A Loyal Character Dancer

arrived at Liu’s residence in a suburb of Suzhou.
     
    Inspector Rohn was amazed at its Western-style grandeur. Liu lived in a magnificent mansion behind substantial walls, forming a sharp contrast to the general image of the city. The iron gate was not locked, so they walked in. The lawn looked as well-kept as a golf course. Beside the driveway stood a marble sculpture of a girl, sitting after a bath, bending her head in thought, her long hair cascading like a waterfall over her breasts.
     
    Chief Inspector Chen pressed the bell; a middle-aged woman came to the door.
     
    Catherine took her to be in the late thirties or early forties, judging by the lines at the corners of her eyes, though they did not detract from her fine features. She was dressed in a purple silk tunic and matching pants, over which she had tied a white embroidered apron. She wore her hair in an old-fashioned bun, but she could still be considered attractive.
     
    It was difficult for Catherine to guess the woman’s status in the house. Not a maid, nor the hostess. Liu’s wife was in Shanghai.
     
    Ambiguity also appeared in the way she treated her guests. “Please take a seat. General Manager Liu will be back in half an hour. He’s just called me from his car. Did you telephone him yesterday?”
     
    “Yes, I did. I’m Chen Cao. Catherine is my American friend.”
     
    “Would you like something to drink, tea or coffee?”
     
    “Tea will be fine. Here is my card. Liu and I are both members of the Chinese Writers’ Association.”
     
    What was up his sleeve, Catherine wondered.
     
    Anything was possible from the enigmatic chief inspector. She decided to let him talk, and she would provide a little echo, as an American friend of his might.
     
    “You have a distinct Shanghai accent,” Chen said.
     
    “I was born in Shanghai. I have only come to Suzhou recently.”
     
    “You are Comrade Wen Liping, aren’t you?” Chen stood up, holding out his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
     
    The woman stepped back in alarm.
     
    Catherine was stunned.
     
    This was not the Wen in the photo—a broken woman with a listless expression, but a good-looking, cheerful person with alert eyes.
     
    “How do you know my name? Who are you?”
     
    “I am Chief Inspector Chen of the Shanghai Police. This is Catherine Rohn, an inspector in the United States Marshals Service.”
     
    “Did you come here to find me?”
     
    “Yes, we have been looking for you everywhere.”
     
    “I’m here to accompany you to the United States,” Catherine said.
     
    “No, I am sorry. I’m not going,” Wen exclaimed, flustered but determined.
     
    “Don’t worry, Wen. Nothing will happen to you. The American police are going to place you in a witness protection program,” Chen said. “The snake heads will be put in jail. The gangsters will never be able to find you. The safety of your family is guaranteed.”
     
    “Yes, we’ll take care of everything,” Catherine said.
     
    “I do not know anything about such a program,” Wen said in a panic-stricken voice, her hands covering her belly instinctively.
     
    “When you arrive in the United States, our government will help you in a number of ways, providing you with a cash allowance, medical insurance, housing, a car, furniture—”
     
    “How can that possibly be?” Wen cut Catherine short.
     
    “All this is arranged in exchange for your husband’s cooperation, his testimony in court against Jia. It’s a promise made by our government.”
     
    “No. Whatever you promise, I am not going.”
     
    “You have been applying for your passport for months,” Chen said. “Now both the Chinese and American governments are concerned with your situation. So we have not only taken care of the passport, but your visa is ready, too. Why have you changed your mind?”
     
    “Why am I so important?”
     
    “Your husband has insisted on your going to the United States as the condition of his cooperation. So you see, he is concerned for you.”
     
    “Concerned for me?” Wen said. “No, for his son in my belly.”
     
    “If you refuse to go,” Catherine said, “do you know what will happen to your husband?”
     
    “He is working for your government. I’m not.”
     
    “So, now you are staying with another man, a rich upstart, is that it?” Catherine said, “You are condemning your husband to spend his life in prison!”
     
    “Don’t say that, Inspector Rohn,” Chen intervened in a hurry.