by Matt Lincoln
“Is that an old saying?” I asked mostly out of curiosity.
Ken chuckled. “No, that was my father’s saying. He liked to think he was a modern sage.” He shrugged.
“Why do you think Mrs. Liu changed her tune about your father so quickly?”
Ken put his palms on his thighs and let out a long breath. He glanced over at Holm, who wandered the room and looked at some of the blueprints and technical drawings on Alice’s walls. I knew Holm was listening, but his tactic was one way to put a person off balance.
“Those are my daughter’s projects,” Ken said with a genuine smile. “She may not believe it, but I’m proud of her. My wife complains about Alice’s choice not to settle down, but I understand her drive to be her own woman. She gets that from her grandfather.”
“She does impressive work,” I acknowledged. During the few minutes of downtime I had over the past few days, I’d taken some time to look into her work. “Coming back to my question, why did your wife change her story about your father?”
“Mei has never liked Shawn Zhu,” Ken admitted. “He came on to her years ago at a holiday party, and she’s never forgiven him. The old man never would have followed through, but it was not acceptable. My father handled it, and it hasn’t happened since. As long as there was the possibility of working with Shawn, she played nice. It must have occurred to her that she no longer has to do so.”
I let that line of thought drop for the time being. Holm returned to his chair with his patented friendly grin.
“You’re right, Mr. Liu.” Holm gestured toward the framed prints on the walls. “Your daughter is incredibly talented.”
Ken’s chest puffed up. “She is, yes.”
“Do you think she’d ever give it up to return to the family business?” Holm asked.
Ken’s face darkened. “Doubtful. It would take a great deal of influence to bring her back in.” He shook his head. “I can’t see that happening.” He nodded toward the hall. “My wife has mentioned the ridiculous idea that my father would invite her to become his protégé, but he would never ask that.”
“Where did she get that idea?” I asked.
“I have no clue.” He blinked and looked toward the window. “The idea is laughable.” He pointed outside. “There’s my daughter now. A couple is bringing her home. Do you know anything about this?”
The idea of Muñoz and Birn as a couple was more laughable than John Liu inviting Alice to become his protégé.
“Those two are from our department,” I told Ken as Holm smothered a laugh. I didn’t want to get into the event at the botanical gardens. If Alice wanted to tell her parents herself, that was up to her. “We took her to see the hotel after it collapsed, but something came up. She got a ride home with our people.”
“What about her rental car?” Ken stood and started walking toward the door. He waved for us to follow. “For that matter, what about her car in the parking lot? Is that still cordoned off?”
“I’ll let her explain.”
I felt bad about putting that on Alice’s shoulders, but I didn’t want to ruin whatever she planned to tell them. It felt wrong that she had to answer to her parents in any form, but as Holm told me many times, grown-ass people often deferred to their folks. I wouldn’t know, as I hadn’t had parents in years, and my gramps had always treated me with respect before he passed.
Mei Liu emerged from the hallway. Either she was listening to our conversation, or she’d seen the trio arrive outside the window.
“You men can leave now,” she sniped. “You’ve done enough to upset us, and on the day of my father-in-law’s wake. If you want to speak to me, get a warrant.”
Her rant was cut off by Alice coming in the front door. When she saw me, a smile lit her face, and I knew my damn heart was in trouble.
CHAPTER 20
Although Alice wasn’t thrilled that Ethan and his partner Robbie left her with agents she hadn’t met, she understood their rush. Even so, she was surprised to see Ethan’s car in her driveway when Sylvia pulled in.
“I thought they were going to see that environmentalist guy,” she said to the agents. “They didn’t say they were coming to my house.”
“You can ask when you go in,” Lamarr suggested.
The large man reminded Alice of Michael Clarke Duncan, one of her favorite actors who had, unfortunately, passed away several years earlier. Alice had been lucky to meet the man once, and she’d always remember his graciousness toward her. Special Agent Lamarr Birn was cut from the same cloth, she decided, and she was glad to know Ethan worked with some great people.
“You and Sylvia are welcome to come in and get whatever cold drinks my mom ordered,” Alice said as they walked past the catering truck. “She always gets more than food than her guests could possibly eat.”
Her mother’s excess was one of Alice’s pet peeves. Mounds of food were discarded after her events. Alice used to argue that the leftovers could go to a shelter or soup kitchen, but her mother hated the notion of sharing with the poor. She’d paid for the food, so the food was hers to do with as she pleased.
“As long as those drinks aren’t spiked, I may do that,” Sylvia said.
Special Agent Muñoz had one of the prettiest smiles Alice had ever seen. Mei would be sure to tell Alice she could get the same smile if she went to a high-class dental clinic… not that Alice cared about her mother’s opinion anymore. Usually.
As they were about to enter the house, Alice looked back and saw a black limo park in her driveway. She swallowed. The wake was going to begin, and there would be more early birds than she cared to entertain. Fortunately, that was her mother’s domain.
“They’re going to love seeing you all,” Alice told Sylvia and Lamarr with a nod to the limo. “I don’t suppose you could stay through the wake.”
Sylvia’s sympathetic smile just about choked her up. Not many people who learned of her upbringing accepted that Alice had divorced herself from most of her family’s doings.
Alice took a breath and went inside. She headed to the living room and saw Ethan before anyone else. Something about his presence in her house made her feel warm all over. When she noticed her mother’s presence and sharp look, Alice shifted her gaze to her father and prayed that nobody noticed the original target of the smile that now faded from her face.
“It’s good to see you away from your newspaper,” she told her dad with a wink. He chuckled, and her mother rolled those judging eyes. Alice looked at Ethan and Robbie. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Robbie nodded. “We finished our other errand and had time to stop over and speak with your parents.”
“It was just a few questions,” Ethan added as he walked over to Alice. Her heart beat a little faster. “We’re wrapping up so you can get back to your preparations.”
Alice felt the lava from Mei’s eyes and posture. Her mother did not like Ethan. If he was lucky, Mei wouldn’t realize Alice’s attraction to the federal agent. That would be a worst-case scenario in her mother’s eyes.
“Thank you.” Mei’s response to Ethan dripped sarcasm. “You’re incredibly generous.”
With that, the four MBLIS agents excused themselves. Alice watched through the window as Ethan’s red Dodge Charger left first, and Sylvia’s blue car of the same model followed.
“Do you have an interest in that man?” her mother demanded in a snide tone. “That investigator could’ve ruined your grandfather’s wake with his ridiculous visit.”
“He had to meet with you and Bàba eventually,” Alice pointed out. She ignored Mei’s first question.
Her stomach grumbled, and she headed for the kitchen. The counters were packed with standard American deli fare along the wall and a traditional table full of food on her dining room table. The table had been moved to face the lanai where her grandfather’s body lay in repose. A large space in the middle of the table had been reserved for a roast pig, which, by the mouth-watering aromas, was about ready. A pot of jai
simmered on the stove, and that also got to her greedy stomach.
“Don’t you touch that,” Mei snapped. “Have a sandwich and leave the rest alone. The jai is for when our guests have all arrived. Besides, you don’t need the extra food.”
The doorbell rang at that moment. Alice snagged a turkey and cheese sandwich and made for her room. She hated taking her mother’s crap, but a fight now would make everything worse, and Alice would be the villain of the story. That’s how it always went.
She made a quick change into a blue summer dress from the back of her closet. It was a dress she’d only worn to a friend’s wedding, so it was still fresh and wrinkle-free.
By the time Alice returned to the open area in the middle of her home, the first three guests had arrived. They greeted her mother and barely acknowledged Alice’s presence. Alice’s defection to Normal Life was well known among the extended family and associates whose names she barely remembered.
“Alice!”
A soft, elevated voice called her over. Her father’s second cousin, once removed, if Alice recalled correctly. The cousins and how many times removed got confusing, but Liu Thelma was unforgettable.
“Cousin Thelma.” Alice greeted her with a warmth she barely felt for anyone else in the family. She went over to hug her elder cousin, a spry woman with lighter eyes than the rest of the family. “It’s good to see you.”
A tall, wispy, white woman with silvery hair joined Thelma, and Mei looked at the woman with intense distaste. Thelma was not fazed.
“This is my friend, Carol.” Thelma beamed as she introduced her friend. “We flew in as soon as we heard.” She hugged Alice and whispered in her ear. “Let’s talk in private before this is over.”
Alice gave Cousin Thelma an extra squeeze. “Of course.”
After greeting Thelma and Carol, Alice made the rounds with as minimal fuss as possible. There were people present who she hadn’t seen in over a decade, most of whom were part of her family’s criminal empire. The very phrase made her want to cringe, but it kept ringing through her mind. Criminal empire. Her grandfather’s influence spread far beyond her nuclear family, and his passing’s fallout was sure to be spread in a wide radius.
Eventually, Alice retreated to a quiet corner to watch her parents mingle with the guests they’d invited to her home. Everyone demonstrated near-perfect etiquette, but she didn’t believe the surface behaviors for one minute. Holding the wake in Miami instead of New York City was an insult to Yéyé’s lieutenants other than her father. Had her parents had the body taken to Hong Kong, they would have gained respect. This way, however, was sure to cost them that precious commodity.
Alice went to take a sip from the glass of wine she’d been nursing, but it was empty. A cluster of minor bosses stood between her and the serving table. She made her way around, behind the backs of some of the more notorious men and women who served with and beneath her dad. One of the men had drunk too much and now blustered his grievances. Alice slowed and turned her head slightly away so that if they noticed her, her eavesdropping wouldn’t be so apparent.
“There’s no way we let that dumbass take over,” the drunkard claimed. His small audience shushed him. He lowered his voice, but Alice heard the words quite clearly. “I don’t know who offed Liu Xiaotong, but they didn’t do a good job. They should’ve taken out Gen and Yanmei while they were at it.”
It’d been a while since Alice heard anyone use her family’s Mandarin names. Like others in the room, her family had a mix of Mandarin and Cantonese ancestry, with her immediate family speaking Cantonese when they didn’t use English. The Bamboo Dragons tong formed following several families’ immigration from China in the early to middle twentieth century. Advocacy and criminality ran together among the Bamboo Dragons, whose loyalty now ran deep.
“What about Qiaolian?” a woman asked. Alice felt her lip curl into a sneer as she recognized one of her few true enemies, a cousin on her mother’s side. “They could have taken out the entire family.”
The drunkard scoffed. “Why? Alice wants nothing to do with the business. We’re only here because her parents bullied her into allowing it. She’s good people.”
Alice decided to move on before she heard anything she’d feel obligated to act on… and before she punched her cousin in the face. She faltered in her step toward the serving area when it hit her that said cousin could have been involved in Yéyé’s death. Her father saw from nearby and caught her arm.
“Be careful, daughter,” Ken said in her ear. “There are those who would love to see a Liu of our status get drunk and make a fool of herself.”
Alice yanked her arm away. “Maybe I don’t care,” she hissed. “Who’s the bigger fool? Me for having a drink, or you for letting Ma hold Yéyé’s wake in my house? My house, Bàba, the home of the daughter who left the family.”
Ken looked around and then leaned closer. “I shouldn’t have to remind you to watch your step. You might not be involved, but there are those who would use your position against you.”
“My position?” Alice reeled back. “You and Ma are the ones who reminded them that I exist. You and Ma are the ones who made a point of letting them know where I live.” She tipped her empty wine glass at him and shook her head. “Thank you for that. Now I can live in fear of knowing your enemies can find me so easily.”
Ken waved off the concern. “They won’t bother you. I won’t allow it.”
A number of retorts came to mind, but she didn’t bother. He was so wrapped up in his dreams and plots that he rarely got to the true nature of the interpersonal relationships of the massive family. Even with only the heads of households appearing for the wake, the guests were all over her house and lanai. Some walked through the small reflection garden Alice had created a few years earlier.
“Alice?” her dad inquired. “Are you listening?”
“Sure, Bàba,” she said with a sigh. “They won’t bother me. If you say so.”
“I do say so,” he promised as he patted her on her forearm. “Go mingle. Some people haven’t seen you in a long time.”
“That’s the way I like it.”
She turned her back on her father and walked outside. Even though she was far from alone, a fresh breeze made things tolerable. Soon, she spied Cousin Thelma. Her friend Carol wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
“Alice, come with me, why don’t you?” Thelma invited. “There is something important I need to tell you.”
Alice took Thelma to the back over her property, next to a lake which was attached to one of the many canals running through the area. A wrought-iron bench stood sentinel over the freshwater lake. A pair of kayakers paddled and chatted on the far side, and a fish plopped at the surface.
Thelma looked around. “I was one of the few cousins your grandfather confided in. He wished to confide in you, also, but he respected your wishes.” She sighed. “He tried to respect your wishes. Did he speak with you after he arrived in Miami?”
Alice nodded. She had a bad feeling as to where the conversation was going and silently willed it to go in a different direction.
“He did.” She didn’t want to say what about without knowing how much Thelma knew.
“He asked you to take his place someday, didn’t he?” Thelma’s light-brown, almost hazel eyes seemed to reach into Alice’s soul. The answer was not difficult to find, and she dipped her chin. “He did. You said ‘no,’ of course.” She didn’t break that gaze. “That’s what I thought.”
“I don’t know why he thought I would accept.” Alice stared across the lake. A small nature preserve on the other side formed a line of trees that waved in the breeze. “I’m not a gangster.” She snorted. “My father isn’t much of one either, as much as he likes to pretend he is.”
Thelma patted Alice’s knee. “He’s smarter than you give him credit for,” she told Alice. “He married your mother.”
Alice laughed. “True. I bet Yéyé would’ve loved to have Ma run things for him, but that isn
’t the way.”
“No, it’s not,” Thelma agreed in a sad tone. “Think how much good could come of things if the tong focused less on greed and more on need.”
“Nice catchphrase.”
“Thanks. I stole it myself.” Thelma’s smile faded. “There was another thing he wanted to tell you, but he wasn’t certain it was time yet.”
The sad turn in Thelma’s voice sent a shiver across Alice’s scalp. “What do you mean?”
“He had stage four colon cancer.” Thelma leaned back and looked to the clear sky. “They said if he would have gotten the colonoscopy and all that, they could have caught the cancer. Unfortunately, John was not the type to allow anyone, not even doctors, to stick anything up his ass. By the time he went to get the symptoms checked out, there was little they could do.”
Alice leaned forward and put her elbows on her knees. It wasn’t a ladylike pose, but her mother wasn’t breathing down her neck to stop her.
Alice closed her eyes and tried to remember how Yéyé looked the last time they spoke in private. His voice was lighter than she’d ever heard, and she thought he might have lost weight. It wasn’t polite to comment on those things, so she hadn’t. She wished he would have told her about the cancer. It wouldn’t have changed her answer, but she might have spent more time with him. Then again, she would have been killed with him in the Seascape explosions.
Alice’s blood ran cold. Did that mean she was a target, also? If someone knew she was supposed to take over and be by Yéyé’s side that day, then she was still in danger. She swallowed the fear and calmed her nerves by taking a few deep breaths.
Eventually, she had words. “Why did he come to me? He knew I don’t want leadership of a… of the family.”
Thelma shrugged. “Maybe he wanted something more, something better, for Bamboo Dragon. The tong wasn’t always about trafficking and rivalries. Do you remember the noodle dinners when you were little?”