The Frenchman's Revenge (65 page)

Bai lit his cigar and sat back in his c
hair. He was troubled. He couldn’t get by the feeling that he was missing something important.
He had relied on his instincts all his life and something wasn’t adding up.

“Damn, I still have trouble believing that
Brad
Sampson or even Louie Sinclair could pull this off. But, hell,
whoever he is
he has managed to hide his identity from us
thus far.
I guess that’s why they call him a chameleon.
One thing for sure
,
we can’t underestimate the bastard.
”

They spent the next hour going over the final plans.
Much as he hated using Elena as
bait
,
Bai agreed that
having her wear the
museum
necklace was a brilliant stroke.
Only members of Marcello’s gang knew that someone other than Marcello stole
the
necklace.
Bai
knew damn well
that whoever the Chameleon was
,
he knew it was
t
he Frenchman.
F
launting the
necklace would rub his nose in the fact that Bai outsmarted
him,
once again.
Bai hoped
the bastard would take the bait and make a move.
No matter who he was
,
Bai was confident his men
were prepared.

As they were about to
break
,
Bai
turned to Elena.

“I still don’t like the idea of your involvement, Elena.
It’s too dangerous. The only reason
I agreed
is that I am depending on you to follow the plan precisely. No one and that includes you – especially you--is to deviate.”

Elena tossed her head and Bai saw her eyes flash, a sure sign of her
impatience
.

“Of course, I will follow the plan.”

She added with a
n impudent
grin, “
D
arling, when have I ever disobeyed you or my father?”

Wyatt and Nianzu laughed. Bai shook his head
,
but couldn’t hide his smile. He quirked an eyebrow and took a drag off his cigarette.

“We’ll discuss the repercussions for any deviations in our chambers,
cherie
,
while
we dress for the evening.”

As they were leaving the office, Nianzu handed Bai a box that arrived from
New York
that morning. Bai opened the package and saw a note and a small jeweler’s box.
Inside the box was a pair of exquisite earrings that looked familiar. He read the note and
let
a slight smile cross his lips. Bai tossed the box and the note on the desk for the others to see.
He said with a shrug, “Not bad for an
unwitting
apprentice.”

The note
read
:

Bai:

My men took these earbobs off D’Maggio before he could give them to Marcello.

Please accept them as a gift for the lovely Irish lass.

I appreciated the opportunity to watch the Master at work. I’ll take my lessons
like a good apprentice should
.
Without
complaint
–
And
with sincere
admiration
.

Rory

P.S. Thanks for the manifest. Perhaps next time the apprentice will be allowed to participate knowingly.

~~~

Several days later, Rory tore open the letter from San Francisco. He was eager to see how Bai responded to the package he sent.
Rory threw back his head with a huge roar of laughter when he read Bai’s one-word response.

Perhaps.

Chapter
30

The
crowded
scene outside the
g
overnor’s mansion spoke to the importance of the evening.
Scores of H
ansom cabs and private carriages lined the twisting driveway leading to the mansion. Liveried attendants met the carriages and escorted the occupants to the marble steps leading up to the palatial building.
Strains of jazzy music flowed from
record players
secreted in the walkways
. H
undreds of tiny lights vied with the starry sky
,
making the winding entrance from the street as brightly lit as the ballroom at the top of the stair
s.
Powerful men in formal attire and beautiful women gaily dressed in the latest fashions traipsed up the marble staircase
,
filling the air with merry chatter and
pleasant
greetings.

Nianzu and Quitin, their eyes moving surreptitiously in all directions, followed Bai and Elena up the steps. Liang, Manchu
,
and Donhai were close behind. Jim Thompson stepped from the shadows and caught Nianzu’s arm.

“Can I talk to you for a minute, Nianzu?”

Bai looked back over his shoulder and exchanged an imperceptible nod with Nianzu. When Nianzu turned to follow the sheriff, Liang
stepped up and took his place behind Bai.
Like Bai and his men
,
the sheriff was dressed in formal evening clothes, apparently a guest, not on official duty.
He and Nianzu walked to the side of the stairs
,
away
from the laughter filled area in front of the mansion. Dropping any pretense of a casual encounter, Nianzu adjusted the shoulder holster under his suit coat and faced the sheriff.

“Good evening, Jim.
What can I do for you?”

“To start with
,
you can tell me what the hell is going on.”

Nianzu quirked a questioning eyebrow and said in a bland voice, “Not sure what you mean,
s
heriff, other than this looks like it’s going to be a hell of a bash.”

“Cut the crap, Nianzu.
You and Bai have always been straight with me. First I see twenty of my men I didn’t know were on duty lurking around in the shadows. Then
,
and only because I know you fuckers as well as I do
,
I see that you have this whole damn place seeded with undercover men.
If I grabbed a bunch of torches
,
I might find fifty or more of your men skulking in the bushes. Am I right, Nianzu?”

Nianzu smiled a slight smile
,
but his eyes were serious, his expression guarded.

“I think the more interesting observation
,
Jim, is that you see twenty of your
men you
didn’t know were coming.
That seems strange to me.
Is there a chance that any of those men answer to a different law, maybe pick up a little cash on the side working for the
mob
?”

“Fuck you, Nianzu.
You know that’s exactly what it means.
I got the list of suspects you sent me and I’ve been watching those sons of bitches
,
waiting for them to show themselves.
I
t looks like they might just do that tonight. Which doesn’t answer the goddamn question I asked you.
What the fuck is going on that you need half of the Sing Leon at a goddamn ball
,
for Christ’s sake?”

Nianzu looked at him for a thoughtful moment and then made a decision he knew Bai would support.

“Since you asked,
as you know Aldo
Marcello’s
gang was the most powerful in the country.
Everyone believed that Marcello was the leader and with his death the gang was decimated. But
we know that
Marcello
wasn’t the
h
ead man. W
e have reason to believe that Aldo Marcello’s puppet master is here in San Francisco and will be at the ball tonight. At this point
,
we don’t know his identity
,
but he is as big a fish as you are likely to land in your career, Jim.
We
’ve
done our best to bait him
. Get him to reveal
himself. We also know that as anxious as we are to get him, his sole purpose in life at this point is to take down
t
he Frenchman.”

The sheriff stood still
,
looking like he was trying to grasp the enormity of what Nianzu said. Finally
,
he
pinned
the seriou
s young Chinese
man with a glare

“Any reason why you didn’t bring the law in to this little adventure
,
if it’s as fucking important as you say it is?”

“It is critically important, Jim.
Tonight
is
Bai’s statement to the mob
of
what
they can expect if
they’re foolish enough to
take him on
.
Trust me
,
Jim, when this
operation is over
,
the mob leadership nationwide
,
and their political scum
,
will understand the folly of underestimating
t
he Frenchman.
As for the reason Bai chose not to involve you, we need the highest level of security to pull this off. As you just pointed out
,
there are too many holes in your organization.
This is nothing against you personally, Jim.
You know Bai and Wyatt hold you in the highest regard. Frankly
,
we don’t trust the men around you.”

The furrows on the sheriff’s wrinkled face deepened in a harsh frown and he shook his head with a weary sigh.

“It’s painful for me to say it, but you
’re
right.
I have six men with me tonight that I trust the way Bai trusts you.
You fuckers know who they are.
I will keep them in the shadows covering
t
he Frenchman
tighter than
the skin on his dick.
Not that you need me
,
but at least I can be here for the f
ormal
arrest
s
, right?”

Nianzu grinned.

“As always
,
Jim
,
we are pleased to turn that task over to you.
You deserve the spotlight after all the shit we put you though with the Madam Torrento uproar.”

The sheriff turned and walked back up the stairs
,
muttering under his breath.
He turned back and glared at Nianzu.

“You’re goddamn right about that! And I want my fucking picture in the paper, this time as a hero
—
not a Goddamn fuck up
!
Y
ou hear me, Nianzu?”

Nianzu saluted and said with a smile, “Yes,
s
ir.
I’ll get right on that,
s
ir.”

~~~

Bai smiled down at Elena and pulled her close to him when they entered the ballroom. Elena was wearing the dress she wore at their wedding
,
only this time her high heeled slippers were a deep emerald green to match the precious stones on her necklace and earrings.
The emeralds were the most prominent stones on the extraordinary necklace, the largest one at the center as big as a dove’s egg. Diamonds and other precious stones wove in an out on an
intricate
lace-like hammered gold setting that formed a point at the bottom
. A
teardrop diamond
hung at the point and
twinkled enticingly between the swell of her
lush
breasts.
H
er hair was swept up in a riotous display of curls
,
showing the matching earrings to excellent advantage.

“You look beautiful,
cherie
.
I am honored to have you at my side.
The greatest challenge I face tonight is not the Chameleon.
Rather
,
it is keeping my cock from breaking through my trousers at the sight of you.”