Po Sir's Police Affairs: The Hunter

It was raining heavily the day Jiang Bo found Guo Jianshe's hometown in a township in Wuwei County.

The roads in the countryside were difficult to travel on; the muddy roads were softened by the rain, and the wheels kept slipping. Zhou Xiao drove, cursing under his breath, while Jiang Bo sat in the passenger seat, looking out the window at the gray sky and the endless rice paddies.

The navigation stopped in front of a village and said we had arrived at our destination.

Jiang Bo got out of the car, and the rain immediately soaked his shoulders. Before him was an ordinary village in southern Anhui, with white-walled, black-tiled houses scattered about, and wisps of smoke rising from the rooftops of a few houses. At the entrance of the village was a small shop, where an old man sat under the eaves smoking, watching the two unexpected guests.

Zhou Xiao went over to ask for directions, and the old man pointed into the village: "Guo Jianshe? He's long gone. His house collapsed; it's behind the roadside."

They followed the old man's directions into the village. High walls lined both sides of the village road, and occasionally they could see persimmon trees planted in the yards and clothes drying in the sun. When they reached the end of the village, they indeed saw an old house that was half collapsed, with mud walls and a black tile roof that had collapsed halfway, and the yard was overgrown with weeds.

Jiang Bo stood at the gate of the courtyard, looking at the pile of ruins.

This is Guo Jianshe's hometown. Thirty years ago, a man left from here to open a restaurant in Jiangcheng, where he would deceive women, get them pregnant, and then make them disappear. Twenty years ago, he died in prison and never returned.

Zhou Xiao was taking pictures nearby, while Jiang Bo walked into the courtyard alone. The rain hit his face, feeling icy cold. He stepped through the weeds to the door of the house, which was ajar; he pushed it open easily.

The room was dark and smelled musty and rat droppings. The main room was empty, with only a broken table and two crooked stools. Old newspapers were pasted on the walls, yellowed and curled at the edges, but the words "Jiangcheng Daily, 1995" could still be vaguely seen.

Jiang Bo stood in the center of the main room, looking around. Suddenly, he noticed a piece of newspaper on the wall that was a different color, as if it had been torn off and then pasted back on. He walked over and lifted the newspaper—revealing a photograph behind it.

The photo was tiny, about the size of a palm, tucked into a crack in the wall. Jiang Bo took it out and looked at it in the light from the doorway.

The photo shows three people: a young man, a young woman, and a girl who looks about two or three years old. The man, wearing a white polyester shirt, is tall and thin with narrow eyes—it's Guo Jianshe. The woman is very young, with two braids, wearing a floral blouse, and holding the girl. The girl has two small braids, wears a floral dress with a small figure embroidered on it.

A little person jogging at night.

Jiang Bo stared at the photo, rain dripping from the eaves and hitting his shoulders, but he didn't notice.

The woman in the photo wasn't Ah Zhen. He'd seen Ah Zhen's photos before; she was smiling happily, her eyes crinkling. This woman's features resembled Ah Zhen's somewhat, but she was more quiet, more introverted, and her lips were pursed, as if she were worried about something.

Who is she?

Was that girl the same girl who later died by the river?

Jiang Bo carefully placed the photos into an evidence bag and then looked around the room again. He found nothing else. He came out, and Zhou Xiao greeted him: "Jiang Bo, there's an old lady in the village who says she knows Guo Jianshe and would like to talk to us."

The old lady lived in a low house at the east end of the village, with firewood piled up at the door. She was over eighty years old and hard of hearing, so Zhou Xiao had to lean close to her ear to speak. But her eyesight was still good; she recognized the photo Jiang Bo took out at a glance.

"This is construction, this is construction of a wife."

Jiang Bo was taken aback: "Construction's wife?"

"Yes, that's his wife." The old lady pointed to the woman in the photo. "This girl is called Xiuying, from the next village. She's been married to Jianshe for several years. This daughter is their child, named Xiaoying."

Xiuying.

Jiang Bo's mind raced. Ma Xiuying, the woman who waited for Azhen in Jiangcheng for twenty-six years. Guo Jianshe's wife, also named Xiuying?

"What happened to Soo-young afterwards?"

The old woman sighed: "She's dead, she's been dead for many years. Jianshe went out to work, and she stayed in the village alone to take care of the children. When the children were three or four years old, she suddenly died. They said she died of illness, but everyone in the village says she couldn't think straight and took some medicine."

Jiang Bo gripped the photograph tightly.

"What about the child?"

"The child was taken away by Jianshe, who said he was going to Jiangcheng to find his mother." The old lady shook her head. "After that, there was no news. Later, Jianshe came back once, but he was alone and didn't see the child. When we asked him where the child was, he wouldn't say. After that, he never came back again."

Jiang Bo stood there, rain dripping from the eaves, pattering on the stone slabs at his feet.

Guo Jianshe had a wife and children. His wife died, and he took the children with him. Then he went to Jiangcheng, opened a restaurant, met Azhen, and got her pregnant.

What happened to that child afterward?

He remembered the letter: "Brother, I'm sorry to her. That child is mine, but I didn't dare to acknowledge her. Please take care of her for me and wait for me to come back."

Is the "she" Guo Jianshe is referring to Ah Zhen, or the daughter he took away?

Jiang Bo handed the photo to Zhou Xiao, lit a cigarette, and stood under the eaves smoking. His mind was a jumbled mess, but a thread was slowly emerging.

"Zhou Xiao," he said, "go back to Jiangcheng and find Ma Xiuying."

When Ma Xiuying opened the door and saw Jiang Bo, she was stunned for a moment.

"here we go again?"

Jiang Bo nodded and went inside. The house was still the same, spotless, with Ah Zhen's photo still displayed in the center of the living room. He sat down on the sofa, took out the photos, and placed them on the coffee table.

Do you know these people?

Ma Xiuying put on her reading glasses and looked down at the photo. She stared at it for a long time, and her hands began to tremble.

First picture: Guo Jianshe, Xiuying, and a little girl.

Second picture: A young woman holding a baby, standing by the river.

The third picture: The baby is a little older and is wearing a floral dress.

Ma Xiuying picked up the first photo, pointed at the young woman, and said in a trembling voice, "This is my sister."

Jiang Bo looked at her.

"My older sister, Ma Xiulan," Ma Xiuying said. "She was five years older than me, married Guo Jianshe, and had this child. Later—later she died."

Jiang Bo took out the letter and placed it in front of her.

After reading the letter, Ma Xiuying looked up, her eyes red-rimmed: "So, Ah Zhen is my sister's daughter? And that little girl is my niece?"

Jiang Bo nodded.

Ma Xiuying put down the letter, covered her face, her shoulders trembling, but she didn't cry out. After a long time, she lowered her hand, looked at Ah Zhen's photo, and murmured, "Ah Zhen, do you know how many people the person you love has harmed..."

"How did your sister die?"

Ma Xiuying shook her head: "I don't know. I was young then, and my family said she died of illness. But I didn't believe it. She was perfectly healthy, how could she suddenly die of illness? Later, I saw Guo Jianshe once and asked him how my sister died, but he wouldn't say and just turned and left."

Jiang Bo was silent for a moment, then asked, "Have you seen that child?"

"I saw him once," Ma Xiuying said. "When he was very young, Guo Jianshe brought him home and asked my mother to help take care of him for a few days. He had big eyes and was very well-behaved. Later, he took him away, and I never saw him again."

She looked up at Jiang Bo: "That child, is that the little girl by the river?"

Jiang Bo nodded.

Ma Xiuying lowered her head and remained silent for a long time. Then she stood up, walked to Ah Zhen's photo, reached out, and gently touched the smiling face in the photo.

"Ah Zhen, do you know that the child you gave birth to isn't actually yours alone? It's Xiulan's child, and also Guo Jianshe's. You two have both been deceived by him."

Jiang Bo stood up and walked to her side.

"Aunt Ma, I have another question. Where is your nephew—Xiulan's son—now?"

Ma Xiuying turned around, looked at Jiang Bo, and something flashed in her eyes.

How did you know that Sister Xiulan has a son?

Jiang Bo did not answer.

Ma Xiuying was silent for a moment, then said, "That child was a few years older than Azhen's daughter. After Xiulan died, Guo Jianshe took him away, saying he was going to his hometown to be raised by his grandmother. I haven't seen him since."

Do you know his name?

Ma Xiuying thought for a moment: "Call him Jianjun. Guo Jianjun."

It was already dark when Jiang Bo came out of Ma Xiuying's house. The rain had stopped, and there was a musty smell of earth in the air. Jiang Bo stood downstairs, lit a cigarette, and looked at the dark sky.

Guo Jianshe has a son. Guo Jianjun should be in his early thirties this year. Azhen's daughter, the little girl who died by the river in 1999, is his sister—his half-sister.

What about Ah Zhen's son? And whose child is that bricklayer?

Zhou Xiao whispered to Bo, "Brother Bo, if Guo Jianshe has two sons, one in the open and one in the shadows..."

Jiang Bo didn't speak. There was a tension running through his mind.

When Ah Zhen disappeared, she was seven months pregnant. The child she gave birth to was a girl. Who gave birth to the bricklayer? His son, Ma Xiulan—Guo Jianshe's first wife.

If the bricklayer is Guo Jianjun, then his mother is Ma Xiulan, and his father is Guo Jianshe. His sister is Azhen's daughter. Both of his mothers are dead.

He's in his early thirties and works as a bricklayer in Wuwei. His DNA doesn't match the Fang Min case. It doesn't match the Li Hongmei case either. So why is he in the Fang Min case investigation? Because he rented Ding Laosan's boat? Because he knows Chen Zhiming?

Jiang Bo stubbed out his cigarette and got into the car.

"Go to inaction."

Zhou Xiao was taken aback: "Now?"

"Now."

As the car drove out of Jiangcheng, Jiang Bo's phone rang. It was Liu Tong calling, her voice urgent: "Officer Bo, we've found the bricklayer. His name is Guo Jianjun, thirty-one years old, working on a construction site in Wuwei County. But—"

"But what?"

"He ran away," Liu Tong said. "This afternoon, someone called him, and then he disappeared from the construction site. His phone is also switched off."

Jiang Bo held his phone, watching the streetlights rushing past the car window.

Who called him?

Guo Deming? Ma Xiuying? Or someone else?

"Check that phone number."

"I checked, it's a public phone, in the ancient town of Jiuzi."

Jiuzi Ancient Town. Guo Deming's iron painting studio.

Jiang Bo hung up the phone and said to Zhou Xiao, "Turn around and head to Jiuzi Ancient Town."

The car turned a corner in the night, its tires screeching sharply on the wet road.