White Tiger

knelt on the floor next to the bed.
    Leo smiled slightly. ‘Yeah. I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck, but I’ll be fine tomorrow. And boy, is Gold in serious trouble, letting the demon in like that.’
    ‘I gave it a Wudang sword,’ Gold said. ‘The demon came in and asked to use our whetstones to sharpen the sword. When I went into the storeroom to fetch the stone, the demon attacked Leo.’
    ‘Stabbed me in the back, the lousy little coward,’ Leo said.
    ‘I came back in time to stop it, and it took my arm off and ran.’ Gold shook his head, full of remorse. ‘The Dark Lord will probably take my other arm off tomorrow.’
    ‘Your arm’s okay?’ I said.
    He raised his left arm and moved it, demonstrating. ‘Good as new.’
    ‘That’s incredible,’ I said. ‘How do you do it?’
    Gold shrugged. ‘I just grew it back.’ He gestured towards me. ‘Your lovely dress was ruined.’
    He was right. The blood would never come out of the gold lamé. I’d have to throw it away. ‘Not important,’ I said.
    ‘That dress cost a small fortune. It was a designer original.’ Leo sighed with exasperation. ‘I don’t know why I bother. With either of you. Where’s Mr Chen’s dinner jacket?’
    ‘Screwed up on the floor in the back of the car,’ I said.
    Leo sighed again.
    ‘Go out and let him rest, Emma,’ Gold said. ‘He’s fine.’
    I rose and turned.
    ‘Emma,’ Gold said behind me.
    I turned back. Both of them were watching me with admiration.
    ‘You were fantastic,’ Leo said. ‘You stayed calm, you helped—any other woman would have freaked out.’ ‘He’s right,’ Gold said.
    ‘You are a pair of sexist pigs and you will both keep,’ I said, and went out.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
    S imone and I were putting a jigsaw together on the dining table the next morning when Mr Chen came into the dining room. He was wearing his scruffy T-shirt and torn pants and holding a sheaf of papers under his arm. He was barefoot as usual, with his hair falling out over his shoulder.
    ‘Pack up, please, ladies,’ he said, ‘I need to use this room for a meeting.’
    Simone and I scooped the pieces back into the box. ‘Did you find everything in your office?’ I said. ‘Thanks for that. The Sanskrit texts are in the wrong order, but everything else is terrific. I must have you go through my office more often.’ ‘My pleasure.’
    ‘What happened to Journey to the West ?’ I gestured towards the dining room’s side table where I’d placed the scrolls open on display. I glared at him. ‘They should be under glass. Even better, they should be in a museum where they can be cared for properly.’
    He saddened. ‘About fifty years ago, when China was becoming more politically stable, I donated a large part of my collection to museums in Beijing. Many of the treasures were destroyed during the CulturalRevolution. Some were sold to overseas buyers. I keep the most valuable things here with me now, where they are safe.’
    ‘You’ve had to live through a lot, haven’t you?’ I said.
    ‘I am a part of China. It hurts me when China suffers. Right now things are not perfect, but in such a large and varied land they never can be. The people are fed and housed and have hope for the future. Often in the past they did not even have that.’
    The doorbell rang.
    ‘Why are Jade and Gold here, Daddy?’ Simone said. ‘Just for a meeting.’
    ‘Come on, Simone, let’s move out of your dad’s way,’ I said. ‘He has an unpleasant job to do.’
    ‘Thanks, Emma,’ he said softly. ‘You understand.’
    I put the jigsaw on the coffee table in the living room and we sat on the carpet together to finish it. Monica let Jade and Gold into the apartment and they went into the dining room.
    I listened carefully for him shouting at them, but I never heard a thing.
    About ten minutes later the dining room door flew open. Gold charged out of the room, down the hall and out the front door without stopping to collect his shoes. He closed the front door and the gate behind him.
    Jade walked stiffly into the living room and sat on one of the sofas.
    Mr Chen came out of the dining room, closed the door softly behind him and went into his study.
    I checked Jade; she sat motionless on the sofa. Simone and I shared a look and decided to continue the jigsaw as if Jade wasn’t there.
    I heard a soft sound behind me and turned to look at Jade again. She sat rigid on the couch with her hands on her knees. Tears ran down her