by Brian N. Cox
The previous evening while at the seaside outdoor restaurant, a group of what appeared to be six Chinese sat at a table nearby. When the waitress came to their table and asked them what they would like to order in Chinese, not one person at the table could speak Chinese, they all spoke only Russian.
“Yes, many eastern Russians look Chinese. A political border doesn’t change a person’s ethnicity,” said Li Mei. “Thanks, Sean. We won’t spend all day following him, but if we can identify him easily, I’ll pass on the information to my office by email.”
About thirty minutes later, when Li Mei and Sean were half through their meal, Chan Meng left the restaurant by himself. The other man, well dressed in designer clothes, who looked to be about fifty, a large man with a stocky build and a shaved head, sat looking impatient. About five minutes after Chan left, the man looked at his watch and then got up and left the restaurant.
Shortly thereafter, Sean and Li Mei left and followed him down the street which bordered the beach.
“It was quite obvious that they didn’t want to be seen together,” said Li Mei. “He was just waiting in the restaurant for sufficient time for Chan to leave the area.”
“I agree. That would be my guess,” said Sean.
At that moment the unknown man turned around very quickly and looked at the people who were behind him. Li Mei and Sean were too experienced at counter-surveillance to be caught looking suspicious. Besides, there were at least fifteen people between them and the man.
“Look he’s crossing the street and unlocking the door of that light blue Mercedes.”
Once again, the man looked around behind him to see if anyone was showing an undue interest in him.
“I got a couple of good shots of him when he looked around behind him,” said Li Mei. “Also got the license plate.”
Immediately thereafter, Li Mei and Sean hailed a taxi and went to the local police station. Sean remained outside while Li Mei entered the station and asked to speak to the officer in charge. About twenty minutes later, she emerged from the police station and met Sean on the sidewalk.
“Sorry to keep you waiting Sean. The man’s name is Fong Lei, and he lives in Beijing. He has no police record, and there is nothing on file about him. He owns a successful travel company; that’s about all they know about him. I have his photo and info on my phone.”
“I assume you have passed this info off to your office so now we can relax and enjoy the rest of the week here; maybe even two weeks. I could get used to living here with the palm trees, white sand beaches and warm weather.”
“Yes, my time is all yours now, Sean. Let’s go back to the hotel. You’re just too handsome to resist,” laughed Li Mei as she squeezed Sean’s hand.
Unfortunately for both of the lovers, they would not be together for long.
CHAPTER THREE
Four days after observing Chan Meng and Fong Lei talking in the secluded Sanya restaurant, Li Mei received a call from Beijing ordering her to return to State Security Headquarters immediately on an urgent matter. Only Sean was more disappointed than Li Mei to receive this message.
They both flew to Beijing that night and spent a lot of time discussing their future. They wanted to be together, but that would mean one of them resigning from their job, and neither wanted to do this although it wasn’t out of the question. Li Mei was very close to getting her PhD and could probably get a job at an American university teaching anthropology, in which case Sean would ask for a transfer to the city where Li Mei was teaching. This was unlikely to happen in the near future, however, as Li Mei was career driven. Furthermore, she felt that to abandon her fight against the Triads would be failing to fulfill her obligation to her murdered parents.
At the Beijing Airport, the two lovers awaited Sean’s connecting flight to Vancouver.
“After this assignment, whatever it is, I am sure I can get a one month holiday, Sean, in which case I will come to Seattle to be with you,” said Li Mei as she looked at Sean with a distinct look of sadness in her face.
“No, Li Mei, since my holiday is being cut short, I think I can get some more time off and will come back here to China. This is an extremely interesting place, especially for a foreigner like me, and I would like to see more of your country.”
After, leaving Sean at the airport, Li Mei went home to sleep for a few hours and then reported to her office just after ten am.
*****************************************************************************
After calling Li Mei into his office, and closing the door behind her, Director Duan Shumin looked very upset and tired. This was understandable as he hadn’t had a good night sleep for almost a week.
“Have a seat Li Mei, I need you for a very important assignment.”
“Did you know that my granddaughter has been kidnapped?” asked Director Duan looking very sad.
“No! I didn’t know!” replied Li Mei with alarm. “Is she all right? Have the police located her?”
“No, we have heard nothing. There have been seven other girls, all in the ten to thirteen age range that have been abducted over the past three weeks, and none have been located,” said Director Duan. “If there is any good news connected to this, it is that no bodies of the missing girls have been found.”
“What can I do Director? I want to help in any way I can,” said Li Mei earnestly.
“I have met with the Director of the Beijing Public Security Bureau and they have put together a large task force of detectives dedicated to locating the missing girls. It wasn’t just the abduction of my granddaughter, Xiaowei, that prompted this. It had become a top priority case after the first two or three school girls were abducted.”
“The Director of Police and I believe that these girls have probably been abducted to be taken overseas to work as sex slaves,” Director Duan continued. “Although a crime of this nature is not common in Beijing, it is not uncommon down south in Guangdong Province. Since we think this case will lead to a foreign country, I want to get you involved on the ground floor. If you need more resources, they will be available to you without question.”
“Your supposition is probably right, Director. A pervert isn’t going to abduct seven girls, but why do you think it is a not a domestic operation and will lead overseas?”
“It’s all guesswork at this time, but it would be difficult to run a brothel with underage girls in or around Beijing, or any large Chinese city, without being discovered. The police have an extensive informant network and all the criminal gangs know that.”
“This is probably a powerful and sophisticated Triad due to the way they were kidnapped. When you visit the Beijing Police, you will get more details in this regard,” the Director continued.
“Of course, Director. Where and when do you want me to go?” said Li Mei.
“Please report to Inspector Sun Xing, who is leading the Task Force, at the Central Police Headquarters at one pm. You will meet the two lead detectives at that time.”
“Yes, Director. Please do not worry. I will dedicate myself to locating your granddaughter and the other girls…it will be my passion,” said Li Mei with great sincerity.
***************************************************************************
Li Mei sat in the office with Inspector Sun Xing along with two detectives, neither of whom looked happy. Li Mei had read the personnel files on both officers, Senior Detective Chen Fu and Detective Hu Tai.
“This young lady is Li Mei from State Security and she will be part of your team in this investigation. The three of you will travel together,” said the Inspector.
Li Mei noted that Senior Detective Chen was a rather average looking man; hard to describe. He was not handsome but not unattractive, with slicked back hair and average build. His eyes were not average however as they were both penetrating and intelligent, a distinguishing feature of his face. The other detective, Hu Tai, looked entirely different than Chen. He was tall, well- muscled and very handsome with a serious
look upon his face.
“With all due respect to Miss Li,” said the older detective, Chen Fu, “having a young, inexperienced female from State Security tagging along will just hold us back.”
“Younger Sister, I am sure you are eager to learn and to help,” said Hu Tai, the other detective, “but this is an important case and we have no time to train you.”
“Besides, Inspector,” said Chen Fu, “it can be dangerous out there and we can’t protect this Younger Sister and focus on our investigation.”
Inspector Sun Xing began to talk but Li Mei held out her palm to stop him.
“Let me speak for myself Inspector,” said Li Mei as she looked intensely at the two detectives.
“I am not your Younger Sister, I am older than both of you and much more experienced,” said Li Mei. “I was a detective in the Chongqing Police before joining State Security. I stood first at police college, something neither of you did. Chen you stood third in a class of fifty, which is quite good, and Hu, you stood eleventh. I am thirty-eight years old, almost two years older than you, Chen Fu. I am not a desk jockey but an officer with the Second Bureau and have worked in America, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Africa. This investigation will probably lead overseas and I will go wherever it takes us.
“If you think you will have to protect me,” continued Li Mei, “I am usually in more dangerous situation within three months than either of you have been in your entire careers combined. I have had the same training as the People’s Armed Police, Snow Leopard Commando, which far exceeds any training either of you have had. Do you have any questions?”
Both detectives looked both stunned and couldn’t speak for about fifteen seconds.
“No Older Sister, Please forgive us, we did not know. You look so young,” said Detective Chen as Detective Hu sheepishly nodded in agreement.
“Now that we know where we stand,” said Li Mei, “let’s review the facts in the case so you can bring me up to date. You both have reputations as excellent investigators and I will try not to hold you back,” she added with a big smile, while Inspector Sun Xing started to laugh.
***************************************************************************
In the Task Force board room, Senior Detective Chen gave Li Mei an overview of the case. She knew that Director Duan’s granddaughter had been abducted along with two school friends, but that was about all she knew about the case.
“We are quite sure this is a criminal organization that is behind this. Although the Duan girl and her friends were not seen on a camera when they were abducted, we found several witnesses who observed the abduction from a distance. They said a large black sedan with government license plates drove up beside the girls. There was a brief conversation between the girls and the driver and then the girls got into the back seat of their own volition. They haven’t been seen since. The witnesses were too far away to get a plate number.”
“Definitely not a lone pervert that is for sure,” remarked Li Mei.
“We got a small break in the case two days later,” Chen continued. “A large black sedan stopped beside a young teenage high school student as she walked home from school. The driver had a brief conversation with the girl and she shook her head and continued on walking. A well-dressed man in a dark suit got out of the passenger side, grabbed her and tried to force her into the car. What this idiot didn’t know is this girl was fresh off the farm and was both strong and tough. She swung the man around into a fence which knocked the wind out of him and then she kicked him in the groin. The girl ran away and the man staggered back to the car. People came running when they heard the commotion. The driver told the girl that he was a police officer, but she didn’t believe him. Where she was from, she had never seen a police officer not in a uniform.”
“This also occurred where no cameras were in the area,” added Fu, “but the girl gave fairly good descriptions of both men, and a few people got the license plate number. The plates were counterfeit, unfortunately, and of no help to us.”
“The fact that the plates were counterfeit, rather than stolen,” said Li Mei, “indicates a level of sophistication.”
“We have assigned teams to interview all the missing girls’ families and friends for anything they may have seen, heard about or knew. Nothing helpful so far. These guys seemed to know the camera locations and were successful in avoiding them during every abduction.”
“So what do you think is happening?” enquired Li Mei.
“I think these girls will be taken overseas to a high class brothel where they will be made to service wealthy men, at least that is my guess. These men, of course, will be pedophiles as adult prostitutes are available anywhere with no problem,” said Chen.
“You don’t think they will set up a brothel in Beijing or at least here in China?” asked Li Mei.
“Not likely,” replied Chen. “The PSB has too many informants and too many resources for them to get away with it for very long. Unless they know of some city where they have government guanxi and will be protected by corrupt police officials, it is much less risky to set up in a foreign country. I don’t think they would set up in any Chinese city, regardless of corrupt police, as there would bound to be a leak from an honest police officer eventually.”
“My guess would be continental Europe or America,” said Detective Hu Tai. “They are in this to make money so they want to go where there is a plentiful supply of wealthy perverts and pedophiles.”
“This sounds like a Triad operation,” said Li Mei. “Any thoughts on that?”
“There are at least nine Triads here in and around Beijing,” said Senior Detective Chen. “Two of them have abandoned the traditional rackets and have resorted to economic crime; I doubt very much if they would be involved in this activity. Three of them are basically peasant organizations and this seems too sophisticated for them. The other four are possibilities. Also, there are two or three other non-Triad organized crime groups that could do this. We haven’t heard any rumours, at least not yet, as to who may be doing this. Everyone is contacting their informants and we’re hoping someone comes up with something within the next couple of days.”
“Any else I should know?” enquired Li Mei.
After the second girl was abducted,” replied Chen, “we put a blanket over all airports and airfields. There is no way any of those girls left the Beijing vicinity by air, even in a small plane from a small airport. This security coverage is staying in effect until such times as we decide to lift it.
“What time do you start in the morning?” asked Li Mei.
“We’ll be in at seven o’clock,” said Chen.
“OK, unless you have something we can do right now, I’ll take the file home to study it, and meet you here at seven.”
“Good, Older Sister, and sorry for the misunderstanding.”
CHAPTER FOUR
At six-thirty the next morning, Li Mei got a phone call from Senior Detective Chen as she was driving to police headquarters.
“A body has been found at the southern outskirts of the city,” said Chen. “It’s a teenage girl with no identification. Have no idea if it is one of the abducted girls but we should take a look. The Crime Scene Unit is already enroute.”
“I’m about ten minutes away. I’ll meet you in the parking lot,” said Li Mi. She had a sickening feeling that this body may be that of Wang Li, the pleasant but homely friend of Duan Xiaowei.
At the outskirts of Beijing in this particular area, the buildings grew scarce and more farmland appeared, although the area beside the road was mainly bushes rather than crops. A shallow ditch ran beside a secondary highway which carried only local traffic. An older farmer walking to visit his neighbour found the body face up in the ditch. He was quite traumatized by the discovery but had the presence of mind to phone the local police detachment.
The detectives and Li Mei couldn’t approach the body until the Crime Scene Unit had finished their work, but the senior officer of the u
nit showed them a photo he had taken of the corpse. As they had all suspected, the dead teenager was Wang Li.
Wang Li was fully clothed and she had not been sexually assaulted. She had been strangled and discarded in the ditch. Her purse had been thrown on top of the body but the only thing missing was the cash she had in her possession which would have amounted to a little less than two-hundred yuan according to her parents who Hu Tai later interviewed.
After the inspection of the crime scene, the Crime Scene Unit supervisor advised there was no evidence available to assist them. No fingerprints, no DNA and no other trace evidence. Whoever killed the girl was quite knowledgeable about leaving no evidence behind. Unfortunately, it had not rained in that area for several days and therefore the ground was too hard to hold a footprint or tire print .
