Death Notice

by Zhou HaoHui

  Deng did not need to say anything else. He knew of Hua’s skills in investigation and combat well, and trusted him to be the equal of any law enforcement officer in the country. He also knew the level of Hua’s loyalty, that he would even take a bullet for his boss. Deng had no cause to worry.

  A FEW MINUTES EARLIER

  POLICE HEADQUARTERS, CONFERENCE ROOM

  “…And tell Deng to keep himself inside and safe. He is not to set foot outside. Am I clear? We will be there any minute.” After waiting for Mu’s response, Han hung up. He turned to the rest of the task force.

  Moments after Zeng and Han had received a copy of the death notice sent to Deng Hua, Han had called an emergency meeting to order. The makeup of the team differed slightly from the last meeting. In addition to Mu’s absence, which Han’s phone call had provided an explanation for, Liu Song had replaced Captain Xiong as the team’s SPU representative.

  The tragic outcome at the mine left a dark cloud hanging over the team. Everyone had bloodshot eyes and puffy cheeks due to lack of sleep.

  Liu was badly shaken and barely able to pay attention while Han delivered the report. After presenting the new death notice, Han spent several minutes briefing the team on Deng Hua, Eumenides’s next target. Due to Deng’s prominent status, the new development had drawn the attention of Chengdu’s highest-ranking law enforcement officials. The commissioner had already ordered Captain Han to ensure Deng’s personal safety by any means necessary.

  Once Han finished, he gave the team the opportunity to present their own opinions. Liu spoke up first.

  “I have several questions for you, Yin,” Liu said, his tone as blunt and cold as the side of a glacier.

  The other members looked on in wonder as the newest of their team grilled the captain’s assistant.

  “What questions?” Yin did his best to keep his demeanor calm.

  “Earlier at the mine tunnel, you, Captain Han, and I each pressed a different switch. How do you account for the long delay between our actions and yours?” Liu paused, as if to let the accusation sink in. “It was your second time going into the cavern. How did the captain find his switch before you found yours?”

  “My flashlight broke,” Yin said. “I had to use my lighter to find my way ahead. It was too dark in the cavern for me to move around easily. I ran into the captain as soon as I made it back into the tunnel with the bodies. He asked me the same question.”

  “A broken flashlight?” Liu sneered.

  “That’s right,” Han broke in, nodding. “We’ve already had our equipment technicians look at Yin’s flashlight. It was broken, no doubt about it.”

  “Fine. Then let me ask you something else, Yin. When we pressed the switches, Xiong didn’t respond over the radio. The captain and I rushed to the tunnel entrance right away. We arrived at about the same time, and Captain Xiong was already fading fast. The two of us carried him into the back of the SUV. Meanwhile, you went straight to the driver’s seat and started the engine. Would I be correct in saying that you didn’t lay a single hand on Captain Xiong during this time?”

  Yin swallowed dryly. Seconds passed as the room held its collective breath.

  “Yes, you would be correct.”

  Yin’s heart skipped a beat as Liu asked his final query. “Then why did I find blood on the gearshift? You were the only person to drive the SUV. How did blood get on your fingers?”

  As soon as the words left Liu’s lips, everyone looked at Yin’s hands on the table. There was not so much as a paper cut on them.

  “I…” Yin froze.

  He glanced helplessly at Han, as if pleading to the captain.

  Han turned his attention to the SPU officer. “Liu, what exactly is the point of all these questions? Just speak plainly.”

  “There’s no way that Captain Xiong could have been killed so easily!” Liu gritted his teeth. “He was completely focused on defending Peng. How could Eumenides possibly manage to cut his throat during such a short window of time? Unless…Unless the killer was someone he trusted. Someone he wouldn’t think to defend himself against!”

  As disturbing as the accusation sounded, Pei could follow its cold logic. By the time Han and Liu had reached the ends of their tunnels, Yin had still lagged behind. There could have been enough time for him to murder both Xiong and Peng Guangfu. The bloody print on the gearshift was worth considering.

  “And Peng would have been the only witness,” Pei mused.

  Liu nodded. His unvoiced implication was clear.

  “How can you be sure that it was Yin who left the blood on the gearshift? What if it was put there earlier?” Zeng asked.

  “I drove the SUV to the mine,” Liu said icily, “and there was no blood on the gearshift then.”

  “You have the facts all wrong!” Han barked.

  The SPU officer snapped to attention at the sound of Han’s commanding voice, and he reined himself in. Han continued.

  “When we arrived at the hospital last night, Yin rushed to help us lift Xiong out of the back. He was in such a hurry that he jumped out of the driver’s seat without shifting the car into Park. I noticed this a little later, and I put the vehicle in the right gear myself. So if there’s any blood on the gearshift, it must have been from my hand.”

  Zeng let out a deep exhale. “See?” he said. “This was all a misunderstanding. Just take it easy, Liu.”

  Liu grunted, but remained silent and disciplined.

  “Liu,” Han said, “we’re all grieving over Xiong’s death. But that doesn’t give you the right to throw suspicion on one of your colleagues without grounds. None of us here can deny that Captain Xiong was a brilliant officer, but this opponent of ours is smarter and deadlier than we could ever have imagined.” The captain shut his eyes. “I didn’t argue with Xiong when he volunteered to stay behind. If you want to talk about the losses we suffered in these last two operations, I’m the one who should be held responsible.”

  The sorrow in Han’s words was contagious. Liu simply hung his head, and suppressed tears.

  “I’ve already made my decision,” Han continued. “Once we solve this case, I plan to resign from my post as police captain and end my career in law enforcement. But before that happens, I will find this scum. I will bring Eumenides down with my own two hands if I have to, and I’ll see that he gets the punishment he deserves!”

  As Han shouted, Yin and Liu raised their chins. Zeng grinned. Pei didn’t alter his morose expression.

  “A new battle awaits us. I believe that this is our chance to turn the tables on our adversary, and end this once and for all!” Han swept his eyes over the faces around the conference room table. “Here are your assignments: Liu Song, before we do anything else, you will lead an SPU detail to the Longyu Building. Protect Deng Hua. He’s our objective. Captain Pei, you’re to assist Liu as we begin our operation.”

  “Understood!” Liu exclaimed. Pei, on the other hand, remained silent.

  “Captain Pei, is there something you’d like to share with us?”

  Pei suddenly brought his attention back to the room. He glanced at Yin and Liu. “I’ll do my best to help Officer Liu complete our mission.”

  “Excellent. You should get going now.” Han turned to Zeng. “I want you to stay behind at headquarters. You’re in charge of relaying information and intelligence.”

  “Sure thing.” This decision did not come as a surprise to him; desk jockeys were rarely assigned to the field.

  Finally, Han addressed the last member of the team. “Yin, you’re going to stick with me. We’re going to a separate meeting with the police to discuss our security measures in more detail. As soon as we’re finished, we’ll head to the scene to provide support.”

  Yin looked at the captain. A silent understanding seemed to pass between the two men.

  OCTOBER 25, 9:15 A.M.

&
nbsp; EN ROUTE TO THE LONGYU BUILDING

  Captain Pei sat beside Liu in the front of a police SUV. Behind them were six of the SPU officers who had participated in the operation at Deye Plaza. Their failure on that day and the recent loss of Xiong Yuan were more than enough motivation for them to carry out their duties.

  Pei had had his misgivings during the meeting, but considering the tension in the room, he had kept those thoughts to himself. Now that he and Liu were alone, he saw no need to do so any longer.

  “Liu Song, something’s bothering me.”

  “What?” Liu said, turning his attention away from the wheel.

  “Han said he touched the gearshift after he arrived at the hospital. You were in the vehicle then. Did you happen to notice this?”

  Liu shook his head. “I don’t remember, but I can’t be sure. I wasn’t thinking about anything other than picking up Captain Xiong’s body. I wasn’t paying attention to anyone else in the SUV.”

  Pei understood. The officer had been in a state of intense distress, which would have made him less perceptive.

  Liu seemed to sense Pei’s thoughts. “You think there’s something odd about that too, don’t you? Is Han protecting Yin?”

  By now the captain knew how candid and straightforward Liu was, and so he made no attempt to guard his thoughts. He answered calmly. “I have to say it’s very likely. It’s hard to imagine that someone could have managed to cut Captain Xiong’s throat without a struggle. But as suspicious as these circumstances are, we haven’t found a single piece of evidence that stands up to scrutiny. That’s why I didn’t say anything during the meeting. At a crucial moment like this, a misunderstanding among anyone on the team could prove disastrous.”

  “I don’t want there to be any problems inside the investigation either,” Liu agreed.

  Pei patted the officer’s shoulder. “There’s a way to verify what Captain Han told us. All I need is your help.”

  Liu brightened. “What are you going to do?”

  “If Han was telling the truth, the blood on the gearshift should contain his fingerprints. If he was lying, then the fingerprints would be Yin’s. It’s simple logic. No one would be able to dispute it.”

  “I’ve already thought of that.” Liu shook his head in disappointment. “It would be impossible for us to run any kind of test on those prints. Any request for a print analysis would have to go through Han. And it seems you’re the only person in the whole city who thinks my suspicions are worth looking into.”

  “But we don’t need to analyze anything. All we need is to go check out that SUV together.”

  “Check out what, exactly?”

  “To see whether the fingerprints are still on the gearshift. If the fingerprints and blood are still there, then it would mean that no one is worried someone might investigate, and our suspicions are unfounded,” Pei said. He gave Liu a moment to process the idea. “But if the blood is gone, it would imply that in spite of the impending deadline Eumenides has given us, certain team members still chose to take the time to go wipe away fingerprints. If that’s true, then we have a serious problem.”

  Liu looked at Pei with admiration. He took out his cell phone, and placed a call to Wei Tangyuan, an old high school friend who now managed the parking garage at the criminal police headquarters.

  * * *

  Two men sat across from each other inside the police captain’s office. The air inside was so thick with tension, they felt they might choke on it.

  “You know the truth, don’t you? You saw those bloodstains too.”

  “That’s right.”

  A pause.

  “Thanks for helping me keep that quiet.”

  “What good does thanking me do? I’m helping you, but I don’t even know if I’m doing the right thing or not.”

  “Come on. Is everything really so black and white? It’s hard to tell with some things.”

  “Why? Why are you doing this?”

  “I don’t have any other choice.”

  “Are you being forced to?”

  “You could say that. I made one tiny mistake, one that created a big mistake…and then that led to a bigger one. Once you take your first step down the wrong path, there’s no turning back.”

  “I don’t want to be on this path.”

  “No! I can’t stop now! I still have a chance. I’m going to personally end this.”

  “You can’t take part in this operation. Make up an excuse. Find a way out.”

  “So what should we do about everything that’s already happened?”

  “I don’t know. It’s too much to take in at once. For all I know, I might end up guarding this secret until I die.”

  OCTOBER 25, 9:30 A.M.

  THE LONGYU BUILDING

  When Captain Pei, Liu Song, and the SPU officers arrived, Mu was already waiting for them inside the first-floor lobby.

  The security guards and receptionist blocked the police officers from moving beyond the front desk. Liu displayed his police credentials, but the employees refused to budge.

  “How do you like your first taste of Mayor Deng’s style?” Mu grimaced. “I had to go through this charade earlier. If you want to see him, the front desk needs to contact a certain ‘Brother Hua’ first.”

  “This is ridiculous,” Liu said, frustrated. “We’re here to protect Deng.”

  “Believe it or not,” Pei said, “this is a good sign. If it’s this hard for us to get to him, then it certainly won’t be any easier for Eumenides.”

  Mu smirked. “You haven’t even seen the security he has farther inside the building. He even built a metal detector into the door that leads to his office. This man could live out the rest of his days inside this building. Not even a laser-guided missile could touch him. Tonight, however, he plans to catch a plane to Beijing.”

  “When?” Liu asked.

  “His flight departs at 8:40.”

  Pei nodded silently as he considered the information. Eumenides must know this too. Why else would he have specified today’s date on the notice? The airport was public, and it was one of the few places that Deng could not avoid showing his face. A showdown was imminent, and Pei’s intuition told him that it would happen there.

  Liu’s cell phone rang, and he stepped aside to answer it.

  Pei took the opportunity to question Mu. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m following a lead,” she said proudly.

  Before Pei had time to react, Liu approached him.

  “Pei, the blood is gone! They actually did it! They wiped the fingerprints away!”

  Pei was tense. His suspicions were confirmed by the evidence, and it meant a new major obstacle on the road ahead.

  “What should we do now?” Though he had only known the man for a matter of days, Liu felt a sense of camaraderie with the captain from Longzhou.

  After a moment of contemplation, Pei decided to let Mu in on the plan as well. “We need to go over Han’s head and bypass him in the chain of command. Do either of you have the connections to make that happen?”

  “I can give it a try,” Mu answered, despite her uncertainty as to what Pei meant. “But regardless, I hope you’re going to fill me in on what’s going on here first.”

  Before either man could answer, Brother Hua approached. Pei’s shoulders stiffened and he shifted into a defensive posture.

  “Pei Tao?” Hua said.

  The captain shifted uneasily under the man’s gaze. “Do you know me?”

  “Mr. Deng is looking for you. I’m going to have to ask you to accompany me upstairs. As for your friends,” he said, motioning over at Mu and Liu, “they can wait here in the lobby. Mr. Deng has specifically instructed me that he would like to meet privately with Captain Pei in order to discuss how to best coordinate our security efforts.”

&nb
sp; Mu had been prepared for this. Liu, on the other hand, fumed at the bodyguard. He grunted in anger, but knew that he still had to carry out the mission and there was no time for an outburst.

  “I need five minutes. There are a few things I still need to discuss with my colleagues,” Pei said to Hua.

  “My employer wishes to speak to you about a very urgent matter, and I believe it would be preferable for you to take the time to see him now. You may continue your discussion when you return.”

  Behind Hua’s diction lay a domineering force, which left no room for dissent. After considering his options, Pei decided that he had no reason not to meet with Deng before proceeding to other matters.

  “I’m going upstairs,” he told Liu. “Stay put for the moment. We’ll go over everything when I get back. And please, don’t do anything reckless. The truth won’t be as simple as you think.”

  Liu nodded. After the events of the previous day, he saw no need to question the captain.

  On their way up to the eighteenth floor, Hua radioed ahead to inform his boss of Pei’s impending arrival. When Deng’s voice crackled through the speaker, Pei could hear the impatience in his voice.

  Pei was led to Deng’s office, and he gasped at the room’s broad extravagance and the sparkling adornments that covered its walls. The captain quickly collected himself, and sat down in the chair facing Deng’s desk. Hua took his customary place at Deng’s side.

  “Officer Pei.” After sizing up the man, Deng nodded slightly, as if making a courteous gesture. “A pleasure to meet you.”

  “Likewise.” Pei mirrored Deng’s nod.

  “Let me get to the point. You’re a police captain from Longzhou. What brings you here to Chengdu?” he demanded.

  Pei didn’t flinch. “I received a letter from Eumenides.”

  “Another one of his ‘death notices’?” Deng asked, seemingly amused. “When’s this character supposed to do you in, I wonder?”

  “It wasn’t a death notice,” Pei clarified. “I received an actual letter.”