The hostess brought them another sort of menu-a list of song titles in both English and Chinese. Underneath each name was a number.

“You may choose any song you like, Catherine,” he said. “All you have to do is push the number on the remote control, and sing along with the captions on the screen.”

“I did not realize that karaoke was so popular here,” she said.

Karaoke had been imported from Japan in the mid-eighties. Originally, it had been confined to a few large restaurants. Then entrepreneurs saw an opportunity. They converted restaurants into karaoke halls, open twenty-four hours a day. Next, the private room came into vogue. The hall was partitioned into many small chambers, each nicely furnished to give a sense of privacy. Some entrepreneurs went so far as to have a whole building redesigned for the purpose. Soon, people came not just for the karaoke, but for something else in the guise of karaoke.

With hotels still requiring I.D. and marriage certificates before people could check in, these private karaoke rooms, with their locked doors, met the understood yet unstated needs of the city suffering from a housing shortage. People did not have to feel awkward here. Ostensibly, they were only attending a karaoke party.

Karaoke girls, often abbreviated as K girls, also appeared. Nominally, they were supposed to sing with a customer who did not have a female companion. When the door was locked, however, the other services the K girls provided could well be imagined.

Chen did not see a single K girl that afternoon. Perhaps this was due to the time of the day. Or perhaps it was because he was with someone already.

He did not explain any of this to Inspector Rohn.

When the hostess came back with their order, he said. “Who is your boss?”

“General Manager Gu.”

“Tell him to come here.”

The hostess asked in astonishment, “What shall I say to him?”

He cast a glance at Catherine. “I have some international business opportunities to discuss with him.”

Almost immediately, a middle-aged man appeared, wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses, sporting a beer belly as well as a diamond ring on his finger. He held out his business card to Chen. It read: Gu Haiguang.

Chen handed over his card in return. Gu seemed shocked, but he controlled himself, quickly waving the hostess out of the room.

“I’m here to introduce myself to you, General Manager Gu. This is my friend Catherine. I wanted to show her the best karaoke club in Shanghai.” Chen continued, “There’s a lot we can do for each other. As the old saying goes, ‘The mountain is high, and the river is long.’”

“Indeed, there are many possibilities in the future. I’m so honored to meet you today, and your beautiful American girlfriend. I have heard about you, Chief Inspector Chen. Your name has been in newspapers headlines. Your honorable presence lights up our humble place. Today is our treat.”

This would not be a small sum. Chen believed. For a couple of hours in a private room, plus the food, the bill could run to a month’s salary for him. Most of the clients must be newly rich or officials spending government money.

“You are most kind, but that’s not why I wanted to meet you, General Manager Gu.”

“Sergeant Cai is also a regular client of ours. He patrols the area.”

Chen had heard about cops accepting graft in the form of free entertainment from karaoke clubs. After all, a Cop deserved to sing a few songs, too. One problem with graft was, however, that it snowballed.

“As a chief inspector, I want to do a good job.” Chen took a leisurely sip of his coffee. “But that will be difficult without people’s help.”

“It’s the same in our business. As one of our old sayings goes, ‘At home, you depend on your parents, and out in the world, you rely on your friends.’ I am so pleased that we have become acquainted today. Your help will be invaluable to us.”

“Now that we’re friends, General Manager Gu, I would like to ask you a couple of questions.”

“Gladly, I will tell you anything I know.” Gu was all smiles.

“Has a gang called the Flying Axes contacted you?”

“Flying Axes? No, Chief Inspector Chen,” Gu said, his eyes suddenly alert. “I’m a decent business man. But a karaoke club has visitors from all walks of life. Occasionally from those secret societies as well. They come here like other customers. To sing, to dance, to have a good time.”

“Oh yes, there are a lot of private rooms here. Private services, too.” Chen stirred his coffee spoon deliberately. “You are a clever man, General Manager Gu. We can talk plainly. Whatever you pass on to me as a friend will be kept confidential.”

“I’m so honored that you consider me a friend.” Gu seemed to be stalling for time. “Really. I’m overwhelmed.”

“Let me tell you something, General Manager Gu. Lu Tonghao, the owner of Moscow Suburb, is an old pal of mine. When he first started his business, I managed to get a loan for him.”

“ Moscow Suburb! Yes, I’ve been there. To get along in today’s society, people really have to rely on their friends. Especially a friend like you. No wonder the restaurant enjoys such success.”

Chief Inspector Chen was aware of the close attention Inspector Rohn was paying to the conversation. Still, he went on.

“Lu has a bevy of Russian girls walking around in their mini slips. No one gives him any trouble. It’s so easy for people to find problems, you know, with a restaurant or a karaoke business.”

“That’s true. Fortunately, we do not have any problems with ours-” Gu said more slowly. “Well, except for the parking lot behind our building.”

“Parking lot?”

“There’s a space behind our building. For our location, this is really a godsend. So convenient for customers to park their cars there. The Shanghai Metropolitan Traffic Control people have come to us several times, saying that the space has not been zoned as a parking lot for the club.”

“If it’s a matter of a zoning problem, I can give them a call. Perhaps you may not know that I served as the acting director of Traffic Control last year.”

“Really, Director Chen!”

“Now about the gang-from Fujian.” Chen put down the cup and looked Gu in the eyes. “Does that ring a bell?”

“A Fujian triad. I don’t know. Oh, now I remember something else. Someone came to me yesterday. Not from Fujian, but from Hong Kong. A certain Mr. Diao. And he asked me if I had hired anyone from Fujian. A woman in her mid-thirties, three or four months pregnant. That’s so unlikely. Most of the girls working here are under twenty-five, and we have more good-looking young women applying than we can hire, let alone a pregnant one.”

“Did Mr. Diao give you any description of the woman he was looking for?”

“Let me think.” Gu said. “Not particularly nice looking. Sallow, wrinkled, a lot of sadness in her eyes. A woman who looked like a Fujian farmer.”

“Are you sure that Mr. Diao’s not a gangster?”

“I don’t think so. He would have stated his organization and rank when he introduced himself.” Gu added, belatedly, “And he would not have come to me if he were a gangster.”

“Your club is not a likely place to find such a woman. Mr. Diao must have known better.” Chen said. “Why did he come here?”

“I don’t know. He must have been desperate, bumping everywhere like a headless fly.”

“Do you know where he is staying?”

“He did not leave his address or phone number. He said he might check back.”

“If he does, find out where he can be found and give me a call.” Chen had written his cellular phone number on the back of his card. “Any time.”

“I’ll do that, Chief Inspector Chen. Anything else?”

“Well, another thing,” Chen said. Gu seemed to be quite cooperative now that he had played the bargaining chip of the parking lot. The chief inspector decided to push his luck a little further. “A body was discovered in Bund Park a few days ago. Possibly a triad killing. There were many ax wounds to the body. Have you heard anything about it?”