Smiling, Jade gestured for Bai to take a seat on her left, facing Howard.
When Bai was seated, Jade addressed her. “Howard would like to apologize for his boorish behavior. He knows now he was completely out of line. Don’t you, Howard?”
Howard didn’t look repentant. From his expression, Bai got the impression Howard wanted nothing more than to crush her like a bug. She smiled, and his face got red.
She turned to Jade. “I don’t think Howard’s really sorry. I think he’s too petty and self-involved to feel much of anything. He’s a bully and a coward. He uses money to push people around as if he were a spoiled child.”
Jade managed to keep her smile in place, but just barely. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, but I will admit that I underestimated his stupidity when it came to dealing with you. I don’t suppose you’d be willing give him another chance?”
Bai barely managed to suppress a laugh. “I thought stabbing Howard was sufficient to end any question of a marriage. In hindsight, I guess I should have shot him.”
Jade’s voice took on a brittle quality. “I take it you’ve decided to decline Howard’s offer of marriage.”
Bai shook her head in dismay. “I believe you have more to worry about than Howard’s nuptials.”
Jade put her game face back in place. “What do you mean?”
“Ryan Elliott is dead.”
Jade’s eyes momentarily narrowed before she casually replied, “I don’t know anyone by the name of Ryan Elliott.”
“I think you do,” Bai replied just as nonchalantly. “He murdered a woman by the name of Wen Liu. Before he died, he confessed he killed her at your request.”
Jade’s gaze bored into Bai as if trying to fathom the intent behind her words. Her voice, when she replied, remained firm. “I would think that would be a matter for the police.”
“He didn’t confess to the police.”
“Then I have nothing to worry about, do I?”
Her question hung in the air between them. Bai didn’t answer immediately. When she spoke, she asked, “Did you know that Howard sold Wen Liu the information on his brother’s gambling debts?”
Howard jumped up from his seat across the table. “That’s a lie!”
Jade slowly stood to look from Bai’s steely gaze to her frightened son standing next to her. Jade’s hand snapped out to slap Howard across the face. The sound of her hand hitting his cheek cracked in the quiet room.
“You fool!” she screamed as he cringed.
When the room went silent, Bai added, “And, did you know that Wen Liu was an agent of the MSS?”
Jade turned to stare at Bai in dismay before turning back to Howard.
“I didn’t know,” Howard pleaded.
Jade sat back down with a look of determination scribing her features. “We can salvage this,” she said hurriedly as she stared at Bai with a calculating gaze. “Who else knows of this?”
Bai looked into Jade’s eyes and saw murder. The woman was trying to determine if killing Bai would solve her problem. “Did I mention that Ryan Elliott confessed to Wen Liu’s handler, who also works for the Ministry of State Services?”
The color drained from Jade’s face. Howard stood by helplessly, fidgeting.
Bai didn’t give Jade a chance to recover. “You staged the assault on Howard to draw the hotel security away from Wen Liu’s room, didn’t you? You used me as a diversion while Ryan Elliott carried out your orders.”
Jade turned her head slowly to stare venomously at Bai. “What do you want?”
“The truth,” Bai replied heatedly.
“You have it. Get out!”
Bai stared into Jade’s eyes and could see she’d gotten what she came for. Standing, she walked out of the room and into the hallway to retrieve her knife. Taking the elevator down, the lift stopped several times to admit travelers and luggage. By the time she reached the lobby, she’d been jostled and crowded to the back of the lift. When she finally stepped into the busy atrium and spied Lee waiting for her, she walked over and took his arm to stroll out of the hotel.
They walked from under the portico and into the sun. A beautiful spring day greeted them.
She spread her arms wide while tilting her face toward the light, proclaiming, “Can you feel it, Lee? That’s the truth shining down to chase away all the black karma.”
“How interesting,” he said blandly. “The truth feels exactly like sunshine.”
Turning to look at him, she put her hands into her jacket pockets and found something that shouldn’t have been there. She pulled the object out to stare blankly at the phone in her hand.
“You didn’t tell me you’d gotten my phone back,” Lee said, taking the cellphone from her.
Bai turned her head to look back at the hotel. “I’m as surprised as you are.”
Lee followed her gaze. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking a buttload of black karma is about to pay the Kwans a visit.”
“What do you want to do?”
She smiled and shrugged as she turned to meet his gaze. “I’ve been taught to know my station in life. Who am I to interfere in the affairs of others?”
Lee put his phone into his jacket pocket as he mused, “I heard about this new breakfast place in the Marina that makes great waffles.”
She nodded sympathetically. “A waffle would be nice.”
“A bacon waffle would be better,” he said thoughtfully.
She grinned and took his arm again. “I believe you’re right. A bacon waffle would be better.”
acknowledgments
Thanks to my editor Dan Mayer for caring enough to make me work harder. I’m grateful to my readers—Ellen Torgerson, Dennis Mangers, and Susan Socal—for their invaluable feedback. A special thanks to Alan Yoshimura of Yoshimura Auto Service.
about the author
Photo by Gerry McIntyre/GMPdigital.com
Thatcher Robinson lives and writes in Northern California. He was previously employed as the chief operating officer of an Internet security firm that develops top-secret cyber-warfare materials for the military and various government agencies. Prior to that, he was a software specialist at IBM research laboratories in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Black Karma is Thatcher’s second book, following his debut novel, White Ginger. To learn more about Thatcher, visit his website at www.thatcherrobinson.com.
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