In the Shadow of the Cypress (22 page)

Luke and Robert walked out to where the river met the ocean. There, they sat down to enjoy the view for a while. After a few minutes of quiet contemplation, Luke turned to Robert and said, “I know it’s none of my business, but Stanford isn’t the cheapest school on the block.”

“You’re telling me?”

“So what do you do to make a living while you’re acquiring
all those doctorates of yours? I hope that’s not a rude question.”

Robert shook his head. “Not rude at all, but the answer is rather embarrassing. In fact, I don’t do anything to make money just now. Hell, I’ve never had to earn a living. At the risk of losing face, I must confess that my parents are very well fixed. As long as I stay in school and keep adding credentials after my name, they give me all I need or want.”

“When you say fixed, just what are we talking about?”

Robert shrugged. “My natural modesty prevents me from naming a figure because I don’t really know. We Chinese never discuss such things. But last year the government stuck my father’s company with a twenty-seven-million-dollar tax bill. I know because he moaned about it for two whole months. You do the math. I’m terrible at finances.”

When they got back to Pacific Grove later that afternoon, Luke stopped at a little bookstore and purchased a volume put out by the Heritage Society. It was a photographic history of Pacific Grove. Luke felt it would help his friend get a better feeling for the place, and what it looked like at the time Dr. Gilbert penned his journal. There was even a picture of the professor standing with his colleagues and students in front of the old Hopkins Lab at Lover’s Point. Robert, however, seemed far more interested in the photos of the Chinese community.

“You know, Luke, it occurs to me that the only people who could give us a leg up on this problem are these very same Chinese fishermen.”

“But they’ve been gone for generations.”

Robert nodded. “But these people had children, and their children had children, and so forth. The Chinese traditionally pass down their family histories in great detail, either written or in a memorized oral tradition. You’d be surprised how much
they can recall about their ancestors going back many generations. To remember their people and their contributions is the most concrete form of devotion and respect one can pay to one’s ancestors. My old man can remember the names and histories of his family going back ten generations. He talks about them as though he knew them all personally. My mother can do almost as well with her family tree. And my point is that if we’re going to make any headway with this mystery, we’re going to have to find someone who recalls their grandparents or great-grandparents having said something about Zhou Man’s marker stone. Perhaps someone who even knew the people involved.”

“And how do we go about that?”

“Well, the Chinese tongs have always kept excellent genealogical records. Even then information was power.”

“But I always thought that the Chinese tongs were like the mafia, just big organized gangs preying on their own people for profit.”

“In some cases that was true, especially in the big cities like San Francisco and Seattle, but in the smaller communities they were relatively benign organizations that operated for the benefit and protection of their constituents. The tongs grew out of the older triad system that flourished in China. But here they became a kind of shadow government that tried to protect their people from the depredations of national authority, just as the triads did in China. The difference being that the tongs, which were built on the more ancient model, kept impeccable records of births, deaths, debts, and vendettas.”

Luke looked confused. “But our Chinese and their local tong have long since disappeared from Monterey Bay.”

“It may appear that way on the surface, but I’ll lay you heavy odds that their scrupulous records, which the Chinese are
traditionally loath to destroy for any reason, are still out there somewhere. And if not the records themselves, then at least perhaps some oral tradition that may be of some help.”

“And how do you propose to find those records at this late date?”

Robert smiled with confidence. “My father’s influence has a very long reach within the Chinese community. His name will open doors that would be sealed to all others, especially to non-Chinese inquiries. I think I can make some use of his prestige to cast about for a few innocent facts and names. After all, isn’t that why you brought me on board?”

“I hadn’t thought of it in quite that light. To tell you the truth, my reasoning was far more prosaic than that.”

“And what would that be?”

Luke shrugged and smiled. “I think it was, in the main, because I liked you from the first. And perhaps because I needed someone to confide in who would appreciate what I’m trying to do. Something in the back of my mind kept saying that you were sent as an answer to my dilemma.” He shook his head with slight embarrassment. “I have a tendency to follow my instincts in most things, and I’m not often disappointed in the results.” Luke laughed. “And besides, you’re filthy rich. I’m always impressed with inconsequential things like that.”

“Well, if that’s all it takes, you should meet my father. He’s got a wine cellar that’s five times the size of your whole apartment. And he will always be richer than I’ll ever be. You don’t go into linguistics for the money, old son.”

“I suppose not, but the same can be said for my field, but I do it for the glory.”

Robert found this amusing. “Well, you see, that’s something else we have in common. I think that secretly I hunger for fame
more than money. But with the sincere hope, mind you, that the one attracts the other.”

Robert drove back to Atherton that afternoon. He promised to forward anything promising that came his way, but he told Luke not to hold his breath, as there was one elemental drawback to researching such matters. “The older generations of Chinese,” he said, “have a tendency to pretend that everything is a secret, when in fact the secret simply covers their complete ignorance of the subject at hand. It gives them a sense of power and importance that would otherwise be denied them.”

T
HOUGH
L
UKE AND
R
OBERT COMMUNICATED
two or three times a week by e-mail, and sometimes by phone, nothing of any value had come to light. The weeks passed into months and still neither one of them could discover any trace of information concerning the objects of their search. Luke was beginning to believe that the “toys” had disappeared off the face of the earth forever.

On the other hand, Luke had found plenty of time to finish his master’s thesis, which was very well received, and he was subsequently awarded his degree. However, he decided not to apply for a doctoral program until he’d made some progress in his private search for the Zhou Man artifacts. He believed the subjects of his search, if discovered, would make one hell of a doctoral thesis, and in this Robert concurred completely. Robert even owned up to having some ambitions of his own along those lines. He suggested that a paper authored by them both would have a remarkable impact on their careers.

Then one day in late December Luke received an e-mail
message from Robert. It asked, in the most insistent terms, if it was possible for Luke to take a few days off and visit him in Atherton. He even e-mailed a map showing how to find his house. Luke e-mailed back and asked what the urgency was all about, but Robert demurred and said he’d rather speak to Luke in person, as the matter was of some importance and required security for several valid reasons. He requested that Luke bring all his files on the “toys.” Then he added, “Do you own a presentable suit and tie?”

Luke laughed to himself and responded, “Are you kidding? I can’t even remember the last time I owned a tie, much less a suit. Why do you ask?”

“Never mind, I’ll take care of all that at this end. Just get your butt up here Friday afternoon early. E-mail me your fitting sizes, and include your shoe size as well.”

Robert logged off, leaving Luke in the dark, but Luke did what was requested in the forlorn hope that his friend knew what he was doing.

T
HAT FOLLOWING
F
RIDAY, AFTER FIGHTING
the northbound weekend traffic, Luke arrived at the address indicated on the map. He was stunned to find a whopping great edifice that looked like it had been transported brick by brick from Versailles. The Palace, as Robert referred to it, was situated on six acres of land that included numerous fruit trees, vast raised rose beds, and even a half-acre fishpond that Luke passed on the way up the long drive from the automated gates. When he pulled up to the house there was a middle-aged Hispanic gentleman dressed in overalls waiting to take Luke’s open Jeep to the garage. When Luke appeared confused, the man pointed to
the graying sky that soon promised rain. Luke nodded, handed over the keys, and grabbed his bags.

The expression on Luke’s face when Robert greeted him at the front door caused his host to break into a broad grin. “I’ve been waiting in gleeful anticipation of this moment. Just to see the look on your face is reward enough, but in fact this pile of vanity isn’t mine. My father acquired it in lieu of a very substantial debt, and I live here more as a live-in caretaker than anything else. In fact, the only part of this place that’s furnished is the north wing, but it has three bedrooms, two baths, a living room, dining room, and its own kitchen. There’s even a marble-trimmed swimming pool out back. Come on in, put up your feet and stay awhile.”

Luke saw at once that what Robert said was true. The foyer and the south wing were naked, but Robert’s apartments in the north wing were handsomely furnished with expensive copies of fine antiques, which Robert said came with the house. And knowing his son’s busy schedule, Robert’s father had also employed a housekeeper named Mrs. Martinez, two gardeners, and a Chinese cook who made the best green chili con carne and shoestring fries Luke had ever tasted.

After supper the rain started to come down in buckets. Robert and Luke retired to the living room, where Mrs. Martinez had set a comforting blaze in the ornate-mantled fireplace. When he was sure they were alone, Robert began to discuss the purpose of their meeting.

“I hate to say this, Luke, but I’ve come up with nothing at all useful. And the sad fact is that I know why. Despite my family name, I just don’t have the rank or chops to get anyone to cooperate with me. It’s going to take the efforts of someone far more powerful than myself to loosen sealed tongues.”

Luke nodded. “I haven’t made any progress either. Every
thread I follow leads nowhere.” Luke changed the subject. “But that’s enough bad news; I must assume you wouldn’t have invited me all the way up here if you didn’t have something more interesting in mind.”

“Well, I don’t know how viable this suggestion will sound, but I’m serious all the same. I just couldn’t make a move without consulting you first.” Robert paused to gather his thoughts. “I think we need to bring in a third party. Someone who just might have as strong an interest in this affair as we do. And since the search, if it goes on much longer, is going to start costing us some serious bucks, we’re also going to need someone with deep pockets as well as deep interest.”

Luke nodded. “I know you well enough to assume you have someone in mind.”

“I do in fact. I think we should talk to my father. He’s a man of legendary discretion with a passion for Chinese history. I’ve refrained from mentioning anything about this to him, per our agreement, but I believe he can help us if he has a mind to. In addition, my father has the ability to help us set up an appropriate corporation to secure our interests. But most important of all, no one in the Chinese communities or the existing tongs would dare refuse any request made in his name.”

“That sounds most convenient.”

Robert shrugged self-consciously. “I haven’t mentioned this before, I suppose because I foolishly believed I could do this all on my own. I thought my old man would be really impressed if I could pull this off, but that proved little more than conceit on my part. Even so, this entails a subject very close to his heart. Let me tell you a little something about my father. His company is the largest Asian import-and-export concern in the United States. They handled three and a half billion dollars worth of
trade last year alone, and even more than that the year before. He gives fortunes to domestic Chinese charities, and every Chinese of any importance refers to him as Grand Master Wu. They deny him nothing. If anyone can help us, he can. So what do you say? Do you feel okay about talking to him about all this?”

Luke sat back and thought for a few moments. He tried to flash through all the possible scenarios and pitfalls. He’d speculated about arriving at just such an instance, but he hadn’t bothered to carry on the daydream because it seemed patently improbable. Finally, with no handy negatives on which to hang an objection, he gave in to the moment. “Well, we’re just spinning our wheels right now. The whole thing seems to hang in expectation of acknowledgment from somebody. So okay, I’ll go along for the ride if you think it’s in our best interest, but only if you and I get the intellectual credits. Otherwise we’d just be doing all the legwork for somebody else’s benefit, and I’m not up for that.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you. I know my father pretty well. You’d be surprised how many spectacular things he could have taken credit for if he’d wanted to, but that’s just not in his nature. He’s a quiet and modest fellow at heart, which is why so many people trust him with their fortunes.”

“Okay, I’m in. But what’s all this business about a suit?”

Robert smiled. “I’ve already taken care of that. You’ll find everything you need in the closet of your room.”

“Why do I need a suit?”

Robert blushed slightly. “Well, there’s something about my father you’ve got to understand. He’s a man of great formality. Do you know that in my whole life I’ve never seen him without a suit and tie? When I was a kid he once took me to the beach to watch a surfing competition. It was eighty-five degrees in
the shade, and he wore a three-piece blue pin-striped suit and a black fedora. My father believes that one doesn’t dress well from a standpoint of self-respect, but out of respect for others. He also taught me that if you’re looking for money or influence, dress like you’re in need of neither. People with money and power rarely invest time or effort in those who look like they’re in desperate need of it.”