home.
Their discovery was a man named Pi and they had interrupted his sleep. He slept, he said, because he had lost his job a week ago, and who were they? Over his shoulder Mrs. Pollifax looked into the cubicle he occupied and saw that not only did it have a window, but that the window looked out on Dragon Alley and directly down at Feng Imports. Twenty minutes later Pi had bundled up his belongings—they made a pile no larger than Marko’s knapsack—and had sublet his cubicle to them for a week. From the amount of money that was paid to him for both his silence and his absence Mrs. Pollifax thought that he could very well afford to move into the Hong Kong Hilton but Robin and Marko had their stakeout. Once he had gone she and Robin lingered only briefly to help Marko rearrange the furniture,to lay out his lunch—Mrs. Pollifax tried not to regard it too wistfully—and to set up his radio; then they too left.
“What now?” asked Mrs. Pollifax, intrigued by the thought of more revelations.
“Now I’ll drop you off at the hotel,” Robin said deflatingly, “because I’ve got to go back and see about renting that second-floor space overlooking the rear of Feng Imports, and for that I’ll need some fake business cards that I don’t have with me, and a change of outfit. After that I’ll set up the radio in our hotel suite and establish contact with Marko. What I hope you’ll do is find Mr. Hitchens for me and set up some kind of appointment. I’d like very much to have him verify the news photo of Eric the Red, but also”—Robin gave her a sheepish glance—“also …”
She smiled. “You want to borrow his psychic talents. The only problem may be that with all the publicity he’s suddenly getting we may have to stand in line.”
Robin swung the Renault into a parking space at the mall entrance to the hotel. “Nonsense,” he said. “If that’s the case you must gently but firmly remind him of who gave him sanctuary last night in his moment of travail, and just who called a doctor for him, and you might throw in the hint of a terrorist or two and remind him that you and I are on the side of justice, peace and order, etcetera—relatively speaking—and then pray hard that he can answer Inspector Hao’s WHEN? We desperately need a date … a week, a month, a day.”
“That’s a tall order,” pointed out Mrs. Pollifax.
“All orders are tall in this business,” said Robin, “and at the moment I’m feeling very short.” He reached over and opened the door for her. “It’s already midafternoon, there’s no telling when Hitchens will turn upand I’ve a great deal to do; we’d better settle for a very firm date early tomorrow morning. I’m a reasonable man,” he added. “Offer Mr. Hitchens a luxurious breakfast with us in my suite at eight o’clock. He’s just mislaid his employer and he could be wondering where his next meal’s coming from.”
“I wish I’d thought of that,” she said warmly. “Robin, you
are
nice.”
He grinned. “Of course I’m nice … If anything comes up, I’ll be manning the radio until it’s time to meet planes at the airport tonight. See you!” He saluted and drove away to find a parking space and to undoubtedly make his entrance by way of the freight elevator, on which he was becoming a regular commuter. Mrs. Pollifax entered the hotel through the mall to begin a search for Mr. Hitchens.
But she was thinking as she walked through the mall that she would still have no news of Alec to give Mr. Hitchens, and this would be one of the first questions he would ask of her because Alec was the reason for his being in Hong Kong, just as Detwiler was
her
reason for being here. On the heels of this thought came the realization that she’d not thought very much about Detwiler at all today. She had been concerned with Mr. Hitchens and the missing Alec; she had helped discover a body and the identity of the man with the violent aura, and she’d enjoyed very
Their discovery was a man named Pi and they had interrupted his sleep. He slept, he said, because he had lost his job a week ago, and who were they? Over his shoulder Mrs. Pollifax looked into the cubicle he occupied and saw that not only did it have a window, but that the window looked out on Dragon Alley and directly down at Feng Imports. Twenty minutes later Pi had bundled up his belongings—they made a pile no larger than Marko’s knapsack—and had sublet his cubicle to them for a week. From the amount of money that was paid to him for both his silence and his absence Mrs. Pollifax thought that he could very well afford to move into the Hong Kong Hilton but Robin and Marko had their stakeout. Once he had gone she and Robin lingered only briefly to help Marko rearrange the furniture,to lay out his lunch—Mrs. Pollifax tried not to regard it too wistfully—and to set up his radio; then they too left.
“What now?” asked Mrs. Pollifax, intrigued by the thought of more revelations.
“Now I’ll drop you off at the hotel,” Robin said deflatingly, “because I’ve got to go back and see about renting that second-floor space overlooking the rear of Feng Imports, and for that I’ll need some fake business cards that I don’t have with me, and a change of outfit. After that I’ll set up the radio in our hotel suite and establish contact with Marko. What I hope you’ll do is find Mr. Hitchens for me and set up some kind of appointment. I’d like very much to have him verify the news photo of Eric the Red, but also”—Robin gave her a sheepish glance—“also …”
She smiled. “You want to borrow his psychic talents. The only problem may be that with all the publicity he’s suddenly getting we may have to stand in line.”
Robin swung the Renault into a parking space at the mall entrance to the hotel. “Nonsense,” he said. “If that’s the case you must gently but firmly remind him of who gave him sanctuary last night in his moment of travail, and just who called a doctor for him, and you might throw in the hint of a terrorist or two and remind him that you and I are on the side of justice, peace and order, etcetera—relatively speaking—and then pray hard that he can answer Inspector Hao’s WHEN? We desperately need a date … a week, a month, a day.”
“That’s a tall order,” pointed out Mrs. Pollifax.
“All orders are tall in this business,” said Robin, “and at the moment I’m feeling very short.” He reached over and opened the door for her. “It’s already midafternoon, there’s no telling when Hitchens will turn upand I’ve a great deal to do; we’d better settle for a very firm date early tomorrow morning. I’m a reasonable man,” he added. “Offer Mr. Hitchens a luxurious breakfast with us in my suite at eight o’clock. He’s just mislaid his employer and he could be wondering where his next meal’s coming from.”
“I wish I’d thought of that,” she said warmly. “Robin, you
are
nice.”
He grinned. “Of course I’m nice … If anything comes up, I’ll be manning the radio until it’s time to meet planes at the airport tonight. See you!” He saluted and drove away to find a parking space and to undoubtedly make his entrance by way of the freight elevator, on which he was becoming a regular commuter. Mrs. Pollifax entered the hotel through the mall to begin a search for Mr. Hitchens.
But she was thinking as she walked through the mall that she would still have no news of Alec to give Mr. Hitchens, and this would be one of the first questions he would ask of her because Alec was the reason for his being in Hong Kong, just as Detwiler was
her
reason for being here. On the heels of this thought came the realization that she’d not thought very much about Detwiler at all today. She had been concerned with Mr. Hitchens and the missing Alec; she had helped discover a body and the identity of the man with the violent aura, and she’d enjoyed very
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