John Ball - Five pieces of jade

"I will wish to make preparations in the kitchen."

"That's all right, but keep the doors closed and don't come out here."

She looked at him with dark eyes. "You will not allow me because I am female," she said.

"I don't want you to get hurt-just in case," Tibbs answered. Then he took her by the shoulders and turned her around. "Be good," he admonished.

When she had gone Chin spoke. "It is good that you send her away. We will now await the arrival of the two Chinese who were here before."

"Are you expecting them?" Virgil asked.

"No, sir, but I believe that you are."

"Possibly-I can't be sure." With that he walked into the living room, chose a place where he could keep a careful watch on the door, and sat down. From the side pocket of his coat he drew out a pocketbook-sized copy of Kawabata's Snow Country and began quietly to read.

After a few minutes Chin Soo set down a cup of hot coffee at his elbow. Otherwise it was quiet in the house; the houseboy's shoes had soft soles which were silent on the carpeting, few street noises filtered through the heavy draperies which himg closed before the windows. Yumeko had effectively disappeared. With the calm patience that he had developed during the past several years of police work Tibbs read on,' his mind fully absorbed by the text before h im while he waited.

Presently he began to feel a little tired; the strains of the past several days asserted themselves, inviting him to close his eyes. In response he stirred himself and reached for the coffee cup, but it was already empty. A glance at his watch told him that it was ten minutes after eight.

He stood up, stretched, and then once more settled down with his book. He read steadily after that until the doorbell finally rang at eight minutes to nine.

Chin Soo materialized to answer it and admitted Johnny Wu. With a properly smiling face the Chinese-American entrepreneur came in, his hand outstretched to greet Tibbs.

"I'm glad to see you," he said. "I was afraid I was the first."

In the background Chin looked a question at Tibbs and read the very slight, all but invisible nod that he received in return. By the time Johnny had settled himself and was fumbling for a pack of cigarettes, Yimieko came into the room. In accordance with Tibbs' suggestion she had put on a quite simple, but very tasteful dress that set her off to excellent advantage. As though to emphasize the Japanese side of her background, she had arranged her long hair in a completely Oriental style, piled up on her head in a manner which suggested an Utamaro print. It was altogether captivating and Virgil was fully aware of it

A second ring of the doorbell announced Elliot Harvey, the stock trader. As he walked into the room Virgil noted a visible change in his manner; his temperament was still austere, but he was clearly prepared to make an effort to be congenial. He shook hands with Tibbs and with Johnny Wu, then turned to greet Yumeko almost as an afterthought. As he did so, and perhaps took clear notice of her for the first time, he reacted enough for Virgil to take note of the fact. He appeared to acknowledge her advantages and if he felt any hesitation toward her because of her origins, he gave no indication of that whatsoever.

Within the next five minutes Aaron Finegold arrived with his wife. Immediately behind them came Donald Washburn who, somewhat surprisingly, had brought his son with him. As Tibbs shook hands with the lad he observed his thin torso and other external evidence of inadequate physical development. Since his father was conspicuously virile, the contrast was acute, but Washburn showed every indication of being proud of his boy.

Although the living room was not notably large, Yumeko made her guests comfortable with an easy manner which belied her fear of social contacts. Chin Soo provided additional chairs as they were required, placing them in locations which he had apparently selected well beforehand.

The last to appear of the invited guests was Bob Naka-mura. His protective coloration was complete; his amiable round face did not suggest the imbecile, nor did the well-tailored suit that he wore, but there was nothing whatever about him which fitted the image of a police officer. He looked precisely like an Oriental-American businessman, and by his demeanor he carried off the role to perfection.

When the company had settled down, Virgil casually 134

opened the meeting. "Thank you all for coming here tonight," he began. "I appreciate it very much." He paused a moment and looked about the room. "You know whose house this was and something of the circumstances of his passing. They are under investigation at the present time, and that is my excuse for being here myself this evening."

He paused once more, but everyone was quite content to let him continue. In a comer of the room closest to the front door Chin Soo stood so quietly that he was half invisible. Yumeko was tense despite her outward composure — he knew her well enough now to read that. In some respects, he was aware, she had reason to be.

"There are at least two people not present here this evening whom I'm very much interested in interviewing concerning Mr. Wang's death," Tibbs continued. "When I will be able to do that is uncertain. In the meantime some other matters should be attended to. Mr. Finegold, would you care to explain to us the present and future status of Mr. Wang's very beautiful and valuable jade collection?"

The lawyer easily took the floor without moving from his chair. As he spoke, Virgil carefully watched the developing interest in his words. He sat very still, appearing to give Finegold his attention, but he was acutely aware of the human reactions about him and he weighed them against the conclusions that he had in his mind. It took Fine-gold more than four minutes to lay his groundwork, then, without histrionics, he made the announcement that according to the provisions which Mr. Wang had made, the jade collection in its entirety had been left to Miss Yumeko Nagashima. A second or two later the girl herself seemed to have been suddenly stricken; her hands flew up and covered her face. Then, shortly, her body began to shake with suppressed sobs.

There was no one in the room who was not looking at her, understanding that she had had no intimation that she was to receive so magnificent a bequest-or any at all. Tibbs watched her too, then he observed the others, including Chin Soo. The houseboy was also looking at Yumeko, but his features told less than those of anyone else present.

Presently the girl recovered somewhat and reached for her handkerchief. Decently, the others gave her an opportunity to recover herself. She wiped her eyes several times and then looked at Finegold with bewilderment. "Are you sure?" she asked.

The attorney nodded. "I drew up the will. It was Mr. Wang's clear and unequivocal wish. So the collection is now yours. You understand, however, that there will be an inheritance tax and that the estate will have to go through probate before it will be free and clear. Ill be glad to handle that for you if you so desire."

At that point Tibbs interjected a question. "Mr. Fine-gold, in view of the high value of the collection, and the fact that Miss Nagashima was totally unprepared for the announcement that she is an heiress, do you consider it possible that you might get court permission for her to sell a few pieces in order to raise the necessary costs?"

*That's entirely possible, providing we can get a reliable appraisal from a quaUfied expert of the pieces she might wish to sell."

"I would suggest Mr. Wu," Virgil said. "He is himself a jade dealer and should easily qualify as an expert"

Bob Nakamura entered the conversation. "Mr. Finegold, I represent certain highly reliable people who have considerable resources behind them. Not unlimited, of course, but substantial. On Mr. Tibbs' recommendation I will be glad to accept Mr. Wu as an expert on jade and its value, both wholesale and retail. I also have some shght knowledge of the subject. With Miss Nagashima's permission, I should like to examine the collection with a view to making a flat offer for it in toto. If the offer is acceptable, then we would assume the responsibility for advancing the necessary funds to clear it through probate."