A Loyal Character Dancer

help me so much. He’s a very busy man, but he took a day off to accompany me to the hospital. He insisted on shopping for things for me, including baby clothes. And he also promised I could stay here as long as I like.”
     
    “I understand.” Chen repeated after a pause, “I understand the relationship between you, but what will other people think?”
     
    “Liu says that he does not care what other people think,” Wen said with her head hung so low, it looked as if her neck were broken. “Why should I care?”
     
    “So you have decided to stay on here with Liu?”
     
    “What do you mean, Chief Inspector Chen?”
     
    “Well, what’s your plan for the future?”
     
    “I want to raise my son by myself.”
     
    “Where? Liu’s wife has not yet learned about your presence here, has she? It is so close to Shanghai. She may drop in any day. What will she make of this arrangement?”
     
    “No, I will not stay here for long. Liu will rent an apartment for me for the next few months. As soon as my baby is born, I’m planning to leave.”
     
    “As long as the gangsters are still lurking about, I don’t see how you can be safe anywhere. Any move you make, whether back to Fujian or to Shanghai, may bring them down on you.”
     
    “I won’t go far away. I’ll stay in the area. Liu may find a job for me,” Wen said. “Liu has a lot of friends in Suzhou. It will work out, Chief Inspector Chen.”
     
    “The gang will find you.” He lit a cigarette, then stubbed it out after one puff. “It’s a matter of time.”
     
    “No one knows anything about me. Not even my real name. Liu has made up a story about me, saying I am his cousin.”
     
    Chen said, “This is a matter of national interests. I have to make a report to the police bureau. Sooner or later, the gang will have a copy of that report.”
     
    “I don’t understand, Chief Inspector Chen.”
     
    “There may well be a connection between the gang and the Fujian police, as you are aware.”
     
    He noticed the astonishment on Catherine Rohn’s face. Party Secretary Li had insisted on his holding the Americans responsible for the leaks. Chen would worry about Li’s reaction—and hers—later.
     
    “So you cannot do anything for me?”
     
    “To be honest, I have to say we cannot guarantee your safety. You know only too well how powerful those gangsters are. In fact, Liu agrees with my analysis of the situation. What’s more, once they find you, it will surely get Liu into trouble, too. You know what they are capable of.”
     
    “Do you think I should leave because of Liu, Chief Inspector Chen?” Wen said slowly, looking up at him.
     
    “As a cop, my answer is yes. Not only the Flying Axes, but the government will bring pressure to bear upon him.”
     
    “It’s a decision,” Catherine said, “in the interests of the two countries.”
     
    “Liu cannot win with both the government and the triads against him,” Chen said. “And his wife would never forgive him for giving up everything for another woman.”
     
    “You don’t have to go on.” Wen stood up with resolve in her eyes.
     
    “Liu does not want you to leave, because he is concerned about you.” Chen continued. “I am too. I’ll keep in close touch with Inspector Rohn. Feng will not be able to bully you like before. If there is anything Inspector Rohn can do for you, I’ll make sure she does it.”
     
    “Yes, I will do my best to help you,” Catherine said, grasping Wen’s hand. “Trust me.”
     
    “All right. I’ll leave,” Wen said hoarsely. “But I want you, Chief Inspector Chen, to guarantee that nothing will happen to Liu.”
     
    “Yes, I guarantee it,” he said. “Comrade Liu has done a great service by protecting you. Nothing will happen to him.”
     
    “There is one thing I can do,” Catherine said. “I will assign you a special post office box number. You cannot write to anyone directly, but you can write to this number, and your letters will be forwarded to Liu or anyone else. And you will receive his, too.”
     
    “One more thing, Inspector Rohn and Chief Inspector Chen. I must go back to Fujian before I leave China.”
     
    “Why?”
     
    “I left some papers behind in my hurry. And the poetry collection.”
     
    “We’ll have Detective Yu bring them to Shanghai.” Chen said.
     
    “I have to go to my son’s grave,” Wen said in a voice that seemed to leave no room for further argument. “For a last