“Yes, I’m sure. Although you don’t expect that I’m prepared to tell you?”
“No. But you can appreciate that I’d have to know who, and why, before I could consider your generous offer.”
“Actually, no, I don’t see why that should be true. In this country, don’t they say ‘money talks’? Is this”—he lifted the cash—“not loud enough? I think, though I’m merely an agent acting on their behalf, I can confidently say my principals would be prepared to … raise the volume. An additional fifty percent, would that be acceptable?”
Part of me wanted to see how far I could push this. For one thing, how high Mr. Wing’s “principals” were willing to go would be the true gauge of their interest. For another, I didn’t know what the going price of integrity was these days.
But I’ve never been one to string a man along. “I’m sorry, Mr. Wing. I value your principals’ directness and their generosity. Please express my great regret at being forced to decline.”
Samuel Wing didn’t put his wallet away. “Ms. Chin, I’d urge you to reconsider.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No. But you might be.”
“Excuse me?”
“Another expression they use in this country, I believe, is ‘the carrot and the stick.’ This”—raising the wallet—“is the carrot.”
“You’re telling me,” I said slowly, “that you also have a stick? Mr. Wing, are you threatening me? In my own office, while you’re drinking my tea?”
“No, of course not.” He smiled at the absurdity. “But I’d very much like to report to my principals a successful conclusion to this affair.”
“You can report,” I said, “that you delivered the message you were sent with. You can report that I considered the offer most generous and I was sorry I had to decline. And you can report that you got the hell out of here.”
I stood. He didn’t, immediately, but spoke looking up at me. “Ms. Chin, your loyalty to the client who’s already paid for it does you credit. As does your natural curiosity. However, I very much hope you’ll reflect on this conversation. When you do, you’ll come to understand where your true interests lie. You have my number. I expect to hear from you soon.” He tucked his wallet away, and stood. “Thank you for the tea. It was delicious. Good day.”
He pulled open my office door, strode into the hall and out onto Canal Street. Before the street door closed behind him, I saw him turn right. I counted to ten, not to calm myself down, but to give him a chance to get far enough that he wouldn’t notice me. Then I hit the street, too.
I ambled a block behind him for a while. At Hudson, he turned north. He didn’t look around and, intriguingly, he didn’t take out his cell phone. I hoped he’d take advantage of the spring weather to stroll back to wherever he was going, but three blocks later, he flagged a cab. I watched it roll up Hudson, then headed back to my office. I called Bill, got voice mail. Well, I certainly wouldn’t want to interrupt his tête-à-tête with Shayna. I left a message telling him to be careful and to call me when he came up for air. Then I called Jack.
“Lee.”
“Chin.”
“Hey.”
“Hey. Should I stick to one syllable, or can I use sentences?”
“Whatever flies your flag.”
“How’s your window?”
“Smaller than it used to be. Plywood and plastic. But at least it won’t rain in here before I get a real one. I put the Hasui back on the wall so I could contemplate the peaceable life I had before I met you. Is that why you called?”
“No. Is it bulletproof?”
“The Hasui?”
“The window.”
Pause. “I don’t think so. Does it need to be? I thought that act was over.”
“It never hurts to be prepared. I just had a visit from a gentleman calling himself Samuel Wing. Does that name mean anything to you?”
“No, but I get the feeling it’s about to.”
“I don’t know. He offered me a boatload of money to abandon this search.”
“Re-eally?” In a way I was beginning to recognize, Jack drew the word out. “How big a boat? The QE2? Or a kayak?”
“I’d say the Staten Island Ferry. He started at ten thousand, went to fifteen at the drop of a ‘no.’ He’d have kept going if I let him.”
“Well, that’s not chump change. What’s his angle?”
“According to him, he doesn’t have one, he’s working for ‘some people.’ His ‘principals,’ he said, would pay handsomely if I dropped the case. Then he suggested rather pointedly I’d be sorry if I didn’t.”
“Damn. Did he suggest specifically that he’d shoot your uptown partner?”
That tripped me up. It had taken years for me and Bill to start using the word “partner.”
“Um, no,” I said.
“That’s a relief.”
“It wasn’t clear exactly what would happen. Earthquakes, tornadoes. But Mr. Wing made himself suspicious to me in oh so many ways.”
“Tell me one.”
“He came here with a fat wallet stuffed with hundreds. I booted him out with it untouched but he didn’t call in to report to his principals.”
“How do you know?”
“I followed him, dummy.”
“Oh, of course you did. And you saw him not call?”
“For at least ten minutes. If they were so anxious to have me sign on that they sent him with cash, not just the promise of cash, wouldn’t they have been anxious to know my answer? Also, his language is Mandarin, he drinks tea like a mainlander—I gave him the lidded-cup test—but he knows enough about New York that he walked north of the tunnel before he tried to get a cab.”
“Which says he’s been here awhile.”
“Bill told me you were smart.”
“On the other hand, I’ve been here all my life and I don’t think I could pass the lidded-cup test.”
“Your mom didn’t make you practice?”
“Who were we going to impress in Madison?”
“I’ll teach you. So I’m thinking Mr. Wing’s from China, but he’s spent serious time in New York. Also, he didn’t threaten my mother.”
“Well, now, that is suspicious. What?”
“Think about it. A pro working for people who want to intimidate a Chinese woman, the first thing he’d do would be threaten my family. I don’t have kids, but a couple of my brothers do, and I have an aged mother. He didn’t mention any of them.”
Jack was silent for a few moments. “So he’s an amateur. Not actually an enforcer.”
“Exactly. I don’t think he’s used to threatening people and I don’t think he’s working for anyone. Except, possibly, for someone who’s also not used to threatening people.” I paused as a thought struck me. “At least, not with violence. Maybe with failing grades.”
“Wait. You think he’s working for Dr. Yang?”
“Is it crazy?”
“I think it is,” Jack said slowly.
“Not all that many people know I’m looking for the Chaus. And only one, as far as I know, is seriously upset about it. Samuel Wing had my cell phone number.”
“Which I didn’t give Dr. Yang. If that’s what you’re calling to ask.”
“I wasn’t. Honestly, I wasn’t. That only just occurred to me. I was calling to tell you to watch your back.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Really really? Because I’m starting to get the feeling you don’t trust me.”
“Bill says you’re stand-up.”
“He said I was smart, too. Do you always believe him?”
“Ninety-nine percent of the time.”
“What happens the other one percent?”
“I’m wrong.”
“Well, you’re wrong now. I’m the good guys. We have a deal. I didn’t have my fingers crossed or anything.”
My cheeks burned. Good thing we were on the phone. “Dr. Yang might have sent this guy without telling you. Just because I don’t trust your client doesn’t mean I don’t trust you.”