Free China Trade by S. J. Rozan Page A

wouldn’t talk about this yesterday in front of the low faan? ”
    Her look was blank; then she said, “Oh, Dr. Browning? No, not entirely. It’s not just that he’s low faan . He’s also …” She tapped the pen on the desk, searching for words. “Well, he’s sort of…innocent. He’s in his own world. Porcelains are what he cares about; otherwise he doesn’t exactly know what’s going on. You should see him down there opening boxes with this little smile.” She smiled gently herself.
    “You were protecting him?”
    “Is that a bad thing?” she asked defensively.
    “No, but Nora, it’s not your job to protect the whole world from reality. Anyway, I’m going to have to talk to Dr. Browning.”
    She nodded. “I expected that, and I told him. And maybe I was being silly yesterday. Anyway, I wish I’d answered you about the gangs, because then you wouldn’t have gone and gotten involved with the Golden Dragons.”
    “I might have anyway. It’s also not your job to protect me.”

    “It’s not your job to be tougher than everyone else, Lydia.”
    “My job is to get your porcelains back.” And be tougher than everyone else. “Nora, I have to ask you this. Is there any way Dr. Browning could be involved?”
    “Oh, Lydia! Oh, I don’t think so. He’s so …”
    “I know. Innocent. But just sort of logistically, Nora. Could he have actually done it? Did he have a key, for example?”
    “No. He loses keys. I let him in in the morning and lock up after him at night. We leave together, in fact.” She smiled. “And he wasn’t carrying any crates the evening this happened.”
    “Very funny. And the alarm code? Does he have that?”
    “No. There’d be no point in giving him that. He can’t remember his own phone number.”
    “Okay. But I had to check. You understand?”
    “Of course. I’m glad you’re being thorough. I just wish you didn’t have to go near gangsters.”
    I reached forward and poured myself more of the sweet tea. “And I wish I knew why the Main Street Boys took over this corner and aren’t hitting you up.”
    Nora leaned back in her chair, frowned in thought. “Well, we’re not the only people here,” she reasoned. “And it’s obvious we don’t have much. Maybe they’re only bothering with people who can pay worthwhile amounts.”
    “If that’s true, it would be news. But the Main Street Boys are new in town, and their dai lo is from the West Coast, I hear. Maybe they do things differently out there.”
    “Maybe.” Nora looked uneasy. “Lydia, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Hiring you, I mean. If these gangs are involved—either one of them—then maybe we should go to the police.”
    Tim would love that, I thought. You’re fired, baby sister. This case was too big for you. It was too hard.
    “Your reputation,” I said. “Face. Your other donors.”
    “Well, maybe that’s not so important.”

    “Your porcelains. You said yesterday that I had a better chance of getting them back than the police have. Dr. Browning said so.”
    “Yes,” she said reluctantly. “That’s true. But Lydia …”
    “Give me a few days.” I cut her off before she could talk herself into the idea that she was being irresponsible by letting me go on putting myself in danger for her. “If I don’t get anywhere, you can go to the police. But maybe I’ll be lucky, and you won’t have to do that.”
    “Well…”
    “Thanks,” I said, standing quickly. “Good seeing you. Great working for you. Gotta go.”
    And before she could change her mind, or even speak it, I went.

E I G H T
    I Went home.
    It was late, it was dark, it was dinnertime. The streets of Chinatown weren’t any less crowded, but the crowd was different: fewer families and older Chinese, because everyone was home eating. More young people in groups now, and more couples, some Chinese, some white or black— low faan of different kinds—and a few mixed. In front of me, a young Chinese man squired his