“Not a piece of jade. I overheard your whole conversation—in fact I have to confess that I was listening deliberately. I know that his bride is missing and he is trying to find her. So I ask—have you found any trace of her yet?”
I didn’t know what to say. I was all too aware that this could be a trap. He went on, “You see, he sent me to Vancouver to bring Bo Kei to him. On the way back to New York Bo Kei and I were together on the train for several days. I have to confess that I developed—feelings for her. I could never reveal these feelings, as it would be disloyal to my employer. It broke my heart to deliver her to this cruel and sadistic old man, but what can I do? I had no choice. To betray my employer would be to betray my tong and my clan. Besides, I have no idea whether she returned those feelings or not. I believe that she did, so I wondered if she had run away and was looking for me.”
“I have no way of knowing whether she was looking for you, Frederick,” I said.
“So I wondered if you had any idea where she might be. If she’s hiding somewhere she’ll need my help. I’ll do anything for her. And now that I no longer work for Mr. Lee, my first duty is to her. I’m prepared to risk all for her happiness.”
I tried not to let my face betray me. I had heard Lee Sing Tai described as wily. Perhaps he had never quite trusted me and somehow knew by now that I was not going to return the girl to him. Why not pretend to sack Frederick, then have him worm Bo Kei’s hiding place out of me?
“I beg of you, Miss Murphy, if you find Bo Kei, please come to me before you tell my employer. Please don’t deliver her back to him. I know this will cost you a large amount of money and it may even put you in danger, but I care about Bo Kei’s happiness and she would face a life of misery with that old man.”
He was looking at me expectantly, but I had learned patience the hard way during my time as an investigator, and I had learned that people are not always what they seem.
“I understand that you are worried,” I said cautiously, “but I can’t tell you anything at the moment. If you would like to give me your address, I will send word if I succeed in my quest.”
He shook his head. “No, I will come back here tomorrow. My rooms may be watched. Mr. Lee has his spies everywhere.”
“Very well,” I said. “I’ll see you here tomorrow. I hope to have news for you by then.”
His whole face lit up. “That would be wonderful.”
I was so tempted to tell him where she was and even to lend them money to take the next train out of New York, but I had to see Bo Kei herself first and hear from her mouth that she wanted to be with Frederick Lee. And I had to weigh the risk that he might betray her to his former employer.
“You understand that this whole thing is impossible, Miss Murphy,” Frederick said with a heavy sigh. “Lee Sing Tai is a powerful man. He has connections in every Chinese community. Even if Bo Kei chose to be with me, we could never find a place where we would be safe. If we tried to run off together he would find us and have us killed, or at least have me killed. He’d want her returned to him. She is his possession.”
I nodded. This was all too true and I had no words of encouragement.
“I just pray that she can still be found,” Frederick said. “It must be almost a week now that she has been away. Where can she be hiding? I wonder if she is still alive. I wonder if that rat Bobby Lee might not have killed her.”
“Why would he do that?” I asked.
“Clearly he lusted after her himself,” he said. “I could see this. He is a man who does not like to be crossed. If she refused his advances—who knows how he might have punished her? And I believe he must have seen me as a rival. He told his father that I had tried to meddle with her on my way across Canada. I treated her with the greatest respect. I never touched her in any way.”
“Let us hope that she is alive and well, Frederick,” I said. “And I am sure that Bobby Lee could not have killed her.”
“How can you be sure?”
I smiled at his worried face. “Are you not half Irish? We Irish are known for our sixth sense. I sense that she is still alive.”
“You give me hope, Miss Murphy,” he said. “God bless you.”
He rose to his feet. “I will go now. But Miss Murphy, once more I beg you—if you find her, please tell me before you go to Mr. Lee. If we run away together, if we have already vanished, then it will not be your fault that she doesn’t return to him and he will not try to harm you.”
“Very well,” I said. “Come to see me tomorrow.”
“I will do so. I will be extra careful and make sure I am not followed. If you find her, I will forever be in your debt.”
I let him out and watched him walk down Patchin Place and out into Greenwich Avenue. I wanted to believe him. I trusted his earnest, open expression, but I couldn’t put aside the thought of old Mr. Lee waiting like a vulture in the semidarkness of that ornate room for Frederick to report back. “Well? Did she tell you the girl’s hiding place? Has she found her, do you think?”
Fourteen