Read Online Thirteen Orphans by Jane Lindskold - Free Book Online
Authors: Jane Lindskold
Tags: Fantasy
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of it.
“Kidnapping someone could cause lots of problems,” Brenda went on. “I mean, remember how I wanted you to call the police when we found Albert Yu’s office all messed up? Try and pull off twelve kidnappings without the FBI finding connections between the people involved. It might take a while for them to do so, but I bet they’d find them.”
“Definitely,” Dad replied. “In many cases, the connections would be obvious. Auntie Pearl is a friend of our family. She has been something of a professional mentor to the current Rooster. I do business with both the Dragon and the Pig.”
Brenda started moving restlessly in the limited space offered by the suite. “Okay. The same restrictions would apply for murder, but the consequences would be even worse. I mean, murder gets the law interested, especially when famous people like Auntie Pearl are involved.”
“Or Albert Yu,” Dad said almost grudgingly. “And several of the rest of us at least qualify as pillars of our communities.”
“Fatal accidents might work,” Brenda said, “but twelve accidents that don’t get taken for something else … that would be tough. Tougher given that even if the law was fooled, that doesn’t mean the other members of the Twelve would be. And you keep track of each other, or at least some of you do of some of you.”
Auntie Pearl raised a hand in almost regal interjection.
“Murder or fatal accidents would offer another problem,” she said, “one you touched on before. Inheritance. Murder would not eliminate the member of the Twelve. It would simply pass their abilities to their heir apparent. In a few cases, that could provide a great inconvenience. The Hare’s heir …”
Pearl noted the inadvertent pun, but went on, “Her heir apparent is a small child, no more than two or three years old, ineffective as a tool, and if something happened to her mother, she would be very carefully watched.”
Brenda felt a sinking sensation blended with apprehension that turned the chocolate truffle’s lingering sweetness sour on her tongue.
“I’d be almost as useless,” she said, “but a lot more vulnerable. I mean, I know nothing about any of this or almost nothing. If someone had come after Dad, say, a week ago …”
Brenda shivered. She’d been going after this as an intellectual problem, like something the professor might present in an ethics class. When she thought about something happening to Dad, suddenly, she found it hard to think at all.
She moved over to where Gaheris stood staring down at the mah-jong tiles and pressed up against him as if she were about six, not a grown woman in college. He put his arm around her and squeezed, and Brenda had a sudden insight as to why her dad might have taken so long to bring up this whole Rat thing. It would be admitting there would be a time that he, like his own dad, wouldn’t be there, when he’d need to pass a responsibility along to her.
Brenda swallowed hard, and looked at Auntie Pearl. The older woman was studying them with a look that mingled compassion and something like envy. Brenda wondered how that original Tiger had felt about his beautiful and talented daughter. Brenda had figured Pearl’s father would have been proud of his daughter, but maybe he hadn’t been. Men could be weird about strong daughters.
Auntie Pearl glanced at the face of the slim diamond and emerald wristwatch that adorned one wrist. “It’s getting on to dinnertime here, which means that I can still make a call to the Rooster. Des lives in Santa Fe. I’ll warn him to be careful of strangers.”
“How would Des know the difference there in Santa Fe?” Dad said. “They’re all strange there.”
He grinned as he made the joke, but the expression was forced. “More seriously, doesn’t Des work in retail? It’s going to be hard for him to avoid strangers completely.”
“He can be careful,” Auntie Pearl said. “I’m more worried about what we’ll
“Kidnapping someone could cause lots of problems,” Brenda went on. “I mean, remember how I wanted you to call the police when we found Albert Yu’s office all messed up? Try and pull off twelve kidnappings without the FBI finding connections between the people involved. It might take a while for them to do so, but I bet they’d find them.”
“Definitely,” Dad replied. “In many cases, the connections would be obvious. Auntie Pearl is a friend of our family. She has been something of a professional mentor to the current Rooster. I do business with both the Dragon and the Pig.”
Brenda started moving restlessly in the limited space offered by the suite. “Okay. The same restrictions would apply for murder, but the consequences would be even worse. I mean, murder gets the law interested, especially when famous people like Auntie Pearl are involved.”
“Or Albert Yu,” Dad said almost grudgingly. “And several of the rest of us at least qualify as pillars of our communities.”
“Fatal accidents might work,” Brenda said, “but twelve accidents that don’t get taken for something else … that would be tough. Tougher given that even if the law was fooled, that doesn’t mean the other members of the Twelve would be. And you keep track of each other, or at least some of you do of some of you.”
Auntie Pearl raised a hand in almost regal interjection.
“Murder or fatal accidents would offer another problem,” she said, “one you touched on before. Inheritance. Murder would not eliminate the member of the Twelve. It would simply pass their abilities to their heir apparent. In a few cases, that could provide a great inconvenience. The Hare’s heir …”
Pearl noted the inadvertent pun, but went on, “Her heir apparent is a small child, no more than two or three years old, ineffective as a tool, and if something happened to her mother, she would be very carefully watched.”
Brenda felt a sinking sensation blended with apprehension that turned the chocolate truffle’s lingering sweetness sour on her tongue.
“I’d be almost as useless,” she said, “but a lot more vulnerable. I mean, I know nothing about any of this or almost nothing. If someone had come after Dad, say, a week ago …”
Brenda shivered. She’d been going after this as an intellectual problem, like something the professor might present in an ethics class. When she thought about something happening to Dad, suddenly, she found it hard to think at all.
She moved over to where Gaheris stood staring down at the mah-jong tiles and pressed up against him as if she were about six, not a grown woman in college. He put his arm around her and squeezed, and Brenda had a sudden insight as to why her dad might have taken so long to bring up this whole Rat thing. It would be admitting there would be a time that he, like his own dad, wouldn’t be there, when he’d need to pass a responsibility along to her.
Brenda swallowed hard, and looked at Auntie Pearl. The older woman was studying them with a look that mingled compassion and something like envy. Brenda wondered how that original Tiger had felt about his beautiful and talented daughter. Brenda had figured Pearl’s father would have been proud of his daughter, but maybe he hadn’t been. Men could be weird about strong daughters.
Auntie Pearl glanced at the face of the slim diamond and emerald wristwatch that adorned one wrist. “It’s getting on to dinnertime here, which means that I can still make a call to the Rooster. Des lives in Santa Fe. I’ll warn him to be careful of strangers.”
“How would Des know the difference there in Santa Fe?” Dad said. “They’re all strange there.”
He grinned as he made the joke, but the expression was forced. “More seriously, doesn’t Des work in retail? It’s going to be hard for him to avoid strangers completely.”
“He can be careful,” Auntie Pearl said. “I’m more worried about what we’ll
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