Golden Buddha (15 page)

High in a hickory tree on the property, a Corporation employee dressed in a ghillie suit that blended into the leaves keyed a microphone and spoke.

“Linda's in and working,” he said quietly.

 

S
TANLEY
Ho was standing in his top-floor office staring down at the party preparations. He had seen Iselda walk onto the yard, but the last thing he wanted to do was talk to her. The butch Portuguese woman annoyed Ho—she was good at what she did, but she took herself much too seriously. This was a party, after all, not a Broadway musical. From past experience, Ho realized that a few hours from now most of the guests he had invited would be so inebriated that if he served rat as an entrée, most wouldn't even notice.

Ho was more concerned by the insurance adjuster who was due to arrive.

That and the fact that on the history of the Golden Buddha he had commissioned, the historian had noted that the icon supposedly had a secret storage compartment Ho had yet to find. It was a minor detail, but it bugged him nonetheless. The insurance adjuster was apparently an expert in ancient Asian art. Ho figured he'd question him when he arrived and see if he could supply the answer.

If not, Spenser would be here soon and Ho could ask him about it.

 

R
ICHARD
Truitt drove the rental car carefully up Praia Grande to the gate of the mansion, then stopped. Rolling down the window, he handed the guard his invitation.

“Let me call the house,” the guard said.

Dialing Ho's extension, the guard waited.

“Mr. Ho,” the guard said, “there's a Mr. Samuelson from the insurance company here.”

That wasn't who he'd been dealing with, Ho thought.

“Go ahead and let him in,” Ho said, “and have him wait downstairs.”

Then he hung up and dialed another number.

“Go on in,” the guard said. “Park by the garage and wait downstairs.”

Ho tapped his finger on the desk while the telephone rang.

“Lassiter residence,” a voice with a Cantonese accent answered.

“This is Stanley Ho. Is Mr. Lassiter available?”

“Mr. Lassiter sick,” the voice said. “Doctor coming soon.”

“Did he leave any message if I called?” Ho asked.

“Hold on,” the voice said.

Ho waited a few minutes, then a croaking voice came on the line.

“Sorry, old bean,” the voice sputtered, “I've taken ill. A Mr. Samuelson from our main office was in town. He'll keep the appointment as scheduled.”

Lassiter didn't sound anything like himself, Ho thought. Whatever he'd caught sounded serious. “He's here now,” Ho said.

“Don't worry, Mr. Ho,” the voice said, hacking, “he's very knowledgeable, an expert on ancient Asian art.”

“I hope you feel better soon,” Ho said.

The sound of a phlegmy coughing fit erupted that lasted for almost a minute.

“Me, too,” the voice said, “and I hope I can view the Golden Buddha very soon.”

Ho hung up the telephone and rose to walk downstairs.

On the
Oregon
, the operator disconnected the line and turned to the man who had portrayed Lassiter.

“For a chef,” he said quietly, “you make a hell of a spy.”

W
INSTON
Spenser was not wired for a life of crime and deceit. At this instant, he was vomiting into the toilet in his hotel room. Someone might argue it was all the booze from the night before, but in fact it was the tension that was ripping his guts apart. The tension that comes from living a lie, from being wrapped in deceit, from doing what one knows is wrong. By now there was nothing but bile rising—any food he had ingested was long gone, any liquor left was in his pores.

Spenser reached up, grabbed a hand towel, then wiped the corners of his mouth.

Rising from the floor, he stared at his image in the mirror. His eyes were red and bloodshot and his skin pallor a ghastly gray. The tension he was feeling was revealed by the muscles in his face. They twitched and popped like a kernel of popcorn in a sizzling pan. He reached up to dab a tear from the corner of his left eye, but his hand was shaking. He supported one hand with the other and finished the task. Then he climbed into the shower to try and sweat out the fear.

 

R
ICHARD
Truitt stood in the living room, waiting. He stared around the room and tried to form a picture of his target. If Truitt was to guess, he figured the man who resided here was self-made and had only recently become affluent. He based this judgment on the furnishings and general décor. The pieces in the room were expensive enough, they just had no soul. And they were arranged in a fashion favoring flash over comfort. The possessions of old money always contained a story—the story Truitt was seeing was of objects bought in bulk to fill a space and give a picture of the occupant that was neither real nor imaginative.

There was a stuffed lion, but Truitt doubted the owner had stalked and shot the animal himself. A few paintings from contemporary artists like Picasso, but the paintings were far from the artists' best works. Truitt imagined they had been bought for image value. Guests without foundation or substance would be rightly impressed. An ancient coat of armor that to Truitt's eye appeared to be a reproduction…a French Louis XVI–style couch that looked about as comfortable to sit on as a bed of nails.

“Mr. Samuelson,” a voice said from the staircase.

Truitt turned to see who was speaking.

The man was small. Five and a half feet tall and slight of build. His hair was jet black and styled like a 1970s California hustler. The mouth was small, with teeth that held a certain feral rage. Although Truitt imagined the man was smiling to be friendly, the effect from his grin made Truitt want to reach for his wallet to see if it was safe.

“I'm Stanley Ho,” the man said, reaching the bottom of the stairs and extending his hand.

The stage was set and Truitt became the actor.

“Paul Samuelson,” he said, extending a slightly limp wrist for a handshake. “The home office asked me to take over for Mr. Lassiter, who has unfortunately been stricken with a bug.”

Truitt's version of Samuelson was coming across as a light-in-the-loafers Michael Caine.

“I trust you're familiar with this type of sculpture?”

“Oh, yes,” Truitt gushed. “I did graduate studies in Asian art. It's one of my favorite forms.”

Ho motioned to the stairs, then led the way up. “The object is known as the Golden Buddha. Are you in any way familiar with the piece?”

They rounded the first leg of the stairs and crossed the landing to the second flight.

“I'm afraid not,” Truitt said breathlessly. “Has it ever been displayed?”

“No,” Ho said quickly. “It has been part of a private collection for decades.”

“Then I shall examine it with an eye for comparison to the other pieces I am familiar with.”

They had exited the second flight and were winding their way around to the last set of stairs.

“You have a beautiful home,” Truitt lied. “The staircases are mahogany, are they not?”

“Yes,” Ho said, pausing at the door to his office to scan a card that unlocked the door. “From Brazil and hand fitted without nails or screws.”

Ho opened the door and stepped aside.

“How lovely,” Truitt said. He stared across the office to where the Golden Buddha sat. “But nowhere near as lovely as this.”

Truitt walked over to the Buddha, followed by Ho.

“Magnificent,” Truitt said easily. “May I touch it?”

“Please,” Ho said.

The insurance adjuster was acting just as Ho had hoped. Equal parts respect and sublimation. There was a good chance the appraisal would be in his favor. If it was not to his liking, Ho was sure he could bully the agent into capitulation.

Truitt rubbed his hand over the face of Buddha, then stared into the jeweled eyes. “Might I ask some about the history?”

“He's from the thirteenth century and from Indochina,” Ho said.

Truitt opened a small leather clutch he had been holding and removed a jeweler's eyepiece. He placed it over one eye and examined the stones. “Exquisite.”

Ho watched as the adjuster examined the Buddha from head to toe. The man seemed competent, so he decided to ask him about the secret storage compartment. “I had a historian dig into it a little and he mentioned that some of these pieces contained an inner chamber.”

“The part of Buddha where there is no ego,” Truitt said quickly, “the void.”

“Then you are familiar with the idea?” Ho said.

“Oh, yes,” Truitt said. He was glad the Corporation had seen fit to provide him with a report on ancient Asian art. The “void” had been part of the study.

“I can't seem to find one on this piece.”

“Let's look closer,” Truitt said.

The two men spent the next twenty minutes carefully examining the object, but no secret compartment was found. Truitt decided to use the revelation to his favor.

“Shall we sit for a bit?” he asked Ho.

The men took seats around Ho's desk.

“What value do you have in mind,” Truitt said, “that you would like our company to underwrite?”

“I was thinking in the neighborhood of two hundred million,” Ho said.

“That's an expensive neighborhood,” Truitt said, smiling.

Leaning forward, he spilled the contents of his leather clutch on the floor. Scooping down to pick up the contents, he attached a small bug to the bottom of Ho's desk.

“Silly me,” he said after the bug was attached and the bag placed back on his lap.

“What do you think is the value?” Ho asked.

“The absence of the secret compartment actually adds to the rarity of the piece,” Truitt lied. “It places the age at least a few decades before what I had estimated. The voids date from the twelfth century and later. You may have something here that defies accurate pricing.”

Ho smiled his feral smile. He loved it when he bested someone in a deal, and he was beginning to think he'd outsmarted some of the wisest art collectors in the world. At first, the $200 million he'd paid had seemed like a king's ransom—now it was looking like he'd bought cheap.

“What are you saying?” he asked.

“I could easily insure it for twice what you are seeking,” Truitt said, “but of course the premiums would reflect the increased value.”

This was going better than Truitt could have hoped—greed had removed Ho's doubt in his identity. He had come a stranger, but now he was a friend bearing gifts. Cons only work when the mark wants to believe. Ho wanted to believe.

“But…,” Ho said slowly, “if I insured it for more, banks would loan on the increased value.”

“Yes,” Truitt said, “banks tend to follow our lead.”

Ho nodded slowly. “Why don't you figure the premiums on four hundred million.”

“I would, of course, need to contact our main office for the quotes,” Truitt said, “but I can easily attest to the value.”

Ho sat back in his chair. The realization that he owned a truly priceless work of art was sinking into his soul. Now his ego needed stroking. A stroking that only other rich people could give him.

“I'm having a party today,” he said.

“I saw the preparations,” Truitt said, smiling.

“You, of course, are invited,” Ho said, “but I was thinking of displaying the artifact to my guests. I would feel more comfortable if I had a rider covering the piece until I receive the actual quote. Just something to cover today.”

“You are, of course, thinking of displaying it downstairs,” Truitt said.

Ho wasn't, but he was now.

“Yes,” Ho said. “Perhaps out on the grounds?”

Truitt nodded. “Let me make a quick call.”

Ho pointed to his telephone, but Truitt whipped out a cell phone and hit the speed dial.

“Samuelson here.”

“Richard, you're a magnificent bastard,” the voice said. “We have been listening for the last few minutes over the bug. Nice work.”

“I need a quote on a one-day rider to Mr. Ho's policy to cover a piece of art valued at four hundred million until we can come up with an accurate figure for long-term coverage.”

“La de dah, de dah. All right then,” the operator on the
Oregon
said, “let me make up a number for you. How about twenty thousand dollars? Or whatever you decide. But I'd take the fee in cash if I was you. Then we can have a party after this is over.”

“I see,” Truitt said, nodding, “so we will require increased security. Hold on a minute.”

Truitt placed his hand over the telephone.

Back on the
Oregon
, the operator turned to Hanley.

“Truitt's red-hot today,” he said. “I had not even thought of that angle.”

Ho was waiting for the adjuster to speak.

“The fee for the rider for the day will be eighteen thousand five hundred U.S. But my company is insisting on increased security. Luckily, we have a local firm we use—my office will contact them and have some men out here within the hour, if that's okay with you.”

“Does the fee include the security detail?” Ho asked.

Truitt thought for a second, but decided not to push.

“The fee includes three security guards, but we will want the fee in cash,” Truitt said seriously.

Ho stood up and walked over to his safe. “Sounds reasonable,” he said.

Truitt smiled—the offer was anything but reasonable, but Ho had no way to know that.

“I'll tell them,” Truitt said.

Ho began spinning the dial to his safe.

“We have an agreement,” he said to the operator on the
Oregon
, “but we'll need the security people here as soon as possible.”

“Damn, you're good,” the operator said.

“Yes, I am,” Truitt said quietly, then disconnected.

Ho returned with two wrapped stacks of dollars. Each strip read $10,000. Removing fifteen of the hundred-dollar bills from one of the stacks, he handed Truitt the rest. Sliding the stacks of money into his leather clutch, he smiled at Ho.

“Do you have a sheet of paper?”

“What for?” Ho asked.

“I need to write you a receipt,” Truitt said.

 

H
ANLEY
reached for the telephone and dialed Cabrillo. “Dick Truitt just got us three more men inside the compound, acting as security guards.”

“Excellent,” Cabrillo said, “and there was no problem with the appraisal?”

“He handled it like the pro he is,” Hanley said.

“Have we got security guard uniforms in the Magic Shop?”

“Absolutely,” Hanley said. “I'll just call Nixon and have him blast off a jazzy patch on the embroidery machine.”

“Get on it,” Cabrillo said quickly, “so we can extract Truitt.”

“Truitt's been invited to the party,” Hanley said, “unless you want me to order him out.”

“Have him wait until the fake security team arrives,” Cabrillo said. “That way he can verify their identity to Ho. Then have him stick around—I have another job for him.”

“Done,” Hanley said.

Cabrillo disconnected and Hanley dialed the Magic Shop.

“Kevin,” he said, “I need three security guard uniforms with the appropriate badges.”

“Name?”

Hanley thought for a moment before answering.

“Make them Redman Security Services.”

“As in Redford and Newman?”

“You got it,” Hanley said,
“The Sting.”