A Loyal Character Dancer

also found a page with a picture of a shabby house, beneath which ran a line in Yu’s handwriting, “Wen’s House in Changle Village.”
     
    Qian came over with a broad smile on his face and a large envelope in his hand. “I have had the information about Wen circulated, Chief Inspector Chen. Also, I’ve had a talk with Dr. Xia about the Bund Park case. The formal autopsy report will takes some time, but here is an informal summary.”
     
    “Good job, Qian,” Chen said, going to his own small, Spartan office cubicle. The summary had been typed. Qian was proficient in Twinbridge, a Chinese software, but perhaps not as familiar with medical terms.
     
    The Body in Bund Park
     
    1)  The time of death: Around one o’clock on the night of April eighth.
     
    2) The cause of death: Head injury with fractures of the skull. Extensive damage to the lining of the brain. Bleeding from multiple wounds, eighteen of them. He could have received the fatal head blow before some of the wounds were inflicted. A general absence of bruises on his arms and legs shows he had not struggled before his death.
     
    3)  The body: The victim was in his mid-forties. Six feet tall, one hundred eighty pounds. He was strongly built with well-defined arm and leg muscles. His hands were well manicured. Good teeth, except for three gold ones. There was an old scar on his face.
     
    4)  He had had sexual intercourse shortly before death. There were still traces of semen and vaginal fluid on his sex organ. There was a deep cut two inches above his penis.
     
    5)  Needle tracks on his arms indicate he was a possible I.V. drug user. In addition, there were traces of some unknown drug in his body.
     
    6) His silk pajamas are of excellent quality. There’s no label; it had been removed, but its material seemed to be imported, with a V design woven into the material.
     
     
    It was a clear report, which further pointed to the possibility of triad involvement, especially the evidence of the unknown drug in the body.
     
    Something else caught his attention. If the victim had been murdered at home, having just had sex, there should have been two bodies in the park—his and his wife’s. But if he had been with somebody else, and his sex partner—whoever that might have been—left immediately after the act, it suggested that the murder might have taken place in a hotel.
     
    Chen made himself a cup of tea and dialed Qian’s extension. “Send out a detailed description of the victim together with a picture, to hotels as well as neighborhood committees.”
     
    That was about all Qian could do at this stage.
     
    However, Chief Inspector Chen wanted to do more. And to use somebody else for the job. There was no accounting for his mistrust of Qian. Perhaps it was merely a whim, a personal prejudice.
     
    His cell phone started ringing. The LCD displayed Inspector Rohn’s number. He pushed the button. “Is everything okay with you, Inspector Rohn?”
     
    “I’m fine, thanks to your excellent kung fu this morning.”
     
    “Don’t mention it. What’s up?”
     
    “The content of the phone conversation has been translated.”
     
    “What did Feng say?”
     
    “It’s a short conversation. According to our translator, Feng’s message was: Some people have got wind of it. Run for your life. Contact me when you’re at a safe place.”
     
    “What did he mean?”
     
    “Wen asked the same question. Feng just repeated the message,” she said. “Now Feng tells my boss that he had gotten a warning on a slip of paper inserted in his grocery bag before he phoned his wife.”
     
    “What did it say?”
     
    “Don’t forget your pregnant wife in China.”
     
    “Your supervisor must look into it. If Feng’s so well hidden, how did they get to him?”
     
    “That’s what he is investigating.”
     
    “Those secret societies are powerful,” he added, “even in the United States.”
     
    “True,” she agreed. “What about our investigation here?”
     
    “I’m on my way to Party Secretary Li’s office. I’ll call you soon.”
     
    Chief Inspector Chen was not sure what Party Secretary Li’s response would be. But he knew that interviewing potential contacts of Wen’s would be monotonous. The company of an American partner would at least provide an opportunity for him to practice his English.
     
    “How’s everything, Chief Inspector Chen?” Li said, rising from his chair.
     
    “Searching for this woman is like