Flower Net (Red Princess 1)

“Why?” he pressed.

“Zai had investigated the gang and…”

“Nothing happened,” David finished for her. “He must have been working with them all along! And then there’s the bomb. He’s the right age, Hulan. Was he in the army?”

“Yes,” she admitted, “but it’s all circumstantial.”

He held up Spencer Lee’s death sentence. “This isn’t circumstantial. It’s hard evidence.”

Seeing the look of torment on Hulan’s face, he asked, “What aren’t you telling me?” When she looked away, he took her hand, brought it to his lips for a kiss, and said, “No more secrets, Hulan. None ever again.”

“The night before we left, Uncle Zai came to my house. He warned me to be careful.”

“Did he warn you or threaten you?”

She pulled her hand away and groaned. “I don’t know anymore. I’m confused.”

“Don’t you see, Hulan? We cast that flower net of yours and when you look at all the pieces we’ve caught, they point to one person.”

“Zai.”

“I think we’d better see your father.”

Vice Minister Liu gestured for them to sit and asked a tea girl to fill their cups. With his elbows perched on the desk and his chin rested on his interlocked fingers, he listened to their conclusions. When they came to the end, he took a sip of tea, then lit a Marlboro. “As I recall, one of the bodies was found aboard a ship that left Tianjin on January third. Am I remembering this correctly?”

“Yes.”

Liu leafed through his desk calendar, found the date, and looked up. “Obviously you haven’t checked Section Chief Zai’s travel records.” He could barely conceal his disappointment in them.

“No, we didn’t.”

“Well, Inspector, if you had, you would have known that Section Chief Zai was in Tianjin that week.” He paused, then added with a self-deprecating smile, “I was there that week as well.”

“What were you doing?”

“We were conducting a routine survey of the local bureau. Nothing terribly important, just time-consuming. But now, as I recall, Section Chief Zai was not with me every day, nor did we have dinner together every evening.”

“Where was he?”

“Inspector Liu,” her father said in Chinese, glancing significantly at David, “it is not my business what my employees do in their off time.”

“I beg your pardon,” David said.

“I was telling the inspector that I didn’t know what Section Chief Zai was doing. But I must say that I have suspected that he was corrupt for some time.” He turned his attention back to his daughter. “I’m sure this comes as a shock to you, Inspector. I know you have always had a lot of…respect for this man. But I think if you look back over his life and career, you will see that his past is not glorious.”

“Do you know where he is now?”

“In his office, I presume.”

“We were just there. He’s gone.”

Vice Minister Liu stubbed out his cigarette and stood. “Then I propose that we waste no time. I’ll make the proper notifications. He will be found and arrested.” He walked them to the door, where he shook David’s hand. “It seems I am forever thanking you for your help. We are, as a country, grateful for your insights and persistence in this matter.” With that, the vice minister closed the door behind them.

“Now what?” David asked as they headed toward Hulan’s office.

“We wait. The MPS prides itself on being able to find a criminal anywhere in China within twenty-four hours. By tomorrow, this will all be over.” Even as Hulan said this she doubted it. Section Chief Zai was well liked by the people who worked beneath him. She suspected that they wouldn’t look too hard for their old colleague. But Hulan could also see that something niggled at David’s brain as well. “What’s bothering you now?”

“Okay, I see Zai, but how does the American embassy fit in? We know that someone there was stamping the passports for the couriers. So who was that?”