Chapter 24

  

San Francisco, 1904

  

“I can help you find work while your leg heals,” Samuel said to Anand.

“Working as a spiritualist with you?” Anand asked. “I think that is best left to you.”

“Hear me out.”

“My living in New York for some months hardly qualifies me to help with your deceptions.”

“Deception is such a harsh word.”

“Since when have we ever been polite around each other?”

“You’re right,” Samuel said, “I suppose not. I’ll get right to the point then. I have a patron. Mrs. Lancaster.”

“Should that name mean something to me?”

“She’s from one of the wealthy families that helped build San Francisco. Don’t you read the papers, Anand?”

“Not as carefully as you do, it seems. Some of us work for a living.”

“Mrs. Lancaster is getting on in years,” Samuel said, ignoring his friend’s remark. “She has become interested in spiritualism from the Orient. At first, she wished to contact her mother, who had passed some years ago -- which was easy.”

“For a man of your talents.”

“Now that she has faith in me, she confided her interest in spiritualism from the Far East. She has quite a collection of artifacts from your homeland and also from China.”

Anand broke into a smile. “You need more details of my kingdom’s gods to impress the lady?”

Samuel looked down at his hands. “Not exactly...I may have mentioned to her my guru lived locally in San Francisco.”

“Your guru?”

Samuel looked up and met Anand’s eyes. “She wants to meet you.”

  

“I can’t believe you’re making me wear this,” Anand said a week later, adjusting his turban in the small mirror above Samuel’s dresser. “I’ve never worn one of these in my life.”

“Mrs. Lancaster will love it,” Samuel said.

Anand grumbled under his breath in Tamil.

“Admit it,” Samuel said. “You’re having more fun than you have fixing ships.”

“I’m only doing this because I have to let my leg heal for another few weeks before going back to work.”

“It’s not right how they treat you,” Samuel said. “First paying you less even though you have more skills, and now blaming you for the theft.”

Anand felt his face darken.

“A lot of things are not fair in this world. Such as a charming young man deceiving wealthy old women.”

“I bring her more happiness than she’s seen in years. And I’m not exactly forcing you to join me tonight.”

“You would go regardless.”

“Of course,” Samuel said, nudging Anand aside to adjust his tie in the mirror. “But this brings a bigger payoff.”

“I thought she was interested in China, too. Why didn’t you ask Li to help?”

“He knows much less about China than you know about India. He can’t even do a proper Chinese accent. Can you believe the tourists buy it? You, however, my dear Anand, are the real thing.”