[JJ06] Quicksand by Gigi Pandian Read Free Book Online

form of tiger and elephant automatons, some of them made of gold. I looked again at the date, 1793. He couldn’t be referring to Tipu’s Tiger, could he? It was around that time that the tiger automaton was commissioned by Tipu Sultan, AKA The Tiger of Mysore. His wooden automaton was famous for its macabre display of a Bengal tiger mauling an Englishman, so it made sense Trenton Smith would know of it. But as far as I knew, nobody outside Tipu’s court had seen the automaton until the sultan was defeated by the British in 1799 and they divided up his treasures. How could Smith have heard of Tipu’s Tiger in 1793?
    Tipu was a captivating figure in part because of his fierce hatred of the British, which caused him to form an alliance with the French to drive the British out of Mysore. I’d included him in my first lecture of the semester as an example of the complex relationships local Indian rulers had with foreign powers. In one of Tipu’s characteristically colorful acts, he hired a French engineer to build his legendary wooden automaton of a tiger eating not only a man, but a man identifiable as an Englishman. With the turn of a hand crank, the tiger roared and the Englishman moved his arm in an ill-fated attempt to shield his neck from the sharp teeth of the tiger.
    Shortly before the end of the torn letter, Smith began to tell his brother of the alcohol and opium available. Perhaps it wasn’t North who ripped up the bottom half of the letter, after all. It might have been destroyed by a prudish family member who wanted to save only the better memories of their young relative. That would also explain his delusions of automatons made of gold. I’d never heard of such a thing existing.
    Why had North wanted me to look at these? Was it a test? Or was there something else in these pages beyond the stories?
    “Would these be valuable?” Lane asked, reading my face.
    “To me, yes.” I forced myself to pull my eyes from the letters. “To be studied as a historical document. But for monetary value? I can’t imagine it would be worth more than a few thousand dollars, if that.”
    “I wonder if he’s testing you,” Lane said, “to see if you’ll tell him the truth about a document relating to your expertise that he’s already had appraised.”
    “That’s what I was thinking. But in case he really needs to know if these letters are authentic, I’m certainly not going to be the one to tell him so.”
    “Have I mentioned how much I missed you?”
    The sound of a squeaking door pulled the smile from his face.
    “Thank you,” an English voice said. “That’s exactly what I needed to know.”
    A feeling of dread washed over me as North appeared in our line of sight. Lane swore under his breath, and a smile spread across North’s face.
    “How did you do it?” Lane asked. “You didn’t get close enough to Jaya to slip a surveillance bug into her bag. I’d have noticed.”
    “I didn’t have to. Jaya already had the bug with her.”
    My mouth went dry.
    “You’re a smart one,” North said, studying my face. “You’ve figured out what I’m talking about now, haven’t you?”
    “The invitation,” I whispered, reaching into my bag and pulling out the envelope. The envelope with lining so thick it could easily disguise a small piece of electronic equipment.
    I’d had the surveillance bug on me this whole time.

CHAPTER 7

      
    “I’m afraid this particular model doesn’t have much range,” North said, “so I wasn’t able to hear your reaction to my masterpiece when you received it in San Francisco. But here at the hotel, that’s quite another story.”
    Lane’s shoulders shook as he took shallow breaths. His jaw was clenched so tightly that I was worried he’d leap up and throttle North.
    “It’s quite brisk up here,” North continued. “I took the liberty of getting us a private table in the restaurant below, so we can continue our conversation under more civilized surroundings. The