Chapter One: The Woman in the Rain

The window of a café behind her reflected the street and the outline of Shen holding his camera. Tang leaned closer. Her smile vanished. “Do you know her?” “No.” “But she looks like…” Tang swallowed the rest. She enlarged the image. “What is this alley in the background?” The window should have reflected Changle Road. Instead, a narrow lane appeared in the photograph. A black plaque hung at its entrance, painted with the words: NO-LIGHT ALLEY, NUMBER 44. Shen looked up at the real window. It held only a phone advertisement and a row of rental bicycles. “A double reflection,” he said. “Double reflections don't have addresses.”