But it was a call he had to make, for Detective Yu’s sake.
The young attendant was coming over to him, carrying two saucers on a stainless steel tray. One saucer contained fried watermelon seeds, and the other, white-sugar-covered yang mei berries.
“I saw you were on the phone,” she said, “so I didn’t want to interrupt.”
It had been a long time since he’d had a sweet bayberry. When he was a child, his mother once bought him a tiny bag, which he finished, to her chagrin, in less than ten minutes. Now he picked up only one berry from the saucer, satisfied with both the taste and service.
“Your room number?” she asked.
So it would be charged to his room. But it had been naive of him to think otherwise. When she presented him with a slip, he signed his name without bothering to check the amount.
He got up, wrapped the remaining berries in a paper napkin, and walked back along the winding trail like any other tourist.
A black bat flitted around overhead, first circling, then uttering a strange sound that sounded just like Chinese character shou, and finally disappearing into the dusk. The heat was steady, enclosing him like a grasp. The eerie noise reminded him of another garden-the Qing Dynasty Summer Palace. The Empress Dowager Cixi had the palace in the north built lavishly, imitating the southern landscape, thereby spending all the money in the treasury that had been reserved for the navy. In the Summer Palace, the shou sound made by the bats, a character that could mean longevity in Chinese, was so pleasant to her that she kept a skyfull of them.
China changes, and China doesn’t change. Apparitions of the emperors and empresses seemed to be presenting themselves again in the flickering light in the ancient garden. Dusk was spreading out against the sky, and the last pale cloud began to retreat.
He thought of the rapid emergence of the princelings, the children of the party elite assuming high positions of their own. That was something new and yet old in China’s political landscape. And he thought of the newly resurgent red songs and their call for the Party to rule for thousands of years.
He left the garden and strolled out of the hotel. He turned right onto Ten Perfections Street, moving past small local stores and a bookstore tucked in behind the landing of a stone bridge that spanned a dark green canal. It was a scene he remembered from a literary festival several years earlier, one session of which had been held in the bookstore. There was a peach tree blossoming near the landing, just as there had been the last time he was there. Like before, the bookstore seemed more like a café, with a blond waitress flitting among the chairs and tables outside. He wondered whether the waitress was the same one as before. It might not a bad idea to come here for breakfast tomorrow morning, perhaps stir up possibilities in a cup of coffee.
One block farther on, the stores were interspersed with small workshops and factories, all unsightly in the dimming light. He turned and walked back the way he’d come.
Soon he found himself at the entrance of the hotel, but he walked past it in the other direction and was soon in sight of an impressive-looking Suzhou noodle restaurant with a black and gold sign: CAI’S NOODLES. It was closed for the day, which struck him as strange, as it was almost dinnertime. He took a look at their business hours. From six a.m. to one p.m.
He recalled something the young woman named Qian had said the other day. She mentioned a really good noodle restaurant close to that hotel. That was probably why he’d thought of that hotel back in the cemetery office. She also mentioned an interesting detail about the restaurant being open only for breakfast and lunch, but if she’d explained why, he’d forgotten.
He made his way back, absentmindedly, to the hotel again. A bright red convertible sped past him just as he walked in one of the side entrances of the hotel. To his surprise, Chen saw something that looked like a nightclub on his right. Why was there a nightclub in an ancient-style hotel garden? As fragments of music came wafting over, he saw a flashing neon sign saying Southern Heavenly World.
A uniformed doorman hastened toward him with an obsequious smile.
“Welcome, sir. I can see that you’re a guest at the hotel. Now, let me tell you that we have the best girls in the city of Suzhou and an incredibly large number of them for you to choose from. Superior quality, affordable price. Satisfaction guaranteed.”
Grinning from ear to ear, the doorman spoke like an experienced salesman.
“So the nightclub is part of the hotel?” Chen asked.
“Yes and no. The nightclub was built in the hotel complex, and the profits are split with the hotel.”
“So the club was built on the grounds of the ancient garden?”
“There are too many old gardens in Suzhou, and no matter how ancient, a garden doesn’t bring in much income.”
“But don’t people choose the hotel because of the garden?”
“Well, truth be told, more guests stay here because of the nightclub,” the doorman said. He added in an exaggerated whisper, “It’s so convenient. After a couple of hours at the club, you may take a girl back to your room at no extra charge, since you’ve already checked in. And no one will say anything-”
His enthusiastic introduction was interrupted by a skinny girl who emerged from the club’s interior and scampered over to their side.
“So you’re a guest at the hotel, sir. Welcome.”
The doorman slipped inside, as if on cue.
“You’ve got nothing to do this evening, right?” she went on. “It’s lonely for a traveler, I know. So you need someone to keep you company-”
But she broke off right there and abruptly turned her head to watch a Jaguar that was pulling up at the curb. A plump woman in her fifties, wearing a light Burberry trench coat and a large diamond ring, stepped out of the car and walked toward the club. The doorman rushed past Chen and hurried outside to get the car keys from her.
“I’ve a question for you,” he said to the young girl after the older woman disappeared into the club.
“What’s your question?”
“Are most of customers here staying at the hotel?”
“No, not necessarily, but it’s easy for hotel guests to walk over to the nightclub. And it’s also easy for them to make arrangements afterward.”
“I see,” he said, nodding. “I’ve another question, if you don’t mind my curiosity. The lady who just went in was in her fifties…”
“Of course, we have female clients as well. She’s a regular here. If you have money, you can buy anything-ducks too.”
“Ducks?”
“Gigolos,” she said. “You’ve got so many questions, sir. How about coming inside with me? In a cozy private room, you may fire away to your heart’s content, and I’ll try my best to respond to your satisfaction.”
If it weren’t for his experience at the Heavenly World in Shanghai, he might have agreed. Instead, he pulled out a hundred-yuan bill and gave it to her. “Just buy yourself a drink tonight. Next time we’ll go inside. For now, I have just a couple of questions more.”
“You mean-” she said, snatching the bill in surprise.
“For instance, the lady customer who just arrived,” he said. “She must be someone important.”
“Yes, she has a meat company that went public about half a year ago.”
“So she’s a well-known Big Buck here. Aren’t people like her worried about police raids?”
“Are you from Mars?”
“What do you mean?”
“The club owner is connected all the way at the top, so customers don’t have to worry about their security.”
“So it’s just like the Heavenly World in Shanghai?”
“Oh, you’ve been there? Then surely you know better. Our club is affiliated with the Heavenly World.”
“Affiliated-how?”
“The owner of the Heavenly World owns shares in this club. When his Big Buck customers come to Suzhou, he refers them here. And his connections help too. But that’s about all I know.”