A Case of Two Cities

back.
     
    The two women were passing by the hot-water store again. Chen’s mother nodded slightly at Peiqin without showing any sign of recognizing her.
     
    “Oh, young girl, you have just dropped something,” Peiqin exclaimed, holding out her hand.
     
    “What?”
     
    “A hairpin!” She made a gesture to White Cloud.
     
    The girl was all surprise, taking over the hairpin from her hand.
     
    “That’s—”
     
    “You’re White Cloud, aren’t you?” Peiqin whispered in a hurry. “I’m Peiqin, Chief Inspector Chen’s friend. My husband Detective Yu Guangming is his assistant. His mother knows me too. Come back with her to the hot-water shop.”
     
    “Oh, yes, that’s the hairpin my sister gave me,” White Cloud raised her voice. “Thank you so much.”
     
    White Cloud was a clever girl. Instead of turning into the lane, she kept on walking with the old woman on her arm, moving past the lane entrance, strolling for another round, whispering in the old woman’s ear.
     
    The snuff bottle peddler also passed by the shop, his head hung low, without casting a glance at Peiqin.
     
    Peiqin then ran through the back door to the back exit of the lane. She caught a glimpse of a red taxi parked there. She hurried back, feeling guilty. She had done a lousy job for the shop. After fifteen minutes or so, she saw the two women come back. This time, they stepped into the water shop.
     
    “A pot of good green tea,” White Cloud said.
     
    “The best tea, and the best seat,” Peiqin said, showing them to the table behind the screen, before she leaned down to the old woman. “You still remember me, Auntie? I’m Peiqin, Detective Yu’s wife.”
     
    “Oh, yes, in Xinya Restaurant, I remember. My son keeps saying what a wonderful wife Detective Yu has.”
     
    “It’s an emergency. We have to move you to somewhere else. Temporarily. For the sake of your safety.”
     
    “What—” The old woman quickly regained her composure. “Can I take something with me?”
     
    “Don’t worry about that. We may not have the time.”
     
    “Do whatever you think necessary, Peiqin. I sensed something, I think, before Chen left with the delegation.”
     
    “Give this note to Yu,” Peiqin said to White Cloud. “He’s waiting for you at the back exit of the lane. He knows where to take you. You have to be with Auntie all day today. Don’t tell anybody. I’ll come over in the evening.”
     
    “It’s for Chief Inspector Chen, I understand. I’ll do my best.”
     
    Peiqin ran to the back door. There was no one out there. She came back to the table and showed them to the door.
     
    It was not the end, she knew, but the beginning of her adventure.
     
    The snuff bottle peddler was perched on the stool in the same old position, across the street, whistling a tune.
     
    * * * *
     

20
     
     
    T
    HE DAYS AFTER THEIR conference in L.A. were like repetitions with little variation, at least as far as the delegation was concerned.
     
    The cities they visited were different, but what they did there was similar. Meeting after meeting, handshaking with a poet, business-card exchanging with a novelist, greeting a critic, discussing with readers. Chen had to make his much-rehearsed speeches again and again. The other members were also becoming more experienced in “literature exchange.” The initial culture shock turned into culture critique, and each of them spoke from his or her own perspective. Bao alone seemed to remain true to what he called the real color of a Chinese working-class poet, condemning whatever he saw in the United States as bourgeoisie decadent or as capitalistic rotten.
     
    Their travel between cities was partially by air, partially by bus. The American host had arranged a special bus for the trips between nearby cities. It was a practical arrangement for the delegation. They enjoyed the view of large cities as well as small towns. Occasionally, the bus also stopped by rustic inns and roadside pubs.
     
    While moving from one city to another, Chen also managed to move on with his investigation. There had been some progress in Shanghai, but not all of it positive. His mother had been moved to a safer place. Again, Yu didn’t go into details on the phone but Chen knew his assistant would not have done so without a reason. Perhaps it was even the very reason that had worried Chen. Jiang could have been behind it. The chief inspector was coming back with those pictures in hand, so it was not