Chapter 72 The Interrogation begins
An hour later, a visibly frightened Ming-tsu tried to summon her courage as
she stood before Richard and George Chan in the distinctly unfriendly confines
of the cellar of the Black Pagoda. She tried to steer her thoughts away from
the frightful devices she had seen while searching the dungeon -- the Tiger, the
Rack, and the dreadful Crusher that had haunted her dreams ever since her search
for the pearls. She glanced at the great wall-length mirror to see if her fear
was discernible in her face and was thankful that it was not. Defending herself
with bold confidence was her only chance, now.
Ming-tsu was still wearing the flimsy, revealing black chemise, the
sensuous curves of her honeyed thighs bare, the northern hemispheres of her
golden-hued breasts glimmering deliciously in the well-remembered torchlight of
the darkened dungeon. The four Scorpions had, for the moment at least, been
dismissed, but not before giving her luscious young body a final lascivious
glance that seemed to promise their quick return, upon which they would attend
to unfinished business...
She had never seen Richard Chan look so stern, so sinister. The scowling,
silver-robed Lord of the Black Pagoda was furious. "My patience with you is
exhausted, Ming-tsu. Where are the diamonds? The pearls? Mai-Lee lent them to
you several nights ago. This morning she reminded me again that you still have
not returned them."
"I-I don't know, sir," Ming-tsu pleaded in a submissive voice, her lovely
brown eyes downcast as she cursed Richard Chan's beautiful Eurasian concubine
under her breath -- the Lord of the Scorpions was wealthy enough to replace the
gems ten times over. After much consideration Ming-tsu had decided to keep her
suspicions about the Scorpions in reserve a little longer, with the idea that
her suppositions might seem more believable, less self-serving, if they were
only used as a last resort. "I have looked everywhere. As you can see they're
nowhere in sight here."
"Of course, I can see that, you stupid thieving bitch!" Richard Chan
stepped forward and Ming-tsu instinctively raised her hands to protect herself.
"You dare to lift your hand to me?"
"No, sire, I only ..." Ming-tsu began, as she lowered her hands hesitantly.
SMACCKK! The elder Chan backhanded her viciously across the inner curve of
her right breast; the gossamer silk of the chemise did nothing to soften the
intensity of his blow.
Grimacing with pain, but trying to maintain her poise, Ming-tsu said, "Sir,
you can't think that I would ever be so foolish as to steal from you?" "Sire,
you must believe me -- I would never ... I could never ... steal from you. Or
from you, Master, " she said turning to George Chan, her patron, her lover, with
soft imploring eyes. "You have both been most generous to your humble servant."
She finished this supplication only to be greeted by another swift-moving
hand that arced through the air, this time thudding into the softness of the
outer curve of her other breast, almost knocking her off her feet.
"I warned you not to toy with me, Ming-tsu," George snarled. His knuckles
tingled pleasantly in reaction to his concussive blow to the resilient fullness
of his concubine's breast.
"Where are the jewels, woman?" Richard Chan's voice was hard enough to cut
the diamonds for which he was searching.
"Per-perhaps the girl took them off, and dropped them so that they rolled
underneath something...?"
The familiar smile returned to George's face. He waited until Ming-tsu had
taken her eyes from him and glanced nervously in his brother's direction before
driving his fist heavily into the soft flesh of her unprotected stomach.
"Ummmmpppggghhh!!" Ming-tsu sank to her knees in pain, as George,
standing over her bellowed, "Do you think we're fools? What could they have
rolled under?"
Ming-tsu struggle to catch her breath, fighting off the blinding pain,
trying to gather her wits. "What else could have happened to them? I don't have
them. Unless..."
George grabbed her rich, dark, glossy mane of hair roughly and lifted her
painfully back to her feet. "Unless what?"
Ming-tsu decided that she could no longer delay the playing of her best
card. She took a deep breath that sent her full breasts surging against the
black silk and began. "You will remember that I directed three Scorpions to
dispose of the bodies that night. Then, when I could not find the necklace and
earrings here, I became convinced that the jewels had left with one of the four
bodies. I immediately sent another messenger -- the young one, with the bad
face -- after the first group to tell them to search the four bodies and their
belongings carefully."
"And did they search the bodies carefully, Ming-tsu?" George hissed.
Gaining confidence as she went, Ming-tsu continued, "I asked the leader of
the group when he returned. The same one who came for me today. He said that
they had searched." It was time to play her ace. "But scum like them can't be
trusted. You know that." She looked at Richard and George in turn, looking for
some sign of understanding or agreement. "They probably took the jewels and
agreed to lie upon their return. They're just street thugs, after all. Liars
and thieves. It's really the only possible expl..."
George Chan's knee slammed into Ming-tsu's vulnerable groin before she
could finish mouthing the word "explanation", sending to her knees in agony.
"No, you treacherous whore! There's another explanation. A far simpler
explanation. You took them from the girl's body and hid them before you called
for the Scorpions, you thieving cunt! That's what I think happened."
"George," Richard interrupted, with a peculiar smile, "I think it is only
fair that we let the victims of Ming-tsu's allegations confront their accuser.
What say you?"
George unclenched a powerful fist, and then smiled at his brother. "As
always, Richard, you are a man of high principle. Yes, let's call the Scorpions
in." And George stepped to the heavy door to the cellar, and called to someone
waiting outside, "Come. Now."
As the Scorpions filed into the cellar, Ming-tsu climbed unsteadily back to
her feet, a dull throbbing pain between her legs where George had kneed her.
The two vicious breast-slaps had endangered the chemise's already tenuous grip
on the ripe curves of her breasts; the three Scorpion minions edged nervously in
front of Richard Chan, but their hot, lustful gaze fell on Ming-tsu.
Ming-tsu noticed that George had whispered something into the squadron
leader's ear as they stood in the doorway. The slender young man nodded and
joined his comrades, facing the Brothers Chan who flanked the trembling
Ming-tsu.
"Well, Ming-tsu, would you care to repeat your accusations? Or would you
like to save us some time and admit that you stole the necklace?"
Ming-tsu decided to brazen it out. 'What other choice do I have?' she
thought to herself. "Sire, these are the four men who took the bodies to the
harbor that night."
"And why, Ming-tsu, have we called them before us?" Richard asked sternly.
There was no turning back now. "Because these four must have the diamonds
and pearls that Liu was wearing that night. I noticed that they were missing
after they had taken the bodies away. I sent this one" and she pointed to Lin,
who bristled in response, "after the others, to tell them to search the bodies
carefully. Clearly, they must have found the earrings and the necklace and
decided to divide them among themselves."
Ming-tsu had composed her little speech while she was crushed in between
Lin and Zheng in the back of the cart on the way to the Black Pagoda. Needless
to say it had not been easy to concentrate while the two men had pawed her
whenever Chiang's watchful glance was diverted.
"You lying slut!!!" Dao roared as he lunged toward her, his fist upraised,
before being restrained by Chiang Chan.
Ming-tsu held her breath as George Chan studied Dao's face and then her
own, as if he were trying to make up his mind about whom he believed. She
watched apprehensively as he turned toward the young squadron leader, "Chiang
Chan, my son, it might interest you to know that this woman called you and your
comrades 'scum' just moments ago. 'Street thugs'. 'Liars and thieves.' Tell me,
my son, is there any truth to her accusations?"
"My son?" gasped Ming-tsu in the faintest of voices. She felt as though
all of the blood had been drained from her face. She had dishonored George Chan
and his son. Chinese do not accept losing face lightly; Chinese crime lords
least of all.
Chiang's features had darkened into an angry scowl. "None whatever,
father. We searched the bodies very carefully, and found nothing of value. The
woman is lying. Look -- we even found a large sum of money at her house,"
Chiang Chan produced the thick wad of bills. "She took the pearls and sold
them, father; I am sure of it."
"It is not true, Master," Ming-tsu implored Richard Chan. She felt as if
her world were spinning hopelessly out of control. The macabre shadows of the
six men that the torchlight cast on the wall, seemed to hover about her like
dark birds of prey. "The money was sent to me by Sung Lo ... for the club."
She turned beseechingly toward her erstwhile lover. "George -- you know Sung
Lo... It was at his restaurant that I ... that you ..."
"Ah yes, the Night of the Bloody Sapphires," George recalled with a smile.
"You were magnificent that night, Ming-tsu. Only I knew that your radiant beauty
masked much suffering."
"Yes, George, yes," Ming-tsu panted. "And I did it for you!"
The second son of Jiang Shao Chan smiled darkly down at her. "Ming-tsu, I
regret to tell you that your suffering on that occasion will be as naught
compared to what befalls you on this one if you do not speak the truth. Where
and when did you get this money?"
"I have told you! Only last night -- not an hour before your visit. From
Sung Lo," Ming-tsu pleaded desperately, turning desperately from one Chan to the
next.
The triple pillars of the Scorpion Empire exchanged dubious glances. Then
Richard Chan interrupted his younger brother just as he was about to speak.
"Sung Lo embarked for Singapore four days ago; how could he have sent you the
money?"
"But - but," Ming-tsu's head was swimming. "The letter..."
"Anyone can forge a letter, whore," George Chan began.
"Like, Luk Yee, for instance," interjected Chiang Chan.
"Luk Yee? What has Luk Yee to do with this?" snapped Richard Chan angrily,
as his eyes narrowed into thin slits. "With Li Chang dead he is the greatest
threat to our enterprises."
"He was seen sneaking away from her house only this morning, uncle. We
pursued him, but he got away." Then Chiang remembered something else. "It was
not the first time he had been seen there either. Tai Hwang, our new man from
Szechuan, saw them conversing in her doorway once before."
"Why was I not told of this?" Richard Chan fumed, his face a mask of fury.
A scowling mask of fury, thought Ming-tsu, as she remembered the dreadful dreams
in which the Masks had tormented her.
"I just learned of it this morning, uncle."
The elder Chan nodded, appeased, and paced around thoughtfully. "I see, I
see. So first you betrayed Li Chang in order to win our confidence. When all
along you were plotting with Luk Yee..."
Ming-tsu's voice quavered with fear. "Sir, please. You must believe me. I
would never betray the Black Scorpions "No. No. It's a lie. I was only trying
to trap him, to turn him over to you. George, George! " Ming-tsu pleaded
frantically with the man for whom she had endured so much. "You've got to
believe me!"
George Chan ran his brown eyes up and down Ming-tsu's tempting body,
lingering on her semi-nude breasts, her tiny waist, and her sleek, sensuous
thighs. "You were trying to trap him? Dressed like that?"
The younger Chan paused for a moment and then continued, "Richard, I
suggest we let these young people thrash out their different stories; perhaps if
we leave the Scorpions alone with Ming-tsu for a few hours they can come to a
meeting of the minds. And tell us where we can recover the jewels. What do you
say, my brother?"
Ming-tsu, her heart pounding in her chest, felt the hot glare of the six
men on her scantily clad body. She had played every card in her hand, and each
had been trumped. And now the two kings of Shanghai were going to leave her in
the hands of the four knaves.
"No, George... please ... don't leave me .... not with them!"
Ming-tsu looked disbelievingly at each of the four Scorpions in turn; the
burly Ox, the perverted Drooler, Gaptooth, whose features were contorted with
both lust and wrath, and the enigmaticly sinister smile of their leader, Chiang
Chan. Whom she had called 'scum'.
"Very well, George," answered Richard. And then he turned toward Chiang and
whispered in a voice so low that Ming-tsu could not hear. "But I don't want your
"discussion" to leave any scars, nephew; this whore may have to fuck a dozen
men a night for ten years to repay me. Do not do anything that would reduce her
value to me. Do you understand?"
"Yes, uncle."
Richard Chan wrapped a slender, silver-covered arm around his nephew's
shoulder, and added softly, "There are some new implements in the cabinet over
there on the right, nephew, that you may find of interest; they will produce
great pain, but no lasting scars. I recommend them highly."
And with that Richard and George left the cellar, leaving the beautiful
Ming-tsu alone with the four Scorpions that she had just branded as thugs and
thieves. She looked around desperately as the four moved toward her, their eyes
on her scantily clad body, their jaws clenched in the way of men who were
preparing to exact a terrible revenge...
