screamed like a pig, that turned him on.

Yu: What had she done to deserve punishment?

Tong: He believed that she ruined his career. But for the scandal

with her, he could have stayed in power.

Yu: He raped her. How could he have blamed her?

Tong: That’s not the way he saw it. He called her the white tiger

star in his life.

Yu: Then why didn’t he divorce her?

Tong: I think I can guess. Whenever he made some money, he

squandered it in places like where I worked. So he wanted to keep

something in reserve. A home to go back to, a purse to snatch, a

body to abuse.

Yu: I see. You understand him well. When did you last see Feng?

Tong: About a year ago.

Yu: Did he tell you about his plans to go to the United States?

Tong: That’s no secret in Fujian. He promised to bring me over

when he got there.

Yu: What about his wife?

Tong: He called her trash. Good riddance. I did not believe him. He

made me that promise in exchange for free service.

Yu: So there was no change in his feeling toward his wife before

his departure?

Tong: No. None at all. It’s just because of her pregnancy-

Yu: Now wait a minute, Tong. You just said you have not seen him

for a year. How did you know that?

Tong: Well-I heard what other people say.

Yu: Who? Most of the men in his village are gone. You are not

telling me the truth, Tong. You are still in contact with Feng, aren’t

you?

Tong: No, I swear I have nothing to do with him now.

Yu: Let me tell you something. Zheng’s a much harder nut to crack,

but he cracked when he heard Superintendent Hong’s promise to

do whatever I wanted. So Zheng told me a lot, and about you too.

How once several people had a go at you together, Zheng said,

Feng, Blind Ma, Shorty Yin.

Tong: What! Zheng told you that, the thousand-ax-hacked rascal.

He was the fourth beast that night.

Yu: That alone would be enough to put you back behind the bars.

Group sex is forbidden absolutely. Now I’ll tell you what. I’m here

in plainclothes. No one knows anything about my visit. Why? I’m

working on a case directly under the central government.

Tong: No one knows anything about our talk?

Yu: No one. That’s why I arranged to have this talk in a private

room. I’ll pay you for the full service in front of other people. No

one will suspect anything.

Tong: Um, I’ll take your word, Officer Yu. I may have something for

you, but I did not know anything about Feng’s current situation

until last week. A gangster came to me.

Yu: A Flying Ax came to you! For what, Tong?

Tong: He asked me the same questions you have just asked.

Yu: What is his name?

Tong: Zhang Shan. He said he’s from Hong Kong, but he did not

fool me that easily. From Hong Kong indeed, like I’m from Japan.

That bastard had a face as thick as a rock wall.

Yu: How did you know? He did not have his residence permit

printed on his face.

Tong: I could not give him any information, so he demanded free

full service or he would cut my face. Do you think a Hong Kong

man would stoop so low? A totally rotten thousand-year-egg.

Yu: Did he tell you anything about Feng?

Tong: In bed, he gave me no rest for half a night. Afterward, he

mumbled something about Feng and his wife.

Yu: That may be important. What did he say?

Tong: The organization is really pissed off. They are leaving no

stone unturned to dig up his wife.

Yu: What if they find her?

Tong: That depends on Feng.

Yu: What does that mean?

Tong: He did not explain. They will probably hold her hostage.

Imprison her in a dungeon. Torture her. Anything you can

imagine. If Feng does not cooperate, they will impose the Eighteen

Axes, I guess.

Yu: Eighteen Axes?

Tong: Hack her with eighteen blows of an ax. The worst form of

the triad’s punishment. As a warning to others.

Yu: Now there are only two weeks before the trial. What will they

do if they do not find her by then?

Tong: I don’t know, but I think they are really worried about

something. I have no idea what it is. They won’t stop until they get

hold of her. At any cost, Zhang said.

Yu: At any cost. I see. Anything else?

Tong: That’s all, Officer Yu. A bastard like him does not want to talk

much when he is satiated. I did not want to appear interested in

Feng. I did not know you would come today.

Yu: Well, if what you have told me is true, you probably won’t hear

from me again. But if it is not, and I find out, you know what will

happen.

Tong: It’s nothing but the truth.

Chief Inspector Chen pushed the off button and lit a cigarette.

He was depressed. He had been involved with more sordid cases, but something troubled him about this one. Sitting, resting his head against the hard headboard, he seemed to see exotic patterns of light and shadow dancing on the opposite wall, like a devil-mask dancer in a movie.

He did not like his job.

It more than shocked him that Wen’s life had been so horrible. Now he saw why she had not applied for the passport in January. Why should she want to join such a husband? That immediately led to another question. What had brought about her change of mind? For a once-high-spirited girl, “the prettiest leftist,” wearing the proud armband of the Red Guard, how could she have chosen to live the rest of her life like a piece of stale meat on a cutting stump, to be carved and cut by a butcher of a husband?

The tape presented a more disturbing question. Again, here was a Hong Kong visitor, rather than a local thug. Tong’s judgment was questionable. There’s nothing too low for a gangster, whether from Hong Kong or Fujian. But why should the Flying Axes have sent a Hong Kong gangster to approach Tong, a salon girl in Fujian?

What’s more, what was the “something” that would bother the gangsters, and make them stop at nothing to find Wen.

Tong might not be a reliable informant. Nevertheless, Chen was struck with an ominous premonition.

Something might be terribly wrong with his earlier hypothesis. He only knew that he was at a critical juncture. One move amiss, and the whole game would be irrecoverably lost.

In a game of go, he would change his position by leaving that battle for the time being, to focus on another, or to start a new one. Tactical repositioning. After all, he might stage a comeback when the situation changed. So one possible option was for him to close the investigation. Give up.

From Party Secretary Li’s point of view, Chief Inspector Chen had already done his job well enough. And Catherine Rohn’s supervisor also wanted her to return.

As for Wen Liping, ironic as it might appear, he had to acknowledge that wherever she was, it would probably not be much worse than in Feng’s company.

Party Secretary Li was right about one thing. Inspector Rohn’s safety was a matter of top priority, for which Chen felt immensely responsible. The gangster had said at any cost-that made him shudder. If anything happened to her, he would never be able to forgive himself.

Not merely because of politics.

He had sensed her sympathy earlier in the day. Particularly by his father’s grave. No one else had ever accompanied him there. The gesture had a meaning for him. He realized that despite their differences Inspector Rohn had come to mean more to him than a temporary partner.

But it was absurd of him to be contemplating such things with his investigation bogged down in a mire of unanswered questions, inexplicable complications, unpredictable hazards, and with Wen Liping still missing.