Chapter 19 Chapter Eighteen

Early on Thursday morning, the Shanghai Public Security Bureau suddenly received a "reminder". The tip - if it's a tip at all - comes from the Shanghai Evening News.To be precise, a classified advertisement clipped from a newspaper was sent to the Public Security Bureau, and the recipient was Liao Guochang, the criminal investigation team leader. Study carefully about the escort lady.After the singing lady and the serving lady, it's time for the dancing lady.As for the location, how about Paramount?Still old time, you know. ——The Red Flag of the Cultural Revolution Looks like a prank between friends.But since the recipient stated that it was Police Officer Liao, this matter should not be underestimated.

"This is not a reminder." Liao Guochang said with a frown. Among the dead in the red cheongsam case, there was already a lady accompanying the wine and a lady accompanying the singer. Then, as Xiaohong said, it should be the lady accompanying the dance. "Old time" is even more worrying.That means, either Thursday night or Friday morning. "Cultural Revolution Red Flag" is definitely not his real name, there is no doubt about it.But who in the 1990s would use such a remote pseudonym? "Why does the red flag in the 'Cultural Revolution' sound so similar to the rebels back then?" Yu Guangming said.

"Wait, red flag...red...red cheongsam?" Liao Guochang said to himself. He immediately contacted the newspaper, but the editor insisted that he found nothing wrong with the ad.For this kind of business, as long as you pay the money, and then find a courier company to send it to the editorial department, you can publish it in the newspaper.The courier may ride a bicycle or drive a car, and may not even have a driver's license and qualifications.It is impossible to find clues through the courier company.The person who posted this message did not leave an address or phone number at all.

There is no doubt that this is a message from the murderer, and it is an intolerable provocation. The murderer ignored the police's net and continued his killing game.This time he even informed the police of the time and place of the next crime. Soon the relevant information of Paramount was collected in the Bureau.This is a dance hall with a history of more than 60 years. It is located on Huashan Road, not far from Nanjing Road.In history, the Paramount was once glorious, and in the 1930s, celebrities from all walks of life in Shanghai would go there to dance.However, after the founding of New China, this behavior of gathering people to dance ballroom dancing was regarded as a representative of the decadent bourgeois way of life, and the dance hall was closed down and turned into a movie theater.With this status, it survived the "Cultural Revolution".During that time, the name Paramount was all but forgotten.It was not until later that the English signboard, which had been in disrepair, fell down and killed a pedestrian, and the name was not remembered again.The accident was later billed as the end of an era.In the early nineties, Paramount became one of the objects of collective nostalgia in the city.Later, a Taiwanese businessman decided to invest a huge amount of money to restore the glory of Paramount, and everything was furnished as it was in the 1930s.The yellowed posters were re-framed, the ornaments were wiped spotless, the rusty lamps were repaired, and the band was reorganized... Of course, many young and beautiful dancers were recruited to perform dances for the guests in cheongsams.

Anyway, it's reopened there.In the Shanghai travel guide, Paramount is marked as one of the must-see places. Yu and Liao looked at each other, they had no choice.Xiaohong has already gone undercover as a supporting dancer, and now is the best time to solve the case. Yu Guangming still has reservations about the undercover matter, but his colleagues insist on doing so.Forget it, "a dead horse is treated as a living horse doctor".So, Xiaohong went in and out of various nightclubs in all her splendor.According to her report, many people had expressed interest in her, but none of them were suspected.In order to find out the details of each guy, she has to deal with them until the last moment.The report did not mention how much sacrifice she made.

But things are different now. "This murderer is a devil." Yu Guangming said. "Xiaohong has been working with us for two years. She has learned a lot no matter in the police academy or in the bureau..." Liao Guochang was talking to himself, as if he wanted to call Xiaohong before calling him. Emboldened himself, convinced himself, "She is a good girl, and she is reliable." Although Yu Guangming doesn't know Xiaohong well, he is also worried about her.Xiaohong is a smart, down-to-earth and responsible girl.For a young police officer, there may be countless choices, but she went to the criminal investigation team where the work pressure is the most stressful.So Liao Guochang's hesitation at the moment is also understandable.

"Perhaps the murderer is suspicious. If we send someone to guard Paramount, he will go to other places to commit crimes." Yu Guangming said. Liao Guochang nodded, but did not reply immediately.At this time, Secretary Li suddenly walked into the office and shouted out of breath: "Enough, your mission is to catch the murderer. The overall situation will support your actions. Tell me how many people you need, and I will send you. " Xiaohong also walked into the office and sat down across from Liao Guochang's desk, crossing her hands on her knees.She was wearing a cheongsam with high slits at the moment, she really looked like a "Miss".Although she did not wear makeup, her face was still glowing like the morning light.

Liao Guochang handed her the "reminder" cut out from that newspaper, and said, "What I want to tell you is that this mission is voluntary. Unlike what you did before, this time it is not a mandatory mission, although you It was the right choice, but you now have the right to withdraw." Xiaohong took the paper and glanced at it, smoothed the hair on her forehead with her hands, nodded, revealing the curved eyebrows behind her bangs. Liao Guochang continued: "If you go to Paramount tonight, we will go too. You just need to let us know when the murderer appears."

"How do I know which one is the murderer? Those guys strike up conversations with girls in the same way." Xiaohong asked. "I don't think he will attack in public. He will definitely ask you to be alone. As long as this happens, we will stop him. We will prepare for various situations." Liao Guochang said. Yu Guangming thought to himself, what kind of preparations can he do in half a day.The police may not be able to do anything.It is estimated that Xiaohong is the only one who does not need to prepare, thanks to her undercover experience of the previous two days.

"Then do it. I will stay in the office tonight, and you must keep in touch with me during your actions." Secretary Li made a decision. And so the action started.Xiaohong took a taxi home to dress up for the night's operation, while Yu and Liao arrived at Paramount in a van with "air conditioning maintenance" written on the outside, using the van as the frontline command post.Additional police forces will arrive shortly. Considering that the murderer may know the insiders of Paramount, the police officers involved in the operation decided not to reveal their identities, and entered the scene in plain clothes as customers.

Yu Guangming took a colorful brochure at the entrance. According to the statement above, the first to third floors of the building are dance halls with different specifications, and the prices are also different.In addition to buying tickets to enter the arena, there is a so-called "dance fee" system in the venue, which ranges from 25 yuan to 50 yuan for each dance, of course, this does not include tips. "That is to say, in addition to the serious dancers, there are dancers who can earn a small amount of money by dancing, and earn big money after dancing." Liao Guochang said disdainfully. It was still early in the afternoon, so only one floor was open.There is a row of tables and chairs at one end of the ballroom and a stage at the other end.A singer in a gorgeous cheongsam is singing to the accompaniment of the band, and the dim lighting creates a nostalgic atmosphere of luxury and money.Most of the people who came to dance seemed to be middle-aged, and the dancers were not young either. "The fee is relatively low during this period." Liao Guochang was studying the price list in the brochure. In the afternoon, people can dance until 7:00 p.m. After that, the dance hall will move to the second and third floors.The third floor will mainly perform some Russian dances and the like, and the police only need to focus on the second floor.The fourth and fifth floors are guest rooms. "Who would like to live in this kind of guest room? Every night downstairs is full of singing and dancing." Yu Guangming said. "You don't understand, this is a good place. Some guests will come down to dance, and then choose a lady to go upstairs to enjoy." Liao Guochang laughed. Regardless of dancing or hotel guests, all guests must go through the exit facing Huashan Road to get out of the building.There is a surveillance camera installed there, so you don't have to worry about someone slipping through there. Yu and Liao returned to the van, and then Xiaohong and other police officers also arrived, and everyone planned the action that night in detail. The plan is this: After the mission starts, Xiaohong will go directly to the second floor wearing a pink cheongsam, and she will carry a special miniature mobile phone with her.As long as she presses one of the buttons, all police officers on duty will enter a state of first-level alert; press the other button, and the police officers will rush to the scene.She had learned Shaolin Kung Fu in the police academy, which should be enough to deal with emergencies, or at least to notify her colleagues in time.In addition, she is in regular contact with colleagues, but she does not want to do this because she feels that doing so will make others suspicious. Officer Qi will pretend to be a strange customer and enter the venue with Xiaohong.He will stay in the ballroom all the time, keep in touch with other police officers, in addition to covering Xiaohong, but also to observe any suspicious signs. Two police officers will also be deployed outside the ballroom on the second floor.The two of them will pretend to be guests who need to rest, and will take turns sitting on the sofa near the exit of the ballroom on the second floor.Their duty is to wait for Xiaohong to come out, whether she is with others or alone. The murderer is unlikely to appear on the third floor, because it is difficult for him to easily seduce the Russian girls who are on the stage and cannot speak Chinese.But Secretary Li insisted on stationing a plainclothes police officer on the third floor. Finally, they also sent a few police officers at the exit of the building near Huashan Road: some disguised as newspaper sellers, some disguised as flower girls, and some disguised as street photographers. Yu Guangming and Liao Guochang will sit in command in the van outside the building, listening to the sound in the earphones, in order to deal with various possible unexpected situations. For the first half hour after the operation began, everything seemed to be uneventful.Yu Guangming thought, maybe it's still early.He looked towards the entrance of Paramount, but saw a surprising scene: a ragged young mother was kneeling on the steps with her seven or eight-year-old son, and there was a broken bowl in front of him, which contained several coin.None of the people who entered or left the ballroom looked at them, let alone gave them alms. The city is dividing into two classes: rich and poor.A little tip from the big money to the dancers is enough for the poor mother and son to live for several days.Yu Guangming was about to get out of the car to give her some money, but saw the security guard come and drive away the poor mother and child. Officer Qi kept reporting that "everything is normal" in the ballroom.Yu Guangming could still hear the guy whistling to the rhythm of the music. "When Will You Come Again", Yu Guangming heard the melody of the song, which was quite popular in Shanghai in the 1930s. Xiaohong only contacted them once, saying that many people asked her out. Through the window of the van, you can see that the neon lights have been turned on, and countless guests are walking into Paramount with great interest.In the 1930s, Shanghai was known as the "city that never sleeps". At about 8:45, there was suddenly no sound from the earphones.About 20 minutes later, Liao Guochang contacted Officer Qi, but the latter said it was just a false alarm.Xiaohong disappeared from his sight seven or eight minutes ago. He looked around and found her drinking in the corner of the small bar.Officer Qi then chose a seat where he could observe the bar and the dance hall at the same time, and monitored the whole process. "Don't worry, I can see everything here." Officer Qi said. Then there was another moment of silence.Yu Guangming took out a cigarette and threw it to Liao Guochang, lit it for him, and lit one himself.At this time, Secretary Li made the third call of the night. The party secretary made no secret of his nervousness and anxiety. About ten minutes later, Officer Qi reported hearing a woman in a cheongsam screaming in the bar, but not Xiaohong. Yu Guangming hurriedly called Xiaohong, but no one answered. Maybe the ballroom was too noisy and she didn't hear it.Liao Guochang also tried to call her, but no one answered.Liao Guochang then contacted the police officers deployed inside and outside the building. They all said that they did not see Xiaohong leave because they could not have mistaken her pink cheongsam. Yu Guangming talked to the police officers guarding the entrance of the ballroom, and they swore that they did not see Xiaohong leave, so she must still be in the Paramount building, and Yu Guangming immediately ordered the two people guarding the entrance of the ballroom to go to reinforce Qi police officer. At the same time, Liao Guochang rushed to the monitoring room of Paramount, where a police officer and building security were on duty. In less than five minutes, Yu Guangming saw Liao Guochang walk out of the monitoring room and shook his head in confusion.No trace of Xiaohong was found on the video surveillance record at the main entrance of the building. Then the police officers in the ballroom reported that they searched every corner, but Xiaohong seemed to have disappeared. Something must have happened. Thirty-five minutes had passed since Officer Qi first reported Xiaohong missing. Yu Guangming ordered the building's entrance to be sealed off. This was no longer the time to worry about public repercussions.Before the ballroom was evacuated, Liao Guochang called for emergency reinforcements. "Where did she go?" Officer Qi said regretfully. In fact, everyone present knew very well what happened to Xiaohong. "Why did that guy take Xiaohong away?" Liao Guochang said. "Look here." Officer Qi pointed to a secret door behind the bar and said.It's hard to see the secret door without going behind the bar. Yu Guangming rushed over and pushed the door open, and found a corridor behind the door, and an elevator on the side of the corridor. "He must have taken Xiaohong downstairs in the elevator and then escaped... It's not right, our people will definitely catch him if he goes out!" Liao Guochang was almost roaring. "I don't believe it! Damn it, check all the guest rooms!" Yu Guangming said this, but there was an ominous premonition in his heart. The front desk immediately brought a room account.A total of 32 rooms had guests checked in tonight, and the police officers immediately searched according to this list.When they knocked on the door of the third room, there was no echo in the room.According to the ledger records, the guest who lived in this room only booked for one day.The waiter brought the key and opened the door. The police officers filed in, but what they saw was the scene they least wanted to see.There was no one in the room, only Xiaohong's clothes were thrown messily on the ground, pink cheongsam, underwear, and a pair of high-heeled shoes were thrown in the corner. There was silence. She must have been hijacked into this guest room, where the murderer stripped her naked and took her away.Everything was just like what happened to the dead before. Yu Guangming and Liao Guochang re-examined the surveillance video, and this time they noticed a detail that had been overlooked before: a man helped another person and hurried out of the building.Both were wearing nightclub uniforms and hats.The man looked to be in his thirties or forties, with the brim of his hat pressed down very low, and wearing a pair of brown glasses. It was difficult to see his appearance from the surveillance video; With long hair, she looked sick, leaning heavily on the man's shoulder. At this moment, the manager of the nightclub arrived in a hurry. After watching the video, he said that these two people were not his clerks. It seems that the murderer registered at the hotel with a false name, hijacked Xiaohong into the guest room, changed her clothes and took her away.Judging from the video, Xiaohong had almost lost consciousness at the time, and she must have been unable to contact other colleagues.After being taken out of Paramount, the murderer should have taken her away in a car parked outside or by calling a taxi.Plainclothes officers deployed outside the store, however, do not recall seeing two men in nightclub uniforms leaving in a vehicle. Soon, the nearby neighborhood committees and taxi companies received a report from the assisted investigation.According to the briefing requirements, they need to keep an eye out for two people in nightclub uniforms, one of whom is delirious. In the bureau's party committee office, Secretary Li walked around like ants on a hot pot, and then threw a tantrum at the phone receiver.He overturned his previous conclusions and ordered a citywide search of private garages.Of course, this also requires the help of the neighborhood committee. Judging from the shooting time of the surveillance video, the murderer and Xiaohong had just left Paramount twenty minutes ago.In theory, police could still stop the killer before he returned to his secret lair, or arrest him the moment he reached the garage.They believed that the villain would have to go to great lengths to put Xiaohong in a red cheongsam. Then the nightclub manager called, and a waitress said that a middle-aged man had asked her if there was a new lady tonight.But the waitress could say little about what the man looked like, except that he wore a pair of tinted glasses with gold rims.He was seated at the time, so height cannot be judged. Not long after, a director of the neighborhood committee also called, saying that he had seen a white limousine on a street north of Paramount in the evening.He couldn't be sure what make of car it was, but it was rare to see such a luxurious car on that street. But as far as the police are concerned, all these clues are of little value at this moment. Time is passing by every minute.Although the entire city's police force has been put into search, Yu Guangming and others feel unprecedented pressure. This pressure seems to be getting heavier and heavier as time goes by, almost crushing them. Finally, around one o'clock in the morning, the police officer in charge of patrolling near a cemetery in Hongqiao District called to report the discovery. The cemetery has been abandoned for many years.According to what the Public Security Bureau has learned, this cemetery has recently become a paradise for grave robbers.Therefore, the police station has specially dispatched additional patrol police force in its vicinity. An hour ago, a tomb robber found something unusual. After getting closer, he realized that it was the corpse of a woman in a red cheongsam.People in their line of work are very superstitious, so he ran out of the cemetery screaming, and ran into a patrolling policeman in a panic.The tomb robber's description of the red cheongsam made the patrolling police officer tense immediately, and he immediately called the police. As soon as Liao Guochang started the engine of the police car, he received another call from the patrolling police officer. "A nightclub uniform was also found at the scene, not far from the body. There was also a hat, the kind worn by nightclub attendants." The other end of the phone added, "Come here quickly, the tomb robber was so frightened, he insisted that he saw a ghost gone."