Pitt made a passing, offhand glance at the women Julia referred to. "Daughters of joy."

"I beg your pardon."

"Hookers."

"What are you suggesting?"

"Qin Shang hires them to work the men who came along without their wives. You might call it a subtle form of political patronage. What influence he can't buy, he slips through the back door with sexual favors."

Julia looked bewildered. "I have a lot to learn about government lobbying."

"They are exotic, aren't they? A good thing I'm with someone who puts them to shame or they might prove a temptation I couldn't resist."

"You've got nothing Qin Shang wants," Julia said testily. "Perhaps we should find him and make our presence known."

Pitt gazed at her as if shocked. "What, and miss out on all the free food and drink? Not on your life. First things first. Let's head to the bar for champagne, and then indulge ourselves at the buffet. Later, we'll enjoy a cognac before making ourselves known to the arch-villain of the Orient."

Julia said to him, "I think you're the craziest, most complex and reckless man I've ever met."

"You left out charming and cuddly."

"I can't imagine any woman putting up with you for more than twenty-four hours."

"To know me is to love me." The mirth lines around his eyes crinkled, and he gave a tilt of his head toward the bar. "All this talk makes me thirsty."

They strolled across the crowded floor to the bar and casually sipped the offered champagne. Then they wandered to the buffet table and filled their plates. Pitt was profoundly surprised to find a large platter of fried abalone, a shellfish that was on the verge of extinction. He spotted an empty table by the fireplace and commandeered it. Julia could not keep her eyes from exploring the throng in the immense room. "I see several Chinese men, but I can't tell which one is Qin Shang, Peter failed to give me a description of him."

"For an investigative agent," said Pitt between bites of lobster, "your powers of observation are sadly lacking." "You know his appearance."

"Never laid eyes on him. But if you look through the doorway on the west wall, guarded by a giant dressed in a dynastic costume, you'll find Qin Shang's private audience room. My guess is he sits in there and holds court."

Julia began to rise to her feet.

"Let's get this over with."

Pitt held out a hand and restrained her.

"Not so fast. I haven't had my after-dinner cognac yet."

"You're impossible."

"Women are always telling me that." A steward took thek plates, and Pitt left Julia momentarily for the bar, returning in a few minutes with two crystal snifters containing a fifty-year-old cognac. Slowly, very slowly, as if he hadn't a care in the world, he savored the smooth flavor. As he held the snifter to his lips, he saw a man, reflected in the crystal, approach their table.