Mingmei Yip - The Nine Fold Heaven

We nodded. I felt so tense that I squeezed Jinying’s hand. He patted me with his other one. But from the perspiration gathering on his forehead and temples, I could tell he was as anxious as I was.

The detective smiled proudly. “So I checked records from all the ships to see if an American missionary couple had left for the US with a Chinese baby.

“Of course, I had to pay a lot to see those records, which show, fortunately to you, there was no American family taking home a Chinese baby. That told us that the adoptive parents should still be in Shanghai. So my people used our connection with the American Consulate to check with all the American couples here to find out if any had recently made an adoption. We found three, one adopted a Russian newborn baby boy, another one a Chinese girl, and the remaining one a seven, eight-month-old Chinese boy. So this baby should be Anton Lewinsky you’ve been looking for.”

Jinying and I looked at each other again and this time we screamed.

“Oh, heaven!” Jinying hugged me and planted a kiss on my forehead.

The detective waited patiently for our enthusiasm and public display of affection to cool. Then he took out a cigarette case and held it out to us. “Have one?”

We shook our heads, so he shook one out for himself, lit it with a big Zippo lighter, then with a satisfied expression, blew out a smoke ring. All we could do was wait anxiously for him to get to the point.

He went on. “Unfortunately, the husband was robbed and killed soon after the adoption. I used our agency’s connections and found out where the widow lives and went to see her. I told her that I work for a Buddhist temple, heard of her dire situation, and was there to deliver money and clothes for her and her baby.”

“And she believed you?” I asked.

“Mrs. Fang, you can’t believe how easily people believe. And believe me, it happens all the time. Besides, I did bring money and nice clothes.”

He tapped his lighter on his desk and continued. “She took the money and clothes but refused to let me inside her apartment to see the baby—”

“Then where’s the baby?” both Jinying and I exclaimed.

The detective cast us an annoyed look. “Be patient, Mr. and Mrs. Fang, I was about to tell you.”

Jinying forced a smile. “Please go ahead, Detective.”

“So I said to her, ‘If you’re not comfortable letting me inside your home, next time we can meet outside at a tea house. I’ll also bring more money to pay for the baby’s food.’ However, two days later when we met at the tea house, she didn’t bring the baby—”

I exclaimed, “What? Oh, heaven, what happened?”

“Calm down, Mrs. Fang. Don’t worry, I’ll tell you everything.”

Detective Tang crushed the cigarette in a metal ashtray, took out another one, lit it, then again blew his annoying smoke rings. I was getting more and more frustrated at his pompous way of speaking and his self-promotion. Was this smoke ritual just to kill time so he could charge more? Or so he could veil the truth?

“All right,” he went on, “she said after her husband died, she couldn’t care for the baby by herself. Without her husband’s salary, her money was running out quickly. So she felt she had no choice but to take the baby to the Compassionate Grace Orphanage, hoping he could be adopted by more suitable parents.”

I asked, “Why didn’t she give the baby back to Sacred Heart?”

“She felt too embarrassed. Since she begged the nuns to let her and her husband adopt even though they were not Catholic. The abbess made an exception and let them adopt him.”

Jinying asked, “Why didn’t the widow’s church give her financial help?”

“Because the church they belong to is a very small one, and they told her they have no money right now.”

I was sorry for the widow, but my concern was not with her, but with finding Jinjin. “So our son is at Compassionate Grace—but how can we tell which baby is ours?”

Jinying chimed in, his voice tense. “Yes, how?”

The detective cast us a disapproving look. “Relax, Mr. and Mrs. Fang, that’s what I’m about to tell you. No problem, the widow told me that she and her husband baptized the baby as ‘Bo Cooper.’”

This was promising, but I was still uncertain. “Does he look like either of us?”

The detective laughed, then coughed several times. “Although I paid the widow, I couldn’t see the baby because she’s already placed him at the orphanage. But I was told that he has a birthmark like a pink crescent moon behind his ear.”

It took a few seconds for this to register. Then, as my heart pounded in my chest, my mouth exploded with a loud, “What???”

Jinying turned to me with a puzzled expression. “What what? ”

I muttered to myself, “Can it be?”

“Please explain to me, Camilla.”

Detective Tang stared at me curiously. “Mrs. Fang, you look upset, would you like some tea?”

Jinying put his hand on my arm and asked, “Are you all right?”

But I had momentarily lost the power of speech, thinking:

Oh, heaven! A birthmark like a pink crescent moon behind his ear! This has to be the “Baobao” Peiling has been taking care of! Then Baobao is my baby, Jinjin!

That’s why Peiling calls him Baobao! She said his name was Bao, which she must have mistaken it for Bo. Heaven let me seen my Jinjin three times without knowing he’s my little boy!

And the birthmark. It’s a smiling lips, a capsized boat, and now a pink crescent moon!

I said to the detective, “Could you please excuse us for a moment while we get some fresh air?”

“Of course. Take your time. I‘ll just smoke another cigarette while I wait for you.”

We trotted down the stairs and out of the building into the muggy afternoon air. Still, a relief from the endless cigarettes. I had told Jinying about visiting the orphanage, but not what had happened there. Now I blurted it all in a rapid stream of words.

When I’d finished, Jinying eyed me suspiciously. “Camilla, how come you never told me about the baby?”

“How could I have known the baby was our son? Though now I think he does look like you—he has your brows and thick hair. But there are so many babies in the orphanage!”

I could see he was a little angry at me, but I was even more angry at myself. I’d held Jinjin without realizing who he was! Yet, he’d often smiled at me. I wondered if he knew I was his mother.

Then Jinying’s angry expression was replaced by a broad smile. “Oh, heaven, can it really be true that we will see our baby soon?”

“Hadn’t you told me we must have faith that heaven has kept Jinjin alive for us somewhere?”

The detective’s job was to find Jinjin, but not to get him back for us. So I paid him handsomely, without questioning his claims for expenses—money he’d paid to people in the American Consulate and to the missionary’s widow. With relief, we thanked him and left his musty office. Even though he’d signed a contract promising confidentiality, I was still worried that he’d leak this, but I supposed he wouldn’t out of fear it would hurt his business.

Back in the hotel, Jinying asked, “What are we going to do now, Camilla?”

“I’ll go to Compassionate Grace to get Jinjin and sneak out with him.”

“But, how could you… don’t you think it’s better that we visit the director and tell her the truth. Then ask her to give us back our baby?”

“Jinying, you think those people there care about the truth? Besides, how can we prove to her Jinjin is really our baby? And, believe me, stealing is a lot faster and easier than dealing with the orphanage officials.”

Ignoring what I said, he went on. “We can prove that Jinjin is ours by telling them about the birthmark.”