“From the pattern of the cell phone signals it is certain that he was inside a vehicle,” said Inspector Cheng.
Commissioner Zhou was peering at the clear acetate overlay that covered the large wall map where the clerk had marked the location of the signals received by the cellular base stations. He traced a line with his finger and tapped the acetate with his fingernail. “State Security discovered his cell phone on a bus in Yanch. What does this mean to you?”
“That he did not flee west,” Inspector Cheng replied.
“It means nothing. He may have fled in any direction. He may not have fled at all. I think not at all, so we will allow State Security to spend their resources searching for him outside the city. Avakian enjoys his cleverness, but there will always be a plan. We must discover the plan behind his cleverness. Join me at the map.”
Inspector Cheng moved up beside him. “I could assemble all this information on the computer for you.”
Commissioner Zhou turned his head briefly to look up and over at him. “And then I would be straining to see detail on a small computer screen, and doubtless miss something important.”
“I am sorry, Commissioner.”
“One should always endeavor to not say anything which will require an apology. Now, observe the map. From the location where he killed the soldiers, we see his path move roughly eastward through the automatic banking machine transactions he made. He is clever and does not move in a straight line, constantly changing direction. Then near the city center he stops withdrawing money. No taxi or bus picked them up, and there is no video from the subway. They were both on foot. And could have proceeded in any direction. But I think not to retrace his steps. So north, south or continuing east. Which narrows the area we must search.”
The phone rang, and the inspector answered. He hung up and announced excitedly, “A white man of Avakian’s description purchased five flashlights from a shop in the Dongzhimen district last night.”
“Dongzhimen?” Commissioner Zhou tapped the map once again. “How did we gain this information?”
“From the local officer on patrol. Why would he purchase so many flashlights?”
“That is not the relevant point, however interesting. Send an immediate alert to all local bureaus in the city. Particularly the small foot stations. They must make inquiries at every shop in their localities with Avakian’s photograph. We must know immediately of any shop that has seen him.”
A Chinese officer would never willingly lose face by saying he did not understand. So Inspector Cheng instead asked, “And what he has purchased?”
“Yes, but that is still less relevant than us being aware of every location he has been seen. These we will mark on the map.”
“To seek a pattern?”
“No. The absence of a pattern. When we plot every location where he has left an identifiable trace, we will see that he has been all over the city. Except for one area. That area is where he is hiding. And when we discover which of his friends and contacts lives within that area, then we will have found him.”
Commissioner Zhou picked up a marker and began shading in sections of the city. “We must make significant progress this day. I suspect he will be stationary in daylight, and active at night. If everyone completes their work assignments satisfactorily, we will find him tomorrow.”