Chinawoman's Chance

by James Musgrave

  Ah Toy laughed. "My goodness! Where did you learn about Greek Mythology?"

  Miss Potter bowed her head in embarrassment, but then she looked up again, and smiled, her blue eyes flashing. "I often acquired my best clients at the library. I had the time, so I read about the foundations of our democracy. The Greek Pantheon was dominated by gods who would fulfill their needs through trickery. I asked myself, if they could do it, then why couldn't we women? Until I read that ad in the newspaper yesterday, I thought it was impossible."

  As Clara watched her friend interview the young candidate, she had a deeper awareness of why she loved the United States and its Constitutional experiment. In theory, every person, even a woman such as Marjorie Potter, should have the opportunity to rise above her bad luck and birth right to build a new life. Just as Clara had overcome the infamy of desertion and divorce, so, too, could Marjorie overcome the depression and dangers of harlotry. In America, we must help one another, and we must fight the tyrants who would keep us down for their own manipulative purposes. To do this, our Constitution must be flexible and adapt to new conditions and it must protect our downtrodden and powerless. Laws such as the Chinese Exclusion Act were not in keeping with our Constitutional tenets of "equality and justice for all."

  Missus Elizabeth Baxter-Shaw also arrived on time at two p.m., but it seemed she was attempting to complain to Ah Toy rather than the established protocol. A recent widow, the applicant wore a scarlet and black satin dress, and a tall, turban-like matching hat that perched on top of her graying black swirl of hair like a buoy in the San Francisco Bay. She also held in her arms, cradled like a baby, a tiny black chihuahua. A tall Negro chauffeur was carrying her black parasol, and he also took the dog from her, as the missus sat down in the chair while keeping up a constant stream of diatribe.

  " … and then the cable car conductor began to lecture me about bringing a receptacle for my dog's feces. I pointed to Abraham, my driver, and I told the little man that he was my six feet two inches of receptacle. We drove out to the California Street station in a surrey, only to be insulted by a pipsqueak in a uniform. Our conductors on Rincon Hill are much more decorous to their betters. It must be the steep incline, don't you think? Blood must rush too quickly into their brains. Do you believe in the hidden influence of magnetism?"

  Clara briefly surveyed the face of this chatterbox, saw that she was not the killer, and tried to keep from giggling out loud at the woman's audacity. She had known many such women--usually wives of judges or important men in the state legislature--and they often became eccentric after their spouse's passing. However, Missus Baxter-Shaw was one of the most humorously flamboyant she had ever met.

  "Thank you for coming, Missus Baxter-Shaw. I want you to tell me why you want to learn to become an independent woman." Ah Toy covered her mouth with her hand, leaned back, and exhaled, poised in uncomfortable anticipation.

  "Now that Reggie's gone, I wanted to find some unique way to occupy my time. I read your strange advertisement, but since I have already established myself as a femme fatale, by going through four husbands, I thought I might be able to help you train younger women in the fine art of seduction."

  Clara was watching the Negro. When his employer said "seduction," a faint grin widened the corners of his mouth, and he coughed into his hand.

  "I am also an art collector. I know you're an artist, and certainly Missus Hopkins knows fine art, so perhaps we can become women who can influence men with our tastes. My second husband, the judge, used to send me all over the world to collect art for him."

  Yes, as he probably wanted to get rid of you, Ah Toy thought to herself. She leaned forward, waiting for the opportune moment to interrupt the widow.

  " ...I remember, it was a cold day on the hill, and I was gazing out my luxurious bay window at the setting sun. The disappearing sun so reminds one of the sad time when your husband is off on another business …"

  "Thank you, Missus Baxter-Shaw. We will get back to you following our assessment." Ah Toy took a deep breath and shouted, "Hannigan!"

  Clara was most suspect of the third candidate, as she was late to the interview. She asked Ah Toy to conduct the interview in English, if at all possible, and she agreed. Changying Chen arrived at half-past three. She had, like Ah Toy, bound feet, so her gait was impeded. She was breathless as she minced into the room and sat down in front of her interviewer. The qipao she wore was blue silk, plain and business-like, and, as Clara surveyed her facial features, she was relieved to see none of the telltale signs of the murderer. The young woman's smiling face was full and healthy, and her clear brown eyes were fixed on those of Ah Toy, waiting, with her small hands folded in her lap, for her interviewer to speak.

  Ah Toy first spoke to the young woman in Cantonese. Getting an immediate response in perfectly enunciated English, Ah Toy continued in English.

  "I do not want to hear about your past or your negative experiences in the profession from which you wish to escape. Please answer this one question. Why do you want to learn how to become an independent woman?"

  Bowing her head of short raven hair, she spoke in a voice that was clearly loud for an Asian woman. "Please, may I be bold, like the crane fishing at low tide on the Yangtze? I am so sorry for being tardy. I was forced to climb California Street because Chinese are not allowed to ride the cable cars. To the kept women in Chinatown, the story of Madame Ah Toy is second only to the Goddess Mazu. Our dreams are filled with your exploits, perhaps somewhat exaggerated over the years, but their import remains the same. If we can remain sane and fix our purpose to your lodestar, we may survive another day. That is what I have done. After six hundred and fifteen of these days of survival, I awoke to read in The Oriental that my personal morning star was in San Francisco to share her wisdom. It is my great fortune to be here. So many of my sisters cannot escape the Tong dragon's fire, but perhaps I can be their representative. If I am chosen, I will share my skills to those who also wish to become independent. Madame Ah Toy, I am your obedient servant!"

  As Clara watched and listened, there was only one moment when she was struck by what she saw. When the initiate bowed, fixed in the back of her hair was a silver comb in the shape of a seahorse. The attorney knew she must find out where Changying Chen obtained that comb, but she dare not expose herself during this interview. She decided to wait until Ah Toy was finished. When the young woman left the room, it would take her some time to leave the premises because of her bound feet. Clara would therefore be able to instruct her partner about what she needed to know, and Ah Toy could call her back, and Clara could slip back behind the mirror.

  After several more minutes of conversation, Ah toy stood up. "I believe you will fit nicely in my class. I will send you the curriculum next week. I'll have Hannigan escort you to the door."

  The butler came at once when Ah Toy shouted, and Clara came out of hiding as soon as the door was closed. "Ah Toy, you must call her back and ask where she obtained the silver comb in her hair. Each of the murder victims had this seahorse comb fixed in her hair. She might be the next victim, but I need to know where she got it. I will hide behind the mirror until you find out."

  Now it was "Changying" that Ah Toy shouted down the shadowy stairs of the mansion. After a few moments, Ah Toy could hear the young woman's lumbering steps climbing toward her. After she was back inside, the older woman asked the young prostitute where she was able to procure such an interesting hair clasp. Ah Toy explained that she collected them from all over the world.

  "My handler in the San Ho Hui gave it to me as a gift when I left him to become independent. He was one of the rare benevolent Tong members, and I was very fortunate to have had him as my protector. He even told me once that I had the special intelligence to become an independent woman like the great Ah Toy. I consider the comb a talisman of good fortune."

  When Clara heard Changying's response, she was immediately relieved. There would be no need to take the drastic action she
thought might be necessary.

  There was one remaining woman to be interviewed that day. None so far had been the suspect. Clara realized that perhaps her killer might be too fearful to take the bait. Before the last interviewee was to arrive at four p.m., the two women attended to their personal hygiene.

  Captain Lees brought Clara and Ah Toy some food. A tray of fruit and bread. He asked them how the interviews had gone.

  "Two of the three women have been selected. All is not lost. I thought I might have our next victim, but it turned out to be a false alarm." Clara took a bite of the red apple. "Have you or your men seen anything suspicious around the mansion?" She asked, in-between chews.

  "Nothing untoward. Those Vigilante old-timers haven't reappeared. Good riddance. George Kwong is still safe and secure in his ivory tower." Lees jerked a thumb at the mirror. "How has that been functioning for you?"

  "I must say, it's an excellent way to spy. I can see persons in the room very clearly, and the sounds are quite acute. I should think you might consider adopting it for your detective needs, Isaiah," Clara said, tossing the apple core into a trash receptacle beside the desk.

  "You have one more person to interview today. When you both finish, please come up to the Observatory. I want to discuss the strange goings-on at Connolly's office."

  "Very well, Isaiah. We shall meet you there at around half past four." Clara stretched up on her tiptoes and gave the Captain of Detectives a kiss on the cheek.

  Missus Miriam Levine wasted no time when she arrived. She burst through the door to Ah Toy's room, pushed up the bustle on her green satin dress, and plopped down in the chair in front of the desk. Her dark eyes immediately fixed upon Ah Toy's, and Clara believed she also looked up and stared directly at her behind the mirror. The woman was in her forties, and her height and facial features immediately eliminated her from the murder suspect list.

  "Thank you for coming, Missus Levine. I don't want your history. I only need you to tell me why you want to learn how to become an independent woman." Ah Toy leaned forward in rapt attention.

  "No, I am afraid you will both listen to me. I am from the Office of Attorney General of these United States. Our men will soon be entering these premises to recapture the fugitive from justice, Mister George Bai Kwong. You may now come out from behind that mirror, attorney Foltz. We need you to call off your Captain Lees and his undercover detectives or face arrest for aiding and abetting." Missus Levine opened her handbag and extracted a badge affixed to a leather holder. She set it down on the desk.

  Clara decided she must cooperate, so she opened the door of the adjoining bedroom, and stepped out into Ah Toy's living room. Clara picked up the badge and looked at it. It had the name of Benjamin H. Brewster, the Attorney General under President Chester A. Arthur. She tossed it back onto the desk, thinking about how she would proceed. If her client were taken back into custody, then her trap would have to be put on hold, and the murderer would be free to kill again. Clara couldn’t hope that the hangman would be postponed because of such a horror, and George Kwong would die.

  “Missus Levine, if that is your name, I am certain you must be aware that I am the official counsel for the Six Companies and for the Defendant, George Kwong.”

  “Of course. My name is Miriam Levine. In point of fact, it is your reputation as a brilliant orator for women’s rights that caused Mister Brewster to forgo the warrants for the arrests of both you and your associates in crime. His wife, you see, is a rather vehement supporter of our cause. As a woman, I was sent to explain the Federal Government’s purpose in this arrest of your client.”

  “He is Chinese. You know that’s the real reason,” Ah Toy said.

  “Miss Ah Toy. I have read about you and your story of success. The fact that Mister Kwong is Chinese has nothing to do with our being here. We are here to protect him from the likes of Mayor Washington Bartlett, about whom we have done undercover detective work of our own. When we discovered that Missus Foltz’s story about Bartlett keeping the murders of seven Chinatown prostitutes a secret from authorities was true, we immediately began our plan. We also have revisited the homicide trial in which your client was accused of murdering Miss Mary McCarthy. The fact that you were not allowed to appeal because of your client’s status as a non-American citizen should not have restricted his access to a fair trial. As a result, we are taking him into our custody to protect him from the local authorities, about whom we suspect of being biased and politically motivated.”

  Clara sat down in another chair next to Miriam Levine. She grasped the woman’s hands into her own and gazed into her dark brown eyes. “Does this mean we can continue with our interviews? Do you believe my client is innocent of these murders?”

  Missus Levine smiled. “Of course, Counselor. You provided an excellent defense for your client in court. We also believe the killer is still out there, and we shall support your effort to trap him or her, but we cannot allow Mister Kwong to stay here. It is unsafe.”

  “I understand. But where will you keep him? If you can’t trust the local police, then you must have some other place in mind.” Clara was toying with the idea of telling this woman about who she believed the killer was, but she didn’t really trust her to do the right thing at this point.

  “We can’t really divulge that information, Counselor. You can understand that also. You kidnapped Kwong once, so we can’t completely trust you won’t do it again. After all, the killer has yet to be apprehended, and the local authorities are not to be trusted, so there you are. It’s quite a quandary, don’t you think?” Levine brushed a wisp of black hair from her forehead.

  “All right, I’ll inform Captain Lees, and we’ll go get George Kwong. Will you be allowing the undercover detectives to guard us in the mansion? If this killer does appear, we will need the protection.”

  “You shall have your protection. We just want to keep your client away from harm until this murderer is found.” Agent Levine stood up. She reached over and shook hands with Clara, and then did the same with Ah Toy.

  Ah Toy and Clara took Missus Levine up to the Observatory to see George Kwong. When they opened the door to the enclosed, circular room, it was empty. Captain Lees must have kidnapped the young man once more, and Clara was dumbfounded.

  “I can’t believe it! He was here this morning. Captain Lees told us to meet him here after we finished interviewing for the day.” Clara ran around the room, looking in the closets, turning back the bedspread, and peering into the small bathroom.

  “I’m certain you realize, Counselor, if your friend, Captain Lees, knew we were coming, then he is now a kidnapper and subject to federal prosecution.” Missus Levine took out a pad of paper, and picked a pen out of her handbag. She wrote down something quickly. “I must get a wire off to Washington. The Attorney General must be notified. I’m afraid we will be searching for Captain Lees and your client. When we find them, there will be due process of law.”

  “Does this mean we cannot continue our hunt for the killer?” Clara held her breath, clasped her hands to her breast, and stared hard into Missus Levine’s eyes.

  “I must get permission from Washington. I will tell you tomorrow. Until then, you must not permit any more strangers to visit Hopkins Mansion.” Missus Levine walked toward the door. “I am sorry this had to happen. I respect what both of you are doing, and I wish you the best of luck.”

  Tin How Temple, Waverly Place, Chinatown, San Francisco, March 2, 1884.

  There was one place that the Chinatown Squad had never discovered. This room was inside the Tin How Temple, beneath the giant statue of Mazu. It was behind a secret trap door in the floor, which opened after the statue was moved to the side. This was where Captain Lees and Detective Vanderheiden had taken George Kwong. When Lees overheard the news that Connolly was spreading about the presence of federal officers in the city, he knew that George Kwong had to be moved again.

  Minister Guan Shi Yin had given Lees permission to
hide Kwong there, as the young man had contributed greatly in keeping the temple in business. George brought many prostitutes there to pray and to ask the goddess for forgiveness, in an effort to get them back on the straight and narrow.

  Inside the room were all the survival accommodations needed to live out a Tong war, or a natural disaster, like an earthquake, or oppression by the city’s authorities. Food enough for months was stored inside the lockers in the back of the room, and there was a bed, proper ventilation from a metal shaft that led out to the street, and enough kerosene and lamps to keep the place lit for months. The room had been used by a variety of people, who were being hunted by the police, and Lees and Vanderheiden were the only policemen ever to be allowed access.

  Lees didn’t even have to speak Cantonese to Guan Shi Yin, as it was Andrew Kwong, the leader of the Six Companies, who had made all the arrangements for his son to use the secret hideout. As soon as the captain heard about the feds, he simply informed Andrew, and the father of the accused immediately told Lees about the secret room. While Clara and Ah Toy were talking to Agent Levine, Lees and Vanderheiden had taken George Kwong out of the Observatory, through the night streets, and into the Tin How Temple.

  “You’ll be safe here,” Lees told George, as the young man sat on the bed, still wearing his blue jail clothing. “The minister will watch out for you, and we’ll be by tomorrow night. I want to tell Clara and Ah Toy about where you are, so they won’t be concerned, but I can’t chance it until I’m certain there are no feds or local police around the mansion.” Captain Lees was standing beside the bed, looking down at his young charge.