to the bottom rung. Qu Min eased into her seat on the other side of the aisle. She wasn’t at all deterred by Sam’s feeble attempt to hide behind his work.
“What’s your line of work, Mr. Sonn?” she asked.
“I’m a private investigator,” Sam replied.
“You mean you take dirty pictures of husbands cheating on their wives?”
“I’ve done my share of that, but these days I concentrate more on the high- tech aspect of the business.”
“Sounds interesting, Mr. Sonn.”
“For the most part it’s routine, but at times it does get very interesting and exciting.”
“And you . . . ?” Sam was treading on thin ice.
Qu Min smiled. “Well right now I’m into computers. I’ve got my own Web page.”
“That’s a tough business,” Sam remarked.
“I had over two million hits last year alone.”
“Two million hits. Very impressive. What is it that you’re selling exactly?”
“I’ve starred in more than 200 pornographic films. I guess you could say I’m selling myself.”
Sam turned away from her, facing the front of the plane. “I’ll be honest,” he said. “I knew who you were as soon as I saw you on the tarmac. I’m a big fan. But do me a favor, don’t mention it to my girlfriend.” Sam didn’t want her to see him blush.
“No problem, Mr. Sonn, it will be our little secret. And since you’re being honest with me, I must confess that I recognized you from your appearances on Tru TV.”
“I’m flattered that you recognized me,” Sam said turning back to face her. “I assume you have people helping you with your Web page?”
“Actually, quite a few. But I’m also a computer nerd. I majored in Computer Science at Ohio State University.”
“You’re a Buckeye then.”
“I didn’t do much cheerleading, Mr. Sonn.”
“What operating system do you use?” Sam continued making small talk.
“Linux.”
“How’s your security?”
“Airtight,” she replied. “I’ve got some of the best hackers in the business on my payroll.”
“You seem to have things well in hand,” Sam said.
“Not always,” she replied. “Last month I had difficulty connecting my network to the Comcast Satellite System.”
“I suggest you use Space Bridge. It’s a fantastic product. The satellites always digitize in binary. Space Bridge converts Java bytecode to any machine language. You can download it from the Red Hat home page.”
“You sound like you’re really up on computers, Mr. Sonn.”
“I did my Master’s in data encryption algorithms at Columbia. But I’ve also done some hacking in my day.”
“You don’t look much like an introverted hacker type to me, Mr. Sonn.”
“Really? What do I look like?” Sam asked.
“You look strong, Mr. Sonn, but unhappy in love.”
“I told you I’m with someone. She’s wonderful.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Sonn, but that’s the way I read the tea leaves.”
“Okay, since we’re playing the analyze me game . . .?”
“Go ahead Mr. Sonn, I’ve been well scrutinized by the best of them.”
“I see a woman with a lot of skeletons in her closet.”
“What do I have to hide, Mr. Sonn?”
“You tell me. How does someone so bright, so gifted, so beautiful, end up as a porn queen?”
This couldn’t have been the first time someone asked Qu Min that question. She no doubt had ten different answers stashed under her hat. But she didn’t bother with a prefabricated reply. No way she was going to miss her opportunity to spew her venom. “Don’t ever ask me that again,” she replied, pointing her finger in Sam’s face.
Her tone was threatening, but Sam didn’t get rattled. In fact, he was somewhat flattered by her response. It implied that she actually gave a damn.
“Maybe we both shouldn’t be so honest after all,” Sam replied. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling.
“Yes, Mr. Sonn, maybe we should save the analyze me game for another day.” Qu Min backed off a little. Her expression implied that Sam was still on probation. She stood up for a second as she placed her traveling bag in the overhead compartment. Her beautiful black hair fell to the side. The sun reflected off of the large ruby she was wearing around her neck.
“That’s an interesting piece of jewelry,” Sam said.
“A present from Buddy. It’s from the Ng Temple in Shanghai. It adorned the forehead of the famous statue of Prince Ng, third monarch of the Ming Dynasty. There’s a legend that goes with it.”
“A legend?” Sam asked as he motioned for her to take the seat next to him.
She walked over to Sam and sat down. “Do you see this engraving?”
“Yes,” Sam replied, “it looks like Chinese characters.”
“Very good, Mr. Sonn.” Qu Min turned the gem to reflect the light. It projected the engraving on the wall of the plane. The symbol on the right symbolizes day, the one on the left, night. In the morning sun, the symbol for day shines bright while the symbol for night is dim. As the day grows short, the symbol for night becomes more intense while the symbol for day grows weak.”
“It sounds to me like the day is Yin and the night is Yang.”
“That’s exactly right, Mr. Sonn. Are you familiar with Oriental philosophies?”
“Only from my study of martial arts.”
“On the forehead of the statue, there’s another symbol which forms an inset for the stone. It’s the Chinese symbol for enlightenment.”
“When the ruby is missing from the forehead of the statue . . .” Sam began.
“Chaos,” Qu Min finished Sam’s statement. “And when the ruby is returned, a new level of consciousness. It’s an ongoing cycle.”
“And how is it that you happen to be wearing it? Doesn’t it make you nervous?”
“Not at all, Mr. Sonn.”
“Why
