would withdraw into Wu’s room after one or two dances. Wu stayed with her in his room, even when the party was going on like crazy outside. That was most unlike Wu.”
“Staying alone with a girl in his room. That’s very like Wu Xiaoming, I’d say.”
“No, that’s not what I mean. Wu stayed with a girl in his room after the party, but not during it. Wu was quite considerate toward Guan, going out of his way to humor her. Last year they even took a trip together. To the Yellow Mountains, I think. That was Guan’s idea, too.”
“They shared the hotel room as a couple,” Chen said. “I’m afraid that it was not just Guan’s idea.”
“I don’t know. Guan was okay, surely not plain, but you should have seen those actresses, more beautiful, and much younger. But Wu never made a trip with any of them except Guan.”
“Well, you may be right,” Chen said, nodding. “But then what happened between the two of them?”
“Wu realized that she was too serious, too demanding. It became a problem. She must have put a lot pressure on him, but it was out of the question for Wu to divorce his wife.”
“Why?”
“His wife’s family is powerful. You know who Wu’s father-in-law was? Liang Xiangdong, the first secretary of Huadong Area.”
“But Liang died during the Cultural Revolution.”
“Well, there’s something you may not know. Wu’s father-in-law died, but his brother-in-law has become the Second Party Secretary of Anhui Province. What’s more, his mother-in-law, still alive and kicking, is a member of the Central Party Discipline Committee in Beijing.”
“We know that,” Chen said. “All the HCC connections and nepotism. But now tell me, what was Wu Xiaoming’s reaction to Guan’s demand?”
“At first, Wu simply laughed, behind her back, of course. Just another of her model masks, he said, like those worn by Beijing opera players, ‘different ones on different stages.’ He was not too bothered with it. Perhaps he liked its novelty.”
“So when did their relationship became problematic?”
“Honestly, I did not notice anything until that picture session. It was after a party last December. At the party, Guan was her usual self, as stiff as a bamboo stick, but Wu made her drink several cups of Maotai. Whether he had put something else in the wine, I don’t know. Soon she passed out. Wu asked me to help her into the bedroom. And to my surprise, he started undressing her there. She was not aware of anything, as innocent as a white lamb.”
“Did he tell you why he wanted you to be there?”
“No, he just started shooting pictures in my presence, those pictures, you know. He said something like-’Strip a national worker model naked, and she’s just another wanton slut.’ It was not something uncommon, I mean, a nude picture session for him.”
“Nor uncommon for you, either?”
“Well, things like that had happened before-once or twice. With other girls, of course. Wu wanted me to take pictures, Wu and the girl together on the bed. But that night, Wu wanted me to pose with Guan, and that’s the picture you have got. I swear to you that I just posed with her. I did not do anything else.”
“You must have been a Liu Xiawei of the twentieth century.”
“I don’t know Liu Xiawei. But I was dumbfounded. Before that night, Wu had told us not to bother her. He had never made such a point about the other girls. In fact, Wu did not care at all with the other girls.”
“What do you think could be the reason for Wu’s sudden change that night?”
“I do not know. Perhaps Wu wanted to use those pictures to prevent her from making trouble.”
“Did Wu succeed?”
“I have no idea. Afterward, they continued to see each other. What happened occurred several weeks after the photo session.”
“What happened?”
“They had a fight.”
“Again, you have to be more specific here,” Chen said. “Did you witness the fight?”
“No, I didn’t. I happened to visit him shortly afterward. Wu was simply beside himself.”
“When was this?”
“At the beginning of March, I believe.”
“What did he say?”
“He was drunk, talking in delirious rage. It appeared that she had taken something important from him.”
“Something she could use to threaten him?”
“Right, Comrade Chief Inspector. Wu did not tell me what it was. He said something like-’The bitch thinks she can blackmail me. She’ll pay for it. I’ll fuck her brains out!’ Yes, it was something to blackmail him with.”
“Did he tell you what he was going to do about it?”
“No, he didn’t. He was in such a murderous rage, cursing like mad.”
“Then what happened?”
“Then one night in mid-May, he suddenly came to my place to develop pictures, saying there was something wrong with his darkroom. He stayed in my study that night. It was a Sunday, I remember, because my wife complained to me about it. We usually go to bed early on Sunday. Several days later he called me, and during our conversation, he repeated two or three times that it was the night of May tenth, the night that he came to work at my place. I did not understand his emphasis on the date until one of your men asked me about that night.”
“You told Detective Yu exactly what Wu had told you to, and established an alibi for him.”
“Yes, but I didn’t know that I was providing an alibi for him, nor did I know that Wu had committed murder. Later I looked up the date. That Sunday was actually May thirteenth. But at the time I spoke to Detective Yu, I didn’t recall that.”
“Did you ask him about it afterward?”
“I called him the following day, telling him that a policeman had interviewed me. He asked me out to the JJ Bar. Between cups, he said that he was going to be promoted to be Acting Culture Minister of Shanghai, and that he would pay me back with interest.”
“Did he mention Guan at all?”
“No, he didn’t. He just asked what date I had told Comrade Detective Yu, and he seemed to be relieved by my answer.”
“Anything else?”
“No, he did not say anything else that day, and I did not ask,” Guo said. “I’m not holding anything back, Comrade Chief Inspector Chen.”
The phone started ringing. “It’s Comrade Adviser Yu on the line, and he says it is urgent,” Meiling said. “Do you want to speak to him?”
“Yes, put him through.”
“We’ve found something in the car trunk, Chief Inspector Chen,” Old Hunter said. “A long strand of a woman’s hair.”
“Send the evidence to Dr. Xia immediately,” he said. “And book Guo and hold him as a material witness.”
It was the time for Chief Inspector Chen to have his showdown at the bureau.
Chapter 39
S tanding in a crowded bus the next morning, Chen tried to plan what he would say at the meeting with Party Secretary Li and Superintendent Zhao, but he was too distracted by a strong perfume mixed with a no less pungent body odor from a young woman passenger flattened against him. Unable to budge, he resigned himself to being like a canned sardine, brainless, almost breathless.
The bus was crawling along Yan’an Road. People kept moving in and out, elbowing and shouldering. So many possible results could come from the confrontation for which he was preparing himself, but he could not put off the meeting any longer. The chain was complete: The motive, the evidence, the witnesses. There was no missing link.
