Free The Killing Room by Peter May

young. I live with my grandparents back home, and no way can they afford to put me through med school. I work nights and holidays, anything I can get. Usually at one of the hospitals, but this paid better.’ He waved his hand vaguely at the window. ‘Not that anyone’s going to steal anything here. But the Americans are fussy about security. That’s why the money’s so good.’
    Mei-Ling said, ‘Clearly, then, they didn’t get their money’s worth when the night watchman didn’t even notice someone digging a hole big enough to dump eighteen bodies in.’
    The medical student looked hurt. ‘Hey, how am I supposed to keep an eye on the whole place? It’s pitch black out there after ten at night. They don’t even give me a flashlight.’
    ‘But whoever buried those bodies must have had light to work by. You’d have seen that surely?’ Mei-Ling’s directness impressed Li.
    ‘Not if I was sleeping.’ Jiang was getting defensive now.
    ‘But weren’t you supposed to be on watch?’ Mei-Ling wasn’t going to let him off the hook. ‘I mean, isn’t that what a night watchman’s supposed to do? Watch?’
    ‘Maybe he was too busy watching TV,’ Li said. He glanced at the set, which was tuned in to the Hong Kong music channel, ‘V’. ‘How come they don’t give you a flashlight but they provide you with a television set?’
    Jiang laughed. ‘They didn’t provide the TV! That’s mine.’
    ‘So you watch TV all night?’ Mei-Ling said.
    ‘Until about twelve. Then, usually, I sleep for a few hours.’ He glanced from one to the other, absorbing their disapproval. ‘Hey, I said they paid better than the hospital, but not enough to stay awake all night. I’ve got to work all day, too, you know.’
    ‘So you didn’t notice anything unusual in the last week?’
    ‘No, I didn’t. And if I had, I’d have told your people when I got here. Look …’ he was anxious to justify himself, ‘… usually I get here about seven, do a tour of the site, then lock the gate. I do another check around before the lights go off at ten. Then the only light out there is from the streetlights way over on the far side – and most of that’s still in shadow because of the wall.’
    ‘What about the workers’ huts over there?’ Li asked.
    ‘What about them?’
    ‘That’s their accommodation during construction, isn’t it?’
    ‘Yeah, but there’s nobody living there yet. Won’t be until they start the construction proper and take on crew. Then there won’t be any need for me.’
    Mei-Ling perched on the edge of the table and looked at the magazines Jiang had been reading. ‘ Human Pathology ,’ she read out in English and looked at the student. ‘Where did you get these?’
    ‘Subscription,’ he said. ‘It’s an American journal. They send it every month.’ And then, again, defensively, ‘I’m interested. It’s my subject.’
    Li said, ‘Interested enough to go abducting young women and practising your technique on them?’
    Jiang grinned. ‘Hey, now you’re joking, right?’ But Li didn’t smile and Jiang’s grin faded. ‘I didn’t kill anybody. The only people I’ve ever cut up were on the practice slab at the university.’ He paused and leaned forward confidentially. ‘One of your guys told me they’d been hacked to pieces – the bodies out there. Is that right?’
    Li thought the boy’s relish was unhealthy. ‘You shouldn’t go listening to gossip,’ he said. ‘Or repeating it.’
    Mei-Ling took out a business card, scored her name off it and wrote in another. She handed it to Jiang. ‘Go to 803 Zhongshan Beiyi Road first thing tomorrow morning and ask for Detective Dai. He’ll take your statement.’
    ‘I’ve got classes tomorrow,’ the student protested.
    ‘Be there,’ Mei-Ling said, and she stood up to open the door.
    Li said, ‘One last thing. Where do you live, Jiang?’
    ‘I got a place up near Jiangwan Stadium.’
    ‘No, I mean where’s your home? Where do you