A Case of Two Cities

price difference between the first and the second floor. Peiqin had reserved a private room upstairs—for him and Chen. There were hardly any customers visible there. Such a luxurious room was unnecessary. She could make much ado about his work, especially with Chief Inspector Chen in the background.
     
    A waitress led him into an elegant room with antiquelike table and chairs. He was impressed by silk scrolls hanging on the walls and fresh flower blossoms in the vases. There was also a spell of southern bamboo instrument music wafting through the air. The mahogany chair, however, was not that comfortable. Sitting there, he felt out of place, picking up the menu.
     
    It was not the expense that Yu worried about. Chen wouldn’t have asked him out simply for breakfast. Not on the morning of his visit to the United States. He knew his boss too well.
     
    In the bureau, Chen’s new appointment was a topic much discussed. Something could have gone terribly wrong.
     
    The waitress put four tiny dishes on the table. Pickled garlic, fried peanuts, sliced ginger, and sugar-covered dry plums. After having poured a cup of tea for him, she stepped back and remained standing behind him, like part of the room—silent, still, and almost contemplative.
     
    When Chen finally walked into the room, Yu was reading through the menu for a second time and feeling that he’d been waiting there for a long while.
     
    “Nice to see you here, boss,” Yu said. “Peiqin has chosen the private room for us.”
     
    “It’s a nice place,” Chen said, taking the tea from the waitress. “Elegant atmosphere and service.”
     
    “Most of the customers for the restaurant are gray-haired retirees. They have few coins jingling in their pockets. Three or four yuan is about all they can afford—on the first floor. It’s far more expensive on the second floor, let alone a private room.”
     
    Yu then handed the menu to Chen.
     
    “Today you choose,” Chen said with a smile. “Peiqin says you’re a regular customer here.”
     
    “Don’t listen to her. Mr. Ren insisted on treating us a couple of times after the shikumen case. That’s all about it.”
     
    Yu chose his noodles with dried shrimp and green onion; Chen had his with deep-fried rice-paddy eel. In addition, they ordered a small bamboo steamer of pork-and-crab soup buns with the lotus leaf—covered bottom. And two side dishes of the famous xiao pork.
     
    Handing the menu back to the waitress, Yu said, “You may leave now. We want to discuss business. If we need anything else, I’ll let you know.”
     
    “Business expense, of course, on the Central Discipline Committee,” Chen said as the waitress turned to leave.
     
    “Don’t worry about it. That much I can pay,” Yu said, draining his tea in one gulp. “Something serious, boss?”
     
    “Not that serious. I’m going to the United States for a couple of weeks. It’s a great opportunity, as most people will say, only it comes in the middle of the investigation.”
     
    “Yes, the timing. Why do they want you out at such a juncture?”
     
    “I don’t know. They of course have their reasons. Official reasons.”
     
    “Xing is in the States, isn’t he? So now you’re going there too, I think.”
     
    “I wish that could be the reason, but no, they didn’t say anything to me about it,” Chen said, picking up a dried plum with his chopsticks. Yu’s instinctive response was sharp. Chen hadn’t been aware of such a possibility until at Zhao’s hotel. “For the last few days, I haven’t really discussed the case with you. Not because of any confidential regulations or considerations, but because of little progress—”
     
    “You don’t have to talk like this, Chief. It’s a case under the Party Discipline Committee, I understand.”
     
    “Now I want to discuss with you some new developments. Have you heard about the death of An Jiayi, the TV anchorwoman?”
     
    “Yes, I’ve heard. Found naked and strangled at home. Sort of a celebrity, but not that well known—not politically. So the case went to the homicide squad. Kuang is working on it. Was she involved in your investigation?”
     
    “She was. I’m not sure if her death was also involved, but the timing was suspicious—it was shortly after I interviewed her, and before she gave me some crucial information.”
     
    “Those monstrous rats are capable of doing that,” Yu said. “Don’t you see a similarity between her and Hua in