Colton Banyon Mysteries 1-3: Colton Banyon Mysteries (Colton Banyon Mystery Book 20)

by Gerald J Kubicki

  Within minutes, the negotiating started. Banyon knew that almost anything in China could be negotiated. The Chinese were naturals at commerce and haggling. They overpriced everything and quickly dropped the price if you showed any interest. Loni had touched a bracelet and the female shop owner had immediately started her performance. He watched as Loni shook her head. There was another drop in price. Loni shrugged. The owner dropped the price again and quickly pointed to other jewelry. Loni put her hands up in the stop position. Loni then held up nine fingers. The owner was insulted and jabbered on and pointed to cheaper products. The exchange, all in Chinese, was fast and heated. This was serious work. Finally, Loni showed her frustration and left the store. She now stood on the street with Banyon. Her frustration showed on her face.

  “She was impossible,” Loni lamented.

  “Just wait a few minutes,” declared Banyon. He could tell that she really wanted the bracelet, but didn’t want to pay the owner’s price. After about two minutes, he said, “Let’s go.”

  They had taken three strides when the owner was suddenly on the street, holding out the bracelet in a box for Loni. She tried one more price reduction. Loni held up nine fingers. The owner nodded, and Banyon gave her a hundred-RMB note. She produced change and waved good-bye. The whole transaction, which took twenty minutes to complete, cost Banyon about ten American dollars.

  “That’s the first present that you’ve ever bought me,” she quipped.

  “Quiet or it will be the last one, too,” he replied.

  Suddenly, Loni froze. Banyon could see a distinct change in her manner. She went from relaxed to alert mode. Her eyes narrowed and her body was tense. She stared into the crowd for a few seconds, and then turned towards Banyon and initiated a hug. She whispered into his ear. “There is a Japanese man watching us. I saw him this morning while we were walking to breakfast. He is Yakuza.”

  Banyon started to turn his head to look, but she grabbed his head with both hands and kissed him. “Don’t look. We don’t want to alert him.”

  Gaining some composure, Banyon asked, “How can you tell that he is Japanese and Yakuza?”

  “He has the tattoos and the mannerism of a Yakuza. So, let’s see if he is really following us.”

  She was in charge now. As they moved down the street, she scanned windows for a reflection. She pointed to another shop and abruptly started across the street. She looked back to gauge the traffic and scanned for the man. She held Colt’s hand in a death grip and dragged him behind her. They continued down the street. She was looking for something. She stopped and pretended to adjust her shoe, all the while keeping tabs on the Yakuza. Banyon was a little scared. He could feel the adrenaline rising in his body. If the shadow was Yakuza, violence was never far behind. What were they after? he wondered.

  She dragged him into a shaded spot on a corner and stood very close. Heat from her now-energized body flowed over Colt.

  “Put your arms around me,” she ordered. “Here is the plan.”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  The man who followed them was not a professional tracker. He was an enforcer and usually wanted his prey to see him. His orders had been specific: Follow the couple and report back. They were not to know that he was following them. He was to take note of everywhere they went and pay particular attention to any old people to whom they talked. He was not to harm anyone until he was told to do so. He had been sent to the Shanghai airport from Japan and was told what time his quarry would arrive. The rest was up to him to figure out.

  He saw the couple up ahead. They had stopped to kiss under a shop awning. He stood on the sidewalk pretending to be window-shopping. He could not figure out why he was following them. Maybe they owed money to the boss, he thought. The man he followed was easy to track. He was a full head taller than everyone else on the street was. The woman was just another pretty Chinese girl. There were many who looked like her in Shanghai.

  Suddenly, someone bumped into him and knocked his sunglasses to the ground. He bent down and retrieved the glasses. He could not tell who had bumped him. People passed him in both directions on the crowded sidewalk. When he looked back for the tall man, he was gone.

  ***

  Banyon was out of breath. He had followed her instructions to the letter. She had given him her small purse and high-heeled shoes. Loni had told him to count to fifty, then bolt around the corner. He had entered the first door on the left. It was a huge buffet restaurant. He climbed to the top floor. He took a seat in a back corner and hunched down to make himself smaller. Loni had left him on the corner and disappeared into the crowd. He was worried about her. She had amazing abilities, but was highly impulsive. His concern was over which trait dominated this venture.

  Without notice, a dainty foot appeared on the chair next to him. “Something in a size five, please,” she said.

  “Gladly,” he responded and proceeded to insert her foot into the shoe. A second later, he was offered the other foot. “Is he gone?”

  “Yes. Our guy is definitely Yakuza,” she remarked as she sat down. “But don’t worry, he is not a professional shadow and he probably went back to the hotel to wait for us there.”

  “But he will just pick us up there when we get back,” Banyon replied.

  “I think he will have other things to do for a while.” She suddenly produced a wallet from somewhere and started to go through it. “He has an international driver’s license in the name of Binh Handa.”

  “You grabbed his wallet?” Concern creased Banyon’s face.

  Loni didn’t answer his question. She continued to rifle through the wallet. “The rest of this stuff is in Japanese. I can’t read it.”

  “Why would the Yakuza be following us? We don’t have the book; it’s in Japan. Do you think they’re after us?”

  “I doubt that. Why waste resources to shadow us when they know where we live? They know something that we don’t,” she said. “What could it be?”

  Banyon stood up and walked to the large, floor-to-ceiling windows that spanned the entire wall. Loni was busy studying the wallet. He looked out as he thought about the Yakuza. He suddenly spoke. “What does this mean, Wolf?”

  The reply was softer than he expected. “Nothing. It is right in front of you.”

  Wolf’s comment did not register for several seconds. Suddenly, Banyon shouted to Loni. “Look, there it is!”

  She raced to his side and looked where he pointed. Two doors down on the opposite side of the street stood the building that was in the background of the old picture. It was darker now, but otherwise exactly the same. “It says ‘Education Ministry’ on the sign,” she translated.

  “Let’s go,” he said.

  Chapter Forty

  They entered the building and were stopped by a fierce-looking receptionist. She asked which minister was expecting them. Loni tried to explain that they wanted to know about the building. The receptionist then stated that no one would talk to them without an appointment. Loni asked for an appointment with the building manager. The receptionist said he only took appointments that were scheduled two weeks in advance. Furthermore, a list of discussion topics must be submitted to the receptionist at least a week in advance of the appointment. Loni was visibly frustrated. She then asked if the building had been a synagogue at one time. The indignant receptionist replied that religion was forbidden. Banyon and Loni left before someone arrested them.

  “I was hoping that they would have records someplace in the basement or something. I didn’t expect to be stonewalled,” Banyon said. “We’ll have to switch to plan B.”

  “And which plan B is that?” Loni asked.

  “Now we look for old people who lived here during the war. That plan B,” Banyon replied.

  They spent the next three hours walking up and down the street inquiring about old people. Loni acquired two more pieces of jewelry and a dress that Colt hoped she would wear when he was around. But they didn’t find anyone who would admit to knowing the two wome
n in the photo or the synagogue. Dave picked them up at four-thirty and returned them to the hotel. Colt paid him in cash, of course, and he promised to pick them up at ten the next morning.

  The front desk sent them to a local restaurant for dinner. It was only three blocks from the hotel. Loni wore her new dress. The food was cooked in a kettle of water set in the center of the table. They had fun. They put slices of various foods in the hot broth and then picked them out with chopsticks. They both drank rice wine and Colt felt a little tipsy. He had already paid the check when he noticed that Loni looked like a zombie.

  “Loni are you alright?” He asked.

  “I don’t know what’s wrong. I can’t even stand up. I’m so tired that I want to sleep right here.”

  “It is jet lag. I told you this would happen. Come on, I’ll help you get back to the hotel.”

  By the time that they got to the street, she could no longer walk. Colt tried to support her but she kept stumbling in her high-heeled shoes. She was virtually asleep on her feet. Her body started to sag to the ground and Colt had to scoop her up. It was like lifting Jello, all jiggle and no substance. Her long hair cascaded to the ground. Colt knew that he had to carry her the three blocks to the hotel. She was not heavy, but three blocks was a long way. After a block, he stood her up, turned around, and hoisted her on to his back. He grabbed her legs and drew them up, causing her dress to rise to an immodest level. She was now riding piggyback. He still wasn’t sure that he could make it to the hotel, when he spotted the Yakuza. He stood in a doorway smoking a cigarette and pretending to be doing something else. Banyon picked up the pace and galloped into the hotel.

  He walked through the lobby and noticed that everyone stared as he entered the elevator and pressed the button to their floor. Loni was snoring. He eventually managed to get her into her bedroom and threw off the bed covers. As he tried to deposit her on the bed, he lost his balance and landed on top of her.

  “Not so rough. Be gentle,” she moaned as he scrambled to get off her. He didn’t know what to do next. Should he undress her or leave her with her dress on? They were close friends and she would do the same for me, he thought. In the end, he felt it was safer for him to take off her shoes and unzip her dress. She could do the rest later. He closed the door on the way out.

  ***

  The next morning, she was already up when he left his bedroom. He was dressed in shorts and a tee shirt this time. The TV was on and tuned to a British news station.

  “Good morning,” he said, then fled to the bathroom

  When he came out, he realized that she had not moved. Her eyes were red and she clearly had been crying. Colt walked over and sat on the coffee table facing her. “Okay, so let’s hear it.”

  “I’m so stupid. I didn’t listen to your advice. I got drunk and don’t even remember coming back to the hotel. My dress is ruined. And then I missed it.”

  “What did you miss?” a mystified Colt asked.

  “You know. You were in my bed. I missed the whole thing.”

  He was alarmed now and had to correct her thinking. “Loni, I would never take advantage of you. It was jet lag. You passed out. I carried you home on my back and put you to bed. I unzipped your dress because I thought that it might be less constricting. Anything else would be an insult to our relationship.”

  “So, it was just a dream,” she exclaimed.

  “What dream?”

  “Never mind,” she said, waving him away. She then admonished him. “And next time you unzip a lady’s dress, you’d better take it off.”

  Chapter Forty-One

  Dave picked them up at ten forty-five, forty-five minutes late. He noticed that they were more subdued than the day before. They had skipped breakfast and opted to order some coffee through room service. They had worked on a plan to find old people, but neither had come up with a good idea. Then there was the problem of the Yakuza who followed them.

  Colt was also disturbed about their early morning conversation. The truth was that he desired a physical relationship with Loni, and she obviously knew it. She even dreamed about it. He couldn’t decide if this was good or bad. She was unfocused and seemed hell-bent on self-pity. Maybe I need to pay attention to another woman, he thought. That always worked to snap her out of the doldrums.

  “You go shopping, again?” Dave asked.

  “Yes,” answered the lethargic Loni.

  “No,” answered the calculating Banyon. “Actually, we are trying to find very old people who might recognize someone in a picture. It was taken in 1942 in front of the Education Ministry on Shaonxi Road. We have been unsuccessful so far.” Loni looked at Banyon with daggers in her eyes.

  Dave supplied a surprising reply. “I have aunt, she live in area, whole life. She very old. We go see her.”

  “It couldn’t hurt,” Loni joked.

  “First, we lose man that follow you. Okay?”

  “Okay,” Banyon replied. He then turned to Loni and said, “Sometimes you just have to break the rules.”

  She smiled back at him this time. “What rules are you referring to?” she cunningly replied.

  The car accelerated as Dave deftly maneuvered around several cars as though they were standing still. Loni and Colt were thrown back and forth in the back of the car. Banyon was sure that they would crash.

  “Colt you are crushing me,” she said. “Put your arms around me and hold me.” He didn’t need to be told twice.

  Dave swerved around a big lorry and bolted down an exit ramp. He made an immediate left turn and pulled under the roadway. His position allowed him to see cars as they left the ramp. A black car zoomed down the ramp, skidded to a halt, and turned right. Dave then put the car in gear and turned left.

  They soon entered an unknown narrow and dark street. Dave looked for a place to park, but settled on the sidewalk and came around to open the door for Loni. Colt still had his arms wrapped around her.

  “You can let go now. I’m not going anywhere.” There was a flicker of something in her large almond eyes. It seemed to Colt as if she had reached a decision. Her small hand brushed his cheek and then she got out of the car.

  ***

  Dave’s aunt turned out to be a diminutive woman of undetermined age. She lived in a small apartment in a newer high-rise building. She immediately offered them tea and sat down to talk. Since Banyon spoke very little Chinese, he concentrated on being polite and surveyed the home. The furniture seemed smaller than that in the hotel.

  Dave, Loni, and the old woman cackled on for some time. At one point, Loni laughed aloud. Banyon gave her a puzzled look. “The aunt thinks that you are ‘hot,’ Colt. She says that if she were thirty years younger, you would already be in bed. Isn’t she cute?” Banyon detected a note of sarcasm in her voice.

  “What did she say about the picture?”

  “Oh, we haven’t talked about that yet. We are just catching up.” Catching up on what? he thought.

  The conversation lasted for another fifteen minutes. When Loni stood up, Colt stood up, too. He went to shake the aunt’s hand but she gripped him a bear hug. The top of her head just reached his breastbone. She said something to Loni and then backed off, and bowed her head.

  “She said that you are big and strong and well-equipped,” Loni relayed with a smile.

  They stepped into the hallway and Dave pointed down the corridor. “He lives five doors down.”

  “Who lives five doors down?” Banyon inquired.

  “Mr. Cho,” Loni said. “He was the constable for the street during World War II. If anybody remembered the women, it would be him. She also said that we should not trust him. He was corrupt. He took advantage of many people during the war. He still believed in the old Chinese traditions.”

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Mr. Cho answered on the third knock. He wore an old pair of striped boxer shorts and a dirty tee shirt. He had not shaved in several days and looked like he had been drinking. He stared defiantly at the three people in his doorw
ay. Loni lowered her eyes and assumed a submissive pose. Banyon understood. Dave would take the lead.

  Banyon told Dave what to say. In Chinese, Dave said, “Let us in, old man. The white man has money for you if you answer his questions.”

  The old man hesitated for a few seconds. His eyes darted back and forth and examined the faces before him. Then he threw the door open and backed into the room. He sat down in a wicker chair that had seen better days. There was no place else to sit, so the three visitors stood in a line in front of him. Mr. Cho appraised Loni as though she was a piece of candy.

  “Show him money,” Dave said to Banyon. “He likes money.” Colt pulled out three bills and held them in his hand. Dave showed Cho the picture and asked if he knew the women.

  Dave translated the response. He says, “Of course I knew them. We had seven prostitutes in the ghetto. The older girl, Eva, was one of the better ones. But I always fancied the younger one. Her name was Sofia. She had a fine ass.” He reached out his hand for the money. Banyon gave him one bill.

  He instructed Dave to ask what happened to them. The old man replied, “Eva was killed by some Japanese soldiers. They had tortured her. It was a big mess. I could do nothing.” He held out his hand but Banyon didn’t budge.