C9 China Doll

Chauncey took 101 South toward Hillsborough, a wealthy enclave in San Mateo County, where the family of Ms. Nora Evans congregated every year. His mind was abuzz with the events that had befallen him in the last twelve hours.

First of all, the little Asian blond had something between her legs, beneath that cute yellow silk skirt, that he never expected to find.

But what the fuck, it was four o’clock in the morning. His mind was a mess of tangled wires. By the time he left the opium room at Joe China’s place, he could barely see.

He tried to remember his name. He tried to remember where he lived. He threw some more coke on the fire in the hope of clarifying things.

The valet had pulled the car up to the side street entrance to Joe China’s place when Chauncey stumbled out and threw up on the sidewalk. By the time he got to the Bentley, with the little Asian blond sitting in the back seat like she was about to be chauffeured, he could barely walk. He called her China Doll, as Joe had instructed.

“You know how to drive, China Doll?” he inquired, leaning his head through the window.

“Oh yes,” she said eagerly from the back seat. “Me like drive big cars best!”

Joe China always subjected his girls to a six-week Berlitz course. He had his own training center, which specialized in slave girls and the specialized language they might need on their assignments. It

usually ended up with baby talk, much like China Doll’s. But it got them through the night.

China Doll came out the back door like a shot. She was drag- ging a large black suitcase.

Chauncey held himself up by the hood of the car as he crept around the front of it. China Doll dashed by him, on her way to the front wheel and the driver’s seat.

“You okay?” she asked without looking at him.

“Yeah,” he managed.

When Chauncey reached the far headlight, he stopped and

threw up again in the street. He was sweating. He had chills. There was puke on his lapel. He tried to remember his name again. He came up with Chas.

By the time he opened the door to the passenger seat, China Girl was already at the wheel, sitting on her booster seat, the black suitcase.

Chauncey fell into the front seat and quickly opened the win- dow in case of any emergencies. China Girl fired up the engine. She threw it into drive. She pressed the gas with the tip of her stiletto heal.