The Mao Case

discovered was a possibility not to be ignored, Chen contemplated, sipping at the tea without tasting it.
    If Peng had seen the mysterious round-faced man only once and Internal Security hadn’t seen him at all, either before or after,
     it practically excluded the possibility of his being a secret lover. More likely, he was a one-time buyer who negotiated with
     Jiao at Joy Gate. It would have been out of the question for her to bring the valuable antique to the dance hall. So they
     then chose to close the deal at her apartment. As for Peng’s glimpse of the “intimate scene” at her window, it might not mean
     that much. After all, Peng might not be a reliable narrator.
    Such a scenario threw light, however, on several aspects of the mystery: the source of Jiao’s money and the timing of it too.
     In today’s
market, those antiques could be worth millions — so long as she could find a buyer. That also explained her frequent visits
     to Xie’s place — potential buyers. Furthermore, selling the hoard piece by piece accounted for the fact that Jiao didn’t have
     a large bank account but yet was capable of living in affluence.
    At least it appeared to be more solid than the scenario about a book advance. A publisher could hardly have paid the money
     if they didn’t get the Mao material, whatever it might be.
    There was something that didn’t add up, however, in the treasure scenario. True, Mao could have easily carried anything out
     of the Forbidden City. Kang Sheng, one of Mao’s closest allies in the Party, smuggled out quite a lot from the palace. Since
     Kang was tied up with the Gang of Four during the Cultural Revolution, his stealing was exposed. But Mao didn’t have to smuggle
     out artifacts. Mao was more than an emperor — he was a communist god. Women ran to him, not the other way round.
    Such a scenario could be a scandal, but the Beijing authorities didn’t have to acknowledge it. After all, nobody could prove
     it. So why would they have launched an investigation?
    The solitary teacup on the table stared back at him.
    Finally, as he was about to leave, his cell phone vibrated violently, as if rippling out of the half-empty cup.
    “A girl’s body was found in Xie’s garden,” Lieutenant Song said shortly.
    “What?” Chen stood up. “When?”
    “Early this morning. I called your home, but you weren’t in. So I got your cell phone number from Party Secretary Li.”
    Chen thought he had given Song his number, but it wasn’t the time to worry about that. He glanced at his watch. It was probably
     already two or three hours after Internal Security had arrived at the crime scene.
    When Chen made it to the mansion, to his surprise, he didn’t see any police outside.
    Nor a curious crowd lingering on the street.
    There was no one in the living room, either, as he stepped in.

    At the end of the living room, however, he glimpsed a plainclothes cop stationed at the foot of the staircase. Xie must be
     in his bedroom upstairs.
    Chen walked out into the garden. The body had been removed. Internal Security hadn’t waited for him. There were two cops still
     checking around the area cordoned off with yellow plastic tape. It was close to the spot where Chen sat with Xie the other
     day, under the blossoming pear tree.
    Song strode over, and Chen gestured for the lieutenant to follow him to the back of the garden. He didn’t want others to overhear
     anything.
    Song showed Chen pictures of the crime scene in silence. The girl was in a yellow summer dress, with the straps fallen off
     her shoulders, her skirt pulled high over her thighs, and one white sandal missing from a bare foot. She appeared to have
     suffered some sort of sexual attack. There wasn’t much indication, however, of any struggle in the pictures — nor in the garden,
     as Chen shifted his gaze to the cordoned-off spot.
    It was Yang, the girl who had tried to take Jiao and him to another party just a couple of days earlier. Like Jiao, she was
     also said to come from a “good family,” though Chen had no idea what hers really was.
    “Considering the circumstances, we have blocked the news for the time being,” Song said. “She was killed in a struggle against
     a sexual attack.”
    Chen nodded, holding up a picture for close examination. “Any clues?”
    “The identity of the deceased has been established. Yang Ning. One of Xie’s students. The time of death is estimated to be
     between ten p.m. and midnight