Shao’s face puckered. He dropped into a chair next to us. “My brother is no more.”
Aha.“What do you mean?”
He put his elbows on his knees and dropped his forehead into his hands. For a while he just sat that way; then he ran his fingers through his crazed hair and looked up. “He was fine when he got off the plane. Himself, yes?”
I nodded, as if I’d recognize Wu anywhere.
“We say hello. We hug. He must stop at the bathroom. So I wait for him. When he come out . . .” Shao shook his head.
You never expect to find the bogeyman in the bathroom. But it’s a favorite hangout. He seems to lurk in the stall markedOUT OF ORDER , waiting until your pants have fallen around your ankles and the other patrons have left. “Did you see anyone go in or come out right after him? Anyone, you know, funny-looking?”
Shao shook his head.
“I know you were distracted by Wu’s behavior and your suspicions, but think back to that moment. You’re standing, where, by the men’s room door?”
He nodded. “Leaning against the wall. Wu’s bags are at my feet.”
“Wait, go back a couple of steps. Wu puts his bags down. Does he do anything before he goes into the bathroom?”
Shao squeezed his eyes shut. “He pinching my cheeks. Saying I still cute as little bunny rabbit. Makes me want to put him in headlock like when we kids. When he turn to open bathroom door he nearly run into old man.”
I leaned forward. “Describe him,” I demanded.
“White hair like this.” Shao held his own hair straight up and down. “Eyes, ah . . .” He got up, went into the kitchen, and grabbed a pan. Pointing to its silver exterior, he said, “Like this color only a little bit blue. Also covered with hair.” Shao made quick circular motions with his hands crisscrossing his face. “Just everywhere. And in his ear a sparkly ring.”
I would bet a year’s pay Xia Wu had encountered the reaver Desmond Yale.
Shao returned to his chair as he went on. “When Wu come out of the bathroom, there is someone new behind his eyes.” He shook his head. “This is no good way to describe it. Also there is a feeling.” He touched his fingers to his chest several times, said something in Chinese, and looked at Ge for help.
Though Lai gabbed and gurgled as if he had important things to say, she kept her eyes glued to her husband as she carried their son into the room. “I think the word is ‘evil,’” she whispered.
For once, baby Lai didn’t want to play. He seemed to sense matters were not right in his world, not by a long shot. Though Ge put him down inside a ring of fascinating toys, he crawled right over the top of them straight to his father, who immediately picked him up. They both seemed grateful for the cuddle.
I couldn’t think of a single thing to say that would be of comfort to these wonderful people, so I decided to do my business and get the hell out. The sooner I left, the quicker they could heal. “Wu said you had a dry-cleaning ticket for me.”
Shao nodded. He dug out his wallet and handed the voucher to me. “What will you do?” he asked.
“I’m sorry, Shao. I can’t tell you that.”
He nodded, surreptitiously wiping away tears as he returned his wallet to his pocket. “My brother worse than dead now,” he said, his eyes suddenly fierce on mine as his rage and his accent thickened. “He trapped. Never to be freed until by death. You end it, let his soul rise away so his family can honor him, as should be right!” He stood, holding Lai in one arm, as Ge wrapped her hands around the other. “Please to understand,” he said earnestly, “Chinese people honor all their ancestor. Very ancient tradition. Wu must be honor!” What he couldn’t tell me with words I saw in his face. This was as important to him as breathing.
Suddenly I couldn’t speak. My throat simply closed on the terrible reality that a man should be forced to ask someone to kill his brother in order to free his soul. But Shao read the answer in my eyes and nodded grimly.
“We have to go,” Cole said softly. He took my hand, pulled me off the love seat, led me out of the Xias’ home.
He found us a cab, got us to the dry-cleaners, even paid the bill. We never said a word. Finally, when we got back to the festival, he said, “How do you suppose demons get into their host bodies in the first place?”
The question caught me by surprise. “I always just assumed the victims were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“I don’t know,” Cole said. “I’ve been thinking about this ever since Shao told us about Wu. I mean, you have to choose to become a vampire. Maybe it’s that way with possession too.”
“Are you trying to make this kill easier on me?”
Cole pondered that question. “Actually, I think I’m trying to make it easier on me.”
We were nearing the RV now. It was almost time to meet Wu, but we had a second to grab a black metal bench overlooking the bay. I took Cole’s arm and led him there, draping the dry-cleaning between us.
“Okay, here’s your chance. This may be your only one,” I said, “so I suggest you take advantage of it. Ask me anything.”
He looked out at the rippling blue water when he asked, “Does it get any easier?”
I thought of Vayl’s ex. “Some are easier than others.”
“Do you ever stop being afraid?”
Huh, good question. I thought back through my career. “Yes, there are times when you stop. Other times you just manage the fear. If you do a good job it works for you. If you suck, it hurts you and everybody around you.”
He scratched at the faint stubble that had come in since he’d neglected to shave that morning. Still he refused to meet my eyes when he asked, “Do you think I’m going to be any good at this job?”
“If . . . Yeah, I think you’ll do fine.”
“What were you going to say to start with?”
Sigh. I really need to learn how to lie to people I care for.“I was going to say, if you survive long enough to get the experience. But then I decided I’d just make sure you did.”
He looked at me then and grinned. “Excellent.”
“So let’s quit slacking and get to work, huh?”
We took the clothes inside. The atmosphere had cooled considerably, and not just because Cassandra had ditched the kitchen in favor of the living area. Bergman had left the RV altogether.
“His frustration just mushroomed,” Cassandra told us. “He swore several times. Then he threw some parts. Then he yelled, ‘I’m not set up to do this kind of work!’ He finally decided he needed a special tool, and as soon as the Internet showed him a store in the city that carried it, he left.”
I couldn’t decide. Should I feel guilty for nearly driving my old friend nuts? Or should I continue to try to keep him busy so he wouldn’t drive everyone else crazy with his infantile social graces?Um, Alex, could I have Never Hire Your Former Roommates for $200 please?
I threw Lung’s clothes beside Cole on Mary-Kate and held up the two dresses Pengfei had taken to the cleaners. “Which one should I wear tonight?”
Cassandra considered them both. “I like the black with the green phoenixes. Or is it phoenixi?”
“No idea,” I replied. “Black it is. I’m taking the rest to the yacht now. Cole, could you go to the marina and rent us a speedboat? And not one that’s going to sink any minute like the Seven Seas Succulents’ ferry, okay?”
“Will do.” Cole took off. I went to the bedroom, taking the dry-cleaning with me. I hung my chosen dress in the closet and pulled out my weapons bag. If, indeed, Wu had turned reaver, he’d be a tough kill even as a newbie. So I wanted lots of options.