Don’t Cry, Tai Lake

of those payments, which he doesn’t deny. So we are justified in drawing the conclusion that these were acts of blackmail. Remember, apart from the money he got for the articles he sold to the Western media, he had no other income for several years. A monetary motive is often the most common, compelling motive.
    “Besides, there’s no denying that Jiang is an inveterate troublemaker. Chinese people should be able to tell the difference between what’s appropriate to discuss with the proper insiders and what one can discuss with outsiders. But not so with him. With no real qualifications as an environmentalist, he hues and cries in an irresponsible way, all for the benefit of the Western media and for himself. What’s the point of all that muckraking? According to one American newspaper, some politicians have even mentioned him as a possible candidate for a Nobel prize. For what? The answer is self-evident, you see. This all comes at the expense of our government’s image. This will be a necessary lesson for him.”
    “But the problems he exposed are nonetheless real problems that we can’t afford to ignore, Superintendent Tian.”
    “We’re taking care of the problems, Comrade Chief Inspector Chen. China’s economic reform is achieving unprecedented success, but it may take some time to solve the problems that arise in its wake. Ask people here in Wuxi whether their lives have improved in the last twenty years, and I don’t think you’ll have to wait long for an answer.”
    It would be useless to argue further with Tian. Tian had a much higher cadre rank than his and Chen had just claimed he was only here on vacation. He had no right whatsoever to question the way the local police were handling the case. They then steered the conversation away from the political factors behind the murder case, as if having reached a tacit understanding. What cannot be said must pass over in silence .
    Not long after Tian left, Chen received a phone call from Sergeant Huang.
    “I’ve called you many times since yesterday, Chief, but your cell phone was turned off.”
    “Sorry, I was overwhelmed by official phone calls so I turned it off. Anyway, the investigation is now up to you and your colleagues.” He went on in spite of himself, “How are things going with Fu and Mi?”
    “Mi remains hysterical, but she’s slowly giving in. Don’t worry about it,” Huang said with a reassuring chuckle. “My colleagues are working on Fu, and I’m at his apartment again, this time with an official search warrant. I did a thorough job yesterday, but I didn’t find a copy of the restructuring plan.”
    “He might have destroyed it,” Chen said after a pause, “But I think there may be something else there.”
    “What?”
    “For what happened at Liu’s place that night, there’re two possible explanations. One is that Fu had planned to murder Liu all along. But the other is that he made up his mind when he got there. If the murder was unpremeditated, then the perpetrator picked up something at the apartment to use as the murder weapon and took it with him afterward.”
    “The missing murder weapon? Yes, you talked about some possible items when we were at the crime scene. Let me check my notebook—”
    “After our discussion at the crime scene,” Chen went on without waiting for him to check, “I examined the picture of Liu and his son that was taken last summer. There are nine statuettes in the background. That statuette is an annual award given at the end of the year, but in the pictures taken by your colleagues last week, there are still only nine statuettes. It might mean that Liu didn’t get one for the last year. But I talked to his son Wenliang the day before yesterday, and he mentioned that there should be ten statuettes because the company had won the award ten years in a row. Several months after their picture was taken, Liu told Wenliang specifically about winning another statuette.”
    “Ah, it’s in the notebook. Nine of them,” Huang said, checking through his notes. “So one statuette is definitely missing, and they are really heavy—”
    “But Fu could have dumped it somewhere else. We can’t rule out that possibility, Huang.”
    “I’ll start all over again. The statuette is taller than a beer bottle. His room isn’t large, practically a dorm room—” said Huang, then he paused and suddenly switched topics. “Oh, I almost forgot. Shanshan contacted me for help, Chief. She asked for