Robert Hung waited for them in the reception area of his law offices. A tall, thin man with a gaunt face, he appeared immaculately dressed in a three-piece suit. His thinning hair was parted with laser-like precision to lay flat against his scalp.

He ran forward to clasp Bai’s hands when she walked through the door. “I’m so glad you’re here!”

As John Race stepped through the door behind her, Robert did a double take, his head turning from Bai to Race. “Who are you?”

Bai vouched for Race. “He’s with me.”

Robert turned to her. He looked confused, his eyebrows drew up, and his mouth fell into a disapproving scowl. “Are you sure that’s wise, Bai?”

Robert eyed Race suspiciously: he was white and therefore suspect. She was all too familiar with the reaction, a reminder that racism wasn’t the purview of whites alone. She reached out to grab his chin and turn his head to face her. “What’s going on, Robert? This isn’t like you.”

He had a hard time meeting her gaze and backed away a step. “Right, then,” he said, pulling at the lapels of his suit jacket to straighten them as he produced a tepid smile. “I think it might be best to have this conversation in the conference room. We’ll have more privacy there.”

He executed an about-face to march through the small lobby and down the hall, his back ramrod straight. His arms swung stiffly at his sides as if he were leading a parade.

Lee turned to Bai to mouth a silent “What the fuck?” before preceding her down the hall.

She turned to look at Race and tilted her head in the direction of the conference room. “Shall we?”

“Can it get any stranger?” he asked, as he walked with her down the hall.

She assumed the question was rhetorical. Inwardly, she wondered the same thing.

Robert waited in the conference room. He was seated at the oval table, his hands folded before him on the tabletop. His eyes were cast down.

“Where’s Benny?” Bai asked.

Benjamin Chin, Robert’s partner, was a round, unkempt man who habitually wore rumpled white shirts and dark slacks. He looked more like a bartender than an attorney and was as gregarious as Robert was reserved, making them an odd couple. But they’d been best friends since grade school. The relationship seemed to work for them.

“That’s just it, Bai. I don’t know where he is.” Robert’s face fell into his hands. He took a deep breath before pulling them away. “It gets worse,” he added sorrowfully. “There’s more than five million dollars missing from your accounts.”

The room was silent as they all felt the impact of the statement.

“Well, that sucks,” Bai pronounced in a massive understatement of her true feelings. “Grandfather always said, ‘Gold is tested by fire, man by gold.’ Just as a matter of curiosity,” she asked, “how much more than five million?”

He threw up his hands. “Five million and one dollars—to be exact.”

Lee walked over to perch on the edge of the table near Robert. He sat close enough to make Robert draw back and look up at him. “When was the last time you saw or heard from Benny?”

“I saw him three nights ago when we left the office around six. He was fine. He said he was working on something and he’d tell me all about it the next day. When I got into the office the following morning, he’d left a voice message on my phone saying he had some really good news to share and he’d be a little late. He never showed up.”

“Have you reported him missing?” she asked.

“I filed a missing person’s report yesterday morning. The police made me wait forty-eight hours before they’d officially consider him missing. I knew something was wrong almost immediately. We had a lunch date at Yank Sing, you see, and he loves dim sum. He wouldn’t miss lunch unless something was really, really wrong.” He paused to look at Bai beseechingly. “I can’t believe he would steal the money and run away. That just isn’t Benny.”

Bai dropped into a chair and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes to think.

When she opened her eyes, everyone looked at her expectantly. “Let’s go with the assumption he didn’t steal the money.” She looked around to see if anyone objected to her line of reasoning. “I can’t believe he would steal from me. We’ve known each other since grade school.” Her gaze was met with silent stares. She continued. “So, assuming he didn’t steal the money, what use would he have for ‘five million and one’ dollars?”

“He liked to gamble,” Lee interjected, not ready to sign off on Benny’s innocence.

Robert rushed to Benny’s defense. “He liked to gamble, but he wasn’t compulsive. He bet on mah-jongg for heaven’s sakes. He didn’t play the ponies.”

She put up a hand to quell the bickering. “Just humor me for a minute, gentlemen.” Her sharp tone demanded attention. “What I was trying to ask was, why the one dollar?”

The dollar bothered her. If someone intended to steal five million dollars, why bother with a lousy buck?

Race finally offered up an offhand remark with a shy smile. “eBay.”

She stared at him, befuddled by the answer.

He explained. “It’s what I do when I want to hedge my bet on an auction. If I think the competition will bid fifty dollars, I’ll offer fifty-one. It could make the difference between winning the item and losing it.”

Lee looked skeptical but kept his thoughts to himself. Robert appeared thoughtful.

She asked, “How did he move the money, Robert?”

How the money had been transferred from the account might shed some light on his intentions. If the money had been wired out of the country, for instance, there was a good chance both Benny and the money were gone. If he’d taken five million in cash he couldn’t have gone far. Five million dollars in thousands would still add up to five thousand bills, a hefty load to carry.

Robert shook his head in frustration. “He took the money out in a cashier’s check. That’s what worries me. I don’t want to admit to myself he stole the money, but I don’t know what else to think.”

Bai offered a different scenario. “See if this makes sense,” she said, easing back into her chair. “Suppose he went to a sealed-bid auction. They require cash at most of the bank-sponsored sales, so he would have to take a cashier’s check, which is the same as cash. But if that were the case, what was he trying to buy?”

Robert jumped on the answer. “Real estate! Benny’s crazy about real estate. He’s always looking for the big score. And if he succeeded in winning the auction, he’d have immediately recorded the deed.”

She thought about Robert’s assumption. “It might be worth a trip downtown to the recorder’s office to see if he’s filed any paperwork. But before we leave, there’s another matter to discuss. It’s been brought to my attention that you handled a contract through this office for a Mr. Sammy Tu. What can you tell me about the agreement?”

He looked at her, a blank expression on his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve never heard of Sammy Tu. To the best of my knowledge, our offices have never handled any business transactions associated with that name.”

Her eyes bored into his, looking for any indication he was lying. “Is there any chance someone else might have handled it? Think carefully, Robert. This is very important.”

He pressed his fingers against closed eyes to ponder her question. When he pulled his hands away, he asked, “When was this contract initiated?”

“I’m assuming it was in the last couple of days.”

“The only people here were me and Park.”

“Where is she?” Lee asked.

Park was the receptionist and secretary. She’d been a fixture in the office for several years. Bai knew little about the woman other than her first name. Park appeared to be middle-aged and of average appearance. Bai considered her nondescript but likeable.

Robert turned to answer him. “She didn’t come in today, and I haven’t been able to reach her. She’s not answering her cell or her home phone.”

“Is that unusual?” he asked.

“Somewhat,” he replied, looking a little abashed. “There’ve been times in the past when she would drop out of sight for a day or two. She’s a member of Alcoholics Anonymous.” He paused before adding in a confidential manner, “She’s had a few lapses. I’m afraid Benny’s disappearance may have tipped her over the edge.”

“Do you know where she lives?” she asked.

“Of course,” he replied.

Bai stood. “Then I suggest we take a little trip to make sure she’s all right. If we’ve time, we’ll swing by the County Recorder’s Office to see if Benny registered any property.”

She was anxious to find out what Park knew, if anything, about the contract placed on her. The missing money was important, but at the moment not nearly as important as her life. She reasoned that she could always make more money.

Lee and Robert got up from the table and walked out of the conference room while Race waited for her at the door. “Even if your attorney purchased property with the money, it doesn’t explain his disappearance.”

She nodded in agreement. The fact Benny hadn’t surfaced in almost three days was worrisome. He was impulsive and often clueless. She hoped he hadn’t gotten himself into trouble.

While ushering her out the door, Race talked at her back. “It could be he’s out celebrating the good news he mentioned on the phone. He could be holed up somewhere with a girl and a bottle.”

“You don’t understand,” she remarked over her shoulder. “His idea of a good time is a quart of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and a Star Wars video. He lives with his mother and would never leave her alone without making arrangements.”

Race looked somewhat sobered by her comments.

Bai turned to face him. “There isn’t any need for you to accompany me to see Park. Why don’t I call you tonight, and we can sort out the details of your employment. That will give me time to think about schedules and so forth.”

“That’s fine with me,” Race replied. “I have a few loose ends to tie up as well. And thanks again for lunch. Next time it’s my treat.”

He turned to precede her out of the office. Bai watched as he walked away. He looked as good from the back as he did from the front. She still wasn’t sure hiring him was the smart thing to do. But then, she had to admit, she’d never been smart when it came to men.