The Borrowed

by Chan Ho-Kei

  Or perhaps that should be: formerly a man of heavy responsibilities.

  Ding-dong. The doorbell rang.

  Edgar shuffled to the front door, grabbing his wallet from the coffee table on the way – he’d phoned the barbecue restaurant downstairs fifteen minutes ago and ordered some char siu pork and rice. He wasn’t actually hungry, but knew on a rational level that human beings needed to eat.

  ‘Inspector Ko.’

  Edgar pulled the door open. Outside the metal gate, unexpectedly, was not the delivery person, but Kwan Chun-dok.

  ‘What... what are you doing here?’ Edgar made no move to open the gate.

  ‘I need to speak to you.’

  ‘I don’t want to talk.’ Edgar made to close the door.

  ‘Wait—’ Kwan reached between the bars to hold the door open.

  ‘Please leave! I need to be alone!’ Edgar shouted, pushing hard. As far as he was concerned, Kwan Chun-dok was the enemy, the person he least wanted to see him in this fallen state.

  Kwan refused to retreat, pushing the door open just as hard as Edgar tried to shut it. This stalemate came to an end ten seconds later.

  ‘Did... did someone order char siu rice?’

  A young man in a white uniform, holding a plastic bag, stood timidly behind Kwan.

  ‘Over here,’ Ko sighed, cursing his bad luck, and had no choice but to open the gate. Without waiting for an invitation, Kwan seized that moment to walk into the apartment.

  ‘Fine, Superintendent Kwan, say what you came to say, and then please leave.’ Edgar pulled up a chair to sit opposite Kwan, who’d helped himself to the sofa.

  ‘I want to know whether you did it.’ Kwan came straight to the point.

  ‘You all think I did! Just because of my relationship with Ellen, you believe I’d use such a low-down trick on TT? What’s the use of me saying anything? Damn you!’ Ko screamed in a single breath, venting all his anger at Internal Investigations on Kwan.

  ‘You didn’t answer my question. Did you or didn’t you tip off Shek Boon-sing, causing him to escape and setting up the gunfight?’

  ‘No! I didn’t!’

  ‘I knew it wasn’t you,’ smiled Kwan.

  Edgar was stunned. ‘You mean...’

  ‘I knew you were innocent.’ Kwan leaned back, relaxed. ‘But I wanted to hear you say it, just to be sure.’

  ‘Are you... are you interfering with the investigation?’ asked Edgar. Everyone in the force knew Kwan Chun-dok was a crime-solving genius, and also a complete busybody.

  ‘There’s no “interfering” about it. Capturing Shek Boon-tim is one of the CIB’s main tasks right now, and I came to look into this while on that investigation. We’ve got a lead from the weapons, and a location and list of Jaguar’s associates from his pager messages. We’ll find the guy somehow.’

  Seeing that Kwan was happy to let him know where CIB was at with their investigation, Edgar realized he really did trust him – trust that he wasn’t the villain who’d tried to hurt TT, nor an insider for the Shek brothers. Kwan had brought these things up as a show of good faith.

  ‘Then, Superintendent Kwan, why are you here? Did you just want to hear me say “I’m innocent”? Or do you want to know more about what happened that day? If you want to delve into that muddle of an operation, I’d suggest you go to O-Crime for a report, or head to Ka Fai Mansions and walk round the scene yourself, there might be more to see there.’

  ‘I already went there this afternoon.’ Kwan intertwined his fingers and placed them in his lap. ‘I was there on the day as well, and I’ve seen more or less what I need to see. I came here today mainly to see how you’re doing.’

  ‘How I’m doing?’

  ‘To wish you well,’ Kwan smiled. ‘It was your good friend who supplied Internal Investigations with info about your love triangle with TT and Ellen. I’m afraid you may not find a single person you can be open with. In the whole police force, only you, I and the real culprit know you’re innocent. By the way, it took me quite a bit of effort to get your home address.’

  ‘The real culprit? Who? It can’t be... Karl?’

  ‘Leave the investigation to me. I won’t tell you any more, in case you can’t resist letting it slip to Internal Investigations. Those fellows are too conservative, they only know the old methods, which makes it far too easy for the real culprit to find a loophole. Just keep telling them you’re innocent. You’ll be fine.’

  Edgar nodded in understanding. He had no idea that Kwan Chun-dok had just lied to him.

  ‘Now even HQ is talking about you, TT and Ellen. I heard Ellen’s taken leave from work.’

  ‘Then... I got her into trouble?’

  ‘Do you still have feelings for her?’

  Edgar hadn’t expected that question. ‘Superintendent Kwan, I believe you’re married?’ he asked in return.

  ‘Yes, more than ten years now.’ Kwan flashed the somewhat faded ring on his fourth finger.

  ‘Do you love your wife?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘If you knew she was about to do something foolish, and you couldn’t stop her, wouldn’t it make your heart ache?’

  ‘You mean Ellen’s marriage to TT is the wrong choice?’

  Edgar nodded helplessly. ‘When I heard they were getting married, I asked Ellen out for a chat. Before we’d been speaking five minutes, her face grew cold and she accused me of being childish.’

  ‘She’d already made up her mind. How were you going to persuade her to take you back?’

  ‘No! It wasn’t like that!’ Edgar grew agitated. ‘You’ve misunderstood, just like she did! I wasn’t stopping the marriage so she’d choose me instead. I just... just didn’t want her to fall into marriage before seeing what TT was really like.’

  ‘What TT was really like?’

  ‘Colleagues say he’s a playboy. The department he was at before, he cheated on a female officer.’

  ‘That’s it?’

  Edgar’s eyes grew wide. ‘What do you mean, “That’s it”? He’s even willing to shit where he eats! God knows what he gets up to elsewhere. The worst kind of man – an unrepentant lecher. No woman is safe from him!’

  Kwan thought Edgar was going over the top, but it seemed better to keep listening than to argue.

  ‘True, I’m still fond of Ellen, but I know love can’t be forced. If she was marrying someone who’d be good to her, I’d stay quiet and wish her well. But she’s being tricked by that absolute bastard – I couldn’t just stand by, could I?’

  ‘They’d been together quite a few years. Why didn’t you step in sooner?’

  ‘I thought she’d come to her senses some day!’ Edgar gritted his teeth. ‘Even if TT was pretending to be devoted to her, I thought he’d show his true colours eventually.’

  ‘Oh dear, Inspector Ko, your work is so outstanding – I hadn’t expected you to be so slapdash in your personal life,’ Kwan sighed. ‘Once you’ve let go, you can’t look back. Whether Ellen’s choice was right or wrong, only she can take responsibility for that. You told her, and she wouldn’t listen. You don’t have the right to forcibly change her mind. If you claim to be her friend, all you can do is stand by her when she’s alone and in need of help. The more you talk at her, the more stubborn she’ll get. Speaking of which, have you ever made trouble for TT at work because of this?’

  ‘Never. I keep my private life and work totally separate,’ said Edgar seriously. ‘I stationed him at the north wing that day because I thought his impulsive nature might put him and his colleagues in danger. If he’d been at the south exit, seeing the suspects walk in and out every day, God knows if he’d have suddenly snapped and done something stupid.’

  ‘You thought too much about it.’ Kwan shook his head. ‘TT’s personality isn’t impulsive, it’s unrestrained. He’s arrogant about his abilities and has far too high an opinion of himself, that’s all. He might enjoy taking risks, but he’s not an idiot. If you’d put him in the south wing, he’d never ha
ve made that mistake.’

  Edgar stared at Kwan, surprised at this speech.

  ‘It seems you’re not as good a judge of character as me or Keith Tso,’ laughed Kwan.

  Edgar thought to himself that that wasn’t the only area where he’d lose to Superintendent Kwan.

  Kwan glanced at the box of food on the table. ‘You don’t seem as despairing as earlier, anyway. I’ll let you eat your dinner. We’ve been talking so long, it’s probably cold.’

  Edgar realized all of a sudden that his mood was better. Not only did the genius detective Kwan Chun-dok think he was innocent, but in this short conversation, he felt once more that he’d passed some sort of difficult test.

  ‘Oh!’ he suddenly exclaimed. ‘That’s right – with so many scandals in TT’s past, perhaps the person who had it in for him was one of the women he cheated on? If any of my subordinates had something to do with these females, they might have taken advantage of the situation for revenge.’

  ‘Inspector Ko, don’t worry about this any more. I guarantee that by Monday, the whole matter will be resolved and you’ll be back in your post. All right?’

  ‘Are you serious, Superintendent Kwan?’

  ‘Of course,’ Kwan smiled. ‘Take this weekend as a hard-earned break, and have a good rest. When you’re back at work, we’ll have many chances to talk again. Take care.’

  Edgar said goodbye to Kwan, unspeakably grateful to the older man, although he remained doubtful as to whether even a genius detective could crack this case in just three days.

  After leaving Edgar’s apartment, Kwan didn’t undertake any further investigations, but simply took the MTR home. Alone the way, his brow was furrowed, and he didn’t smile even once. What he hadn’t told Edgar was that it had been a long time since a case had so frustrated him.

  *

  The following evening, Kwan went alone to Sham Shui Po, to the north-west of Mong Kok – a district of Kowloon with a great deal of history. Garment and fabric factories were once concentrated here, and even though many of these had moved away in recent years, many clothing distributors and fashion shops remained. Since the early 1970s, Apliu Street market had begun to gain a reputation for selling electronic spare parts, attracting nerds in search of the perfect spare part or the latest gadget. Kwan wove through the crowds of weekend shoppers and was covered in sweat by the time he saw his destination.

  He was after an old residential building on Apliu Street.

  TT’s apartment was here.

  Just as with his visit to Edgar Ko, he hadn’t phoned ahead and didn’t know if TT would be home – though he thought it didn’t matter if he wasn’t in, he could wander around nearby and try again later.

  Unlike the clear tones of Edgar’s doorbell, TT’s was the traditional sort that let out a discordant buzz. Kwan thought he could easily have gone downstairs and selected one with a much more pleasing sound – that was just the sort of thing the vendors of Apliu Street specialized in.

  ‘Coming,’ called someone in the house.

  The front door opened and TT stuck his head out. He froze when he saw Kwan Chun-dok – just as Edgar had – but then plastered on a warm smile.

  ‘Super— Superintendent Kwan!’ He stood at attention.

  ‘We’re not at work now, no need to stand on ceremony.’

  TT ushered Kwan into the house. He lived alone in an apartment of about four hundred square feet, plenty of space for a bachelor.

  ‘Would you like some tea? Or coffee?’

  ‘Tea would be nice.’

  TT went into the kitchen and emerged with a cup.

  ‘Superintendent Kwan, did you need to speak to me about something?’ he asked.

  ‘How’s your hand?’ Kwan pointed at his left wrist, still swathed in bandages.

  ‘The bullet shattered the radial bone, but the doctor said it’s not a big deal, some physiotherapy and it should be as good as new. Fortunately it wasn’t the right hand, otherwise all those years on the range would be wasted.’

  ‘You’d be as sure a shot with your left hand inside of three years.’

  ‘You’re flattering me, Superintendent.’ TT scratched his head, looking awkward. ‘So sorry I couldn’t speak to you that day, after I’d been injured... Oh yes, I heard you were a division leader in CIB now. What were you doing there?’

  ‘I was just there with Superintendent Tso to see Inspector Ko. It was a coincidence.’

  ‘If you’d been directing the operation, things might not have gone so badly,’ TT sighed.

  ‘No, even if I’d been in charge, the whole affair would have played out the same way.’

  ‘Superintendent Kwan, you’re famous for being a genius detective. With you overseeing things, how could the op have gone wrong?’

  ‘No, I...’ Kwan suddenly stopped. ‘TT, let’s skip the small talk.’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘I want you to turn yourself in.’

  The air seemed to freeze. TT looked at Kwan as though he couldn’t believe his ears.

  ‘TT, I know you were behind the plot to let Shek Boon-sing escape and wreck the operation.’

  6

  ‘ARE YOU JOKING, Superintendent Kwan?’ TT sounded uncertain whether he should laugh or not.

  ‘I know you were behind the coded message,’ said Kwan simply.

  ‘I couldn’t have been – I never once went to the south wing. How could I have put it in the mailbox?’ TT smiled. ‘There’s no way Karl Fung would’ve kept his mouth shut if I’d shown up anywhere within his team’s surveillance area. I’d hardly be so stupid, asking for trouble like that.’

  ‘The note wasn’t in the mailbox. Mad Dog Biu found it in the takeaway bag.’

  A faint tremor went through TT’s body, but he kept the smile pasted on his face. ‘That’s just a hypothesis, though?’

  ‘No, there’s no way it came from the mailbox. You just got lucky there, when circumstances diverted suspicion away from you,’ said Kwan, shaking his head. ‘When the evidence team told me Mad Dog Biu only found three fliers in the box, I knew the note couldn’t have been in there.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘If there’d been a stack of mail, he might credibly not have found the note till he and Jaguar got back to the apartment. But that’s not possible with just three bits of paper. Anyone would have glanced through their mail while waiting for the lift, but if either one of them had spotted it then, they’d wouldn’t have sauntered back to their hideout like they didn’t have a care in the world.’

  ‘Maybe they’d sensed danger, but were keeping a calm facade?’

  ‘If that were the case, one of the meals wouldn’t have had a mouthful taken out of it.’

  TT was silent, his eyes fixed directly on Kwan.

  ‘If they’d sensed danger, they’d have alerted Shek Boon-sing as soon as they got back, then grabbed their guns and prepared to flee. But they set the takeaway containers out on the table, and someone even started eating. Only one of the fliers was in an envelope, but that was still sealed. The logical conjecture is that the warning note was at the bottom of the plastic bag containing the food. Jaguar would have unpacked the bag and only found the note when all the boxes were out, at which point Shek Boon-sing gave the order to move out. According to your report, Jaguar complained that Mad Dog Biu was too picky when it came to food. He probably brought back the mail because it con- tained takeaway menus, which led the investigation down the wrong path.’

  ‘Superintendent Kwan, you’ve just said yourself that this is a conjecture.’ TT’s expression was relaxed once again. ‘In other words, the probability that the note was in the mailbox still isn’t nil.’

  Kwan shook his head and pulled a sheet of paper from his shirt pocket. It was a photocopy of the note, with the digits ‘042616’ clearly visible.

  ‘I suppose you’re going to claim that’s my handwriting?’ smiled TT.

  ‘The important thing isn’t the numbers.’ Kwan pointed at the upper edge of the note. ‘It�
��s the way it was torn.’

  At Kwan’s request, Inspector Szeto had placed a black notebook behind the note when photocopying it, so its outline was very clear on all four sides.

  Now Kwan produced something in an evidence bag, and TT’s smile vanished altogether.

  It was a writing pad with half its pages ripped out.

  ‘We got this yesterday from the takeaway where you were watching,’ said Kwan solemnly. ‘According to the owner, he took down orders on this notepad when a customer called or when the shop was busy. It lived near the counter. When I first saw the note, it reminded me of the kind of pad waiters use. Added to the details that didn’t fit – the three fliers, the box of food with one mouthful missing – I knew where to go looking for evidence. When you rip off a sheet from this kind of pad it leaves a little strip still attached to the spine. If we took it to Forensics or ID, I’m pretty sure they’d find it’s a perfect match...’

  ‘Hang on, hang on!’ TT interrupted. ‘This must be a misunderstanding. All three kills were mine. Are you saying I disrupted Chief Inspector Ko’s operation so I could tackle Shek Boon-sing on my own and steal all the glory? That’s too crazy even for me. Some praise wouldn’t be worth putting my life in danger for.’

  ‘But covering up a murder might be.’

  Kwan’s calm utterance silenced TT, who stared at his opponent, complicated emotions flitting across his face.

  ‘Of all the deceased,’ Kwan fixed his gaze on TT’s eyes, ‘one was killed before the gunfight – and you hid the corpse amongst the other victims.’

  Kwan placed two photographs on the coffee table. They were of the crime scene, showing the bodies of Mandy Lam and hotel owner Chiu Ping.

  ‘I walked through the crime scene between forty and fifty minutes after the shoot-out. I didn’t detect anything unusual at the time.’ Kwan pointed at the photos. ‘But when I saw these pictures, taken when the preliminary investigators went in, I realized something was wrong. Chiu Ping had been hit by an AK-47 – bright red blood spatter everywhere. Yet the blood from Mandy Lam’s wounds was darker and thicker, with solid clots separating from the pale yellow serum. She was supposedly killed a minute before Chiu, but from the photo I’d put her stage of clotting at least ten minutes ahead of his. Naturally the difference became less pronounced over time: a forty-minute-old corpse has bloodstains virtually indistinguishable from an hour-old one. That’s why I didn’t spot this disparity at the scene.’