Donovans 02 - Jade Island

of people.”
    Lianne didn’t bother to argue. She was too busy enjoying a mouthful of lobster in a sauce that tasted like a rainbow with just a tiny bite of lightning at the finish.
    “I’ve heard that the tomb was found during the civil war, before Mao was in power,” she said, swallowing. “I’ve heard that the tomb was found twenty years later. And I’ve heard that it was dug up last year.” She shrugged. “What have you heard?”
    “I’m new to the jade game. I’ve just heard a few rumors. But if the tomb exists, it holds the result of a lifetime of collecting by a man whose bank account was as big as China and whose whim was law. Can you imagine it?”
    “I try not to. I especially try not to think what he might have collected from the Warring States period, which is my special jade passion.”
    “Passion or obsession?”
    “I don’t have the money to be obsessive.”
    He smiled. “And I try not to think about what the Jade Emperor would have collected from Neolithic times, which is my passion. Yet I can’t help imagining what it would be like to discover the greatest collection of Chinese jades ever assembled on earth.”
    “Dream on.”
    “Hey, it’s free. But if a collection like that was found and smuggled out of China, how would it be sold?”
    “That’s what makes me think it hasn’t been found,” Lianne said simply. “There hasn’t been a sale of that size.”
    “Maybe you weren’t invited.”
    “Doesn’t matter. It would be impossible to hide a concentration of previously unknown jade artifacts of that quality. Nobody gossips like collectors.”
    Kyle finished off his plate of hors d’oeuvres and started stealing from Lianne’s. She threatened him with a scarlet toothpick. Since she gave him plenty of time to evade, he didn’t take the threat seriously.
    “How about stealing a few pieces at a time?” he asked.
    “Are we talking about my food or the mythical emperor’s jade?”
    He smiled but didn’t quit snitching her hors d’oeuvres. “Jade.”
    “Breaking up the collection would diminish its value, but…” Lianne beat Kyle to the last spring roll on her plate and chewed thoughtfully, considering the possibilities. “It would explain why no one is able to pin down the rumors.”
    “Want more?” Kyle gestured toward the Rain Lotus’s buffet table.
    “Am I breathing?”
    His laughter made her laugh in return, but what she liked best was the way humor took the calculation out of his eyes, leaving only a beauty that appealed to her as much as jade. For a few moments she felt like a woman on a date with a very interesting man. With a pleasure that had nothing to do with anticipating more food, she watched him load their plates.
    Then, Lianne saw Johnny Tang approaching her. Pleasure evaporated, replaced by a cool, yearning kind of reserve.
    “Hello, Johnny,” she said. “Come to check up on the Jade Trader exhibit?”
    “Naturally.”
    She waited, but he didn’t say anything more. “What did you think of it?” she asked.
    “Excellent, of course. With Tang family jade and your feel for American tastes, how could it be anything else?”
    “I didn’t ignore Chinese aesthetics in the Jade Trader exhibit,” Lianne said stiffly.
    Johnny waved his hand, dismissing her instant defense of her knowledge and taste.
    “The Tangs are known to the Chinese,” Johnny said calmly. “It is the Americans who must be cultivated, especially since Hong Kong is no longer independent. Speaking of cultivating—”
    “Kyle,” Lianne interrupted swiftly, seeing him approach behind her father, “this is Johnny Tang. Johnny, Kyle Donovan.”
    Relief loosened Johnny’s face for an instant, but when he turned to Kyle, nothing showed except polite interest.
    “Mr. Donovan,” he said, offering his hand.
    Lianne took a plate from Kyle so that the men could go through the small, necessary social ritual of shaking hands.
    “Did Wen come with you?” she asked Johnny.
    “No. He’s saving his energy for tonight.”
    “Ah, yes. The family gathering.”
    Kyle noticed the slight, biting emphasis Lianne put on the word family.
    If Johnny noticed, he didn’t show it. “My father would, of course, be happy to have you join us for our little party after the auction. Please bring Mr. Donovan with you.” He turned to Kyle. “We Tangs admire the family of Donovan. I’m sure there will be much of interest to talk about.”
    Lianne hoped her expression was as bland as