“It’s too much of a long shot,” Li said. “Before you could go through all the records, he’ll strike again. We only have one week’s time, Inspector Liao. Besides, even in your scenario, he could have sought medical help secretly.”

“Most sex murderers are sexually impotent,” Yu said. “According to Chen, the murder is a sort of mental orgasm. So the theory of sexually transmitted disease may not hold.”

“Liao has a point,” Hong said more resolutely. “Out of the three victims, two were engaged in some sort of sex services. That at least suggests a pattern. Often, the victims fit a certain stereotype, which plays an important role in the killer’s sexual fantasies. He may or may not have been hurt by one of these three-accompanying girls, but it is evident that he has a grudge against them.”

“So what’s your proposal?” Li demanded.

“I would like to make a suggestion based on Liao’s analysis. If he is going to strike again, it’s probably among those girls. Let’s set up a decoy for him.”

“There are so many karaoke clubs, nightclubs, and restaurants in the city,” Yu said. “How could you tell from which one he’ll pick his next victim?”

“I don’t think he would repeat himself.”

“Please explain.” Li appeared to be interested.

“After Jasmine, one was an eating girl, one was a singing girl-out of the three-accompanying girls. The next one, logically, would have to be a dancing girl. People are all creatures of habit,” Hong said. “So he locates his victims by frequenting those entertainment spots of the city. They are easy targets, as you just said. But more importantly, he is a man given to symbolism. The red mandarin dress may be just part of it. So he will most likely choose a dancing girl as the next victim in his elaborate scheme.”

“But to set up a decoy for him may just be like waiting for a rabbit to knock itself out on an old tree, as the proverb goes,” Yu said. “And he is far more dangerous than a rabbit. I talked to Chen; he believes such a psychopath is capable of anything.”

“Do you have a better idea?” Li turned to Yu, almost fiercely. “Or does your Chief Inspector Chen?”

“Perhaps the bureau is too small of a temple for someone like Chen,” Liao joined in.

Yu, surprised by the animosity demonstrated by both Li and Liao, made no response.

No one made any further objection to Hong’s proposal. No one had a better idea, as Li had put it. So Hong was going to a dance club that afternoon.

Afterward, Yu considered it necessary to contact Chen. After the headline “ Shanghai in Crisis,” he didn’t think that Chen would keep burying his head among books.

As he picked up the phone, he thought he knew how to guarantee Chen’s full attention.

“I have to talk to you now, Chief. Let’s meet in front of Bund Park.”

“Why Bund Park?”

“The third red mandarin dress victim was found there this morning, close to the Tai Chi Corner on the Bund, just a stone’s throw from the park.”

“What-the third one was found on the Bund?”

“You’ll read about it in the newspapers-perhaps along with a reader’s letter, asking, ‘What is our Chief Inspector Chen doing?’ ”

“I’m on my way, Yu.”

FOURTEEN

TWENTY MINUTES LATER, YU arrived at the Bund again.

Checking around, he chose a green bench that faced the park. Sitting there, he could see down into the shrub grove where he had examined the body earlier. A crowd was still lingering there. The shrub grove looked somewhat like the flower bed where the first victim was found, but that might just be a coincidence. He didn’t believe the murderer could have chosen the places to dump the bodies for that reason.

With the heavy traffic along Zhong Road, it wasn’t practical to cordon off the area. There wasn’t any yellow crime scene tape there, which would have attracted even more people. Nor was it necessary. Any evidence at the scene was long gone.

It wasn’t long before he saw Chen emerging out of the throng, climbing up the flight of steps. A man taller than most of the people around him, Chen wore a trench coat and was carrying a briefcase. He had a pair of tortoise-rimmed, amber-lensed glasses that accentuated his broad forehead. Perhaps Chen didn’t want people to recognize him, what with reporters still at the scene, looking around for familiar faces. Chen came to a halt as he reached the top step and took off his glasses. Then he spotted Yu and came over.

Chen took a seat beside Yu.

“What do you think of the location?” Yu asked.

“An act of deliberate defiance. Any clues?”

“No. Like the previous two victims, there was no evidence at the scene.”

“No sexual assault on the victim?”

“No. None that I could see, but she was also naked under the red mandarin dress.”

“What about her identity?”

“A singing girl. Identifying the victim was quicker this time,” Yu said, thinking it unnecessary to elaborate. “She was a K girl.”

“Another one in the entertainment business.”

“Yes, so Liao really wants to focus on that angle,” Yu said. “He sees a motive as well as a pattern-hatred against girls in the sex business. It fits in with your analysis of the killer as a psychopath, including the red mandarin dress.”

“The red mandarin dress must be significant. No question about that. Victimology analysis, through which you explore a possible relationship between the victim and the murderer, helps too. But the first victim doesn’t fit, does she?”

“I raised the same question.”

“Another thing that’s beyond me,” Chen said, standing up and casting a glance toward the shrub grove. “He took a deliberate risk in dumping the body on the Bund, knowing that traffic and people go by here all night long.”

“It was an act of vanity, I suspect. To show his defiance, and to taunt and torment the police. As you said, a serial killer has his signature-unique ways to commit a crime, like placing the body in a public location. Irrational, but it makes sense to his irrational mind.”

“I’ve got a strange feeling, Yu. Not that he is so cocky, but that he is so desperate-”

“What do you mean, Chief?”

“He is desperately sick. An end to all this may not be unacceptable-a death impulse or whatever,” Chen said, but he declined to explain further. “What are you going to do now?”

“Hong is going to set herself up as a decoy, posing as a dancing girl.”

“A decoy is a good tactic, if you’re certain of the murderer’s pattern. A dancing girl makes sense, but it may not yield results in a week. A lot depends on the circumstances. Besides, it can be dangerous for the decoy.”

“Yes, I’m concerned. She is a young cop.”

“If she insists on doing it, then assign an officer to protect her, to always remain in her company.”

“I’ll talk to Liao about it.”

“Also, try to keep her assignment as a decoy a secret.”

“Within the bureau?”

“Not in your group, naturally, but from everyone else. The criminal may be well connected,” Chen said, frowning. “For instance, consider his choice of the Bund last night. He could have learned about the neighborhood committee patrol. The Bund happens to be one of the few public places-perhaps the only one-that was barely covered by such patrols. It’s all government and business buildings along Zhongshan Road, and there is no residential neighborhood committee nearby. The police patrol alone was not enough to cover the area.”

“It could just be a coincidence.”

“For once, Party Secretary Li may have a point. The murderer’s choice of the Bund makes the message a political one, but I doubt it’s a call for action against three-accompanying girls. Rather, it’s a secret, strange message, full of contradictions. The contradictions may serve, however, as a point of entry for us, just like symptoms for a psychoanalyst.” Chen added, “Incidentally, I’ve adopted a similar approach for my literature paper.”