“This assignment you have for me, Mr. Lee. What is the nature of it?” I asked.
A spasm of annoyance crossed his face. “The tea is not to your liking?”
“It’s very nice,” I said. “Only rather too hot for me at the moment.”
“Tea is good for hot days,” he said. “You drink tea. You cool down. Better than water.”
“Yes, I’m sure it is.”
“The Chinese know better how to remain cool in this heat. We have known it for thousands of years.”
He went back to sipping from his own teacup. I was growing impatient. “Perhaps we might discuss our business while we wait for the tea to cool?”
I sensed from his expression that I might have committed some kind of faux pas, but frankly I didn’t care. I wasn’t the one who was looking for a job; in fact I really didn’t need one at the moment. “I need to know what sort of assignment you are offering,” I went on, my confidence returning, “as I am busy preparing for my upcoming wedding at this moment and actually I am planning to give up my business.”
He took a long sip of his own tea. I noticed how he deftly pushed the wispy strands of his mustache out of the way as he drank.
“I should let you know immediately that I don’t handle divorce cases,” I said.
This elicited the ghost of a smile. “Chinese have no need for divorce cases,” he said. “Private life is kept private. Don’t your people have a saying, ‘a man’s home is his castle’? This we too believe.”
“So if it’s not a divorce case, then what is it?” I persisted.
“Such an impatient young woman,” he said. “You would not make suitable bride for Chinese man.”
“Then it’s lucky I’m marrying a fellow Irishman.”
“I know. The famous Captain Sullivan.”
I must have shown my surprise because he said, “Do you think I would not have my people do a thorough search on a person I wished to hire? So one thing I have to know before you and I proceed with this matter—do you discuss your business with your future husband?”
“Absolutely not,” I said. “My business dealings are entirely confidential. Whatever is spoken between you and me goes no further than this room.”
“Ah, so. This is what my spies tell me about you, but I wanted to hear it for myself. I had to make sure you were trustworthy. This is a matter of great delicacy.”
By now I was almost ready to grab him and yell, “Tell me what it is, for God’s sake!” but I practiced my newfound patience a little longer. I was certainly intrigued by him. Even if we had met somewhere other than in this elaborate room, I would have assumed him to be a man of power.
He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “I wish you to recover a precious possession that has gone missing.” I noted that he could not say the r in the word “precious.” It came out closer to “plecious.”
I digested what he had just said before asking him, “When you say missing, do you mean that you have mislaid it or that it has been taken from you?”
“Both,” he said.
“Stolen, you mean?”
“In a way. Taken. Carried off.”
“Mr. Lee,” I said, “if something has been stolen from your residence, then surely this is a matter for the police.”
“The police?” His lip curled in an expression of disdain. “Do you think that the New York police will help me recover a lost item? Do you think they would come to the aid of a Chinese person, even if that person is as prominent in the community as Lee Sing Tai? They stand by when we are beaten by thugs. We have to pay them protection money if we want them to patrol our streets, to prevent our shop windows from being smashed. No, I could not call upon the police in this matter. Besides, I do not think they could help me.”
“I don’t see how I could help you recover a stolen object,” I said.
“You are a lady detective, is that not correct?”
“Well, yes, that is correct,” I said.
“And should a detective not have the skill to pick up the trail of a missing possession?”
“Might I know what is this possession you speak about?”
“To begin with, I will show you this,” he said. He reached across to a side table, took a brocade envelope from it, and opened it carefully, drawing out a large medallion of carved dark green stone. “Examine it carefully,” he said.
He handed it to me. It felt cool to the touch, almost as big as my hand and carved with strange curling, intertwined beasts. It was attached to a chain of heavy gold by an ornate gold clasp.
“The missing piece is identical to this?” I asked.
“Not identical. The missing piece depicts the dragon and the phoenix—the beasts of good luck and good health,” he said. “But it is the same dark green emperor jade and the gold work is the same. You will know it if you see it. There are few pieces of such quality in this country.”
I turned the piece over in my hand. It was still remarkably cool. “Do you have any suspicion about who might have stolen it?”
“We will not discuss my suspicions at this moment, except to say that I believe that whoever has taken this jade will try to sell it. You will conduct a search for it in the obvious places first—pawnshops, jewelers—and if it can’t be found there, we will take the next step.”
He held out his hand and I passed the jade back to him. He sat calmly folding the brocade around the piece of jade again.
I frowned. Something didn’t make sense here. I plucked up the courage to break the silence. “Mr. Lee. I am given to understand that you run an empire of businesses. Do you not have employees enough to visit every pawnshop and jeweler in the city?”
He held my eyes with his cold, frank stare. It was like being observed by a snake. “Have you noticed many Chinese men in other parts of the city?”
“None at all,” I said.
“Do you know why this is? We are hated, despised. Bullies take great delight in setting upon us with no excuse whatsoever. If we try to fight back, we find ourselves arrested for disturbing the peace, and even deported. Therefore we keep to ourselves as much as possible and do not stray far from this small area they call Chinatown. But there are other reasons I do not wish to hand this task to an employee. It requires a woman’s touch.”
“You do not employ any women?”
He actually smiled this time. “There are almost no women in Chinatown—at least no Chinese women. The American government does not allow Chinese men to bring over their wives and daughters. And respectable Chinese women are not allowed out in public.” He leaned forward suddenly, tapping ash into the little dish. “So Miss Molly Murphy, I require your services for a good reason. I need someone who can be discreet and ask the right questions. I want this item returned to me quickly and with as little fuss as possible. So will you take my assignment or not?” He paused, holding me with that reptilian stare, then added, “I assure you I will make it worth your while if this prized possession is returned to me quickly.”
He sensed my hesitation. “Well?” he said. “What is your answer? Do you think you are up to the task?”
“I’ll do my best, Mr. Lee,” I heard myself saying.
“Splendid.” He clapped those bony hands together. “Very well then. Off you go. Good hunting, as they say in your country.”
I stood up. Frederick reappeared and came to my side to usher me out.
“You will report back to me tomorrow,” Lee Sing Tai said. “Let us hope you have good news for me by then.”
I started toward the door.
“And if you find this piece, you will get a description of the person who brought it in,” he called after me.
I turned back. “Do you have your suspicions about who this person might be?”
“No more questions,” he snapped. “Off to work now.”