by Cath Ferla
‘And did you find him?’
Su Yuan shook her head, a gleam in her eye. ‘No, but I met his wife.’
Sophie’s heart sank as she contemplated the idea of a woman being in on the disappearance of these girls.
‘Australian?’
‘Chinese. She told me everything about Disney’s operation. She hated him. She married him because he promised to take her away from China, to Australia.’
Sophie nodded. ‘My father took my mum away to Australia, too.’
‘Only I’m sure he loved her.’
Sophie nodded. ‘I think so,’ she said. ‘He promised to protect her.’
Su Yuan smiled. ‘Disney didn’t keep his promise to his wife,’ she said. ‘He kept her in her mother’s home and visited every so often for sex.’
‘But he told her about his business?’
‘His wife made it her business to find out. She told me that the scholarship program is all a scam and that the girls are basically auditioned for the sex market. The girls don’t know anything until they get here and are introduced to a party lifestyle with lots of opportunities for making money.’
‘As prostitutes?’
‘Prostitutes, strippers, waitresses, stars of skin flicks.’
Sophie sat back. ‘That’s quite a business,’ she said. ‘Although he’d have to be pretty sure the girls would be up for it.’
‘He targeted poor girls through his scholarship program and I guess enough of them were interested in the work on offer to make it worthwhile. He had connections with most of the language schools, paid off the administrators in charge of timetables to make sure their visas stayed intact.’
‘Do you think the administrators knew what the girls were up to?’
Su Yuan wrinkled her nose. ‘I think they just took care of the schedules.’
Sophie thought hard. ‘But it doesn’t make sense that the girls disappear,’ she said. ‘I mean, why bother bringing them all the way out here just to have them go missing?’
‘According to the wife, until recently nobody did go missing. Disney had everything under control, the girls were introduced gradually to the lifestyle, not forced into it. The hard part for the girls was getting out once drugs and debt were involved. But she said things had changed and that Disney himself was stressed and anxious and not sure what was going on. It all sounded very bad to me. I decided I had to use the scholarship program to come out here and find my sister.’
‘Why didn’t you go to the police?’
Su Yuan snorted with disgust. ‘For what? What were they going to do? What proof did I have? And if they did believe me and word got out that the police were onto the operation, what would happen to my sister? Would they kill her? Of course. And I would never see her again.’
‘You took an incredible risk coming here.’
Su Yuan nodded. ‘Maybe stupid. But I can defend myself,’ she said. ‘I’ve been trained and I know how to fight. I know the element of surprise is what counts. I decided I just had to wait for an opportunity.’
‘And if it hadn’t come?’
Su Yuan shrugged. ‘I couldn’t do nothing. My mother is in so much pain.’
‘So what happened?’
‘The opportunity came. I treated it as an undercover operation and started working the same job that my sister had. I sold my body, not for money, but for my sister. I had to find her.’
Sophie tried to stop the shock from appearing on her face.
‘And I asked every client I met about my sister. Most men wouldn’t listen, wouldn’t look at the photograph. But one man did.’
‘And he gave you some information about her?’
Su Yuan nodded. ‘He said she was dead. He said she’d died on film. That he’d seen her.’
A wave of nausea shuddered through Sophie’s stomach. Bile threatened to spill its way up her throat and into her mouth.
‘A snuff film?’
Su Yuan nodded, her eyes wide. ‘I believed him. I was too late for her. I cried and cried. He untied me and left and I decided to kill the next one of them that came into my room.’
‘The next client?’
‘The next boss.’
She said it with no emotion, as though she were talking about finishing a school assignment or sitting a test. Su Yuan had admitted to murdering someone and now she had gone back to eating her soup. Sophie leaned back in her chair. Fucking full-on. Could she do it? Kill a man if she had to?
‘You killed him? Just like that?’
Su Yuan continued spooning broth into her mouth. ‘I had to avenge my sister,’ she said between slurps. ‘It wasn’t easy, but he didn’t see it coming. I kicked him where it hurts and then I took his head in my hands and I snapped it.’
‘I’ve met Zhou, he’s strong,’ Sophie said.
Su Yuan shrugged. ‘Not strong enough,’ she said. ‘I left the red rose in his mouth for my sister. She was beautiful and he took her – I wanted to leave a mark on him.’
Sophie sat, speechless.
‘You’re so brave, Su Yuan,’ she said finally.
Su Yuan stared deep into Sophie’s eyes. ‘If it were your family, you’d do it too,’ she said.
You’re wrong. My mother disappeared. I didn’t look hard enough. I ran away.
‘Besides,’ Su Yuan said, ‘I knew I had an alibi.’
Sophie’s heart skipped a beat. ‘An alibi?’
Su Yuan nodded, a smile curling at the edge of her mouth. ‘I cheated them at their own game. They sent a substitute into the class, to replace me. The school’s records, they’re official documents, right?’
‘Yes, but…’
‘So it is officially recorded that I was there, in class, at the time Zhou was killed. If someone checked my name off, it means I was there, right? I have an alibi.’
The brave woman sitting opposite her had risked everything for her sister. She’d done her research, checked the details, used her knowledge of the system to protect herself. And Sophie, with her ham-fisted detective work and the questions she’d raised, had ruined her alibi.
She took a deep breath. ‘Su Yuan, we have a problem.’
‘What?
‘Your alibi might not be so watertight.’
鬼
At Jin Tao’s suggestion, they travelled to Blue Lotus. There was no way Su Yuan could show her face anywhere she was known now. The gang would be looking for her.
‘Why were you still hanging around the building?’ Sophie asked. ‘What if one of them had found you?’
‘I’ve already lost everything,’ Su Yuan said. ‘I went back to hunt down the others.’
The kitchen was empty save for Stuart. He sat on a benchtop in his casual gear, a not very dashing ensemble of tracksuit pants and polar fleece. He rolled a cigarette between two fingers.
‘Don’t you usually do that outside?’ asked Jin Tao, the disapproval clear in his voice.
‘Too fucking cold, mate,’ said Stuart with a grin. ‘You’d kill me if you knew I smoked one in your room when I picked up that shiraz.’ He jumped off the bench and stuck the cigarette in his mouth. ‘Better change the location of your spare key, mate.’
Sophie suppressed an urge to whack the rollie out from between Stuart’s lips as he passed. She was annoyed to find him still here – the fewer people to see Su Yuan, the better – but Stuart clearly didn’t pick up on her vibes.
‘Who’s the pretty one?’ he asked, indicating Su Yuan.
‘A friend,’ said Sophie, issuing her warmest smile. ‘Service good tonight?’
‘Always,’ he said, his eyes still fixed on Su Yuan’s face. ‘You’re gorgeous,’ he said, his voice catching, as she passed. A blush crept across the girl’s cheek and she looked at the floor. Stuart winked at Sophie. ‘Feel free to bring your friends around whenever you want.’
‘Right.’
A pause and then Stuart said, ‘Well – I’m off. Ooo-roo, chefo.’ The kitchen door banged behind him as he stomped out into the night.
‘Sorry,’ said Jin Tao to Su Yuan. ‘He’s not shy, our Stuart.’
Su Yuan’s hair fell away from her face as she shook her head. ‘It doesn’t matter,’ she said. ‘It’s nice to hear a friendly voice after all this time.’
‘Did they talk to you?’ Sophie ventured. ‘The people you worked for?’
‘Not much,’ said Su Yuan. ‘But I didn’t care. I talked to the customers.’
‘Which is how you found out about your sister,’ said Jin Tao.
Su Yuan nodded. ‘The customer, I could tell as soon as he walked into the room that he wasn’t an evil man. He was shy, he was nervous, he didn’t know what to do. I manipulated him. I talked about his family and my family. I told him he was handsome, that men like him were usually fat and ugly and old. I stroked his ego instead of his dick and he started to like me.’ She paused. ‘I think that’s why he told me the truth.’
Jin Tao exhaled a long breath. ‘Who’d believe arseholes like that would have a conscience?’
Su Yuan started to say something and then stopped, as though turning the thought over in her mind. ‘Even depraved people sometimes have a conscience,’ she said. Then, with a shrug: ‘And if he hadn’t helped me, perhaps I would have broken his neck instead.’ She said it simply as though stating the obvious. Su Yuan had made a plan and she'd carried it out. She hadn’t found her sister, but she had killed one of the men who'd taken her.
Jin Tao slid open the door to the storeroom. ‘It’s not very grand, but you’ll be safe here,’ he said over his shoulder as he knelt down and began heaving away a six-deep pile of rice sacks. The sacks scratched against the floor as he shifted them slightly to the right to reveal a trapdoor to the cellar.
‘Jin Tao…’ said Sophie, her voice laced with alarm. She watched as Jin Tao pulled open the door to reveal a set of stairs descending to a dark space below. She hadn’t known this room had a door to a cellar. What did he keep down there? What did he use it for? Why did he think that Su Yuan would be able to bear another stint in an enclosed room?
‘Just a sec,’ said Jin Tao as he descended the stairs. ‘I’ll head down and take a look.’
Sophie’s heart began to race. This felt all wrong.
Su Yuan tugged at Sophie’s arm, her face betraying unease. ‘You’re not putting me down there,’ she said, her voice a firm whisper.
‘It’s all right,’ said Sophie, doing her best to sound reassuring even though tiny alarm bells had begun jangling in her head. Why had Jin Tao suggested taking Su Yuan to the restaurant instead of their home? She hadn’t questioned him at the time. Now it seemed ridiculous. And he’d also seemed annoyed to find Stuart still hanging around. Sophie had assumed it was because he didn’t want Stuart to see Su Yuan, but was there another reason? Why hadn’t Jin Tao ever shown her the cellar? Why was the trapdoor covered with sacks of rice? Why did he think Su Yuan would agree to hiding down there and how long did he plan to keep her?
Sophie felt her breath quicken and the storeroom suddenly felt hot and airless. She pressed at the latch on the door to open it and let in some air.
It didn’t open.
Sophie tried it again. Harder this time. The door didn’t give. Sophie spun around. Su Yuan’s eyes bulged. Behind her, Jin Tao emerged from the cellar, a frown on his face. Su Yuan spun around, hands up, ready to fight.
‘No good,’ Jin Tao said, as though offering a defence. ‘The last place you’d want to stay after the ordeal you’ve been through.’
Su Yuan lowered her hands. Her whole body shook with released tension.
Jin Tao stopped. ‘What?’ he asked, concern in his voice. ‘You guys look like you’ve seen ghosts.’
‘Jin Tao, why can’t we open the door?’ The question sounded accusatory and he threw her a querying look. He leaned past her and unsnibbed a small bar on the latch.
‘Locked yourself in,’ he said as the storeroom was flooded with light. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, turning to Su Yuan. ‘I thought it would be safer for you here than at our place. Our house shares walls with some very nosy neighbours. And they’re thin, the walls. We reckon the neighbours listen in on us.’
Sophie stared at Jin Tao, his words crashing into her heart. ‘The walls are listening.’
Jin Tao shrugged. ‘It feels a bit like that sometimes.’
‘Wendy used that expression.’
‘Huh?’
‘Lenny told me Wendy asked him how to describe the walls listening. And that night of the Sichuan dinner, you told me she said it then too.’
‘She was drunk.’
Sophie’s mind tumbled over itself. What if Wendy had known the girls were kept behind the restaurant’s walls, or in a cellar in a storeroom like this very one here? Kept at the Sichuan restaurant, and she had been trying to give them a message? It made sense. There were dozens of restaurants in Chinatown but Wendy had taken them to only one.
‘Take Su Yuan to our place,’ she said to Jin Tao. ‘I think I know where the girls are being kept.’ And before Jin Tao could ask any more questions, she was out in the kitchen and then making for the swing door at a run.
女孩
He was waiting for her when the cab pulled up in Sussex Street and Sophie spilled out into the rain.
‘You’re a bit late for dinner but I can see what’s left in the fridge.’ Brad gave an easy smile and offered her the shelter of his umbrella as he pulled a set of keys from his pocket. ‘You want to tell me what’s so urgent?’ he asked, as he turned the key in the lock of the iron grille.
‘You said your restaurant shares a storeroom with the Sichuan place, right?’
‘It does,’ he said as they clambered up the stairs. ‘You want to raid their stock or what? I get caught thieving dried chillis from the neighbours and I lose my permanent residency permit, I’m telling you that now.’
Sophie took the stairs two at a time. ‘It’s a long story and I might be wrong but I think your neighbours are dealing in something slightly spicier than chillis.’
‘What could be spicier than chillies?’
‘Sex.’
Brad stopped on the stairs, one hand on the banister, the other sliding through his thick, sea-salted hair. ‘You mean the neighbours are running some kind of brothel?’
Sophie paused at the top of the stairs and looked down at him. And then it came out in a rush. ‘There’s a syndicate kidnapping foreign women, using them as sex slaves, abusing them, raping them, filming them, killing them.’ The words caught in her throat. ‘The girls are being kept in Chinatown somewhere. I think your neighbours might be involved.’
‘And you want to check out their storeroom?’
Sophie nodded. ‘Maybe there’s a cellar or something in there. Can you help?’
Brad glanced over his shoulder at the stairs leading back down to the street below. ‘Does anyone know you’re here?’
Sophie waved the query away.
‘You didn’t think to call Damian?’
‘It’s just a hunch.’
Brad pushed past her on his way to the kitchen. ‘This is heavy shit, Sophie,’ he said. ‘If you’re wrong then I’m screwed for helping you to break in.’
‘Damian’ll forgive you.’
‘Yeah, when I’m sitting in an immigration detention cell waiting to be deported.’
Sophie followed Brad through the darkened kitchen to a side door leading to the storeroom. Beside neatly stacked shelves he searched through keys for the one that would unlock the door. ‘It’s here somewhere,’ he murmured. ‘I wish you’d told someone else about this.’
‘It’ll be okay,’ she said, trying to hide her impatience. ‘If we find something, we’ll call Damian or the police immediately.’
Brad turned the key in the door and it opened on creaking hinges, revealing a similarly sized space on the other side. The stench of dried shrimp and mushrooms hit Sophie with the ferocity of a punch. The smell of onions was subtler, but still present. The musty pungency made her want to hurl.
She stepped sideways into the room, squeezing past the overloaded shelves on either side of the door. ‘Someone needs to give this place a once-over,’ she said.
But Brad didn’t answer.
‘Brad?’
He’d been just behind her, but when Sophie looked back into the cavern of the Uyghur restaurant’s storeroom, she saw Brad flat on the floor, blood seeping from a wound to his head.
Beside him stood a man in tracksuit pants and a polar fleece.
‘G’day, Sophie,’ he said in his familiar drawl. ‘Guess who followed you here?’
Sophie stared at Stuart, so shocked she couldn’t move. She opened her mouth but no sound came out. How could she have failed to notice Stuart? And how could she not have heard Brad fall?
‘Ether,’ said Stuart. He nudged Brad’s shoulder with his boot. ‘Followed up by a swift blow to the head.’ Stuart revealed the stone pestle he held in his hand. He wagged a finger at Sophie, a smile on his lips. ‘You shouldn’t have dragged your friend into this, Sophie,’ he said. ‘I reckon I can safely say your mate is well and truly out for the count.’ As if to prove it, Stuart gave Brad a rough kick in the side. Brad didn’t utter a sound.
The sighting of Zhou in the Cross near Blue Lotus, the disturbances to her room. It had been Stuart all along. He’d been to their place. He’d seen where the spare key was kept, he knew Jin Tao’s schedule, all he had to do was get a sense of Sophie’s. And anyone with a computer and an internet connection could find out information about her involvement in David’s disappearance. If Stuart had wanted to haunt her or stalk her, he hadn’t had to look very far for a way to do it.
Stuart raised his hands defensively. ‘Hey, I just shoot the footage.’
‘Of the girls you helped kidnap.’
Stuart smiled. ‘I’ll give you that one.’ He shook his head, his free hand on his hip. ‘You’re persistent, Sophie, do people tell you that?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean you just keep going,’ he said, inching forwards. ‘We’ve been watching you. We’ve been threatening you. Your mate Jin Tao told me more about you than he should’ve and he gave me the goods to freak you out. We’ve done our best to intimidate you, we’ve tried to confuse you, but you just don’t bloody well give up.’