Chapter 6

Chapter 6 

The rain has stopped. Back to a clear blue sky.  The water droplets on the leaves sparkle under the sun.  

Walking along the tree lined avenue, Jian Yao enjoys the lovely scenery and feels a sense of peace and contentment within her.

She will say goodbye to Bo Jinyan soon.  Even ‘Frankenstein’ deserves a final farewell.

The villa stands amidst greenery. It is a lovely place.

Jian Yao walks towards the entrance.

The front door is wide open.

Usually, the door is closed when she comes over. She knocks on the door, and it will automatically open.  Bo Jinyan has a remote control in his room. It’s never wide open like this.

She walks through and sees a number of people in the living room.  They are whispering amongst themselves. 

An unprecedented situation.

Jian Yao stops and stands at the door, listening carefully. One of the people turns around and sees her. “It’s you!!"

Then a few people come out from the house, Jian Yao recognises them.  They are the security guards she met this morning.

————

   The security guards are familiar with Jian Yao.  She always goes to the dormitories they guard.  That’s where her step father lives.  Some of them know her by name. One of the oldest guards raises his voice: “ Jian Yao, why are you here?"

    They look tense. Some of them have wooden sticks with them.  Jian Yao says: “ Eh.. I came by to eh… have a look….. eh… Why are you here?  Is Lao Xiao’s son found yet?”

Lao Xiao" is the father of the missing boy.

    One of them answers. ". Not yet.  The Frankenstein is not home yet."

    Jian Yao is about to ask another question.  Another security guards suddenly thinks of an idea. “ Can you give us a hand?"

    Jian Yao looks at him, nods firmly:”Tell me what you want me to do."

    The security guard knows that Jian Yao has a good friend that works in the Police Department.  If she is willing to put in a word for them, the police might agree to take on the case earlier than the required 48 hours.  .

   They give her the details of what happened.  

   The child went missing yesterday afternoon.  All the relatives and friends had searched in every possible place they could think of.  Still, there was no trace of the boy. The only clue is from a shopkeeper near the train station. He saw the child going into a gaming parlour in the morning.  He also saw “Frankenstein" there at the time, talking to the young boy.  

    Jian Yao asks: “How did the shopkeeper know the person who talked to the young boy is the owner of this house?”

    A security guard replies: “Ms Jian, do you not know that he’s famous for wearing a trench coat and a mask on everywhere he goes?.  He is such a strange guy.  Everybody knows he lives in the mountain,  Everybody thinks he is crazy.  He must have abducted the child!”

  

    Jian Yao is shocked - She is only back in town for the school term break.  She has no idea. 

    

————

    Jian Yao enters the house with them.

    The house still looks the same as when she left in the morning.  The security guards look around to see if they can find any clues.  Two of the guards walk up the stairs to the second floor. 

    A middle-aged security guard squats beside the sofa.  His eyes are red.  He looks crushed and desperate.  Jian Yao recognises him.  He is Lao Xiao.

    When the security guards told her that Bo Jinyan has abducted the children, her first instinct was ‘It’s impossible.”  She has always thought he is novelist that specialises in detective stories.

    However, he did speak to the child…

    Suddenly, her cell phone rings.  It’s from a number she is not familiar with.

    She walks away and answers the phone: "Hello?"

    The voice of the caller is exceptionally low, with a more nasal hoarse sound than last night,  like someone who just woke up: “Please tell them to leave immediately.  Thanks. ” he says in a very calm tone.

    With the cell phone still by her ears,  she looks at the people who have congregated in his house.  

    FZ has her resume, so that’s how he knows her phone number. So, he is at home after all. 

    Jian Yao speaks in low voice: “Mr.Bo.  They have something very important that they need to speak to you about.  Can you please come downstairs?”

    Bo Jinyan gives a laugh: "If I meet with every person who wants to meet me , I will be dead by now.…”

-  Huh? Jian Yao is slightly confused.

    “… from exhaustion.” 

    -

    Jian Yao keeps quiet for a moment: "Since you do not want to talk to them, can you tell them yourself.  I will not tell them for you.”

    She is obviously annoyed.  Bo Jinyan pauses for a while. 

   Then he says: "Well, tell them that what they are looking for is in the room on the first floor.  The key to the room is inside the kitchen cupboard, on the third shelf.” He hangs up.

 With those instructions,  Jian Yao goes to the kitchen and retrieves the key.

    She walks back to the living room, and says to the guards: ".. Actually, I am doing a bit of work for Mr.Bo, but I don’t know him that well.  He just phoned me and asked me to show you this.”

    -

    This is the room that is supposed to be out of bounds.  Yao inserts the key into the slot and unlocks the door.  Her heart is pounding. 

    What will they see? Why is Bo Jinyan leading them to this room? 

    A security guard opens the door slowly.

    The lighting inside is very dim.  Slowly, she realises what is inside those jars and bottles on the shelves.

  Everyone is stunned.  Nobody made a sound.  

   Inside the bottle that is sitting on the shelve closest to them, is an eyeball.  Pale, with lax pupil, as if it is staring at them.

    Other bottles in the room contain lips, teeth, wrists, heart, male genitals ......

    A security guard exclaims: “Murderer!  Psychopath! !!" Then he turns and runs down the stairs and out of the house.  Others immediately follow him.  “We have to keep this place secure before the police arrives.  Let’s guard at the front door.”  . Lao Xiao is standing there like a statue. “Come on, Let’s leave this place first.  The police will be here soon.”  Says one of the guards.  He then helps Lao Xiao down the stairs and back out into the courtyard. 

   Jian Yao feels  a chill slowly infiltrating her limbs and her body. She takes a look around the room.  .  Nobody is here anymore. Except her.  Suddenly a thought comes to mind.  

    She picks up the jar with the eye.  She tilts it and looks at the bottom of the jar.  There is a small yellow sticker. 

    It is an English label:

    "Number: 42;

    Content: left eye;

    Gender: Female;

    Age: 27;

    Cause of death: accident, excessive bleeding;

    Time of death: 15 August 27 

    Donation hospital: Ohio State Hospital. 

 There is also a hospital seal: -  human organ specimen for research.

    Jian Yao is relieved.

  She hears the sound of police siren, and it is getting louder.  Then it stops. She walks downstairs to the entrance.

    Just stepping out of the front door, she sees two policemen being surrounded by the security guards.   Meanwhile, she hears a bang behind her.  The door is shut.

    Jian Yao looks at the closed door.

    Bo Jinyan led them to the room with all the specimens to scare them away. 

    -

 The two policemen that are here are civilian police. Jian Yao tells them what  had just happened.   Although she explains that those bottles are only specimens for research purposes, the security guards are still convinced that Bo Jinyan is the one who abducted the children.  

   The two policeman knock on the door.  They want Bo Jinyan to personally explain what’s happening. 

    No response.  Security guards start to talk amongst themselves: “He is trying to hide from us because he is guilty.”

- What’s on his mind? Jian Yao is also puzzled by his actions.

    One of the police walks over to Jian Yao. “You have his phone number, right?  Can you please call him to open the door?"

    Jian Yao nods. At the request of the police, she dials the number and turns on the speakerphone function. "The police is outside your house.  They need to speak to you.  Please open the door."

    Bo Jinyan stays quiet for a few seconds before answering: “ They have a search warrant or an arrest warrant?”

    The policeman shakes his head.  Jian Yao replies: "No."

    Bo Jinyan: "Then why should I open the door?  Goodbye." He hangs up again.

    The policemen look at each other.  They are getting very annoyed: "Call the bureau to consult!" Jian Yao is also offended by his attitude.  But she thinks to herself.  He is not a criminal.  Criminals don’t behave this way. 

    Another police siren sound gets closer.  Everyone looks toward the direction of where the sound is coming from.

   A middle-aged man, surrounded by several police officers are walking towards them. One of the officers is Li.  Jian Yao recognises the middle-aged man.  He is chief Inspector.

    -

    In this little courtyard, the situation seems to get somewhat complicated.

Lee is surprised to see Jian Yao here- “What are you doing here?”

    Jian Yao: “Long story.  Why is Chief here?” 

    Li Xunran gives a little laugh.  “Long story.  We only just found out from central office that ‘he’ lives here.   So, we are here to see him. “ There is a sense of excitement in his voice. “ Are you here to help find the missing children?  Reports have been filed about him being a suspect for kidnapping.  There must be some mistake.  How could he possibly be the offender? I’ll explain later.  Gotta go.”  Then he runs off.    

    -

   Once again, someone is knocking on the front door.  This time, it’s Li.

    Once again, the request has been denied.  No one answers.

    And once again, Jian Yao is asked to call him with her phone.

    All eyes are on her.   Jian Yao has no choice but to press the numbers again. Speakerphone function is on… once again.  Before she can even say anything , Bo Jinyan speaks with a slightly annoyed voice “Are you so incapable? Seems like you can’t even remember events that happened within the last 24 hours?  Did you forget how late I went to bed last night?  How many times are you going to call me?"

    Jian Yao is about to respond, but suddenly she feels the crowd looking at her strangely. It’s too hard to explain to them what he meant.  She decides to give up.  So she goes straight to the point: “Bo Jinyan, The Chief Inspector is here to see you."

  “I don’t want to see him.”  He replies.

    “Let me talk to him." The Chief Inspector stretches out his hand and ask for Jian Yao’s phone.  

    He walks away from the crowd.  They talk for a while.  He walks back with a smile on his face.  

    -

  Chief walks to the front door.  This time, the door opens.  Chief, Li Xunran and Jian Yao goes inside the house.

Jian Yao taps Li Xunran on the shoulder: “Who is he?”

    Li Xunran looks at Jian Yao: “How do you know him? What is the relationship between you two?”

   “I am working for him. As a translator.”

    Li Xunran grabs her by her arm: “You work for him!" He says with an envious voice. 

“Bo Jinyan. Associate professor from University of Maryland. The world's youngest criminal psychology expert, Consultant for the Ministry of Public Security. And he chose to stay in our little town! “