The Child's Past Life

by Cai Jun

  Human Zhong Yin can take the form of children . . .

  “What nonsense!” Huang Hai abruptly changed the radio station in his police car, unable to take another moment of this philosopher’s lecture.

  Grave-Sweeping Day 2006.

  The police car stopped at Number One Elementary School on Longevity Road. Huang Hai entered the schoolyard and stood behind a boy who was watching a dead sparrow being buried by sand.

  “Are you Si Wang?” His hair was grayer now, but he was still solidly built, and his voice was still low and husky—which made many people remember him.

  The boy stepped on the sand to flatten the bird’s grave. His face was pale. Without the sand on his nose, he would have seemed very mature.

  “Mr. Policeman, that’s me. Do you need something?”

  “You were the one who found the body in the jeep two years ago?”

  Si Wang dusted off the sand. “That was so long ago. Why are you asking now? I wasn’t the only one there.”

  “The other person was Gu Qiusha, who became your adoptive mother last year. But you two ended the relationship a few months ago.”

  “The car had been there for two years. She was the one who wanted to break into it.”

  “She is dead.”

  The boy looked caught off guard before frowning. “How did she die?”

  “She was murdered in her home on the night of her father’s funeral. The killer hasn’t been found.”

  “OK. I hope you solve the crime soon.”

  “You’re awfully calm.”

  The boy stood and started to leave the schoolyard. “Mr. Policeman, I need to go home.”

  Whether out of habit or intention, Si Wang took the small path next to the river. Huang Hai stuck to him like glue.

  “Kid, don’t take this road anymore. It’s too isolated—there may be bad people around.”

  “Isn’t it your job to catch the bad guys?”

  “Yes, and there are no bad people I can’t catch.”

  “Really?”

  Huang Hai didn’t know how to answer. He used to catch every criminal. But in the eleven years since 1995, there had been five murders he‘d been unable to solve.

  Standing there next to the Suzhou River, he grabbed the boy’s school bag. “Wow, kids’ backpacks are really heavy these days!”

  “Mr. Policeman, why are you following me?” Si Wang asked as the two continued walking.

  “Before Gu Qiusha died, she asked me to check on you. She said you were a genius, that you know many secrets.”

  “I’m just a fourth-grader. I don’t know your name yet.”

  “Huang Hai, like the Yellow Sea. Ever take geography? China has four large seas. I’ve forgotten the names. You’re a genius, you would know.”

  “Mr. Huang Hai, I’m a member of China’s Youth Vanguard. I can help you solve the crimes.”

  Huang Hai stopped and pointed to an empty lot. “This is it.”

  He Nian’s body had rotted away here for two years. The jeep was gone, and the ground was now covered by trash and dust. Nothing seemed recognizable.

  The boy was afraid to walk into the empty lot.

  “Mr. Huang Hai, do you believe in ghosts?”

  “No, not at all.” He lit a cigarette in the wind and hastily added, “There are no ghosts in this world.”

  “I think the dead person in the trunk called me.”

  “Nonsense!”

  “You don’t believe me? I’ve seen ghosts.”

  His cigarette ashes fell to the ground. He grabbed Si Wang’s arm and dragged him away from the lot.

  Ten minutes later, they’d arrived at the boy’s home.

  “Just drop me off here. It would scare my mom if you went upstairs.”

  Si Wang grabbed back his school bag. Huang Hai handed him a business card and said, “Kid, if you think of anything, call me immediately.”

  Huang Hai leaned against the tree to watch the boy go upstairs. He lit another cigarette, thinking of Gu Qiusha’s corpse.

  She wasn’t found until three days after she’d died—and she was only found then because of a water leak in her building. The neighbors asked the maintenance office to check it out, and her body was discovered face down, her limbs spread out. Water was everywhere, making the body a bit bloated. The lethal wound was in the back, going almost straight into her heart. The weapon wasn’t found at the scene. There was some cash in the place, but no money or jewelry was missing. There were no signs of sexual assault. It wasn’t a money- or sex-based crime. It was a revenge killing.

  The killer took care cleaning up the scene—no fingerprints or hair. Elevator surveillance didn’t catch anything. It was hard to tell whether the killer was a man or a woman. Only the time of death was known—three days ago, the day of Gu Changlong’s funeral. Huang Hai presumed that the killer had come up via the stairs, gone inside when Gu Qiusha opened her door, and stabbed her once in the back.

  The most bizarre part of the case was that he’d seen her at the funeral home just hours before she was murdered. The saddest moment in that woman’s life. He’d wanted to comfort her. He couldn’t forget what she’d said: “I’m the only one left. I guess I’ll be dead soon.”

  She’d sentenced herself to death.

  This was an ultimate embarrassment to a seasoned detective.

  Then she asked him to pay attention to Si Wang.

  The next day, Huang Hai returned to the school.

  When Si Wang walked out, he said, “Let me walk you home.”

  “I can walk home by myself.”

  “Kid, you know both Gu Qiusha and Gu Changlong are dead. I’m worried about you. Get it?”

  He brusquely grabbed the boy’s school bag and walked toward the street. Si Wang was like a prisoner who had no choice but to obey.

  A couple of schoolkids whispered among themselves: “Is he arrested?”

  Si Wang untied his red neckerchief and complained. “Please don’t walk me home in front of people. They’ll think I did something wrong.”

  “Let them talk.”

  “Did you solve the case?”

  “Which one?” Huang Hai turned to look at him.

  They passed the Muslim temple on Changde Road; someone was selling lamb skewers. Si Wang looked as if he was drooling. Huang Hai bought ten skewers, gave four to the kid, and told him not to eat too much. Si Wang heartily ate the skewers and seemed more relaxed.

  “Aren’t you afraid to spoil your dinner?”

  “It’s OK. My mom is working late. I’ll just microwave some leftovers.”

  “Where is your dad?”

  Huang Hai knew the answer. He had researched Si Wang’s background.

  “My dad—he went missing four years ago.”

  Huang Hai said solemnly, “Si Wang, come have dinner at my house.”

  “No, I’d rather go home.”

  “Come with me.” His words sounded like an order.

  He lived near the Muslim temple in an old high-rise, almost right next to the precinct. When he opened the apartment door, a musty odor wafted out. His face reddened. “Sorry about the mess!”

  He fumbled to open the windows and tidied the cluttered living room. Instant noodle cups littered the kitchen table and cigarette butts filled the ashtray. It was a true bachelor’s pad.

  Si Wang was cautious in the stranger’s house.

  With some difficulty, Huang Hai found the boy a place to sit and then poured him a glass of milk. The boy politely took a sip. Huang Hai turned on the television, which was showing the popular children’s program Detective Conan.

  After much struggling in the kitchen, he found a pack of noodles and some frozen beef in the fridge.

  “How about some beef noodles?”

  Ten minutes later, when Conan used the needle to de
feat Mouri Kogorou, piping-hot noodles arrived on the dinner table. Huang Hai’s noodles weren’t horrible, though they were the only dish he made well.

  Si Wang finished every last strand, including the broth. Huang Hai gave him an odd smile. The boy scrambled up but was pushed down to sit again. “Had enough?”

  “Definitely—I’m hiccuping. You’re not eating?”

  “I’m not hungry.” His voice was as heavy as the sound from the bottom of a jar.

  “Mr. Policeman, are there no criminals you can’t catch?”

  “Of course not.”

  “You swear?”

  “I . . .” Huang Hai was about to light up again but decided not to. “With a few exceptions.”

  “Murder cases?”

  Huang Hai’s gaze turned icy. “Why are you asking?”

  “I think your taking on the Suzhou River case—and the Gu Qiusha and Gu Changlong cases—has something to do with your other unsolved cases.”

  “Why does a schoolkid need to know so much?”

  Si Wang no longer bothered with pleasantries. He was about to leave when Huang Hai stopped him. “Wait.”

  “It’s getting dark. My mom said I shouldn’t go to strangers’ houses.”

  “When were you born?”

  “December 19, 1995.”

  “Two unsolved cases happened before you were born.”

  “Also in 1995?”

  “Yes.” Admitting this made him despondent.

  Calmly, Si Wang said, “The Nanming Road murder case?”

  Huang Hai’s face turned ashy and he clutched the boy’s collar to lift him off the floor. Si Wang’s feet dangled.

  “Let me go!”

  “How did you know?”

  “The Internet.”

  Huang Hai’s big hands could have easily crushed him, but he put him down. “Sorry, kid.”

  “They said three people died at Nanming High that summer?”

  “I’m sorry, I’ll take you home.”

  As he exited Huang Hai’s car at the end of the ride, Si Wang asked, “Can you do me a favor?”

  “Tell me.”

  “Can you find my dad? He went missing on Chinese New Year in 2002. He’s called Si Mingyuan. We reported it to the police.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  From that point on, every few days he’d pick up Si Wang at school and they would go eat lamb skewers—or sometimes he fed him at home.

  By May, Gu Qiusha had already been dead for a month, and there was still no progress with the case. The police had temporarily identified Lu Zhongyue as the main suspect and continued looking for him.

  Huang Hai agonized over it and decided to pay Si Wang a visit at home. It was a weekend.

  Si Wang wore a look of astonishment while opening the door. “Why are you here?”

  “Are you doing something bad?” Huang Hai walked into the narrow room, where the TV was playing The Grudge. “You’re home alone?”

  “No, my mom’s home.”

  This made him pause. “Does your mom know about me?”

  Why would she? No mom would want a cop hanging around her fourth-grader.

  As Huang Hai was deciding what to do, He Qingying came out of the bedroom. She was wearing something new, and her hair was done up.

  She said, “You are?”

  “Uh—” He was used to dealing with bad guys, but a pretty woman made him tongue-tied.

  “This is Mr. Huang Hai, a policeman.”

  “Wang Er, what did you do?” she said, glaring at her son.

  “Ma’am, please don’t misunderstand. I came here uninvited because Si Wang asked me to help with something—his dad.” Huang Hai noticed her eyes flickering at those words. “I heard your husband has been missing for years. Your son wants me to help find him. I was just looking up the records at the police station.”

  “Thank you!” she said.

  “Sorry, I haven’t been able to find him yet, or find any hotel records of him locally or in other cities. And there were no train or plane ticket records, either. But I’ve promised Si Wang that I will keep looking.”

  To be polite and as a gesture of respect, He Qingying made tea for the cop. He clumsily uttered thanks and sipped the tea, almost burning his lips.

  She changed the topic to her son’s education. “Si Wang is very smart. You know what happened last year. Ms. Gu gave us an opportunity for him to see more of the world. But now he’s back to the way he was. His grades are mediocre. He rarely talks to his classmates, and even the principal ignores him now.”

  The policeman nodded and gently told her all about how he frequently walked the boy home, treating him to lamb skewers. The boy blushed and hid in the bedroom.

  Huang Hai asked, “You mentioned Ms. Gu—you know she’s dead, right?”

  “What? When?”

  “You hadn’t kept in touch, then? She died a month and a half ago.” He resumed his stern expression. “When was the last time you saw her?”

  “It was around Chinese New Year, when we dissolved the adoption and changed his residency registration.”

  “Not since then?”

  “No.”

  “Great, thanks for your cooperation. I’ll be going now, though I might visit again soon.”

  Once he was downstairs, he couldn’t resist looking up at the third floor. His mind was filled with He Qingying’s face.

  Was she lying?

  CHAPTER 31

  It was spring.

  Er Hu had been a security guard for two years, and he always passed this house during his patrols. The big Christmas tree had made everyone in the neighborhood envious. Who knew the family would go bankrupt right after Chinese New Year? Everything had been moved out. An old man used to sit near the front gate and cuss until a strange woman took him back inside.

  He heard everyone in the family had died.

  What he remembered the most was the boy in the family. He was about ten, a good-looking kid, with shining but expressionless eyes. He often walked alone in the garden or stared out the windows. Whenever Er Hu passed the house at night, he’d see the ghost-like boy standing by the second floor window, his face so pale that it looked scary—like he was playing a joke.

  It was the same every night.

  Er Hu’s hometown myth said that someone like this was usually possessed.

  As the family went bankrupt, the boy disappeared. Er Hu was relieved, though he still saw the boy in his nightmares.

  The mansion was now being prepared to welcome a new owner. Er Hu was surprised to see that strange woman again.

  Dressed in black, she looked like a recent college graduate, demure and low-key. Her hair was in a ponytail and pinned with a white flower, as though she was in mourning. She was beautiful, with snow-like skin and alluring eyes. She looked like a beauty from an ancient painting.

  Before the Gu family scandal, Er Hu had seen her a few times. He remembered her face and wanted to follow her. She always paced in front of the mansion to look in, and she hid whenever anyone came out. He tried to question her, but she said nothing as she left.

  Her hair was fragrant.

  On this day, she stood in front of the renovated mansion. A woman in her thirties with an unfashionable perm approached. She had a boy with her, a third- or fourth-grader. They had luggage and seemed to have traveled a long way. They looked like a mother and her son from a small town.

  “Is this Lu Zhongyue’s house?” asked the woman with the child.

  The attractive woman turned around and answered with a frown. “Not anymore. He went missing a while ago. Why are you looking for him?”

  “Oh, no, what am I gonna do?” The woman almost fainted but for her son’s help. “Sorry, who are you?”

  “I’m Lu Zhongyue’s cousin. I’m here to deal with the house.�
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  The frazzled woman with the son looked at the younger woman with pleading eyes. “Can you help me?”

  “And who are you?”

  She dragged the boy to her side. “This is my son, also Lu Zhongyue’s son.”

  “What are you talking about? My cousin doesn’t have children.”

  “Ten years ago, I was his girlfriend. He wanted to dump me after I got pregnant. He gave me some money for an abortion back home. I knew he had someone else he wanted to marry. I cried like crazy and went back home. The doctor said the fetus was too big to abort. If I insisted, it would be dangerous. I didn’t want to let the baby go, so I gave birth. Thank god my parents were reasonable, and they helped me with the baby. So now here we are.”

  “My cousin had no idea?”

  “He was cruel to me then, and I was too busy hating him. I had the money he gave me, plus we were thousands of miles apart. I never looked for him again.” She became more embarrassed as she talked. She pointed to the boy’s forehead. “See, he has a birthmark here, just like your cousin. Trust me, this is his flesh and blood. There are tests now, right? I can run a test.”

  “Stop it. I’m not doubting you.”

  “Last year, the boy’s grandparents passed, and our savings are almost all gone. I want to work, so I need to give the kid to Lu Zhongyue. It took me a long time to find this place. I heard he’s rich, so if he’s not going to acknowledge his son, at least the boy will be fed.” The woman started crying as she said to her son, “Tell Aunt your name.”

  The boy seemed very docile. “Aunt, I’m Lu Jizong.”

  “I’m sorry, but you have to go for now. I want to find him, too, but he’s a wanted man. The police are looking for him.”

  “The bastard. It’s karma! But what are we gonna do?”

  The younger woman opened her wallet and handed 3,000 yuan to the mother. “Take this for now. Use it as traveling expenses.”

  “I can’t accept this.”

  “I’m his cousin, so his problems are my problems. I’ll fix the mistakes he made. But I can’t find him. If I hear of anything, whether he’s in jail or whatnot, I’ll tell you right away. Let’s swap numbers. I’ll get in touch soon.”