Cyanide Games: A Peter Tanner Thriller

by Richard Beasley

  ‘Did he give a reason?’ Tanner asked when the woman on the reception desk gave him the news.

  ‘He said he was very sorry, but something urgent had come up. He said he’d call later to arrange another time.’

  Tanner looked at the woman, knowing she was just passing on the message. And this isn’t important? he thought.

  The Consul General came out to reception to greet them. Michelle Barrett was in a dress suit, which was cut to just below her knee. If Tanner had been asked to describe its colour, then based on his location he would have said it was Communist red. Next to her was Jonathon Clarkson, the official who’d first spoken with Melissa when Joe had disappeared. They were led into a meeting room, where they were offered tea.

  ‘As you know,’ Michelle Barrett began after they’d taken their seats, ‘Jon and I are seeing Joe tomorrow at the detention centre. We’ll make sure he’s doing okay, check that he’s been treated properly and that sort of thing. Then his lawyer will see him the day after.’

  ‘When can I see him?’ Melissa said.

  ‘In a few days,’ Barrett said. ‘We’re just waiting on confirmation.’

  ‘Why can’t I see him tomorrow too?’

  ‘They won’t allow more than one visitor a day – and usually no more than one visitation a week,’ Clarkson said. ‘We’ve impressed on them that Joe has a young family in Sydney, and you have limited time. They know you’re here, and that you have to fly back soon.’

  ‘So I don’t have a confirmed time to see him yet?’ Melissa said, her voice cracking a fraction.

  ‘We’re sure we will soon, Melissa,’ Barrett said, ‘but we’re at their mercy.’

  Melissa sat back in her chair and looked at the ceiling. She let out a deep breath, and nodded. Tanner thought she was trying hard not to scream.

  ‘Do you know why Li cancelled?’ he asked.

  ‘I’m sorry, I’m not aware of that,’ Barrett said. She turned to Clarkson. ‘Jon?’

  Clarkson shook his head. ‘I don’t –’

  ‘We had an appointment to meet him later this morning,’ Tanner said. ‘We’ve just been told he’s had to cancel.’

  ‘I wasn’t aware of that,’ Clarkson said, ‘but he sent us this yesterday.’ He opened a manila folder and took out a two-page document. ‘It’s what I think you would call the indictment – or at least the edited version that’s publicly released. It was served yesterday by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate.’

  ‘That’s the prosecutor?’

  Clarkson nodded. ‘He’s given us a copy for our records.’

  Tanner looked at the document. ‘Can you get it translated?’

  ‘We’ll organise that,’ Barrett said.

  ‘What does “edited version” mean?’

  ‘I know you know this,’ Barrett said, ‘but just so we’re totally clear: one thing we can’t do is give legal advice.’

  ‘I’m just trying to get information,’ Tanner said.

  Barrett gave a reserved smile. ‘Sometimes we find the line between information and advice can get a bit blurry.’

  Tanner looked at the strange characters on the document. ‘My Chinese is blurry,’ he said. ‘What does this say?’

  ‘It’s consistent with what we’ve been told,’ Clarkson said. ‘Three years ago Citadel Resources put in a tender for an exploration licence in an area of land in northern New South Wales.’

  ‘It’s called Red Gum Basin,’ Tanner said.

  ‘You know about it?’

  Tanner’s assistant had got him the publicly available details from the internet. The government had granted Citadel a five-year exploration licence to explore for coal and coal-seam gas. The grant was made by the relevant minister following a tender process. Citadel’s own website also had details of the EL, and was publishing updates about the results from its exploration program so far.

  ‘A massive coal and coal-seam gas reserve,’ Tanner said. ‘Citadel was a bit late getting its share of the resources pie in Australia, but they’ve been making up for it in the last few years.’

  ‘So you know about the tender?’

  ‘I know what’s on the public record. The government was offering an EL over a 450-square-kilometre area in the far north-east of the state. It’s full of coal and CSG. Citadel put in a bid of two hundred and fifty million, which was the winning bid. The price of coal was still high at the time. They own an adjoining EL to the north, and a mine just over the Queensland border. This Red Gum EL would give them the chance to make a super mine up there. Economies of scale, that sort of thing.’

  Clarkson nodded. ‘And you know they’re in a joint venture with a Chinese company?’

  ‘North Shanxi Resources,’ Tanner said. ‘I don’t know much about them, other than they’re in some other joint ventures with Citadel, and they’ve got mines in Mongolia and Africa, as well as here.’

  ‘The joint venture is why the Chinese consider Citadel’s bid price was a state secret,’ Clarkson said. ‘North Shanxi is a state-owned enterprise.’

  ‘Does the indictment state who Joe’s meant to have sought a bribe from?’

  ‘Another Chinese state-owned company. It’s called XinCoal.’

  ‘Did they put in a tender for Red Gum?’

  ‘The indictment says they were considering it.’

  ‘Considering it? What’s that mean?’

  Clarkson shrugged. ‘There’s no detail about that – they won’t put in full particulars about the charge in what they release publicly in a state secrets case.’

  Tanner shook his head. ‘It must say something about what Joe supposedly did?’

  ‘It says he tried to corrupt one of XinCoal’s officials. He’d tell them Citadel’s bid price, and in exchange they’d pay him.’

  ‘Where’s he meant to have done this?’

  ‘It doesn’t say.’

  ‘Does it say when?’

  ‘No precise date – it gives a three month range covering the period the tender was open.’

  ‘How did he meet the person he’s meant to have tried to bribe?’

  ‘It says XinCoal tried to retain Joe – or at least BBK – to act for it if they went ahead with a tender. That’s how Joe knew they had an interest in the EL.’

  ‘You look frustrated, Peter,’ Michelle Barrett said.

  ‘The people I’ve spoken to at BBK haven’t mentioned anything about XinCoal.’

  Barrett nodded. ‘Jonathon?’

  ‘That’s it, but for the bribe amount sought.’

  ‘Which is?’

  ‘Fifteen million.’

  ‘I assume that’s a reference to dollars, not to Yuan?’

  ‘US dollars,’ Clarkson said. ‘Five up front, another ten if XinCoal got the EL.’

  Melissa put her tea cup down heavily on the table. ‘That is – it’s crazy. Fifteen million? Why not fifty? Joe wouldn’t do this.’ She breathed out slowly, fighting to stay composed.

  ‘Who’s the person from XinCoal Joe’s meant to have sought the bribe from?’

  ‘It doesn’t say.’

  ‘How are they described in the indictment?’

  ‘It just says a senior – the literal translation would be “senior official of XinCoal”.’

  ‘So not the mail-room clerk?’

  ‘Not the mail-room clerk.’

  ‘Is that normal here? Not naming in the indictment the person who’s meant to be the target of the bribe?’

  Clarkson made a gesture to indicate he didn’t know.

  ‘That’s really something you’d need to ask Joe’s lawyer,’ Barrett said.

  ‘If he was here, I would,’ Tanner said. ‘And this unnamed person just happens to wait nearly three years before deciding to go to the police or the security bureau?’

  ‘We don’t know what happened, Peter. He may have gone to his superiors first. The indictment doesn’t provide an explanation for the delay, or even when the allegation was first made to the authorities.’

  ‘I’m sorry,
I just don’t understand a lot of this,’ Melissa said. ‘How is what Joe can tell them worth fifteen million?’

  ‘I’m afraid I can’t answer that, Melissa,’ Clarkson said.

  ‘If you were a mining company and you really wanted this EL,’ Tanner said, ‘knowing what Citadel was going to bid in a secret tender would be very valuable. The highest bid wins, and because of its other ELs in the area, there was a fair chance a crowd as ambitious as Citadel was most likely to go highest. If you thought that in the long run you’d end up with a multibillion-dollar mine, I can understand why you’d be willing to pay big dollars for that information. Knowing what your likely nearest competitor was going to bid also allows you to outbid them, but not overdo it.’

  Clarkson nodded. ‘Anyway,’ he said, ‘there’s nothing about that in the indictment.’

  ‘Can you help me understand something?’ Tanner asked. ‘Joe’s alleged to have approached some unnamed official of XinCoal, correct?’ Clarkson nodded. ‘And XinCoal is a state-owned company?’

  ‘A state-owned enterprise,’ Clarkson said.

  ‘So the Chinese Government owns it?’

  ‘It’s more complex than that,’ Clarkson said slowly. ‘That’s a bit broad these days. In a general sense –’

  ‘Just bear with me,’ Tanner interrupted. ‘So, Joe approaches this person from XinCoal, and says, “Give me fifteen million dollars, and I’ll tell you what Citadel is going to bid for this EL”? That’s what it says in the indictment?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And the reason it’s a state secret he’d be giving away is that Citadel’s in a joint venture with North Shanxi Resources, right?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Which is another of these state-owned enterprises?’

  Clarkson nodded.

  ‘So Joe is alleged to be trying to get a bribe from the Chinese government, in order to sell what in part is a commercial secret of another part of the Chinese Government?’ Tanner paused and looked at both Clarkson and Barrett. ‘Do you see my confusion?’

  Clarkson started to answer, but the Consul General cut him off. ‘I think we can help you here,’ she said. She stood and offered more tea to Tanner and Melissa. ‘Chinese state-owned enterprises aren’t all as state owned as they used to be,’ she began. ‘Now that China has a more market-based economy, things have changed dramatically. First, there are privately run companies. Secondly, there’s been a lot of quasi-privatisation of SOEs. The government still has a stake, but private investment is allowed also.’

  ‘Private investment from within China?’

  ‘Foreign companies can have investments in SOEs too.’

  ‘So how are they managed?’

  ‘The more diversified the ownership of a SOE, the more likely it is that it might have management and governance from private sources, whether they’re domestic or foreign.’

  ‘And North Shanxi and XinCoal? They have foreign investors?’

  Barrett shook her head. ‘That we can’t help you with. You’d need to investigate yourself, if you think it’s relevant.’

  Tanner nodded slowly. ‘It’s possible, though, these companies might be part owned by private investors in China, or by foreign investors?’

  ‘Yes, but – and again speaking generally – there’s now real competition between SOEs that operate in the same markets.’

  Tanner nodded. ‘So North Shanxi and XinCoal, even if they’re state owned wholly or in part, they’d still regard each other as competitors?’

  ‘Vigorous competitors,’ Clarkson said.

  ‘You mean something beyond the general ruthlessness of big corporations in capitalist markets?’

  Clarkson shrugged. ‘I mean . . . North Shanxi is, as you said, involved in joint ventures with Citadel for a variety of minerals. XinCoal is the coal arm of Xin Resources Co of China. They’re big companies competing for a dwindling supply of resources.’

  Tanner nodded. ‘So when I said it was confusing that Joe’s alleged to have been seeking to sell the government its own secret, I was being naive?’

  ‘Well . . . the ownership structure of these companies – that’s something you might want to find out. SOEs enjoy a privileged status. They have access to state loan funds if needed, they return profits to the state, they’re a means of China bringing in foreign expertise but still keeping its ownership share in vital industries.’

  ‘They’re still the long arm of the Chinese state?’

  ‘You could say that.’

  ‘I guess that’s what Joe’s found out,’ Tanner said.

  Clarkson raised his eyebrows and shrugged, but didn’t respond.

  ‘And so – tomorrow?’ Tanner said.

  ‘We’re seeing Joe at ten,’ Barrett said.

  ‘How long have you got with him?’

  ‘Technically thirty minutes, but they’re usually flexible with consular or embassy staff. We’ll probably get a little longer.’

  ‘Thirty minutes?’ Melissa said. ‘How can he tell you – it’s not long enough, Michelle.’

  Barrett nodded. ‘We’re only there to check how he is. He can tell us what he wants about the charges, but that’s not the primary purpose of our visit.’

  ‘Is there any chance you can talk them into letting me see him tomorrow?’

  Barrett shook her head. ‘I don’t want to raise that yet. After we’ve seen Joe, I’ll make calls to sort out your visit.’

  Melissa was about to say something more, but Barrett beat her to it.

  ‘I know how anxious you must be to see Joe. We’ll do everything we can to confirm your visit as soon as possible.’

  Melissa nodded a reluctant agreement.

  ‘You’ll call us after you’ve seen him?’ Tanner asked.

  ‘Of course,’ Barrett said.

  Before they left, Melissa excused herself to use the bathroom. The Consul General said her goodbyes, but Clarkson waited with Tanner in the foyer by the lifts.

  ‘One thing I did check,’ Tanner said, ‘not long after I’d heard about Joe, was acquittal rates for people who end up charged with a crime here.’

  Clarkson raised his eyebrows knowingly. ‘It’s the same throughout Asia. If you’re charged, they consider the evidence to be overwhelming.’

  ‘I’d almost consider being a prosecutor here. I like winning.’

  ‘Chinese defence lawyers’ lives are fraught with danger. If a prosecutor considers you’ve brought forward untruthful evidence, they can and will charge you.’

  ‘I’d be doing life in prison,’ Tanner said. ‘Do you know how long it might be before a court hearing?’

  ‘A trial? Within about twelve months, I’d expect. Perhaps a bit longer. Less if Joe . . .’

  Tanner nodded. ‘He didn’t do it,’ he said. ‘For what it’s worth. I’ve known him a long time. Something has gone really wrong here. This is a not a guy who seeks a bribe.’

  Clarkson nodded, but said nothing.

  ‘The half-percent acquittal rate – how’s that hold up for offences like this? If the charge is to do with the interests of the Chinese state?’

  Clarkson sighed. ‘You’ll have to ask Li.’

  ‘Have you ever heard of an acquittal?’

  Clarkson was prevented from answering by Melissa’s approach.

  As Tanner pushed the button for the lift, Clarkson shook his head slowly.

  12

  ‘I only meant to grab her bag.’

  It was the second time John Richter had said this. He spoke more loudly this time, as his words had already gone unacknowledged.

  ‘Keep your voice down,’ Stefan Fehrmann said. He was kneeling over Elena’s body.

  ‘She’s dead, isn’t she?’

  Fehrmann looked away from the dead girl’s face and up at Richter, who was standing next to the couch, smoking a cigarette. ‘Don’t talk again unless I ask you a question,’ he said.

  Stefan Fehrmann had spent nearly forty years cleaning up messes. For Hendrik Richter, he didn’t mind.
Empires have to grow, and need defending. Sweeping up after the idiot son was something else. Fehrmann had moved up quickly around the mines, keeping workers in check. The security company that employed him was now one of the largest in the world. Then he’d joined Citadel, and made it all the way to head of security. He’d fixed bigger problems than John Richter could make – negotiating with greedy and corrupt governments, cajoling local militia and law enforcement, handling issues concerning native landholders – always sensitively at first; with force when required. He worked out who needed to be bribed or blackmailed, and who needed to be squeezed, and how hard.

  He liked Australia, and moved to Sydney ten years ago, when Citadel was cranking up its investments down under. He was now an Australian citizen. He was still called head of security, but only for the Sydney office. He did ‘special projects’ if Hendrik Richter or Andre Visser called him. An ongoing special project was looking after Hendrik’s children.

  Fehrmann stood and told the two men he’d brought with him to stay in the lounge room with the body. He’d woken them up after Richter had called. They were two of Hendrik’s bodyguards, and were meant to be on call 24/7, even if the boss was out of town. ‘Try not to fall asleep,’ he said.

  He pointed to a door that led to a study off the lounge room. He walked in with Richter, and shut the door. It was Richter’s home office, and he went to sit behind the desk, but Fehrmann pointed to one of the chairs in front of it.

  ‘Sit there.’

  Fehrmann sat in the chair behind the desk. He took off the spectacles he was wearing, and rubbed at the dents they’d left in either side of his nose with his gloved fingers. Then he sighed loudly, and stared at Richter. He put his hand inside the jacket he was wearing, took out a gun, and put it on the desk. A Glock 26. A baby gun, easily concealed. His weapon of choice since moving into semiretirement.