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My Kind of Town Don Chapman |
0-for-smart
>> Kaneohe
"So what'd you do with your car?" Kamasami Khan said. The old VW bug, mostly blue except for the portions that were rusted out.
"Left it at home," replied Bodhicita Guzman, still dressed in her gray Sister Mary Miraculoso habit. "So Fon Du and his pals can't trace me here."
"So you're not 0-for-smart today after all."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Like in baseball. Coming here the first time in your car was stupid. So was attending the dedication service knowing your boyfriend was going to be there. Then there's ..."
"Eh, didn't my disguise fool you?"
"Yeah, but Fon Du knows you way better than I do."
"In some ways."
"And now coming here again, stupid. Dammit, Bodhicita, I told you before the lama needs you to stay with Fon Du like everything is lovey-dovey. We need you inside Te-Wu. And we do not need you distracting the lama."
"I can't go back to Fon Du, not knowing who he really is, and what he is. Not after I was reunited with Jey."
"So you guys have a relationship that goes back a ways, is that right?"
"That's what Jey said. I'm his eternal consort. I saw myself in his meditation. Khan, do you have any idea how much stuff you can do all at the same time when you both have three heads and six hands? It's like an orgy for two!"
"Not sure I want to think about it right now. And neither should you."
"I can't help it."
"No, what you need to do is start using your one head and two hands keeping Fon Du happy and sharing secrets with you again."
"Who is Fon Du?"
"Jey!" Bodhicita whirled around, saw the young lama coming in from the lanai and hurried to his side, took his hand in her's.
"I had no idea you were a nun," he said, showing pleasant surprise.
"It's just a costume, so I could attend the dedication of your shrine."
"Why did you need a disguise?"
"Fon Du," Khan interjected.
"Who is Fon Du?" he asked again.
Bodhicita's cell phone rang then.
"That's probably Fon Du now," Khan said.
She checked the phone's caller ID in her bag, nodded sadly.
"I hate to be abrupt, but you need to know the truth, your holiness. Fon Du is with Te-Wu, posing as a banker, the one who deviously established the Bank of Lhasa's investment fund in your name today. For the past six months, Bodhicita has been his lover. It was through her that we learned about the plot to kill you."
"I think," he said, "this is what you call good news, bad news, yes?"
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Don Chapman is editor of MidWeek. His serialized novel runs daily in the Star-Bulletin. He can be e-mailed at dchapman@midweek.com