I have four sons and a daughter.
All my children are filial, even my daughter, Ling Wan-ju, whose American name is Lydia. She is a private investigator. This is a profession I do not approve of. I also don’t care at all for my daughter’s partner, the white baboon. In addition, it does not make me happy that her work requires that she associate with criminals. I would object to her associating with police also, but her childhood friend Mary Kee is a police detective, an important position. But all in all, I may say—only because it is true—that my daughter does her work with great competence. Often she is quite successful. She is young. She will find a more fitting profession as she matures.
Especially now that she has time to consider her future, since I have begun helping her with some of her cases.
She tells me she doesn’t want me involved, but in fact she is just trying to protect me from the low atmosphere of the detecting world. Like my other children, my daughter has no real idea of my life in China, or in Hong Kong, before I came to America with my husband. Nothing in her world is new to me. This is why I’ve attempted to discourage her from being involved with the sort of people I myself have always tried to avoid. But, as I say, she is young.
Of my four sons, the older two are married to lovely Chinese women. Each has given me two grandchildren. My third son is in love with a man. They think I don’t know, but I do. I regret the lack of grandchildren this situation will produce, but my son is an artist, a photographer, probably too distracted by his art to have been a good father in any case. And his partner is a charming, polite young man who takes good care of him.
This leaves my youngest son, Tien Hua, who prefers to be called by his American name of Tim—although I, of course, don’t call him that. He is a partner in a large corporate law firm. Many young men his age have settled down to raise families, but my son is still single. This is unfortunate. A young man alone in a large apartment is not a natural thing. He makes a good deal of money, but he works long hours, leaving him little time to search for a girlfriend. If he were to pay more attention, he would find one immediately because, although his manner might be regarded as too formal (my daughter, with a roll of her eyes, says, “He’s a stiff”), my friends assure me that Tien Hua is quite a catch. Handsome, intelligent, earning a very good salary, with advancement possibilities at his firm. I’ve offered to take him to Old Lau, the matchmaker, who could introduce us to any number of lovely, accomplished young ladies. The Jewish grandmothers at the senior center also have this custom. They call it “making a shidduch.” I’ve told this to my son, that this is a time-honored way in many cultures for young people to meet.
He thanks me but says he is too busy to date.
I believed that was true, until the phone call from him that started this case.
I was in my kitchen, measuring rice into the electric cooker, when the red telephone rang.
“Ma, I need to talk to Lydia right away. She doesn’t answer her phone.”
“Your sister isn’t here. She’s working.”
“That’s no reason for her not to answer her phone.”
“Perhaps it is.”
“Ma! I need her.”
My son’s voice, usually controlled, was surprisingly distraught. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t tell you. I need Lydia.”
My two youngest children are not close. Even as upset as he obviously was, Tien Hua would not call Ling Wan-ju to unburden himself. A suspicion took hold of me. “Are you intending to hire her professionally?”
“What if I am?”
His tone said everything I needed to hear. “The last time you did that, things did not work out very well.”
“I’ve got to talk to her. This is really important. I’m about to go into a meeting. I know she’ll answer the phone if you call her.”
“Maybe she will, or sometimes not. Tell me the situation.”
“No. Call her. Tell her to call me.”
“I might not be able to reach her before you go into your meeting. Tell me why you need her.”
He sighed. A voice in the background spoke. Someone else also going into his meeting, no doubt. I remained silent. Finally he said, “Valerie Lim’s been kidnapped.”
I didn’t speak immediately. Many questions jumped into my mind. In detecting, it’s essential to ask the most important question first.
“How do you know what’s happened to Valerie Lim?”
“We’re dating.” As I feared. Though he could not see me, I frowned. But he hurried on. “Well, I mean, we went out. Twice. I think she thinks I’m too nerdy or something. She likes, you know, jocks. But I’m hoping …” His voice trailed off. My son is not only unable to lie, but he has always had a compulsion to tell more of the truth than necessary. I sometimes wonder how he has become such a success as a lawyer. “Her mother called me right after the kidnappers called her.”