Chapter One: The Woman in the Rain

When Shen Yao pressed the shutter, he did not know he had photographed a name that could kill. At 5:47 that afternoon, Linchuan was suffering through the dirtiest rain of December. An overpass pressed the sky down into a sheet of iron. Taxis sent gutter water over the sidewalk. Shen stood at the intersection of Changle Road, the battery compartment of his Nikon held shut with tape, and framed a crowd waiting for the light to change. He was three months behind on the rent for his studio. His series, *Linchuan in the Rain*, was not an artistic statement. A stock agency paid eighty yuan per accepted shot. He needed twenty to buy one more week from his landlord.