Chapter 2 The Deal
two
The Deal
I’m not handcuffed to the table, so that’s a plus. They believed me when I said I was in that room because I was in trouble for stealing. They found the money in my coat and impounded it as evidence. Not sure what it proves but…here we are. I’ll have to come up with rent some other way.
I look at my reflection in the one-way mirror.
The shiner on my eye looks really good next to the pink stripes I just put in my dark hair.
If I’m honest with myself, it kinda makes me feel like a badass that I took a mob boss to the ground.
I might be a petty thief, but I’ve got some bargaining power for all the good I did tonight.
I hope.
The door cracks open and a blond woman dressed in a blue pantsuit comes in holding a manilla envelope. A man with a thinning widow’s peak comes in after her and shuts the door.
“Jay-uh-way Feng, right?” the woman asks.
I’ve seen my fair share of cop shows, so I know what’s going on here. Mispronouncing my name is just a way to put herself in a place of authority, like she has the right to say my name wrong. Well, hell with you, woman.
“Nailed it. Perfect Mandarin,” I say with a huge grin.
She gives me a funny smile, then sits down across from me and opens the file. “I’m Detective Amherst, and I’ve been assigned to a case dealing with one Shang Zhao.”
“Nice to meet you, Armhurts.”
She scowls. “Amherst.”
“That’s what I said,” I say as I give her big, innocent eyes. Well, at least the one that’s not swollen shut.
She shakes her head and looks at the file. “You were called to Shang’s office, but when officers asked you to reveal what you discussed, you said, and I quote, ‘I’m saving the good shit for the person who can give me a deal.’ Is that correct?”
“Two for two,” I say. “I assume you can give me the deal. You know, the one where I’m not charged for whatever it is the officers are trying to charge me with—”
“Illegal gambling, and probable cause for aiding and abetting a known violent criminal,” the man in the corner says.
I finger-gun him. “Right, which I wasn’t doing, so I definitely don’t want to be charged with that.”
“You had three thousand and fifty-eight dollars in marked bills in your jacket pocket,” Armhurts says.
“Which I won gambling illegally,” I say.
The woman closes the folder and sets it aside, then looks up at me with her dead eyes.
“Jayway, do you have anything of interest to tell us?”
“Yes, I do.”
It was a good thing they held me right outside Zhao’s office for twenty minutes while they rounded up the dangerous criminals. Gave me loads of time to poke around in his astral shelves.
The pair look at me expectantly.
“Do you have any legal bargain of interest to me?” I ask.
The man steps away from the wall and puts his hands down on the table. “You’re looking at a Class A misdemeanor right now, and up to six months in jail.”
Ah, the old bad-cop, worse-cop scare tactics.
“But I’m sure if we dug a little deeper into your finances, we could find the evidence to give you a Class E felony, which would carry a much heftier prison sentence. Four years.”
A band slips around my ribs and starts to pull tight.
Four years in prison would force Ace to drop out of high school and get a job to support Nai Nai. Even one year in prison could mess up his life. I can’t burden him with that.
Those stupid cop shows didn’t prepare me for this.
So, I start dishing. I tell them where his hidden books are and what’s in them—lots of money changing places and hands without being taxed.
Information about people who were “taken care of” and the contact name of the person who did it.
Lots of great, incriminating stuff. Hopefully, it’ll save my ass.
“How do you know all this?” Armhurts asks.
I shrug. “Shang is like any man with a big ego in front of a pretty woman—I’m a lot prettier when I don’t have a black eye, okay?” I say, as the man makes a rude face. “Anyway, dudes talk.”
This is easy for them to swallow. A lot easier than the truth, which’ll end me up in a nuthouse.
“Now, how can you help me?” I ask.
They exchange a look. “Give us a moment.”
They leave and I do what I do, dropping my head to the table so I can project without showing off my creepy eyes.
I float beyond the door and hover over Armhurts’s shoulder.
Interestingly enough, her and her partner’s auras glow a bit.
She’s a soft lilac and he’s a deeper maroon.
Very interesting…maybe they would believe the truth?
Or maybe they don’t even know they have magic.
“What do you think?” he asks.
Armhurts shakes her head. “She’s hiding something, but charging her won’t be worth the paperwork. Shang is our primary concern right now.”
He nods. “Agreed.”
Armhurts reaches for the door handle and I zip back into my body. They close the door and I lift my head, cracking open my undamaged eye.
“We won’t charge you with anything today,” the man says. “But you won’t be getting the marked bills back.”
I open my mouth to protest, but Armhurts puts her hand out to stop me.
“We’ll do our intelligence gathering and put some truth to your story, then Shang will go on trial. In the meantime, you’ll want somewhere to lay low and stay safe. He has a lot of men in the city. Anywhere come to mind?”
No.
“Yeah, I’ve got a place.”
“What’s the address?”
I shake my head to buy some time. “I’ve only been there once; I’ll have to get you the address when I get home.”
“We’ll send someone with you.”
Gosh dang it…
“Yeah, probably for the best,” I mumble.
“Your brother and your grandmother are in the waiting room,” the man says.
My heart lurches in my chest.
“You can go sit with them while we finish some paperwork and assign an officer to follow you home.”
I get up, eager to see them, to know they’re okay. The detectives escort me with silent stoicism that makes me even more anxious to get out of their hold. We turn this way and that through the halls until an icy cold sense of dread smashes into me and my steps stutter.
Zhao Shang is here.
The urge to run prickles in my feet, but I can’t let it rattle me. Of course he’s still here. They haven’t moved him to a more secure location yet because it’s late and prisoner transfers happen in the daytime. So say the shows I’ve watched…
We make it to the front and have to be buzzed through. I see my brother on the other side of the grated window. His dark hair is ruffled and there’s a new blue streak in it. There are bags under his eyes, and his hoodie looks way too lived-in. I need to wash it for sure.
He jumps up when he sees me and runs toward the other door.
I get through the second checkpoint and he hugs me before I can even get all the way through to the lobby.
For being seven years younger than me, he’s still somehow taller by an inch.
I hate it. Still, the hug is warm and comforting.
I didn’t realize just how much energy was trapped inside me until his embrace let me know I could release it.
All at once, I feel tired.
“Jiejie, you scared us,” he murmurs, his voice cracking.
Grandma Feng is still sitting down, tilted to one side. Her white hair frames her face as she apparently sleeps in the lobby chair. The firm grip on the cane across her lap tells me otherwise. Old woman is always playing the sly deceiver.
“Sorry, buddy, I didn’t mean to,” I say, squeezing him tighter.
We pull back and I walk with him to Nai Nai. She rouses immediately, propping her cane on the ground and shooting up like a spry sprout.
“You caught him,” she says with a wrinkly smile. “Good.”
This old bat can see things, like me, but instead of astral projecting she just knows shit. It’s creepy sometimes, but it’s good to know I’m not alone in my powers. I wonder if Zixin will get some, too.
“We need a place to stay,” she says, then pats down her sweater like she’s got the information with her right now.
She produces a printed sheet from one of her many knitted pockets and then turns a stern glare on my brother. “I knew you were entering my name in all those contests, Feng Zixin.”
He withers like a thirsty flower in the hot sun.
“But it’s a good thing you did. In the contest held by that nice man, we won a café.”
She unfolds the page to reveal the printed copy of a deed.
~~
The Cosmic Café
Grantor: Monty, C.
Grantee: Feng, Lanying
Property Description: Café/bar located on Main Street in Lennebunk, Maine, with accompanying two-bedroom apartment above.
~~
I take the sheet from her and keep reading.
“This can’t be real,” I say.
“It is!” Nai Nai says with a laugh. “And it’s perfect. Our little getaway.”
“Elder Feng, this isn’t a vacation,” I say, moving in closer. “I’ve promised information to the police, and it could put us in a lot of trouble with Zhao Shang.”
She waves me off. “I know the risks. And I know the rewards.”
I heave out a sigh. Woman’s never been wrong before.
All right, Nai Nai. I guess we’re going to Maine…