“You have to call me immediately if you win,” Yi-yun demanded. “Call me at work!”
It was very painful to wait when there might be some possibility he could fail. If he had, Yi-yun wouldn’t know how to respond because she had such high hope of his winning. By the end of the day, too distraught to work, she hid in the storage room and cried hysterically. “Yi-yun, a call from Prague,” someone called her from the hallway.
She jumped to her feet and ran like a mad woman.
“I won! Yi-yun, I won!” Tom Meyers screamed over the phone.
Tears poured out, and her nose was so sore she could hardly breathe.
“I came in second!” Tom shouted excitedly.
Weeping uncontrollably, she was too overwhelmed to find the voice to answer him.
“Yi-yun, are you there?” Tom asked impatiently. The quietness at the other end bothered him because he had expected her to be as excited as he was.
“Oh, Tom,” she choked, crying uncontrollably. “I can’t believe it! I’m so proud of you!”
“You should be,” Tom said. “Without you, I wouldn’t be here today. You’re the best, Yi-yun.”
A smile arise on her face as the satisfaction and fulfillment filled her heart.
Two days later, they embraced tightly at the Logan Airport. “Can you believe it?” she said while kissing him warmly. “We won!”
He was taken aback for just a second. “Yes,” he said, smiling. “Congratulations, my biggest supporter.”
“Thanks,” she said proudly as a mother watching her son take his first step. “I’m so proud of you.”
The competition resulted in a one-year contract, which could be renewed with the famed Boston Symphony Orchestra. With a sizable promised income from his new job, he promptly switched his tiny studio for a decent one-bedroom apartment, which had a spacious living room for his grand piano in Allston. The T across the street would take him to the Symphony Hall so he didn’t need to buy a car.
“You know,” he said while showing Yi-yun around his new apartment. “You’re welcome to move in at any time.” He started kissing her as soon as they were in the empty bedroom. These days, Yi-yun realized proudly, Tom could hardly control himself when they were together; he wanted her as soon as he stopped playing the piano.
“Of course I want to,” she said, looking up at him affectionately, but he didn’t hear her. His face flushed and his breath grew heavier as he buried his face between her face and long hair. His kisses became more and more passionate as they moved down from her neck to her bare shoulders. “But I have to talk to Fang Chen first.”
“Hmm,” he murmured, while busily fondling and unbuttoning her.
“Oh, Tom, we don’t have condoms,” she tried to remind him. She didn’t like using pills because she could never remember when to take them. It was much easier for Tom to use condoms. Plus, condoms were cheaper than the pill.
“I thought you had your period before I went to Prague,” he said while pushing her against the wall and starting unzipping his pants.
“Yes, but—” Her sentence was cut short by forceful thrust.
For the first time, his unyielding passion didn’t result in an orgasm for her because her mind was far away, hovering over the talk that she would soon have to have with her husband.
It would be a very difficult talk indeed.
“Are you kidding me?” Fang Chen shrieked while jumping up from the couch. “You can’t move out!”
“Why? We’re not really living like a married couple anymore,” she said, walking into the middle of the living room to face her husband.
“I know what you mean,” he hissed. His face turned a ghastly white, and his eyes filled with rage. “But you promised me that we would visit my parents next month.” December was his winter break.
This was a poor excuse as far as Yi-yun was concerned. “I promised a year ago. Now everything is different, and we don’t love each other anymore,” she said, looking straightly into his eyes. “I want a divorce.”
“A divorce!” Fang Chen shouted, almost choking with anger. “In your dreams! You can’t just come and go as you wish. You are my wife!” he yelled while charging toward her.
Scared, Yi-yun withdrew to the corner of the living room, but Fang Chen’s rage abandoned him when he almost reached her. “Why do you want to do this?” he asked while breaking down in sobs. “You know how much I love you. You can’t just pack up as if we were never in love. God knows how much I love you.”
Her heart constricted in pain. In that particular moment, Yi-yun wished that she had never been born. Why was this happening to her? She didn’t want to hurt Fang Chen, but she couldn’t stay with him either. “It’s my fault,” she cried, covering her face with both hands. “Please forgive me.”
Gently, Fang Chen took her hands off her face. “Look at me, Yi-yun, do you remember when you came to me with all those bills that you couldn’t pay? Do you remember how happy you were when you got your green card? Have I ever said no to you, to anything that you’ve wanted? I love you, Yi-yun, I really do!”
“But I don’t love you,” she cried.
“Can you give me another chance? We can get help. We can go to counseling, whatever it takes to make our marriage work again,” he said wistfully.
“Please understand,” she said, heartbroken. “I can’t be with you because I’m in love with Tom.”
“That bastard!” he said, bursting into rage again. “Don’t you ever mention his name in front of me! How could you be in love with him, Yi-yun? How could you leave me for him?” These were the two questions he had kept asking himself since he found out about the affair.
“He’s not a bastard. He’s a wonderfully talented musician,” she fired back. “He just won a concerto competition in Prague and signed a big contract with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. If you really want to compare yourself with him, I can’t say you are any better!” His insult made Yi-yun so furious that she went on defending her lover without noticing the change in his expression.
“But you would’ve never left me if he hadn’t chased after you,” Fang Chen growled feverishly as his face turned white. The chilly anger in his eyes made her tremble when he looked at her.
“Well,” she gasped.
“Yes or no,” he demanded.
“Probably not,” she said nervously. She was terrified because his eyes reminded her of a wild animal ready to pounce on his prey —the same eyes she had looked into when he forced her to have sex the other night. “But I still wouldn’t love you. I never will. I’m sorry, but it’s true. I was very grateful for your generous help and I still am, but I don’t love you.” She broke down and cried. She just couldn’t help it–she didn’t even know where the tears came from. “I know how much it hurts you, but I have to tell you the truth,” she murmured in a weak voice. “Please forgive me.”
“But you wouldn’t be leaving me if he hadn’t run after you,” Fang Chen repeated, holding both of her arms and shaking her violently.
“I don’t know,” she cried. “I really don’t know.”
“But I know,” he said, grinding his teeth.
Suddenly releasing her, he stormed out of the house. When the door slammed loudly behind him, Yi-yun collapsed on the floor and sobbed.
Chapter 9
Paul Winderman saw a totally different young woman sitting in front of him this time around. Ann Lee was quiet but alert; the distress had been wiped clean from her face, and her almond-shaped eyes looked at him attentively.
“Did Tom admit the murder?” she asked as soon as he sat down on a chair across her. Her apartment was a one-bedroom unit in a five-story brick building near the BU campus. Since she had a roommate living in the living room, they were talking in her small bedroom where she sat on the bed, which was in the corner next to a h
uge desk. The furniture was old and beaten, but the room was kept spotlessly clean. Even on her desk where she kept piles of books and papers, there was nothing out of place, and everything was organized neatly.
“We don’t know.” He shook his head regretfully. “We’ve tried to make him talk, but his lawyer has stonewalled us. You know how our system works. It doesn’t matter if he confesses, we have to prove that he is guilty.”
She nodded with understanding.
“When you saw Ms. Lin last, did you find anything unusual in her behavior?” He knew a neat and organized person like Ann would notice anything that was out of the ordinary.
“I saw her about a week before she was killed, so I might have been the last person to see her alive other than Tom,” she said matter-of-factly. “She was really excited actually,” she said. “She always had this radiant smile,” she added. “But that day, it was different somehow. She was excited over something, but at the same time, she was a bit nervous.”
Paul Winderman looked at her approvingly. He wished that the other witnesses, like Ms. White, were as observant as this young woman; then they could pinpoint the time of the murder.
“She said she might have some news to tell me very soon.”
“Can’t you tell me now?” Ann begged her friend. They met in the storage room before dinner was served. Since Yi-yun was back working at China Dragon, they had become close again, chatting whenever they had free time at work.
“I can’t,” Yi-yun said, shaking her head with a rather nervous smile. At the same time, her face glared with joy and her eyes shone. “You’ll be the first one to know when I’m ready.”
“Are you getting married?” Ann asked, thinking this had be the news that her friend so desperately want to share.
Yi-yun let out a thrilling laugh. “Oh, Ann, you’ll have to wait!”
“I thought she wanted to tell me they were getting married,” Ann said to the detective. “But now I think it had to do with her pregnancy.”
“Could be,” Paul Winderman said unconvincingly.
“Either way, I never thought he could kill her,” she said with a heavy sigh. “I just never expected Tom would be capable of doing such a thing!” She shook her head several times as if shaking away her doubts.
He had thought the same thing when he first met him. But evidence was evidence.
“She was so devoted to him…” she broke off.
“Who is this Tom?” Ann had asked when Yi-yun told her she was going back to work at China Dragon. Ann knew Yi-yun hated Coffin Face and vowed never to return when she left to marry Fang Chen the year earlier. Tom had to be someone very special to be able to change Yi-yun’s mind.
Yi-yun blushed. “I don’t know how to put it,” she said, glancing at Ann uneasily. “He’s a great musician, and we care about each other a lot.” In fact, they had been inseparable for the past few weeks. She spent most of her free time with him, helping him with every aspect of his life—cooking, cleaning, and running errands–so he could concentrate on the piano. Tom had been preparing for the international competition in Prague. She had decided to help him pay for the trip. “He’s the pianist you saw when we went to his concert a few months ago.”
“Oh, him! Are you having an affair?” Ann asked, blurted out in shock.
Yi-yun was taken aback by Ann’s outburst but couldn’t lie to her friend, so she nodded her head reluctantly.
“But I thought you were happily married,” Ann said, looking at her friend incredulously. She remembered when she saw two of them together: Fang Chen so doting and Yi-yun so content.
“No, I’m not happily married,” Yi-yun said sullenly. “I don’t love Fang Chen, and I never have.” She might have never known love if she hadn’t met Tom. The total opposite of Fang Chen, Tom brought out her raw sexuality, making her appreciate and in turn craving his love. He knew how to turn her on with his passionate kisses and foreplay even when she didn’t feel like it. They had made love on the floor, in the car, behind a tree, which would have been unthinkable with Fang Chen who would back away as soon as she raised her eyebrows in disagreement. Tom wanted her like no other, and he would turn to her as soon as he was done practicing the piano, which was his greatest love in life, other than Yi-yun of course.
“I’m totally lost,” Ann said ungracefully. “Why did you marry Fang if you didn’t love him?”
“Because I didn’t know what love was,” Yi-yun said, looking down at her feet. “I thought I loved him because I respected and admired him. He is so smart and generous, and he offered to rescue me from the financial disaster I was in at that time. You certainly know how difficult it is to pay for your rent and meals as a scholarship student, it’s ten times more difficult for me as I had to pay everything myself. It’s just impossible! So I saw him not only as a potential lover but also a lifesaver. I was so poor, and he was there, generous, sympathetic, and supportive. How could I not turn to him for help? I know it sounds very selfish, but it’s true.” She sighed. “Oh, Ann, I wish you could understand.”
Ann knew everything Yi-yun said was true but couldn’t accept her decision to leave Fang Chen. It was so unfair!
“I wish we could have the permit to work off campus,” Ann said longingly. As foreign students with F-1 visa, they weren’t allowed to work outside the campus by immigration law. Only places would hire them were restaurants like China Dragon where she and Yi-yun were paid by the owners who hired illegal for lower wages. She was paid $2 an hour, plus tips, all in cash and no benefits. If she had a work permit, the outcome of her job search would be totally different. She hated working for the cold-blooded Coffin Face. “Or that we were able to take out student loans like American students do.” Then nothing like this would have ever happened.
“Yes, I wish I were an American citizen,” Yi-yun said with a twisted smile. “It was my dream to come to America when I was a teenager. But I didn’t realize how hard life can be when you are not a citizen. Sometimes I do regret not listening to my parents when they told me to stay home in China. If I had listened, I wouldn’t be in this mess right now. I’d probably be married to a guy I really love and I would be a different person.”
Ann nodded. Yes, probably. Did she have regrets? Yes, when she was abused by Coffin Face, when she stayed up all night to finish her school work, and when she could barely afford to pay the rent. Sometimes, she couldn’t help wondering if it had been worth to trade in her daily comforts for freedom.
“I know it’s difficult to justify having an affair,” Yi-yun continued in a dreamy voice. “But I do hope you can understand.”
Ann dropped her eyes. “Have you talked to Fang Chen yet?” she asked without looking at Yi-yun.
“No,” Yi-yun said in a small voice. “I haven’t. I don’t know how.”
“But he needs to know,” Ann said quietly, looking up at her friend. Poor Yi-yun, how lost she looked at that moment. “It’s unfair to keep him in the dark.”
“I believe he already knows,” Yi-yun said, turning her head away. “I told him whom I’ve been hanging out with from the start.”
“Then you have to choose between the two of them. You can’t live with Fang Chen when you are in love with Tom,” Ann said.
Yi-yun shook her head sadly. “I know. I have to leave Fang because I know I can’t live without Tom.” In addition to the intense love they shared, for the first time in her life Yi-yun had a purpose, which made her happy even though she had to work in order to make money. To be with Tom, she would no longer be an useless and spoiled princess but a heroine engaging in something huge and noble. Imagine supporting and nurturing a great musician! Imagine being the source of his beautiful music!
“Poor Fang Chen,” Ann said helplessly because she genuinely liked him. “I don’t know what to say.”
“I know everybody will blame me for leaving him, but we all
know there are two sides to every argument,” Yi-yun pointed out defiantly.
“I guess so,” Ann said meekly. “As the Chinese old saying goes, there is no black and white in a divorce.”
“No, there isn’t” Yi-yun said firmly.
“Have you talked to Fang Chen yet?” Ann asked Paul Winderman. “I think he is the ultimate victim in this affair.”
“Yes,” he said. “We have, and I’m planning on chatting with him again.”
She nodded. “I wish Yi-yun had just stayed with him. If she had, she would still be alive today.”
Chapter 10
Paul Winderman looked at the man sitting across him and couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. The dark eyes at the back of the thick glasses were almost expressionless, but his tightly clenched muscle betrayed tremendous pain. Every line on his face was forcefully smoothed over to conceal the deep emotions he was trying to contain.
“I really don’t want to poke into your private life,” he said apologetically. “But to understand the reason why you and Yi-yun Lin divorced and why she ended up being killed, I need to hear from you what exactly happened.”
Fang Chen dropped his eyes; his hands tugged unconsciously at his pants, trying to smooth out the nonexisting wrinkles.
For more than ten minutes, nobody said a word. Paul Winderman waited patiently; he had been trained to get people open up to him. In most cases, they would if he waited long enough. Slowly, Fang Chen lifted his eyes and spoke in a very low voice.
The night was deadly quiet, but Fang Chen could occasionally hear the dimmed sound of cars passing along the streets outside. He had been tossing and turning in vain to try to fall asleep as the events of the night spun inside his head.
It was almost midnight when Yi-yun opened the front door.
“Where have you been?” he asked. It was unusual for her to come home so late. In fact, this was the first time he had ever come home to a dark and empty apartment.