Cynthia added with a smile, “But she’s nice, even so.”
“Mary is nice,” Bill agreed. “She deserves better.”
“Breaking her leg and having to drop out of the film must have been so disappointing for her,” I said.
Bill nodded. “And she was already on quite a losing streak by the time that happened.”
“Yeah, I really felt bad for her,” said Cynthia. “It seemed like it was just one thing after another.”
“I know how that goes,” I muttered, poking my dumplings gently to let some steam out.
“But like I told Mary last night, it’s almost the New Year,” Ted reminded everyone. “A time to change your luck and turn your fortunes around.”
“In the nick of time,” I murmured.
I was hungry by now, so I hoped I had let the dumplings cool for long enough. I bit tentatively into one—and it was delicious. Still a little too hot, but not enough to burn my mouth. So I kept on eating.
I was nearly finished with my meal when I heard a cell phone ringing near me, but it didn’t sound like mine. I looked at Ted, but he ignored the sound. So I glanced inquisitively at Officer Novak, who was on my other side. He heard the phone, too, and shook his head, indicating that it wasn’t his.
Then I remembered. “Oh!”
I reached down into my purse, which was sitting between my feet on the floor, and extracted the unfamiliar ringing phone from it. It was a prepaid cell that John had given to me yesterday after he’d purchased it from a local vendor; Lucky wanted to be able to call me without using my regular number. Since I knew, therefore, who my caller must be, I realized I’d better go back outside. Apart from how noisy it still was in here, I should probably seek some privacy for this call.
So I shed my napkins, then I grabbed my coat and struggled into it as I headed for the door. “Hello?”
“No names,” Lucky said immediately. “We’re on the phone.”
“I understand,” I assured him. The wind hit me like a block of ice as soon as I stepped outside. Since my coat took forever to button and zip, I just wrapped it tightly around me and held it in place with one arm while I talked. “What’s up?”
“Any information about your boyfriend yet?”
“He’s not my—”
“Any information yet?”
“I’m seeing him today, so I should have news very soon.”
“Good. Why don’t you come here later and tell me in person? Our mutual friend is also coming over later. To discuss certain matters.”
“Our mutual friend?” I repeated, wondering if he meant John.
“He’s bringing his dog,” Lucky added.
“Oh, that friend. Okay, I’ll be there later. After work.” I’d be hungry again by then, so I said, “Ask him to bring dinner.”
“Will do.”
“Any news at your end?” Even though he was still hiding out in the back rooms of a funeral home, I knew he was in contact with some of his sources.
“Actually, yeah. I been finding out what I could about local matters ever since you and our mutual friend informed me that the sudden demise of a certain individual was definitely not as accidental as it looked.”
After the unnerving experiment in Max’s laboratory had confirmed that Benny was cursed with death by mystical means, we had returned to Chen’s Funeral Home the next day to update Lucky. Since then, Max had concentrated on researching how to disable or defuse a misfortune cookie and how to reverse its effects once the curse was inflicted. And Lucky had been trying to find out who had wanted Benny Yee dead.
He said to me, “But I don’t want to talk on the phone about what I’ve found out. It can wait until you get here.”
“Okay.”
Whether Benny was the first victim or just the first one whom we had so far detected, the success of that curse was bound to make mystical murder an irresistibly seductive solution to whatever other problems, enemies, or obstacles the killer faced hereafter. After all, as far as we knew, no one else even suspected Benny had been murdered. So doing it again—and getting away with it again—would simply be too tempting a prospect for the killer. Max always said that Evil was voracious and fed on its own appetite, and I had found that events kept proving him right about that. So I agreed that there was bound to be another misfortune cookie. We needed to be prepared for it.
“You’re watchin’ your back, right, kid?” Lucky asked.
“Yes,” I said. “Of course.”
“You gotta be careful.”
“I am.”
“Our mutual friend is holed up with his research. And I’m holed up with people who are practically family to me. But you . . .” He made a worried sound. “You’re out there on the streets, a vulnerable target, if our anniversary gets suspicious.”
“I think you mean adversary.”
“So don’t get careless.”
“I won’t,” I assured him.
If I thought about it, I did feel a little anxious about working in Chinatown while the cookie killer was still roaming free and probably preparing to bake again. So I tried not to think about it. It just made me jumpy, and that wouldn’t help the situ—
“Esther?” said a voice behind me.
“Aaagh!” My cell phone flew up in the air as I flinched in surprise and whirled around.
Lopez had good reflexes; though startled by my reaction to his greeting, he caught the phone before it fell to the pavement.
“Esther! Esther!” Lucky was shouting. “ESTHER!”
“Are you okay?” Lopez asked me.
“Fine.” I seized the cell, not wanting Lopez to recognize my caller’s voice. My heart was pounding as I put the phone to my ear and said loudly to Lucky, “I’m fine! Just fine. Someone startled me, that’s all. Everything’s okay. No worries. I have to go now. I’ll see you later.”
11
Dog
The zodiac sign of the Dog represents loyalty, integrity, and bravery. Physical vigor and inner power make the Dog, who is always ready for action, a valuable ally to have.
I ended the call and fumbled to put the phone in my pocket. But my hands were stiff with cold, and my nerves were jangled by Lucky’s warnings—and by Lopez coming so close to discovering that I was talking to Lucky. So I dropped the cell. Lopez missed his catch this time, and it hit the pavement.
Another man picked it up, examined it briefly, and handed it to me. “Here. I think it’s okay.”
I recognized him as the redheaded cop from the night I’d been arrested.
Lopez said to me, “Are you all right? You seem kind of jumpy.”
“Stress,” I said breathlessly. “I’m a little stressed, that’s all.”
“You should try working with this guy,” said the redhead. “Then you’d know about stress.”
Lopez gave him a quelling look, then introduced us. “Esther Diamond, Detective Andrew Quinn.”
“We’ve met before. You may remember?” Quinn grinned at me. “It’s a pleasure to see you again, Miss Diamond.”
“Uh-huh,” I said without enthusiasm.
“So what’s this problem you need help with?” Quinn asked.
We both looked at him.
“Ah.” He nodded. “You two probably want a moment alone.”
“Yes,” I said.
“Okay. I’ll go inside where it’s warm.”
“Good idea,” said Lopez.
Quinn turned toward the restaurant—then did a double take. “Whoa! There’s a guy in there with a sword.”