“Listen, you bitch, get the cops off my back.”
“Let me go!” I tried to twist out of his grasp, but he held fast.
“I didn’t KO that broad, and I didn’t steal nothing from her house. Why are you trying to pin this rap on me? I got a little drunk and smashed your window. No big deal, I’ll pay the fuckin’ fines. But I’m not going to jail for something I didn’t do!”
No big deal? Anger replaced fear. “You oaf! You broke into my house and stole all my valuables. You destroyed my shop. What do you expect I’m going to do? Roll over and let you tear up everything I’ve worked for?”
Jimbo pulled back a little, and I sensed a flutter of puzzlement, as if he really didn’t know what I was talking about. I took advantage of the brief interlude to give him a swift, sharp kick to the shin. Cussing like a drunken sailor, he let go of my arm, and I made tracks toward my house, where I could lock myself in and call the cops. He lurched forward, grabbing the air behind me.
“Oof!” I heard him fall as I raced up the porch stairs and into the house, slamming the door behind rne. As my hands fumbled with the locks, the high-pitched keen of a siren told me that the police were out front. I ran into the living room to peer out the window. Jimbo’s bike was still in front of my house, and there were two cop cars hedging it in, their lights flashing. Murray headed up the porch steps, smoothly taking them two at a time.
I unlocked the door and waved toward the back of the house. “He probably took off toward the alley.”
Murray jerked her thumb toward the living room. “Get in there, and stay away from the window,” she said, then raced back down the steps.
I obeyed, huddling hi the corner behind the desk. Let it end peacefully, I prayed. Let it end easy, without anybody getting hurt. Shouts reverberated from out back, and then silence. I was steeling my nerve to go peek out the back window when Murray returned, pounding on the front door. I let her in.
“Everything’s okay.” She mopped her forehead with a bandanna. “We got him. He surrendered without a fight. Did he hurt you?” she asked, looking me over.
Adrenaline still pumping, I clutched my arms across my chest and perched on the edge of the recliner. Through the window, I could see Greg and Sandy hauling Jimbo to the cruiser. I rubbed my arm where he’d held it. The skin was a little tender, but there was no real damage. “No, not really. He says he didn’t hurt Norma or steal anything.”
“Yeah, he claims you’re railroading him,” Murray said.
I sighed. “Do you believe him? He admitted to me that he threw the brick through my window.”
Murray sat on the sofa and leaned forward, her hands clasped as she rested her elbows on her knees. She shrugged. “The thing is, criminals always claim they’re innocent. The worse the crime, the more impassioned their plea, even when you catch them in the act. It’s all part of the mind-set. Anyway, whether or not he hurt Norma, for now we can hold him on destruction of property because of your window, and assault, for accosting you out front.”
There wasn’t much I could say except “Thank you.”
She shook her head. “What kind of a friend would I be if I let you down on something this big? By the way, Horvald Ledbetter called the police when he looked out his window and saw Jimbo pulling up on his bike. He recognized it from the other night when your window was smashed.”
Good old Horvald! I’d have to give him a nice tea basket as a thank-you. “You sure got here fast.”
“We were already in the vicinity because of the tip we got earlier. When Horvald’s call came, we didn’t have far to go—just a block or two. He’s a good neighbor… a keeper.” She glanced at her watch. “I better get moving, or Coughlan will be out here looking for me. He’s all over my ass today.” She gave me a weary smile. “I’ll call you a little later. Meanwhile, I still think you better get that security system. We dunno for sure who ransacked your house yet. None of the prints turned up anything.” She gave me a quick hug and took off.
I ventured back into the kitchen and made myself yet another mocha. When Jimbo had been holding on to my wrist, I’d been frightened, but when I really thought about it, I never truly believed he was going to hurt me. It was more like he wanted to scare me, and when I’d kicked him in the shins and ran, I had little doubt that he could have caught me if he really meant business. So why didn’t he? Was he afraid someone—like Horvald—might see him? Something just didn’t add up. Of course, I really didn’t know what kind of person he was, not underneath it all.
A knock on the door announced the appearance of the locksmith. As I went to let him in, I thought that whatever Jimbo’s beef against me, he’d have to take a number, because the dragon was holding the front of the line in the “let’s make Emerald’s life hell” marathon.
AFTER A D AY of ordering new stock and trying to forget all the crap that had happened during the morning, I came home to find that Miranda had made another stab at fixing dinner. This time, she’d limited herself to heating frozen lasagna and making a salad, and it actually smelled good. As we settled hi at the table, she handed me a folder. “Here’s the information about skipping grades that you wanted to see.”
I bit into a steaming forkful of noodles and sauce. “Thanks, hon. I’ll look at it tonight. Just put it on my desk, if you would.” The cats milled around our feet, hoping for handouts, but finally slinked away, disgruntled. We were all too tired for conversation; the kids were especially quiet after I’d told them about Jimbo. Kip loaded the dishwasher while Randa fed the cats. Then she took off for her room.
Clear skies and good viewing, I thought. “Bundle up when you go out tonight!”
Kip grinned at me. “Someday she’s gonna end up on the moon, you know?” He turned on the computer and loaded up SimCity while I settled on the sofa and flipped on the television. With Cathy Sutton on vacation, Jack Sullivan was out one party partner and probably wouldn’t be cracking stupid jokes. Thank heaven for small favors. I sipped my tea and turned up the sound, wondering if they’d mention Jimbo’s arrest.
“According to the medical examiner, the body is that of a male, Caucasian, between twenty and fifty years old. No sign of the victim’s head or hands have been found, and there were no identifying marks. The police are asking anybody who knows of a man missing in the Vancouver area to contact them.”
Lovely. Maybe a gang slaying or something.
“In other news, James ‘Jimbo’ Warren was arrested this morning when he accosted Chiqetaw resident Emerald O’Brien in front of her house.”
Woohoo! Just what I needed, my name in the news again. I’d thought of taking out a late-night ad for the shop, but thanks to the local news station, I was getting plenty of free publicity.
The camera focused in on Jack’s face. “Residents of Chiqetaw better start locking their doors. Over the weekend, police logged several burglaries. The suspect is believed to be a professional, and all of the stolen goods were small, expensive items. Eunice Addison, mother of prominent businessman Walter Mitchell, was one of the burglary victims.” A picture of Eunice flashed across the screen.
I muted the sound and glanced over at the etagere. Well, if Jimbo was the thief, he’d better run once Eunice got wind of him. Walter’s mother was hell on wheels, and I sure wouldn’t want to be the culprit with her after me. Just then, Samantha galloped over, bounced, and landed on my stomach. I stroked her fur, letting the gentle purr from her throat relax me enough to send me into a light doze.
After a while, Kip woke me up. “Can I surf the net?”
Yawning, I gave Samantha a final pat and sat up. She bounded off my lap. “Okay, but check my E-mail while you’re on-line.” The beep-squawk-hiss of the modem signaled that he was in.
“Mom, Harlow sent you something. It’s got the red exclamation mark next to it, so it must be important.”
I took over the keyboard. Harlow wanted me to call her. I gave the computer back to Kip and picked up the phone.
“I think I’ve found some
more info on your dragon,” she said.
“Let’s hear it,” I said, too tired to do anything but listen.
“That vision you had about the dude caught in a snow storm?”
“Uh-huh?”
‘Think I found a reference to it. Looks like Daniel’ grandfather wasn’t the first person to dig this thing up. The dragon has surfaced several times throughout the past fiv hundred years; but each time, it ends up back in China.”
A homing dragon, how delightful. “What about the people who found it?”
“In 1733, a Norwegian explorer unearthed a jade dragon with gilt etching northeast of Beijing; he was probably trying to follow the coastline toward Russia and then cross country to his homeland. He and his travelling companion were on the way home when winter came early, and a real snowstorm hit them. They got separated, and the explore carrying the dragon was lost in the woods. Nobody know what happened to him, but the others returned home, convinced the dragon had brought them bad luck.”
“That matches my vision,” I said. “Anything else?”
“No, except that this particular group of explorers were probably bandits. What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. Harl, a creature like the Chinese demon that Huang Fu summoned could wipe out astral meanie like Mr. B & U with a puff of bad breath. I have no idea o how to undo this kind of curse. I don’t even know what kind of demon it is. The Chinese have more hells than you can count, and most have some sort of ugly sucker attached to them.”
I wanted to believe it was all superstition. I wanted to believe that a little piece of carved jade couldn’t possibly hurt me. Most people didn’t believe that demons, ghosts and curses existed. But I wasn’t like most people; I’d spent my life working with spirits and learning how to use the psychic gifts I was born with. This curse was real.
“You there?” Harlow sounded worried.
I shook myself out of my reverie. “Yeah. Just thinking.”
“It’s true, isn’t it? The dragon curse?”
I didn’t have to say a word. Harl already knew the answer; I could tell by her silence. After a moment, I said, “Maybe I’ve known since I first brought it home. The statue moves, it turns in circles, its eyes glow red. We’re talking a jade Linda Blair here, only it’s not possessed. Just cursed. The question now is, what do I do? By the way, where did you find that information?”
“I traced Terrance’s route through China, to where he found the statue. After that, it was a matter of digging through dusty old references relating to explorers who visited that area of the world from the latter Ming dynasty on. I haven’t had much else to do the past few days, you know. And it’s interesting.”
“Resourceful,” I murmured.
“So what’s next?”
“Undo the curse. Try to dodge the bad luck the dragon’s tossing my way. I need to hurry; I don’t dare let it cause more havoc.” I rubbed my eyes and yawned, then filled her in on the details of Jimbo’s capture. We chatted a little longer before I hung up.
A wayward curse from an ancient dragon. Chinese demons. An artist-thief who impregnated the Emperor’s niece and ended up on the chopping block because of his mistakes. I almost felt sorry for Huang Fu. Yes, stealing was wrong; but surely he shouldn’t have paid with his life? And getting a girl pregnant wasn’t a crime to die for. At least not now, not here.
His life struck me as more tragic than nefarious. No wonder the demon had taken pity on him and granted his dying wish.
“Mom, I’m going to bed.” Kip broke into my thoughts as he came out of the kitchen. By the looks of the crumbs on his face, he’d been in the cookie jar.
“Okay, sleep tight.” I gave him a distracted kiss. “I’ll be up to check on you later.” Samantha and the kittens followed him up the stairs.
I rummaged through the fridge until I found the cold lasagna. Cold pizza, cold spaghetti, I liked them all. Perched on the counter, fork in one hand, phone in the other, I pressed #1 on speed dial for Mur’s home number. No answer. I tried her work phone. Nada. Where on earth was she? Curses, thugs, and thieves crowded my mind as I tried to sort out what was going on.
“You shouldn’t eat that, Mom. It’s late, and you’ll get heartburn again.”
Startled, I jerked around. Randa stood at the kitchen door. “Thanks, kiddo. I’ll remember that piece of advice.” I gave her a wry grin. She grabbed a fork, and we sat side by side on the counter, swinging our feet and munching cold pasta together.
After a few minutes, she asked, “Mom, is anything wrong? Things have been kind of weird the past week.”
I sighed. I was going to have to tell them sometime. “You’re right; a lot of strange things have gone wrong since that man died in front of my store.”
“Maybe we’re jinxed,” Randa suggested.
I gave her a long look. Maybe it was time to fill her in. “You’re not far off, kiddo. That dragon I brought home? The one Daniel gave me before he died? Apparently it has a curse on it.” I told her about Huang Fu and the emperor, and the cursed dragon, but left out the gruesome parts.
Miranda rolled her eyes. “Great. More trouble. Mom, could you try sometime just being a normal mother? Maybe give the PTA a chance?”
I finished my side of the lasagna. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Of course, I’d have to take down your guardrailing because normal mothers don’t let their teenage daughters go climbing around on the roof during the middle of the night.”
“No! Anything but that!” She sobered. “Are we really in danger?”
What was I going to tell her? That everybody associated with the dragon had died in bizarre accidents and murders? I couldn’t scare her like that, and yet I needed the kids to be careful. “Yeah, it looks that way. Watch your step the next couple weeks, okay?”
Randa raised her eyebrow and licked her fork. “Be sure to warn Kip. He’s pretty careless. Have you had a chance to look through the material I gave you?”
Material? Oh yeah, the school information. “No, but I’ll do it right now while you head up to bed.” I gave her a quick kiss before she raced upstairs, then settled myself at my desk and sifted through the information she’d gathered. Straightforward and clear, the pamphlets and handouts presented both pros and cons of letting a child skip grades.
I knew why Miranda wanted this. Her schoolwork was a joke; she got A’s in her sleep for most of her classes. And yet… to move her ahead, to stick her in with kids years older than she was. What would it do to her? I pushed the papers away. Who was I to hold her back? My daughter wanted a life that wasn’t ordinary, and I owed her the opportunity. She was brilliant; she’d go far. I pushed myself away from my desk and stood, stretching so hard my back popped. Happy I’d made a decision on something at last, I was about to head for bed when the phone rang.
Eleven
EM, WHAT HAPPENED? What’s wrong?” Murray’s voice rang out over the line.
“Thank heavens you called back. You would not believe what I found out about the dragon and Daniel’s family.” I spilled out everything that Harl and I’d discovered in our quest for information.
Murray paused. When she did speak, her voice was curt, and I knew something was wrong. “Em, I thought you were in trouble, but you’re obviously fine. I can’t really talk right now. Why don’t you call me tomorrow?”
Feeling guilty, I settled myself on the sofa. I hadn’t meant to upset her. “I’m sorry. Is everything okay?”
“It’s just been a hard day.” She hesitated, then added, “White Deer and I had an argument. She went out for a walk, and I want to unwind before she gets home.”
Argument? They never argued, as far as I knew. “You’ve got to be kidding! You told me you two never fight. What’s up?” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I knew I’d made a mistake, and I was right. The temperature in her voice went from chilly to freezer burn in a matter of seconds.
“If I wanted to talk about it, I would have called you.” Murray seldom got angry,
but when she did, she blew in a big way. “As it is, you’re the one who called me. Again. Damn it, Emerald, do I phone you every time something goes wrong? Do I ask your advice on every little thing in my life? No, but you butt in anyway. Can’t you be a little more supportive of my choices, even when that choice doesn’t include following your advice? If you’re not bitching about your problems, you’re bitching about what you think I’m doing wrong. Give me a little peace, okay, and just back off?”
I stared at the phone, shocked speechless. What the hell was going on? I tried to smooth things over. “Murray, I’m sorry I bothered you. You are the one who suggested doing more research. When Harlow and I came up with all that wild stuff, I thought you might want to know about it, but obviously I was wrong.”
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