White Tiger

  I pulled myself upright. ‘You’ve had beer?’

  ‘Right now this old Shen is on a strict diet for health reasons,’ he said amiably.

  ‘So you’re not vegetarian by choice?’

  ‘Mostly vegetarian, but I do like the occasional bit of high-quality “cat food”. Tuna’s absolutely no good cooked, but pilchard is particularly tasty. Missed that. I wonder if the tins in the bottom of the cupboard are still good.’

  My mouth flopped open.

  ‘Oh, human form,’ he said, smiling broadly. ‘Strictly vegetarian. Right now I have to be careful. Mind my energy, don’t you know.’

  Later, we made some noodles for a snack in the kitchen together.

  ‘Which saucepan, Daddy?’ Simone said from behind the cupboard door.

  ‘The medium-sized one,’ Mr Chen said. ‘Emma, there are some boxes of vegetable stock in the cupboard—could you get a couple out?’

  ‘Sure,’ I said, and went to the cupboard. The vegetable stock was on the middle shelf.

  I quickly checked down the bottom. There were about ten tins of expensive ‘cat food’ there—mostly pilchards, but some prawn and cuttlefish too. There was also a perfectly ordinary cat’s food bowl.

  I grabbed the stock and handed it to him. His eyes sparkled as he took it. ‘Now there should be ho fan in the fridge. Emma?’

  I went to fetch the noodles while he poured the stock into the saucepan and turned on the heat.

  ‘I want to stir, Daddy,’ Simone said.

  ‘Are you sure you won’t “do a Simone”?’ he said.

  She paused, looking at him.

  I handed him the noodle packet and he turned to open it.

  ‘You’d better stir, Daddy,’ Simone said.

  We ate the noodles messily on the coffee table. They were even better than Monica’s.

  There was a tap on the door. It opened and Leo poked his nose in.

  ‘We’re watching the cricket,’ Mr Chen said through a mouthful of noodles.

  Leo snorted with disdain and closed the door.

  ‘Too complicated for an American to understand,’ Mr Chen said scathingly.

  ‘I heard that,’ Leo growled from the corridor.

  I didn’t know why we clapped and cheered when the game finished. It was a complete walkover; it was over before the required number of balls had even been bowled.

  ‘You two are silly,’ Simone said from the floor. ‘Who do you think is more silly?’ Mr Chen said. ‘Oh, you are, Daddy, definitely.’

  ‘Well, there you have it, Emma: the expert says that I am much sillier than you.’ ‘It’s a close contest though.’ His grin didn’t shift. ‘Yep.’

  The phone next to my computer rang. ‘Emma,’ I said.

  ‘Call for you,’ Monica said, and clicked it through.

  I sighed. I hoped it wasn’t Kitty Kwok again.

  ‘Hi, Emma, long time no see. What you been doing with yourself?’

  ‘Busy, Louise. How about you?’

  ‘Lunch, Sha Tin, day after tomorrow? We can talk all about it. I want to hear exactly what’s keeping you so busy.’

  ‘Sure.’

  I put the phone down and went down the hall. When I reached Mr Chen’s office I raised my hand to tap on the door. Before I even touched it, he called from inside. ‘Come on in, Emma.’

  I went in and sat across from him. I sighed when I saw the pile of papers on his desk. ‘I only tidied this three weeks ago. You hate me.’

  He smiled slightly.

  ‘And you knew I was coming as well. Stop wasting your energy.’

  His gentle smile didn’t shift.

  ‘I’m going to lunch with Louise the day after tomorrow. It’ll be in Sha Tin, so I’ll probably be back late.’

  ‘Are you asking my permission?’ ‘I don’t know, am I?’

  ‘You know you don’t need to.’ ‘Yeah, I know.’

  ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be here to mind Simone.’

  ‘Good.’ I rose to go out. ‘When will Jade be back? I miss her. And Gold. It’s quiet without them coming and going.’

  He watched me silently.

  ‘Where are they, John?’

  He shook his head.

  ‘How long? They’ve already been gone for two months.’

  ‘A few more weeks. Give it time.’

  ‘Are they okay? Nobody’s hurting them?’

  He smiled slightly again. ‘Don’t worry about them. They’re fine.’

  I turned to open the door.

  ‘Emma.’

  I turned back.

  ‘Don’t bother asking them where they were when they return. Don’t ask, because if they tell you anything they are in serious trouble.’

  I went back to my room and shuffled through my notes on Shen. When Shen died, they were supposed to go to Hell for a while and then return to Earth.

  Hell. I had quite a lot of information about Hell. A complicated place; very bureaucratic. Ten levels. Judges at each level, meting out punishment. A lot of Hells.

  I wished I’d visited the Tiger Balm Gardens in Causeway Bay before they’d been torn down. There had been detailed depictions of all of the Hells there.

  Louise met me at the round atrium connecting Sha Tin station with the shopping mall. She looked just the same: blonde, bony and full of freckles and mischief.

  She stopped dead when she saw me and her eyes widened. ‘Is that you, Emma?’

  ‘Of course it’s me.’ I linked my arm in hers.

  ‘You look completely different,’ she said. ‘You’ve lost a lot of weight. And you have a great tan. Stop.’ She pulled her arm from mine, grabbed my forearm and prodded it like a side of meat.

  ‘What the hell are you doing?’ I said, bewildered.

  ‘Muscles. And you walk differently, like you own the world.’

  ‘Well, I don’t.’

  ‘Your skin is glowing, your hair is shining, you have muscles—who’s your personal trainer? Or are you pregnant?’

  ‘I am definitely not pregnant,’ I said grimly. ‘Absolutely no chance of that.’

  ‘What a shame,’ Louise said cheerfully. ‘I lose.’ ‘What do you lose?’

  ‘I had a bet with April. She bet that you wouldn’t be doing it with him by March. Looks like she was right.’ ‘Have you heard from her?’ ‘When we’re in the restaurant.’

  We walked through the central atrium of Sha Tin Town Centre. It was five storeys high, and open to the ceiling. A large oval musical fountain stood in the middle, but we walked past, ignoring it.

  I looked around. ‘Where are we going? It’s all changed.’

  ‘Downstairs,’ Louise said. ‘New food court. Some nice places.’

  ‘But it has to be vegetarian for me.’

  She stopped and stared at me. ‘What?’

  I shrugged and took her arm to start her walking again. ‘Strictly vegetarian. I hope we can find something.’

  She shook her head. ‘What the hell for? Is it something to do with this Chen man who you’re so most definitely not sleeping with?’

  ‘Something like that,’ I said. ‘I’ll tell you about it when we get there. Is there anywhere we don’t have to wait too long?’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ she said, grinning. ‘This is Hong Kong, remember.’

  ‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘You have to queue up for everything. Sometimes I wonder if the kids have to take a number and queue for a room at the love hotels.’

  She cackled with delight. ‘I love it.’

  We found an Italian restaurant serving food adjusted for Chinese taste and took a number to wait. It would only be twenty minutes; not too bad for a weekday lunch.

  ‘So why vegetarian?’ Louise said.

  I rolled out a story that I’d heard other vegetarians use successfully in the past. ‘I eat so much vegetarian in the Chen household that if I eat meat now I don’t feel well.’ I shrugged. ‘It’s easier just to stay off it.’

  ‘I couldn’t do that,’ Louise said.

&nbs
p; A gruff male voice with a Cantonese accent interrupted us. ‘Hi, Emma, who’s your gorgeous friend? Look at the two of you. Good enough to eat.’

  I turned to look at him. He appeared to be a perfectly ordinary good-looking Chinese in his mid-thirties, wearing tennis gear and holding a sports bag with a few tennis racquets in the pocket on the side.

  Then I recognised him. He looked completely different with black hair. ‘Bai Hu.’

  Bai Hu bent over Louise. ‘Who’s your delicious friend, Emma?’

  ‘Louise. Louise Wilson.’ She grinned like a predator, then moved closer and held out her hand for him to shake.

  He held it for much longer than necessary and didn’t let go. I could almost see the sparks flying. ‘Hi, Louise.’

  ‘No way is she going to be number one hundred and one,’ I hissed.

  ‘Don’t worry about Emma, she’s an old fuddyduddy,’ Louise whispered to Bai Hu.

  ‘Are you two waiting for lunch?’ Bai Hu said without shifting his eyes from Louise’s. He dropped his voice. ‘How about I take you somewhere where you don’t have to wait?’

  ‘Disappear, Tiger,’ I said fiercely. ‘I am having lunch with my friend and you will not interfere.’

  ‘No, please, Emma,’ Louise said meaningfully. ‘Let’s go with him.’ She used his hand to pull herself in closer and turned to stand next to him. She even nudged him with her hips.

  Bai Hu shrugged. ‘If the lady wants me along then I must concede. How about some Japanese? I know a good place upstairs, you won’t have to wait.’ He smiled down at Louise, still holding her hand. ‘I’ll buy.’

  ‘If you’re buying then you can have whatever you want,’ Louise purred.

  Bai Hu threw his bag over his shoulder and linked arms with Louise. ‘Let me show you the way,’ he said, completely ignoring me. ‘It’s really very good. Do you eat raw fish?’

  ‘I’m willing to give it a try,’ Louise said. ‘I’m willing to give anything you like a try.’

  ‘Get your paws off my friend!’ I snarled, but he ignored me. ‘Xuan Wu will hear about this!’

  ‘What, Emma?’ Louise said, without looking away from the Tiger.

  ‘I’m a friend of Miss Donahoe’s employer, Mr Chen,’ Bai Hu said. ‘Tiger Bak. Pleased to meet you.’

  ‘Oh, very cute,’ I said under my breath. ‘Tiger White. Excellent.’

  Louise glared at me. ‘What’s the problem, Emma?’

  ‘Yeah, Emma, what’s your problem?’ Bai Hu said. ‘Come and have lunch with your friend, just like you said you would.’

  ‘I’m strictly vegetarian right now,’ I said.

  ‘Yes, of course you are. Don’t worry, we’ll find something for you up there.’ He pulled Louise closer as they walked to the lifts. ‘How much can you generate?’

  ‘About a tennis ball, slightly more.’ I dropped my voice. ‘Get your paws off my friend!’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ Louise said, bewildered.

  ‘Oh, didn’t you know? Young Emma here is learning martial arts from the Master himself,’ Bai Hu said with relish.

  ‘Your tail is in serious trouble,’ I growled under my breath.

  ‘No wonder you look so different,’ Louise said without shifting her eyes from Bai Hu. ‘Where are you taking me?’

  We walked out of the lift and through the open-roof area of the shopping mall to the hotel. An upmarket Japanese restaurant was situated directly next to the hotel entrance.

  ‘Here,’ Bai Hu said. A large number of people stood around the entrance to the restaurant, obviously waiting for tables. The reception desk was deserted.

  Bai Hu strode up to the desk, banged loudly on it with one hand, and shouted something extremely coarse in Cantonese that would require a great many four-letter words to translate into English.

  The people standing around the entrance stared at him.

  The receptionist stormed out from the back of the restaurant as quickly as she could in the constricting kimono, her face a mask of fury. Then she saw Bai Hu and her expression changed completely to one of warm welcome. She stopped and bowed very low to him, and gestured for him to enter without saying a word. He waved us in front of him.

  He walked very close behind Louise as we went inside and she flushed through her freckles. I tried to kick him on the shins but he moved out of the way before I could hit him. He grinned at me, then pushed past me to guide Louise by the arm to a private room.

  The waitress was servile, bobbing and smiling at Bai Hu. She opened the shoji screen to the private room and indicated for us to go in. We left our shoes outside the room and walked to the table set in the centre of the tatami mats.

  Bai Hu threw his sports bag into a corner of the room, then moved to sit as close as he could to Louise. She nestled into him and gazed up into his eyes. He smiled down at her and took her hand.

  ‘I’ll be back in a minute,’ I said, but they ignored me. He lowered his face to hers and she closed her eyes.

  I raced out of the room, through the restaurant and into the telephone alcove next to the rest rooms. I pulled out my mobile phone and called home.

  ‘Chen residence.’

  ‘Quick, Leo, I need to talk to Mr Chen right now! Put me through!’

  ‘Are you in trouble, Emma?’

  ‘No, I just need to talk to Mr Chen right now!’

  ‘Yes, Emma?’

  ‘John.’ I sighed with relief. ‘You have to help me. I’m here at Sha Tin with Louise, and the White Tiger followed me. He’s in the room with her, putting major moves on her. Help!’

  ‘Wait.’ He was silent for a moment. ‘He said he was just there to play tennis with the general manager of the hotel. It was a coincidence.’

  ‘But he’s putting the moves on Louise!’ I wailed softly. ‘I don’t want to lose her!’

  ‘Hold.’ Silence again. ‘Emma, I’m sorry. If she decides to go with him it’s her decision. He says she’s actually…’ He hesitated. ‘Well, let’s just say he didn’t need to put any moves on her at all.’

  ‘But she won’t know about all the others.’

  ‘Yes, she will,’ he said. ‘He tells every single one of them exactly what they’re getting into before he takes them. They all agree to go, fully aware of the situation.’

  I stopped dead at that. ‘I do not believe this. They agree to go and be one of a hundred?’

  ‘I don’t know how he does it.’ He sounded amused. ‘He doesn’t hypnotise them, he doesn’t cloud their minds. All he does is look at them. He’s remarkable.’

  ‘How can I get her out of this?’

  ‘I have no idea.’ He sounded unconcerned. ‘Is it any of your business anyway?’

  ‘She wouldn’t have met him if I didn’t know him already.’

  ‘Yes, she would,’ he said. ‘He goes to Sha Tin all the time. He owns the hotel. They would have run into each other eventually.’

  ‘Damn!’

  ‘If she’s going out with someone already then he will keep his paws off her. That is the only hope she has. Otherwise, he will regard her as fair game.’

  ‘You are absolutely no help whatsoever, you know that?’

  ‘Sorry,’ he said, without a hint of remorse. ‘Is that all? No demons or anything otherwise?’

  ‘Goodbye,’ I snapped, and flicked the phone shut.

  I stormed back to the private room.

  Bai Hu and Louise were gazing into each other’s eyes, their faces barely apart. There was a dish of sashimi on the table that both of them completely ignored.

  ‘All right, you two,’ I said. ‘Bai Hu, get your ugly paws off my friend. I will not lose her to your harem. Louise…’ She ignored me so I went to her and shoved her shoulder. ‘Don’t get yourself mixed up with this bastard. I know him and he’s bad news.’

  Louise snapped out of it and smiled up at me. ‘Did you know that Tiger owns this hotel?’

  ‘Don’t get involved with him, Louise. I don’t want to lose you.’

  ‘S
tay out of it, Emma,’ the Tiger said, without looking away from Louise. ‘It’s her decision to make. And I could give her more than she could ever want.’

  She gazed up at the Tiger with adoration. ‘You’re just jealous. You have your Mr Chen, leave me alone.’

  The Tiger’s head snapped around to me. ‘What’s this? You and him?’

  I turned away and sat in a chair on the other side of the table. ‘Nothing.’

  ‘Look at her,’ Louise said, still holding Bai Hu’s hand. ‘Head over heels for her Mr Chen.’

  The Tiger dropped Louise’s hand. She didn’t seem to notice. ‘I thought he was joking.’

  I ran my hands through my hair. ‘He was. Nothing there.’

  Bai Hu rose and came around to my side of the table. He sat next to me and studied my face.

  I looked at Louise. She sat frozen, smiling at us. ‘You’ve done something to her.’

  ‘Of course. We need to talk.’ He saw my face. ‘Don’t be a fool, Emma. You know it can’t happen.’

  I dropped my head with misery. ‘Too late, Bai Hu.’

  ‘And him?’ His eyes unfocused. He snapped back to me and smiled sadly. ‘Damn, but you are a pair of fools.’

  I shook my head. ‘We know.’

  He glanced at Louise. ‘I’m sorry. I won’t contact your friend again. I think you need her.’ He turned back to me. ‘What are you going to do?’

  I sighed with defeat. ‘I’ll take each day as it comes. I’ll enjoy the time I have left with him. I’ll be strong when he goes, and I’ll survive. And when he’s gone, I’ll look after that wonderful little girl for the rest of my life.’

  ‘And him?’ His eyes unfocused again for a moment. ‘He says pretty much the same thing you do, Emma. He says he’ll enjoy what he has with you until he goes.’ His voice broke. ‘He wishes he could tell you how he feels to your face without hurting you.’ He shook his head. ‘What a pair of fools.’

  ‘Are you communicating with him now?’ I whispered.

  He nodded without looking up.

  ‘Could you tell him…’ I hesitated, searching for the words. ‘Could you tell him that I know? That he doesn’t need to say anything? Because words aren’t really necessary between us.’

  ‘Is what’s between you really that true?’ the Tiger whispered.