by Zhou HaoHui
A hand gently took hold of her left wrist. ‘Here,’ he said, guiding it to the paper plate and placing a fork in her other hand.
‘It must be so difficult being with someone like me,’ she said. There was a fizzing in her stomach, as if she’d just gulped down a glass of soda water. It felt exciting.
‘Not at all! I wouldn’t mind if every day was like this.’
His hand left her arm, brushing against her as it passed. Her skin tingled where he’d touched it. Warmth spread across her cheeks. She lowered her head and took her first bite of the cake, hoping he hadn’t noticed her blushing.
‘How does it taste?’
‘It’s perfect.’
Bite by bite, she ate her slice in silence. The fork trembled between her fingers.
She felt his eyes on her. As the seconds passed, the silence grew heavy. She set the plate down on her lap and raised her head. ‘What are you thinking about?’ she asked.
‘I remembered something. The first time I ate cake,’ he said wistfully.
She laughed and covered her mouth with her hand. ‘You must be dying of hunger, watching me eat this.’
At that moment, his mood changed. She was sure of it.
‘It was my sixth birthday. What I wanted above all else was a cake, and my father bought me one.’
Something had sucked the energy out of his voice. It made her uncomfortable. Especially when he’d said ‘father’.
‘I’m sure your father loved you. He must have been a great dad, someone who never let you down.’
‘No, actually. The person who eventually gave me the cake wasn’t even my father at all.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘My father passed away that day.’
The air around her felt much colder now. ‘I’m sorry. I had no idea,’ she said. ‘You were so young when you lost your father.’
He grasped her hand. ‘No one understands what it feels like to lose a father more than I do,’ he said. ‘Since the first time I saw you, I’ve been filled with an irresistible urge to protect you, to take care of you…’
Her sadness and suspicions washed away. Only sweetness and tenderness remained. Before, she’d thought of him as a friend, albeit one she didn’t quite understand. Now she felt a sudden closeness to him. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before.
The bench squeaked as he rose. ‘I have to go. I’ve already stayed too long.’
Nodding, she slid her hand out of his palm. She was relieved that he was leaving; although she didn’t want him gone, she needed time to process everything that had just happened.
‘Can you promise me something?’ he asked.
‘What?’
‘Some people might come and ask you about me. Don’t let them know that we’ve ever met.’
‘Of course,’ she answered without hesitation.
‘You don’t want to ask me why?’
Smiling, she said, ‘You don’t want to tell me. Why should I ask? I don’t think you’re a bad person and I know you wouldn’t hurt me. I trust you.’
She heard a quiet but strong exhalation. Had her response taken him by surprise? Perhaps. Still, she had no intention of taking it back.
‘I’ll come and see you as soon as I can.’
He left without saying anything more. She heard his footsteps outside the studio, soft but quick, like a sprinter wearing padded shoes.
14
LET YOURSELF BE HUGE
10:25 a.m.
Criminal police headquarters
A quick check of his watch told SPU Captain Liu that the task force’s meeting had started nearly half an hour ago. He rushed to the conference room and found all the other team members already assembled there.
‘What are you doing here?’ Captain Pei asked him, making no attempt to conceal his surprise.
‘Du’s finished his article. My men are keeping an eye on him in the break room. I brought a copy with me. I assumed you’d want to see it as soon as possible.’
‘Perfect timing,’ Pei said and pointed at the conference table. ‘Have a look at that and tell me what you think.’
The table was covered with a pile of white styrofoam. Liu counted at least ten separate pieces. Though the chunks were all different shapes and sizes, they had two things in common: they were thin and they were all curved to some degree.
‘These were all found within the vicinity of the Longyu Building,’ Lieutenant Yin explained. ‘They’re all extremely similar to the bloodstained packaging we found on the terrace and we believe they share the same origin.’
‘Oh? You think these are connected to the case?’ Liu scanned the objects on the table again.
‘We’ve already analysed the styrofoam recovered from the terrace,’ Lieutenant Yin explained. ‘The blood on it came from Vice President Lin. So we now know for a fact that Eumenides came into contact with that piece of styrofoam after murdering Vice President Lin. From what we know of the killer’s abilities, this cannot have been accidental. Although these pieces were all found on the south side of the building, some of them were as much as fifty metres apart. It’s likely that they were thrown from somewhere high up. Taking into account the height of the eighteenth-floor office and last night’s wind direction and speed, the scatter pattern proves that they were thrown from the office window.’
‘But how would these have helped Eumenides commit the murders?’ Liu asked.
Captain Pei shrugged. ‘That’s what we’re trying to figure out right now. We don’t have an answer yet.’
‘Mind if I pick one up and have a look?’
‘By all means. The guys in the lab have already examined them. It’s okay to touch them now.’
Liu took a seat and picked up one of the smallest pieces. Except for the lack of blood, it was all but indistinguishable from the styrofoam they’d found on the terrace.
‘Actually, there’s another thing that’s odd,’ Ms Mu said.
‘What’s that?’ Pei asked, his interest piqued.
‘That we’re examining these styrofoam pieces at all. If Eumenides used them at the scene of the crime, it would make sense for him to throw them out the window. They’d scatter over a large area and would look like ordinary pieces of litter. But he would definitely have noticed the bloodstain, however much of a hurry he was in. Why didn’t he hold onto that piece? It’s true that we got lucky with its discovery, but we only found it because of a choice Eumenides made. It would have been easier for him to have avoided any chance of that happening, and that is something we mustn’t forget.’
‘I’ve been wondering the same thing,’ Pei said. ‘And the bag we found on the terrace is just as suspicious. It isn’t like Eumenides to leave behind evidence. Especially as blatant as that.’
‘So why did he do it, then?’ TSO Zeng asked, adjusting his glasses. ‘To distract us?’
No one answered. Liu continued to examine the pieces of styrofoam, lazily clasping one piece under his forearm while using his other hand to pick up another bit.
Pei eyed him curiously. Suddenly, like a spark igniting a scrap of kindling, his curiosity transformed into excitement.
He sprang out of his chair, approached the table, reached out and grabbed the largest piece. After studying it for a moment, he set it down in an empty space at the far end of the tabletop. The piece was about half the size of a pillow, and it was similarly curved. Pei had placed it so that its convex side faced downwards. The styrofoam rocked gently on the table, not unlike an overturned turtle. He turned and picked up a similarly sized piece from the pile. This time he placed it on top of the first piece, convex side up, so that both sides faced one another. He grabbed one piece after another, placing each one into a specific position. Like a jigsaw puzzle being assembled, a unified shape began to form.
The team stared at what they were seeing. The pieces of styrofoam had become a human silhouette. It had a torso, a waist, legs and arms. All it was missing was a head. Its right forearm consisted of the small piece
they’d found on the terrace. The blood was smeared precisely where its wrist would be.
‘What the hell is that?’ TSO Zeng blurted out.
Pei studied the emerging styrofoam mannequin. ‘I’m not quite sure. But we can be sure about one thing. At one point it was wearing the bloody clothes that we found on the terrace.’
Understanding dawned on Lieutenant Yin’s face. He rose from his seat and moved closer to the mannequin. ‘You’re right! The blood was on the shirt’s right wrist too. Eumenides must have worn this inside his clothes when he committed the murders. That’s how the blood got there.’
SPU Captain Liu looked at Lieutenant Yin with wide-eyed incredulity. ‘You think Eumenides wore this styrofoam… like a suit of armour?’
‘That does appear to be what it was intended for,’ Pei said.
Ms Mu seemed equally dubious. ‘But the man in the recording moved very naturally. He walked like a cat burglar, not a man wearing armour. Can you imagine how bulky this would be to wear?’
‘Yet again, the lady has a point,’ Zeng murmured.
Everyone quietly pondered the implications. But though Pei’s initial theory had filled the team with a sudden rush of hope, their examination of the styrofoam lead had quickly come to a standstill.
‘As we’ve nothing more to contribute at this point,’ Pei said, ‘I’m bringing this meeting to a close. Before any of you leave the building, I want you all to take some time to think about where we are in this investigation. We’ll reconvene later and discuss our thoughts.’
As Lieutenant Yin, TSO Zeng and Ms Mu left for the cafeteria, SPU Captain Liu walked over to Pei and handed him Du’s article.
‘Take a look at this draft, Captain. Let me know if it’s ready to publish.’
Pei whistled through his teeth as he flipped through the printout. ‘The kid’s a fast typist, I’ll give him that. “Eumenides Takes Another Life. This Time He Slaughters the Innocent…”’
He read on.
Structurally speaking, the article was sound and meticulously organised. Rather than begin immediately with the scene of the previous night’s murders, Du opened by describing Vice President Meng’s early years.
Back when the Longyu Corporation was in its infancy, Meng was Mayor Deng’s right-hand man. Before the company became one of Chengdu’s most formidable businesses, Meng got his hands bloody on more than one occasion while defending it from external threats. Eventually he was arrested and found guilty of manslaughter during a drunken brawl at a dinner. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Du related this first part of Meng’s story with plenty of pace and drama, in the style of a classic adventure story designed to keep readers on the edge of their seats. But once he started describing Meng’s experiences post-sentencing, the article became a thoughtful character study. Apparently, Meng made a clean break with his past while in prison. Not only did he make an active effort to reform, he also became one of the prison’s hardest-working labourers. After ten years inside, Meng was granted parole. He had won a second chance at life.
The section that followed was a stark contrast to Meng’s trial-by-fire ordeal in prison. He converted to Catholicism and even became a community leader, frequently using his own life experiences to guide and educate young people. He had put his dark past behind him. Pei felt a tingle in the back of his throat as he read Du’s depiction of the cheerful family reunion when Meng came home to his wife and daughter.
The final segment was succinct and quickly segued into the main subject of the article: Vice President Meng’s execution at Eumenides’ hand. After briefly outlining Eumenides’ emergence and the recent killings, Du described the vice president’s reaction to the death notice he received from Eumenides. Despite his family’s concerns, Meng responded to the death threat with a light heart and a clear conscience. He proclaimed that he had already been punished for his misdeeds and that as far as he was concerned, he was a new man. If Eumenides knew what he’d been through, Meng was sure he would rescind his threat. So when he took sanctuary in the office on the eighteenth floor he brought along his proof of sentencing, his certificates of good behaviour from prison, his parole certification and the journal he’d kept while in prison.
Everything in the article tallied with what Pei already knew of Vice President Meng. He had pored over Meng’s background before going to the Longyu Building, and the police had indeed found the journal and these other items beside his pillow. Pei had seen the bloody documents himself. But reading the article cast everything in a new light. Any reader would sympathise with Vice President Meng and would be left with one burning question: why would Eumenides carry out this sentence?
As the article reached its climax, Du described the hours leading up to the previous night as if it were the script of a Hollywood thriller. Pei even found himself holding his breath. The conclusion, however, was inevitable.
Vice President Meng was found with his mouth slightly open, as though attempting to speak to his killer. His words, however, if he even managed to utter them, had no effect. Blood spilt from the deep gash across his throat, drenching the pages of the diary lying beside him. His personal redemption, it seemed, counted for nothing. All of Vice President Meng’s hopes for a better life with his family were left swimming in blood, just like his diary…
Letting out a quiet sigh, Pei set the printout down on the table. The article was essentially an accusation from the perspective of one of Eumenides’ victims. Even Eumenides’ most loyal supporters would find it hard to justify his behaviour after reading that.
‘Let him publish it,’ he told Liu. ‘And tell him to do it as soon as possible. Hell, let him use one of our computers.’
‘Yes, sir.’
Pei thought to himself for another moment, still processing what he’d read. ‘And tell him that he shouldn’t only publish this online,’ he added. ‘I want it sent to Chengdu’s major media outlets as well. Run through our media contacts and tell them to use the article. The more outlets you get it featured in, the better. If we pull this off, we might be able to kill two birds with one stone.’
*
After they had eaten and rested, Lieutenant Yin and SPU Captain Liu went to meet Captain Pei in his office.
Pei had piled the styrofoam onto his desk. Next to it stood the athletic backpack that they had found on the terrace.
‘Have you figured it out, Captain?’ Lieutenant Yin asked.
‘Oh?’ Pei smiled through his exhaustion. ‘How did you guess?’
‘Because it looks like you’ve stopped thinking it over,’ Yin said matter-of-factly. ‘When you’re thinking about something, you devote your full attention to it. Even if someone’s talking to you, your eyes are somewhere else. You’re not relaxed like you are now. Plus, if you hadn’t made sense of it, you wouldn’t have ended our meeting so early.’
Pei offered a noncommittal shrug. Then he looked Liu up and down, mumbled, ‘Yes, you’ll do,’ and nodded to himself.
Liu and Yin glanced at one another in confusion.
Pei picked up the backpack, set it down near the front of his desk, unzipped it and pulled out its contents: a set of athletic clothing and a black hat.
‘The forensics team have already examined this bag and everything inside it. They found next to nothing, save for blood from Vice President Lin and Vice President Meng.’
The two officers said nothing.
‘SPU Captain Liu, put these clothes on,’ Pei said.
Liu froze momentarily. But once he’d recovered from his surprise, he immediately stripped off his uniform shirt and put on the workout jacket that Pei had handed to him. Even though Liu was 1.8 metres tall, the jacket hung loose on his thin frame.
Liu stood still at first, aware that Eumenides had worn that jacket. He then noticed the large patches of blood on it and shifted uncomfortably, anxiously waiting for Pei to tell him that he could take it off.
But Pei was only just getting started. He picked up several pieces of styrofo
am from the desk and handed them to Liu. ‘Put these on inside the jacket.’
These were the pieces that had made up the styrofoam figure’s torso, back and arms. Liu unzipped the jacket and placed each piece in its corresponding position, section by section. To his surprise, the pieces not only fitted his figure perfectly but filled the space between his body and the jacket so well that they almost seemed custom-made for him. When he zipped the jacket back up, he appeared much bulkier.
Pei put the hat on Liu’s head, making sure to pull the brim low over his face. He nodded to himself, apparently satisfied at what he saw. Finally, he looked over at Lieutenant Yin and asked, ‘What do you think?’
‘I think,’ Yin said, ‘that he looks a lot like the person we saw in the recording.’
Liu had finally had enough. He tore off the hat and shot Pei a reproachful look. ‘Captain, what on earth am I doing this for?’
Pei’s expression became stern. ‘I have a task for you,’ he replied.
Liu straightened up and his eyes brightened. ‘Yes, sir.’
‘It’s extremely important,’ Pei said, enunciating his words carefully. ‘Top secret.’
*
8:21 p.m.
The Green Spring
It was well known that Sheng had been a key figure within the Longyu Corporation, and his ‘accidental’ death was an obvious red flag for Captain Pei. Just as Brother Hua had done before him, Pei followed the trail of leads to the Green Spring restaurant, where he demanded to see all security footage of the dining area from the evening of the twenty-ninth of October.
The footage showed Vice President Lin and Vice President Meng leaving the restaurant after they’d finished their meal. Sheng, however, remained at the table, where he continued to eat and drink. Not long after, he appeared to lose his temper. Unfortunately, the video came without an audio track, so Pei could only guess what he was saying. After berating a waiter, Sheng sprinted out of view of the camera as if in pursuit of someone.
