Death of a Red Heroine

Ruru. Just guess what she said? ‘Don’t expect to touch me ever again if you cannot help Chief Inspector Chen.’ A loyal woman, isn’t she? It’s not just because you managed to send us the Red Flag limousine for our wedding, or because you put in a word for her when she wanted to transfer her job. You’ve been such a wonderful friend to us. Not to mention the fact you gave us the biggest loan when we started Moscow Suburb. You’ve been part of our success, she says.”
    “It’s very kind of her to say that, and you, too.”
    “Now listen, I’m thinking about opening another restaurant, an international one—with American hamburgers, Russian cabbage soup, French fries, German beer—really international, and you’ll be the general manager. We’ll be equal partners. Fifty-fifty. You already made your investment when you gave me the loan. If you agree, I’ll have the necessary document notarized.”
    “I know nothing about business,” Chen said. “How can I be your partner?”
    “Why not?” Lu said. “You have taste. A genuine gourmet taste. That’s the most important thing in the restaurant business. And your command of English is definitely a plus.”
    “I appreciate your generous offer, but let’s talk about it another time. The Americans are waiting for me.”
    “Think about it, old buddy, for my sake, too.”
    “I will,” he said. “Now, have you had a chance to talk to Peiqin?”
    “Yes. As soon as I put down the phone, I went there to have a bowl of fried eel noodles. So delicious.”
    “Did she tell you anything?”
    “No, she seemed to be rather guarded—a detective’s wife. And there were so many people in the restaurant, but she mentioned that you were going to a karaoke party tonight.”
    “I see,” he said. He had to take the Rosenthals to the party that night. “Anything else?”
    “That’s about it. But another thing, Wang really cares about you. Give her a call—if you think that’s okay.”
    “Of course I will call her.”
    “A nice girl. We have talked a lot.”
    “I know.”

Chapter 32
    S itting alone at a table in the Xishuang Garden, watching the bubbles in her cup disappear, Peiqin was growing nervous.
    For a second, she had almost lost herself in the magic of the night, which brought back past years. Here she was, in the elaborate dining hall with its bamboo floor, bamboo walls, and a variety of bamboo decorations. Waiters and waitresses were serving, dressed in their colorful Dai costumes. On a small bamboo stage at the end of the spacious hall, musicians played Dai melodies. During those years in Yunnan as an educated youth, Yu had often taken her to watch the Dais celebrating their festivals around the bamboo pavilions. Those girls had danced gracefully, their silver bangles shining under the moonlight, singing like larks, their long skirts blossoming like dreams. Once or twice, they had been invited into the Dai houses, where they chatted with their hosts, squatting on a bamboo balcony, and drinking from bamboo cups. As guests, however, they themselves had never danced.
    Taking a small mirror out of her purse, she gazed at her reflection. Still the same image she had seen at home, but the mirror was too small. She stood up to catch a glimpse of herself in a large glass against the wall. Gathering her hair in her fingers, twisting this way and that, she tried to see different views of herself. Pleasant and presentable, she judged, though she had a strange feeling that it was somebody else staring out of the mirror— a stranger in the new dress which she had borrowed from a friend who owned a custom tailoring shop. The dress was sharply nipped in at the waist, accentuating her fine figure. The old Chinese saying was certainly right: “A clay Buddha image must be magnificently gilded, and a woman must be beautifully dressed.”
    But as she sat there, she realized that she was overdressed, too formal. At a table next to hers, several girls were so scantily clad that their breasts bobbed flirtatiously inside their semi-transparent blouses and low-cut T-shirts; their long legs sported threadbare jeans. One of them had a piece of cloth wrapped about her body, the way the Dai girls wrapped themselves when bathing in the river.
    For Peiqin, the past and the present were being juxtaposed. Then she saw Yu coming into view, coming toward her. The entrance to the restaurant was also paved with bamboo. She imagined she detected the squeaking sound underneath