The Nine Fold Heaven (13 page)

Outside the small garden, Edward opened the car door for me, then walked to the other side. As he was about to open the other door, I felt something was not quite right.

“Edward, I think I just saw someone . . .”

“Where?” He started to look around suspiciously.

“We better leave—”

Alas, before he could reply, a tall masked man dashed out from behind some trees.

“Edward, watch out!” I yelled.

Then a big fist struck my head and I collapsed to the ground.

I heard Edward cry out angrily, “You leave her alone!” followed by a thud and a grunt. There was more yelling, fists striking flesh, car doors slamming, and then the engine roaring and tires screeching.

After that, deadly silence.

As I struggled to get up, I realized that I’d just lost another man from my life—I’d warned him, but to no avail.

Through the tears stinging my cheeks, I saw that Edward’s car was still where he had left it. Fortunately for me, the kidnappers had been in too much hurry to take his keys, or perhaps assumed that a woman would be unable to drive.

My hands were still shaking when I arrived at the governess’s cottage to tell her the terrible news. Emily Andrews’s face looked as pale as if it had been snowed on.

“Oh, my God, Miss Chen, how horrible, what happened?”

I told her everything I knew, which was not much.

“Who would do something like this?”

I knew it was one of the warlords, most likely my former boss, Big Brother Wang. Or maybe even Rainbow Chang’s Pink Skeleton Empire. After all, she had not hesitated to have me snatched so she could try to intimidate me. And she wanted me to help to get Edward out of her way so he could not interfere with her lucrative loan sharking. But, of course, I was not going to share these speculations with Emily, lest she suspect me.

“Emily, there’s a kidnapping almost every day in Shanghai. So I guess it must be one of the general’s enemies. Can you think of who this might be?”

Emily looked horrified by my remark. “But General Miller is such a nice and decent man!”

“Emily, around here nice people stand out, and so they attract attention from the wrong kind of people and get hurt!”

“Oh, my God! I must call the police.”

“Don’t worry too much, Emily. I believe the general will be safe—probably all the kidnappers want is money.”

“I hope you’re right, Miss Chen.”

There was probably a lot more to it than this, but I did not want her to be alarmed. Or to call the police, as they were probably in on it.

“Emily, can I give you some advice?”

“What’s that?”

“Please call the police later, not now. And please don’t let them know that the general was with me.”

“But why not?”

“Emily, even if the general and my relationship is innocent, it’ll be a scandal all over the gossip news tomorrow. What could be juicier than the American Consul General being kidnapped when he was accompanied by a young Chinese woman? And these gossip columnists will add anything their wildest imaginations can cook up to make the story as sensational as it is untrue. You don’t want a scandal that will smear your boss’s reputation, do you?”

“Of course not, Miss Chen.”

“Then please do as I say. Call the police later to report that the general’s missing. But absolutely don’t mention that he was with anyone, for all of our reputations.”

“But you drove his car back here, so how could he—”

“You can say that he went out by himself and didn’t come back. Anyway, give as little information as possible. The more one talks, the more trouble they will cause.”

“You’re absolutely right, Miss Chen.”

16

Farewell to Little Blind Girl

T
o my great sadness, there was no real news about where Edward was, or when he’d return, if he ever would. All the newspapers offered theories about who was behind his disappearance, but none said anything of substance. Of course, some of the papers were controlled by the gangsters and the rest were terrified of them.

Rainbow Chang’s column read:

After I read the disquieting article, my heart galloped like a wild horse. I feared for Edward, but I was also relieved that Rainbow actually kept her promise not to reveal my relationship with the general in her column. I knew it was unlikely that Edward and I would ever see each other again. Whoever had taken him wanted him out of the way. And for myself, there was no assurance that Rainbow would not mention me in her next column. As she put it, things happen—or not happen, which was my hope.

 

A few days later, when I called Emily, someone at the consulate said she was gone but had left another number—an overseas one—if I wanted to reach her.

Something was
very
wrong.

I immediately took a rickshaw to the closest post office so I could place the call. A couple of minutes later, the operator handed me the phone.

Emily’s voice sounded so far and yet so close—like a dead person who’s here and not here at the same time.

She said, “Miss Chen, I’m so glad that you called. General Miller, Henry, and I flew on the China Clipper and are back in San Francisco.”

I knew that airplanes could go all the way to America in only a few days but was still surprised that she could be so far away so quickly. I was both relieved and sad that Edward had left China, but I knew that was the only safe option for him.

“But you must not tell anyone about this.”

“Trust me, Emily, I can keep a secret.”

She sighed. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter now that we’re back here to where we belong.” She paused to inhale deeply, then said, “The kidnappers were gangsters!”

“Oh, heaven!” I exclaimed, though this was no surprise.

“They bargained with the Americans to recall General Miller in exchange for not harming him.”

“And the general agreed?”

“We don’t believe they would dare to harm General Miller, but we can’t take a chance either.”

“I’m so sorry to hear this, Emily. Can I talk to him—”

I was cut off by the governess. “General Miller asked me to tell you how sorry he is that things turned out this way. His new assignment is in Egypt, so he won’t be back to Shanghai. I’m sorry.”

“Me too, Emily, but I understand.”

I was sorry, of course, but I thought that it solved one problem for me—how to get rid of Edward when I found Jinying.

But my relief was short-lived. Despite myself, I could not stop the image of Edward from making my mind revolve as memories of our brief affair came and went like a lantern on a merry-go-round.

The following days, I lost my appetite and could hardly sleep. Maybe this was my fate: That I had to suffer the loss of all the men who truly loved me. However, I felt some comfort that at least Edward had not been tortured and killed as I’d feared. But I was sadder than I’d expected to realize that we’d never see each other again in this life.

Then I thought of Rainbow Chang. Now that the ambassador was out of Shanghai, she needn’t worry that anyone would try to clean up the city’s gambling business. I decided to call her to tell her that Edward was gone and also see if she had any more useful information.

But what the gossip columnist said surprised me. “Ha-ha! Camilla, sorry, but you’re wrong. I heard something very different.”

“What is it?” Of course I didn’t tell her that I’d got my news directly from Miller’s governess.

Rainbow’s seductive alto voice went on. “The ambassador did go back to America . . .” She paused, then lowered her voice. “But as a corpse.”

“What?! Where did you hear this?”

“Sorry, I can’t tell you. Ha-ha!” She laughed again. “Everyone knows my pen can determine their fate, so they tell me anything I want.”

Even if it’s not true. If it’s bad, you believe it. And you make up the rest,
I thought, but didn’t dare to say.

“How did he . . . ?” The word
die
just refused to step out from my mouth.

“The gangs did not plan to kill him, just a warning to the Americans that they better not mess with the Chinese. They know that if Miller were to succeed with gambling, he’d go after other businesses, too—whores, smuggling, loans . . . anything he can stick his big, itchy nose in.

“After they snatched him, the foreign ghost struggled so hard and screamed so loud that one of the gangs lost his temper and strangled him. Then they decided to quickly bury him under the Maple Bridge where their car was passing.

“Then, after the gangsters threw the last shovelful down the freshly dug hole, they heard muffled sounds from below. They turned and ran, terrified it was the foreign ghost’s ghost—funny, isn’t it? But then one of the gangsters asked, what if the general was still alive? What if he could dig his way out?

“However, no one dared to shovel away the mud, so finally one of them fired his gun into the grave to make sure that what they had buried had really become a ghost. . . .”

I pressed, my voice urgent. “Then what happened?! Did Miller . . .”

She went on excitedly. “Just then a bright light flashed across the dark sky.” Rainbow paused, for suspense, I supposed. “You know what that means?”

“No, Rainbow, just tell me.”

“When a great, virtuous person, like Buddha or Confucius, appears in the world, his birth and death are announced by unusual signs in the sky. So now the gangsters realized that the general was someone they shouldn’t have killed. They fear his ghost will come back to exact his bloody revenge. You know, like General Guan, by chopping them in half. Ha, ha, ha!”

When she finished enjoying her own imaginary revenge, I asked, “Rainbow, did you just make this all up?”

“Of course not.”

“Then how come you didn’t write it in your column?”

“Have you noticed that most newspapers are mum and vague about this? So why should I? Besides, I profit from his death anyway.”

“An ambassador’s death is big news. Why wasn’t it in the newspapers?”

“Let me tell you, Camilla, because none of the other foreigners are sorry to be rid of Edward Miller.”

“But why?”

“Because of him, they stopped getting ‘lucky money’ from the Chinese, that’s why. So even his close colleagues are happy that he went back home, I mean his eternal home.”

I was tempted to call Emily again to find out if Edward was alive but decided to leave the matter alone. I could not risk becoming further entangled. Emily was honest and Rainbow was a liar. But just in case it was Rainbow who was telling the truth, I decided to burn offerings and say a prayer for Edward, wherever he was, this world or the next.

Either way, I knew my affair with him was over and there was no possibility that we would see each other again. Worse, here in the city, the dangers that I faced had only increased. If the gangsters could send an ambassador to heaven, they sure could send a singer to hell. I was surprised that I had not been found by the gangs or the police. Of course, it could be that besides Rainbow Chang, no one knew I was back. Except that she could tip them off at any moment.

Though I had served Big Brother Wang, I was well aware that a spy is like a
yehu,
a “chamber pot”: When the master needs to pee, it is needed right away; but when he doesn’t, the pot is but a stinking eyesore. So I, once the most talented and beautiful singer, after I’d served my purpose, was but a stinking chamber pot! Or, as the Chinese say, “After the rabbits are caught, the hounds are cooked.”

I had served my purpose. So now that his rival Flying Dragons gang was disintegrating because of my doing, I had caught my rabbit. Maybe the reason Wang hadn’t tracked me down and killed me was because he had been too busy taking over all Lung’s evil businesses—gambling, opium, prostitution, loan sharking, and probably others I did not want to think about.

I feared I was running out of options. My little Jinjin had been adopted, his father Jinying had left Shanghai to look for me, and Gao was on the run, nowhere to be found. Shanghai didn’t seem like the right place for me to be right now.

Maybe I should go back to Hong Kong, to stay in relative safety while I thought things through. But I decided before I left I would go to the orphanage to keep my promise to see the little blind girl, this time to say my last good-bye.

So a few days later, I returned to the Compassionate Grace Orphanage. I walked past the receptionist, a bored-looking middle-aged woman who was absorbed in her newspaper. Once past her, I dashed up to the third floor where the older children lived. I peeked into each room. A few orphan girls stared back at me with sad eyes, their hands busy stitching some animal toys that they’d never have the chance to play with or dote on.

I asked no one in particular, “Little sisters, anyone of you know where Peiling is?”

One tilted her head toward the window.

“Thank you.”

Yes, maybe the blind girl was in her “secret” garden practicing her singing. So I hurried down the back stairs and out into the yard, which was still overgrown with weeds emitting an unpleasant stench. I looked around but didn’t see anyone. Then I heard talking, followed the sound, and found Peiling sitting behind a huge rock.

To my surprise, she was not alone, but talking to a baby. I hurried to her side.

“Peiling, you’re not singing today?”

She raised her head and looked toward me with her cloudy eyes. “Big Sister! I thought you’d never come back, I’m so happy!”

“I’m happy to see you too.” Then I sat next to her. “Who is this?”

Peiling had a stunned expression. “You don’t remember? He’s Baobao, my little treasure!”

In order not to hurt a blind girl’s feelings, I replied, “Of course I remember. How old is Baobao?”

“I don’t know exactly. No one will tell me anything. How old do you think he is?”

“Six or seven months maybe.”

I studied the baby and he gave me what seemed the sweetest smile I’d ever seen. I mussed his full head of black, curly hair. “Little baby, how are you?”

He giggled and reached his chubby arms out to me. I felt surprised and touched by this babyish move. Peiling let me hold him. He kept giggling and rubbing his round head against my chest.

Peiling asked, her eyes darting around. “Baobao, are you troubling Big Sister?”

Of course the baby didn’t respond, so I did for him. “No trouble, Little Sister.”

Peiling suddenly asked, “Miss Camilla, can you sing us a song? I’m sure Baobao would love your singing.”

I felt a jolt. “Peiling! I told you I’m not Camilla, but just a fan. My name is Jasmine Chen, please remember. Just call me Big Sister.”

“Yes, of course, you’re Jasmine Chen, Big Sister. So, now can you sing me and Baobao a song?”

A strong and demanding little girl!

With everything on my mind, I wasn’t in the mood for singing. But since this would be the last time I saw her and her Baobao, I agreed.

As I was about to put down the baby, he had fallen asleep in my arms, his saliva making a dark stain on my blouse, Peiling reached her hand to take Baobao and placed him in her lap.

“Which song would you like to hear?” I asked.

“ ‘Looking for You.’ ”

As usual, I imagined that I was staring at the Huangpu River and waiting for the morning sun to rise.

Though this is a romantic love song, it did suit my present situation looking for Jinjin and Jinying.

Peiling smiled happily. “Big Sister, your singing is so beautiful!”

“Thank you, Peiling. If you practice hard, someday maybe you’ll sing like me.”

“You think so?”

Just then Baobao woke up crying.

Peiling said, “Can you hold him for a while? Baobao’s hungry, let me get him something to eat,” she said, then walked away.