A Scent of a Woman
by Shaolin Kitten
Part 6
The man watched the house as the station wagon drive up the drive. When she emerged, he could not believe what he was seeing. She was here, in this place. It was not possible. He thought she had left him behind. Then another exited the car. He did not recognize the man. As he watched, anger took over. How dare he! He had no right to be there. She was his. No, that wasn't right. She could not be here, she was dead. But this one was so much like her. It had to be her. Why was she here? Why couldn't she remain where she was? Why must she haunt his dreams? It was starting again. He had to have her, possess her, take her. The man bit his lip as sweat beaded on his forehead. He watched as the man and woman played out their respective roles, the role of the mourner, the role of the comforting friend or lover? It was too soon to act. For now, he would wait.
A few days later, the man watched again as he saw the other leave. He carried a long tube, a brown leather pouch, and what looked like a rolled up sleeping bag. The man followed and watched as he saw the other turn up the road. So, he was heading for the temple. He must be one of those cult followers, one of those Shaolin. 'Well if you think you can take her from me, you have another thing coming,' he thought. The man decided to watch for a few more days to make sure the priest was not returning. Once he started, he did not want to be interrupted. She would be his forever. Then again, it might be exciting to have the other around to see the look on his face when he succeeded in possessing her. He could arrange it so that the priest would receive the blame. Then he could go on to the next and find the peace that he craved without her trying to possess his dreams again. There had been so many like her. No, it was her. It had to be her, but what if it wasn't? Doubt filled his mind. It did not matter. He had to have her just the same. If not to possess, to stop the nightmares once and for all.
Laura picked up her mail and found the envelope. It had no name and no return address. Maybe someone from the church was wishing her well after her parents' memorial service, but why did they not come by the house? Laura shrugged her shoulders and opened the envelope. Her heart skipped a beat when she read the note. She looked around to see if she could catch a glimpse of the person who may have sent it, but there was no one. She read it again and her hopes soared. She quickly ran to the house and began looking through her kitchen to begin planning. To know that he would be coming at the end of the week made her feel giddy. Maybe she would tell him then about what she had discovered and how, in that short period of time during that class, she had developed the biggest crush she ever had.
The week-long festival was almost over and Kwai Chang was exhausted. It had been an emotional time. News had been shared about fellow Shaolin and how a few had tried to return to China only to be killed or imprisoned. It was not a safe time for the Shaolin. Rumors that the Emperor's line had somehow survived resurfaced. It was believed that they may have escaped to America and were living somewhere in a safehouse. Hearing this brought back the history that his father Matthew Caine imparted to him about his grandfather whose name he bore. If the rumors were true, then it would be prudent to seek out the Emperor and ask to have his family's honor restored by becoming his protector. Kwai Chang would have to pay close attention to the rumors if he was ever going to get that chance.
"I say, again. He should not be here. He could be a threat to the Emperor."
"I disagree. Kwai Chang Caine has proven himself many times. Besides, we do not know for certain that the Emperor's line has survived. It was not this child who killed the Emperor's nephew so many years ago."
"You are like the rest. Sympathetic fool. Look around you. We are training killers here. It is evident from when 'his' grandfather killed the emperor's nephew."
"You know that is not true. Though we train with weapons, and are trained to kill, we avoid it at all cost. The Kwai Chang Caine of that time acted out of grief and anger toward the killing of his Master Po. In his mind, it was justice, not murder."
"It does not matter what you call it. He still took the life of the Emperor's nephew. The killing of the priest was a foolish act by the boy, no doubt, but it still did not justify Kwai Chang Caine's actions. All we have is the account from his grandfather. For all we know Po and Caine may have been with the Singh Wah and plotted the death of the Emperor. For all we know, his grandson is the same. He continues to wander, supposedly doing good and helping others. How do we know this is so? I do not trust him. He should be turned out of the temple."
Ping Hai watched Master Dao leave. As he turned, he saw Kwai Chang standing in the doorway, tears shining brightly in his eyes.
"I am sorry, Master. I did not mean to eavesdrop." Kwai Chang bowed to old Master. "I do not understand. Why does Master Dao hate me so?"
"Do not worry yourself. Master Dao is one priest. Many here know of your worthiness to be a priest. I do not know why Master Dao has singled you out. We can only hope that he will see the truth and come to understand."
Laura came home to find the flowers sitting on her doorstep. She looked around but could find no card. This was the third gift she had received in as many days. Yesterday, she'd found a box of candy someone had left on the seat of her car. The day before was the note. It seemed obvious, she thought, that he was trying to tell her how he felt about her. Still, something at the back of her mind did not feel right. These last two gifts were rather expensive. The box of candy had come from the gourmet chocolate shop that had opened in town just last week. The flowers contained rare orchids and roses not normally found in most flower shops. She doubted that a Shaolin priest would give such extravagant gifts, whether he could afford them or not. Mostly not. From what she understood, a priest's life was one of humility and poverty. If the Shaolin had any money whatsoever, they shared it with those that needed it the most, and Kwai Chang Caine seemed humble than most.
Then something occurred to Laura that she had not thought of before. There had been another priest, once when she had been visiting her parents. They had gone to the temple to discuss coming to the Church and doing a demonstration and even speaking to the Congregation. She had dropped a book she had been holding. There had been a young priest there. He had handed her book back to her. His smile had been pleasant enough but there'd also been something about the man that gave her the creeps. He did not seem like your ordinary Shaolin. Laura remembered she had met others in her life whenever she would go with her father to the temple, although there were only two other instances she could recall clearly. When she was about 10, her father had been summoned to the temple on some urgent matter. There had been an outbreak of fever ... No it had not been fever, it had been a lot worse. Someone had given the priests tainted food that resulted in three monks dying. Laura remembered that her mother had been visiting her sister and that she had chosen to stay behind with her father. It was late and someone was pounding on the door. It was one of the monks from the temple. She remembered his voice as being rather frantic. The next thing she knew, her father had grabbed his medical bag and taken her by the hand because there was no time to find a sitter. Laura strongly remembered this was the second time she had seen Matthew Caine and his son.
***** Flshaback*****
Fear was in her eyes as she watched her father work. She stood back as quietly as she could so as not to disturb him. Her father was giving each of the inflicted monks an injection.
"That should counteract the poison." Anger could be heard in Dr. Carradine's voice. "I cannot believe that someone would do this."
"Doctor!" Matthew Caine rushed in carrying his young son. "Please, help my son." Tears were evident in the man's eyes. Faint moans could be heard coming from the boy.
Laura caught her breath as she recognized the priest. He had been in her class just two years ago.
"Laura, I need that other bottle, sweetie."
Laura came forward and, as she handed the bottle over, she could not help but look into the face of the boy that lay on the table. He was just as handsome as when she'd first seen him, and more. His hazel eyes peaked out from under half closed lids, pleading to be released from the fever that was consuming his body. He was bathed in sweat and Laura could see he was in deep pain. Dr. Carradine lifted the sleeve of the boy's robe and gave him an injection. Soon his eyes closed and the pain in his face subsided as the boy drifted into a deep sleep.
"He should recover but like the others, he is going to need a great deal of rest and plenty of fluids. That was no ordinary food poisoning. I cannot understand the mentality of humans sometimes. Why must they try to destroy those who are different?"
Matthew Caine laid a comforting hand on Dr. Carradine's shoulder. "Do not be concerned. It is passed. Whoever did this will be punished," he stated. "Thank you for saving my son."
Matthew Caine lifted his son into his arms and cradled him there. Laura was struck at the tenderness that he showed. She watched as he left the infirmary.
*****End Flashback*****
Laura realized that was the last time she'd seen Matthew Caine alive. Tears fell at the memory, both for her father and for Kwai Chang Caine's.
End of Part 6
