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Now that he was out of danger, Stuart collapsed into a chair His face was pale, and his body shook David grabbed a blanket off the bed and wrapped it around Stuart’s shoulders Next he found the phone and called the police to report Ma’s murder He was asked if anyone was in immediate jeopardy and answered that he didn’t think so Then the police operator inforot there The depart with the effects of the typhoon Someone would coation during this disaster to attend to the living first
David crossed back to Stuart and sank to his haunches “I take it you didn’t give Tang the ruyi”
“I wasn’t about to give it to that little shit,” Stuart said, still staring at the floor
“He would have killed you”
Stuart lifted his eyes He looked terrible The last thing David needed was for Stuart to keel over with a heart attack
“What happened?”
Stuart began speaking in ahad stayed at the banquet until one in theto her penthouse, stayed for a nightcap, and left her about three He drove home and had just put the ruyi in the vault when he heard so proble accosted hi the ruyi
“I told his went downhill from there” A bit of Stuart’s normal jauntiness came back, and he atteh” But this was no time for false bravado and Stuart knew it “You saw Ma?”
When David nodded, Stuart went on “He ” He shook his head as if to correct hi started in on me, and Ma arrived soon after that He must have come in…” He faltered “I don’t know exactly…”
“I want you to listen, Stuart You need to give me the ruyi”
“If I didn’t give it to Tang—and believe ive it to you?”
“Several reasons First, you need to get rid of the ruyi before someone kills you for it” When Stuart didn’t seeot to realize that someone like B
ill Tang doesn’t operate alone”
David didn’t add that Dr Ma wasn’t acting alone either If the ruyi hat David thought it was, the Ministry of State Security would never give up, which hy he had to get it to Hulan, not Vice Minister Zai, not Director Ho, but his wife, the one person in the world he trusted She would knohere it would be safest and cause the least harm
“Second,” he went on, “even if you don’t care about your own life, hoould you feel if someone went after Catherine?”