feeling that Ears knew exactly what was going on, too. Whack Victor, grab the gas station for himself. Send the killer back to Florida or wherever he came from. Untraceable. Unsolvable, now that Richie was gone. It all made sense now.
'Know what?' Victor said.
'Yeah.'
'You're right, I'm fucking wacko. Paranoid.'
'There you go.' Ears nodded. 'I told you, don't worry.'
'Anyway, we got a little date tonight.'
'I'll have the cash. Some nice girls there tonight, too.'
'What time, ten, eleven?'
'Hell, I can go late. Wife and kids are at her mother's.'
'Midnight?'
Ears stood to go. 'I'll see you then.'
Victor shook his hand. Firmly, no bullshit. With a nod of the head. So Ears could relax. Solid. Reaffirming trust.
And the last time I'm ever going to do that, Victor thought.
17
I like New York, realized Chen as he walked past horse carriages waiting at the edge of Central Park for tourists. Now I understand why people visit here, even people from China. New York was not as good as Shanghai, of course, but everyone knew that. New York was old, now, losing strength, and Shanghai would soon be the world's greatest city. Want proof? New York hadn't even rebuilt the World Trade Center and it was many years since it had been destroyed. In Shanghai, the government would have rebuilt those buildings in a year and made them bigger. But of course that was expectable now, for China's economy was growing three times faster than any other country's and would be the leading global power within ten or fifteen years. Especially since America had wasted so many resources in the war in Iraq. And kept borrowing money, weakening the dollar year by year. He knew that some people said that Russia would come back up, because it had oil and because global warming would strengthen its agriculture, but he had been to Moscow and St. Petersburg and it seemed to him that Russians were weak and drank too much. They had problems with drugs, too. He had also been to Paris and London and Berlin and Rome, among other places, and it was his objective, well-educated opinion that these cities were slowly dying and could in no way compare to Shanghai. But of course the real reason was that Asians were smarter than whites. All the tests proved it! The Americans knew this, too, which was why they wanted Asian immigrants. To lift the average. To compete with China!
He walked along the southern edge of the park toward the Time Warner building. Later he would do some shopping at Saks. He had three girlfriends, each the same size, and he'd decided just to get three of everything and give one of each to each girl. Of course, anything you could buy in New York you could buy in China, but they would be excited to see the Saks box and wrapping paper.
Chen stopped at a park bench and pulled out his phone, which worked in America, of course. You could get that, you just had to pay more. He dialed Ray Grant's house, and a woman answered.
'Ray Grant, please.'
'The older Ray Grant can't come to the phone,' she said. 'I assume you mean the younger Ray Grant.'
'Yes, that is correct,' he said, being careful about his pronunciation.
'Just a minute please.'
'Hello?' came a male voice.
'Ray Grant?'
'Yes?'
'This is Chen.'
'Well, hello there, Chen. I don't remember giving you this number.'
'I am calling to hear from you how you are finding Jin Li.'
'I am working on things,' said Ray.
'I expect you will find her. I am now waiting.'
'I told you I'm working on it.'
'When do you expect to be finding her?'
'Soon.'
'That is good. I need her for my business work.'
'I'm sure she misses working for you.'
'My men almost found her. She was living in a building filled with papers and old stuff.'
'Sounds like you're doing fine without me.'
'No, no. I want for you to find Jin Li.'
'I want to find her, too.'
'Maybe my men come to help you find Jin Li.'
'I don't need them.'
'They are hate you, and if I say to do it they will come get you, or come hurt your father.'
'That would be a very bad idea.'
He remembered the injuries to his men. They feared this Ray Grant now, he knew. 'I will call you in two days. I want you to be a successful finder of my sister by then. Do you understand? Two days, I call.'
Ray Grant hung up.
When Chen returned to the apartment in the Time Warner building, his men were in the living room watching television. They stood immediately when he came in.
'Boss, you had a delivery while you were out,' one of his men said.
'What is it?'
The man shrugged. 'The building guys say we have to give them very big tip so we did. One hundred dollars for each man.'
'Get it.'
The men pushed in an enormous wooden crate on wheels. Made of fine lumber, nearly fifteen feet long and six feet high, it carried elaborate markings written in both English and Chinese about how to dismantle it, as well as the tools necessary attached to the crate itself. The box itself was a piece of expert carpentry. The men set to work on it and a few minutes later the crate's sides dropped away to reveal a huge and magnificent bull with horns, ferocious eyes, and flared nostrils, one hoof lifted and long tail raised in aggressive passion.
The bull was plated in gold. Such a thing must have cost, what-hundreds of thousands of dollars?
A tasseled rope hung around the bull's neck, holding an elegant silk pouch.
'Bring me that bag,' Chen ordered.
The pouch was removed and handed to him. He excused everyone, then opened the bag and removed a note written in flowing Chinese calligraphy on elegant yellow stationery with a blue border. The stroke work had been performed at a very high level. At the bottom was a New York address and phone number.
The note read:
Mr. Chen,
Imagine my pleasure when I heard that you were in New York. I have admired your recent accomplishments in China but have always been too shy to tell you. Please accept this modest gift as my way of welcoming you to New York, where we often hope for a 'bull market.' This term may not be well-known to you. It means we hope there is optimism in stocks and business. Of course China right now is enjoying its own 'bull market.' I am sure you are very proud of your country. I would deem it a great honor if you would be my guest to dinner so that we might discuss mutually beneficial opportunities.
Yours sincerely,
William Martz
Chen ran his hand along the raised backbone of the sculpture. He had to admit he was impressed that a New
