it. I was to tell him I wanted to show the baby to my relatives and then I would simply keep making excuses and never get around to coming back to the U.S.A. Their intention was that Joe would want to visit me and the baby in Hong Kong and they would make contact with him there.”
“This is what I find puzzling,” Naomi says. “According to what you’ve told us, Jonny Bing was cooperating with this woman spy who acted as your translator. He was also partners with Professor Keener, so why couldn’t Keener simply be induced to pass information through Mr. Bing?”
Ming-Mei says, “They felt it was important that Joe not suspect Jonny, or he would also suspect that the whole relationship with me was arranged for that purpose. Which it was, of course. Also Jonny told me he was always under surveillance, they were keeping an eye on him because he was Chinese-American.”
“A Chinese-American deeply invested in a company developing a secret computer system for the Pentagon.”
“Yes, exactly.”
“And you remained in Hong Kong for about a year?”
“Thirteen months.”
“Why did you return?”
“Because he never came to visit! They couldn’t get over it. The colonel made sure I kept sending video clips of Joey, to induce him into visiting, but eventually it became clear that for him the video clips were enough. He loved seeing the pictures but it didn’t make him want to visit us in person. So then the decision is made, and I am to return to U.S.A. We are to live in a very nice condo Joe has purchased in Arlington. At first I refuse, and that’s when the colonel makes it clear exactly what my situation was.”
“They threatened to take the baby.”
Now it’s Ming-Mei’s turn to look shocked. “How did you know?”
“Because that’s the logical choice. The baby gives them leverage over you, even if it hasn’t yet worked with the professor.”
“I had no choice. But it turns out to be maybe the best thing I did. Because Joey does get to know his father a little bit, for a little while. And that’s when he discovered music.”
“Music?” I ask, piping up from the peanut gallery.
“Did you not know? Like his father my son is a genius. Not a science or math genius, a musical genius. In other ways Joey is normal, he is a regular little boy who likes to have his mi ma hold him and fuss over him and tickle his tummy and read him stories. But what his father did, he played some classical music on a CD, and Joey got so excited-he was two years old at the time, a toddler-that his father went out and bought a little piano keyboard, with special child-size keys. It was like watching magic happen. His father shows him how to hit two keys, an octave apart, and Joey right away starts using six fingers, three on each hand, to make simple chords. He liked it so much it made him laugh. By the time he’s three he’s making up his own music. He’s spending so much time at his keyboard, playing for hours, that I’m worried, but his teacher tells me not to worry, this is the way it is with true musical prodigies, you can’t keep them away from the music, it’s opening up whole new worlds and they want to explore.”
“Professor Keener’s birth parents were both musicians,” Naomi points out. “You’re a singer, and therefore musically inclined. I’m not really surprised that music is in the boy’s DNA.”
“That’s what Joe said,” Ming-Mei says, nodding eagerly. “He said, ‘on my side it skipped a generation.’ It helped both of them, I think. Joe still didn’t want to pick up Joey, but the music was a connection. He was fascinated by Joey’s progress, and very pleased, very proud.”
“Okay, let me see if we understand the chronology,” Naomi says. “On your second visit you and Joey stay at the Arlington condo for about a year and a half, is that correct?”
Ming-Mei nods firmly. “Yes.”
“And then, abruptly, you return again to Hong Kong. Why was that?”
“The excuse, my grandmother has taken ill. In reality, both my grandmothers died long ago. The colonel was by then very eager to get Joe’s cooperation. They thought he had bonded so much with his son that he would surely visit us in Hong Kong, where they could spring their trap and make him share secrets. I was not to send him videos or emails, if he wanted to see Joey he would have to come to us. And six months later, he did.”
“What happened, exactly?” Naomi says, a little too casually. Those familiar with her technique pick up the signals-she’s about to bore in, shaking out something crucial to the case.
“Everything went wrong,” Ming-Mei says with a sigh. “That was the beginning of the end. At first it was very nice-he was so glad to see Joey, so amazed by his musical progress-by then Joey was starting to read music, and practicing some of the simpler Mozart sonatas. He came every day to watch and listen, and seemed to me to be as happy as I had ever seen him. Then one day he comes and I can see right away that he’s very upset. Some Chinese men came to his hotel and threatened him in some way, or said something that made him suspicious. He has decided that I am part of this conspiracy and I don’t admit it, but of course he’s right. Suddenly he’s looking at me like he looks at everybody else in the world, like I’m not quite there.”
“He knew?”
“He knew something was wrong. He became very angry and left us and went back to the U.S.A.”
“So they tried to recruit him but he refused to cooperate.”
Ming-Mei nods. “The colonel was very angry, too, and at first she tried to blame me. But they had bugged my apartment and they went over the audiotapes, which proved that I never said anything to make him suspicious. So they came up with another plan. And this was the most cruel thing of all. This is my curse, which has come back to haunt me.”
“You pretended that Joey was kidnapped,” says Naomi, glancing around to make sure we’re all paying strict attention.
“Yes. Yes, I did.” Ming-Mei weeps freely, her lovely cheekbones glistening with tears. “That’s what I pretended. And then it really happened.”
“Please explain,” Naomi says, as if for our benefit. “The timing and sequence of this is, I believe, crucial to any possible recovery of your son.”
Ming-Mei sniffs, but doesn’t attempt to blot away the tears. “It was the colonel’s idea, but I obeyed. I knew what I did was evil. I let Joe believe that little Joey had been taken from the mall. That the authorities believe he had been stolen to be sold as a replacement child.”
“But Joey wasn’t stolen
“No. He was fine. I told him he had to stay with his piano teacher for a few days, for special lessons, and he was very enthusiastic. Of course, his father came to Hong Kong, very upset, and he did everything possible to find Joey.”
“He hired private investigators to search for the boy.”
“Yes, but that was all part of the plan. They used their own people. They led him to the mainland and told him if he didn’t cooperate, Joey would never be seen again. He called me from Beijing, so upset I can hardly understand what he is saying. Of course the call is being monitored, but he doesn’t care. He says he has failed, because he has no secret to share. He would give them anything they want, but he has nothing to give. Then the call is cut off and that’s the last I ever heard from him.”
“He had no secrets to share.”
“That’s what he said, and I believed him.”
“That was a year ago. When was Joey really kidnapped?”
Ming-Mei takes a deep breath, apparently determined to keep it together, no matter how difficult the subject matter. “Three weeks ago. As usual I took him for his piano lessons, but when I go to pick him up, he’s already gone. I find his teacher tied to a chair in her practice room. Three men came to take him away, moments before I arrived.”
“Could she identify them?”
Ming-Mei shakes her head. “Only that they were
The confession concluded, Naomi sits back and surveys us, satisfied that we’ve all been sufficiently impressed by the revelations. “Gatling’s men,” she concludes. “I’d stake my life on it.”
Midnight on the roof deck. Apparently I’m not the only one who can’t sleep, because there’s a red glow
