Donovans 02 - Jade Island

don’t hurry up,” she said, talking over Kyle, “we’ll be late.”
    He glanced down at the small, slender woman striding next to him and smiled. Anyone looking at the black pantsuit, sensible shoes, and no-nonsense hair twisted at hernape wouldn’t believe that the last time Lianne had been in the shower, it was a miracle that either of them had gotten out alive. Just thinking about the way she had looked when she said Okay was enough to make him hard all over again.
    Lianne went through the metal detector without a hitch. So did Kyle, after he had emptied his pockets of change and car keys. The gun and holster were back in the safe, for now.
    “I told you so,” Lianne muttered as they walked up to the receptionist.
    “What?”
    “Too much dye.”
    Kyle looked at the receptionist’s hair and thought of motorcycle helmets. But all he said was, “Donovan and Blakely to see Ms. Joy.”
    “Sixth floor,” the receptionist said. “Take the elevator on your left.”
    A rolling cart stuffed with files got on the elevator at the second floor. Two more file carts got in on the third floor. The file jockeys traded sports statistics until they got off on the fifth floor, leaving Lianne and Kyle alone again.
    “I thought that computers were supposed to do away with the need for paper,” she said.
    “Are you kidding? All computers did was make it easier to revise reports and send out revised copies to more people, who add more revisions, send out more copies, and—”
    “Employ cart jockeys to haul the reports from floor to floor,” Lianne finished.
    “Uncle’s answer to unemployment.”
    April Joy met them on the sixth floor. She was wearing a suit as understated as Lianne’s. An ID card hung from a cheap metal chain around her neck.
    “This better be good, Donovan,” she said curtly.
    “Anything is better than what you already have,” Kyle said. “That’s why we’re here.”
    It was true. April just didn’t like it. But then, the worldwas full of things that didn’t make her smile. “Number five-eleven,” she said. “Everything is there.”
    She turned and walked back down the hallway, not waiting to see if they followed. When she reached 511, she slid her ID card through a reader. A light glowed green. She opened the door and held it until Lianne and Kyle were inside.
    Without a word Lianne headed for the steel conference table in the center of the room. On one end of the table sat two cartons wrapped in white paper, tied with twine whose knots looked like macramé, and covered with blotches of crimson wax. She bent over and examined the boxes closely. The knots were as complex and tight as the day they had been tied. The seals were intact. Each bore Wen’s “chop” in the center.
    “If anybody has been inside these boxes,” Lianne said, “he didn’t leave any signs.”
    April smiled thinly. “You should see the X-rays.”
    “I’d rather see the jades. I’ll need scissors or a knife.”
    “In the center drawer.”
    Metal screeched when Lianne opened the drawer. The sound made her teeth ache. “Instead of pushing files around, why don’t you have some of those eager young people oil drawers?”
    “I’ll bring it up at the next meeting,” April said. Her voice said that she didn’t care.
    The scissors Lianne found were small, sharp enough, and had a plastic handle as red as the seals. She started cutting, working with swift, practiced motions. Very quickly, each carton grew a necklace of snipped twine and fancy knots. When she was through cutting the twine, seals, and paper, ready to open the first carton, Kyle put his hand on her arm, stopping her.
    “Do you have that list she faxed you?” Kyle asked April. “Just to make sure there’s no mistake?”
    “Yes. If what you think is true, there will be some interesting stuff in these cartons.”
    “Go ahead,” Kyle told Lianne.
    She opened the first carton, pulled out something swathed in bubble wrap, and carefully began unrolling it. After a few moments, a lovely imperial jade penis dropped into her hand. Relief rushed through her so strongly that she felt light-headed. She grinned at the jade like a proud mother.
    April’s slim black eyebrows went up. “Art, huh?”
    “Excellent color,” Kyle said, deadpan.
    “Only if the guy’s dead,” April retorted. “All right. One green hang-down checked off the list.”
    Lianne hoped her relief didn’t show. Logic had told her that Seng was being bribed with upgrades on