Golden Lies - Barbara Freethy [64]
"I told you," Ona said. "Now what else can I do for you?"
Paige looked at the array of herbs she'd already agreed to buy. "I think we have everything."
"You bought out the store, honey." Riley put his arm around her. "I hope you have something to take away those headaches every night," he said suggestively. "Or maybe a little aphrodisiac that won't make you feel so tired around bedtime."
Paige elbowed him in the gut, but Ona laughed. "Oh, we can take care of that, no problem. In fact, I have something for you, too," she said to Riley.
"That's good," Paige said, "because you know your stamina isn't what it used to be, sweetie."
Riley's jaw dropped. "My stamina is just fine."
Paige exchanged a commiserating look with Ona but said out loud, "Of course it is."
"Don't worry, we'll fix you right up," Ona said, reaching for some other herbs.
"I don't need fixing. Thanks, anyway," Riley said quickly.
"Now, dear, you know we agreed we'd keep an open mind," Paige reminded him. "Just give us whatever you think, we need," she said to Ona. "Honey, why don't you give her your credit card, so we can pay up?"
"You'll be paying up later," Riley said in hushed annoyance as he handed Ona his credit card.
Paige simply smiled. Hey, she'd had a needle stuck into her hand. The least he could do was pay for the herbs. She wondered if he'd found anything on his search through the back room.
"Thank you. Come again." Ona handed Riley his purchase, then said to Paige, "If your headache comes back, you can always massage and put pressure on the point in your hand where we did the acupuncture. Sometimes that works, too."
Paige nodded and followed Riley out onto the sidewalk. "Well?" she asked impatiently.
"In the car," he muttered.
She got into the car and shut the door. "Did you find anything? Or did I just get myself stuck for no good reason?"
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. It was a newspaper article written in Chinese characters. She had no idea what the article said, but she recognized the picture of the dragon that accompanied the piece. "That's our dragon," she breathed.
"The photograph could have been taken from the antiques show," Riley said. "I know there were photographers there as well as the television cameras. Or it might have come from somewhere else."
"How do we find out?"
"I think we should pay a visit to the Chinese Daily News." He pointed to the byline. "Benjamin Fong should be able to tell us where this photograph came from and what else he knows about this dragon." He started the car engine. "By the way, you owe me lunch."
* * *
Alyssa could see Ben through the plate-glass window that separated the small lobby of the Chinese Daily News from the ten or so cubicles that made up the newsroom. Ben had a computer at his elbow but was writing on a yellow pad of paper, his fingers painstakingly precise, his attention focused on the task at hand. It reminded her of when they'd both taken calligraphy lessons from his uncle Guy. Ben had loved calligraphy, putting ink to paper, detailing the Chinese characters with absolute perfection.
She had been too impatient to take such time. But not Ben; he loved tradition and history. He was a twenty-four-year-old dinosaur in the twenty-first century. Which was why she was here. If anyone could tell her where to start her search for an ancient dragon, it was probably him.
"Can I help you?" the receptionist asked as she entered the lobby from a back room.
"I'd like to speak to Benjamin Fong."
"May I tell him your name?"
"Alyssa Chen."
Alyssa watched Ben through the glass as the receptionist made the call. He looked up as soon as he heard her name, his gaze meeting hers. He was surprised she had come. Why wouldn't he be? She'd cut the ties to their friendship a long time ago. "
You can go on back," the receptionist said.
Ben waved to her, but now that she had the okay, she was hesitant to take it. What on earth would she say to him? She saw him get to his feet and realized she hadn't moved an inch. The last