Sally lowered her voice. “
Cape frowned. “You sound like a fortune cookie.”
Sally shrugged. “I’m not saying I believe it, either.” She glanced at Dong. “I’m just telling you why it’s important.”
“To whom?”
“The Triads,” answered Sally before Dong could say anything. “When you think
Dong added, “The original secret societies in China were established to overthrow an unjust emperor. They were patriotic, highly disciplined-”
Sally cut him off. “And very superstitious.”
Dong made a pouty face and poured more tea.
Sally continued. “Rituals, ceremonies, names.”
“Names.” Cape looked at Dong. “Like Incense Master?”
“Exactly.” Sally nodded. “These things have real power in the world of the Triads. And since the Triads have power in the real world…”
Cape finished the thought. “The power behind these things is real, whether you believe in them or not.”
“Yes.”
“So it’s valuable,” said Cape.
“That’s not why she stole it,” said Sally.
Dong said, “She was supposed to deliver it to someone.”
“Who?” asked Cape. “You?”
“Heavens, no,” said Dong. “Someone you know, here in San Francisco.”
Cape knew the answer before Dong said the name.
“Harold Yan.”
Chapter Forty-six
Xan looked at the man’s eyes and saw nothing but terror.
Truth always came from fear. He followed the line of the man’s arm as he pointed through the shop window, toward the alley across the street.
Xan released the man and nodded.
He was getting close.
Chapter Forty-seven
“Harold Yan,” said Cape.
Sally and One-eyed Dong nodded in unison.
“The mayoral candidate.”
“The same.”
“And Lin-the girl on the ship-she said Yan told her to steal this dragon’s heart?”
“No.” Sally frowned. “She just said she had to find him. Remember, she was delirious-she was bleeding and had a fever. She didn’t even tell me she had the stone-I found it on her when I dressed her wounds.”
Cape frowned. “If she was looking for Yan, why come to you?”
Sally shrugged. “She knew I was in San Francisco, and she was hurt. She couldn’t risk passing out while talking to Yan’s receptionist or falling down in the street. Someone could find the dragon’s heart and steal it.”
“But why does Harold Yan want the heart? It doesn’t make sense.”
“Of course it does,” said Dong.
Cape looked at him. “Why?”
“Isn’t that obvious?” asked Dong. “He’s about to enter a contest-an election. The heart would assure his victory.”
Cape looked at the elaborately carved piece of jade sitting on the desk in front of him.
“But you just told me the dragon’s heart was part of Triad history.”
“Right,” said Sally.
“Which means Yan is part of a Triad.”
“Or under their influence,” said Dong.
“C’mon.”
“My dear boy,” said Dong, his tone just this side of condescending. “You’d be surprised how many politicians are criminals.”
“I’ve been saying that for years,” said Cape. “Every time I pay my taxes. But a Triad?”
Dong huffed. “Do you have any doubt the Mafia has infiltrated American politics over the years?”
Cape chewed on that for a minute. Last year a local Congressman got caught taking bribes in exchange for his vote on funding for the new Bay Bridge project. The investigation found the construction company paying him off had mob connections.
“OK,” he said to Dong. “Say Yan has connections to a Triad, or, as you said, the Triad has some leverage over Yan.”
“If Yan gets elected, it gives the Triad a foothold in San Francisco.”
“And?”
“That would be very, very bad.”
“Very,
Dong leaned forward. “There are tongs, street gangs, and a handful of criminals in this city that already have loose connections to the Triads.”
“Like Freddie Wang,” said Cape.
Dong frowned. “An unsavory example, but a good one.”
Dong loved being the center of attention, but Cape wanted to cut the lesson short. “You’re saying there’s no central organization here, no power base like Hong Kong.”
“Or Shanghai,” said Dong. “Or even New York.”
“So?”
Sally cut in. “Remember those people on the ship?’
Cape thought of the faces he’d seen on Treasure Island, the brutal stories Mitch had told him. “Yeah?”
“Multiply that times a thousand.”
“She’s right,” said Dong. “Right now smuggling people is a side venture for the Triads-they make more from heroin and guns, with less risk. But occasionally they’ll exploit a situation, pull together a temporary organization to turn a profit.”
“Hire a snakehead,” said Cape, remembering the lesson from Mitch.
Dong raised his eyebrows. “Precisely.”
“But if they had a permanent base here in San Francisco…” began Cape.
Sally finished his thought. “Things could get a lot worse.”
“It’s a disgusting business,” muttered Dong.
Cape looked at him again, wondering when the English sophisticate became the Incense Master. Maybe Dong preferred the heroin trade, considered it more gentlemanly. The man was charming on the surface, but Cape had no doubt Dong could molt like a snake at a moment’s notice. He turned his attention back to the ship and something that had been bothering him since the beginning.
“Why did Lin kill the crew?”
“They deserved to die,” replied Sally without hesitation. She breathed through her nose, then in a calmer
