CHAPTER 42
CHAPTER
STEERS SAT VERY STIFFLY IN the chair in her office while Nash sat across from her.
She had been home from the hospital for several days, much of the time either asleep or in pain. She was now rested, but the ache was still with her.
And the fear.
Nash had disposed of the severed head before she had returned, but he had told Steers about it.
“That is most. . .unfortunate,” she said, her mouth seeming to have difficulty forming the words.
“The people who operate the prison must have figured out the switch.”
“Clearly.”
“Did you know the woman?” he asked.
She nodded. “She was old and very sick. She had little time left. She had children that needed help. I gave them enough money for the rest of their lives, and in return she agreed to do what she did. The children know nothing of it—only she did.”
“She looked exactly like your mother.”
“Yes, which was why she was selected. Although small things were altered through one surgery, but it was done delicately because of her fragile condition. She was schooled on information having to do with my mother so that if they questioned her, she would be able to pass any sort of test conducted by them. But I suppose it was inevitable that our charade would be found out at some point. Only I hoped she would die of natural causes before they discovered the truth.”
“Well, Hao betrayed you. It could be that these people also found out about the substitution from him or another source within your camp.”
“Hao knew nothing of the plan.” She looked up at him. She wore a neck scarf to hide the bandaged wound. “Which means we may yet have another spy among us.”
Nash thought of Masuyo and her cryptic messages left in an ice cream container on a park bench.
“The police spoke with me while you were in surgery,” said Nash.
“I am aware of this, because they came and saw me while you were arranging for the car home.”
“What did they say to you?”
“I believe that they are quite unhappy I survived.”
“I don’t think they will do much to find out who tried to kill you.”
“Why should they help someone like me?”
“Well, murder and attempted murder are against the law.”
“The law is not for people like me. They wanted me to die. They are glad my men are dead. I can understand this completely.”
“You’re being brutally self-honest.”
“Honesty must always be brutal or it grows dangerously close to self-deception and then on to lies, and that helps no one, least of all the liar.”
“Okay, what do you want to do now?”
“In Hong Kong we are not safe.”
“So we pick up and go somewhere else then?” he asked.
“You have wanted to return to the United States?”
“Yes.”
“Then we shall go there. All of us: you, Thura, my mother, and Hiroko-san.”
“Where will we go?”
“I own a home. It is actually near the estate of Rhett Temple. It is secluded. We can. . .feel safer there until I can regroup and think things through.”
“And your enemies?”
“Trying to kill me and sending me the poor woman’s head was only the beginning. They will obviously keep trying until I am dead. But then we shall see what we shall see. I have survived much.”
“Victoria-san?”
“Yes?”
“I have been guarding your mother, as you know, although now Thura has taken over that role while I watch over you. She has demanded absolute loyalty from me above all others, including you.”
“That has always been her way.”
“But I am now guarding you. So my loyalty is to you. It is complicated, but I want you to understand what I’m grappling with.”
She said wearily, “There is no need to contort yourself. I am aware.”
“No, with respect, I don’t think you are. You see, she has gone to Kowloon Park twice a week for quite some time now. She always buys an ice cream, she always goes to the restroom, and she always leaves the container on the bench and—”
Steers held up her hand. “I know this. My mother leaves messages for the man to pick up.”
“You knew about it?”
“I know about anything having to do with me or my mother.”
“But this could be tied to the attack on you.”
“We will not speak of this now.”
“But you almost died. I don’t understand.”
Her features became rigid. “I understand that you do not understand, Dillon-san. But if it makes you feel better, I am the only person alive who truly understands my world. Now, if there is nothing more, I need to complete some. . .tasks.” She touched her neck.
“And. . .rest. This has taken more out of me than I originally thought.”
“Of course.” He rose and bowed slightly. “If you need anything?”
“Yes, thank you.”
He turned to leave.
“Dillon-san?”
He turned back to her, and now Steers’s expression was softer, calmer, and sadder.
“Yes?”
“I truly thank you for your friendship and your loyalty. It means a great deal to me. Especially now when one feels alone above all other things.”
Nash bowed again, more deeply this time, and left, his mind full of confusion and his heart full of foreboding.