A Loyal Character Dancer

that after their argument she trusted him more. He had lost his composure; he had not been acting. “But you did a great job with Gu this afternoon. This may be important.”
     
    “Well, but for your strained ankle, we would not have visited Mr. Ma, and then we would not have learned of Gu. It’s really serendipitous, a chain of coincidences.”
     
    “And if Mr. Ma hadn’t had a copy of Dr. Zhivago on his shelf years ago, and become a doctor because of it, or even earlier, if you hadn’t wandered into his bookstore for your comic book ... it may be a very long chain indeed,” she said.
     
    In spite of their reconciliation, she did not invite him to her hotel. They shook hands outside the cafe, standing on the sidewalk, still filled with illegally parked bikes.
     
    He remained there for a minute, watching her walk across traffic-jammed Sichuan Road. Her black purse swung against her side, her long hair brushed her shoulders. As her slender figure reemerged from the waves of bikes, she appeared to be far away.
     
    There was no accident this time.
     
    He heaved a sigh of relief.
     
    He phoned Meiling at the Shanghai Metropolitan Traffic Control Office.
     
    “What’s up, Director Chen.”
     
    “Don’t call me that, Meiling. I only served as acting director when Director Wei was in hospital.”
     
    Director Wei had returned, but he remained in unstable health. People had been talking about Chen’s moving back to the position. It was a suggestion he meant to resist.
     
    “I still think of you as my boss,” Meiling insisted. “What can I do for you today?”
     
    “There is a karaoke club called Dynasty, on Shanxi Road. Our traffic control people have approached its owner, Gu Haiguang, about a zoning issue with respect to the parking lot there. If it is a borderline case, can we make a special study of it?”
     
    “No problem, if that’s what you want.”
     
    “There’s no hurry. Before we do anything, I want you to contact Gu, telling him I have talked to you, and that Traffic Control will be giving the matter special consideration. Don’t promise immediate approval or anything else.”
     
    “I see. I will ask Director Wei to give him a call. He has a high opinion of you.”
     
    “No, don’t go out of your way, Meiling. If you can phone him tomorrow, that should be more than enough.”
     
    “I will do it the first thing tomorrow morning. Whatever you want us to decide, that’s what Mr. Gu will get.”
     
    “I’ll also need the help of Old Hunter for a few days.” He added, “I’m working on an important case. I have to depend on the people I can trust, like you and Old Hunter.”
     
    “I’m glad you put me together with him. As our advisor, he does not have to report here every day. He may choose to conduct a special field study somewhere for a week. I’ll tell Director Wei.”
     
    “Thank you, Meiling. I really owe you. When I’ve finished the job on my hands I’ll take you to the Dynasty for a karaoke evening. I’ve got a VIP card.”
     
    “Whenever you have time, Director Chen. Take care.”
     
    Chen’s next phone call was to Old Hunter. “I have to ask another favor of you, Uncle Yu. I need you to keep a close watch on the Dynasty Karaoke Club on Shanxi Road. The owner’s name is Gu Haiguang. Tap his telephone twenty-four hours a day. Dig into his background. But try to get it done without the bureau’s knowledge.”
     
    “You never know what connections a Mr. Big Bucks may have inside the bureau,” Old Hunter said. “You are right to be careful. This is a job for an old hunter. I still have a good nose, and ears too. But what about my traffic control responsibility?”
     
    “I’ve talked to Meiling. You do not have to report there next week.”
     
    “Great. I will station myself in front of the club all day and send someone in as a customer—hold on, I have a better idea. I can get in myself. Some old people go there to kill time listening to old songs. No need for a private room or anything. I’ll have someone else, Yang Guozhuang, another retired cop, do the telephone line tapping. He worked for many years in Tibet before his retirement. I helped him get his residence permit so he could move back into the city. As a rightist in 1957, he really suffered a lot. And you know what—just because of an entry in his diary.”
     
    “Thank you, Uncle Yu.” Chen knew he’d better cut the old man short, or he would digress into a long tale about