“Ah! Procedures! Python follows those procedures only if he is dead-bored tracing the bootlegged gasoline. Or if he has a whole chicken inside and feels sleepy, as any self-respecting reptile. But if he is hungry and aggressive, he doesn't give shit about the procedures. Cold-blooded reptilian indifference to the Police brass, instructions, and data security, all together! Remember the Sheldon Butcher case?”
“Rumors were that he hacked his way into some Pentagon database.”
“An epic win! In comparison to the freaking Pentagon, the breach this time is not a big deal. I was the one who reported the incident first place, right? If I had two legs, I would be at the crime scene with everybody else and see everything with my own eyes. You'd better look at the screen.”
“Well, I am looking.”
“Is it any different from what you've seen yesterday?”
“No.”
“And if you look closer?”
“Do you take me for an idiot? Besides, there were another one and a half police officers at the scene. I am assuming each trainee for twenty-five percent of a whole policeman. Then the room was checked by Tom. He is a top-notch professional.”
“No offense, Mister Coyote. I just want to make my point very clear. Let me continue.”
“I'm listening.”
“I called Tan at the Beat and forwarded him the same photo.”
“Oh! I completely forgot about our birthday boy. How did he do today?”
“He was fine. Completed a high-profile case of his own. A sow theft at the Vietnamerican Patch.”
“A theft of what?”
“Take it easy. The case is closed. No theft, just a fugitive. After some tough negotiations, the swine decided to return into captivity. Never mind. So I asked Tan the same question: is the photo any different from what you've seen yesterday?”
“And he?”
“He said the same as you: no.”
“It's hardly surprising.”
“So I asked: what about the blood at the floor?”
“Who can see these on a telephone screen?”
“Yeah, he said the same. But I insisted that we looked closer.”
“Well?”
“So he looked some more and said: Kate, you know, on the photo, I see that Chinese scroll. Like a Chinese Calligraphy thing: a proverb, a Confucius saying, or something. I am not sure, but I think when I came to the shack, there was no scroll.”
“Wait, pass me the phone,” I look at the screen once again, “This scroll you are talking about. When Victor and I came to the shack, the scroll was just like on the photo. But today – I don't remember I've seen that thing on the wall!”
“One hundred percent sure the calligraphy has not been on the wall. I haven't endured Woxman's generous five-bucks donation for nothing! Now, try to remember carefully, dear, it's very important. From the wheelchair I can't see the whole room, right? On the floor, on the bed, on the shelves… Perhaps, this scroll is still lying somewhere in the shack?”
“Now I remember clearly. The Chinese scroll was not in the shack today. Sure! The room is not that large. But how did you know that there must be this scroll first place?”
“Please play by the rules. You must say: but how did you know, Holmes?”
“Oh, stop it! Just explain.”
“And here comes my second witness. The second witness! You, my dear Watson!”
“I?”
“You and Victor. You run to the Patch-Five in great hurry. All the way, Victor's sure his father is stubbed to death. You open the door, and: bang! Victor suddenly changes his mind. As if there are fire letters hanging in the air. Victor Chen! Keep your mouth shut! Now, presumably somebody wants to write these fire letters in such way that his Mandarin-literate addressee understands them for sure, but a Korean police officer has no clue. What language should this person use? Arabic? English? Korean?”
“There is a leap of faith, Holmes. You automatically presume that the policeman can't read Mandarin. We have plenty of Chinamericans in the Police Force.”
“One. The fact that you and Tan are both Koreamerican – is common knowledge in the GRS. On the West side, everybody even knows that the Beat clerk is not an Amerasian. Yesterday, two 'Fill scavengers called me by name and offered me a ride. Two. The Chinese wisdom, especially if written in Chinese characters, allows for free translation. No need to write: keep your mouth shut! For a smart addressee, you could write something far less obvious.”
“I'm sure you have already translated the scroll. Did you use the Internet?”
“Much simpler! If your cell phone does not have Chinese installed, how to enter the Chinese characters? And even if you get yourself a Chinese keyboard, I am not that proficient… To make the story short, at the market I found two Chinese dudes and asked them to translate the scroll for me. The first said: ‘Careless words bite like poisonous snakes’.”
“And the second?”
“The second translation was not as poetic. ‘Wrong words get relatives killed.’ But instead of ‘killed’ there could be also ‘destroyed’ or ‘poisoned’. Mandarin is not like Korean or Japanese. In Korean, you have a fifty-fifty mix of phonetic symbols and abstract sino-characters, so the specific meaning is usually more straight-forward.”
“Hey, look who is teaching me Korean! But your version is very nice. Let me summarize. After Tan leaves to call you from China-Three, someone hangs this scroll. At the same time, he or she wipes the blood from the floor. I've paid no attention to the scroll. After all, the Chinese hieroglyphs are too different from Korean. But Victor Chen reads the scroll, understands it correctly, and demands himself the Fifth Amendment.”
“Right! By the way, did he ask for the Fifth?”
“Woxman told me so. Victor even refused the free attorney.”
“Perfect. It all fits in with my deduction. The person who hung the scroll. He or she is either an ethnic Chinese or knows Mandarin as a second-native language. He must be an enthusiast of Chinese Calligraphy, because he decided to use the Chinese proverb as a method of clandestine communication, very clever indeed. He is presumably from the GRS, because he knows that the local policemen are not very strong in Mandarin. Finally, he is well-acquainted with Victor Chan.”
“How is the last one?”
“If you are not sure whether your recipient can not only read, but also correctly understand the Chinese proverb, why take the risk and hang the scroll? And most importantly, this person must live somewhere in the vicinity, very close indeed.”
“To have time to run home and write the scroll?”
“Even if he was not trained in calligraphic writing himself, he could have the scroll with the fitting proverb in his home collection. And if he had to write it from scratch, he also must run home. We are not in ancient China, and the calligraphers don't wander the streets with ink and brushes. Even more to it. Our calligrapher must have the key for the Chen's shack. So, our man is an immediate neighbor, a relative, or a very close friend. Who else would you trust the key from your house?”
“Do you think this man came at night and searched for something hidden in the books?”
“He scattered the books, but he didn't search.”
“Why?”
“He just wanted his scroll back. He knew that one police officer was at the scene before the scroll was placed at the wall. If you just take one thing, it will be obvious. So, he must make a big mess. Breaking stools and crashing plates were not an option – the neighbors could hear. So he scattered the books.”
“But why did he want his scroll back? If not for our Sherlock- -on-skate, Tan would not remember a thing!”
“I don't know why he wanted the scroll. I have no telepathic abilities, despite I'm so full with… What's the name again? Coypu? Most likely, our calligrapher is afraid that somebody may see the scroll later. Let say, someone from the Calligraphy Club. Imagine that some old Chinese man comes to you and says: do you know, Deputy? That scroll in Chen's shack! It looks like Mister Lee wrote it! Only him draws this hieroglyph in such graceful stroke. And so you think to yourself: should I go to the China-Five and talk to Mister Lee one more time?”