Profiler (Fang Mu Eastern Crimes Series Book 1) (33 page)

Shaking his head, Fang Mu leaned against the wall and smoked in silence. After a while, he looked back down at the entrance to the stairwell. It was black as a cave. Although there wasn't a sound coming from it, he was sure the cop was still there. After a moment of thinking, an idea occurred to him. He looked at his watch; it was 7:26 p.m. Tenth period was about to end. 

One of the classrooms nearby was lit up. He could faintly hear the sounds of a lecture underway inside.

Making up his mind, he went back into the study room and walked quickly over to Deng Linyue.

"Get your things," he said quietly.

She gave him a puzzled look.

"The police are following us," he said, smiling mysteriously. "Let's play a little joke on them."

Deng Linyue nodded excitedly. She hurriedly threw her things into her book bag, pulled on her jacket and then in a voice both nervous and eager, whispered to him, "What should we do?"

Fang Mu told her she should first sit back down, put her phone on vibration and keep cool. She nodded and did as he said.

A few minutes later, the bell rang to signal the end of class. Fang Mu silently counted to ten and then took Deng Linyue's arm. "Let's go."

The two of them walked quickly out of the study. The instant they were through the door, he glanced down to the end of the hall. Sure enough, the cop was standing outside the stairwell.

Fang Mu led Deng Linyue toward the class that had just let out. It had been held in a large classroom capable of seating nearly a hundred students. At that moment a huge crowd of them were swarming out the door and filling the hallway.

Fang Mu and Deng Linyue slipped into the throng. Just as they were passing by the classroom, they quickly walked inside.

As he led Deng Linyue to the back of the room, Fang Mu dialed her number on his cell phone.

When they reached the back of the room, Fang Mu cracked open the rear door and carefully glanced out into the hall where he could see the exiting students. As expected, the cop was caught up in the crowd of students, craning his neck and looking all around.

Deng Linyue nudged Fang Mu and held up her vibrating cell phone. "What should I do?" she whispered.

"Answer it and then don't hang up." He turned and saw that the crowd and policeman were heading toward the rear door of the building.

He looked back at Deng Linyue. "Go. Together we're too big of a target, so we need to split up. You head that way." He pointed in the direction opposite where the policeman was going. "Go to the first floor and then wait for my instructions."

"Okay." Shaking from excitement, she gripped her phone in one hand and headed down the hall.

Fang Mu then turned and walked quickly toward the policeman, who was constantly scanning the area ahead, completely unaware that his target was actually behind him. Carefully concealing himself behind a group of students, Fang Mu made sure to stay roughly 15 feet behind the cop at all times.

As he walked, the man took out his cell phone and made a call.

Fang Mu carefully drew closer and did his best to listen in.

"…I don't see them…" the cop said, unaware of Fang Mu. "What floor are you on…the sixth? I'll head to the back door… Exactly, you take the front… Fast as you can."

Just as he had thought. Fang Mu smiled, slowed down and then put the phone to his ear. "Where are you now?"

"First floor. You?" Deng Linyue was panting, but she still sounded nervous and excited over the phone.

"Get to the front door as fast as you can. You need to be out of the building before the police get here."

"Okay, and after that?"

Fang Mu thought for a moment and then said, "Head to the old bunker; we'll rendezvous there. Don't hang up."

By the time Fang Mu had followed the policeman down to the first floor, very few students were going in and out of the back door. The cop ran to the doorway, looked all around, and then headed back inside and sprinted to the reception office. He asked the woman on duty several questions, but she just shook her head in confusion. The cop then hustled back to the door and stood beside the entrance, staring closely at every student who passed.

Fang Mu hid in a corner, thought for a moment, and then whispered into the phone, "I'm going to hang up for now. I'll call you soon."

"Okay, be careful." Deng Linyue giggled.

Fang Mu dialed another number. A few seconds later, a frosty female voice sounded over the receiver: "Welcome to the
Jiangbin
City
University
telephone directory. Please dial the extension you wish to call now. For the operator, press zero."

Fang Mu pressed zero. A few seconds later, another woman's voice said:

"Hello, who would you like to reach?"

"What's the extension for the reception room at the rear of the
Education
Building
?"

"Two-five-eight-three."

Fang Mu dialed again. "Hi, is this the reception room? I'm from the special investigation team. I believe one of our officers is by your office... Yes, that's the one... Can you please give him the phone?" He watched as the woman on duty ran out of the reception room and waved at the policeman.

"Officer, there's a call for you," she said.

The policeman looked confused, but he still hurried after the woman.

Laughing to himself, Fang Mu hung up the phone and ran toward the door. After ducking under the reception room window, he slipped out of the building.

The old bunker was located in the northeast corner of
Jiangbin
City
University
. It had been accidental discovered by construction workers while they were expanding the campus. Experts were later hired to investigate the site, and they determined that it was a former Kuomintang underground prison. The place was divided into two floors made entirely from concrete. There were eight large prison cells on the top floor as well as an above ground entrance. On the bottom floor there were two huge cement pools. According to the experts, it had been used as a water dungeon.

Because it was a historical site, the school did not disturb it, and after the matter was discussed with city authorities, it was decided that the bunker would be left in its original state. Since neither side could agree who should be responsible for repairing the site, the matter was left unresolved. Now the bunker was mainly used to store old desks and chairs.

Panting, Fang Mu sprinted to the bunker. When he reached it he didn't see Deng Linyue anywhere. His heart fell, and he quickly dialed her number.

She picked up almost immediately. She was also breathing hard, and he could hear wind blowing in the background from her side of the phone.

"You got away?" she said.

"Yeah. Where are you?"

"I'm almost at the bunker. Are you already there?"

"Yeah," he said. "Why'd it take you so long to get here?"

She laughed. "Oh, I kept feeling like someone was following me, so I went through the supermarket and then the dining hall, and then I made two loops around the dormitories. I had to lose my tail! ...Okay, I see you now. I'm hanging up."

Fang Mu thought the image of Deng Linyue "losing her tail" was prettily amusing. As he put away his phone, he saw her skipping toward him.

In an instant she hopped right in front of him. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes shined amid the evening darkness.

"How exciting!" she said. "Just like an action movie."

Although she looked thrilled, Fang Mu actually felt a little nervous. He looked around. No one was around. Not far behind them stood the top of the old bunker. The structure was dark and quiet. It looked like some enormous, crouching beast that was ready to pounce at a moment's notice.

A cold breeze blew past. He couldn't help but shiver.

"Let's go. This place is too isolated."

"What? Are you scared?" She winked mischievously.

"You're not?"

"Nope, not as long as you're with me." Her voice was firm and yet warm.

He didn't say anything. His enthusiasm for risk-taking had passed and now he didn't know what to do with her.

Suddenly his phone rang. Answering it, he heard Tai Wei's worried voice sound in his ear.

"Fang Mu, where are you?"

Fang Mu's mouth fell open in surprise. "At school."

"What's your location? Is Deng Linyue with you?"

"Yeah, she is. Don't worry, we're both safe."

"Okay, but
where
exactly? I'll have someone come get you."

"Don't bother. I'll call you soon." Afraid that Tai Wei would yell at him, Fang Mu quickly hung up.

"Come on, we should head back," he said, taking Deng Linyue's arm. "Otherwise Tai Wei is really gonna let me have it."

As Fang Mu walked Deng Linyue back to her dorm, she seemed to emerge from her previous state of nervous excitement. She didn't say a word the whole way.

When they reached the dorm, she stopped and looked down, as if she was waiting for him to say something.

He stood there silently for a while, feeling the awkwardness. At last he managed to say, "You…should really head up to your dorm."

She sighed quietly, lifted her head and stared at him for several seconds. Finally, she said softly, "You're not going to give me a kiss before you go?"

He immediately flushed bright red. "Right here…? It's a little crowded, isn't it?"

At first she didn't reply; just gazed off into the distance. After a long time she spoke in a hushed manner. "Fang Mu, there's something I've been wanting to ask you."

"Yeah?"

"That night we…when we kissed, you were so emotional. Crying, in fact. Can you tell me why?"

When he didn't respond, she asked, "Was there someone you…once loved and were never able to forget?"

He turned his back to her, not wanting her to see his eyes fill with tears.

"Can you tell me?" she asked gently.

After a long moment, his trembling voice finally answered. She leaned closer to hear.

"There was once a girl I really loved," he admitted, "but I never told her how I felt...and then before I could, she died…"

She made a muted gasp, shaking her head. "My God. How did she die? Was she sick?"

"No." He closed his eyes and made an effort to summon all his fortitude. "She was murdered. The killer was one of my roommates."

"What? But…why?" She couldn't suppress her astonishment.

Fang Mu could no longer reply. He couldn't even stand upright. Crouching down, he buried his face in his hands, his shoulders twitching violently as the memories caught up with him again. He felt a small hand press tightly against back, and then Deng Linyue's arms wrapped around his shoulders. Her face closed in to his and he felt her hot tears fall on his neck.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked you. I know there's pain in your heart. I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Deng Linyue held him close, as if she was trying her best to ease his shaking, and in that moment, her comfort eased into him. 

She closed her eyes, absorbing his pain.
He needs my protection, too,
she thought,
as I need his.

Fang Mu held his phone away from his temple as he slowly climbed the stairs.   Tai Wei was shouting angrily on the other end of the line. Fang Mu didn't have to hold it close to his ear to hear what the cop was saying.

"…I'm telling you right now, you pull this again and I won't be so forgiving!" came Tai Wei's irate tone.

At this point Fang Mu already deeply regretted his rash behavior from before, so he understood how Tai Wei felt. If either he or Deng Linyue had been nabbed by the killer after they split up and left the
Education
Building
, the consequences would be too awful to contemplate.