"A Loyal Character Dancer" - читать интересную книгу автора (Xiaolong Qiu)

Chapter 15

It was not until they came in sight of the hotel that he remembered, “Oh, the dinner I promised you. I’ve forgotten all about it, Inspector Rohn.”

“It’s just five o’clock. I’m not hungry yet.”

“What about Deda? It is close to the hotel. We can talk there.”

Deda was a two-story restaurant on the corner of Nanjing and Sichuan Road. Its European-style front formed a sharp contrast to the Central Market beside it.

“During the Cultural Revolution, it was called Workers, Peasants, and Soldiers Restaurant,” Chief Inspector Chen said. “Now it has changed back to the original name, Deda, meaning ‘Great German’.”

There were quite a number of young people on the first floor, smoking, talking, stirring desires or memories into their coffee cups. He led her to the second floor, where food was served. They chose a table by a window overlooking Nanjing Road. She ordered a glass of white wine, and he, coffee and a wedge of lemon pie. At his recommendation, she also had a Deda special, a piece of chestnut cream cake.

“You have a reason for everything, Chief Inspector Chen. You were like a fish swimming in triad waters-at the Dynasty.”

“It takes time to crack a hard nut like Gu. Time is what we cannot afford. So I tried a different approach.”

“Your performance was impressive, making friends, and exchanging favors.”

“I’ll let you in on a secret. One of my favorite genres is the kung fu novel.”

“Like the Western in American literature. People know it’s a fantasy, but they still enjoy it.”

“You might say that the present-day triad world is a poor imitation of the more glamorized one in the kung fu novels. Of course there are differences but they share values. For one, yiqi. An ethical code of brotherhood, of loyalty, with emphasis on the obligation to reciprocate favors.”

“Is yiqi so important in China because the legal system is flawed?”

“You could say that,” he said, impressed by her acute observation. “But yiqi is not necessarily negative. My father was a Confucian scholar. And I still remember an old saying he taught me. ‘If somebody helps you with a drop of water, you should repay him by digging a spring for him’.”

“You have made a special study,” she said, taking another small sip of wine.

“Gu is a shrewd businessman. Yiqi does not come out of nowhere. If he sees some future benefit, he is more likely to cooperate. It would not hurt him to talk a little-in a private room-to a chief inspector. That little is all I need.”

“Oh, Gu has more than that I think,” she said. “Mr. Diao, the Hong Kong visitor, may have not left his phone number, but Gu can find him. It really depends on how much he wants his parking lot.”

“You are right. I’ll have a talk with my former secretary at Traffic Control.”

“The visitor could be a Flying Ax. They may have a branch in Hong Kong.”

“As far as I know, the gang does not have a branch in Hong Kong. And a Fujian accent would be hard to cover up. Besides, I don’t see why a visitor should try to conceal his identity from Gu.”

“Why not, Chief Inspector Chen?”

“There’s a gang rule-’declaring the mountain door.’ One has to make clear his organization background and rank so others will deal with him.”

“That’s a point,” she said, nodding. “But if he’s not a Flying Ax, who is he?”

“I don’t have the answer.”

“You mentioned the other case to Gu, the body in Bund Park, with all the ax wounds. Could there be some connection between that killing and Wen’s disappearance?”

“It’s probably a coincidence. A lot of gangs use axes.”

“Don’t the triads use guns at all?”

“Some do, but in gang fights, they prefer knives and axes. There is very strict gun control in China.”

“Yes, your government refused my request to carry a gun.”

The waiter came to their table with a dessert cart.

“In the tradition of kung fu novels,” he resumed as soon as they were left alone, “it is necessary to apologize by making a banquet. This is no banquet, but I am sincere in making my apologies.”

“What are you apologizing for?” She was surprised.

“Inspector Rohn, I want you to know that I’m sorry about my overreaction in Qingpu. I should not have associated my defense of my government’s birth-control policy with the issue of illegal immigration to the U.S. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“Let’s put it behind us. You pushed your defense too far, and I went overboard, too. We’re both to blame,” she said. The fact was that after their argument she trusted him more. He had lost his composure; he had not been acting. “But you did a great job with Gu this afternoon. This may be important.”

“Well, but for your strained ankle, we would not have visited Mr. Ma, and then we would not have learned of Gu. It’s really serendipitous, a chain of coincidences.”

“And if Mr. Ma hadn’t had a copy of Dr. Zhivago on his shelf years ago, and become a doctor because of it, or even earlier, if you hadn’t wandered into his bookstore for your comic book… it may be a very long chain indeed,” she said.

In spite of their reconciliation, she did not invite him to her hotel. They shook hands outside the cafe, standing on the sidewalk, still filled with illegally parked bikes.

He remained there for a minute, watching her walk across traffic-jammed Sichuan Road. Her black purse swung against her side, her long hair brushed her shoulders. As her slender figure reemerged from the waves of bikes, she appeared to be far away.

There was no accident this time.

He heaved a sigh of relief.

He phoned Meiling at the Shanghai Metropolitan Traffic Control Office.

“What’s up, Director Chen.”

“Don’t call me that, Meiling. I only served as acting director when Director Wei was in hospital.”

Director Wei had returned, but he remained in unstable health. People had been talking about Chen’s moving back to the position. It was a suggestion he meant to resist.

“I still think of you as my boss,” Meiling insisted. “What can I do for you today?”

“There is a karaoke club called Dynasty, on Shanxi Road. Our traffic control people have approached its owner, Gu Haiguang, about a zoning issue with respect to the parking lot there. If it is a borderline case, can we make a special study of it?”

“No problem, if that’s what you want.”

“There’s no hurry. Before we do anything, I want you to contact Gu, telling him I have talked to you, and that Traffic Control will be giving the matter special consideration. Don’t promise immediate approval or anything else.”

“I see. I will ask Director Wei to give him a call. He has a high opinion of you.”

“No, don’t go out of your way, Meiling. If you can phone him tomorrow, that should be more than enough.”

“I will do it the first thing tomorrow morning. Whatever you want us to decide, that’s what Mr. Gu will get.”

“I’ll also need the help of Old Hunter for a few days.” He added, “I’m working on an important case. I have to depend on the people I can trust, like you and Old Hunter.”

“I’m glad you put me together with him. As our advisor, he does not have to report here every day. He may choose to conduct a special field study somewhere for a week. I’ll tell Director Wei.”

“Thank you, Meiling. I really owe you. When I’ve finished the job on my hands I’ll take you to the Dynasty for a karaoke evening. I’ve got a VIP card.”

“Whenever you have time, Director Chen. Take care.”

Chen’s next phone call was to Old Hunter. “I have to ask another favor of you, Uncle Yu. I need you to keep a close watch on the Dynasty Karaoke Club on Shanxi Road. The owner’s name is Gu Haiguang. Tap his telephone twenty-four hours a day. Dig into his background. But try to get it done without the bureau’s knowledge.”

“You never know what connections a Mr. Big Bucks may have inside the bureau,” Old Hunter said. “You are right to be careful. This is a job for an old hunter. I still have a good nose, and ears too. But what about my traffic control responsibility?”

“I’ve talked to Meiling. You do not have to report there next week.”

“Great. I will station myself in front of the club all day and send someone in as a customer-hold on, I have a better idea. I can get in myself. Some old people go there to kill time listening to old songs. No need for a private room or anything. I’ll have someone else, Yang Guozhuang, another retired cop, do the telephone line tapping. He worked for many years in Tibet before his retirement. I helped him get his residence permit so he could move back into the city. As a rightist in 1957, he really suffered a lot. And you know what-just because of an entry in his diary.”

“Thank you, Uncle Yu.” Chen knew he’d better cut the old man short, or he would digress into a long tale about Yang’s suffering during the antirightist movement. “If you need to have a private room, pay for it. Don’t worry about the expense. We can draw on the special fund.”

“Is Gu connected with the secret societies?”

“Connected, yes. You will have to watch out.”

“So, is this about the body in the park or the other case?”

“Both, perhaps,” Chen said, ending the call. Catherine Rohn might be right. Before he was able to do some more thinking along these lines, the phone rang again.

This time, it was Party Secretary Li.