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more than five foot six and rail thin. Ava wondered how he managed to lug the suitcases, some of which must have weighed as much as him.
    “Do you need help with your bags?” he asked, smiling.
    “No, but my uncle may. I’ve been waiting for him for about ten minutes and haven’t seen him. Tell me, did you see him leave?” she asked, holding out one of the photos.
    He shook his head.
    “Have you seen him at all over the past few days? I was told he was staying here, but I haven’t actually heard from him.”
    He took the photo from her and appeared to study it. “I don’t recognize him, but I’ll keep my eyes open now. This is a good vantage point because everyone has to walk by. Why don’t you give me your phone number and I’ll call you if I see him.”
    “I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Ava said, taken aback by his obvious flirtation.
    “This isn’t my real job, you know. I’m an engineering student at the university. I do this for pocket money.”
    “Thanks all the same,” she said. “I’ll sit on the other side of the lobby and watch for him myself.”
    Any ideas she had about sitting disappeared as soon as she got a good look at the couches and chairs. People were squeezed into every inch of them, and others hovered, waiting for an opening. Ava took up position against a wall that gave her a clear view of the hotel elevators and most of the lobby. To her left was a restaurant that had a long lineup of people, most of them with suitcases. She thought about eating but didn’t have the patience to stand in line. Besides, she didn’t want to risk missing Kung.
    After leaning against the wall for half an hour, she was bored and tired, both states being aggravated by the fact that she wasn’t convinced Kung was even in the hotel.
    She crossed the lobby again. The bellboy greeted her with a smile.
    “I’ve changed my mind,” she said quickly. “I do want you to call me if you see my uncle. The only problem might be that my number is international.”
    “I can use one of the hotel phones, but it will cost me money.”
    “How much do you need?”
    “Two hundred renminbi should be enough.”
    Ava took a Hong Kong $500 note from her purse. “Here, this will cover it and pay you something for your trouble. And if you do think you see him and it turns out to be him, I’ll pay you another thousand.”
    “You must really like this uncle of yours.”
    “Never mind about that,” she said, handing him one of her business cards. “My mobile number is the one on the bottom.”
    “I think you should leave me his photo as well. It’ll help me and I can maybe show it around a bit. I mean, I want to be sure that I pick out the right guy.”
    “Yes,” she said, without any feeling of confidence.
    Ava left the hotel to go back to the train station. The weather had been gloomy when she arrived, but now the sky was visible through patches of cloud and the sun flickered. As she walked, she became even more conscious of the surrounding construction activity, with its constant noise of cranes in motion and pounding piledrivers that she hadn’t heard from the taxi. She also hadn’t noticed how many people wore face masks. Halfway to the station, she understood why they did. Her nose began to itch; she blew into a tissue and saw that her mucus was tinged black. As the sun lit the area, she saw that the air was filled with sparkling floating dust particles.
    When she got to the station, she went immediately to the washroom. She blew her nose again, brushed her hair, and washed her hands and face. Walking any distance in Shenzhen wasn’t something she planned to do again.
    The posted schedule said that the trains ran every ten minutes to Mong Kok. Ava headed for the platform but was stopped just short as passengers were funnelled from the main terminal into a series of enclosures like cattle pens that opened onto the platform. When Ava complained to the woman standing next to her, the woman said,