As if reeling in a murky stream of consciousness, he thought of Kang’s video again. There was nothing the inspector could do – not until the situation got muddled up; only then an opportunity for him to catch fish in confusion.

He crushed the cigarette underfoot, pulled out the phone and called Zhao, still having a bit of a coughing fit.

‘I was thinking of calling you too, Chen. Are you coming down with a cold or something?’

‘No, it’s just because of the smog irritation. Don’t worry about it, Comrade Secretary Zhao.’

‘Well, first let me ask you a question about your last message,’ Zhao came straight to the point. ‘What do you mean by yourself being followed?’

‘The day after I talked to you in the hotel, I went to see Qiang, the head of the foreign liaison office in the Shanghai Writers’ Association. As your designated tourist guide, I needed suggestions about what a visitor may find interesting in the city – that’s what Qiang’s office usually does for visiting foreign writers. But about half an hour after our talk in the café that afternoon, he disappeared. And there’s still no trace or news whatsoever about him, even today. I cannot but wonder if his disappearance could have had something to do with my talk to him.’

‘Did you tell him I’m on vacation in Shanghai?’

‘No, he had heard of your visit to Shanghai through his own channels. He’s said to be a secret officer of Internal Security. But I talked to him only about the air quality at the local tourist attractions. It’s crucial for a fresh air vacation.’

‘Any other specific questions he asked of you?’

‘I remember he asked me whether you’re concerned with the air pollution, and with people’s complaining about it. He recommended me a new product called “Fresh Canadian Air”. It comes in an aluminum can made in Canada, which you may carry around and breathe in whenever and wherever needed. Usable for about one thousand inhales, but still quite expensive.’

What he was telling Zhao was mostly true. Like a lot of things in this world, however, whether something’s true or not really depends on the interpretation, and on the perspective one chooses.

‘Well, that can be something, I mean Qiang’s disappearance.’

‘I’m nobody, Comrade Secretary Zhao. I don’t see why they would have invited “somebody out for a cup of tea” simply because of a talk he had with me. For a more likely scenario, some people must have been suspicious of the investigation I’ve been doing for you, and detained Qiang at an unknown location for questioning.’

‘You’re being way too modest about yourself, Comrade Chief Inspector Chen, but it won’t hurt for you to be careful.’

That at least was not a downright no. The scenario proved not to be that unimaginable to Zhao. The inspector said nothing more, waiting for the theory to sink in.

‘Now what have you done with your report?’ Zhao changed the subject abruptly. ‘I need something with more solid details.’