Killer Nights

Jiang Zhengkai walked into Sui Zhongyi’s hospital room.  Two police guards stood inside, while several other officers patrolled non-stop outside his room.  Even though the bulk of Sui Zhongyi’s crime family had been decimated at the Battle of the Warehouse, there were bound to be a few gangsters who’d made it out alive.  Who knew if one of the survivors might end up being the next “Bald Wolf?”

“Your recovery seems to be going well!” said Jiang Zhengkai as he looked at Sui Zhongyi, who had adjusted the hospital bed to a semi-sitting position.  JIang Zhengkai sat down on a chair next to the bed and asked, “So, are you in the mood to discuss a few things with me?”

“Go ahead,” said Sui Zhongyi as he glanced over.  His face looked pale white, completely devoid of color.  “You’re Officer Jiang, right? If you’ve got questions, just ask away.”

“Yes, I am Jiang Zhengkai,” he replied.  He studied Sui Zhongyi’s face for a while before he pursed his lips and smiled.  “Why don’t we start with Zhao Renchu?”

“Alright,” Sui Zhongyi nodded.  “Guess that means you’re not here to talk about the kidnapping or the drug trafficking, are you?”

“Very astute, Mr. Sui!” Jiang Zhengkai nodded in response.  “You’re definitely a very smart man. Hopefully, you’ll be smart enough to realize that your best course of action is to answer my questions honestly and completely.”

“Of course.”  Sui Zhongyi forced out a smile as he shook his head.  “I’m a dying man, and like you, I would like to find out what happened to my subordinate before I die.”  Just then, a surreptitious smile appeared on Sui Zhongyi’s face. “Why don’t we make a deal?”

“A deal?”  Jiang Zhengkai hesitated for a moment before coldly telling Sui Zhongyi, “Well, that all depends on whether your conditions warrant a deal.”

“Haha!  If you ever decide to quit the police force one day, I’m sure you’ll make one hell of a businessman.”  As Sui Zhongyi spoke, a look of cunning flashed across his eyes. “I want you to keep me updated on the progress of your case.  At the very least, I want to know who the killer is.”

“Well, that’s quite a reasonable request, if I do say so myself.”  A satisfied smile appeared at the corners of Jiang Zhengkai’s mouth.  “I accept your request, but you’re going to have to live long enough to see it through.”

“You underestimate your abilities, Officer Jiang.”  Sui Zhongyi wore a serene expression. “I don’t think you people will send me to the execution square before I’ve fully recovered, right?  After all, the government is all about human rights these days. I imagine you’ll want to do a full interrogation on me, perhaps even turn it into some kind of instructional material.  How does that saying go...? Ah yes, kill the chicken to scare the monkey!” Sui Zhongyi burst out laughing. “Haha, Officer Jiang! It’s not everyday you get to catch a fat chicken like me!”

“Hmph!”  Jiang Zhengkai had to try very hard to not laugh at what Sui Zhongyi’s little quip.  Amongst drug traffickers, there were quite a few kingpins who were like Sui Zhongyi, learned and witty.  Not all drug lords were the reckless and foul-mouthed stereotypes that people see on television. One does not get to become a major drug lord by being reckless, and believing such would be a gross underestimation of the abilities of these criminals.

“Alright, let’s get down to business,” continued Sui Zhongyi as he looked back at Jiang Zhengkai.  “I did send Zhao Renchu to the alley. Tang Xiaosheng and Guo Dinggang as well.” Here, Sui Zhongyi shifted his gaze to the wall across from him.  “I sent Zhao Renchu to the alley to find a woman named A-Xiu.”

“You were looking for A-Xiu?”  When Jiang Zhengkai saw that Sui Zhongyi didn’t have the inclination to continue, he asked again, “Why were you looking for A-Xiu?”

“For money.”  Sui Zhongyi smiled at Jiang Zhengkai.  “I’m not particularly fond of killing. I’m only interested in money.  When Sui Dequan was still alive, A-Xiu had helped him move a large amount of heroin, so I wanted to reach out to her to see if she would like to re-establish the ‘professional relationship’ she had with him.”  He stared at the wall for a second before continuing, “I deliberately sent Zhao Renchu because he had been her primary liaison during the Sui Dequan era. A-Xiu took delivery of all her drugs from Zhao Renchu, so the two already had a working relationship.”

“Are you saying A-Xiu didn’t take delivery of her drugs directly from Sui Dequan, that she got her drugs from Zhao Renchu?” asked Jiang Zhengkai.  He felt a bit surprised by what Sui Zhongyi had just told him. “Then why did A-Xiu go see Sui Dequan all the time?” he asked.

Sui Zhongyi raised his left hand and slowly twirled it in the air.  “Sui Dequan was a bit… how shall we say? Well, let’s just say he enjoyed the company of women, and A-Xiu was more than willing to oblige him.  That’s why A-Xiu would go see him regularly. In addition to cash, he would also compensate her with small quantities of heroin. A-Xiu was quite happy with the arrangement, since it meant she could make more money and have a way to conceal her true supplier.”

“I see!” Jiang Zhengkai nodded.  Even if Sui Zhongyi hadn’t been explicit in his description of Sui Dequan’s sexual proclivities, Jiang Zhengkai was already well aware that the former kingpin had liked to engage in S&M.  “How would A-Xiu and Zhao Renchu conduct their business?”

“Their business?” asked Sui Zhongyi as he glanced at Jiang Zhengkai.  “I’m afraid you’ll have to ask Zhao Renchu himself.” A self-deprecating smile then seemingly appeared on Sui Zhongyi’s face.  “You know, I just might be able to ask for you once I’ve crossed into the underworld, though I admit that getting the message back to you might be a bit of an issue.”

“You could communicate with me through my dreams,” Jiang Zhengkai retorted.  “If it was like you said, that Zhao Renchu was A-Xiu’s direct contact and the two had a good working relationship, then why didn’t he contact A-Xiu directly?  Why did he have to go through some other woman?”

“If I’m not mistaken, you were the one working the case after Sui Dequan’s death, correct?” Sui Zhongyi bantered with Jiang Zhengkai.  “Well, in that case, you’ve only yourself to blame. Who told you to go after our gang so hard? All of Sui Dequan’s underlings who’d escaped arrest had fled to other cities and provinces in the immediate aftermath.  Even I had to hide out for half a year before returning here.”

“So you’re saying Zhao Renchu lost contact with A-Xiu after he fled?” Jiang Zhengkai wanted to confirm.

“Yes,” Sui Zhongyi nodded.  “Zhao Renchu only returned here about a year ago.  At first, he was helping me take care of some business disputes in other parts of the country.  About half a year ago, when my brother Sui Zhongli returned, I decided to expand our business. As a result, I recalled Zhao Renchu and put him in charge of re-establishing contact with Sui Dequan’s network here.”

Seeing that Sui Zhongyi was very forthcoming in providing information on Zhao Renchu, Jiang Zhengkai decided to move on.  “Why did you send Tang Xiaosheng and Guo Dinggang to the alley after Zhao Renchu’s death?”

“Hehe, Officer Jiang, A-Xiu wasn’t Zhao Renchu’s only customer.  He didn’t have to report to me who he was going to meet with on a daily basis.  Yes, I sent him to the alley, but I wasn’t actually aware he had died there. Plus, it’s not like you gentlemen had the courtesy to call me so I could go pick up his remains.”  When Sui Zhongyi said that last sentence, his face flashed his signature grin once again, although it wasn’t entirely clear if the grin was meant to mock Jiang Zhengkai or himself.  “After Zhao Renchu died, I had originally thought he went missing. To be more precise, I thought he had been kidnapped by a rival dealer. After some investigation, I came to know that he had already gone to the alley and that he had most likely died there.  Later, I found out a woman who looked a lot like A-Xiu had shown up in the alley, so I sent Tang Xiaosheng there to investigate. Little did I know that he would end up dead alongside that woman. I then sent Guo Dinggang, but he didn’t come back either.”

“So you think the woman who died with Tang Xiaosheng wasn’t A-Xiu?” Jiang Zhengkai pressed him.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Sui Zhongyi shook his head.  “I have my doubts about that woman’s true identity. I’ve seen A-Xiu before, but according to the information in my possession, I had a feeling that the deceased woman was considerably younger than A-Xiu.  As for whether it really was A-Xiu or not, I can’t say for certain. After all, women these days like to get facelifts and botox injections in order to look young, so who knows whether A-Xiu had done so as well.”

Jiang Zhengkai thought what Sui Zhongyi had said made a lot of sense.  After all, A-Jiao had been able to fool him with just a pair of colored contacts.  “Who do you think is responsible for the death of Zhao Renchu and your other two men?” Jiang Zhengkai asked.

“Someone who has a beef with me!” Sui Zhongyi replied simply and confidently.