The Diamond Queen of Singapore

by Ian Hamilton

  The brasserie was half empty when she entered. She sat down in a round-backed black leather chair at a table next to a window, across from the bar. “Can I eat here or do I have to go into the dining area?” she asked a server.

  “You can eat wherever you wish,” the server said, putting a menu in front of her. “Can I get you something to drink in the meantime?”

  “I’ll have a glass of Chardonnay,” Ava said.

  When the server left, Ava opened the menu and made a quick decision. Then, hearing thunder once more, she turned her head and looked out the window, which was starting to streak with rain. Thank goodness I didn’t go outside, she thought. As she did, the wind suddenly picked up and rain lashed across the courtyard. Ava watched a man outside struggling with an umbrella that had been blown inside out. She shuddered at his discomfort but felt all the more cozy and warm.

  “Here is your wine,” the server said, interrupting Ava’s interest in the courtyard.

  “Thank you,” Ava said.

  “Are you ready to order dinner?”

  “I think so,” Ava said, but then her phone rang. She looked at an incoming number she didn’t recognize. “Hello?” she said tentatively.

  “Is this Ava Lee?”

  “Yes. Who is this?”

  “I’m Tommy Tiu,” he said. “I’ve just finished speaking to Xu. He told me you’re looking for information about a Singapore woman named Jasmine Yip.”

  Ava was surprised by his abruptness but not by his accent, which was more English than Chinese. She knew from experience that the official language of education in Singapore was English. “That is correct. I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.”

  “The Jasmine Yip that you’re interested in, was her father in the diamond business?”

  “He was.”

  “This is remarkable — I haven’t heard that name in years. I could hardly believe it when Xu mentioned her.”

  “So you know her?” Ava asked.

  “Oh, I know Jasmine. Not as well as I knew her father, but well enough.”

  “I was told he’s dead.”

  “Yes, he has been for quite a few years.”

  “How did you come to know him?”

  “Like me, he was a member of Sah Lak Kau.” Tiu said.

  Ava waited for him to continue. When he didn’t, she said, “I have no idea what Sah Lak Kau is.”

  “It is — or I should say it was — a Singapore-based gang made up mainly of Hokkien Chinese,” Tiu said. “We were never that big, but the Singapore riot squad came after us like we were one of the huge Hong Kong triad gangs. The gang broke up. Some members were sent to jail, some left the city, and others like me and Simon Yip went underground.”

  “I take it that Simon Yip was Jasmine’s father.”

  “He was.”

  “Then he did more than go underground. I was told he became a diamond merchant doing business with reputable firms in places like Antwerp.”

  “Calling him a diamond merchant is a stretch. Simon was a small-time hustler who was up for anything. He stole, he smuggled, and he laundered money for people like me. That’s where the diamonds came in. I don’t know how he came up with the idea of using diamonds to launder cash, but it sure as hell worked.”

  “How did it work?” Ava asked.

  “When I had money that was a bit hot or I didn’t want to declare to the tax man, I’d give it to Simon. He had a bunch of other guys doing the same thing. He’d wait until he had enough of a bankroll and then off he’d go to Antwerp to do a deal. When he came back, he would distribute the diamonds among us.”

  “And you’d sell them?”

  “Sometimes I did, but not always. The good thing about diamonds is that they’re easy to stash and really easy to sell when you decide to offload them.”

  “And Yip gave you good value? I mean, if you gave him a hundred thousand, the diamonds you got back were worth that?”

  “Sometimes they were worth more, depending on the market and the kind of deal Simon struck. Remember, he was buying wholesale and in decent volumes,” Tiu said. “One thing for certain, I never heard anyone complain about him shortchanging them.”

  “How did he make his money from the deal?”

  “He charged a ten percent commission.”

  Ava tried to remember how much business Mr. Fozdar had said he’d done with Simon Yip, but she couldn’t come up with a figure. “I was told Jasmine worked with him. Is that how you met her?”

  “Yeah. Simon was really sick for a year or two before he died, and she ran errands for him — picking up money, dropping off diamonds. But everything went through Simon; he was still my main contact. I don’t think I exchanged more than a few words with Jasmine during that whole time. And after Simon died I had no contact with her. I hadn’t even heard her name since then until Xu mentioned it.”

  “She’s still buying diamonds, and after what you’ve told me, she’s probably using them to launder money also,” Ava said. “Is it possible that some of your old colleagues could be doing business with her?”

  “I don’t think so,” Tiu said. “I will make some phone calls, though.”

  “Can you think of anyone else who might be doing business with her?”

  “How much business are you talking about?”

  “A lot — more than twenty million American dollars last year.”

  Tiu became quiet and then laughed. “Holy shit! Simon would be proud of her.”

  “Except some of that money was stolen.”

  “That wouldn’t have bothered Simon,” Tiu said.

  “It bothers me,” Ava said, irked by that remark but equally aware that Tiu had no reason to care. “When you’re talking to the old colleagues, you might ask them if they know of anyone else who’s doing business with her.”

  “I’ll do that. Xu said you also want some background information on her.”

  “I do, whatever you can dig up. Is she married? Does she have kids? Who are her best friends? Does she have business partners? How many relatives does she have and where do they live? What kind of lifestyle does she lead? Does she drink or do drugs? What hobbies does she have? Nothing is too trivial.”

  “I’ll find out what I can.”

  “And you’ll do it quickly, please?”

  “As fast as I can, but you do know that I’m not getting paid for this? This is a favour for Xu.”

  “I know, he told me.”

  “He told you that, huh? You and he are close?”

  There was the slightest insinuation in Tiu’s voice. “I’m his mei mei,” she said.

  Tiu became quiet.

  “Is that close enough for you?” Ava asked.

  “I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said suddenly. “Is there a right time to call?”

  “Whenever you have information for me is the right time. But I’m in the Netherlands and you’re six hours ahead of me, so try not to call me in the middle of the night.”

  (17)

  The first thing Ava thought when she finished her conversation with Tommy Tiu was that she should have brought her notebook. She stood up as the server arrived with her glass of Chardonnay.

  “I have to go back to my room to collect something, but I’ll be back,” Ava said.

  “Do you want to order food before you leave?” the server asked.

  “I’ll have the steak tartare as a starter, but I’m not ready to order a main course yet.”

  “There’s no rush. With all this wind and rain, it will be a quiet evening here.”

  Nevertheless, Ava didn’t dawdle. Within five minutes she was back at her table in OCCO with the notebook open in front of her. Between sips of wine she wrote down everything Tiu had told her about Simon and Jasmine Yip, and then she started on a list of questions. Before she’d finished the server brought the steak tar
tare. Ava thought of pushing it to one side, but it looked delicious.

  She ate slowly, savouring the texture and trying to identify the ingredients. There were definitely Worcestershire sauce, a pepper sauce of some type, mustard, and capers. By the fourth bite she had discovered olives and parsley, but her taste buds didn’t find the onion until she was almost finished.

  Ava ordered another glass of Chardonnay when the server came to remove her plate. She reopened her notebook and read what she’d written earlier, underlined several points, added more questions, and then reached for her phone.

  “Hallo,” Mrs. Smits answered.

  “This is Ava Lee calling. May I speak to Jacob, please,” Ava said slowly.

  Mrs. Smits didn’t answer, but a few seconds later Jacob said, “I’m pleased to hear from you. I was actually thinking about calling you.”

  “Has something happened?”

  “I think I’ve found the person we can use to contact the Chinese bank,” he said. “The wife of one of the guys we used to get information on the Jewellery Circle account works in the foreign transactions department of the same bank. She has agreed to help.”

  “How much?”

  “Five thousand.”

  “Is she already on board?”

  “I wanted your approval.”

  “You have it,” Ava said.

  “Good. My plan is for her to send an inquiry tonight. With any luck we’ll have some information tomorrow morning,” he said. “Why were you calling me?”

  “I found someone in Singapore who knows Jasmine Yip, or at least knew her a few years ago. He’s going to collect as much current information about her as he can,” Ava said. She paused. “It turns out she’s from a family with a history of using diamonds to launder money.”

  “But if she lives in Singapore, how did Muir connect with her?”

  “That’s one of the questions we need to answer,” Ava said. “Another is, who in China was using her services, and is there any connection between them and Muir?”

  “You don’t think it’s possible that Muir was recycling his cash through China?”

  Ava looked at her notebook. “I agree with Mr. Fozdar that there wouldn’t have been enough profit from selling diamonds to generate that amount of money. Besides, why would Muir open a Chinese bank account? It doesn’t make any sense. As a Westerner, if he wanted to recycle his money it’s far more likely he’d go to Panama or one of the Caribbean islands that offer private banking.”

  “So it’s possible the Chinese bank may have absolutely no connection to Muir?”

  “I think that’s a strong possibility.”

  “Which means that we might have no money trail to follow.”

  “It’s far too early to say, especially when I haven’t had a chance to talk to Jasmine Yip,” Ava said. “I’ve just been thinking that, given the amount of money involved, it wouldn’t have been easy for someone unfamiliar with the diamond business to convert that many stones into cash. It makes sense that they would have needed help, and who could be more logical than Yip?”

  “Are you sure you’ll be able to find her?”

  “If she’s still living in Singapore, I’m confident we will.”

  “And what’s your next step when you do?”

  “That depends entirely on what my Singapore contact finds, and what you learn about Yip’s Chinese banking arrangements.”

  “Speaking of arrangements, I should call the woman at the bank before it gets too late,” Jacob said. “I’ll call you tomorrow as soon as I have more information.”

  Ava ended the call and looked out the window at a night that was still wet and windy. Perfect weather for sleeping, she thought as a yawn overtook her. She checked the time and saw it was almost eight o’clock. If she showered when she got back to the room, it would be at least eight-thirty before she got into bed. It had been a long, tiring day, but considering what she knew now, it had been successful enough.

  She looked at her notebook and at the questions she’d underlined. Too many of them were questions that only Yip could answer. “If Tiu confirms that you’re still living in Singapore, I’m coming after you, Jasmine Yip,” Ava muttered to herself.

  (18)

  Uncle visited in her dreams again that night. He sat in an easy chair in the corner of her hotel room, his face faintly illuminated by the glow of a cigarette.

  I am proud of the way you carried yourself today, he said. When I saw you in Toronto, I was worried you had lost some of your edge.

  Thank you, Uncle.

  I was also pleased that you contacted the lawyer Burgess. She is capable. When I was Mountain Master in Fanling, I surrounded myself with capable men, but I have to say that with the women you have in your life, you have outdone me.

  I don’t just have women. There’s Xu and Sonny and you.

  Xu is a good man, like his father before him. I am glad you asked him to help you in Singapore. That can be a dangerous place. Be careful when you are there.

  You told me many times that it’s the most boring city in Asia.

  That is why the slightest disorder attracts a disproportionate amount of attention. Hong Kong has law and order. Singapore values order above everything, including the law.

  Xu has connected me with a man named Tommy Tiu.

  I know Tommy. He can be lazy, and he is not very bright. Do not trust him with anything that requires real effort or intelligence.

  Okay, Uncle.

  Travel safely, he said, and then he was gone.

  When she woke, Ava immediately felt clear-headed. She turned to look at the bedside clock and blinked when she saw it was seven o’clock. She had slept for almost ten hours, the longest she could remember. Ava felt a surge of energy, and then a touch of panic as she wondered if she’d slept through anything important. She reached for her phone and quickly scanned for texts, emails, and missed calls. There was a short text from Fai, but the rest of the world had ignored her while she slept.

  She slid out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Ten minutes later she sat down at the room desk with a cup of coffee and opened the laptop. She found a travel site and searched for direct flights from Amsterdam to Singapore. As usual, the site ignored her request and listed the cheapest flights, all of which made several stops. Scrolling down, she found two airlines that flew direct — not surprisingly, Singapore Air and KLM. She preferred the service on Singapore, but the KLM flight worked better logistically; it left Amsterdam at nine in the evening and landed in Singapore at three-thirty the following afternoon.

  It was premature to book, so Ava made a note of the flight numbers and times and then opened her email. She wrote to Fai, I got your text. The six-hour time difference is frustrating. I think I’ll be heading to Singapore tomorrow. I’ll let you know as soon as those plans are finalized. In the meantime, know that I miss you and am thinking about you. All my love, Ava.

  She rose from the desk and went to the window that looked out onto the courtyard. The cobblestones were wet, and, although it wasn’t raining, the sky was overcast and showed every sign of opening up again. She had thought to go out for breakfast but, like the night before, decided that OCCO was a safer choice. She had turned to go into the bathroom when her phone rang. She hurried back to the desk and picked it up. “Yes,” she said.

  “Good morning, this is Jacob.”

  “From the tone of your voice, it doesn’t sound like it has been particularly good,” Ava said as she returned to the desk.

  “We had no luck getting information about the Chinese bank account.”

  “The bank hasn’t responded?”

  “Worse than that, it did respond but said it wouldn’t release any of the information we requested.”

  “Did they give a reason?”

  “No. Our young lady at the bank in Amsterdam was really surprised at the reaction. Norm
ally a bank-to-bank request for basic information about a business account gets some measure of positive response.”

  “Shit,” Ava said.

  “So what do we do now?”

  “I don’t know. I need to think about it.”

  “I’m sorry, Ava,” Jacob said after a slight hesitation.

  “It isn’t your fault, and not the young woman’s either.”

  “By the way, she doesn’t expect any payment for her efforts.”

  “I think we should give her something anyway. Would a thousand euros be enough?”

  “That’s generous. I’m sure she’ll be pleased.”

  “I may try to use a Chinese bank to find a route into the Chengdu bank,” she said. “I just need to figure out who to ask.”

  “Will you let me know how it goes?”

  “Of course. As far as I’m concerned you’re still working on this with me.”

  “That’s kind of you to say.”

  “Besides, you haven’t earned out your advance yet, have you.”

  “No,” he said with a laugh.

  “Well, until you do, we’re partners.”

  “I am here and available.”

  “Thank you. I’ll be in touch,” she said.

  Ava shook her head in disappointment as she ended the call. She hadn’t anticipated that the Chengdu bank would give them everything they’d requested, but she had expected it would at least give them something. Who else could she use to make an approach? There was a bank in Kowloon that Uncle had partially owned, and Xu did business with several banks. May Ling dealt with a myriad of banks, and Three Sisters did as well. Ava was weighing the options when her phone rang again. She saw the Singapore country code, sixty-five.

  “Is this Tommy Tiu?” she said.

  “Yes, this is Tommy.”

  “What do you have for me?”

  “I’ve confirmed that Jasmine Yip is still living in Singapore and is in the city right now.”