“No, just you and me.”
“With romantic candlelight?”
“If there’s a power failure.”
“You never know,” she said, “but I’ll see you.”
Chapter 17
Monday morning Chief Inspector Chen had a meeting at the city hall.
On his way back to the bureau, he bought a piece of transparent rice cake from a street vendor and ate it without really tasting it.
Detective Yu was not in the large office. Chen picked up a manila envelope delivered that morning containing a cassette tape that bore the following label: Examination of Lai Guojun held at Shanghai Police Bureau, 3:00 P.M., June 2, 1990. Examining Officer Detective Yu Guangming. Also present at examination, Sergeant Yin Wei.
Chen popped the tape in the recorder.
Detective Yu, too, had a lot to do, dealing with all the routine work of the squad, even on Sunday. The tape was probably made about the time when he and Wang talked in the noodle restaurant. The tape started with Yu’s voice making the introduction, and then came another voice marked with an unmistakable Ningbo accent. Chen began listening as he propped up his legs on the desk, but after no more than a minute, he jumped up and rewound the tape to the very beginning:
YU: You are Lai Guojun, thirty-four years old, living at Number Seventy-two Henan Street, Huangpu District, Shanghai. You are an engineer, having worked for ten years at People’s Chemical Company. You are married, with a daughter of five. Is that correct?
LAI: Yes, that’s correct.
YU: I want you to know that you are helping with our inquiry. We appreciate your help.
LAI: Please go ahead.
YU: We’re going to ask you some questions about Guan Hongying. She was murdered last month. You have heard of that?
LAI: Yes, I’ve read about it in the newspaper. So I guessed your people would come to me-sooner or later.
YU: Some of the questions may involve the intimate details of your life, but nothing you say in this room will be used against you. Whatever it is, it will be confidential. I have talked to your boss, and he, too, believes that you will cooperate. He suggested that he himself be present at the interview. I told him No.
LAI: What choice do I have? He has talked to me, too. I will answer any question you have for me.
YU: You can make an important contribution to the case, so the person or persons responsible for the murder will be captured and punished.
LAI: That’s what I want. I’ll do my best.
YU: When did you get to know Guan?
LAI: It was about ten years ago.
YU: The summer of 1980? LAI: Yes, in June.
YU: Under what circumstances did you meet each other?
LAI: We met at the apartment of my cousin,
Lai Weiqing.
YU: At a party? LAI: No. Not exactly a party. A colleague of Weiqing’s knew Guan, so they had arranged for us to meet there.
YU: In other words, Lai Weiqing and her colleague acted as matchmakers. They introduced you to each other.
LAI: Well, you could say that. But not so formally. YU: How was your first meeting?
LAI: Guan sort of surprised me. With arranged introductions, you can hardly expect to meet a pretty young girl. More often than not, those you get introduced to are plain, over thirty, and without education. Guan was only twenty-two and quite attractive. A model worker, and taking college correspondence courses at the time. You know all that, I believe. I have never figured out why she consented to such an arrangement. She could have had a lot of men dancing around her.
YU: What other impressions did you have of her that day?
LAI: A moving awkwardness. Innocent, almost naive. Obviously she was not used to such meetings.
YU: Was it her first date?
LAI: I was not sure about it, but she had no idea how to express herself in my company. She was literally tongue-tied when we were left alone.
YU: Then how did things work out between you?
LAI: Well, we clicked, as some people would say, without talking much to each other. We did not stay long the first time, but we did go to a movie the next week, and then had dinner in Meilong Zheng.
YU: She was still tongue-tied the second time?
LAI: No, we talked a lot, about our families, the lost years in the Cultural Revolution, and the common interests we had. A few days later, I went to one of her presentations at the Youth Palace without her knowledge. She seemed to be a totally different person on the stage.
YU: Interesting. How different?
LAI: Well, she seldom talked about politics in my company. Once or twice, maybe, I tried to bring the topic up, but she seemed unwilling to talk about it. On the stage, she appeared so confident, speaking with genuine conviction. I was glad that she did not talk politics to me, for we soon became lovers.
YU: Lovers-in what sense?
LAI: What do you mean?
YU: Physically?
LAI: Yes.
YU: How soon?
LAI: After four or five weeks.
YU: That was quick.
LAI: It was sooner than I had expected. YU: Was it you who took the initiative?
LAI: I see what you mean. Do I have to answer questions like that?
YU: I cannot force you, Comrade Lai. But if you do, it may help our investigation. And it may also save me another trip to your boss.
LAI: Well, it was a Friday night, I remember. We went to a dancing party in the western hall of the Shanghai Writers’ Association. It was the first year when social dancing was publicly allowed in Shanghai. A friend of mine had obtained the tickets for us. While we were dancing, I noticed that she was getting excited.
YU: Excited-in which way?
LAI: It was obvious. It was in the summer. Her body was pressed against me. Her breasts-I noticed-you know, I really can’t be more precise.
YU: And you? Were you also excited?
LAI: Yes.
YU: What happened afterwards?
LAI: We went back to my place with a group of friends. We talked and had some drinks.
YU: Did you drink a lot that night?
LAI: No, only a cup of Qingdao beer. In fact, I shared the cup with her. I remember that because later-later we kissed. It was our first time, and she said we smelled of each other-from the same cup.
YU: That sounds really romantic.
LAI: Yes, it was.
YU: And then?
LAI: People were leaving. She could have left with them. It was already twelve thirty, but she stayed on. It was a terrific gesture. She wanted to help me clean up, she declared.
