I lean back, biting down the string of curses threatening to escape.
Calm down, Antoine.This is just a minor hurdle, not a setback. I’ll find Jie Ting and make an offer she won’t be able to refuse.
Feng pats Laura’s hand, then mine, speaking in a tone that’s both firm and encouraging.
“She says Jie doesn’t live far,” Laura translates. “Tomorrow is her day off, so we can pay her a visit and take a look at the music box.”
I nod and spend the rest of the evening giving myself the cheeriest pep talk I can muster.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
ANTOINE
It’s ten in the morning as Laura and I step into the lobby of Jie Ting’s high-rise. Laura punches the elevator button. My nerves are taut, but I do my best to hide just how badly. Jie mightliterallyhold the key to the success of my mission. I need this encounter to go as well as it possibly can.
The elevator doors slide open, and Laura casts me a sympathetic look. “Nervous?”
“No, but a little apprehensive that my charm might get lost in translation,” I reply, stepping in.
She snorts. “Don’t worry your pretty head about it! Just give her your most ravishing smile, and I’ll do the rest.”
I laugh, grateful for her humor. It’s exactly what I needed now. On the way to Jie’s door, Laura straightens her tee and smooths her hair. Despite her lighthearted joking, my nervousness seems to rub off on her. It’s a shame, given that she has no dog in this fight.
When the door swings open, Jie greets us with a warm but cautious smile. Her sharp eyes dart between us as if sizing us up. She’s dressed in a simple blouse and slacks, understated but well put together.
“Ni hao,” Jie says and ushers us inside after we return her greeting. We sit down around a coffee table loaded with refreshments. She was expecting us. An hour earlier, Laura’s grandmother called her to ask if we could come by and look at the music box.
Jie says something and Laura responds. My extremely limited Mandarin allows me to catch only snippets—family this, Feng that. Jie sounds both gracious and guarded.
To calm myself, I look around. The room makes me think of a newly refurbished rental property. Modern furniture and light fixtures fit neatly into the space. A large flat-screen TV is built into the wall opposite the sofa where Laura and I are sitting. The polished hardwood floors are spotless.
Laura’s tone changes when she asks a question. I’m guessing the small talk is over, and this one was about the music box. Jie’s smile falters. Laura speaks again, her voice soft but insistent. Jie screws up her face and answers, her hands spread in a gesture of helplessness.
Laura translates for me, “I asked if we could see the music box Grandma gave her. She can’t remember where she put it.”
My skepticism must be showing because Laura whispers, “Let me handle this.”
She says something to Jie, before repeating it for me in French, “I told her we’ll be happy to help her look.”
Jie shifts in her seat, visibly ill at ease. Then her shoulders drop slightly, and she blurts something out, her voice tinged with embarrassment. Laura’s expression tightens.
“She says she’d been eyeing that music box for years, because she always suspected it was special and valuable,” Laura explains to me. “After Grandma gave it to her, she had it appraised, and then she sold it at an auction.”
My jaw tightens. “When?”
Laura relays the question to Jie. The housekeeper replies in an apologetic tone of voice, gesturing around the room.
“Back in May,” Laura translates. “She used the money to redo her apartment, which was in a dire need of renovation.”
Jie’s defense stirs up even more bile, but I rein it in. Getting angry won’t help.
I breathe out slowly, focusing on Jie as I speak, “Which auction house?”
Laura translates, and Jie perks up, nodding quickly, before rattling off something that I believe I understand.
“Chengdu Poly Auctions,” Laura confirms. “You think they’ll have the buyer’s details?”
“Maybe.”
