“Most people do. Economically, it means that I’m paid enormous amounts of money. I can demand a price for a night or two that would buy an apartment building. For a week, the price is enough to enrich my investment portfolio to the tune of over a million. I’ve slept with some of the richest and most influential men in the world.” She poured water over the tea leaves. “The difference for me is that I have a vocation and a skill and that I enjoy my life. I enjoy sex.” She paused. “And I can’t do without it. I need it frequently and varied. I tried to slack off for a while after I came to San Francisco. I even went to a therapy group. But they were all too gloomy and troubled. I wasn’t either. So I figured I could make a better life without them. And I did. I’m doing very well. I hired a private investigator, who is also my agent. At first it went slowly, but then word spread.” She made a face. “Don’t let anyone tell you that men don’t talk if they’ve found a fantastic lay. I made sure it was discreet, and my investigator checked out every client to make sure that I wouldn’t run into something I couldn’t handle.”
“Which doesn’t appear to be likely.”
“It wasn’t. After these last years, I have a fat stock-market portfolio that assures me security and I’m very, very wealthy.”
“But still not tempted to retire.”
“Why should I? I told you, it’s my vocation … and my pleasure. I love every minute of the sex act. It’s hard to explain to you—” She searched for words. “I’m … superb. You can’t imagine the power. There’s no one better at what I do. Sex means everything to men. It’s like being a queen.”
“Just so you don’t abuse that power.”
“I’ve never been tempted. I don’t need to play those games.” She set lemon, cream, and sugar on the tray. “I’ll take the tray. You get the door.” She glanced at Catherine as she picked up the tray. “How do you feel about me now after our little chat?”
“What do you mean?”
“Pity? Disgust? Threatened? Some women feel antagonistic toward my profession.”
“I don’t feel any of those emotions. I still don’t understand, but I’m trying. My mother was a whore, and I grew up on the docks where she and her friends plied their trade. All I knew was despair and drugs and men who hurt my mother. The life killed her when I was a little girl. She was a true victim. I’ve never run across anyone on the other end of the scale.”
“I’m sorry,” Celia said gently. “I know that was hard for you. I’ve been there. It tends to scar…” She moved toward the staircase. “Do you have trouble with sex now? I’ll help if you like.”
Catherine blinked. “What?”
“You saw only the women around you as sex slaves. I’ll teach you a few tricks and moves that will ensure that will never happen to you.”
Catherine chuckled. “A queen, not a slave?”
“Exactly. It won’t take long. You won’t be anywhere near as expert as I am, but you’ll be extraordinary.”
“Thank you for the offer,” she said solemnly. “But I believe I’ll pass.”
“If you change your mind…” She started up the stairs. “I was troubled that your husband was a friend, not lover. I thought that there might be a problem. I know Hu Chang wishes only the best for you. I thought I might help give it to you.”
“If I decide I need to be queen of the bedroom, I’ll let you know.” She was silent, then said, “I’m truly not unappreciative. You have a good heart, Celia.”
“That’s true,” Celia said. “And I think you may, too. We will become good friends and give each other many gifts.”
“But you don’t accept gifts.”
“Only from friends. Knock on that first door. We will let Hu Chang set up this tray and call Erin Sullivan and your Luke. We have labored enough.”
“But I’m certain you took your reward,” Hu Chang said as he opened the door. “Is your curiosity satisfied?”
“Yes, but it didn’t go only one way.” She handed him the tray. “Catherine was also curious. But now all is well, we’re on our way to friendship, and we both know that you’re safe.”
“I knew that before.” Hu Chang looked at Catherine. “I called the local hospital and could get no information. So I called Venable and let him probe. Sen is at St. James Hospital. Two men are dead. Jack Sen is wounded but not badly.”
“Thank God. Though who knows what will happen to him once the police start questioning him.”
“Police?” Celia asked. “Serious trouble then, Hu Chang?”
“Very serious.”
“Don’t just leave it at that,” Catherine said impatiently. “She should know the danger.” She turned to Celia. “Jack Sen was our pilot. His mother was murdered when they questioned her about where he was bringing us. He could have avoided the people who did it, he chose revenge.” She added bluntly, “I can’t promise you they won’t come after you, too.”
“I’m glad you told me,” Celia said. “But it won’t change my decision. Running away from anything is always a form of submission. What can I do for you? Do you need a car, a jet, a boat? I have many clients who would be happy to make me happy.”
“I will let you know,” Hu Chang said. “There are decisions to be made. I’m content that you’re providing us with a place to rest and make those decisions. Now I will go and get Erin and Luke so that they can partake of your wonderful tea.” He paused at the door. “Venable said to tell you his own decision still stands, Catherine.” He gazed at her inquiringly. “And that decision was?”
“He wants to cut Erin loose.” She poured tea into a cup. “I won’t let him do it. I just have to figure out a way to force the issue.”
“Another decision to be made.” He moved silently down the hall. But the next moment, they heard him open a door, and call, “It is time for tea, Luke. You will enjoy it. Your hostess is expert at many, many wonderful skills, and that is one of them.”
“What else does she do?” Luke asked as he moved down the hall. “Besides tea, I mean.”
“She knows many exciting, intricate secrets. Perhaps, if you’re very polite and kind, she will show them to you someday.”
“Oh, Lord,” Catherine murmured.
“Not before eighteen.” Celia’s eyes were sparkling with mischief. She tilted her head consideringly. “Or maybe sixteen if he is ready…”
* * *
Catherine and Erin’s suite had been dark for nearly thirty minutes, but Catherine knew Erin wasn’t sleeping. She could hear the sound of her restless movements and light, shallow breathing in the next bed.
“Catherine?”
“I’m awake. But I hoped you’d give it up and go to sleep.”
“I can’t sleep. What are we going to do about Jack Sen?”
“We’ll think of something. His life could be ruined if the police arrest him, and he has to go through that nightmare. Venable can make people disappear if he needs it to happen. Maybe I can convince him that he needs Sen to be whisked off the scene.”
“Maybe.” Erin was silent. “I was really happy that I was away from that damned palace. I was almost giddy. But I’m coming down now. Death. Everywhere I turn, there’s death. And it’s all connected to me.”
“I won’t deny you’re the center, but I’d stake my life that you’re not responsible for one particle of it.”
“I am, you know.” Her voice was faint in the darkness. “I wore the necklace. Cameron told me not to wear it.”
Catherine stiffened. “He did?”
“He said to keep it safe and send it to him if I needed him or if I changed my mind.”
It was the first time that Erin had indicated that Catherine’s guesswork might have a basis in fact. Don’t push it. Keep everything low-key. “Changed your mind?”
“I wanted to change my mind. I really did. Such a beautiful dream. You’d think it was beautiful, too.”
“Would I?”
“But you can’t believe in dreams, can you? You’re afraid that they’ll interfere with your reality. I was like that once. Hell, I’m a journalist. I deal in facts. But since I’ve been working in Tibet, I’ve been changing. The life is so simple, it has a kind of purity. It lures you into thinking that all life should be clean and simple, with rules that everyone obeys. A world without men like Kadmus and countries that want to blow everyone to kingdom come.”
“That’s the way it should be,” Catherine said. “But you’re right, it’s only a beautiful dream.” She had to move slowly, carefully. “Why would Cameron tell you not to wear that necklace?”
“He was trying to protect me. He said that he couldn’t be sure that it would be safe for me.” She was silent a moment. “I know you want me to tell you everything, but I can’t do it. I don’t have that right. But you’ve risked your life for me. Your son’s at risk now, too. I can’t treat you as if you were a stranger. I trust you. I consider you my friend.”
“I am your friend.”
“And because you’re my friend, I can’t let you go on thinking that Cameron is totally ruthless. It’s not true.”
“I saw those wounds on your body. He could have stepped in and stopped it.”
“He told me when he gave me the necklace that he couldn’t help me if I didn’t do what he told me.” She went on in a rush, “He’s not what you think. Oh, yes, he’s tough, and maybe he wants his own way. But if you could have seen him the way I did at the earthquake site at Qinghai, you’d know how wonderful he is.”
“He was at Qinghai?”
“Yes,” she said. “I was there with the monks trying to rescue the people buried under the ruins of the villages. We had little help from the Chinese soldiers because they had developed altitude sickness. The second day, we had to make our way down a trail that was almost nonexistent to reach a buried school. When we finally made it, I saw that a man was already there working with a pick to clear the rubble. I was stunned. I couldn’t imagine how he had gotten down there. But the monks weren’t surprised. It was Cameron, and they knew him. And during the next twelve hours, I got to know him, too. Though he never told me his name. It didn’t bother me, it wasn’t a time for names. It was a time to get those kids out. And I didn’t get over being stunned for that entire twelve hours. He started giving orders, telling us exactly where to dig. I knew later that he was mentally communicating with the children buried beneath that rubble. At the time, I thought he was either a domineering bastard or maybe that he was some kind of earthquake-retrieval specialist. But every time we dug where he told us to dig, we found a child. We kept digging. There were two dead in that school, but we were able to save eleven. Eleven who would have probably died if left much longer to the elements. We had to bring three up to the top on stretchers. Cameron worked as hard as we did to get those kids up that trail. No, harder. His energy was amazing. But when we got near the top, he stopped and said for us to go ahead and that he’d go back down and check out the school for any more survivors. That was the last I saw of him. We worked at that earthquake site for another three days, and I never ran into him.” She fell silent. “But I already knew the kind of man he was. During that time, he was tireless and smart and gentle with the children. He was larger-than-life, and that’s what we needed at Qinghai.”
“You must have impressed him, too.” She paused. “Because he looked you up and came after you, didn’t he?”
She didn’t speak for a moment. “Yes.”
The answer was so brief that Catherine knew there would be no elaboration. She had told her story about Cameron because she wanted Catherine to stop condemning him. But what had transpired later was too private for her to divulge. “I worked very hard trying to put the puzzle together. Will you tell me if I came close?”
Another silence. “You’re very clever, Catherine.” She turned over on her side. “Good night.”
“Good night.”
It was answer enough. Erin wasn’t about to go any further. So at least the bare bones of the answers she’d drawn had come close to the truth.
Maybe.
But she thought Erin was done with deception. She’d done all she could to protect Cameron and the people he represented, but she wouldn’t lie to Catherine. Complete disclosure was something else. She was still stubbornly silent.
Because Erin had been caught up in a dream, a beautiful dream …
* * *
“I need to know where Jack Sen is, Catherine.”
Cameron, she realized drowsily.
Then she came wide-awake. “I thought you were only to come visiting by invitation only, Cameron. You woke me.”
“I’ll make sure you go back to sleep. And I’m suspending that promise for the duration. Things are going to get very edgy during the next few days. Where is Jack Sen?”
“At St. James Hospital. Why didn’t you link with Hu Chang as you did before? He could have told you.”
“Because I wanted to be with you. And I’ve decided that it’s time I did what I wanted to do. I tried to get through to Sen, but they must have drugged him. I just knew he was hurt.”
“And he’s in trouble. I don’t know when the police will transfer him to county facilities.”
“I’ll take care of him. I just had to know his location.”
“What are you going to do?”
“At the moment, nothing except make a few plans and preparations. I’m in a jet over the Pacific and won’t arrive in San Francisco for another six hours.”
“You took a jet? I’m surprised you just don’t don your Superman cape and zoom faster than a speeding bullet. And what will you do when you finally arrive here?”
“I won’t let Jack Sen be punished anymore for doing a service for me. He’s already suffered enough.”
“I was going to ask Venable to do—”
“That’s not the way I operate. Keep Venable out of it. I’ll handle it.”
She stiffened. “I’ll do what I think best.”
He was silent. “I know you will. But don’t start a chain of actions I’ll have to dodge around.”
“You mean don’t get in your way.”
“That’s another way of putting it.” He smiled. “Any other time, I’d be delighted to have you in my way. It would be pure pleasure having to deal with you.”
“Deal? In what way?”
“Mentally or physically or both.” His voice was soft, infinitely sensual. “I’ve had quite a few hours on this plane to think about all the things I want to do to you. Would you like to see a few?”