Crimson Instinct

Time: 11:04 AM. Thirteen hours and twenty-six minutes left.

*Bai Li*

Qi Qiang gave me the information I needed, so I set out towards my destination with Liao Huifang.

I was ninety percent sure that I was right in what I had figured out. I just needed that last ten percent assurance.

I heard Liao Huifang say, "Yes, this is the address that Qiang gave."

I nodded. "Let's go."

She pressed the doorbell, and a few moments later, I heard someone opening the door.

"Yes?"

The voice was gentle and sounded that of an elderly woman.

"Hello. We are here to meet Mr. Gong. Is he at home?"

"Yes, he is. Who are you two?"

"Somebody who needs your help in finding a criminal."

"Criminal?" I heard her softly gasp, "How can my husband have anything to do with a criminal?"

I shook my head. "Not now. It's about something that happened years ago. We need confirmation."

"Mam, we really need your help," Liao Huifang urged, "Our friends are in danger, and only you can help us."

There was a short pause. "Alright. Come in."

Liao Huifang guided me inside, and we sat on a couch.

Then I heard slow and soft footsteps, which stopped a few meters before us. "Hello. My wife said that you wanted to meet me. However, I don't understand how I can help you with finding any criminal. I am or wasn't involved in any such incident in the past."

I said, "It's not an official crime. But something did happen in the past that perhaps you witnessed."

I sensed him sitting on the couch in front of us.

"I am not sure... what is this incident you are talking about?"

I asked, "You were the janitor of Imperial School in Dongcheng, right? Around fifteen to sixteen years back?"

Silence.

There was complete silence for a long time.

I heard a sharp gasp from Mrs. Gong.

"How do you know?" His voice sounded low and strained. There was a distinct fear that I caught from his voice. I could imagine how pale he must be looking now. And alert too.

"Trust us, Mr. Gong. We mean no harm. We want you to answer some questions."

"No. No! I-I don't know anything! Please leave."

I knew it. My instinct was right.

"Mr. Gong-"

"No, please go…" his voice was trembling, "I-I- don't have anything to say…"

"Bai Li…" Liao Huifang whispered, sounding in distress.

"Mr. Gong. You have a daughter, right? She is married and has a daughter of her own."

No answer.

"How old is your grand-daughter? Seven? Eight?"

Silence.

"Do you know that the criminal for whom we are here is behind the murder of an eight-year-old girl?"

"W-what?"

"Yes. It's the truth. A very harsh and sad one. That criminal not only killed a little girl but has snatched the happiness of hundreds of families by murdering their loved ones. That little girl and all those who died were innocent. They were just living their lives, without bothering anybody and maybe searching for happiness, love or friendship along the way, but what they got was a slow and painful death which they didn't deserve."

I said, "That little girl was your granddaughter's age, Mr. Gong. You should understand it better than anybody else what her family must be going through by losing their child and what must be done to give them justice."

The couple said nothing for a while.

"Tell me," he softly said, "What do you want to know?"

I faintly smiled. "Thank you. I know it's hard for you, but please don't worry about your safety. Until this is over, we will protect you."

"Okay."

"Will you tell me why you suddenly resigned from your janitor's job in the school?"

I heard some restless movement and shifting from his side.

"I-I couldn't stay there anymore."

"Were you threatened to leave?"

"No, no. I chose to leave by my choice."

"Why?"

"Because I saw something after which I didn't dare work in that school anymore."

I lowered my tone. "What was it?"

I heard Mr. Gong taking a deep breath.

"I was a janitor in Imperial School. My job was to keep the school premises clean and arrange everything back to order once all the children and staff left. I was also responsible for managing a small pet house that the school had. For a short period, I remember, one of the teachers had brought a rabbit to show to the children and play with him in their break times. I heard that the teacher brought it because she wanted the children to learn more about small animals and care for them."

He paused. I gave him the time he needed.

"O-one day when I was cleaning the play area, I came across the pet house where the rabbit was kept. But there was a child there too, who seemed to be playing with it. It wasn't break time, so I wondered what she was doing there. I thought she would play for some time and leave, so I turned to leave myself, but then I heard a small whimper."

I think I knew where this was going.

"I-I…took a closer look and saw that the girl was... stabbing the rabbit with a branch twig."

Liao Huifang gasped from my side.

"A-and the horrifying thing was that she was smiling and laughing as if she was enjoying it. The poor rabbit was in pain and tears, it was bleeding, but she kept pricking him with the twig as if it was a game. That smile on her face was so creepy...i-it still send shivers down my spine. She must be only eight or nine, and I was horrified to see such cruelty from her…"

I asked, "What did you do?"

"I... couldn't do anything for the time being. B-because she wasn't an ordinary child. So, I talked to that teacher who brought the rabbit. Even she was shocked to learn it, and she refused to believe me at first. But, when that rabbit died after a few days, she finally did. She came to me and said what took place. She was scared, just like me. I asked if we can talk to the principal about it, but she said not to utter a word to anybody, or we would lose our heads!"

"Why so?"

There was an uneasy silence that hung in the air.

"Mr. Gong. I know who you are talking about."

"Y-you do?" He sounded in disbelief.

I nodded. "I just want to hear it from a third person so that I am absolutely sure. Why did the teacher advise against taking any action?"

"Because the school principal knew the child's father. If we had said what we saw, then it would have reached the father's ears, and he wasn't someone to be messed with, especially ordinary people like me or that teacher. That's why I never dared to speak to that child because I was afraid she would babble it out to her father that I knew and perhaps he would have...h-hurt or threatened my family… to shut me up."

I heard his soft sobs.

"Who was that child who killed that rabbit?"

"She was...no...is the daughter of the most influential politician in Beijing... Zhang Chao's daughter, Zhang Ning."

He broke down in tears, and I heard his strained voice and gasps.

"I...I still feel guilty that I couldn't do anything. But I was scared for my family. Everybody knows how politicians have power, and they can do anything with it to hide their secrets. And this was his daughter. He wouldn't want the public to know his daughter's insanity at just nine years of age. I was scared of Zhang Ning too. She looked so crazy and sinister. She was abnormal. I thought that she would really kill me if I had confronted her. It is strange for an adult to be afraid of a child, isn't it? It doesn't make sense. But I was! I was terrified of her."

Mrs. Gong cried. "My husband even had so many dreams because of her. He couldn't sleep for months. He always dreamt that Zhang Ning stabbed him and killed him in dreams... those days were horrible…"

Liao Huifang softly asked, "What happened after that?"

"Nothing…The teacher convinced me not to say anything, and I was already scared out of my wits, so I agreed. We didn't want to mess with Zhang Chao. So, we carried on with our lives. But, I wasn't able to act normal. Whenever I saw Zhang Ning in school, I flinched in fear. I was paranoid. I felt they would come to know about it sooner or later. I couldn't live like that...it was torture. So, I resigned."

"And the teacher?"

"She resigned as well soon after I did. She came to visit me one last time and said she was moving to another city with her family. Once again, we promised that we won't say anything that happened to anybody."

We talked some more and left their home after reassuring them that they would be safe.

Liao Huifang exclaimed from my side. "This Zhang Ning is crazy! Gosh, she is insane!"

"She is, isn't she?"

A woman's voice spoke from behind us. We stopped.

But, I felt that voice familiar. I had heard it before.

I smiled. "About time you showed yourself...Zhang Xiulan or should I say..."

I turned. "...the barmaid from the Micro Pub."