The conversation was arranged to take place in one of the reception rooms at the lockup where Ma Kai was awaiting trial. Although Tai Wei suggested that he be in the room as well, Fang Mu insisted on being alone with Ma Kai. Unable to dissuade him, Tai Wei had no choice but to agree.
At last, the big day arrived. As Tai Wei led Fang Mu into the reception room, he repeatedly warned him to be extremely careful. "This guy's been placed in solitary confinement. You know why? Because on the night he arrived, he attacked another prisoner, bit his neck and wouldn't let go. Keep that in mind while you're in here."
The reception room was empty except for a table and two chairs, all of them fixed to the floor. There were no windows and only a single iron door. Tai Wei pointed to a red button on the wall beside the door.
"We're going to be right outside. When you're done talking, just press this button and we'll come get you." He paused. "And if anything bad happens, you be sure to press it then as well. Understand?"
Fang Mu nodded.
Tai Wei looked him over. "You didn't bring any kind of weapon, did you?"
Fang Mu hesitated for a moment. Then he reached into his backpack, grabbed his dagger and handed it to Tai Wei.
"What did you bring this thing for?" Taking the dagger, Tai Wei looked at it and frowned. "I'm going to have to confiscate it for now; afterwards I'll give it back." Raising his index finger, he feigned a threatening expression. "Ordinarily, it's illegal to own a blade like this. You follow me?"
Fang Mu laughed but said nothing.
Tai Wei placed the dagger in his pocket. "Have a seat. I'll go get the prisoner."
A few minutes, Fang Mu heard shackles dragging along the floor.
Hobbling, Ma Kai was led into the room by Tai Wei and two guards. He kept his eyes on the floor the whole time. Bruises were visible on his newly shaved head. The guards placed him in the seat opposite Fang Mu. They were about shackle him to the chair when Fang Mu stopped them.
"Take off his shackles," he said.
"Absolutely not," said Tai Wei, his tone firm.
Fang Mu took Tai Wei aside. "He has to be completely relaxed for me to get what I need," he said in a low voice.
According to the available data, despite having lost his mother as a child, Ma Kai was a normal young man until the age of 26. After graduating high school he went straight to college, where the only blemish on his record was a single failed exam. Following his college graduation, he became a business manager at a small company, and although he rarely socialized, he displayed no sign of mental illness. He was even in a serious relationship, which ended for the normal reasons. In other words, if Ma Kai's ordinary, unexceptional life was really proceeding on the proper course until he turned 26, then something must have happened to him afterwards, something that changed him completely and ended the lives of four innocent people.
What Fang Mu wanted to know was also the chief question of the entire case: what happened to Ma Kai's mind in the past two years?
"Not a chance," said Tai Wei. "This guy is extremely dangerous, and I'm responsible for your safety."
"Nothing's going to happen. But on the outside chance something does, I'll just press the button."
Tai Wei gave Fang Mu a long look. Then he signaled to the guards that they could remove the prisoner's shackles. A moment later Tai Wei walked over to Ma Kai and stood directly in front of him.
"Behave yourself!" he snapped fiercely. "You hear me?"
Once Tai Wei and the two guards exited through the iron door, Fang Mu returned to his seat at the table. He opened his notebook and switched on his tape recorder.
"Your name is Ma Kai, yes? Hi, I'm from the behavioral science department at the city bureau." Fang Mu had been about to say he was from the local TV station, but at the last second decided to switch identities.
Ma Kai made no response; just continued to hang his head.
"Are you able to hear me?" asked Fang Mu, raising his voice. At the same time, he made sure his tone remained calm. "Ma Kai, please lift your head."
Very slowly, Ma Kai looked up.
Fang Mu held his breath.
My God, what kind of eyes are these? Under the too-bright incandescent lights overhead, Ma Kai's eyes looked ashen, as if there were no pupils, as if they were just a pair of tombs set in his face. They held not a shred of life.
A graveyard, deathly still and cloaked in mist. Bare branches swaying in the wind. Crumbling structures, vaguely discernible in the distance. In a flash, Fang Mu felt himself transported into a waking dream, one from which he could not escape. Faint sounds filled his ears: the mournful squawk of crows, the peal of the funeral bells.
Fang Mu and Ma Kai faced each other for several seconds. When at last Ma Kai dropped his head once more, Fang Mu let out a deep breath.
"The reason I've come today," said Fang Mu, doing his best to keep his voice calm, "is because I'm very interested in you. If you don't mind, I would like to speak with you about yourself and the things you've done."
Still Ma Kai said nothing. His hands were clasped between his legs and Fang Mu noticed that he was swaying back and forth-slightly, though with a definite rhythm.
He was trying to divert Fang Mu's attention.
An instinctive defense mechanism.
"You've been to college," said Fang Mu, "so perhaps you're aware that my opinion will not affect the verdict of your case." He now spoke very slowly. "But I can sense that inside you there is terrible pain. If you do not want this pain to torment you until the end of your life, if you want those who have misunderstood you to know the truth, then please, trust me. Tell me what happened."
Ma Kai seemed unmoved. But then several seconds later he again raised his head. "Many people believe I'm a homicidal monster, don't they?"
Fang Mu nodded.
Ma Kai smiled wanly and shook his head. "None of you understand. I didn't want to kill anyone."
"What do you mean by that?"
Ma Kai didn't respond. He just stared at the blank wall behind Fang Mu. Again his body began to rock.
Fang Mu thought for a moment. Then he grabbed a pack of cigarettes and offered one to Ma Kai. "Would you like to smoke?"
Ma Kai looked up. He stared at the cigarettes on the table before him. Then he slowly shook his head, a look of scorn flashing through his eyes.
Seemingly indifferent, Fang Mu lit one for himself and took several deep drags. A cloud of smoke soon filled the air between him and Ma Kai. He sensed that Ma Kai's eyes were following the rising smoke. At last they came to rest on the cigarette in Fang Mu's mouth.
Suddenly he blurted out: "Smoking is bad for your health."
Fang Mu immediately seized on this topic: "Oh, well, in that case, how do you feel about your health right now?"
Ma Kai stared at Fang Mu for several seconds. Finally he shook his head. "It's not good."
"In what way is it not good?"
The muscles in Ma Kai's face twitched. Then he looked away and his voice grew soft. "I have severe anemia."
"But the doctor already examined you and said your blood is completely normal."
"What do they know?" said Ma Kai, his voice rising abruptly. At once his body straightened up and he whipped his hands out from between his legs. "I know my own illness the best! My father died from blood sickness, my older brother, too, and as for me, sooner or later all the blood in my body will dry up, and I'll die like a crumbling, old mummy. I know it's true."
"You don't trust the doctor's diagnosis?"
"You're all liars. You all want me to die. You'd never help me. I pay you money, you give me blood! But suddenly they say it's not okay. What kind of logic is that? Why is it not okay? My father was lying on the hospital bed, his face growing paler and paler. I knew his blood was slowly drying up. Then they gave him a transfusion and he could walk, he could eat, he could talk with me. Why won't they give me a transfusion? They want me to die. That's why. I know it."