Chapter 8: She Is Already a Corpse (Part 1)
I stared at Sullivan in disbelief. He seemed like a completely different person from the detective I knew.
Once Tiger Lin was gone, I whispered, "Officer Sullivan, what was all that—"
"An act," Sullivan said, stowing the pipe gun. "If I couldn't pull off a basic disguise, how would I ever get close to different kinds of criminals in the field?"
I felt a little sheepish. "I'm sorry for making trouble for you. I was supposed to hand over the gold, and instead you had to come rescue me."
"Finding stolen property and turning it in is basic civic duty. I should be thanking you—you've helped us uncover a case involving Monkey Drake. And I didn't bring the gold with me..." Sullivan said. "That evidence is too critical. Getting it out wasn't going to happen—leadership would never approve it."
"So you brought nothing?"
"Of course not. The people's police don't negotiate with criminals. We never compromise on our principles."
"I thought real cops went undercover like in the movies..."
"You watch too much TV. When they have one guy, we send ten. When they have ten, we send a hundred. We arrest them and raid their hideout—everything comes out in the investigation."
I nodded, enlightened, and sighed deeply. "I'm still grateful, Officer Sullivan. You came alone to save me—"
"Who said I came alone? Police operations require sufficient personnel at all times. The brass doesn't approve solo operations."
Sullivan waved toward the security booth at the scenic area. The door opened, and a stream of officers poured out.
I was dumbfounded.
Sullivan asked them: "Is the tail on Tiger Lin?"
"We've got him. Never expected we'd haul in Monkey Drake from this. We've been investigating him for ages—today he actually surfaced."
Sullivan put his hand on my shoulder and sighed. "Marcus Zhang, what exactly do you want? You keep trying to turn yourself in, then you take off running. You won't cooperate with the investigation, but you voluntarily hand over major evidence. You're a suspect in a homicide, and then you jump into a drainage ditch to save a drowning girl in front of me. You're making my job very difficult."
"Officer Sullivan, I didn't set that fire! I'm not running to escape punishment—I just want to prove my innocence!"
"Enough. Your little amateur detective game is over. From now on, you'll cooperate with the police investigation properly. We'll keep you safe. Get in the car."
With so many officers present, I had no chance of escaping. I reluctantly got in.
Sullivan personally handcuffed me, then turned to Officer Carter: "I'm taking the team to arrest Monkey Drake. You're in charge of the prisoner. He's cuffed and secured—don't let anything happen!"
Officer Carter said: "Captain Sullivan, I swear on my life, I will—"
"Stop. Don't make oaths. You'll live to be a hundred. Probably outlive me."
"Oh..."
I was forced into the passenger seat. Sullivan was genuinely worried I'd run—he put me in two sets of cuffs: one on my wrists, and one linking the cuffs to the door handle.
In this position, I could only face the door with my back to the driver. There was no way to escape.
Officer Carter got in, buckled my seatbelt, and started the engine. He mused: "Your heart's in the right place, man. When you saved that little girl, Captain Sullivan said we'd put in a good word for you. Honestly, turning yourself in is the best move right now. Good behavior will definitely count toward a reduced sentence."
"The problem is, I didn't commit arson!"
"We'll find the evidence. If you're innocent, we won't wrongfully convict you."
"Are you a judge?"
"I'm not a judge, but I'm a police officer!"
"We went to the police for help so many times. Did you solve our problems? We put our fate in your hands—what did we get in return?"
"Brother, I'm a detective, not in that department. And the stalled project situation is still being worked on..." He said, "Helping people isn't that simple. First of all, where's the money going to come from? Usually when a building project goes bad, it's because the cash flow broke down. You think it's just one developer? There are multiple companies and contractors involved. Some of them genuinely can't pay—even if you squeeze them dry, they can't conjure money out of thin air."
"I don't understand any of that. I just know our problem wasn't solved."
"Brother, it's being worked on. It's just complicated, with too many parties involved, so it takes time. They have to investigate every company, come up with solutions, sometimes it involves cross-provincial bank debt restructuring—"
"I don't want to hear excuses."
"See! This is why whenever people tell me detectives have it hard, I tell them the beat cops have it worse! You really think we don't want to help?"
I didn't answer. But in my mind, I recalled the image of Sullivan throwing himself into that drainage ditch, using his body as a barrier against the raging current to save a child he didn't even know.
I was in no position to judge. And I didn't want to.
Officer Carter kept talking as he drove, asking if I had anything to share that might help them investigate faster. So I told him everything I knew.
After hearing my account, he marveled: "A secret passage between two apartments? You may be a suspect, but you've been racking up the good deeds. You're clearly smart—how did you end up in this mess?"
"I made a choice that was supposed to give me a happy life, but someone else's mistake destroyed it."
"I won't ask about that again—don't want to hear more negativity and criticism. You mentioned a secret passage—take me to see it."
He made a call to check if more officers were available, then drove us to Yun Ting Lan Yuan.
When we arrived, another police car was already there with four officers waiting. Just as Sullivan said—police don't work alone. The more, the better.
I asked Officer Carter: "Why does every investigation involve so many people?"
He glanced at me. "When we joined the force, Captain Sullivan told us: police work means always having superior numbers. Never take unnecessary risks, because every officer is someone's child. Plus, the more officers on scene, the more it discourages crime."
"I don't get it."
"Think about it this way. If you were facing just me, you'd definitely try to escape. If you had a weapon, you might even use it—because from your perspective, your odds of getting away are pretty good."
"I'd never use a knife on you."
"Just as an example..." he said, "But if you're facing ten of us, you know there's no way out, so you're more likely to just surrender."
"I wouldn't surrender. I'd knock you down and run, just like before."
"It's an EXAMPLE, man! We're clearly not compatible!"
"Police officers believe in astrology now? Leading the charge on superstition?"
"I DON'T believe in astrology, I said it's an EXAMPLE! I'm done talking to you!"
When we entered the complex, residents stopped to stare.
Many pointed at me, and quite a few pulled out their phones.
Officer Carter said firmly: "No photographs!"
They ignored him and kept snapping away. I was starting to think people just had a reflexive need to do whatever they were told not to.
We took the elevator to the 15th floor.
Stepping out, we saw three people in the hallway.
Howard Li was still there, but he'd fallen asleep, leaning against the wall with a soft snore.
An elderly couple knelt by the fire pit, burning paper money—the same pair I'd seen before, Tai Sun's parents.
They weren't just burning paper money—they were also placing homemade regional snacks into the fire.
The old man noticed me and said, "You're here too, young man. We're burning some gifts for our benefactor, so he can enjoy them in the afterlife."
I asked, "Where's Tai Sun?"
"He's not back. Said he's on a business trip. We asked the benefactor's son, but he says he doesn't know anything about the construction company."
Howard Li, who'd been dozing, woke up at the sound of voices. When he saw me, he jolted to his feet and roared: "You bastard! You!"
He lunged at me, and the officers barely held him back.
He screamed: "Let me go! I want him to pay for my father's death with his life!"
"Police operation. Calm down."