“Of course. What can I do?”
“May we visit Henglai’s home? We may find something that will help us to know him. It may help us to find his killer.”
“Have your driver take you to the Capital Mansion on Xinyuan Road in Chaoyang District.”
As David and Hulan pulled on their overcoats, Guang Mingyun’s jovial manner returned. “Next time, we will have a banquet.”
“Your hospitality is too generous, Mr. Guang,” Hulan said.
“Please give my best regards to your father,” he replied, gazing into her eyes.
“I will, and I hope you will express to Madame Guang our family’s deepest sentiments.”
In the elevator, David said, “One of those men is lying.” Hulan focused on the electronic numbers as the elevator continued its rapid descent.
8
LATER THAT AFTERNOON
Bei Hai Park
When they reached the car, Hulan abruptly announced that she wanted to show David the place where Billy Watson’s body had been found. Peter asked to stop on the way so that he might buy cigarettes, but Hulan refused him outright. When Peter pulled into a parking place at the south gate to Bei Hai Park, she told him to wait in the car. He opened his mouth to speak, but she hushed him with a brittle torrent of Chinese. Peter feigned submission, folded his arms, and sank down in his seat.
David followed Hulan along the path that rimmed the lake. The park was relatively deserted. The kiosks, a Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise and a kiddie arcade with its colorfully painted rides, were all closed. With the season nearly over, only a few skaters were on the ice.
Hulan stopped at a bench and motioned for David to sit. “This is where I talked to the Watsons,” she said. Next to her, David listened and followed the direction of her finger as she pointed out across the lake to where Billy Watson was found. But David knew she had not brought him there just to see the crime scene. As she spoke she kept her eyes focused on something in the distance—the sky? the opposite shore?
“Hulan.” David couldn’t help his pleading tone. “Can we talk? Please?”
Hulan ignored his questions. “We need to concentrate on this case, then you can go home to…”
“You disappeared all those years ago,” he said. He took her hand and held it in both of his. “I never expected to see you again, but I hoped that somehow I would find you here. And I did. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
“Please listen,” she said neutrally, gently pulling her hand away. “We don’t have much time. Peter is probably calling the office now. He’ll have help here soon, so we must
be quick.” She looked around. Satisfied that no one was nearby, she said, “We need to be careful.”
“Any time I try to talk to you, you tell me to be careful,” he said. “Why don’t you listen to what I have to say for once?” She didn’t respond, so he repeated himself. “When I came to China, I had no idea I would find you. Do you know what it means to me to see you?”
“I don’t know if you can understand this.” Her breath steamed in the air. “Everywhere we go we are watched. I have counted up to four cars following us today. Everything we say is listened to, analyzed. Everyone we talk to will undoubtedly be talked to again.”
“I can’t believe that,” David said.
“Why not, David? You think you are some tourist simply visiting a foreign country?”
“Everyone has been welcoming…”
“You don’t know what you’re seeing,” she said. She tried to explain that Beijing was a large city but that nearly one million of its habitants were engaged in watching—from the Neighborhood Committee at the domestic level to the behind-the-scenes intrigue at the highest tiers of government. It was the level between those extremes that concerned Hulan most of all.
“Along the roadways, the government employs agents on foot who watch as cars go by. At major intersections, video cameras are mounted to follow cars from place to place. Even if you weren’t who you are, even if I weren’t who I am, we would be watched. They see us, they listen to us, they tape us, they photograph us. Didn’t your government explain that?”
When he said nothing, she continued. “I brought you here without informing anyone of our plan. I wanted to talk without Peter eavesdropping on us.”
“I want to talk to you alone too.”
“Don’t you hear what I’m saying? Peter spies on me. By tonight the car will be bugged and I won’t be able to get us away from the listeners and watchers so easily.” She took a breath. “I know you think we’re getting nowhere, but we’ve learned a lot. But you have to understand, we’re dealing with—”
“The triads,” he said, deciding to go along with her for now. “I know that.”