"That's just it, Chief," Jiang Guanghan chimed in. "Besides, he's just a missing villager, and a local scoundrel at that. From what we've gathered, there's no corpse and no aggrieved family filing a complaint. Since when has the police station turned into Bao Zheng, champion of the common folk?"
"Watch your mouth!" Zhang Minquan glared at him.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I've turned it over and over in my head, and that gunfire last night was far from ordinary."
Taking the cigarette Jiang Guanghan offered, Zhang Minquan lit it and drew a deep breath. "Right now, we don't have a single lead on Japanese spies. Hunting them down is like searching for a needle in the ocean."
He looked at both men. "We can't afford to overlook any suspicious point or any lead that warrants our attention."
"Getting to the bottom of it is simple enough," Zhao Ding suggested. "Chief, we can just go question Chen Xiuqi directly. With the Secret Service doing the asking, I doubt he'd dare hide anything."
"Did you find out where Chen Xiuqi is right now?" Jiang Guanghan asked at once.
***
Chen Xiuqi was currently enjoying roast duck.
After handing the prisoners and the radio over to the Capital Police Department's Special Operations Branch and receiving verbal praise from Jiang Xingzhi, head of Team Three, Chen Xiuqi had been thrilled.
He had promptly reported his intention and, upon receiving permission, took his men to a restaurant to treat their stomachs to a fine meal. He looked thoroughly content, having accomplished the very purpose of his trip.
"Chen Xiuqi is a smart man," Jiang Wendao said, flicking his cigarette ash with a smile. "A man from the Danyang Police Station who didn't report a matter this huge to Danyang, but came straight to Nanjing instead. Even taking his connection to Qiming into account, the move itself proves he had no other options or way out."
He turned to his brother-in-law. "I tested him. He knows his boundaries—knows what he can take and what he shouldn't covet."
Jiang Xingzhi was still carefully examining the radio transmitter, clicking his tongue in admiration. "It's magnificent. An absolute beauty."
Capturing Japanese spies was a great achievement.
Recovering an enemy radio transmitter, however, was an even greater prize than bagging the agents.
"What a pity," Jiang Xingzhi sighed. "I asked Chen Xiuqi. They searched that Ji Mingshuo's place from top to bottom, but they couldn't turn up a codebook."
He let out another sigh. "If we could recover a Japanese codebook, the credit would be so enormous we could strut right up to Dai Peilin and tell him his entire Secret Service is full of blithering idiots."
*My damn, punch-worthy idiot of a brother-in-law!* Jiang Wendao was terrified. He wanted nothing more than to leap up and clamp his hand over Jiang Xingzhi's mouth. *You captured two Japanese spies and seized a radio transmitter, and already you're this arrogant?*
If word of this got out, they wouldn't even need Dai Peilin to lift a finger against them; they would have to drop to their knees and beg for mercy just to keep their families from being destroyed.
"Xiao Liu, you damn fool!" Jiang Wendao snapped, his face livid. "Shut your mouth! That loose tongue of yours is asking for trouble. If you want to get yourself killed, do it alone—don't drag your sister and me down with you!"
"Relax, Brother-in-Law," Jiang Xingzhi said. "I'm no fool. I'd only ever say that in front of you."
Beaming, he added, "Brother-in-law, that Fang Jibai really is a heaven-sent talent for you. Wonderful, simply wonderful! I was just sitting in my office, and this massive credit dropped smack into my lap!"
"At least you remember most of the credit belongs to Fang Qiming," Jiang Wendao retorted crossly.
He glared at his wife's brother. As an officer in the Special Operations Branch, the young man was capable enough when handling official duties. But set work aside, and that mouth of his truly needed to be sewn shut.
Was 'heaven-sent talent' the kind of phrase one tossed around lightly?
"Don't worry, Brother-in-Law," Jiang Xingzhi assured him. "A capable man who's on our side? I know how to handle it. I'll make sure he's well looked after, and whatever credit is due to him will be his."
He gave a faint smile. "All I need is that one line: 'Carried out under the comprehensive direction of Team Leader Jiang Xingzhi of Team Three, Special Operations Branch, Capital Police Department.' With that, I'm satisfied."
Jiang Wendao glanced at him and nodded slightly. If the boy had chosen to erase Fang Qiming's contribution entirely and hog all the glory, Jiang Wendao wouldn't have said anything openly, but he would have kept his guard up against his brother-in-law from then on.
It wasn't merely because the merit belonged to Fang Jibai. Usurping credit was common practice within the Party-State, nothing out of the ordinary.
More importantly, Fang Jibai had saved Jiang Wendao's life. If his brother-in-law dared treat his savior like that today, he would dare stab his own brother-in-law in the back tomorrow.
"At least you have a conscience," Jiang Wendao sighed. "Setting aside that Qiming saved my life, he is a man of real ability. In times of national crisis like this, a person like him cannot and must not be buried. You understand?"
"I know, I know," Jiang Xingzhi replied with a smile, then sighed softly. "A national crisis... truly a national crisis."
"Aren't you going to keep an eye on things?" Jiang Wendao asked, frowning. His brother-in-law had left the prisoner interrogations entirely to his subordinates while he sat here sipping tea and obsessively inspecting the radio.
"I can't stand the sight of blood. All that mangled flesh—I'd rather not look," Jiang Xingzhi said, waving a hand. "A-Du is an expert at interrogation. Leaving it to him puts my mind at ease."
"They're your men; you know best." Jiang Wendao nodded. In matters of duty, his brother-in-law was indeed reliable.
***
A knock sounded at the door.
"Team Leader," A-Du called from outside.
"Enter."
"Did they talk?" Jiang Xingzhi's expression turned dead serious, with none of the playful flippancy he had shown while alone with his brother-in-law.
"Reporting, Team Leader." A-Du was one-eyed, wearing a black rubber eyepatch. His fierce, hideous features were enough to frighten small children to tears. "Feng the Third has confessed everything he could. After torture, we confirmed he has no further value."
"Did Ji Mingshuo talk?" Jiang Xingzhi pressed immediately.
"Ji Mingshuo is a tough bone. Even under heavy torture, he hasn't uttered a word. But Watanabe Yusuke broke," A-Du replied.
"Watanabe Yusuke?" Jiang Xingzhi's expression jolted. The moment a Japanese name came out, he knew a confession had been secured.
Jiang Wendao leaned forward as well, his eyes alight with excitement.
"Yes. The other prisoner confessed. He went by the alias Ji Gengliang, but his real name is Watanabe Yusuke," A-Du reported. "Watanabe Yusuke belongs to the Shanghai branch of Japan's Xuanhei Society."
"The Xuanhei Society?" Jiang Xingzhi frowned. "Those scumbags again."
"Did Watanabe Yusuke disclose Ji Mingshuo's identity?" Jiang Wendao asked at once.
"Right, does Watanabe know who Ji Mingshuo is?" Jiang Xingzhi chimed in. "Is Ji Mingshuo from the Xuanhei Society too?"
"Watanabe Yusuke confessed," A-Du said. "He stated that Ji Mingshuo is his superior and the leader of their cell. His alias is Ji Mingshuo, but his real name is Yamazaki Kazuya. He isn't from the Xuanhei Society at all—his true identity is an intelligence officer from the Japanese Naval Attaché's Office in Shanghai!"
*Crash!*
Jiang Xingzhi shot to his feet so violently that he knocked his chair over.
Ignoring the fallen chair, he hurried around the desk and asked excitedly, "Where's the confession?"
"Team Leader, the confession." A-Du offered the prepared transcript with both hands.
Jiang Xingzhi snatched it and read intently. His expression shifted repeatedly, his eyes flashing with wild excitement.
"This is a monumental feat!" He looked at Jiang Wendao and let out an awed breath. "Brother-in-law, Xiao Liu owes you a tremendous debt of gratitude this time!"
Chapter 26