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

by Gerald J Kubicki

  “The back room was very similar to opium dens I’d seen in Shanghai. Bunk beds lined both walls; there were twelve in all. While there was none of the smoke that you would find in an opium den, it reeked of hopelessness. Several pairs of dead eyes followed me as I wandered to the back of the room. A young woman stood by an open fireplace. She was dressed in peasant clothes and tried to look busy as I approached her. Shelves on one wall held herbs and food, and she pretended to be lining the items up. I could tell that she feared something.” Sofia’s hands rested in her lap. She recalled the conversation as though it had taken place yesterday.

  “‘Are you my replacement?’ the peasant asked without turning towards me.

  “‘Master Lee asked me to bring him green tea,’ I replied.

  “She burst into tears. ‘That was my privilege,’ she wailed. ‘He is sure to sell me now.’ A chill went down my spine.”

  “‘Are you a slave?’ I asked.”

  Loni and Banyon exchanged looks.

  “The girl told me her father had a serious problem with drinking and came to Master Lee for help. The family was very poor and offered their youngest daughter as payment. Master Lee accepted and told her that he would teach her how to help people. She worked hard for six months, but was now convinced that I was her replacement. She told me a local warlord had inquired about buying her. He also suffered from alcoholism and about a month ago had stayed at the clinic for a week. She thought Master Lee was seriously considering selling her as she had great value to a warlord,” Sofia said. “I asked her why she thought that, and she replied, ‘I’m a virgin.’”

  “Life was cheap then,” Banyon noted as he slid his hand over to Loni. She grabbed it like it was a lifeline.

  “When I returned with the green tea, I found a now-animated Eva. She was discussing her treatment with Master Lee. I bowed and poured him tea. A calming power emitted from him as I stood next to his seat. I suddenly knew he wouldn’t sell the girl, and I was not a replacement. He never had to say a word.

  “Eva looked at me as I returned to my pillow. Her eyes were clear. ‘Master Lee has told me that my treatment will only take three days,’ she said. ‘He said I have responded well to the cure. It is the tea, Sofia.’ Master Lee watched my reaction through half-open eyes, his body never moved.

  “‘It is an ancient recipe,’ he said. ‘The seven ingredients come from different parts of the empire, one from Japan. It is called the ‘Drunkenness Dispeller’ and stops the effect of alcohol. People who continue to drink the tea will not face the demon of alcohol again. I have a proposition for you.’”

  Sofia glanced at Banyon. “His proposition was intriguing. ‘I will give you the recipe for the tea,’ he said. ‘You may use it freely. It also works on opium addicts. There are many in Shanghai who could benefit.’

  “‘And what would you want in return, Master Lee?’

  “‘The weed that grows fast,’ he answered. ‘That is our word for it. The Japanese call it by another name. With the war ongoing, it is in short supply. You can get it for me through Japanese officers in Shanghai. I am aware of your profession.’

  “‘So, it is one of the ingredients in the tea.’ I stated.”

  “‘Yes, I will give you a sample to show people. It is a common plant in Japan. There is some grown here now, but it is dangerous to travel in those areas—even for me.’

  “He was negotiating a deal,” Banyon laughed as he threw up his hands. “I knew it. With the Chinese, it is always about a deal.”

  “You are, of course, right, Mr. Banyon. But this was a good deal. So I asked him.”

  “‘How will I ship it to you, Master Lee?’

  “‘I will send my assistant to Shanghai once a month to retrieve the plant. She is the one you talked to in the back.’ I wondered if he had exceptional hearing or some other sense,” Sofia said.

  “Wow, Master Lee seems almost supernatural,” Loni declared.

  “The ancient Chinese arts and disciplines were virtually unheard of in the Western world at that time. Students in China studied, sometimes for decades, to perfect even one subject. The practice of master and apprentice was thousands of years old. We have sensationalized it in movies in the West. But to the Chinese, this was like studying to be a doctor or engineer. It was a lifelong pursuit for perfection,” Banyon said.

  “Yes, Loni, he was real and so was his recipe,” Sofia interjected.

  “So, did you make the deal?” Loni pressed.

  “Of course. I saw it as a way to make money. But I didn’t tell him that,” she answered.

  Chapter Sixty

  “After a week, we returned to Shanghai. Shuang, the assistant to Master Lee, traveled with us. Eva seemed like a different person. She was happy and talkative. I kept the recipe, written by Master Lee, hidden in my bra,” Sofia said as she used her hand to indicate where in her bra she kept the secret.

  “As soon as we reached Shanghai, Eva went with Shuang to see the Japanese commandant. Eva didn’t want him to know that I existed because the Japanese had proven to be untrustworthy, to say the least. There was nothing to stop him from doing whatever he wanted to her. She took the sample of the plant Master Lee gave us with her.”

  “Eva returned, with Shuang, late that evening and said we would get our first shipment in two weeks. She also told me I would no longer work on Monday afternoons, as that would be the time-slot reserved for the commandant.

  “While we waited for our first shipment of product, Eva went back to work with new enthusiasm. Shuang and I went to gather the other ingredients from Sun. She showed me how to mix the products and we talked about how to help people with alcohol problems. She said new patients must drink two cups of the recipe immediately. Then one cup must be ingested every four hours for three days. Finally, two cups a day for the final four days. She told us to inform the patients that if they felt like they needed alcohol, to repeat the four-day procedure. She said it was best to give each patient a small bag of the recipe to use if he was tempted, but few people needed the recipe after the first week. I’d already decided to charge the patients for their prescriptions,” Sofia said.

  “The Japanese commandant arrived with the first shipment two weeks later, just as promised. Shuang volunteered to help Eva with his physical. I went about making the recipe and finding customers.”

  “So, when Shuang went back to Wuhan, did things change between her and Master Lee?” Loni seemed more interested in the relationship between Master Lee and Shuang than anything else.

  “Of course,” Sofia proudly stated. “We taught her many skills. They soon married and had a son,” Sofia replied.

  “But she was just doing what she was taught. It was a mechanical thing,” Banyon said, thinking about the Patel sisters.

  “Well, we taught her skills and techniques, but she had the desire to please him. Our desire was always money; hers was love,” Sofia replied.

  Changing the subject, Banyon asked, “So, Shuang came to see you every month. You had the recipe and you had a supply of the ingredients. Did you actually set up a clinic? Where did you find the room?”

  “The first thing we did was to divide the storefront in half. We had workmen put up a wall, with an entrance, about halfway back from the front of the store. The front part was then made into a real clinic and the door led to a more personal touch. I bought a new nursing uniform and went out on the streets to find patients. It was not hard, as there were many people with alcohol problems in the ghetto.”

  “And what about Eva? Did she go back to drinking?” Loni asked.

  “Eva never touched another drop of alcohol. She went upscale on her side of the business, and started entertaining businessmen and diplomats, as well.”

  “How did starting a clinic work for you? I mean what problems did you have?” Banyon asked. He was thinking about a modern day clinic for alcoholism.

  “We could not help everyone. We didn’t have facilities to house people, so we had to depend on them to return
for their dosages. Some just bought the mixture of tea and never returned. Some ran out of money. Others were too far gone. But I can tell you that those people who were not hardcore alcoholics responded well to the treatments. I like to believe we saved many lives in the ghetto.”

  “So, life wasn’t so bad for you then?” Banyon asked.

  “I wouldn’t say it was easy,” replied Sofia. “The commandant realized we were using the plants for making tea for men and women. He demanded money, in addition to his weekly Eva ration. Constable Cho, of course, decided there was a tax on our service, as well. Many people could not pay and were homeless. We could never trust them in the building. They would steal anything to buy more liquor. The treatment only worked if the people really wanted to quit drinking and stayed away for alcohol.”

  “What I meant was that you weren’t just surviving. You were making a profit,” Banyon said.

  “I suppose you are right. The war seemed far away until the day that Eva died.”

  “Tell us about that,” Loni asked.

  Chapter Sixty-One

  Sofia seemed to be on the verge of tears again, but she continued. “It was a Monday afternoon. That was when all the Japanese would come to the office. They generally didn’t come into the ghetto, but when they did, they came with several guards. Sometimes five or six officials would visit at one time. The soldiers stayed outside and milled around the storefront. It was bad for business and most people skipped their treatment.

  “I was dating Sun. We went to the French Quarter for dinner and later to the garden in the Quarter. He kept trying to fondle me and I was getting tired of it. He left me at the entrance of the ghetto. It was about eight o’clock when I reached the front door. It was open. Faung usually went home around six and locked the front door. The Japanese always left the ghetto before dark. My first thought was that Eva was still working and I tried to be quiet. I locked the door behind me. As I reached the back room, I realized it was a mess. Things were thrown everywhere. I thought there it must have been some party. Then I found Eva. She was tied to the bed and had been beaten to death. Her eyes just stared at me.”

  Sofia stopped as tears welled up in her eyes and she began to wail uncontrollably. Loni immediately produced more tissues and passed them to Sofia. She went to comfort Sofia, but the old woman raised her hand and fended her off. Banyon found himself examining his shoes. Sofia cried for a good five minutes before she could speak.

  “I’m sorry. I haven’t cried over Eva in many years. But now I want to continue,” she said.

  Loni was quick on the trigger. “So, someone murdered Eva.”

  “Yes, it was two Japanese soldiers. Many people saw them in the ghetto and at the storefront. As I told you, the Japanese didn’t stay in the ghetto after dark. They also stole everything we had of value, including all our money and the book with the recipe inside.”

  “Was that when you went to Sun?” Loni asked.

  “Yes, I was scared that the men might come back. Sun only made me feel worse.”

  “So you went to Constable Cho,” Banyon added.

  “That pig told me he already knew that it was Japanese soldiers who murdered my sister. He said there was nothing he could do, as the Japanese were in control of the ghetto and could do what they wanted with all of us. Then, believe it or not, he offered to protect me if I had sex with him.”

  “My God,” Loni blurted. “What did you do?”

  “I couldn’t even consider his offer. It was too demeaning. I went to the synagogue. They told me that I must flee. The Japanese would certainly come looking for me and I probably would not survive their questions. They said they would take care of Eva’s funeral, but I must leave right then—before they closed the gates to the ghetto. Luckily, I had some money in my purse.”

  “But, where did you go?” Loni broke in.

  “I went to Wuhan.”

  “You didn’t go back to the office?” Banyon inquired.

  “I could not risk it. The gates to the ghetto were about to close, so I ran through the streets with just the clothes on my back. The soldiers at the gate were suspicious and didn’t want to let me pass. It was only minutes to midnight. I made up some lie and sprinted from the ghetto. They just laughed and watched me run. They had seen me come and go many times. Word had not reached them yet. They didn’t know that Eva had been murdered.”

  “But the trains would not have been running that late,” Loni observed. “What did you do for the night?”

  “Actually, the trains didn’t run for several days. The Communists and the Nationalists were both on the offensive just outside of Shanghai. The Japanese soldiers would not let the trains leave the station. Thousands of us stayed huddled near the terminal. I was cold, hungry, and stood out like a sore thumb. I tried to disguise myself with peasant clothes I bought from an old man. I put a hat on my head to hide my blonde hair.

  “The soldiers mingled within the crowd and when they found a suspected enemy, they shot them on the spot. Bodies littered the terminal. Shots could be heard day and night. I was never more scared, and stayed semi-hidden in a corner with my knees drawn up and my head bowed.”

  “Finally, the offensive ended and we all rushed to the train. I was more desperate than I had ever been in my life. I pushed smaller women out of the way, some men, too. We all wanted to get away, but it was survival of the fittest. I was determined to live and get to Wuhan. I knew Master Lee would help me. When the train finally left the station, it was full of men. Most women could not force themselves onto the train.”

  “Well at least you got away from danger,” Loni said with an air of triumph that Sofia was able to get on the train.

  “Actually, it was much worse on the train, it was a brutal experience in mass hysteria,” Sofia said.

  “Why,” questioned Loni?

  “I was not strong enough to gain a seat and had to stand in a crush of humanity as the train swayed and rocked back and forth. It was a horrible experience. The men around me soon discovered that I was a woman and they set about attacking me at their leisure.

  “There were so many men that I literally could not move. I made the mistake of grabbing the overhead rail for support and could not bring my hands down to stop them. Men grabbed at my breasts and rubbed themselves on my rear end. Someone opened my peasant blouse and my breasts swung freely with the movement of the train. I started to scream, but someone tied a rag in my mouth. They then tied my hands to the overhead rail. It was a mass orgy of men and one woman, me. The smell of arousal was all around me.”

  “How could people be so cruel?” Loni asked of no one in particular as she jumped up and stamped her foot for emphasis.

  Sofia shook her head in agreement. She then continued. “None of us knew if we would live another day. People died just because they were in the wrong place. I was a distraction for the men. None of them thought of consequences or of their wives. All they knew was that there was a female body tethered like a cow among them.” Sofia blotted her eyes with a tissue.

  “A big Chinese man sat directly in front of me. I faced towards the window. He reached out with both hands and drew my pants down slowly. It was agony. I knew what would happen next. Immediately, something began to poke me in the ass. Mouths bit at my nipples. They were like piranha. I couldn’t even see what they were doing. The big China man would not let anyone near my front, but my rear entry was fair game.”

  “How did you get out of that mess?” Loni asked. She had correctly assessed that Sofia had needed saving.

  “It wasn’t who but what that saved me,” she quickly answered. “We had already passed into Nationalist country and were only a few miles from Wuhan when the train was hit by artillery fire. The Communists were also fighting the Nationalists and had launched an attack on Wuhan. The train shook from the shell which exploded several cars behind us. We screeched to a halt. Men started diving through the open windows and streamed out the exits. I was left alone, half-naked, in the railcar. I managed to sl
ide my hands over on the bar until I reached the open end. I quickly dressed and looked for a way out. I could see Communists out of every window. They were making their way towards the train. Gunfire mowed down all those who tried to run. I knew that escape was futile. Survival was all that mattered,” she said.

  “Some men had taken off their shirts and they littered the car. I took off my peasant blouse and pulled on a tee shirt. I next ripped the legs off my pants and made them into shorts. Anyone could see that I was a woman. I then sat down and waited. A soldier entered the car and pointed a gun at me.

  “I said, ‘Thank you for saving me, Comrade.’

  “‘What are you doing on this train?’ he asked suspiciously.

  “‘I am the cleaning woman,’ I replied. ‘So many men got on the train in Shanghai that I could not get off. I have been violated many times and need medical attention.’

  “He looked at me for several seconds. ‘You must leave this train at once.’ He shooed me with his rifle. When I left the train, no one shot me.”

  Chapter Sixty-Two

  “Sofia, that is so horrible. I had no idea that things could have been so bad.” Loni was near tears herself. “Those men, how could they have been so brutal?”

  “There was a war going on. Everyone was subject to dying. What happened to one person didn’t make a difference. People only cared about themselves. That included me,” Sofia replied.

  “Did you make it to Wuhan?” Banyon asked.

  “I walked the rest of the way into the city. I found a stream along the way and washed up as best as I could. As I approached Wuhan, I realized that it had changed. Fear radiated from the buildings. People stayed inside, many eyes followed me as I staggered down the streets. I only vaguely remembered where the herb store was located. No one talked to me or gave me directions. Sounds of gunfire and bombs filled the air. I was starving, tired, and sore from the repeated violations to my body. Finally, I just sat down on a bench and started crying,” she said.