The Sketch Artist - Chapter 73-75

Chapter 73: Hazy

The next day, before Zhang Chi set out, he had the squad car mechanic go over all the cars and check for explosives. The culprit had shown his displeasure at being challenged, but Zhang Chi acted like he hadn’t noticed. In fact, he was not at ease at all.

He couldn’t tell the mechanic that the case had not yet been solved and that they had unexpectedly obtained a bloody severed finger the day before. HE didn’t like explaining things, plus he didn’t have time to explain. He had to save time for the road. That finger, or rather that piece of human tissue, was like a silent declaration to the criminal sketch artist, with a an air of burning one’s bridges about it. A surprise attack was hard to defend against. When he was out on the road, Zhang Chi would have to do his best to avoid his usual routes and would rather take the freeway and wait patiently. His life was secondary, but he couldn’t fall again until his mission was complete.

The higher-ups were constantly worried about the progress of the explosion case, and the investigators were kept busy out in the field every day. However, the dead ends far outnumbered the the details they were sure of. Zhang Chi seemed to have a lump in the pit of his stomach he couldn’t spit out or dissolve. As the road opened up he stepped on the gas and turned on the police siren and sped along.

This was the seventh day since Gu Zhichang had left them.

Zhang Chi sent his first sketch back to the bureau, then slowly headed back. For this composite sketch he had met with a particularly talkative boss. This was a double-edged sword as far as Zhang Chi was concerned. The boss might give a detailed description that was objective and accurate, or he might exaggerate and embellish and lead to a sketch that obscures the core features. Zhang Chi listened to him patiently and drew five sketches with his electronic stylus. It took him longer to draw his sketches because he was being overly cautious. During those two hours he momentarily forgot that the person emerging on his sketchboard might be Teacher’s murderer. HE took it as creating a piece of art and did his best to draw an accurate portrait.

Until finally the food stall owner cried out from beside him and clapped his hands. “That’s just like him. With that drawing let me congratulate you early in catching the murderer soon. I heard those two cops died tragically, and one of them was close to retirement. No wonder the house registration officer here told us it wasn’t easy being a cop these days, that being able to retire peacefully was a blessing. Now it seems he wasn’t exaggerating.”

Zhang Chi just then realized his sketchboard now contained the face of the man who murdered his teacher. When he called in to report to the police and heard them relaying the address, was he laughing to himself? When the cop car arrived in a hurry, was he happy as if his quarry had been caught in a snare? When he heard the explosion and saw Gu Zhichang fly out and the bloodbath left afterward, did he feel completely satisfied and stimulated? Those bastards!

One his way back he ran into weekend rush hour traffic. The roads were packed. Zhang Chi’s squad car was stuck in the middle of it all, not moving. He congratulated himself on sending his sketch back to the station right away. That way it could be disseminated quickly so they could look for the suspect before the deadline.

His phone rang. He pressed the button and heard Captain Liu’s urgent voice. “Little Zhang, Where are you?”

“Driving. In a traffic jam at the moment.”

“I see. Turn around. I’ll send you an address. You’re on the way. We found the suspect.”

This was really unexpected. Normally it would be a happy occasion for the sketch to be effective so quickly, but Captain Liu didn’t sound happy at all. Countless possibilities zoomed past Zhang Chi like a swarm of winged insects. Just what was going on?

Traffic going the other way was not crowded at all, and in about ten minutes Zhang Chi was back around food stall. The address Captain Liu had given him was a bit familiar. It was a small road parallel to the one near the explosion and the food stall. To be precise, it was at the boundary between the city and the outskirts at a lodging for outside laborers.

At the end of the road was a mountain of garbage. Scavengers took the foam, plastics, and cardboard boxes they had collected that day and tied them up in bundles with rope and set them there temporarily. Of course it was disorderly and stank, plus a few abandoned vans with flat tires filled with daily necessities set aside for later. Some people often used the vans as their personal storeroom.

Zhang Chi frowned and pulled over to the side and got out. He walked inside and saw Captain Liu’s anxious expression as the latter walked out of the deep recesses of the garbage pile with some difficulty. “Captain Liu, you were looking for me?”

“We found him. Go in and have a look.”

He had seen this kind of scene and heard that tone before. He took a deep breath and said lightly, “Alright.” He walked on in, his mind a blank. He wasn’t sure what he was going to see, but he was sure it was not going to be what he imagined.

After only a few steps he saw Chen Ting who was squatting down and standing up, holding his camera and snapping photos. Zhang Chi’s heard sank a bit.

Looked like the man he had sketched was no longer among the living.

“Who discovered the body?” Zhang Chi passed under the police tape and looked down at the twisted, somewhat funny-looking man. He looked like a discarded doll cast aside deep in this mountain of garbage.

A collection worker reported it. A local community cop received the sketch and went to the man’s home to find him. His family said they had not seen him since that morning and didn’t know where he had gone. The family was just here and identified the body. This is definitely the suspect.”

Zhang Chi felt a chill run up his back. First was the missing finger, then the corpse in broad daylight. These pernicious cases that had rarely been seen the last ten years where now occurring more and more frequently in this jurisdiction, and directly at their branch. What would they face next? Who was this hidden enemy targeting, or threatening? Or to put it another way, who was this person trying to eliminate?

If the target was either Gu Zhichang or Little Wu then the goal had already been achieved. If it was just for fear that a fellow member would talk or be identified by the sketch, then the cost of eliminating the proof and the degree of viciousness enacted against one’s one gang member was really too extreme. The question was, was there a third possibility?

He noticed the eyes of the corpse were slightly opened. The proud, straight posture of the food stall boss appeared before his eyes. “I received the assignment and told the locals, don’t fear. Our public security is taking this case very seriously. There’s a portrait sketch. I recognized the murderer right away, he can’t escape. Our safety is guaranteed.” Then he thought of what Instructor Fan had said to him. “They seemed to know all about the patterns of your work and your life, but aside from their most recent misdeeds they only ever mentioned you.”

Zhang Chi opened his notebook and unfolded the printout of the on-duty schedule and looked for the duty roster for the day the crime was committed. To his astonishment, his name was listed there. Gu Zhichang had taken his shift for him!

He suddenly felt his throat was dry. He heard his own voice leave his mouth mechanically. “I need to find his prison buddy right away.”

Chapter 74: Farewell

Gu Zhichang’s funeral was held at ten that morning. The team responsible for making the arrangements all set about their tasks in an orderly manner, some responsible for registration, some contacted the funeral parlor personnel, or led the guests to their seats or set things up in the viewing room Everyone peacefully and silently finished their part of the assignment.

Gu Shi was dressed in black, wrapping her originally not small and thin body as if concealing herself, standing pale-faced among the murmuring crowd in the main hall entrance greeting the her father’s friends as they arrived. But a few minutes later reinforcements arrived as Zhang Chi came up beside her. Seeing her respectfully greet everyone, neglecting no one, he pursed his lips and held back the tears that were ready to fall at any moment. He felt an unspeakable ache in his heart, bit all he could do was bring a chair over so she could sit and rest a bit in between guests.

Many more people came than they had expected. The leader of the city bureau came, the branch director came, the former district magistrate of the area came, evn some civilians Gu Zhichang had once helped came, bringing flowers, tears streaming down their faces. Zhang Chi knew Teacher didn’t care for extravagance. Only this last group of people were the ones he’d really care about, but everyone was a guest, and they couldn’t screen them or stop them from coming.

Just then a there was a rumble of whispers in the main hall as a group of travel-weary people arrived, asking directions. They were directed over to Gu Shi and Zhang Chi by the funeral personnel. They stated their names and it turned out they were a group of Gu Zhichang’s old police friends he had had contact with over the many times he had been away on assignment. They had drove in from other cities to pay their final respects to Gu Zhichang. Gu Shi said to them one after another, “Thank you, my father would be happy to know you came.” By the time she finished tears were streaming down her face.

The group entered with teary eyes. The city bureau leader, Director Zhang, and some others, put away their phones and came over and bent over and extended their hands in greeting, very deferentially toward a middle-aged man in a white shirt standing to one side of the room. Zhang Chi and Gu Shi looked and saw a person standing next to the white-shirted man who looked to be a secretary holding a black leather briefcase.

Director Zhang enthusiastically and sincerely paid his respects. “Minister Yao, did you have a smooth trip? Why didn’t you tell us you were coming personally? We should have picked you up at the airport.”

Minister Yao was not very tall and a little chubby, with a kind face. He nodded slowly, but his eyes were searching the crowd. “Two officers sacrificed themselves in the line of duty. You must implement the proper honors and remuneration.”

“Of course, of course.”

“It is said our public security team must focus on raising the sons and daughters of our officers and give them special treatment and arrange for them safe posts so there will be no more mishaps.”

Director Zhang nodded quickly. “Alright, we’ll look into researching a foster program and special treatment policies.”

“That criminal composite sketch artist was the apprentice of that fallen officer?”

“Yes, his name is Zhang Chi. He was discovered and developed by Old Gu.” Director Zhang spotted Zhang Chi and beckoned him over. Zhang Chi whispered a few words to Gu Shi and helped her sit down, then went over to them.

Minister Yao saw Gu Shi sitting down weakly. “Is that your teacher’s daughter?”

Zhang Chi nodded and looked at her anxiously, afraid she might faint before the farewell ceremony.

“You all go on inside, I want to speak with them for a moment.” Minister Yao signaled that Director Zhang did not have to accompany him.

Minister Yao said a few comforting words to Gu Shi, then said gravely and earnestly to Zhang Chi, “I know your teacher placed a lot of hope on you when he was still alive. You have a lot of room for development, a lot of opportunities, you’re fast, and that deserves a kind of reciprocation. What do you think?”

Zhang Chi knew what he was getting at. He said tactfully, “My teacher always gave me the freedom and authority to choose. I’m very grateful to him.”

“Now, I’m giving you the authority to make another choice. Next month, our Ministry of Public Security’s second bureau will establish a sketch investigation office. We would like to invite you to be the director. If you find joining investigations more interesting, you can choose the criminal investigation bureau’s technology department. The salary is the same. You don’t need to worry about living arrangements.” Minister Yao clapped him on the shoulder and had his secretary give Gu Shi a packet of money expressing his sympathy and solicitude, then he went into the assembly hall.

Gu Shi looked at Zhang Chi, who was silent, his expression complicated. They looked at each other for a while, then Zhang Chi said, “Don’t think about that now. It’s almost time, let’s go inside.”

The day after the funeral, despite everyone’s protests, Gu Shi insisted on resuming work. She didn’t want to continue wallowing in grief. Zhang Chi knew she was using her action to honor her father, feeling that as long as her body could take it, it would be best for her mental state. So he didn’t try to dissuade her.

At seven in the morning parked his car in front of her building and gave her the breakfast he had prepared for her, letting her sleep in a little and eat slowly in the car. Gu Shi was silent at first when she got in the car. Then she abruptly asked, “Have you thought about what Minister Yao said yesterday?”

His first impulse was to reject the minister’s proposal. But, then he thought about the current situation. If he stayed here, there would be no way to cover up his relationship with Gu Shi, which would make things more dangerous for her. And given her fearless personality, if he told her what was bothering him it would only add to the risk, and it would have no effect on her. He was still thinking how to respond when he heard her say, “If you want to go, I won’t stop you. But, have you forgotten your original decision?”

Zhang Chi smiled wryly to himself. His hesitation could not escape Gu Shi’s perceptive eyes. It was just that, the reason was probably not something she would ever be able to guess. The thought of that caused a solemn, stirring surge of righteousness within him. He didn’t bat an eyelid but started the car, not wanting to explain.

Gu Shi’s hand, which was about to open a carton of milk, hung in the air. She was silent for a minute or two, then said indifferently, “If you think this is none of my business that has nothing to do with me then just take it as me speaking out of turn.”

“You know I don’t think that.”

“Then you regret your original decision? All that not wanting to be an official, about not caring about fame or wealth is just bureaucratic jargon?” Her looked at him aggressively. “A lead post in the ministry is a chance that many people will never have as long as they live, especially for someone in your line of work, and to be appointed by the Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Public Security, your career prospects will be great. That’s even better.”

Every word she said stung him. So it turns out that in her mind he was just a worldly person who cared about money and went back on his word. There was a red light ahead. He stopped and stared at Gu Shi seriously. This sharp-tongued girl had stubbornness and tenacity written all over her face. She had turned toward the window on purpose, but her chest was heaving, clearly showing she was intensely emotional. If it was not for the sake of love, then for what?

They both knew that Gu Zhichang was not the excuse, that power and position was not the reason. Zhang Chi felt a lump in his throat right then, but he smiled, relieved. He made a false step in his heart, “You know I was always a carefree person. Ever since I had Teacher I had you. So, if I were to stay in this city for your sake you know I would do it willingly.”

Gu Shi could not hide the comfort she felt inside. She spun her head around and said, “Really? You won’t regret it? You won’t get an opportunity like this a third time. You really won’t resent me later?”

Zhang Chi pushed the uneasiness in his heart down and drove faster. He nodded slightly. “However, first you have to apologize for looking down on me just now.”

As he said this he stopped at the intersection nearest the station compound. Zhang Chi always stopped here for them to get out because their relationship was still not public.

“Yeah right.” And she briskly got out of the car. He smiled and watched her walk away. He didn’t drive away right away, his smile following her ponytail as it swayed back and forth, gradually disappearing.

Chapter 75: What Remains

Lunar New Year was approaching and the streets were decorated with lanterns and colored streamers, and joyous new year songs were played in all the shops and supermarkets. The normally banal melodies seemed to shine with the festive occasion, and peoples’ defire to shop intensified due to the lofty atmosphere. The normally cheerless marketplace was beginning to thrum with a hard-to-come-by vitality. Among the never-ending stream of people, a casual-looking man sporting a briefcase strode into a boutique. He was greeted by a smiling, enthusiastic staff member, and in no time at all she had helped him select a style of overcoat and led him to a sofa to relax while she went and got his size from the backroom.

When the girl went into the backroom, the man wiped the sweat off his brow vigorously, his face looking tired and gloomy. He got up and went out, leaving his briefcase at the foot of the sofa. The shop staff didn’t notice, as he was like all the other happy-go-lucky customers going in and out. It seemed like a normal day like any other, but she didn’t know what was about to happen in the outside world

Gu Shi waited outside the investigation team office for half an hour. She leaned against the wall, standing there blankly, pretending to look at her phone as if she were waiting for her boss to finish what he was doing, paying no attention to her coworkers who came and went, throwing her odd looks.

The door was unlocked, but from where she stood she could hear every word clearly. She heard Zhang Chi talking in a rare, obsequious tone, his face looking worse and worse.

“Do you know I’m gonna have to think of a way to explain this to the boss? Who do you think you are, Zhuge Liang, that we they have to come see you three times and request in earnest before you’ll say yet?” Captain Liu suppressed the anger from his voice. The minister had sought Zhang Chi that day, wanting to talk things over, but everyone knew this was way of showing respect to Zhang Chi. The People’s Police often like a brick; they didn’t have much right to choose for themselves. Zhang Chi, of course, was no exception.

“I’ve caused you trouble; It’s my fault.” Zhang Chi said calmly.

“Don’t give me that,” Captain Liu growled. “Are you trying to get me in trouble? Tell me, your parents are out of the country, you’re not getting married or tied down to family, so why can’t you move to a city where you can grow?”

Gu Shi held her phone tightly outside the door and put her head down and inched closer to the door.

Zhang Chi spoke up after a long silence. “I have an sentimental attachment to this city. I’ve been to Beijing, but I just can’t get used to it there. When I go there I just get sick.”

So that was his excuse. Gu Shi pursed her lips, feeling a bit suffocated.

“However, don’t worry, boss. Though I can’t go to the ministry, I can do the work. The work is all the same no matter where I am. I can go out on assignment and work overtime to help provide clues to crack cases, and I can train others as well. I promise to hold nothing back and use all my experience to train the other sketch artists in other cities.” Zhang Chi was proposing an alternative plan but held fast to wanting to stay with his present unit.

“Do you know our Old Wang, the forensic medical expert?” Captain Liu asked. “Several years ago, the Ministry of Public Security took a liking to him and offered him a job and wanted to transfer him to headquarters to focus on training. He talked it over with his fiance, but her parents were vehemently opposed, saying they wouldn’t approve of the marriage if he went, and so he didn’t. You know what became of him afterward. He’s led a common life and never had such an opportunity again. When he retires he’ll probably still be an ordinary policeman with a nominal position.”

“Everyone has a different value system. As long as you can do your job well and have a clear conscience, there’s nothing to regret.”

Captain Liu could do nothing. This guy’s plan was too large. They had talked it out for over an hour, praising, criticizing, analyzing the pros and cons, and making all kinds of promises. He just could not be swayed, and he refused to say the real reason he wanted to stay here. Just what was he trying to do?

A phone call broke the stalemate. Captain Liu answered. “Oh, Zhang Chi, he’s here in my office. I’ll get him.”

Zhang Chi took the phone and just repeated “Mm”, “Alright”, “Understood”, then handed the phone back, then nearly burst through the door on his way out, startling Gu Shi. He looked at her body language and knew what she had been doing. He didn’t seem surprised as he hurried along. He turned to her. “Can we talk in my office?”

She followed him to his office. Ever since Little Wu was gone, Chen Ting had been working more out in the field, leaving pretty much just Zhang Chi there by himself in the office. There were freedom, but it was also a bit lonely, especially Little Wu’s empty desk. There was an unspoken agreement among everyone not to move his things, as if he never left and would be back again the next day, laughing it up as always.

The first thing Zhang Chi said after shutting the door was, “I guess you heard what we talked about? And you’re gonna ask me why I didn’t say the real reason I didn’t want to leave.”

“So what do you want to tell me?”

“A lot of things. Things I have no way to explain to you clearly.”

“Including the first batch of apprentices the higher-ups dispatched to you who will be sticking close to you for the next month while you are relieved of your other duties to teach them?” Gu Shi was constantly clicking a pen as she spoke. She was the first to see the student data as she was receiving a fax when the fax from the Ministry of Public Security came through. It was her who gave it to the office staff.

Most of the students on the roster were young, pretty lady officers from different academies across the provinces. The whole country was starting criminal composite sketch artist training programs and Zhang Chi was to be one of the instructors.

“That’s not important.” Zhang Chi looked out the window, holding his tongue.

To Gu Shi his expression seemed to reveal more than more he tried to hide it.

“Then you tell me, what is important to you?” Her voice was still calm as water, but he could detect something large and ominous underneath.

How was he supposed to tell her, tell her “I don’t care about honors or positions; I don’t care about posts or work assignments, that what he believed in was using his own special skills and knowledge and courage give the law the proper respect it deserves”? Or say that “When faced with a vicious, hidden villain, the deep love he felt with for his comrade-in-arms in that critical moment of life or death was meaningless”? These words came from the heart, but they sounded elegant and stately and highfalutin. He couldn’t say it, and she ought to know it already in her heart.

A phone vibrated and Gu Shi subconsciously looked at it and motioned that it was his. Zhang Chi snapped out of it. It really was a message for him. He turned on his phone. It was a new, forwarded video. On the screen was a scene of the street from security footage from the place he was newly assigned to. People shuttled back and forth along the street at the entrance to the market. Not two minutes later there was a muffled sound, followed by a loud sound and all the glass in the windows along the street shattered and thick smoke spilled out from a broken second-storey window. People were screaming from near and far, streaming out of every exit all around and pushing into each other as they fled.

He watched the video, expressionless, turning the volume all the way down. From the corner of his eye he saw Gu Shi’s unhappy eyes sweep over him silently and he hit fast forward.

A man appeared on the screen with tears running down his panic-stricken face. He held a woman who was covered in blood as he staggered out of the crowd, nearly falling to his knees at the market entrance. Zhang Chi’s chest tightened. He recalled a man in the crowd who looked out of place with the rest of the happy-go-lucky shoppers and his face clouded over. Zhang Chi seemed to see in the camera himself holding Gu Shi as she was on the verge of death, laying helplessly and hopelessly on the entrance steps, and he felt cold sweat all over.

Zhang Chi was not all there, but his throat suddenly constricted. “About the question you just asked me, what I wanted to say was that, a lot of times an adult’s feelings cannot just go along with what one wishes. Like me right now. I obviously want to continue being together with you, but I have to part with you temporarily. That would be the best for both of us.”

Gu Shi looked at him in disbelief, as if she didn’t even recognize him as she listened to his words mechanically spilling from his mouth. “It’s better to just get it over with rather than prolong the agony. Fortunately, we just started, and you can see how busy it is, both of us working in the investigation team. I can’t take good care of you. Most of the time when you need me to be with you I will be away on assignment, working overtime. I’m not qualified to be your boyfriend. You deserve someone better.”

He watched her get up slowly, clearly trying to hold back tears. But he couldn’t stop himself from saying those hypocritical words just now. But only he knew that this was the best thing for Gu Shi. If they were really fated to be together then they could continue in the future.

“So, the reason you didn’t say to me in front of Captain Liu back there was because you had already decided?” Gu Shi looked him right in the eyes, which were already the cold eyes she used to look at him with before. He had almost forgotten that look.

Zhang Chi took it and said nothing back in response.

Gu Shi bit her lip and talked faster, her eyes welling up. “There’s no need for you to feel responsible for anything. It’s not that complicated. We’re just coworkers. You and I never started, so what’s this talk of ending?”

Her words had the intended effect. Zhang Chi was floored, rooted to the spot. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. After a long time he said, “I have to report to Heze City right away. There’s an explosion case there connected to the one we had here. I’ll probably be gone at least two weeks. So then, I’ll be on my way.” He wanted to give her a big hug, but she didn’t come over to him. Her word “coworker” came back to him and he hung his hands down limply and looked at Gu Shi helplessly and then left quickly.

Zhang Chi finished up his case work on the computer, depressed, then put the notebook he always carried with him and his sketch paper in a suitcase in the corner of the office. As he was leaving the station he turned toward Gu Shi’s office window, but it was empty, as if the building was deserted. Just like his heart. He couldn’t hold back the hot tears that spilled from his eyes. He had a feeling that Gu Shi was in a corner watching him quietly. He couldn’t bear to look back again for fear that if he did his heart, which had sacrificed their relationship to protect her, would waver.

She would probably never know that he was doing as he had promised Teacher, that he would always, in his own way, secretly watch her and guard her and guarantee her safety. Even though his own heart had been riddled with wounds from her disappointed gaze and distant expression.

At that moment, Gu Shi had really wanted to slap him in the face, but his eyes had harbored a clear, yet ineffable secret. She would rather believe his excuse, but she could not let go of her pride. His insincere words were like a runaway horse, barging out and scattering his good intentions.

Now she was hiding behind the window curtain in her office. This corner was concealed and safe. She could see the station entrance clearly, but outsiders would have no idea she was there. She waved to Zhang Chi as he looked back at her and bid him farewell. She was only aware of an extreme pain in her heart.

The two closest people to her in the world had left her.

She waved and waved. Then she squatted down. She didn’t know if this goodbye was temporary or if it was a goodbye for good. She could only cover her face in the corner and weep.

THE END