Chinatown bustled with activity. Colorful and noisy, it teemed with crowds of Chinese and a sprinkling of Occidentals. The sounds and the smells were overwhelming. Some pleasant. Others not so. There was no avoiding the feeling of being in totally different world. Street banners, colorful and adorned with Chinese symbols hung from the sides of the buildings and even across the street. Street vendors hawked all kinds if exotic food, the rich aromas drifting back and forth. Bodie’s experience of Chinese culture was limited to the people he had met out west, where they were primarily involved in menial occupations. He would have admitted to having little contact with them. Apart from that contact he saw them as hard working, reclusive people, who kept to their own kind, and appeared to have reserved, polite manners. Here among their own kind they were active and seemed to have a propensity for talking.
‘What do you think?’ Lee asked, a slight smile on his face.
‘Interesting. Is it always so busy?’
‘Well – it is Chinatown.’
Bodie did notice he was drawing plenty of attention. His tall figure stood out against the smaller statured Chinese. It was hard to figure what they were considering. The indifference in their faces made it hard to read what they might be thinking.
Lee kept up a steady narration, pointing out various places and keeping Bodie advised of local high spots.
‘We heading for anyplace in particular?’ Bodie said.
‘There is someone I know. This person has little love for the Tong. In the past he suffered at their hands and he has a need for a way to hit back at them. His name is Li Hung. A clever and resourceful man.’
~*~
‘You will take tea with me?’ Hung said.
It was more a made decision rather than a request. Henry Lee had advised Bodie of the need to follow tradition before they arrived at the herb and spice store Li Hung owned. The interior of the cramped space was heavy with the overpowering scents. Bodie had no idea what they were.
Lee had told Bodie that Hung was an old man who had defied the Tong when they had attempted to coerce him into paying protection money. More than once enforcers had come to his store and the old man had fought against them with a ferocity that drew respect from the Tong Masters. His total defiance of the younger Tong soldiers, allied with his skill using ancient Chinese martial arts that had not been witnessed for many years, had given the Tong cause to step back and leave him alone. The act was something very seldom practiced by the Tong. It was down to respect for Hung’s age and his unflinching defiance of the Tong.
Bodie had been surprised when he met Li Hung. He had expected an old man, but seeing the small, stooped figure standing in the store he felt he had been misinformed there. Hung, lean and wiry, his brown face lined beneath his cap of still black hair didn’t seem capable of raising a hand to defend himself. From what Lee had told him that was not the case. The old man’s eyes flitted back and forth as he smiled at his guests, dwarfed by Bodie’s towering presence.
~*~
At the rear of the store the old man’s living quarters were small but neat. Hung gestured for them to sit at the single table, then moved to a small stove where he prepared tea. It was served in fragile cups Bodie felt sure would break in his hand.
‘So, Henry Lee, you have come seek my assistance.’
‘Master Hung, I have brought my friend Bodie because he is looking for a young woman we believe has been abducted by…’
‘…the Tong,’ the old man finished. ‘I had heard of this. Mr. Bodie, you have a special interest in this person?’
‘Her family lives in New York. Her father has business interests there and here in San Francisco. He’s wealthy and has influence. I have been asked to search for the girl. I admit I’m not familiar with the Tongs so I would be grateful for any help you might be able to offer, sir.’
‘I find the Tong practice of dealing in the evil of trafficking a most distasteful crime. If that is what this is,’ Hung said. ‘I will try to find out who was involved.’
‘I am most grateful, Master Hung,’ Lee said.
‘Your help will be gratefully received,’ Bodie added.
‘My only connection to the criminal act is the man employed to show Miss Soong around Chinatown,’ Lee said. ‘He is called Jiang Chi.’
‘If you return this evening I will hopefully have some information for you. I know of this man.’
The old man watched Bodie taste the tea, nodding his approval.
‘It is to your liking?’
‘Good, though not something I’m used to. Coffee would be my preference.’
‘Ah yes, your American beverage. Each to his own. And you, Henry Lee. How is your family?’
‘They are well, Master Hung.’
Hung nodded to himself. ‘Then we should proceed with what we have to do,’ he said. ‘I will endeavor to find information for you. In the meantime you may well find a visit to the one called Jiang Chi. When I heard about what happened I asked questions. I have learned Chi has some connection to the Tong. I will seek to find out more.’
The little old man, in his black pants and tunic, saw them out of the store where they paused for a moment.
‘Could be a long day,’ Bodie pointed out. ‘If Hung suspects this feller Chi has Tong connections, the sooner we find him the better. Henry, it might be worth a visit to talk with this feller.’
‘I did not know he had links to the Tong. That has come as a surprise to me. He was employed to guide Jasmine through Chinatown when she expressed an interest in the area. If I had known about this perhaps the kidnapping might have been prevented.’
‘If kidnapping was the object whoever’s behind it would have managed it one way or another.’
‘Possibly so.’
‘So what else do you know about this Jiang Chi?’
‘Not a great deal. Except I do know where he lives.’
‘Let’s go and see what he has to say for himself.’
~*~
Lee took Bodie through a maze of close alleys. He walked with the confidence of a man who knew exactly where he was going. Bodie had no idea. He was surrounded by Chinese, pushing his way through the crowds, with buildings teeming with people on either side. He felt hemmed in. Not nervous, just crowded. In his normal habitat he could ride for days and not see a soul, with empty landscapes and a big, wide sky above him. Here in the city the rise of buildings near enough blocked out the sky. At some point Lee paused.
‘Jiang Chi lives there,’ Henry Lee said. He indicated an alley across the street. As they stepped inside, the narrow passage muted the street sounds. Lee pointed to wooden stairs leading to the upper floor. ‘Up there.’
Falling in behind his guide Bodie slipped his hand under his coat and gripped the Colt. They reached the head of the stairs. Bodie heard Lee utter a warning sound. He raised a hand. Glancing by him Bodie saw the door ahead of them standing ajar. From the other side of the door they could hear a soft trail of sound.
‘Get behind me,’ Bodie said. He pulled his pistol into view, dogging back the hammer.
Leaning forward Bodie gently pushed at the door. It swung wide. Hinges creaking. Light fell across the floor inside. Bodie moved forward, eyes searching ahead of him.
He saw the blood-soaked figure stretched out on the bare boards. Moving slightly. Blood was spreading out from the body. Already a wide pool, expanding and partially staining the floorboards. The sound they had heard came from the man on the floor. His dying breaths. His movements ceased as Bodie and Lee neared him.
‘Lee?’
‘It is Jiang Chi.’ The young man stood at Bodie’s side. ‘Tong work. Making sure Jiang Chi does not speak to anyone about what happened and where the girl is.’
He crossed the room and knelt at Jiang Chi’s side. Bodie heard the shocked gasp he expressed when he saw what had been done to the man.
Bodie looked down at Chi. Someone expert with a knife had sliced off the man’s lips. Had shredded his tunic and cut his torso open. Bloody entrails had slithered out and lay in a glistening heap on the floor. The right hand Bodie could see was missing every finger and thumb. They lay in the pooling blood.
‘A warning,’ Lee said. ‘To anyone thinking of interfering with Tong business. Jiang Chi might have helped Tung kidnap Jasmine, but he was not a true Tong, so they could not trust his silence. This serves as a reason why not to treat the Tong lightly. They do not tolerate outsiders.’
‘Why am I getting the feeling this was directed at me?’
‘Because your presence is known. That you are looking for the girl. I only wish to make you understand how the Tong operates. No second chances. Once you go against them there is no walking away.’
‘Lee, these people don’t know me. If they did…’
Lee smiled. ‘They would understand you are a man who does not like to be warned off.’
‘Feller, I knew we’d get along.’
‘This may help, or not,’ Lee said. ‘Jiang Chi frequented a saloon along the waterfront. It is called The Golden Palace. On the fringe of the Barbary Coast district…’
Bodie had heard of the Barbary Coast. A dubious section of the city with a disreputable image. It catered to all the vices known to man and was no place to enter if a man wanted to remain safe. The Barbary Coast was no place for the casual visitor. It was past its heyday but was still a tough and often wild place to visit. Dangerous. Bodie knew a number of towns in the west that could match its reputation.
‘…so it should be visited with care.’
‘I’ll try and remember that.’
‘You will go there?’
‘Sometimes a problem needs poking with a big stick to find out just how big it is.’