Profiler (Fang Mu Eastern Crimes Series Book 1) (13 page)

"What? Oh, no. I'm fine."

Zou Tuanjie continued scrubbing his face a little longer, and then used fresh water to wash away all the cleanser. Afterwards he dried off his face and looked in the mirror for a long time. At last he smiled at his reflection, and then walked away, satisfied.

After watching this detailed face-washing process, Fang Mu thought for a moment, and then smiled into the mirror like Zou Tuanjie had just done.

Jeez
, he thought,
I'd look less ugly if I cried.

Still, it was better to smile.

He filled his washbasin with cold water and then dunked his head.

After all, there's more to life than just serial killers.

CHAPTER
10
The Five-Pointed Star

I
t was the night of June 30th, 2002, and in
Yokohama
,
Japan
,
Brazil
was playing
Germany
in the World Cup finals.

From the start of the World Cup, all of the little restaurants outside the
Jiangbin
City
University
campus gate had been showing the games. Since tonight was the finals, every single one was now overflowing with people.

Fang Mu and several of his classmates were eating at a Sichuan-style restaurant called Guang Yuan. On the table in front of them were a number of beer bottles, piles of peanut shells and edamame skins, and several plates of cheap fried food that had already been picked clean. This state of affairs was roughly replicated on all the other tables in the restaurant. Now all the customers were staring up at the 21-inch color TV hanging on the wall, while the owner stood behind the bar, obviously elated, his fingers flying over the calculator and punching the buttons like fireworks going off. The smug look on his face told everyone he wished there was a world Cup every month.

Du Yu, Zou Tuanjie, and Liu Jianjun had dragged Fang Mu along. Initially Fang Mu hadn't wanted to go, but after thinking about it he realized he didn't have anything else to do, and anyway it might be fun. However, he had one condition: no barbecue.

Naturally, the people at the restaurant were split into two groups. One supported
Brazil
, the other
Germany
. Fang Mu didn't really follow soccer, so aside from Ronaldo, he didn't know any of the other player's names. But seeing that Du Yu and the others were all rooting for
Brazil
, he decided that for the time being he might as well do the same.

Neither team was able to get much going on the field during the first half. On the face of things,
Brazil
had seemed a little passive, but
Germany
hadn't been able to score either, despite several good chances. At halftime, everyone in the bar began enthusiastically discussing the play up until then and loudly arguing over who would come out on top. A number of bets were made, with late-night snacks at stake, and it wasn't until the second half began that peoples' attention returned to the TV.

At first, Fang Mu had been rather bored. His first night as a soccer fan, and his team wasn't even playing well. But the crowd's excitement was contagious, and before long he found himself yelling along with everyone else.

After stealing the ball near
Germany
's goal, Ronaldo passed to Number 10 – "That's Rivaldo," said Du Yu – who then dribbled to the edge of the penalty box and took a long shot at goal. It was not a very powerful kick, and as Oliver Kahn, the German goalkeeper, grabbed the ball, he hardly looked concerned. Little did he expect, however, that a moment later the ball would pop out of his hands and back onto the field.

"You can't relax like that!" cried a tall, well-built young man at the next table. But before the words had even left his mouth, Ronaldo was on the ball like lightning, and without breaking stride he kicked it into the lower right-hand corner—goal!

Brazil
had taken the lead!

At once everyone cried out in surprise. Then a second later the restaurant erupted in a flurry of cheers and curses.

"Kahn was way too relaxed," said the tall guy at the next table, shaking his head. "When the ball is kicked low like that, you should use your body to press it to the ground. Otherwise it can easily slip out of your hands. He's being overconfident."

"What a professional analysis," said Zou Tuanjie with a smile.

"Come on, man, you're my hero; don't let me down." The tall guy was staring at the screen, his expression as upset as Kahn's.

"That's Qu Weiqiang from the physics department," whispered Liu Jianjun to Fang Mu. "He's the goalie for the school soccer team."

"Oh, no wonder."

Germany
now began going all out trying to score, but despite several near misses, they were unable to get the ball into the net. Then in minute 79, Rivaldo threaded a long, beautiful pass to Ronaldo at the top of the penalty box. Before anyone could stop him, Ronaldo turned and kicked it low and fast into the bottom right corner of the goal, making the score 2-0.
Brazil
's victory was now assured.

Germany
's fans swore ceaselessly.

Heaving a deep sigh, Qu Weiqiang said, "
Brazil
definitely analyzed Kahn's technique before the game. Those kinds of low shots are his biggest weakness."

Before long the World Cup was over and
Brazil
was the champion. As confetti rained from above, Rivaldo sprinted around the field, holding his country's flag aloft.

As the game ended, the assembled students were either raising their arms in the air and shouting happily or hanging their heads, paying and leaving.

In a loud voice, Qu Weiqiang called out: "Hey, boss, give me four more beers. I want them to go."

At this, the lovely, petite young woman who had been watching the game with him whispered, "Don't drink anymore. You've already had a lot tonight."

Qu Weiqiang's eyes went wide. "You're going to tell me what to do?" he yelled. "After a game this depressing I'm not allowed to have a little bit to drink?"

Pouting, the young woman said nothing.

For his part, Fang Mu hadn't really cared about who won. His only thought was getting to a bathroom. Having drunk way too much beer during the game, he felt as if he were about to burst.

So, after paying, he rushed out of the restaurant and back to the dorm, where he went straight into the bathroom and relieved himself.

Feeling much better, Fang Mu walked cheerfully back to his room. He was surprised to find Du Yu standing in the hallway and using a rag to vigorously wipe something off the door.

"What's the matter?" asked Fang Mu, shaking his hands dry. "What are you wiping off?"

"I don't know who drew this," said Du Yu, pointing at the door, "but it seems we have a practical joker around here."

Fang Mu looked up. Several marks still remained on the door, seemingly drawn with a big felt-tip marker. It was a total mess.

"What was it?"

"It looked like a five-pointed star," said Du Yu, frowning. "Jeez, who could be that bored?"

"A five-pointed star?" Fang Mu looked down either end of the corridor. None of the other doors had anything written on them.

"You haven't erased it yet?" asked Liu Jianjun, sticking his head out of the doorway opposite.

"Almost." Du Yu redoubled his efforts, and at last the marks disappeared.

"Man, that was some freaky stuff," said Liu Jianjun, grimacing. "Sort of like
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
."

Fang Mu laughed. "In that case I'll go draw a five-pointed star on every door in the corridor!"

In the middle of that night, Fang Mu suddenly awoke.

Something was rustling in the dorm room. He forced his eyes open and scanned the small area by the light of the moon.

His breath caught in his throat.

Someone was standing in front of his closed door.

Fang Mu wanted to reach under his pillow and grab the knife, but his body felt frozen and he couldn't move an inch. He wanted to open his mouth and yell for Du Yu to wake up, but the words seemed trapped inside his throat and he couldn't make a sound.

Cold sweat dripped down his forehead. He stared at the intruder, struggling with all his strength to react.

The person stood with his back to Fang Mu, seemingly unaware that he was awake. He was drawing something on the inside of the door.

Flames burst from its surface following the movements of his hand.

No.

Fang Mu felt himself begin to shake. A scorched odor filled his nostrils.

A five-pointed star burned on the door.

The intruder slowly turned. In the light of the flames, Fang Mu could see Wu Han's ruined face.

No…!

Suddenly a blinding white light shined in Fang Mu's eyes. Du Yu's voice sounded in his ears: "Fang Mu, Fang Mu. Are you okay?"

Fang Mu opened his eyes. He could vaguely see Du Yu standing over him, a worried look on his face.

"What happened? Did you have another nightmare?"

Fang Mu struggled to sit up. He pushed Du Yu away from him and looked at the door.

Besides their class schedules, it was bare.

He had been dreaming.

Drained, Fang Mu lay back on the bed. The sheet beneath him was damp with perspiration. He reached down and felt it. Cold sweat soaked the bed.

"You okay?" Du Yu asked, handing Fang Mu a towel.

"Thanks," said Fang Mu. "I'm fine. You should get back to sleep." He took the towel and wiped his face and neck.

Du Yu pulled the cord on the lamp and the room returned to quiet darkness.

But Fang Mu couldn't sleep.

It was obvious that this nightmare was completely different than the one he was used to.

A five-pointed star? What did it mean?

The five-pointed star was one of the earliest symbols of nature worship in the world. It was also one of the purest, most perfect geometric shapes. At first it represented the female sex; later it became a mark of paganism, and more recently it indicated warfare.

Does this mean someone's offering me a challenge?
Fang Mu thought about this and found it ridiculous.
Don't worry about it,
he told himself.
Didn't you just promise yourself that you'd be an ordinary person?

After that Fang Mu slept very deeply. If Du Yu hadn't woken him up for breakfast, he might have slept all day.

The two roommates walked leisurely to the dining hall, chatting all the while. Frequently, however, people would rush past them, and though at first Fang Mu took little notice of this, he soon realized that something was amiss. Everyone on campus seemed to be hurrying toward the same place: the track and field stadium.

"What's going on?" asked Du Yu, pulling aside a foreign language student.

"I'm not totally sure," the student said. "But I heard there's a dead body on the soccer field."

The track and field stadium was located at the northwest corner of campus. At its center was a regulation-size soccer field covered with artificial turf, a rarity at the time, surrounded by a synthetic track. When Fang Mu and Du Yu reached the stadium, over a dozen police cars were already parked outside, lights flashing. Walking inside, they saw at least a couple hundred people crowded around the northern goal. Frightened yet excited students packed the surrounding stands.

Before they had reached the front, Fang Mu spotted Liu Jianjun's tall frame squeezed into the crowd. He was up on his tiptoes and doing his best to see what was happening. Fang Mu walked over and, putting a hand on his shoulder, asked: "What's going on here?"

Liu Jianjun almost jumped with surprise. When he turned around and saw it was Fang Mu, he laughed and said, "Ah, so the master sleuth has arrived."

Ignoring him, Fang Mu stood on his tiptoes and looked toward the center of the crowd. "I heard someone died. Is that true?"

"Yeah, but I don't know who it was. There are too many people."

As those at the back jostled to see, several of the students in front of Fang Mu were almost knocked over. Turning around, they were about to complain when they saw Fang Mu. Much to his surprise, they spontaneously opened a path for him to get by, looks of awe on their faces.

Feeling a little embarrassed, Fang Mu was about to turn and leave when Du Yu and Liu Jianjun seized the opportunity and pushed him deeper into the crowd.