that right now," he said, hailing a cab as he spoke. "I've got some pretty important stuff I need to take care of. I'll tell you about it when I get back."

"Oh…all right. Well, make sure you look after yourself." She paused, and then added, "I'll be waiting for you."

After hanging up, Fang Mu told the driver where he wanted to go, and then suddenly realized that he should probably give Meng Fanzhe's mother a call.

He dialed her number and the phone rang and rang. No one picked up. It didn't seem right at all, so Fang Mu urged the driver to hurry up.

They crossed the city, the streets gradually emptying out. At last the driver stopped in front of a residential neighborhood.

"Seventeen bucks," the driver said, pointing at the meter. As Fang Mu handed him a 50, he looked off at the nearby apartment buildings.

"A fifty? You don't have any change?"

"No, just keep twenty for yourself," said Fang Mu hurriedly, not wanting to delay any longer.

"Sure thing, boss," said the driver with a smile. "Wait a second, I'll give you a receipt." The printer attached to the meter buzzed to life and spat out a receipt. Ripping it off, the driver handed it to Fang Mu along with 30 renminbi.