Mrs. Pollifax and the Hong Kong Buddha by Dorothy Gilman Read Free Book Online

mall at the lower level, where she browsed through the shops that were still open, spent afew minutes watching two giggling young women take their blood pressure at a machine placed in the mall for that purpose, was enchanted by all the flashing lights and marveled at such an invention. Certain at last that she wasn’t being followed she walked out into the street, continued walking for several blocks before hailing a taxi and was driven through streets ablaze with gaudy reds, golds and glittering white neon: Hong Kong at night.
    It was ten minutes past the hour when she stumbled over the bench on which she’d sat that morning; Dragon Alley was distressingly dark, its windows shuttered and barred for the night. She discreetly shone her flashlight just once, at number 40’s gate, and then opened it to enter the backyard. It was brighter inside here than in the street, for lights as well as music spilled over from what appeared to be the rear of a nightclub in the next building. In the reflected radiance she could see the silhouette of a small hut or shed and a slim figure seated on a bench outside of it. Mrs. Pollifax moved toward the figure cautiously.
    “Oh!”
gasped the figure and jumped up. It was the girl Lotus, her white skin gleaming like porcelain in the dim light.
    “So it
was
you,” whispered Mrs. Pollifax.
    Lotus whispered back, “Follow me—it’s not safe here! Ssh—very quiet please.”
    Mrs. Pollifax obediently followed her into the deeper shadows and past the shed to the rear of the nightclub or restaurant that adjoined the yard. A door was opened, she was led into a dark hall and then into a room on the left that was illuminated by a solitary oil lamp on a table. Sitting nervously beside the table, looking ready to bolt at any moment, was Sheng Ti.
    “Xiãsnsbeng!”
he cried, springing to his feet. “I could not believe!”
    Mrs. Pollifax, laughing, grasped his outstretched hands. “It’s me—I mean it’s I, Sheng Ti. Isn’t this a surprise, isn’t it wonderful?” But even as she greeted him she was shocked by his appearance: he was a young man whose attractive round face was made to be cheerful and lively, but his face was haggard now, the eyes dulled by worry. “Sheng Ti,” she said, “they wouldn’t let me see you, why?”
    He burst into a torrent of Chinese until Mrs. Pollifax turned questioningly to Lotus.
    The girl placed a steadying hand on Sheng Ti’s arm. “Please—sit down,” she said, indicating three chairs neatly arranged at the table.
    It was a little like meeting in a cave, thought Mrs. Pollifax, glancing around the small room. A blanket had been hung over the one small window in the wall and the oil lamp cast flickering shadows over them and turned their faces a dull gold. “Why?” she repeated. “Why didn’t they want me to see you?”
    Sheng Ti sucked in his breath with a small hissing sound. “If they know I see you now—”
    “Yes?”
    “They would
kill
.”
    Startled Mrs. Pollifax turned to Lotus. “You believe this?”
    “Oh yes,” the girl said simply. “Something is very wrong now at 31 Dragon Alley, you know? It was a small thing at first, just a whisper for me, until I began to speak with Sheng Ti and then we became friends—”
    “We love,” put in Sheng Ti.
    Lotus blushed and smiled. “Yes, we love each other—this happened and it is very beautiful, this—butwe have to meet secretly, you know? And when I learn what they ask of him”—she shook her head—“something is very wrong.”
    “What do they ask of him?” demanded Mrs. Pollifax. “Tell me. Please. It’s important.”
    Sheng Ti began haltingly. “At first very okay,” he said. “I come here before Lantern Festival—”
    “September,” put in Lotus.
    “Yes. And worked in shop, oh
very
okay. But near new year—” He shook his head. “Everything change. Many fights have Mr. Feng and Mr. Detwiler, I hear them behind door. And then they give me new jobs.” Obviously