Free The Chinese Alchemist by Lyn Hamilton Page A

that?”
    “You know perfectly well I’m not going to fall for that,” I said. “You’re getting a little irritating on the subject of my client. But you are jumping to conclusions. Really, I am going to visit my sort-of stepdaughter. She is teaching English there, and I miss her a lot.”
    “I see,” he said. I could tell he didn’t know whether to believe me or not, which in my opinion said more about him than about me. “Why don’t you join me this evening for a drink at the bar in the hotel?”
    “Good idea,” I said, although I wasn’t sure it was. “What time?”
    “Six? Maybe we can go out for a bite after.”
    It seemed churlish to refuse, but the evening began even more badly than I’d feared. He couldn’t wait even two minutes to start at me again on the subject of my mystery client. “I confess that in New York I thought your client might be Dory Matthews, but I guess that would hardly be the case now. Too bad about Dory. I know you were fond of her.”
    “Yes, I was, and still am.”
    “I suppose it could still be George Matthews. Or his company Norfolk Matthews Pharmaceuticals, but he wouldn’t normally use you to get what he wanted.” I said nothing, but Burton, as usual, rattled on, oblivious to my discomfort. “It’s a bit peripheral for him. He collects medical equipment, and I’m not sure a box with a recipe for the elixir of immortality would qualify, as tantalizing as it might be for the rest of us. And anyway, it’s too soon after Dory’s death for him to be arranging for a purchase in Beijing, I’d think. Am I right?”
    “Burton!” I said in a warning tone. “I think we should change the subject.”
    “There’s something I’ve wanted to say to you for some time, Lara. Please hear me out. I know you were very fond of Dory. I was, too. It wasn’t my fault she got edged out at the Cottingham. The museum approached me. I didn’t know what the situation was. They told me she was retiring. Why would I think otherwise? I found out later she was pushed out against her will, but I honestly did not know that at the time, and even if I had, it wasn’t up to me. They asked me for an expression of interest, and who wouldn’t be interested, given the budget that museum has? I was keen, I sent my CV, and got an interview, then another, then the job. By the time I got there, she was gone.”
    “You’re quite right, Burton. It wasn’t your fault that the Cottingham decided Dory had to go. But Courtney Cottingham told me you’d approached them first, and that it was too much of an opportunity to pass up, given that you are the hot item in this field.” Courtney had shared this annoying little confidence with me at Dory’s retirement bash. A lot of people knew that edging Dory out would be unpopular with certain people, my being one of them. I didn’t figure Courtney actually cared what I thought, nor did I think Burton did either, but both seemed to feel they had to say something to me. It’s just that Burton was lying, or at the very least stretching the truth, and I wasn’t prepared to let him get away with it.
    Burton got just a little defensive. “I didn’t apply for the job, Lara. I simply met Courtney Cottingham and her husband at a soiree in Washington, and I told her if the job were ever open, I hoped she would consider me a candidate. I know you really, really liked Dory, and clearly you’re determined to think the worst of me, but what I’m saying is true. Several months after Courtney and I had this conversation, she got in touch with me. She told me Dory was retiring. If my casual remark sparked Dory’s departure, I feel bad about it, but I don’t think it would have changed anything. Courtney thought Dory was past it, and maybe she was. Her arthritis had slowed her down, and she wasn’t open to new ideas for the galleries.”
    “Burton…” I began, but stopped. There was no use in arguing this point with him. “Look, I know you’re doing great things