The Chinese Alchemist Read Online Free PDF Page B

of these bad people, to use Rob’s expression, was taking rather longer than either of us wanted. Rob and I had been moved to a small apartment, which was a good thing, given that we’d have killed each other after that long in a hotel room. The only positive news, at least from my standpoint, was that my lovely little cottage was still standing. One of Rob’s brothers and sisters on the force went in and got my mail and checked the place from time to time. No new cement floor in the basement. No smoke in the front room. Maybe the Heritage Act was more powerful than Rob thought.
    Still, I was slowly, or maybe not so slowly, going gaga. Again Dory came to the rescue, not in person, needless to say, but through the offices of one Eva Reti, barrister and solicitor, of Smith, Johnson, McDougall and Reti.
    Ms. Reti was the executor of Dory’s estate, she informed me, and she hoped that I might meet with her at her offices downtown on a matter that she was sure would be of interest to me. She was a little brusque of tone, and she kept me waiting for several minutes before I got in to see her. With her was George Norfolk Matthews. He was holding a box that was about eight inches long covered in grey silk. After the usual introductions and pleasantries, he handed it to me. “Dory wanted you to have these,” he said. “They belonged to her mother.”
    I opened the box to find a long strand of some of the most beautiful pearls I’d ever seen, a lovely creamy color, with a beautiful clasp. “I can’t accept these,” I said. “Surely your daughter would want them.”
    “She favors less traditional design,” he said. “And she has received a great deal of jewelry from her mother. She is very happy for you to have them.”
    “I will treasure them,” I said. “You know, I sell old jewelry, but I don’t have much of it myself, and these pearls are exquisite, and all the more valuable to me because of Dory.”
    Ms. Reti and George smiled for the first time since I came in. Apparently my quite sincere expression of appreciation had melted the ice a little. “There is another matter arising from Dory’s will that we must discuss with you,” George said. “I will leave that part to Eva here.”
    Ms. Reti shuffled a little in her chair before getting to the point. “The T’ang silver box has come back on the market,” she said. “It is to be auctioned in Beijing in two weeks.”
    “That’s very interesting, I’m sure,” I said. “But obviously Dory’s original request is no longer practical, and while I thought it was extraordinary and would love to own it, I’m not really in that league.”
    “Mrs. Matthews has provided for its purchase, and for the purchase of a third, even larger box, should it come on the market,” she said. “She believed they belonged together, as you know. Not only that, but she has provided for your expenses to go wherever they show up, and to pay you a significant commission when you acquire them for her estate.”
    “That’s ridiculous, Ms. Reti,” I said. “I mean…”
    “Unusual, yes,” Ms. Reti said. “Ridiculous, no. Please call me Eva. May I call you Lara? Dory told me so much about you, I feel as if I know you.”
    I nodded. Alarm bells were clanging away in my head. This had the air of an obsession extending beyond the grave, and I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to be a part of it.
    “A large sum of money was set aside in Dory’s will for this purpose. I can tell you it’s in the seven-figure range, with a top-up possible. Under the terms of the will, you are to consult with me on the price to be paid, but please be assured I intend to take your word for it. I know nothing about this sort of thing, and I know Dory trusted your judgment implicitly. She also wanted those boxes no matter the cost, so my role in this is peripheral only.”
    “George, how do you feel about this? How does your daughter feel?” I asked.
    “Dory had her own money,” George replied.