by Zhou HaoHui
‘Pei would never want that,’ Liu insisted with a vigorous shake of his head.
‘But he does. He’s already set it in motion. And he’s the head of the task force, isn’t he?’
Frustrated, Ms Mu finally decided that this was enough. She leapt up, snatched her phone from the table and walked out of the holding cell.
‘You two arrived together,’ Du said to Liu coldly. ‘Aren’t you supposed to leave together?’
SPU Captain Liu had barely spoken since entering the room, choosing instead to glare disgustedly at Du from his side of the table and let Ms Mu do the talking. ‘I’ve been tasked with your protection,’ he said simply.
‘Oh?’ Du stood up and eagerly thrust out his right hand. ‘He speaks! Sorry, I forgot your name.’
SPU Captain Liu reluctantly shook Du’s hand, as warm and firm as a dead fish. ‘One more time: Captain Liu Song, special police unit.’
‘I appall you, don’t I?’ Du asked with a catty grin. ‘I have that effect on a lot of people, but I don’t mind. They’re outnumbered by the people who appreciate my journalism. As far as I’m concerned, that’s all that matters.’
Liu grunted. ‘Do you think I care? I’m supposed to protect you, not write your biography.’
‘I’m not a fan of small talk, especially not with someone like you. Still, if we’re going to be working together, we should learn a little bit about one another.’
‘“Working together”? Cut the crap, Du. The situation’s extremely simple: Eumenides wants to kill you and it’s my job to protect you. You’ll be free to go soon, but you’ll have to get my permission first.’
Du raised his eyebrows. ‘Like I told the woman, get your stories straight before you start laying down conditions. If I have to get your permission to do anything, that doesn’t sound much like freedom to me.’
‘You can choose to ignore my advice,’ Liu said frostily, ‘but be clear about one thing: my worst-case scenario is mission failure; yours is death.’
Du froze for a moment. Then with a resigned shake of his head he said, ‘Fine. I’ll do what you tell me.’
‘That would be ideal.’
‘We have an understanding then. Despite making some concessions, I’m not too cut up about it. I won’t even press charges for the bruises that other cop gave me or for entering my home without a warrant. After all, the best stories always begin with conflict.’ Du stood up and headed to the door. ‘I’d like to go home and catch up on my rest. Do I have your permission to do that?’
‘You do. I’ll drive you there.’
Liu escorted him to the car park.
‘Shengde Gardens,’ Du instructed once he’d climbed into the police car. He leant back in the passenger seat and began flipping through a copy of the morning paper that he had snatched from the lobby.
Liu drove carefully and without uttering a word, aware that anything could happen if Eumenides was involved.
‘“The body of a young man was discovered floating in the Jin River early this morning”,’ Du read. ‘“Forensic tests confirmed that the individual drowned. His blood alcohol level was 213 milligrams per litre, indicating that he was intoxicated at the time of his death. The police suspect that the man slipped and accidentally fell into the river while attempting to urinate sometime after midnight.” The article ends with a friendly reminder from the police to drink responsibly or else…’ He trailed off. ‘Or else end up drowning in a river, I guess.’
Liu was focused on the road. The traffic was light and he was making good time.
‘What do you think of this story, Captain Liu?’ Du asked, setting the newspaper down on his lap.
‘Accidents happen every day,’ Liu answered nonchalantly, although his interest had been piqued. ‘If you worked in law enforcement, you wouldn’t give a second thought to a story like that.’
‘What if the unlucky bastard was murdered?’
‘Murdered? The paper says he was piss-drunk when he fell in.’
‘They can confirm that he was drunk and that he drowned. But where’s the evidence that he slipped and fell in? If he was pushed in when he was drunk, wouldn’t that constitute murder? By going for the most obvious conclusion, the police might be letting a killer off the hook.’
‘Even if things did happen as you suggest, the police wouldn’t be able to prove anything without a witness.’
‘Are you saying that the police couldn’t do anything?’
Liu nodded. ‘You want to learn about me and my job? Fine. Then let me tell you about a mission that the SPU was given last summer: to find and rescue a lost explorer in the mountains outside Chengdu. We used ropes to climb down into a remote gully and we searched non-stop for three days and nights. We never did find the individual we were looking for, but we did find multiple badly decayed corpses. Did those people meet their deaths accidentally, while exploring, or were they the victims of something more sinister? I asked our late captain, Xiong Yuan, and you know what he said? “That’s not why we came out here, Liu.” His answer was frustrating, but it was the hard truth.’ Liu exhaled slowly. ‘Your hypothesis could be true,’ he added, ‘but what then?’
‘There are a lot of dark corners in this world that law enforcement can’t touch,’ Du said quietly. ‘I suppose there really is a place for Eumenides in a society like ours.’
Liu swivelled round and glared at his passenger. Du had a strange glint in his eyes. Even though Eumenides had singled him out as a future victim, did he actually admire the killer? Liu turned back to the road and shook his head. He didn’t need to concern himself with that right now.
9:56 a.m.
Captain Pei’s office
Captain Pei was standing at his office window, studying the industrial-concrete slab of a building across the street. It was home to the forensics division, but it looked identical to the other buildings scattered around the campus that comprised the police headquarters. He had been captain of Chengdu’s criminal police for three days, but only now did it truly feel like the new job had changed him.
The door opened with a whisper and he heard soft footsteps behind him. He turned to see Ms Mu standing there.
‘How did it go?’ he asked.
‘You already know the answer to that question, Captain,’ she said crossly.
‘You weren’t able to convince him, huh? Well, you’re right, I was expecting that.’
‘So why did you let me waste my time?’
‘You wanted to talk to him. I didn’t have a reason to not allow you to try.’
‘Stop beating around the bush. I have another question.’
‘You do? Out with it then.’
‘If you’d thought I might be able to persuade Du to see my point of view, would you still have let me talk to him?’
Pei had no response. He simply forced an awkward smile.
‘In your eyes, Du is just bait,’ she continued. ‘Nothing more, nothing less. You don’t care about his safety. In fact, you’re hoping that Eumenides does carry out his threat, because you believe that Du should pay for his crimes. Am I correct?’
Pei avoided her gaze. ‘I can’t deny that I might have been thinking along those lines, even subconsciously. But so what? That doesn’t change anything.
‘At least you’re being honest now.’
‘There’s no need for me to deceive you, much less myself.’
Ms Mu took a deep breath before continuing. ‘I know where Eumenides is,’ she said quietly.
Pei sucked in a short gasp and snapped to attention. ‘Where?’
‘He’s inside you,’ Ms Mu answered, looking him straight in the eye.
Pei went back to the window. As he gazed at the forensics building, his left hand clenched into a fist.
‘That’s the way it’s always been,’ Ms Mu went on. ‘After all, you and your late girlfriend, Meng Yun, created that character. Even nearly two decades on, that role is still forcing you to reap the bitter fruits of your past. And you still can’t resist the tem
ptation.’
That last remark left Pei confused. He recalled the night that he and Meng had come up with the concept of Eumenides. He’d thought they were creating a character for a short story, but had his inspiration come from somewhere deeper? He cast his mind back to his last conversation with Yuan Zhibang, just a week ago at the Jade Garden restaurant, before Yuan blew himself up. The words still lingered in his memory:
‘You and Meng were the ones who created Eumenides in the first place. You are Eumenides. As was she. You could say that there’s a Eumenides inside many of us. People need Eumenides to exist.’
That rasping voice still made his heart race, even when echoing from the dark edges of his memory.
He took several long breaths then turned back to face Ms Mu again. ‘You can rest assured that I won’t lose sight of my duties as both police captain and the head of this task force. No matter what, I am obligated to uphold the law. Know that my desire for the April 18th Task Force to complete our investigation is greater than any emotional bias I may or may not have.’
‘That’s best for everyone,’ Ms Mu said, seemingly happy to take him at his word.
Still, Pei was sure that she would keep a close eye on him throughout the operation. ‘Let’s get back to work. What should we be doing now?’
‘Trying to trace Captain Ding Ke. We need to make a trip to Sichuan University. Captain Ding’s son is there.’
Pei walked over to his desk and picked up a computer printout. It was a faculty registration form. In the upper right corner was a headshot of a middle-aged man. Some lines of text were printed below the photograph:
Professor Ding Zhen
Male; born 21/07/1960
Current place of employment: Sichuan University
Position: Vice dean of the College of Environmental Engineering; professor
9
LIKE FATHER…
11:03 a.m.
College of Environmental Engineering, Sichuan University
Professor Ding’s personal office was on the eighth floor of the college, not far from the lift. Captain Pei, followed by Ms Mu, almost walked past the nondescript room. He knocked politely.
‘Come in,’ a soft, feminine voice said.
A woman in her late twenties was sitting at a small oak desk piled with textbooks and loose paper. There was a single door behind the desk.
‘We’re with the police,’ Pei said, showing her his badge. ‘We’d like to ask Professor Ding some questions regarding an ongoing investigation.’
‘The professor’s in a meeting right now. You’ll have to wait.’ Wearing a polite smile, she said, ‘I’m his secretary, Gao Qiong.’
‘Approximately how long will we have to wait?’ Ms Mu asked as she surveyed the room.
‘Hard to say,’ Gao said apologetically. ‘Professor Ding is a very busy man. Most people have to make an appointment to see him. However, since this is a special situation, I’m sure he’ll be able to see you during his lunch hour.’
‘That won’t be too much of an inconvenience for the professor, will it?’
‘Not at all. He usually gets his lunch delivered, so you can talk to him while he eats. If you don’t mind doing that, there won’t be any problem.’
‘I don’t mind,’ Ms Mu said.
‘That’s fine,’ added Pei.
They waited patiently. Professor Ding returned half an hour later.
‘You’re back, Professor,’ Gao chirped. ‘There are two visitors waiting for you.’
‘Visitors?’ the professor repeated. His brow wrinkled in displeasure as he glanced at Ms Mu and Captain Pei. ‘I didn’t arrange to meet anyone today.’
‘They’re from the police.’
‘Oh.’ Professor Ding paused for a moment. He was smartly dressed in a well-cut suit, with his hair immaculately parted to the side.
Pei and Ms Mu both quickly stood up.
‘Hello, Professor,’ Pei said.
The professor sized them up with a bright, studious expression. ‘Police, huh?’
‘This is Pei Tao, the new captain of the criminal police unit,’ Ms Mu said. ‘I’m Mu Jianyun, lecturer at the Sichuan Police Academy.’
Professor Ding shook their hands briskly. ‘Pleased to make your acquaintance.’
‘We do apologise for turning up unannounced,’ Pei said.
‘No need. Come in and have a seat.’
The professor’s office was as neat as the man himself. Densely packed bookshelves lined the far wall and brick-like stacks of essays and term papers covered the oak desk.
Professor Ding took a seat in the wide chair behind his desk. ‘Would you like to join me for lunch?’ he asked.
‘No, but thanks for the offer,’ Pei said.
‘Life is short, which is why one should plan one’s time as efficiently as possible. For instance, I don’t have to devote my entire lunchtime to eating – I can also listen to the news or participate in an unplanned chat. Are you sure I can’t order lunch for both of you?’
The professor spoke with an authoritative, pedagogical tone. Occupational hazard, Pei thought. If he’d come here for any other reason, he might have taken the professor up on his offer. But it wasn’t easy to maintain one’s authority with a mouth full of food. ‘No thanks,’ he repeated. ‘We’re not hungry.’
Nodding, Professor Ding picked up the phone on his desk. ‘Order my usual,’ he said. Then he turned to Pei. ‘You’re looking for my father, aren’t you?’
He’d wasted no time in getting to the point.
‘That’s the only thing the police ever want from me,’ he said in a mocking tone. ‘You’ve run into some trouble on an investigation – am I right? And you want my father’s help.’
Pei nodded. ‘That’s about it. Word has it that your father got tired of the job a long time ago. But this is an extremely important case. I sincerely hope that you’ll be able to help us find him.’
‘A big case?’ Professor Ding flashed a broad, emotionless grin. ‘Any case is a big case as far as the criminal police are concerned. I know that quite well. As soon as you start working on an investigation, everything else pales in comparison, does it not? Even your own family.’
‘You seem to have a bit of a bias against our line of work, Professor,’ Pei said.
Professor Ding gave him an indifferent look. ‘Are you married?’
‘No.’
‘You’re better off that way. Better to be a bachelor your entire life than to become a husband and father who shirks his responsibilities.’
Pei stared awkwardly at the professor, unsure how to respond. Ms Mu wrinkled her nose in displeasure. ‘Professor,’ she said, ‘do you have some grievance against your father? Do you believe that he failed to fulfil his rightful role in your household?’
Professor Ding narrowed his eyes at her, as if seeing her for the first time. Ms Mu looked right back at him without flinching. The atmosphere in the office was thick enough to choke on.
There was a knock at the door.
Professor Ding glanced over and visibly relaxed. ‘Come in,’ he said.
The secretary stepped inside. She set a takeaway container on the desk. ‘Your lunch, sir.’
‘That will be all, Gao,’ he said.
She retreated to the door but paused and turned to Pei and Ms Mu. ‘Take your time,’ she said.
Her words felt like a breath of fresh air. By the time the door had closed, Ms Mu’s easy smile had returned to her lips.
The professor ate quickly, gulping his meal down as if this were merely one of the many tasks he had to tick off, like marking an essay or rearranging a bookshelf. After taking several large mouthfuls, he looked up at Pei and said, ‘What’s this case about, exactly?’
‘It’s eighteen years old. Your father was in charge of it. Work on the case actually wrapped up a long time ago; we just need to ask your father some questions about a few specific details.’
‘Did it involve a hostage?’
‘You know about the
case?’ Pei asked, his surprise tempered only by his excitement.
‘That one was never completely solved,’ Professor Ding said with an odd chuckle.
‘What do you mean?’
‘My father set himself very high standards. In his twenty years as a cop, he had a 100-per-cent success rate with every case he investigated. That was the only one that he felt was never concluded satisfactorily.’
‘Are you familiar with the specifics of it?’
‘Not at all. I just know that there was a problem with a case involving a hostage. And the reason I know is because it was this that forced my father to retire.’
‘Your father quit because of that case?’ Pei asked, leaning forward.
‘What did you think the reason was?’
‘The official reason was health issues. Fatigue.’
‘Do you really think a health problem would stop him from being a cop?’ Professor Ding shook his head. ‘You clearly don’t understand my father. He would sacrifice everything for a case. Nothing short of keeling over at a crime scene would have stopped him.’
Pei and Ms Mu exchanged knowing glances.
‘Nothing would make him abandon a case,’ Professor Ding said. ‘The only reason he quit was because he finally came up against a case he couldn’t solve. He could never accept failure. Which was why he found an excuse to leave the criminal police, in order to preserve the flawless reputation he’d built up over his twenty-year career.’
Pei listened intently, but something didn’t sound right. ‘As far as I know, the January 30th case was fairly straightforward. The suspect wore an improvised explosive device and took a hostage. In the end he was shot and killed by the police. None of that’s in dispute. For a man like your father, what aspect of the case could have been unsolvable? Besides, the case was already closed and archived by the time your father retired.’
‘Do you really not know or are you just playing dumb?’ the professor asked through a mouthful of food.
‘Humour me.’
