The Ying on Triad (7 page)

"The people he works for must think he is very smart,
very intelligent to have the position he has. He has to be
a very important person to them, don't you think?"

I don't know if I sensed a condescending nuance in her
last remark or if it was my imagination.

"Well, don't you?"

What could I say? I had no idea our dinner would result
in her obvious infatuation with Danny. How could I say disparaging things about him when I was the one who had
jokingly called him charming. Me and my big mouth.

"Well?" she looked around at me, puzzled. "Don't you
think he's an important person in his organization?"

I shot her a glance. "Do you know what kind of organization you're talking about?"

"Certainly. But still, isn't he important even in that
kind of organization?"

With a defeated shrug, I nodded. "Yeah," I said with no
enthusiasm and even less conviction, "he's important"

Janice stared at me a moment, obviously surprised at
my indifference. "Tony? Are you jealous of Danny?"

"What?" I feigned shock. "Me? Jealous of Danny
O'Banion? Not on your life"

She peered closer into my face. A triumphant smirk
played over her face. "You are," she exclaimed, "you are!
You're jealous of him"

I almost squeezed the steering wheel in two when I
replied, "No way. If you want to believe the nonsense he
was handing you, that's your problem. But one thing is
certain, I am not jealous of Danny O'Banion."

She sat back and crossed her arms. I glanced at her, and
in the glow of oncoming headlights, I could make out a
smug grin on her face.

I was seething, but I knew that sooner or later the hand
on the clock would get back to twelve. In other words,
eventually everyone gets what he deserves. What surprised me this time was how quickly the hand reached
twelve.

My cell phone rang. I answered. Instantly, my anger
fled. I glanced out of the corner of my eyes at Janice. I
deliberately kept my voice very casual. "Yeah, I'm fine.
Sure, no problem. Tomorrow will be great. You know how
to find me? Good. See you then"

"Who was that?" Janice asked when I punched off.

I shrugged, "No one important"

She persisted, "Who?"

"You don't know her."

Her curiosity egged her on. "Tell me anyway. Is it some
kind of secret?"

"No," I looked around at her innocently, "it isn't a
secret. It's someone I knew back in Louisiana who's coming to town tomorrow and wants to bunk on my couch for
a couple nights"

"An old boyhood chum?" Frustration was evident in
her voice.

I shook my head and suppressed a smug grin of my
own. Casually, I replied, "No. My ex-wife."

Janice coughed and sputtered, "Your what?"

Innocently, I replied, "My ex-wife, Diane. I've told you
about her."

"Yes, but-but-"

Donning the most naive, innocuous expression I could
manage, I looked at her. "But what?"

She gaped at me. "What's she doing here?"

"The National Park Service transferred her to Johnson
City, you know, LBJ's boyhood home. She needs a place
to flop until she finds a place of her own"

"But ... why you?" she was sputtering now.

"She doesn't know anyone around here," I paused,
glancing at her. "Why? What's the matter?" I asked with
an ingenuous air. "You're not jealous, are you?"

I've got to give Janice credit. She was much more candid than me on the jealously issue. "Yes, I'm jealous,"
she spat out. "And I don't mind saying so. I don't want
that-that-"

Now it was my time to chuckle. "Easy. Remember,
you're a lady"

She glared at me. "Oh, you ... just shut up," she muttered and jerked around in the seat folding her arms
across her chest. She did not speak to me the remainder
of the drive home, nor did she bother to say good night.
She just jumped out of the truck and slammed the door.

Because she had taken such delight in my being jealous, I wasn't about to tell Janice that there was no way on
this green earth that I planned to let Diane stay with me.
By the time she arrived in Austin the next afternoon, I
would have a temporary spot for her, and I knew exactly
who could take care of it for me.

As soon as I closed my apartment door behind me, I
called Jack Edney, an old friend with whom I had taught
high school years earlier. The lucky stiff was now living a
life of luxury, having inherited about six million dollars
before taxes. He had invested a portion of the inheritance
in an apartment complex out on Ben White Road near
Highway 290 that led directly to Johnson City.

Jack owed me. Not only had I been instrumental in his
inheriting the six million instead of only one or two, but he
was also guilty of murdering several of my exotic fish and
causing brain damage in the sole survivor when he had
drunkenly urinated in my aquarium. Oscar, the albino tiger
barb that looked like a copper penny, had swum only in
circles since Jack's assault.

It's amazing what you can wrangle from people who
owe you. Within five minutes I had arranged a nice apartment for Diane. Naturally, I neglected to tell Jack that
back in Vicksburg she had once had an affair with his
older brother, W. R. She could surprise him with that little tidbit later if she so chose.

As I replaced the receiver in the cradle I hesitated,
remembering Danny's information regarding the local triads and tongs. On impulse, I called Joe Ray Burros,
my only dependable source with Austin P. D. He was off,
so I called him at home.

"Hey, Tony. What's going on?"

"Tell me something, Joe Ray," I said, getting straight to
the point. "What do you know about the Asian triads and
tongs in Austin?"

He uttered a low curse. "Not much except they hate
each other."

"How's that?"

"Well, it's kinda hard to say. They're sort of like social
or business clubs-you know, like the Knights of
Columbus or Masons or clubs like that. They have their
beliefs, and their own way of doing things. I don't understand them. I don't think any white guy understands
them"

"So? Every culture has its own practices"

"Yeah, maybe so. But here in Austin, the tongs and triads can't stand each other."

"Why's that?"

"Triads, like the one we got here, the Ying On triad, is
allegedly involved in criminal activities. An old Chink
geezer, Lei Sun Huang, is the head honcho. But the tong
is like a fraternal organization. Really, it's more like the
Knights of Columbus or Lions Club than a triad"

"Fraternal? Bingo and that sort of thing?"

Joe Ray snorted, "I don't know about bingo, but from
what I hear, it's how they do business. Most of the tongs
are good old boys, like us. As I understand it, the Sing
Leon tong is like our Chamber of Commerce. There are
certain ways to practice business and it's done through the
tong"

"So, the tongs aren't criminal"

"Not usually."

I rolled my eyes. "That's what I like about you, Joe Ray. You know exactly what you're talking about all the
time."

He chuckled, "Hey, pal no one knows what those
Chinese guys are doing, or what they're talking about any
of the time"

The phone rang early next morning, just after 6:00. It
was Janice and her voice was snippy. "You don't have to
let that woman stay with you. I have found her an apartment," she emphasized that woman, making the words
sound sleazy.

I wanted to laugh, but knew better. I played it seriously.
"Why, Janice. That's very decent of you" I contemplated
whether I should tell her arrangements had already been
made or just let her stew.

Wisdom dictated that I should tell her because if I
didn't, she'd be angry all over again when she found out.

"But, the truth is, I wasn't about to let Diane stay with
me. I called Jack last night, and he arranged an apartment
for her in his complex west of town, but I do appreciate
your thinking of her."

Her reply surprised me for up until this incident she
had never been so forthright about her feelings. "I wasn't
thinking of that woman. I was thinking of me"

For a moment, I was speechless but, finally the words I
was struggling for rolled off my lips. "I was thinking of
you too"

From there the conversation grew mushy, even maudlin.

Finally, I asked her if she wanted to go with me that day.

"More legwork?"

"I'm afraid so. I've got to interview Lorene Hasting,
the widow, and the other witnesses. Pretty boring stuff."

She hesitated. "Give me a rain check. I have to get
ready for the Halloween party tonight. You're still going,
aren't you?"

"What do you think? I have my devil's costume all
ready."

She giggled. "You're going to be the devil tonight,
huh?"

"In more ways than one"

She giggled again. "Pick me up at nine"

"See you then"

She blew me a kiss over the phone. I couldn't believe it
when I returned it. What was that woman doing to me?
But whatever it was, I had to admit I wasn't doing much
to stop her.

I shivered when I stepped outside a few minutes later. A
small front had moved through during the night, and the
thermometer on the porch put the temperature in the forties.

Popping back inside, I grabbed a nylon windbreaker
and straightened my tie in the mirror. Just as I rushed out
the door, the phone rang. "Now what?" I muttered.

It was Jack Edney. "Tony? Hope I didn't wake you"

"I was just leaving," I replied impatiently. "Can I call
you back this evening? I've got a long drive ahead of me"

His voice grew animated. "Hey, I'll ride along. I can
tell you what I've been thinking about"

I came up with a fast lie. "Sorry, Jack. Janice is going
with me"

He chuckled lecherously. "Never mind. I'd just be in
the way"

"I'll call when I get back"

"Okay, but I've got to tell you about it. You can be
thinking it over."

Annoyed by his persistence, but remembering the favor
he had done me by finding an apartment for Diane, I
agreed. "What?"

"Now that I have all this money, I want to do some
good. I want to run for city council in the primary next
March. I want to make Austin a safer place to raise children. I want you to be my campaign manager."

"What?" I was stunned.

Hastily he added, "Don't say no right away. Think it
over. I'll talk to you tonight" He hung up before I had a
chance to refuse.

Shaking my head, I zipped the windbreaker. Jack and
his millions. What will he come up with next?

Lorene Hastings was a forty-year-old woman who
could have passed for twenty-seven or -eight. I could see
how Bobby Packard had been attracted to her. Her wideset green eyes provided a striking contrast to the shiny
auburn hair that lay about her shoulders.

I had called earlier, and she was expecting me.

Her condo overlooked Lake Travis. The view from the
glassed-in living room was spectacular. Farther than the
eye could see, sixty-three miles of blue water sparkled
amid the emerald hills lining the lake, at some places four
and a half miles wide.

Gesturing to a Victorian wingback chair trimmed with
rosewood, Lorene Hastings perched on the edge of the
sofa. A silver coffee service sat on the table between us.
She opened a diamond-encrusted cigarette case and
offered me a Virginia Slim. I declined, having given up
coffin nails ten years earlier.

She lit one and inhaled. She released the smoke slowly,
squinting her green eyes against the thin tendrils curling
upward, almost as if steeling herself for the interview. "So,
you're here about Bobby?"

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. I had
no time to waste. There were only four days left after today.
"Do you think Robert Packard killed your husband?"

Her eyes lost their focus as she pondered the question.
When they came back into focus, she turned them on me.
"No. Oh, I know the evidence supported the prosecution,
but Bobby was a gentle, caring man. That's why I loved
him. He couldn't have killed Albert. He was not the kind
to look for trouble"