by Qiu Xiaolong
She was not surprised that Feng announced he was leaving for the United States. If anything, it was rather surprising that he had not gone earlier. He did not talk to her about his plans. She was a worn-out rag he was going to discard anyway. Last November, he stayed at home for two weeks. She found herself pregnant. He had her take a test. When it showed that she was carrying a boy, he was a changed man. He told her about his trip and promised that he would send for her when he was settled in the United States. He wanted her to start a new life there with him.
She understood this sudden change. Feng was no longer young. It might be his last chance to have a child. Hers, too. So she asked him to postpone the trip. He would not. He did make a phone call home shortly after his arrival in New York. After several weeks’ unexplained silence, he called again to tell her that he was trying to get her out. He wanted her to apply for a passport. She was confounded. Wives left behind usually had to wait for years. Sometimes they, too, had to be smuggled illegally. While waiting for a passport, she got a telephone call that alarmed her and she fled to Suzhou.
It was a long narrative, and difficult to follow, as from time to time, Wen was choked by emotion. Still, she went on resolutely, sparing them no painful details. Chen understood. Wen was catching at her last shred of hope; that the cops would let her stay after hearing a detailed account of her miserable life with Feng. Chen grew more and more uncomfortable. He could write his report to the bureau, describing her misery as he had promised, but he knew that it would be useless.
Inspector Rohn was more visibly disturbed. She rose to make another cup of tea for Wen. Several times she seemed on the verge of saying something, but she swallowed her words.
“Thank you, Wen, but I still need to ask you a couple of questions,” Chen said. “So it was in January that he asked you to apply for a passport.”
“Yes, January.”
“You did not ask how things were with him in the United States, did you?”
“No, I did not”
“I see,” he said. “Because you did not want to go there.”
“How do you know?” Wen stared at him.
“He wanted you to leave in January, but according to our record, you did not start applying for your passport until mid-February. Why did you change your mind?”
“Oh, I hesitated at first, then I thought of my baby,” Wen said with a slight catch in her voice. “It would be too hard for him to grow up without a father, so I changed my mind and started the application process—in February. Then I got that call from him.”
“Did he make any further explanation in that last call?”
“No. He just said that somebody was after me.”
“Did you know who that ‘somebody’ was?”
“No, I did not. But I guess he must have had some quarrel about money with the gang. The boat people have to pay a large sum to those thugs. It’s an open secret in the village. Our neighbor Xiong failed to mail money back due to a car accident in New York, and his wife went into hiding because she was unable to pay his debts. The gangsters got hold of her in no time. They forced her into prostitution to pay them back.”
“The Fujian police did not do anything?” Catherine asked.
“The local police wear the same pants as the Flying Axes. So I had to run far, far away. But where? I did not want to go back to Shanghai. The gang might be able to trace me there. I should not bring trouble to my people.”
“How did you decide to come to Suzhou?”
“At first I did not have any specific place in mind. While trying to pack a few things, I came across the anthology with Liu’s business card in it. There seemed to be no possibility of tracing me to him. No contact between us since high school. No one could have guessed that I would turn to him for help.”
“Yes, that made sense,” Catherine said. “The first time you saw him again was on his visit to the factory?”
“I did not even recognize him during his visit. I had not much of an impression of him in high school. He was very quiet. I did not remember him talking to me at all. Nor the loyal character dance described in the poem. But for the poem he sent me, I would not have imagined that it had meant so much to him.”
“It did.” Chen said. “You must have realized the visitor’s identity when you got the anthology.”
“Yes. All those years came rushing back. In the biographical sketch, I learned that he had become a poet and reporter. I was happy for him, but I did not have any illusions about myself. Nothing but a pathetic object for his poetic imagination, I knew. I kept the book, and his card hidden in it, as a souvenir of my lost years. I never thought about contacting him,” she said, wringing her fingers. “I would rather die than go begging to anybody but for the sake of the baby.”
“ ‘Folk east of the river,’” he murmured.
“I had never expected he would help me so much. He’s a very busy man, but he took a day off to accompany me to the hospital. He insisted on shopping for things for me, including baby clothes. And he also promised I could stay here as long as I like.”
“I understand.” Chen repeated after a pause, “I understand the relationship between you, but what will other people think?”
“Liu says that he does not care what other people think,” Wen said with her head hung so low, it looked as if her neck were broken. “Why should I care?”
“So you have decided to stay on here with Liu?”
“What do you mean, Chief Inspector Chen?”
“Well, what’s your plan for the future?”
“I want to raise my son by myself.”
“Where? Liu’s wife has not yet learned about your presence here, has she? It is so close to Shanghai. She may drop in any day. What will she make of this arrangement?”
“No, I will not stay here for long. Liu will rent an apartment for me for the next few months. As soon as my baby is born, I’m planning to leave.”
“As long as the gangsters are still lurking about, I don’t see how you can be safe anywhere. Any move you make, whether back to Fujian or to Shanghai, may bring them down on you.”
“I won’t go far away. I’ll stay in the area. Liu may find a job for me,” Wen said. “Liu has a lot of friends in Suzhou. It will work out, Chief Inspector Chen.”
“The gang will find you.” He lit a cigarette, then stubbed it out after one puff. “It’s a matter of time.”
“No one knows anything about me. Not even my real name. Liu has made up a story about me, saying I am his cousin.”
Chen said, “This is a matter of national interests. I have to make a report to the police bureau. Sooner or later, the gang will have a copy of that report.”
“I don’t understand, Chief Inspector Chen.”
“There may well be a connection between the gang and the Fujian police, as you are aware.”
He noticed the astonishment on Catherine Rohn’s face. Party Secretary Li had insisted on his holding the Americans responsible for the leaks. Chen would worry about Li’s reaction—and hers—later.
“So you cannot do anything for me?”
“To be honest, I have to say we cannot guarantee your safety. You know only too well how powerful those gangsters are. In fact, Liu agrees with my analysis of the situation. What’s more, once they find you, it will surely get Liu into trouble, too. You know what they are capable of.”
“Do you think I should leave because of Liu, Chief Inspector Chen?” Wen said slowly, looking up at him.
“As a cop, my answer is yes. Not only the Flying Axes, but the government will bring pressure to bear upon him.”
“It’s a decision,” Catherine said, “in the interests of the two countries.”
“Liu cannot win with both the government and the triads against him,” Chen said. “And his wife would never forgive him for giving up everything for another woman.”
“You don’t have to go on.” Wen stood up with resolve in her eyes.
“Liu does not want you to leave, because he
is concerned about you.” Chen continued. “I am too. I’ll keep in close touch with Inspector Rohn. Feng will not be able to bully you like before. If there is anything Inspector Rohn can do for you, I’ll make sure she does it.”
“Yes, I will do my best to help you,” Catherine said, grasping Wen’s hand. “Trust me.”
“All right. I’ll leave,” Wen said hoarsely. “But I want you, Chief Inspector Chen, to guarantee that nothing will happen to Liu.”
“Yes, I guarantee it,” he said. “Comrade Liu has done a great service by protecting you. Nothing will happen to him.”
“There is one thing I can do,” Catherine said. “I will assign you a special post office box number. You cannot write to anyone directly, but you can write to this number, and your letters will be forwarded to Liu or anyone else. And you will receive his, too.”
“One more thing, Inspector Rohn and Chief Inspector Chen. I must go back to Fujian before I leave China.”
“Why?”
“I left some papers behind in my hurry. And the poetry collection.”
“We’ll have Detective Yu bring them to Shanghai.” Chen said.
“I have to go to my son’s grave,” Wen said in a voice that seemed to leave no room for further argument. “For a last look.”
Chen hesitated. “We may not have enough time, Wen.”
“She wants to say good-bye to her son,” Catherine intervened. “It’s only human nature for a mother to want to bid farewell to her son.”
He did not want to appear cold-blooded, though this seemed excessively sentimental to him. He refrained from saying anything more. The very unreasonableness of Wen’s request made it intriguing.
* * * *
Chapter 31
W
here are we going now?” Catherine Rohn asked Chen in the taxi.
“The Suzhou Police Bureau. I called their director. If Wen had decided to stay, Liu could have whisked her away. I had to call on the local cops for help, to put some men outside his place.” He added, “And for their protection, too.”
“So you’re not that trusting even of a fellow poet?”
He did not respond to her question. “We’d better leave Suzhou as soon as possible. Have you heard of the proverb ‘There can be many dreams in a long night.’ “
“No.”
“It’s like an English one—’There’s many a slip betwixt the cup and the lip.’ If we must go to Fujian, I want to take Wen there today. Anything is possible with those gangsters. To get the earliest train or airplane tickets, we need the help of the local police.”
“She told me a lot about her life while you were with Liu upstairs. I feel terribly sorry for Wen. That’s why I supported her request, Chief Inspector Chen.”
“I understand,” he said. Suddenly he felt exhausted, and he spoke little the rest of the way.
The moment they entered the reception room of the Suzhou Police Bureau, Director Fan Baohong burst in. “You should have informed us earlier of your visit, Chief Inspector Chen.”
“We arrived only yesterday, Director Fan. This is Inspector Catherine Rohn, of the U. S. Marshals Service.”
“Welcome to Suzhou, Inspector Rohn. It’s a great honor to meet you.”
“I’m so happy to meet you, Director Fan.”
“It must take an important investigation to bring both of you to Suzhou. We’ll do whatever we can do here to assist you.”
“It’s a sensitive international case, so I cannot give you the details,” Chen said. “Are your people still stationed outside Liu’s residence?”
“Yes, Chief Inspector Chen.”
“Keep them there. I have to ask you another favor. We need three tickets to Fujian as soon as possible, by air or by train.”
“Honghua,” Fan shouted to a young woman officer sitting at the front desk outside. “Check on the earliest available tickets to Fujian.”
“We appreciate your help, Director Fan,” Catherine said.
“Now let’s move into my office. It is more comfortable there,” Fan said.
“No, please don’t bother,” Chen said. “We have to leave soon. The fewer people know about this, the better.”
“I understand, Chief Inspector Chen. I will not say a single word to anyone—”
“Excuse me, Director Fan.” The young woman officer appeared in the doorway. “I’ve got the information for you. There’s no direct flight from Suzhou to Fujian. Our guests have to go back to Shanghai first. There will be a flight from Shanghai at three thirty in the afternoon. On the other hand, there is an express train from Suzhou to Fujian this evening, leaving at eleven thirty. The trip takes about fourteen hours.”
“We’ll take the train.” Chen said.
“But all the soft sleepers are sold out. We can get only hard sleepers.”
“Go and tell the railway bureau: We must have soft sleepers,” Fan said. “If necessary, they can put on an additional car.”
“You don’t have to do that, Director Fan.” Catherine said. “Hard sleeper will be great for me. In fact, I prefer it.”
“Inspector Rohn wants to see the real China,” Chen explained. “Traveling in hard sleeper like an ordinary Chinese traveler will be an experience for her. It’s settled. Three tickets.”
“Fine, if Inspector Rohn insists.”
“Tell this to your people outside Liu’s residence,” Chen said. “Liu will accompany a woman to the train station this evening. If they are heading in that direction, follow them at a distance. If not, stop them. In the meantime, watch out for any suspicious people.”
“Don’t worry. That is their job.” Fan took a glance at his watch. “Now, we have several hours before us. For Inspector Rohn’s first visit, let’s have a typical Suzhou dinner. What about the Pine and Crane Restaurant?”
“I have to take a rain check for dinner, Director Fan,” Chen said, standing up.
“Well, we will see you at the station then,” Fan said, accompanying them to the doorway, where Honghua handed over two bamboo containers. “Suzhou souvenirs. A pound of tea for each of you. First-class Cloud and Mist, a special product for the emperors in ancient China.”
It might have cost five hundred Yuan at Shanghai First Department Store, though probably it would have cost Fan much less—from tea plantations patrolled by Fan’s men. Still, it was a valuable present.
“Thank you, Director Fan. I’m overwhelmed.” It would be a good gift for his mother, a connoisseur of fine tea. Chen felt bad for not having phoned her before he left Shanghai.
It took ten minutes for them to get back to the hotel, and less than five minutes for him to pack. He went to her room, where he called Liu, informing him of the travel arrangements. Liu agreed to accompany Wen to the station.
The next call was to Detective Yu. “We’ve found Wen Liping, Detective Yu.”
“Where, Chief Inspector Chen?”
“In Suzhou. Staying with Liu Qing, a high-school classmate. A poet in that anthology. It’s a long story. I’ll tell you more about it back in Shanghai. We are taking tonight’s train to Fujian, to pick up a few things at Wen’s place.”
“Great. I’ll meet you at the Fujian railway station.”
“No, don’t. Peiqin will be waiting for you at home. Return by air today. We have a special budget. Don’t tell the locals about our plan.”
“I see. Thanks, Chief.”
Finally Chen phoned the Fujian Police Bureau. A junior officer, surnamed Dai, said Superintendent Hong was not in the office.
“I want your people to meet me at the railway station with a car at one tomorrow afternoon. Preferably a van.” Chen did not mention that Catherine Rohn and Wen Liping would be with him.
“No problem, Chief Inspector Chen. It’s an internationally important case, we all know.”
“Thanks.” Chen put down the phone, wondering how all of them could have known that.
Catherine called her headquarters in Washington, where it was early morning. She left a message, saying
she would be bringing Wen back in a couple of days.
It was a few minutes past five. They still had several hours to spend in Suzhou. She started taking her things out of the closet to pack. He felt time weighing heavily on him. Staring out the window, he realized for the first time that they were surrounded by dilapidated buildings. Perhaps the hotel was too close to the railway station.
