Stone, Katherine (27 page)

Allison
responded reluctantly to the insistent ringing of her doorbell.
December eleventh was only two days away. She was in her darkroom, developing
the photographs she'd give to James—to Mrs. Leong—as promised.

When Allison saw Maylene's expression she regretted even a
moment's hesitation. "What is it, Maylene? What's happened?"

The picture window in Allison's living room provided a view across
the harbor to the Jade Palace. Maylene stood with her back to the window as she
spoke. But in looking at Maylene, Allison saw the hotel. The Palace shone
brightly despite the dark gray sky, oblivious to its cloud of scandal.

"Someone else is responsible," Allison said when Maylene
had finished. "I don't really know Tyler, but he couldn't have done
anything without Sam's help, and Sam wouldn't have done it. You believe that,
don't you?"

"Yes," Maylene confessed, desperately wishing she'd had
the courage to let Sam see her confidence in his innocence. So what if he'd
been amused by the foolishness of her love? A memory of his amusement would
have been better than the indelible image of Sam's contempt.

"And what about James? He can't believe Sam and Tyler are
guilty."

"I'm not sure what James believes. He must have been angry,
enraged, but he was calm. Controlled. They
all
were. The Jade Palace
meant so much to James."

"It also meant so much to you."

Allison felt anger toward whoever had destroyed James and
Maylene's triumph. But suddenly, and more powerfully, her fury turned to James
and Maylene themselves—for investing their dreams in something as
inconsequential as steel and stone.

"It really couldn't matter less whether the Jade Palace ever
opens."

"What?
Allison, what are you saying?"

"Have you ever read
The Wizard of Oz?"

Maylene's frown deepened at the non sequitur. "Yes, of
course, but—"

"Then you'll remember why Dorothy and the Scarecrow and the
Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion went to the Emerald City. They believed the
Wizard would give them what was missing from their lives. But the Wizard was an
illusion. He was powerless to give them anything. The power lay within
themselves. The Jade Palace is an illusion, Maylene. A
symbol.
For
James, it represents the promise he made to Gweneth. He's like the Woodman, I
suppose. He's decided he has no heart, that the hotel
is
his heart. And,
when I first arrived in Hong Kong, I felt like Dorothy. But I think I'm more
like the Lion, searching for the courage to be who I am."
And to fight
for what I believe—and for the people I love.

Allison was fighting now, for the people she loved, her eyes as
brilliant as Oz. Too bright, perhaps. Maylene looked away. Or perhaps, with her
words, she'd pushed the limits of their friendship too far. "I'm sorry,
Maylene. Maybe I shouldn't—"

"I'm
Dorothy, aren't I?"

"I think so. You're searching for your home, the place where
you belong. The Jade Palace was just an excuse for coming back to Hong Kong.
The real reason you're here is because of your mother... isn't it?"

"Yes. I guess it is." Maylene's gaze returned.
"I've been thinking about seeing her—at least from a distance—tomorrow
night."

"Oh, good. I'm so glad. From a distance?"

"There's an open meeting at the Coliseum. My mother, the
revolutionary, will be on stage. It's not really the right setting for a
reunion—there may be thousands of people—but..."

"It's a first step. Would you like company?"

"No, thank you. But may I borrow a little of your
courage?"

***

"Hello, Mrs. Leong, it's Allison Whitaker. I'm sure Mr. Drake
is deluged with calls but I wonder if I might leave a message for him?"

"Certainly."

"Would you please ask him if he's free to have dinner with me
tonight? We'll be dining in. I'll order something from DuMaurier's. But I'd
like the evening to be black-tie."

Mrs. Leong promised to deliver Allison's message as soon as James
was off the phone and would call with his reply.

When the call came, it wasn't Mrs. Leong.

"You just aren't afraid of me, are you?"

"James? Afraid of you?"

"There aren't many people in Hong Kong—with the possible
exception of a few reporters—who'd want to spend this evening with me."

"I'm not afraid."

"Can we make it a nightcap instead of dinner? It may be
midnight before I can get there."

"A nightcap's fine.... Midnight's fine."

"Mrs. Leong said something about black-tie?"

"Yes, but if you'd rather not—"

"I'd rather."

***

At 11:30 p.m., Eve slipped away from her guests to make a brief,
necessary phone call. He was in his office at Grand Prix, fielding calls from
around the world, but Eve got through on the private line he kept open for her.

"Eve?"

"Oh, Tyler. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. At least half the people I've spoken to are still
willing to trust Grand Prix—for a discount, of course." "You sound so
tired."

"I'm all right." The fatigue left his voice. "All
that really matters is that on Monday night Lily will be safely out of surgery,
and you and I will set sail for Australia."

Eve had spent the evening listening to Geoffrey and their dinner
guests discussing the Jade Palace scandal and the murky futures of James, Tyler
and Sam. To his credit, Geoffrey had staunchly defended all three. But, he'd
cautioned, from this point on their every move would be watched. Their behavior
had to be beyond reproach. Sam must return to his San Antonio office right
away, to put out fires there, and James and Tyler needed to remain in Hong
Kong, doing the same thing, convincing creditors and customers alike that their
businesses were solvent and above suspicion.

Tyler couldn't leave on Monday night with the wife of the
territory's most powerful taipan. Grand Prix would never recover. Eve knew it.
Tyler had to know it, too. Yet there wasn't anything but love in the voice that
reaffirmed their plans.

"Here's
my
plan," Eve countered. "As of
Monday night, I'm going to live in our apartment with you."

"In hiding, Eve?"

"It won't feel like hiding, Tyler. It will feel like love.
Please? We can sail to Australia any time."

"Are you sure this is what you want?"

"I'm positive."

"I love you, Evangeline."

"I love you, too," she whispered. "I'll see you
Monday."

***

At midnight, Allison opened the door to the man she loved. The
events of the day had cast dark shadows across his face, making it more
ravenous and fierce than ever. But Allison felt no fear.

"You look ravaged," she said.

"And you look ravishing."

"Juliana designed this gown for me to wear on New Year's
Eve."

"I wasn't talking about the gown, Allison. I was talking
about you."

Champagne awaited them in the living room. As soon as James filled
their crystal flutes, Allison raised hers in a toast. "To the Jade
Palace."

James hesitated a beat, then touched crystal to crystal. "To
the Jade Palace."

After they'd taken a sip, Allison began. "Maylene told me
that at the end of this afternoon's meeting you said, 'If I'm the cause of all
this, please know how deeply sorry I am.' She didn't know what you meant by
that, but I've wondered if you believe that the man responsible for Gweneth's
death is also responsible for sabotaging the hotel?"

How very brave she was, he thought. "That's why you invited
me here, isn't it? You knew there was no one else with whom I could discuss
this, and you imagined it was something I might need to discuss."

"It was something you could have discussed with the inspector
at Scotland Yard. Have you?"

"Yes."

Allison's breath caught. "So you
do
think her murderer
is to blame."

"I think it's possible. But there are any number of
developers in Hong Kong who'd like to see me discredited, even temporarily, to
enable certain lucrative contracts to come their way. And there are any number
of taipans who'd be delighted to see Tyler take a fall for the same reason. I
do know whoever orchestrated this did so carefully. It was probably planned
before construction on the Palace commenced."

"Maylene told me about Chang Lu's illness in July. Do you
think he was poisoned?"

"Yes. But incapacitating Lu during the pouring of the
foundation was easy compared to finding the men who wrote the damning letters.
From all accounts, they're solid citizens. Neither would have been tempted by
bribery. In the name of family honor, however, to protect a loved one from
scandal, they might have been susceptible to blackmail."

"Is there evidence of scandal in their families?"

"Not yet. But as of an hour ago, a discreet investigation was
begun. Even if we discover they were being blackmailed, the trail to the
mastermind won't be easy. He'll have protected himself with layers of
middlemen. The only hope is to allow the entire scenario to play out."

"The entire scenario?"

"The bank has already called in my loan. Instead of paying it
off, I'll let them have the hotel. They'll put it on the auction block and
somebody will get it cheap."

"And that somebody will be the murderer?" It was a
hopeful question, but Allison frowned. Would James's deadly— and clever—enemy
show his hand in such an obvious way?

"If we're lucky." James's tone conveyed what Allison had
already surmised. They weren't going to be that lucky.

Even if Gweneth's murderer was behind the scheme to discredit the
Jade Palace—and therefore James—he wasn't going to claim the hotel as booty.
The end of James's dominion over Hong Kong's best parcels of land would be
prize enough. The monster, pleased with his latest foray, would return to his
cave.

Once before, James had been gravely wounded. But on learning about
the murder of his wife and unborn son, he'd recovered, empowered by his hunger
for revenge. He was wounded again. His empire was. He could rebuild, and in a
few years the murderer would feel threatened and emerge to cause more harm...
and then he'd vanish.

"Are you going to spend your entire life waiting for a chance
for revenge that may never come?"

"No," James answered softly. "I'm not."

"You're not?"

"No." Allison didn't fully understand his words, not
yet. "I want him caught and punished," James said. "I'll never
stop wanting that. But I'm going to stop envisioning my role in his
punishment."

"You'd planned to kill him yourself," Allison murmured.
"I'm glad you're letting go of that, James. Even though he's unspeakably
evil, I think it would be very difficult, emotionally, for you to kill him.
Kill anyone."

James believed he could murder the monster without remorse.
"It's not because of myself I'm letting it go. It's because of you,
Allison—because of us."

"Us?"

"I didn't believe it would be possible for me to fall in love
again. But I have, Allison, with you. I love you."

"And I love you." Hope soared. It should have been a
flight of pure joy. But... "In September, you wanted me to leave Hong
Kong."

"I believed it wasn't safe for you here."

"And now it is? Because of what's happened to the Jade
Palace? What if that
hadn't
happened?"

"I wasn't going to let you leave without telling you of my
love and my plans to keep you safe. Long before today, I'd decided to cut back
on my projects and stop trying to provoke him." The bare hands that had
yearned to kill, and now pledged to love, touched her face. "Will you
marry me, Allison? Will you be my bride?"

"Oh, James," she whispered. "Oh, yes."

***

Her gown of stars and butterflies lay on a chair, and his black
tuxedo was nearby. They were in bed, kissing, touching, whispering.

Their eyes, brilliant with love, were mirror images—until James
saw flickers of uncertainty.

"Allison?"

"I've never made love before. I thought you should
know." The revelation was stunning. She'd been engaged, so he'd assumed...

His once-lethal hands moved a curl away from her eyes.

"You were waiting for your wedding night, weren't you? Why
don't we wait until then?"

"No." She'd never looked more fearless. "It wasn't
my wedding night I was waiting for, James. It was you."

***

Maylene returned to the Trade Winds shortly after 1:00 a.m. She'd
been walking for hours in the bitter-cold wind, and was planning to swim for
hours in the heated pool, and she might never go to bed. Her entire being was
expectant. Alert.