The Silent Girl

Gansu province during a time of war.” I pause and add ruefully, “Unfortunately, war was too often a normal state in old China.”
    “So this sword saw actual combat?”
    “I know it did. When I hold her, I can feel old battles still singing in the blade.”
    He laughs. “If I’m ever attacked in a dark alley, Mrs. Fang, I want you by my side.”
    “You’re the one with the gun. Shouldn’t you protect
me
?”
    “I’m sure you do a good job of that all by yourself.” He hands the sword back to me. I can see it makes him nervous, just being in proximity to that razor-sharp edge. With a bow, I take back the sword and look straight at him. He flushes at my directness, a reaction I don’t expect from a policeman, and certainly not from a seasoned detective who investigates murders. But there is a surprising sweetness to this man, a vulnerability that suddenly reminds me of my husband. Detective Frost is about the same age as James was when he died, and in this man’s face I see James’s abashed smile, his innate eagerness to please.
    “You had more questions to ask me, Detective?”
    “Yes. Concerning a matter that we weren’t aware of when we spoke to you before.”
    “What would that be?”
    He seems reluctant to say what is on his mind. Already I can see the apology in his eyes. “It’s about your daughter. Laura.”
    The mention of Laura’s name is like a shocking blow to my chest. This I did not expect, and I sway from the impact.
    “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Fang,” he says, reaching out to steady me. “I know this has to be upsetting. Are you all right? Do you want to sit down?”
    “It’s just that …” I give a numb shake of my head. “I have not eaten since this morning.”
    “Maybe if you ate something now? Could I bring you somewhere?”
    “Perhaps we should talk another day.”
    “It would only be a few questions.” He pauses. Adds, quietly: “I haven’t had dinner, either.”
    For a moment his words hang in the air. It is a trial balloon. My hand tightens around the grip of my sword, an instinctive reaction toa situation fraught with uncertainties. In danger, there is opportunity. He is a policeman, but I see nothing about him to be wary of, only an attentive man with a kind face. And I want desperately to know why he is asking about Laura.
    I slide Zheng Yi into its scabbard. “There is a dumpling house on Beach Street.”
    He smiles, and the change in his face is startling. It makes him seem far younger. “I know the place.”
    “Let me get my raincoat, and we’ll walk.”
    Outside, we stroll together through a fine spring drizzle, but keep a discreet distance between us. I have brought along Zheng Yi because the sword is too valuable to leave behind at the studio. And because she has always been my protection, against all the threats I cannot see. Even on this wet evening, Chinatown is bustling, the streets crowded with dinner-hour patrons hungry for roast duck or ginger-steamed fish. As we walk, I try to stay focused on my surroundings, on every unfamiliar face that passes by. But Detective Frost, talkative and exuberant, is a continual distraction.
    “This is my favorite part of Boston,” he says, throwing his arms wide, as though to embrace Chinatown and everyone in it. “It has the best food, the best markets, the most interesting little side streets. I always love coming here.”
    “Even when you’re here to see a dead body?”
    “Well, no,” he says with a rueful laugh. “But there’s just something about this neighborhood. Sometimes I feel like I belong here. Like it’s an accident I wasn’t born Chinese.”
    “Ah. You think you’re reincarnated.”
    “Yeah. As the all-American kid from South Boston.” He looks at me, his face gleaming in the dampness. “You said you’re from Taiwan.”
    “Have you ever been there?”
    He gives a regretful shake of the head. “I haven’t traveled as much as I’d like. But I did go to France on my honeymoon.”
    “What does your wife do?”
    The pause makes me look at him, and I see his head has drooped.“She’s in law school,” he says quietly. It takes him a moment before he adds: “We separated. Last summer.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “It hasn’t been a very good year, I’m afraid,” he says, then suddenly seems to remember who he’s talking to. The woman who has lost both her husband and her daughter. “I have nothing to complain about, really.”
    “Loneliness isn’t easy for anyone to live