Harold Chow and pulled him under , dragging him into a bottomless abyss of rot and decay . He couldn ’ t see , but he felt something enormous moving beneath them and stirring the foul waters , some curdled divinity that had spent centuries marinating in pestilence and waiting for its revenge . It grasped him around the legs , shattering his bones . At last he was able to scream , but by then it was too late .
Jie stepped out of the Chows ’ marblelined shower in a warm cloud of soap-scented steam , feeling like a woman reborn . She ’ d turned the heat up until the water was nearly scalding , but it felt refreshing on her skin , like all the terrible things that had happened to her in America were being boiled away . The former servant wiped away the condensation on the mirror and looked at herself . She barely recognized what she saw , but in a good way . She felt so clean and new that she was practically glowing .
The lady of the house had been about the same size as Jie . Jie slipped into one of her dresses , an elegant black garment that would be attractive but not too conspicuous , and picked through the rest of the wardrobe to pack a suitcase with everything she ’ d need for her remaining time in America . Then she went to Mr . Chow ’ s home office . She knew exactly where the hidden safe was , and she knew that Mr . Chow kept the combination written down on a slip of paper taped to the underside of his desk . Her passport was inside , along with some expensive-looking watches and jewelry , a couple of fat envelopes stuffed with U . S . dollars , and some USB flash drives . Jie stuffed it all into one of Lily Chow ’ s designer purses as a parting bonus . Her heart beat faster with joy when she glanced at the purse ’ s label and realized that it must have come from her hometown .
Granny herself might have stitched its lining .
Thinking of Granny reminded Jie that she had one more thing to do before she could leave this awful place forever . She returned to the bathroom where she ’ d been kept prisoner for so long . It was sparkling clean . Neither of the Chows were anywhere to be seen , but the goddess was seated on her porcelain throne , resplendent in her purple dress . All of the bad things had been flushed away . Jie kowtowed , pressing her forehead hard against the cool , unyielding tile , as a token of her sincere gratitude and affection to her patron . Then she put the beloved goddess into her new purse and headed home .