THE KILLING LOOK

by J. D. Rhodes

  Cade shook the envelope at him. “Where did this come from?”

  The vehemence of the question took the desk man aback. “Some…someone dropped it off, sir.”

  “Who?”

  “An old man. A Chinaman.”

  “An old…tell me what he looked like.”

  “Why, he looked like a Chinaman, is all. Seemed harmless enough. He was blind, after all.”

  “Blind?”

  The desk man nodded. “Led around by his daughter.”

  “His…” Cade shook his head, remembering the young girl who’d translated for Kwan. “Where did they go?”

  The desk man looked baffled. “Wherever those people go, I suppose. Why?”

  “Did they say anything? Leave any other kind of message?”

  The clerk shook his head. “No.” His voice went high and sing-song in a poor imitation of Chinese. “Just ‘this for room three four five.’”

  “Just for…” How in seven hells did they know which room he was in? He fought down the urge to look behind him. “Is that all?”

  “Yes, sir. Is there something wrong, sir?”

  There was plenty wrong, but nothing he wanted to discuss with this fellow. “No. But if anyone else comes asking about me, you let me know right away, got that? And keep them here.”

  The man nodded, still clearly baffled, but obedient. “Yes, sir.”

  Cade tucked the envelope inside his coat and headed back up to the room. When he got to the door, he stopped.

  There was a light coming from beneath the door. Cade tried to remember if he’d left the light on, and couldn’t. He drew his pistol and slowly drew the hammer back with his thumb, cursing the sound of the snap as the weapon cocked. He fumbled with his left hand for the key. He slid it into the lock as quietly as he could, then turned it and flung the door open in one motion, the Navy revolver leveled in front of him.

  Mei, Kwan’s messenger girl, was sitting on the edge of the bed, dressed in her usual plain skirt and blouse. She slid off the bed and bowed. “Please pardon the intrusion, Mr. Cade.”

  CHAPTER FORTY

  Cade didn’t move. “Where’s your friend?”

  Mei nodded to the space beside the door. “She is right here.”

  “Then tell her to step out. Where I can see her.”

  “Mr. Cade,” Mei said, “we are not here to hurt you.”

  “Tell her to step out.”

  Mei said something in Chinese, and the woman who’d kidnapped him earlier stepped into view. She was dressed in the baggy shirt and loose trousers of a Chinese man, her dark hair tucked up beneath a white cap. She held a bamboo cane loosely in one hand and there was what looked like a scarf hanging around her neck. A scarf, or perhaps the eye bandages of a blind man.

  “The old blind man and his daughter,” Cade said. “Nice trick. How’d you get in here?”

  Mei smiled sadly. “To be Chinese in this city is to be invisible. A beggar, a servant, an old blind man…no one likes to see us. So we stay unseen.” She nodded toward the woman. “The White Orchid taught me that.”

  The only way that woman could be unnoticed, Cade thought, was to cover that beautiful face. “I ain’t gonna argue the point,” he said. He gestured with the gun. “Tell her to put the cane down. And to go over to sit by you.”

  Mei spoke to the woman, who gave Cade an indulgent smile, as if she was humoring a child. That smile worried Cade. She had some kind of Chinese trick up her sleeve, he just knew it. But she let the cane clatter to the floor, then went and sat on the bed. Those disconcerting eyes never left Cade’s face. He tore his own gaze away and stepped inside, pistol still raised. He closed the door with his heel. A slight draft made him glance over at the window, which was still open. Guess I need to start locking those, he thought.

  “Please lower the gun,” Mei said. “We truly do not mean you any harm.”

  Cade had to admire her coolness, staring down the barrel of a pistol as she was, but it put him in even less of a trusting mood. “Just tell me what you want.”

  “We are here to make sure you received the money Mr. Kwan sent.”

  “Oh, I got it.” Cade reached into his coat pocket and took out the envelope. He tossed it on the floor at Mei’s feet. “Tell him what I told him at his place. I already have a job, doin’ pretty much what he wants me to do.”

  Mei’s brow furrowed. “But we know that you have been…” she paused as she searched for the word, “…fired by Mr. Hamrick.”

  “I have a new employer. So tell Mr. Kwan I don’t need his money.”

  The White Orchid said something to Mei, who answered quickly. There was a brief exchange in Chinese between them that ended with the older woman giggling behind her hand.

  Jesus, she even laughs pretty, Cade thought. The big pistol was growing heavy in his hands, but he didn’t dare lower it. “What was that all about?”

  “Nothing,” Mei said. “Nothing important.”

  Good god, she’s blushing, Cade thought. He looked at the woman. She was smiling, dark eyes practically twinkling at him. Damned if that ain’t what I’d call the come-hither look, he thought. Then he tore his eyes away and recollected himself.

  Mei was speaking again. “I’m afraid Mr. Kwan is very firm in his determination that you need to complete this job.”

  “I’m goin’ to,” Cade said. “But for my new employer. Not for him.”

  Mei looked puzzled. “You turn down money?”

  Cade hesitated. When she put it that way, it did sound a little squirrelly. But he didn’t want to be indebted to any Chinese crime boss. “I do. I don’t want there to be any confusion about who I work for.”

  Mei shook her head. “The obligation is on you either way. So why not take the money?”

  “Because…” Cade sighed. “Oh, what the hell.” His arms and wrists were screaming with the effort of holding the Navy revolver out. He slid it back into his shoulder holster. “Will there be anything else, ladies?” He nodded to the bottle of whiskey on the dresser. “A drink before you go? Maybe I could have some tea sent up?”

  Mei apparently didn’t catch the sarcasm. “No, thank you. I am too young to drink whiskey. And we must be going.” She stood up. The White Orchid did the same.

  “Before you go,” Cade said, “I have a question.”

  Mei sat back down. “Yes?”

  “You said someone was talking to McMurphy. The man trying to blame the Chinese for attacking Hamrick. Can you describe him?”

  She shrugged. “He was a gwai—a white man.” She thought. “He was tall. Even for a white man.” She ran her hand over her chin. “He had whiskers here.” She traced a finger over her upper lip. “Not here.”

  “Tall, with chin whiskers.” Cade grimaced. “That describes a good chunk of the males in this damn town. What about his voice?”

  She looked up, as if searching for the memory on the ceiling. “He changed his voice. When he was pretending to be Chinese, he spoke in a high voice.” She pitched her own voice almost to a falsetto, mimicking the mystery man’s tone. Then her voice dropped dramatically, to a hoarse croak. “When he spoke normally, his voice was deep.” Her tone returned to normal.

  “Okay, then.” He looked at the open window. “You going out the way you come in? Or do you prefer the door?”

  “The door, if it would be all right with you.”

  “Fine.” Cade stood aside.

  The White Orchid was picking her cane up off the floor. As she straightened up, she seemed to blur for a second, then Cade was stunned to find her pressed up against him, her arms wrapped around his neck. Her beautiful face was inches from his, her eyes dancing with mischief. Her eyes closed, her full lips parted slightly as if for a kiss. Cade made a sound in his throat, bent down to her…

  Her eyes snapped open and she nipped him on the nose, not hard, but it was surprising enough to make Cade yelp. She let him go, and he sprang back, hard enough to bump the ba
ck of his head on the wall.

  He could hear her laughter through the door even after they’d closed it behind them.

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  “Why did you do that?” Mei asked.

  “Do what, Little Sister?” The White Orchid was back in her disguise, the bandages wrapped around her eyes and forehead, her cane tapping on the sidewalk. Her other hand rested lightly on Mei’s shoulder. There were few people on the street at this late hour, and none of them took any notice of an old blind man and his young guide.

  “You know what!” Mei shook her head. “Embrace the white devil. I thought you were going to…to kiss him!”

  “And why not?” Lin’s voice was merry. “He’s not bad looking, for a white devil.”

  Mei couldn’t repress a shudder. “Ugh! So hairy. Like an ape! And so big!”

  “Big all over, perhaps?”

  Mei nearly pulled away. “You’re shameless.”

  The White Orchid chuckled. “Perhaps. Or perhaps I enjoy scandalizing you.”

  Mei shook her head. “That’s not kind.”

  Lin was silent for a moment. Then she said, “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s all right.”

  They walked on for another half a block, then Lin said in a small voice, “Are we still friends, Little Sister? Even though I tease you? And…and after what I told you about me?”

  Mei thought a moment, then sighed. “Yes. We are. But as a friend, may I be honest?”

  “Of course.”

  “Sometimes, Elder Sister, you frighten me.”

  There another pause. Then the White Orchid said, “You never need to fear me, Little Sister. I promise you that. Never. Or anything else. Nothing will harm you while I’m alive.”

  Mei couldn’t bring herself to tell her friend that the tone in her voice, rather than the words, frightened her even more.

  ***

  He trudged up the steps from the basement, whistling softly to himself. It had been a special night. Usually, the girls sold to him for what he called his “escapades” were whores who’d been used up, unfit even for the filthy cribs of Chinatown. Emaciated, hollow-eyed, some nearly catatonic, it often took very little time for them to succumb to his particular brand of pleasure. Some even seemed to welcome it. But this one had been younger, more spirited. Not fresh off the boat, and still too worn to ever be called pretty, but she’d provided rare sport for him. Perhaps she’d rebelled and been sent to him as a lesson to the other girls.

  He reached the top of the steps and opened the door into the front room. The ancient woman who ran the place sat in her accustomed place behind the front door. The huge Chinese guard who always stood over her was in his usual spot as well, arms crossed over his barrel chest, glowering.

  The man smiled. He was in an expansive mood, and not even Chinese insolence could make a ripple in the euphoria his escapades left in him. He took out a gold dollar and flipped it to the old woman. “Cleanup may be a bit more extensive than usual.”

  She didn’t reach out to catch the coin, and it clattered on the table in front of her. She regarded it as if he’d thrown a fresh horse turd on her makeshift desk, then looked back at him. There was no expression on her face, but he knew the old woman and her silent protector hated him with every fiber of their being. They didn’t know, or perhaps didn’t care, that their hatred just made things sweeter for him. They may have hated him, but money shielded him from the consequences of that hate. For him, that was what money meant: freedom from consequence. Gold had unlocked a whole world for him, a dark paradise where he ruled all.

  He was still whistling as he exited the house on the quiet side street. In the light of a gas streetlamp, he reached into his vest pocket and withdrew a cigar. When he went to light it, he noticed something unusual. He puffed the cigar to life, clenched it firmly between his teeth, and examined his hand in the final guttering light of the lucifer match. What he saw made him grimace. There was still fresh blood under his fingernails. He shook his head. He certainly couldn’t go home like that. He realized that the sky was beginning to lighten. It would be daylight soon, and a new work day. Well, it wasn’t as if he was going to get any sleep anyway. Not in his current state. He’d get to work early, clean his fingernails before anyone else arrived, and be there to greet them. It would be a good example for the slackers in his office.

  He picked up his tune again and strolled off into the dawn.

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  Despite the comfortable bed, Cade slept fitfully. The laughter of the woman Mei had called The White Orchid was still ringing in his ears. She’d reeled him in like a fish with that pretty face and those hypnotic brown eyes, then she’d landed him and thrown him back, just to let him know she could have gutted him and devoured him any time. Cade had faced down armed bullies, road agents, poisonous snakes, and on one occasion a mountain lion, but the only thing that had truly shaken him up to now was a beautiful Chinese woman half his size.

  Well, she’d made her point. If she worked for this Kwan fellow, he was going to do his best to make sure they were on the same side. After tossing and turning half the night and getting up several times to make sure the window was locked, Cade finally fell asleep.

  ***

  The euphoria of the night before was beginning to wear off, and the eyes of the man behind the desk were beginning to droop. Taking the day off to nap, however, was not an option. Not for a man in his position. He had no doubts in the force of his will to get him through the day.

  He was reading the morning mail when he discovered an envelope with no address and no marking at all on the outside. He frowned. Taking a gold-handled letter opener, he slit the envelope open and shook a folded piece of paper out onto the desktop. When he picked it up and read it, what he saw there gave him a jolt that blew the fatigue away. He got up and snatched his hat and walking stick from the stand by the door.

  Ten minutes later, he was seated across from Butt Shaughnessy in a tavern down the street.

  “You took your time gettin’ here,” the hoodlum growled. Despite the early hour, he’d already downed three shots of whiskey, judging from the empty glasses in front of him.

  “I came as soon as I got the message,” the man said.

  Shaughnessy grunted and signaled for another drink. The man frowned. “I hope you don’t think all these are going on my tab.”

  “I don’t think it, I know it.” Shaughnessy grinned and downed the shot the waiter girl brought him. As she walked away, he gave her a light slap on the rear end that was barely covered by a scandalously short skirt.

  The man silently vowed to deal with this impertinence later. “You’re sure of your information?”

  Shaughnessy nodded. “It’s all over the Coast. Cade’s looking for McMurphy.”

  “But why?”

  The hoodlum shrugged. “Word is, the Chinese hired him.” He grimaced. “No way would I take money from those fuckin’ heathens. A man’s got to have standards.”

  The man doubted very seriously that Shaughnessy would hesitate to sell his own mother to the Chinese if the price was right, but he let that pass, too. “He has to be stopped.”

  “Two ways I can think of to do that. You want one dealt with or both?”

  “Use your discretion. Payment will be delivered on completion. As always.”

  “It is.” Shaughnessy burped.

  “Mr. Shaughnessy,” the man said calmly. “I give you a certain amount of tolerance because you and your people are valuable to me. But that only goes so far. Don’t make me give you a reminder of who I am, and what can happen when my patience runs out.”

  They stared at each other across the table. It was the hoodlum whose gaze broke first. “Okay, okay,” he muttered. “Don’t get your knickers in a twist.”

  The man got up. “I want to hear by tomorrow that Cade and McMurphy are no longer a threat to me.” He threw a handful of coins on the table. “This should cover
your bill. Don’t get too drunk to do the job.”

  Shaughnessy scooped up the coins, his good mood somewhat restored. “Not to worry.”

  ***

  Cade awoke to a polite knocking on his door. He rolled over and checked his watch on the bedside table. “Shit,” he muttered. It was going on ten o’clock. He never slept this late. He pulled on his trousers and went to the door in his stocking feet.

  Cade didn’t recognize the short, dark-haired man who stood outside, but his red coat and round cap marked him as hotel staff. He didn’t seem to notice Cade’s disheveled appearance. “Excuse, sir,” he said in an accent Cade didn’t recognize. “You have a visitor.”

  “A visitor?” Cade ran a hand over his stubbled chin. He wasn’t really in any shape to receive callers.

  The man’s bland expression turned to an unctuous smile. “It is a lady, sir. She asked for a private dining room and ordered breakfast for the both of you.”

  “A lady…?” Damn. There were only two ladies he knew in this town, and one had already paid him a visit. He really didn’t want to meet Marjorie Hamrick looking like last week’s laundry, but he also didn’t want to keep her waiting. “Tell her I’ll be down in a minute,” he said.

  “Very good, sir.” The man bowed slightly. “And if sir would care for a shave afterward, I can arrange for the hotel barber.”

  “Yeah,” Cade said. “That’ll be good. Thanks.”

  He’d made himself halfway presentable when he entered the room the front desk had directed him to. Marjorie stood up as he entered. The smell of eggs, bacon, sausages, and coffee wafted to him from covered silver serving dishes arrayed on a large table in the middle of the room. The aroma made his stomach growl, and the sight of her inspired a different hunger. She was dressed in a long red skirt and a white blouse that clung to her in all the right places.