The First Excellence: Fa-Ling's Map (10 page)

Then they would see where their quest for ‘truth’ would lead them.

**

Paula and Guy Kader faced each other across the span of floor that separated the twin beds. In the hour that had passed since she’d reported sounds of violence in the next room, she had packed up her laptop, woken Guy and changed into her pyjamas. It might appear odd to police if they found her fully dressed at two in the morning.

Then she and her husband proceeded to wait nervously for the knock on the door. They knew it would come, but still jumped at the sound.

“
Hotel Manager,” Henry said softly.

Guy opened the door. Wang Yong-qi and Cheng followed Henry into the room.

Although Wang spoke English passably well, he preferred to feign ignorance. Wang and Cheng would rely on Henry to translate their questions.

“
What is your name?” Wang asked. As he spoke, Cheng walked quietly through the room, opening the closet door and staring at the luggage.

“
What is he doing?” Guy said, watching Cheng as he rifled through the Kaders’ belongings.

Henry didn’t bother to translate Guy’s question. He knew it would be ignored. Instead he repeated Wang’s question more loudly.

“
My name is Guy Kader. This is my wife, Paula.”

“
Why did you come to Gui?” Wang asked.

Henry incorrectly translated the question as, “When did you come to Guangxi?”

“
We arrived today,” Guy answered.

Paula sat on the bed studying Wang with a meek expression. Wang did not acknowledge her attention, keeping his eyes trained on her husband. Cheng, though, observed her discretely as he continued to walk about the room.

Wang wrote in his notebook before repeating his question to Henry.

“
OK, sorry,” Henry said. “Police wants to know
why
you come to Gui.”

“
Gui?” Guy shook his head, not understanding the word.

“
Guangxi,” Paula said. “Gui is short for Guangxi Zhuang.”

“
We’re here with a group of Canadians,” Guy said. “We’re adopting a little girl.”

He expected some show of surprise from the officers, but he was disappointed. Both Wang and Cheng were accustomed to the steady stream of foreigners that landed in China to fulfil their dreams of parenthood.

“
What time you first hear noise?” Henry said.

“
I was asleep,” Guy said. “I didn’t hear anything.”

“
I was up,” Paula said. “I was working in the bathroom.” Henry looked confused, not sure how to translate this for Wang.

“
Look,” Paula said, pointing to her laptop. “I had it set up here.” The men followed her into the bathroom. She set the laptop on the counter and pretended to key. “I started working at around eleven o’clock. There was music playing next door at that time. It wasn’t loud. Then, at around two o’clock, I heard men arguing.” Paula recounted the sounds as they had occurred, ending with the frightening silence that followed the wail. “That’s when I called you,” she said to Henry.

“
Do you know what the men were saying?” Wang asked.

“
No. I don’t speak Chinese.”

“
Can you recall any words?”

“
No. I’m sorry.” Paula shook her head. “Excuse me,” she said, trying to get past the men and back into the main room. She suddenly felt claustrophobic, trapped in the bathroom with the men blocking the doorway.

Henry and Wang moved into the entryway, but Cheng, pretending not to understand, stood stubbornly at the bathroom door. He wanted to see how the beautiful, neurotic white woman would react to not getting her way.

Paula’s eyes met Cheng’s for an instant, and in that moment the look of helplessness left her and was replaced with unbridled annoyance.

She almost ordered him to move, but it would be futile to do so given the language barrier. Besides, the big oaf was obviously taking pleasure in her discomfort.

She regained her placid demeanour as quickly as it had fled, and waited for Cheng to move.

Cheng’s eyes missed nothing. In the instant when they met hers, he understood she was no ordinary female. He did not need the benefit of words to read Paula Kader.

The woman was hiding something. But what?

Fa-ling didn’t hear the first knock at the door. She tossed, half-asleep, jarring the earphones from her head.

Henry knocked again more loudly. Fa-ling opened her eyes. It took a moment for her to remember where she was. She lay still in the bed, not sure whether she had heard anything.

Impatient, Cheng pounded on the door. Fa-ling sat up, uncertain what to do. She was alone in a strange country and someone was banging on her door. She glanced at the bedside clock. It was three-fifteen in the morning.

She padded to the entryway and looked through the peephole.

She recognised the little concierge who had come on shift the night before. The two men beside him were difficult to make out through the tiny distorted lens.

“
Police,” Henry said in English. “Please open the door.”

“
One moment.” Fa-ling looked down at herself. Michael’s shirt was now rumpled and it fell open over her naked breasts. The only other thing she was wearing was a pair of white cotton panties. She quickly buttoned the shirt and ran toward the chair where she had laid her jeans.

“
I’m coming,” she shouted, pulling up the zipper.

Fa-ling opened the door. Cheng entered first, followed by Wang and the concierge.

“
There has been an occurrence,” Henry said, “in the room next to yours. The police have come to ask you questions.”

“
I don’t understand,” Fa-ling said. “What kind of occurrence?”

Henry stood up straight and puffed his chest out. He was not immune to the presence of a beautiful girl. “There has been a death,” he said, allowing the moment of crisis to take hold.

“
Who died?” she asked.

“
I cannot say,” Henry said.

Cheng immediately began to walk about the room, lifting things and opening drawers.

Fa-ling watched as he rummaged through her suitcase. She hoped he wouldn’t disturb her backpack where she kept her clarinet and her journal.

He sifted through her underwear and t-shirts, glancing up occasionally to see her reaction. The corner of her mouth lifted into a tiny half-smile, letting him know she understood the nature of his game.

He was less interested in her belongings than in her reaction to the intrusion.

Wang observed Fa-ling. How, he wondered, could anyone look so good on waking from a deep sleep? He’d been alone for too long. Whatever the reason, Yong-qi felt himself attracted to this young woman. She wore a man’s shirt, which she had buttoned up badly, so one side of the shirt hung lower than the other and the collar was out of whack. Her bare feet stuck out of the bottom of bellbottomed jeans that were too long for her.

He almost smiled at the sight of her, but caught himself in time.

“
What is your name?” Wang Yong-qi asked, waiting for Henry to translate.

“
Li Fa-ling. Can you tell me what happened next door? Was there an accident?”

“
Why did you come to Gui?” he asked.

“
I came with a group from Canada,” Fa-ling answered in Cantonese. “I was born in Guangxi. I wanted to see the place where I was born.”

Henry was disappointed his translation services would not be needed. He stood his ground near Wang, though, refusing to be left out of the action.

“
Are you travelling with your husband?” Wang asked. It was a legitimate question. Cheng allowed himself a tiny smile, which did not escape the girl’s notice. “Are your parents with you?” Wang continued, hoping his embarrassment would not show.

“
No. I came alone with a group of adopting couples. I never met any of them before. We’re with a guide. Her name’s Cynthia. Maybe we should wake her.”

“
Did you hear any noises coming from the next room this evening?” Yong-qi asked, ignoring Fa-ling’s mention of the guide.

“
What kind of noises?” Fa-ling asked. “Please tell me what happened.”

Wang did not answer, but continued to study the young woman. Her hair was a mess, the long ponytail having shaken itself loose from its binding as she slept. Despite her dishevelled appearance, she was surprisingly calm. He would not be so cool if a couple of policemen came into his room at three in the morning in a strange country.

Maybe, Wang thought, it’s just an act. Or, and he smiled at this thought, maybe she is aware of how beautiful she is, and understands her looks put her at an advantage over a couple of clumsy men.

“
What is he looking for?” Fa-ling asked, pointing at Cheng.

Cheng took no notice, pulling items out of the backpack one by one.

“
We need to see your papers,” Wang said.

The lie was so flimsy Fa-ling did not bother to dispute it.

“
You might have asked,” she said. Removing the passkey from the slot and causing the lights to go out momentarily, she used it to open the hotel safe. She restored the lights before handing her passport and travel visa to Wang.

Wang pretended to study her papers before returning them to her, having no real interest in the documents. He did not doubt the girl’s word.

“
Once again, Miss,” Yong-qi said, “did you hear any noises tonight?”

“
No. I fell asleep at about ten-thirty. I didn’t wake up till you came to the door.”

“
These noises were loud. Are you certain you didn’t hear something? Maybe you weren’t sure what it was?”

Fa-ling picked her IPod up from the nightstand. “I was wearing this,” she said.

“
Do you often go to sleep with headphones on?”

“
No. Oh, I see what you mean. I’d forgotten, there was a noise next door earlier, when I went to sleep. It wasn’t loud. Just some music and a man’s voice. It sounded like he was chanting in time to the music.”

“
Chanting?” Wang said.

“
Yes, like a prayer chant, or something like that. It went on for hours. Like I said, it wasn’t loud, but it was a strange noise and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to sleep. I put on my headphones to block the sound.”

Cheng opened the closet door, noticing it was empty. Fa-ling had not bothered to hang up any of her clothes yet.

“
This chanting,” Wang continued, “are you sure it was only one voice?”

“
Yes, I’m sure. It was the same phrase repeated for hours to the sound of a Chinese melody. The melody did not change.”

“
What was the phrase?”

“
I couldn’t understand it.”

“
What did it sound like?”

“
It sounded like ‘Um-dee-um-dum’.” Fa-ling gave Wang a crooked smile. “I’m sorry, I didn’t pay attention.”

“
Very well,” Yong-qi said. “Thank you for your help. If you think of anything else, please call me.” Wang fumbled like a schoolboy in his pocket for a card, aware that Cheng was enjoying his moment of awkwardness in front of the pretty girl.

“
Good night, Miss,” Henry said, leading the way out of the room. Wang followed, having no excuse to linger.

Cheng was the last to leave, stopping in the bathroom to urinate noisily. He came out without washing his hands and studied Fa-ling.

“
Please do not be concerned, Miss,” he said gently. “It appears there was a suicide in the room next to yours. A man fell from the window. You understand, we have to ask questions, to be sure of the circumstances.”

“
Thank you for telling me what happened,” Fa-ling said. She was not angry over his having searched through her things. She understood the Chinese have a different set of rules, and one could have no reasonable expectation of privacy here.

“
Good night,” Cheng said, showing off one of his rare English phrases.

“
Good night,” Fa-ling replied.

Ting-lo fussed with the supply of brand-new baby clothes, re-arranging dresses in the closet and packing and re-packing diapers.

She and Adrian woke at three-thirty and lay awake till four thanks to jet lag and nervousness. Finally Adrian ran a hot bath and took a book with him into the tub. Ting-lo knew there was no point trying to sleep. Her mind was a whirl of activity.

Of course there was the baby, little Anna as they had named her. That alone would have been enough to keep their minds humming with excitement. On top of that Ting-lo had seen her brother the previous evening for the first time in years. She and Adrian had been delayed in the boardroom thanks to that fool of a guide. How could Cynthia have let everyone fill the forms in blue ink? Didn’t she have any prior experience leading adoption groups? Wasn’t she aware all government forms had to be completed in black? Thank goodness Ting-lo had remembered the basics rules of form-filling in Asia and had come prepared with a black pen.

Finally all of the couples had turned in their forms. Adrian was worn out and dying for a drink, but she dragged him instead to the sixth floor to introduce him to her brother.

In the five years she and Adrian had been married, Ting-lo heard from Tang infrequently. For the most part he seemed to be happy.