The Mao Case

you. You’ll do whatever possible to help, won’t you?”
    Xie might have taken Chen’s offer to help as coming out of a romantic motive. Chen, too, thought well of Jiao, but that was
     irrelevant.
    His cell phone rang before he managed to say anything in response. He pressed the button. It was Gu.
    “Thank god. You have finally come back, Chief,” Gu said. “I’ve called you so many times.”
    “What happened?”
    “Can you come to the Moon on the Bund this afternoon? There’s a cocktail party there. I’ve something important to tell you.”
    “Can’t you tell me now, Gu?”
    “I’m on my way there. It’s urgent, involving both the black way and the white way. I’d better tell you in person. You’ll meet
     some people there too.”
    Gu could occasionally be overdramatic, but Chen had no doubt about his connections with the black way — the Triad world.
    “I’ll see you there, Gu.” Chen turned to Xie, turning off the
phone. “I have to go, Mr. Xie. I’ll contact you again. Not a single word to anyone about our talk today, not even to Jiao.”
    “No, not a single word.” Xie rose, grasping his hand, “Please do something for her, Mr. — Chief Inspector Chen.”

TWENTY-SIX
    C HEN STEPPED OUT OF the elevator and into the corridor that joined the two wings of the Moon on the Bund on the seventh floor, just as the big
     clock atop the Custom Building near the restaurant started striking out its melody. He was startled, looking up out of a corridor
     window, as if he had heard a cannonball. Perhaps he was too strung out, he thought, remembering the warning Dr. Xia had given
     him.
    For several years after the Cultural Revolution, the melody played by the big clock had been a nameless one, light, pleasant,
     but it had been changed back to “The East Is Red,” the same tune it played during the Cultural Revolution, as hummed by Comrade
     Bi in the Central South Sea.
    The restaurant was built like the converted top floor of an office building on the corner of Yan’an and Guangdong Roads, with
     a rooftop garden that commanded a magnificent view of the Bund, the Huang River, and the new skyscrapers east of the river.
     The business was run by a Canadian entrepreneur, who enlisted her chefs and managers from
overseas, adding a suggestion of authenticity to the restaurant’s upscale image. The price was high, but the restaurant was
     a huge success among the newly rich, who came here not just for the food or the view but also for a sense of being among the
     successful elite of the city.
    In the Glamorous Bar, Chen greeted several people, talking to them briefly, before he spotted Gu shaking hands with others,
     holding a glass of sparkling wine.
    “Fancy meeting you here,” Gu greeted Chen aloud, striding over with a smile, as though overjoyed at a chance encounter.
    “What a pleasant surprise,” Chen said, responding in the same fashion.
    “I’ve checked and double-checked,” Gu whispered, drawing Chen aside into a recess behind the mahogany coat check. “The thugs
     that attacked you are professionals, but they don’t belong to an organization. So it was difficult to find out. A couple of
     days ago, however, I heard that someone was looking for professional help again, with an emphasis on competence and reliability — payable
     after delivery.”
    “A few days ago —” Chen repeated. “Competence and reliability!”
    “Yes, when you were away on vacation. So I followed the lead. From what I learned, it might have something to do with a real
     estate company. For development opportunities in the city, land in a premium location is as good as gold.”
    “Well, that’s possible.” Chen could have ruffled feathers with the real estate company that was trying to take over Xie’s
     house. Was it possible that they had targeted Song as well? The emphasis on competence and reliability made sense in that
     they hadn’t delivered on the job with Chen. But Song had done nothing against the interests of the company, not unless he
     had done something in the last few days, of which Chen had no knowledge. “But why did you want me to come here?”
    “Hua Feng, the major shareholder of the company, is here this afternoon,” Gu said, shifting his glance to a tall, stout man
     at the other end of the room. “Connected with the black way.”
    It was a clue to follow, but perhaps too much of a long shot at the moment. With Internal Security ready for “tough measures”
     as early