A Charm of Powerful Trouble (A Harry Reese Mystery Book 4) (19 page)

“That will do me.”

We arrived at the apartment about half past ten, and a little while later, Nell, Ainslie, and Thibaut came in.

“Did you see the show this evening?” I asked Nell.

“See it? She was the star!” Ainslie boasted.

Nell blushed.

“You joined the act?” I asked.

“She jumped in like a trouper.” Ainslie was talking like a proud father.

“Where’s Carlotta?” I asked.

“I’m afraid she was arrested, Harry,” Nell confessed.

“Arrested? For what?”

“Remember that policeman we met at the opium den, Sergeant….”

“Sergeant Eckel?”

“Yes, him. He came with two of his men. They took her just as they’d begun the zoo scene. Thibaut tried to stop them, but an angry baboon was no match for three policemen.”

“It was a scream,” Ainslie interjected. “We’re thinking of incorporating it into the act.”

“Don’t worry, Harry. She should be back here soon. Cliff sent a man with the money to bail her out. You see, as she was being dragged away, Carlotta managed to instruct Thibaut to keep the act going so as not to lose their place in the show.”

“So I nominated Nellie.”

“Since I’d seen them rehearse so often. I thought I should help, if I could.”

“She was an instant hit.”

“I thought you were broke?” I said to Ainslie. “Who was it you sent?”

“Well, the truth is I wasn’t able to follow through on that.”

“But you swore to me you would!” Nell said angrily.

“I had to tell you that, or you wouldn’t have gone on. Look, everything will be fine. Harry can go bail her out. She is his cousin, after all.”

Thibaut had gone into the kitchen and came out eating a drumstick. He looked about and then queried Ainslie in French. Ainslie told him something that seemed to ease his mind and he sat down to his supper.

“You speak French?”

“I spent four years in Europe, back in the nineties, when things were dead here.”

Tibbitts gave me an amused look.

“I thought this was your case now?”

He shrugged. “You know how it is.”

I assumed he was referring to the byzantine hierarchy of the police force. It was a feudal system, with constantly shifting allegiances and endless power struggles over control of the booty. I filled him in on some of the details he wasn’t aware of, such as Carlotta’s pretend marriage to Ernie Joy. He just smiled, then asked where the telephone was.

He dialed a number, mentioned Carlotta’s name, and then carried on a long, monosyllabic exchange. When it was over, he rejoined us.

“Eckel took her in on a second-degree murder charge, and indecency.”

“He’s decided to actually investigate the shooting? Why now?” I asked.

“Jimmy Yuan hasn’t come through with his fine to the captain over there. They’re putting the screws on. Eckel has your cousin down as the weak link.”

“Get her to testify against Yuan?”

He shrugged again.

“Where is she now?”

“The Tombs. Any lawyer can get the murder charge dropped. You can probably get her out for a twenty-dollar fine.”

“When?”

“There’ll be a session of police court there tomorrow morning.”

The only lawyer I knew who practiced criminal law was a fellow named Burleigh. I telephoned him and he agreed to meet me in the morning. Then I took up a collection. Ainslie contributed five dollars and I got ten from Tibbitts. Thibaut just turned out his empty pockets.

“I’ll go with you in the morning, Harry,” Nell told me. Then she went to their room and slammed the door.

Thibaut opened another bottle.

“You sure you don’t have any more cash stashed away?” I asked Ainslie.

“I’m sure I can have all you need by next week.”

“Next week?”

“Yes, no doubt about it. Why don’t we just let Carlotta rest up for a few days?”

“Rest up? In the Tombs?”

“You see, Harry….” He put his arm around my shoulder. For the first time since we’d met he was acting friendly. “If Carlotta shows up tomorrow it’s going to be awkward. Letting someone go is never pleasant.”

“Especially when she’s being let go from her own act.”

“Yes, exactly. Now, if she were to spend another day or two… incapacitated, Nell will have the part down pat. And even Carlotta will appreciate it’s a change for the better.”

“I think that’s rather unlikely.”

“Well, then in a couple days we’ll have devised another part for her.”

“I’d suggest the usurped woman seeking bloody revenge.”

“That’s a thought.” He stared up at the ceiling, considering it.

Xiang-Mei had hidden herself in the kitchen since our arrival, and I thought I should inform her of Tibbitts’s presence.

She was baking little pies.

“Moon cakes,” she told me.

I reached for one and she slapped my hand.

“
Wait
for the moon festival!” Then she nodded toward the door. “The policeman
staying
here?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so. Is Lou in yet?”

“Cricket hunt. He won’t come
home
until very late!”

“Well, hopefully Tibbitts won’t hear him. Lou should probably hide out here tomorrow. The police may be looking for him.”

“But police
already
here!”

“Yes, but Tibbitts is relatively benign. The other policemen aren’t so friendly.”

“Ah. Father say, ‘Better the devil
you
know.’”

“Yes, that’s the idea. By the way, I saw Jimmy Yuan earlier today.”

“Who is Jimmy Yuan?”

“Lou hasn’t mentioned him? He ran the little show where Lou’s accident occurred.”

“Oh.
Lou
thinks of nothing
now
but crickets. He will
not
want to stay
inside
tomorrow.”

“At least keep him in until sunset. There were some other men with Jimmy. From the Hip Sing Tong. Do you know them?”

She smiled and made a vague gesture.

“They seem anxious to find the other girls. The ones who crossed over from Canada with you. Apparently they’ve gone missing.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Oh, well. I must get
back
to work. You go now.”

I woke the next morning to the smell of bacon. I found Nell preparing breakfast, but no one else was stirring.

“I suppose we should bring Thibaut along,” she said.

“No, let’s let him sleep. He doesn’t even seem to realize what’s happening. And he can be a little unpredictable—not the sort you want in your corner when you’re trying to ingratiate yourself with a police magistrate.”

As we left the apartment we passed Tibbitts sleeping on the couch. Ainslie was on the other side of the room, having lined up three chairs into a makeshift bed. Nell kicked out the middle chair, then rushed out the door ahead of me.

We met Burleigh outside the Tombs, not far from the Manhattan side of the bridge. I knew him from college and had stayed acquainted via various alumni events since. As soon as I’d thought of him, a vague feeling came over me, a sense that there was some reason I should hesitate before calling him.

He wasted no time in reminding me of the cause of my unease.

“I don’t suppose you have that fifty dollars?” he said in a not very pleasant tone.

“Fifty dollars?”

“Remember, I lent you fifty dollars.” He took out a slip of paper and read from it. “I.O.U. fifty dollars, to be paid within sixty days. Signed, Harry Reese. November 12
th
, 1900.”

“I forgot all about it. You should have reminded me.”

“I tried to, the next spring. You must have moved.”

“What’s fifty dollars between old friends?”

“Feels about the same as any other fifty dollars.”

“Just add it to the bill when you send it.”

“I will.”

The Sunday morning session of the Tombs Police Court was a busy one. It was only after a small army of working girls, several pickpockets, and a wife-beater were disposed of that Carlotta was called.

As much as one might fault Burleigh for his over-attentive memory, there was no denying he handled the thing admirably. The judge agreed the murder charge was flimsy and levied a fine of twenty dollars for the act of indecency. It left me still holding a hundred dollars to put toward Emmie’s bail. Until Burleigh became surly and insisted on immediate payment.

“I never knew you to be so petty, Tom.”

“If you knew me at all, you’d know my name was Tim.”

Well, there was no use disputing his point. He took my hundred dollars and went on his way.

“Where’s THIBAUT?” Carlotta asked. It probably won’t surprise you to learn that her mood wasn’t a cheery one.

“I didn’t bother to wake him. He was sleeping pretty soundly.” My explanation seemed to strike her as inadequate. “You see, consoling himself required quite a bit of wine last night.”

“Yeah? Cried himself to sleep, I’m sure.” She sounded skeptical.

As we made our way toward Park Row, a brisk breeze swept over us. Carlotta was shivering and I gave her my jacket. As I was helping her put it on, I saw one of the Chinese fellows I’d met the previous afternoon. He was spying on us from about a hundred feet away. When he noticed me looking in his direction, he ducked around a corner.

Nell and I tried to make conversation along the way, but Carlotta had worked herself into something very closely resembling a lather. I’d known her most of my life and I couldn’t remember ever seeing her angry before. She was always the arch little girl who exasperated everyone else.

We entered the apartment to the sound of gay laughter. Thibaut was at the table amusing Tibbitts and Ainslie over their breakfast. I thought of intervening, but the look in Carlotta’s eyes stopped me dead in my tracks.

“Et TU, Thi
baut
? ET TU?” she asked in a voice that would have pained the old bard a good deal had he been there to hear it.

Thibaut looked at her dumbly. She picked up the vase of flowers on the hall stand, swung it back behind her—sending the contents over yours truly—and then lofted it with great precision. The target was a good twenty feet away and yet it hit him squarely on the forehead. He seemed to have seen it coming but made no apparent effort to duck from it.

Whether his inaction was in fact due to cunning or mere inertia is impossible to say, but there’s little doubt that in this case it was the correct course. Abject submission was the order of the day, and the sooner the punishment was executed the less prolonged it was likely to be. The vase ricocheted off his head, bounced off a plate of ham, and then hit his head again as he was collapsing onto the floor. (I don’t see how he could claim authorship of the last bit of choreography, but he had certainly laid the groundwork.) Carlotta rushed over and knelt beside him. As she cradled his bloodied head, she began crying.

Unfortunately, Thibaut then made a strategic error. He regained consciousness. On realizing this, Carlotta shouted something in their patois, slapped him, and dropped his head back on the floor. Rising, she turned to me.

“Sorry about the flowers, Harry.”

“That’s okay, they needed changing anyway.”

“I’m going to take a bath, if that’s all right.”

“Oh, yes. Quite all right.”

While Nell took over ministering to Thibaut, Ainslie hovered about grinning. Tibbitts had spent the episode finishing his breakfast, every now and then looking up and shaking his head.

“I think we should call a doctor, Harry,” Nell suggested.

“Ice water is what we need,” Ainslie countered. Then he went into the kitchen to procure some.

“I need to be heading off,” Tibbitts announced.

“Homeward bound?”

“Yeah. Your book’s given me an idea.”

“Well, I hope you have better luck with the enterprise than I did.”

Ainslie returned with the ice water and his diagnosis was proven correct. Thibaut regained his senses. He seemed confused by Carlotta’s greeting, and questioned Ainslie about it. While they had a short exchange in French, we set Thibaut on the couch and eventually managed to stop the bleeding, but not before staining a good portion of the table linen.

Xiang-Mei appeared about then, dressed in a silk robe. It flattered her.

“Poor
Thibaut
! Did he fall?”

“Yes, fell from grace,” Ainslie told her.

“Look at all the
blood
. We must soak these
right
away.”

She gathered the linen and went into the kitchen. I went and changed and came out just as Carlotta reappeared, carrying a small bag.

“I’ll send for the rest of my things, Harry.”

“Where will you go?” I asked.

“I’ve a few friends left. Did Thibaut pay you for the lawyer?”

“Ah, no. He seemed short of funds.”

“Short of funds? What about our week’s pay? We had seventy-five dollars coming. She then questioned Thibaut about it. He gestured toward Ainslie.

“Why do you have our money?” Carlotta asked him.

“To invest in the show, of course! I’ve got it all planned. Why don’t you sit down and I’ll explain everything.”

Not surprisingly, Carlotta chose not to hear the plan, storming out of the apartment and slamming the door behind her. Thibaut was looking even more bewildered.

“Well, no time for sitting around here,” Ainslie announced. “We have a show to do. Say, Harry, why don’t you come and see it? What with Emmie away, I can introduce you to the Dainty Paree Burlesquers.”

I took a pass and went into the kitchen to see about lunch.

A fellow I deduced to be Lou Ling was there. He looked to be about eighteen, a good decade younger than Xiang-Mei. He hopped up when I entered. Then, when Xiang-Mei reassured him, he sat back down. He nodded at me agreeably and I said hello, but it was obvious he didn’t know a word of English. He was eating steamed dumplings and Xiang-Mei insisted I sit down and have some, too. These were filled with spiced ground pork and various vegetables, and served with a sweetened vinegar.

“Very
busy
time for Lou Ling,” she told me.

“Cricket season, you mean?”

“Yes, and now
moon
festival. Many
people
want crickets.”

She said something to him in Chinese and he looked doubtful.

She seemed to admonish him and he looked appropriately abashed.

“I told him, he
must
show you how he catches
lady
crickets. But he’s
afraid
you’ll take his secret.”

“You can assure him, my cricket-hunting days are over.”

He led us into the little room they shared. There were dozens of gourd cages, each holding a light green cricket. There was a chirp now and then, but they were pretty quiet. I remarked on the fact, and Xiang-Mei smiled. She walked out of the room and came back with another gourd cage.

“Listen!”

She slowly brought the new gourd from cage to cage, placing the gridded openings together for a few seconds. Soon every cricket was chirping.

She held up the special gourd. “Very beautiful
lady
cricket!”

She handed the lady cricket to Lou. He put her in a sort of bird cage. Then he picked the male who seemed to be chirping the loudest and put him in with her. It took about fifteen seconds for them to get down to business.

“Well, at least no money’s changed hands,” I said to Xiang-Mei. She laughed, then translated for Lou. He smiled but held up a finger, signaling me to wait.

He shifted the female off the male’s back without interrupting the business end of things. Then he took a toothpick and picked at something about the middle of the male’s back, just between his wings. He held it up for me to see. It was a little white blob, like a bit of wax. Then he held it an inch in front of the female’s head. She immediately disengaged from the male and seized the present.

“Love potion!” Xiang-Mei exclaimed. “
Better
than money.”

She then explained the gist of Lou’s business. Lots of Chinamen collected crickets in the fall. And the green tree crickets, being the rarer, were the most valuable. But to keep them chirping, you needed to have a female about. Otherwise, they got lethargic. So the silent females could fetch more than the males. The problem was to find them: how do you locate a cricket that doesn’t chirp? It was Lou’s novel idea to use the love potion the male provides to maintain the female’s interest while he has his way with her.

By evening, Lou had prepared several glass vials, each holding a toothpick carrying a dab of love potion. We had another round of steamed dumplings for dinner and afterward he headed out the door.

Regrettably, Tibbitts came in just as Lou was leaving. They stared at each other, then Lou rushed out.

“Who’s that?”

“That’s the fellow who shot Ernie Joy.”

“What was he doing here?”

“He’s been staying in our maid’s room. Did I neglect to mention it?”

“Yeah, must have slipped your mind. I suppose I should have a talk with him.”

“You won’t learn anything. He’s just a farmer trying to earn some extra money.”

Tibbitts stared at the door for a few seconds, then set down his valise and took a seat.

“I guess things didn’t go well at home?”

“No. She gave me an ultimatum.”

“I can easily imagine Elizabeth issuing edicts.”

“But I was ready for her. I gave her my own ultimatum.”

“Since you’re here, I assume she didn’t fold her tent.”

“No, she sails for Europe Wednesday morning.”

“That was her ultimatum? Sail to Europe with her?”

“Yeah. She even bought the ticket.”

You might be finding it difficult to imagine anyone forgoing a free trip to Europe with a stunningly attractive blonde. If so, you haven’t met Elizabeth.

“What was your ultimatum?”

“I took a job in Utica. Working in the district attorney’s office.”

“Doing what?”

“Same sort of thing. But I’ll be the chief detective.”

“Odds are, you’ll be the only detective. I’m from Utica, you know.”

“Yeah? What’s it like living there?”

“There are worse places.”

“Not much of a recommendation.”

“Well, you’ll be a celebrity. A real New York detective.”

“‘Big fish in a little pond,’ Elizabeth says.”

“She wasn’t keen on making the move?”

“No, but she’ll come around.”

“What makes you so sure?”

He took Shakespeare’s play from his pocket and waved it.

“Good luck.”

I heard Xiang-Mei making noises behind me. She motioned me into the kitchen.

“How
much
will policeman take?”

“How much what?”

“Money, to
leave
Lou alone.”

“Well, he hasn’t mentioned it. He’s got other things on his mind. I think he’s already forgotten about Lou. But just how much do you have?”