The Interior (Red Princess 2)

“So maybe he hasn’t seen every part of the compound. Where are the worst conditions? On the main factory floor and in the dormitory. If he’s an honorable man, like you say, then he can’t enter the dormitory because it’s against company policy.”

“Are you defending him?”

“I don’t even know him,” she replied, “but I have to respect your judgment, especially when it comes to an American.”

“But what about the factory floor?”

She thought about this, then asked, “Have you taken a tour of the compound yet?”

“I’ve seen parts—the Administration Building, a lunch room, the courtyard.”

“One of the things I’ve noticed is that there are several places to meet with large groups of employees. There’s an auditorium, but the cafeteria could also be a place to talk to people, not to mention the courtyard. You could easily gather all of the employees out there. Maybe Henry hasn’t been on the factory floor because he’s never had to. Oh, maybe back on opening day, or maybe he goes to the final assembly room, but otherwise why would he go in there? And even if he did, it would be easy to keep him focused on the product, not the environment.”

“Today he said that since the factory moved to China, he’s let Sandy and the others handle the manufacturing aspects of the business.”

Hulan mulled this over, then nodded to herself.

“What?” David asked.

“What’s that American saying? Something about out of sight, out of consciousness?”

“Out of sight, out of mind.”

“That’s it. The first time I went to the factory, Sandy Newheart took me into the final assembly area. When you’re in there, it’s huge, with a hundred women working. You don’t think about what you’re not seeing. When I asked about what was on the other side of the wall, he got upset. What I’m trying to say is that the architecture of that place hides things. No windows. Excellent soundproofing. Doors that seem to go nowhere. Circuitous hallways that hide direction and dimension.”

“I’m not sure I follow what you mean. You can’t ‘hide’ a room with seven hundred women in it.”

“But you can,” Hulan said as she stood up. David followed her outside. They found Suchee and Investigator Lo sitting on their haunches next to the Mercedes, smoking Marlboros.

“Suchee, can you get those plans you showed me before?”

Hulan’s friend stood, went out to the shed where Miaoshan had been found, and came back with the manila envelope. Together they went back into the house. Suchee flipped on the single bare lightbulb. Hulan cleared Suchee’s shoe project off the table and wiped the dampness away with her forearm. After Suchee pulled out the papers, Hulan riffled through until she found the factory plans. The four of them leaned in, hovering over the main site plan. Hulan spoke in English, pointing out each building to orient the others. Quickly she flipped this plan aside to show the second-story designs and, tapping her finger across the paper, showed those few places where there were windows—all on the second story, all facing out over the wall as opposed to into the courtyard. Then she went to the Assembly Building specs.

“Here’s the front door and the lobby. Right here they have a desk. There’s a button underneath the desk that unlocks the door into the main part of the building.” With her finger she traced the route to that door, and crossed to the foyer on the other side where the women separated into two groups. “If you go right, you eventually end up in the final assembly room. If you go left, you end up in the main manufacturing area.” From here she traveled along the serpentine hallways, hesitating before other doors which either led nowhere or to small closets or rooms. She tilted her eyes up to David’s. “By the time you’ve gotten to this main room, you don’t know whether you’re facing north or south, or where you are in relation to the rest of the compound.”

Suchee muttered something. Hulan asked her to repeat it, which Suchee attempted in English. “You talk fast. I do not understand. But this is like the fields. No straight…” Suchee frowned, looking for the word, then reverted to Mandarin, rattling off several sentences and gesturing this way and that.

Investigator Lo and Hulan nodded in understanding. Then Hulan explained to David that in the countryside paths between the fields were never built in a straight line; nor was there ever a direct route to a farm or a village. On the superstitious level, this was done to confuse ghosts. On the practical level, it had been done to baffle bandits, kidnappers, and invading armies. “The women who work in the factory—myself included—don’t see it, because they’re so accustomed to it.”

“And Henry Knight designed his factory this way to confuse the people who work there?” David asked.

“What if it was designed this way to keep out prying eyes, including his own?”

“Hulan, if things are as bad as you say, is it conceivable that Henry Knight wouldn’t know? Put another way, who’s the only person who will benefit from a cover-up? It’s Henry Knight’s company. He’s selling it for a huge profit. Obviously if there’s something wrong, it needs to remain hidden until after the sale.”

“What about his son?”

“Doug? He’s going to make money with the sale, of course, but not as much as his father. And he’ll stay on after the takeover. Henry’s been fighting for that.”

“So his son can take the blame when everything comes to light?” Hulan asked. “What kind of a father is he?”

An uncomfortable silence clamped down over the group. Every person in the room knew what had happened between Hulan and her father. Hulan looked into each of their faces, seeing their sympathy. Keeping her voice steady, Hulan said, “But this isn’t a vendetta as far as we know. This isn’t one man against…” She faltered. When she next spoke, her tone was hard. “This is a big factory. If Henry knows, wouldn’t they all know? Madame Leung, Sandy Newheart, Aaron Rodgers, that security guard, even Doug Knight?”

“And Miaoshan,” Suchee ventured.

David’s and Hulan’s eyes met across the table as they considered. “What else

did Miaoshan bring home?” David asked.