The Interior - Страница 62

"If they aren't your accounts, whose are they?"

"What I mean is, the numbers match my accounts, but the bajances are not mine. That's the problem. I want you to know that I went to my bank here and wired my banks in America. My accounts show the proper numbers." He unfolded several pieces of papers. "See? These are my accounts and my actual balances. You can use these to prove my innocence."

But instead of looking at the papers, David glanced at his watch. It was 3:10 in the morning. "I thought we had a meeting tomorrow at ten. Couldn't this charade have waited until then?"

"Charade? What is that word?"

"Didn't you send me those reports so that when I discovered that you'd accepted bribes-and not just a little bit of money, but hundreds of thousands of dollars-that I wouldn't be able to turn you in because you were my client?"

"Is that what you think?"

"Isn't it the truth?"

"No." Sun thrust his papers at David. "Just look at these."

David took them reluctantly. From the light of the window he could see that Sun's balances were quite modest. "This means nothing to me," David said. "You could have moved the money-"

"But I'm an honest man."

"Then you've never accepted money from Knight International?"

"That's right."

"Then how do you explain papers with Knight's letterhead and a list of businesses with your account numbers? How do you explain how there's another set of papers showing other deposits and your name spelled out in code?"

"If I were guilty, would I come to you?"

David didn't answer the question. Instead he said, "When I first got here and opened my office, I was surprised at all the extra fees I had to pay as a foreigner. Are you telling me that you have never received money from Henry since he decided to open the factory?"

Sun looked at him in bewilderment. "I never took money from Henry, except…" A tortured look crossed his face, and he moaned in anguish. "But it wasn't a bribe. I took money, yes, but it was a fee paid straight to the contractor through me. I wanted Henry to have someone good. No delays. No bad materials. How was Henry going to find a reputable construction company? So I interviewed people, I got recommendations, I went out and looked at various work sites-some under construction, some completed. When I found the right company, I negotiated the contract and Henry's money was the first payment. I did all this as a friend. I received nothing, not one of your American pennies."

"Can you prove it?"

"Brilliant Construction is in Taiyuan. You can call them when they open. They'll have the records." Seeing David's skepticism, Sun said, "I'm telling you the truth. Why would I lie?"

"To cover up the other payments."

"That is not my money!"

There was a gentle tapping at the window. David looked up. Hulan had a tray with teacups and tea. David nodded and she brought it out, set it on the table, and left.

"Someone is trying to frame me," Sun said.

"Who?"

"Henry, but why would he do that to me?"

The conversation had become circular.

"Let's assume for a minute that what you say is true," David said, changing tactics. "What would someone get out of it?"

"I don't know why Henry-"

"Forget Henry. Look bigger, smaller, wider. Who out there would do this to you and for what gain?"

"To destroy me."

David shook his head impatiently. "That doesn't mean anything. That's vague. Why? Why?"

"I don't know."

The more Sun denied the charges, the more David was convinced of his guilt. David said, "I want you to understand that you can find another attorney-"

"I want you."

"Look, I don't know enough about Chinese law. This is a Chinese problem and you're in serious trouble."

"I'm aware of that." For the first time a small smile came to Sun's lips. "Attorney Stark, you haven't asked me why I came here in the middle of the night. I'm here because I am trying to avoid being arrested."

David looked at him in shock.

Sun seemed glumly pleased at David's reaction. "Someone has spoken to the press. Tomorrow there will be an article. I'm in it. You and Liu Hulan are in it. I'm not sure of all the details, but my friends say it's very bad."

David opened his mouth to speak, but Sun cut him off. "I don't want to be arrested in Beijing. I don't want to be arrested anywhere in China. As you perhaps know, justice moves very quickly here."

David did know. A trial with few if any defense witnesses, sentence, and punishment within a week. If Sun was found guilty of corruption, he would be executed and his family would be billed for the bullet.

"But if I'm to be arrested," Sun continued, "I'd prefer to go-"

"No, don't tell me! If you tell me, I might be obligated to tell the authorities, because I don't know if my American privilege will be respected here."

"What about Liu Hulan?" Sun asked. "She works for the MPS."

"You are my client," David said. "What we've spoken about is between us."

Sun looked out into the darkness. "I've worked my whole life to better myself, to better the lives of the people of China. I sit here now and I'm lost. I have friends in the government who are protecting me, but even they are sometimes powerless against outside forces. Still, I'm grateful to them. But there is another kind of friend, someone who is close to your heart, who understands you, who you would give your life for. I thought Henry was that kind of friend." Sun shifted his gaze back to David. "I know you're an honest man. I know your reputation and what you've done for China in the past. These things that are on those papers are a lie. I don't know how to prove it to you, but I hope you can accept my word." Sun took a last sip of tea, then stood. "I should go before it gets light."

David saw Sun to the front gate, where he mounted a bicycle and began pedaling. When the governor disappeared around the alley's corner, David locked the gate and made his way back to the last courtyard. Hulan sat at the little round table. Her bandaged hand rested palm up before her. She looked tired, more tired perhaps than he had ever seen her. Weren't pregnant women supposed to need, want, and get a lot of sleep? He thought he could remember reading something like that or seeing it in a movie.

"He's innocent, isn't he?" she said.

"My logical mind says he can't be, but when he speaks, I want to believe him."

"He's a politician," Hulan reminded him. "You're supposed to believe him."

"He also gave me these." David handed Hulan Sun's bank records. In his mind they proved nothing, but he had a duty to turn evidence over to the authorities if it might help his client.

Hulan saw that the names of these banks matched those in the dan-gan and that these were official documents dated yesterday, but she said none of this. Instead she picked up the index card that had Sun's name on it and corresponded to the columns which read ACCEPTING BRIBES and CHINESE jurisdiction. Without saying a word, she tore the card into pieces and put them in the trash. Then she said, "I need some sleep." With that she left the room, leaving David to stare at her chart and wonder if she really believed Sun was innocent.

20

MONDAY MORNING DAWNED HEAVY AND HOT. HULAN dressed in a loose-fitting suit of pale green pongee. Since she was going to the MPS, she carried her weapon under her jacket. She still felt tired, and she went about her morning activities quietly. At 7:30 she left the compound, got into the backseat of Lo's black Mercedes, and drifted back to sleep for the short drive to headquarters. As she walked through the lobby and upstairs to her office, the temperature seemed worse than ever before. The dinginess of the walls and the lack of light made the heat all the more oppressive.

She went straight to Zai's office. Vice Minister Zai was already at his desk, and it occurred to her that perhaps he'd spent the entire weekend there. The tea girls hadn't come in yet, so Zai poured the tea from his thermos himself. Hulan took a sip and felt its heat radiate through her body and produce a fine sheen of sweat on her face. This was exactly what tea was supposed to do. Sweat was nature's way of cooling the body. But today, instead of giving any relief, the tea only added to her discomfort.

"You recall the file of which we spoke yesterday?" Hulan said. When Zai nodded, she went on, "I would like to see it again."

They were inside, where anyone could be listening, and yet Hulan- though her words were ambiguous as to whose file she wanted-had broken the protocol with which she and her mentor usually communicated. But Zai didn't question her motives or even ask her to step outside for a walk. For her to show such a lapse must mean that she needed Sun's dangan urgently. He left the room and came back a few minutes later. As he'd done the day before, he placed the file in front of her, but instead of turning away he watched as she opened it and read. Sometimes she would pick up a piece of paper and hold it up to the hazy light coming through the window or she would set out two pieces of paper side by side to compare them. She worked silently and Zai didn't ask any questions. After a while he went back to his own work, and the two of them worked in companionable silence.

At nine sharp, Zai's support staff arrived. A pretty girl came in and refreshed their tea, bowed, and left again. A few minutes later another girl entered carrying his morning newspaper, and Zai instantly felt the change in her demeanor when she saw Hulan. It was true that Hulan had never been considered as just one of the workers. She was different from them by education, money, and political position. As a result she had always been seen as an outsider, and when Zai considered this he thought that this separateness above anything was what made Hulan so good at what she did. Still, this morning Zai's assistant stared at Hulan with more than the usual curiosity. After the girl left the room and he picked up the People's Daily, he understood why.