The Red Hot Empress (The Mystic Cafe) by Meredith Blevins

Author:Meredith Blevins [Blevins, Meredith]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Blevins Wordworx
Published: 2012-05-21T00:00:00+00:00

Thirty-two

Dudley showed up at the hospital, his feet clacking toward us, dull rototillers turning up the tile. I smelled food, and not the brown-gravy kind. Dudley had brought an extra large pizza with a family-sized salad and garlic bread. Three large Cokes. I’d have to peel Jimmy from the mint green ceiling.

We spread the food out on the coffee table in the ICU waiting room. God knows how many bacteria reproduce in that room, and how many tears have been shed there. For a small space, the room felt pretty full. I supposed it was full of everything, including smatterings of relief and joy.

Dudley flopped the pizza box on the table, telling me he did not appreciate the way I’d taken off when I knew his sole job was watching out for me and Jimmy. I apologized to Dudley, giving him an update on Leo—although Leo was not currently one of his favorite people. He listened with half an ear, keeping a sharp eye on Jimmy.

“Why do you keep staring at me?” Jimmy said. “It’s kind of rude.”

“I’m waiting to see what you’re going to pull next.”

“I’m sitting here eating my dinner, then I’m going to play with my GameBoy. I’ve read every issue of Highlights for Children in this room. I don’t care for Field and Stream.”

And Jimmy didn’t care for Dudley, either.

Dudley laced his fingers behind his neck. “Whatever you say, Jimmy.”

I didn’t like his tone. “Dudley,” I said, “were you able to find out anything about the man who’s been shadowing Jimmy?”

“It’s definitely Alan Lee. The guy I was arguing with last night.”

“Parking lot and white-silk shirt,” I said. “A menace.”

“A minor disagreement over cases, it’s not unusual. We would have settled it in a few minutes if Leo hadn’t arrived.”

“That was more than a disagreement, Dudley. He had run over your toes in a major way, probably turned up at the hotel while you were lurking around my life.”

I hated to think of myself as someone’s case, but I wasn’t going to make a scene in the hospital, and not in front of Jimmy.

“Dudley, I don’t know what alpha-dog game you two are playing, but Alan is dangerous. He followed me to Ghirardelli Square yesterday and he threatened me.”

“Wow. Alan said he saw Jimmy. He didn’t tell me you were there, too.”

“I was there, but Jimmy wasn’t,” I said. “Alan’s lying to you.”

For one moment Dudley showed concern, but he got past it—just another woman gone hysterical. “I’ll check it out, but it sounds standard. Alan’s feeling squeezed, so he’s covering his trail a little. No big deal.”

“Maybe he’s covering more than one trail. Hao may have died protecting Jimmy from the tongs. I saw Alan fight—he’s tough.”

“Alan’s Chinese, so he’s a neighborhood gang member? Annie, I’m surprised at you.” Dudley shook his head in mock amusement.

“You sure Alan had no connection to Hao?”

He scrunched his face and leaned forward, tapping his fingers on his bony knees. “Look, I’m going to level with you,” he said, “and I hope I don’t regret it.

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