Alice-Miranda in China

by Jacqueline Harvey

  Caprice pushed on a panel and was surprised to find it was actually the most enormous door. It pivoted and she walked through, trying not to think about the fact that she was getting a bit desperate. Soft lighting emanated from beautiful timber showcases that housed what looked to be artefacts. One wall contained parchments and scrolls while another displayed jade carvings in various shapes and sizes. The far wall was reserved for ceramics, but all the cups looked the same. In among the collection were three blank spaces and underneath were the words ‘Shanghai Museum’, ‘Beijing Museum’ and ‘Po Collection’.

  Caprice rolled her eyes. Who would collect lame, old cups? It seemed that the Fangs weren’t as smart as they were rich, the girl thought to herself.

  ‘Excuse me, miss,’ a voice boomed. ‘What are you doing in there?’

  Caprice jumped. ‘Who’s that?’ she said, looking around.

  ‘I am in the control room,’ the voice answered. ‘You should not be there. The door was locked.’

  ‘No it wasn’t,’ Caprice reported. ‘I just pushed the panel.’

  ‘May I help you back to the games room?’ the voice asked.

  Caprice huffed. ‘I need to go to the toilet, which is why I was here in the first place.’

  ‘Please, miss, just listen to my instructions and you will soon be there,’ the voice said.

  True to their word, Caprice soon located a toilet and was then swiftly directed back to Susannah and the games room.

  Caprice had just beaten Susannah for the third time in a row when Felicity arrived in the room.

  ‘Would you like to play?’ Caprice asked the girl.

  ‘No, I can’t do anything strenuous for the next few hours until my back is properly rested,’ the girl replied. She stretched her neck from side to side and arched her spine. ‘Anyway, it’s time for dinner.’

  Caprice and Susannah put their paddles down and followed Felicity out of the room and into a lift. ‘Where are we going?’ Caprice asked.

  ‘To the roof,’ the girl said.

  Seconds later, the lift doors opened and the girls walked out onto a terrace with the most incredible view of the city. The rooftop was positively palatial, with separate areas for seating and dining, a full kitchen and bar area and even a dance floor. The sky was so clear it looked as if you could reach up and touch the stars.

  ‘What happened to the clouds?’ Caprice asked. She remembered it had started to rain when she and Susannah got out of the pool.

  ‘That’s not the sky, it’s a roof,’ Felicity said as she led the girls towards the smallest of several dining tables. ‘It’s an exact replica of the real night sky but without any clouds or pollution.’

  ‘Is there anything you don’t have in this house?’ Caprice asked.

  Felicity shrugged. ‘I don’t think so.’

  Several waiters were already rushing about and it wasn’t long before the girls were offered a tray of colourful fruit drinks. Caprice took one and ate the pineapple pieces from the stick first before she sipped the delicious beverage.

  ‘Good evening, girls,’ Barbie Fang said as she walked out to join them. She was dressed in a stunning floor-length gown of peacock-blue. Diamond earrings the size of Christmas baubles adorned her lobes. ‘Felicity, you are not dressed for dinner.’

  Caprice and Susannah looked at one another in their jeans and blouses, which were about the best things they had brought with them on the trip. Felicity was wearing a white cotton drop-waisted dress with a blue sash, obviously made of the finest material, well cut and perfectly sewn.

  Susannah’s cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. ‘Sorry, Mrs Fang. We weren’t told that we would need to bring evening wear with us for the trip.’

  The woman nodded sympathetically. ‘I understand completely,’ she said, the word ‘peasants’ rolling around in her head as she spoke. ‘But Felicity knows better than that.’

  ‘I’d rather wear jeans too,’ the girl snapped.

  ‘And if you would like to continue as a member of this family, those words will never come out of your mouth again.’ Barbie Fang smiled sweetly.

  Felicity rolled her eyes and glared at her empty plate. Susannah gulped and Caprice tried not to grin. That Felicity was a piece of work and then some.

  ‘What have you girls been up to this afternoon?’ Mrs Fang asked.

  ‘We had a swim and then played in the games room,’ Susannah said.

  Mrs Fang arched an eyebrow. ‘No study? How interesting.’

  ‘I visited your museum,’ Caprice said quickly. Although she hadn’t meant to go there, she thought she’d mention it so Mrs Fang didn’t think they’d wasted their time on frivolous pursuits.

  Barbie Fang almost choked on her drink. ‘What did you say?’ she sputtered.

  Caprice frowned, wondering what she’d said wrong this time. ‘The museum at the bottom of the house. To tell you the truth, I found it when I was looking for the toilet. It’s got lots of interesting stuff.’ That was a lie, but Caprice thought she should try to be polite.

  ‘No one is allowed in there except Baba,’ Felicity said fiercely. ‘The doors are always locked. That’s Baba’s special place and he would be extremely angry to know that you were anywhere near it.’

  ‘I told you, I didn’t mean to go there. It’s just that your house is so big I found it by accident,’ Caprice said.

  ‘You must have broken in,’ Felicity accused.

  ‘I did not!’ Caprice could feel her blood begin to boil. She may have been a guest of the Fangs, but they had no idea how to make a person feel welcome.

  ‘What did you see?’ Barbie didn’t like where this was headed at all. She hadn’t been in there for years and really had no desire to know of its contents or their origins, yet at this point it was important she understood what the girl had seen.

  ‘Just lots of old junk,’ Caprice spat. ‘I wasn’t really interested because I was busting to go to the loo. It was just as well some security guy noticed I was in there because he helped me to find one, or I would have peed all over your precious imported marble floor!’

  Barbie Fang stood up and walked to the end of the terrace where a thickset man in a black suit stood at attention. She began to whisper in Mandarin but it wasn’t long before she was shouting and moments later he disappeared. She composed herself and walked back to join the children while four waiters descended upon them with plates of steak and salad.

  ‘Caprice and Susannah, it is very important that you do not speak of my husband’s collection to anyone. Ever.’ There was an icy tone to the woman’s voice that sent a shiver down Susannah’s spine. ‘Mr Fang is a very private man and he would not like his personal collections discussed. How much will I need to pay for your silence?’

  Caprice’s jaw dropped. ‘What?’

  ‘You must be rewarded for your discretion,’ Barbie eyeballed the girls.

  ‘We don’t need money,’ Susannah said. ‘We’re both very reliable. Aren’t we, Caprice?’

  Caprice was still reeling from the offer. She felt like she was in the middle of a gangster movie. Caprice nodded, apparently rendered speechless.

  ‘What honourable girls you both are,’ Mrs Fang said as she shot them one last terrifying look.

  Cherry Wong gathered her wits about her and tucked the two letters into her jacket. From what Fuchsia Lee had told Alice-Miranda, they needed to speak to the police as quickly as possible. But how to do that without arousing the suspicion of the rest of the family was tricky.

  Alice-Miranda had an idea. ‘If we tell Charles, he could take me to the police station and I can explain everything,’ the child said.

  Cherry thought for a moment. ‘Not Charles. I would rather tell Winnie. Her cousin is very high up in the police department and she is the most level-headed of the Wongs. Winnie will take it all in her stride and the fewer members of the family who know about this, the better,’ Cherry said. ‘We just have to work out a reason for Winnie to take you out on your own.’

>   Alice-Miranda bit her lip, wracking her brain for a solution. ‘We could tell them that my mother asked me to buy her some silk pyjamas from a manufacturer that’s close by. That she’s thinking about asking them to supply to Highton’s, and the others won’t be interested because it’s just business.’

  Cherry hugged her. ‘Alice-Miranda, I swear you are a genius. Wait here and I will fetch my mother-in-law.’

  Winnie Wong was as shocked to learn about what was going on as Alice-Miranda and Cherry had been. Especially as she had trusted Benny Choo with her and Lionel’s life’s work. Winnie explained that they were planning to sell the troupe to become part of a Chinese franchise of the Circus of Golden Destiny. She and Lionel had put a down payment on a school, where they intended to provide scholarships for underprivileged children – not only training them as acrobats but ensuring that they had a sound education. The rest of the family were to have a place in the troupe for as long as they wanted and nothing was going to change.

  ‘Well, the deal is off now,’ Winnie said. She was furious that she had been taken in by the smooth-talking man.

  ‘What about the school?’ Alice-Miranda asked.

  ‘We will find another way,’ Winnie assured her. ‘It has been a lifelong wish of ours, and you don’t just abandon your dreams because someone has taken you riding.’

  Alice-Miranda giggled. Winnie reminded her a little of her own Granny Valentina. Benny Choo wouldn’t have stood in her way either.

  Cherry handed the woman the letters and Alice-Miranda rewrapped her chicken cup.

  ‘I would rather we leave that here, but I think the only way they will believe our story is for us to take it along,’ Winnie said.

  ‘It’s all right,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘It will be safe inside my jacket.’

  It was just before six when Winnie announced to Wai Po that she was taking Alice-Miranda out for a short while. If they weren’t back in an hour, she instructed, the rest of the family should have dinner without them. The woman was slightly apprehensive that perhaps the police would want to detain the child, seeing that she was in possession of such a valuable object, but surely they had enough evidence now with Fuchsia Lee going to the Hong Kong Police too.

  Alice-Miranda placed the letters Cherry had received on the table along with the priceless antiquity. Winnie’s cousin, Superintendent Lu, immediately called one of his colleagues from the Ministry of State Security to join them on this matter of national importance. It wasn’t long before a woman in a smart grey suit arrived and was introduced to them as Agent Cheng. She wore no make-up and her hair was wound into a perfect bun at the back of her head.

  ‘So you believe that Benny Choo is behind the Shanghai Museum theft and perhaps another in Hong Kong,’ Superintendent Lu said.

  Alice-Miranda nodded. ‘And Cherry is supposed to steal another of the cups tomorrow at the Beijing Museum.’

  ‘But why does he want them?’ Agent Cheng asked. ‘He cannot possibly sell them on the open market.’

  ‘There must be a collector,’ Superintendent Lu said. ‘We know this sort of black-market trade goes on, but it is a game only for those with extreme wealth.’

  ‘There was another name in the book, but Miss Lee wasn’t sure if it was of any significance to you,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘Have you heard of Elon Fang?’

  Agent Cheng gasped. ‘If this man is who I think he is, we have been after him for years. He is more slippery than a catfish and more cunning than a fox.’

  ‘Who is he?’ the child asked. ‘What’s he done?’

  ‘He owns The Blue Whale Casino in Macau,’ Agent Cheng said. ‘But his name has cropped up in association with many criminal activities, from money laundering to illegal property deals and even the black-market sale of weapons.’

  ‘What did it say about him?’ Superintendent Lu asked.

  ‘Nothing – it was just a name,’ Alice-Miranda said. ‘Are you going to arrest Mr Choo?

  Agent Cheng looked at Winnie. ‘He is on his way to Beijing now?’

  ‘He’s coming as our guest,’ Winnie said. ‘We are supposed to be signing the contracts for the sale of the troupe tomorrow evening after the show.’

  ‘Perhaps he’s also making a drop of the goods that are already in his possession,’ Agent Cheng said, ‘and intending to collect the one Cherry is to steal tomorrow.’ She pulled her phone from her pocket and made a quick call. ‘Benny’s flight has just landed,’ she said.

  A young man entered the room and handed Superintendent Lu a piece of paper. He scanned it and shook his head.

  ‘Except that now Mr Choo only has a fake and perhaps the other one, which I have just had confirmed as stolen from a residence in Hong Kong two nights ago,’ Superintendent Lu said.

  ‘I wonder if Summer was involved in that as well,’ Alice-Miranda said. She thought about that look on her face in the dressing-room. It was obvious now that the poor girl was terrified.

  ‘We will speak with our colleagues in Hong Kong. It wouldn’t do to bring her in for questioning until we have our man,’ Agent Cheng said. ‘I imagine Benny’s men will be watching her.’

  Alice-Miranda exhaled loudly. ‘Please don’t do anything that will put her in danger. I can only imagine how scared she is. Especially if her family was threatened too. I was so stupid when I saw her in Shanghai and she obviously switched our goods. She must have been trying to tell me to go to the police, but I didn’t understand what she meant.’

  The superintendent smiled at her. ‘You are far from stupid, Alice-Miranda. If it weren’t for you, who knows how long this would have continued for.’

  Winnie reached over and gently squeezed the child’s forearm. She looked at her cousin. ‘What are we to do now?’

  Superintendent Lu rested on his elbows and inhaled deeply. Agent Cheng bit down on her thumbnail. For several minutes the room was silent.

  ‘You have to go on with the show,’ Alice-Miranda said decisively. ‘Maybe Mr Choo will lead you to his buyer and then you can catch them both.’

  Agent Cheng smiled at the girl. ‘You should think about becoming a detective, Alice-Miranda. You have read my mind. I have sent some agents to follow him from the airport.’

  The woman’s phone rang. She picked it up and took the call.

  ‘What do you mean he’s not there?’ she spat. ‘Find him! And don’t lose sight of him again!’ Agent Cheng ended the call, shaking her head. ‘Imbeciles!’

  ‘At least we know where he’s going to be tomorrow night,’ Alice-Miranda said.

  ‘Wait until I see that swindler,’ Winnie fumed. She caught her cousin’s eye and sighed. ‘Don’t worry – you know I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardise the investigation. But once you have your man, I want ten minutes alone with him. Is that a deal?’

  Superintendent Lu nodded. ‘You have my word. In the meantime, you must both keep all of this completely to yourselves and call me if you hear anything that could be of use.’ He pressed a handwritten number into Alice-Miranda’s palm. ‘I do apologise, but I don’t think it would be helpful if anyone saw you with a card from the Superintendent of the Beijing Police – it might create questions.’

  Alice-Miranda grinned. ‘I think you’re right about that.’

  The children chattered as the bus wound through tiny roadside villages on the way to the Great Wall. Alice-Miranda stared out the window, watching the traditional houses pass by in a blur. She was trying to concentrate, but her mind kept returning to what had happened the night before.

  ‘Hey, I think I just saw the Wall,’ Millie said, pointing out the window. ‘I can’t wait to get up there. It’s going to be amazing.’

  Alice-Miranda turned to her friend. ‘Sorry, Millie, what did you say?’

  ‘What’s the matter?’ Millie asked. ‘You’ve been acting weird all morning.’

  Alice-Miranda hesitated. She wanted to tell Millie what was going on, but she’d promised Cherry and the others that she wouldn’t breathe a word. There was far too muc
h at stake. ‘I think I must be tired. I didn’t sleep well last night,’ the girl said. At least that was the truth.

  Inside the bus were the ten students from Winchesterfield-Downsfordvale and Fayle, the teachers and parents, along with Miss O’Reilly, the five host students, plus the rest of their class and the Science teacher from Bright Star. They’d left school just after eight o’clock and were going to a slightly less popular area of the Wall at Mutianyu. Miss O’Reilly had been there recently and decided that it was no less spectacular than the section at Badaling, but there would likely be fewer visitors.

  The headmistress of Bright Star stood at the front of the bus and delivered a fascinating introduction to the Great Wall and welcomed any questions from the students.

  ‘The Great Wall is almost nine thousand kilometres long as it currently stands, although the official length is over twenty-one thousand kilometres – it’s just that a lot of it has fallen down,’ she said, referring to her sheet. ‘Oh, and here’s an interesting one. It’s said to be the world’s longest cemetery.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Figgy called out.

  ‘Over one million people died while working on the Wall and many of them were buried inside it because there was no time to take them anywhere else,’ the woman explained.

  ‘Cool, so it’s like a zombie wall.’ Figgy did his best impression and garnered a few snickers. ‘Do they ever attack?’

  ‘Only if visitors are disrespectful,’ Miss O’Reilly said, with a completely deadpan expression.

  Figgy thought for a moment before breaking into a grin. ‘You’re joking, right?’

  The headmistress arched an eyebrow and shrugged. ‘Now, it’s a bit of a two-stage process to get there. First, we’ll stop at the visitors’ centre and take another bus. Then we’ll walk a little way and hop on the cable car, which will take us to the Wall,’ Shauna O’Reilly said. ‘When we’re up there, please be very careful. There are no security fences and the stones can be slippery. I’d hate to have to add to that body count,’ she said, winking at Figgy.