The Allegation: A John Mackworth novel

by Tony Davies

  The door suddenly opened and a man came into the room. He looked at the boy and complained ‘you haven’t peed on the bed have you? If you have there will be trouble.’ The boy replied he hadn’t and the man left. He felt very thirsty and remembered he had not had any water since he had left home that morning. It must be the afternoon now, but he had no way of really knowing. The time went very slowly in this room.

  He thought of his father and how much he loved him. He was kind and gentle. But he was not a strong man and he was poor. Those were bad things to be. He told himself he would never borrow money when he grew up, he was going to be rich and buy lots of things and take care of everyone. His father had told him that would happen but for now he must help the family. They had no money, but they had a boy. And the powerful man had wanted a boy. So he had been brought to the room and now he waited. He knew what was going to happen and he was very afraid.

  Chapter three

  Back in the office

  John Mackworth strolled into the office of M and A at 9.30am looking tired and haggard. He was wearing his usual attire of black trousers and white shirt with an open collar. Some people thought he had spurned ties for effect, but the truth was he had never felt comfortable wearing them and didn’t see the need to impress clients by wearing one.

  It had been a long night, drinks in Wanchai followed by more drinks in a back street bar off Starr Street and now he was feeling the effects of it. He had finally got to bed at two am, the price he told himself of maintaining his contacts in Asia’s finest police force.

  Lindy looked up from her computer and frowned. “Mack, you look awful. You should know better. You boys, you will never learn. I suppose you got no sleep and you feel as bad as you look. Okay, sit down, I will make you some coffee.”

  She got up to walk to the small kitchen at the back of the office and Mack smiled to himself. He felt he was very lucky to have Lindy working with him, even if sometimes she acted like his big sister, or worse, his mother. At least she didn’t look like either of them.

  When he had interviewed applicants for the position of Personal Assistant to the Managing Director he had just set up his business. A small office, two desks, a phone and a computer. Not much to start with. The title of ‘Girl Friday’ would probably have been more appropriate as he thought he needed nothing more than a researcher who could also run the office. He was wrong of course, but it wasn’t the first time and he often reminded himself it wouldn’t be the last time. Especially when it came Lindy.

  Lindy had been one of only five applicants and when she turned up for the interview her appearance did nothing to enhance her prospects of getting the job. She looked no more than twenty and was wearing a pink tank top, green mini skirt and white boots. Totally off beat and Mack’s first thought was how any sane person could wear an outfit like that to an interview. He would discover within the first five minutes that she was in fact twenty five, was born in Hong Kong but brought up and educated in the US. She had an arts degree from UCLA, was single, could speak English, Cantonese and Mandarin fluently and that her favorite color was pink. She talked in short, staccato sentences without seeming to stop for breath.

  After asking several questions to determine exactly what type of business Mack was doing and what he needed her to do she then spent the next ten minutes explaining why she was the ideal candidate for the job. She later told Mack she had been terrified at the interview and had got carried away with her replies. Mack now knew that wasn’t strictly the truth. She always talked like that. She was quirky, irreverent and had a razor sharp mind. Just what Mack was looking for.

  He walked past her desk and into his office. He looked at his diary to confirm that he had a free day to catch up on paperwork and slumped into his chair. He looked up to see Lindy stride up his desk and put a mug of coffee on the table. There were two unopened manila folders sat there. He knew she would soon remind him that she needed them back before the end of the day. He had better make a start on the reports if he was going to finish them on time. But before he did so he had to endure the obligatory words of wisdom he always got under these circumstances.

  Lindy frowned at him in a disproving manner as she sat down opposite him. She shook her head slowly and whined ‘How old are you now, 37 or 13? Look at you, your mother would be ashamed of you. There is more to life than drinking you know, you don’t have to drink that much when you go out with your friends.’ Her mocking tone told him her criticism should not be taken too seriously, or so he thought.

  She pushed his coffee mug towards him and smirked “You had better freshen up. I have made an appointment for you to meet a new client. Ever heard of Westminster Capital?”

  Mack audibly groaned. She was wearing a simple pink cotton dress and had put her hair in a ponytail. With her black framed glasses and no make-up she looked like a high school student who was on her way to the beach for the day. Yesterday she had worn a bright yellow turtleneck blouse and lime green pants. Given his hangover, anything was better than that.

  “No, should I have?” he replied in a deadpan voice.

  “They are a private equity group in Central. They are behind the controversial Paradise Cove project. I have been digging around and they seem quite big with lots of people working there. They rang yesterday and asked if they could meet you today to discuss some work they may want you to do. Oh, and the chairman is Andrew Weston. You know, the guy who was supposed to be dating Susan Yip last year.”

  Mack stretched his neck muscles and “No I didn’t know, and who is Susan Yip? Never mind. What’s the case?”

  “They wouldn’t say, just that Mr. Weston wants to meet you personally. I have set it up for their offices at 2.30pm today. You mustn’t be late, they could be a big client. This is the type of client we need if we are going to expand the business. You do want to expand the business don’t you?” She looked intently at him, knowing full well what the answer would be. When he replied by nodding his head she confirmed “That is decided then. 2.30pm it is.”

  Lindy stood up and straightened her dress and pointed at the manila folders. Before she could say anything Mack said “Yes, I know, before I leave this evening.”

  Lindy turned and walked out of the office, unaware that Mack was smiling as she closed the office door.

  Chapter four

  Getting to know you

  The Hong Kong tram service runs from Shaukeiwan in the east of Hong Kong Island to Kennedy Town in the west. It began operating in 1904 and is a popular mode of transport for locals and tourists to travel up and down the island. The service doesn’t run to a set schedule and the antiquated carriages often travel in a procession of three or more. Mack doubted they had been updated during the fifteen years he had been in Hong Kong. The low ceilings and wooden seats were very uncomfortable and since the carriages were not air-conditioned they were unbearably hot in summer when the temperature soared above thirty degrees. And yet they were Mack’s favorite mode of transport. They reminded him of past times, of Hong Kong’s history and heritage and how some things hadn’t succumbed to progress and modern technology.

  Just before 2pm Mack took the elevator to the ground floor and walked the short distance to the tram stop. It was a typical July day, hot and humid with rain expected in the evening. After a few minutes wait, a familiar green tram arrived and Mack stood back to allow the locals to get on. The British may have taught the world to queue, but not everyone in Hong Kong had grasped the concept. He watched the last person scramble on before getting on himself and standing at the very rear of the tram. He was just under six feet tall and it was the only place he could stand erect. Fighting his way to the exit at the front of the tram would have to wait until he got to Central.

  Mack endured a love hate relationship with Central. He enjoyed visiting Hong Kong’s main business district and since it was only fifteen minutes by tram from Wanchai and many of his clients were based there, he was a frequent visitor. He loved the energy the area transmitted, the feelin
g that it was the place to make money and lots of it. Most of the world’s biggest corporations had their Asian head offices based there and it was a testimony to Chinese endeavor and British governance. Nothing is perfect though and he disliked the crowds and the feeling that investment bankers fresh out of school with their newly minted MBAs thought they ruled the world and often acted as if they did.

  He got off at the Landmark building and headed towards the overhead walkway leading to Exchange Square. Despite the lunchtime rush having finished, the streets were still crowded with office workers and tourists of every nationality jostling for space on the pavements. At Exchange Square he took the lift to the 42nd floor and walked into the reception of Westminster Capital at 2.28pm. So much for being late he told himself. As he entered the area one of the two Chinese receptionists looked up from behind her desk and asked in perfect English how she could help him. He told her he was there to see Andrew Weston and she politely told him to take a seat and someone would be with him shortly.

  A few moments later he was shown into a large conference room. He had barely taken in the stunning view of the harbour when an older Chinese woman in a white blouse and black skirt entered and ask if he would like any refreshments. As he ordered a cold water it struck him that she had asked him in Cantonese. Few gweilos, as expats are referred to in Hong Kong, speak the local dialect and he wondered if she knew he spoke it fluently or she spoke no English. He doubted the latter.

  After ten minutes two expats entered the room and Mack stood up to greet them. They were both around 180cm and of similar build. The slightly older of the two had light brown wavy hair and a smile that was set to dazzle. The younger had a military style crew cut and a much sterner appearance. They were both wearing white shirts but the younger one clearly had the poorer taste in ties. It was bright yellow with large green and red elephants on it and looked totally out of place in the conservative décor of the office.

  As they moved to shake hands and introduce themselves the younger one joked “You have to forgive the tie, I was given it at an office party and had to promise to wear it for a day. Today is that day. My name is Paul Bent and this is our CEO, Andrew Weston.”

  He smiled and stretched out his hand “You should come back tomorrow, Andrew has to wear his then and his is even worse.” They all smiled and Weston presented Mack with his business card. It was done in traditional Hong Kong manner, two hands holding the card as it was formally handed over. Mack looked at it for a few moments and then handed him his card and then went through the procedure with Bent. Once the formalities had been completed they sat down at the table.

  Bent took the initiative and said, “Do you know much about us, Mr. Mackworth?”

  Lindy always researched a potential client before a first meeting so that Mack had some basic information beforehand. In Westminster’s case this had not been easy and if he took on them on as a client Lindy would have to do a more extensive exercise.

  Mack replied, “Please call me Mack and the answer is very little. You guys keep a low profile.”

  “We like it that way, Mack” replied Weston. “It suits our personalities and in our line of business a high profile is not necessarily a good thing. Many of our clients like their anonymity and expect us to adopt a similar approach.”

  Weston had a soft, almost soothing voice. “We have a couple of questions we should like to ask you before we go too far.” Mack nodded his head and Bent said “You left the police force after a particular incident. Can you tell us what happened?”

  “Why do I get the feeling you already know?” Mack smiled and waited for Bent to respond.

  “Mack, just like you we do our homework. We know you resigned from the police after a disciplinary hearing, which found you not guilty. There were rumors at the time that you had a drink problem, but they were never substantiated and that probably could be said of most of the gweilo officers in the force. You were regarded as a bit of high-flyer, the first of your intake to be promoted to Superintendent and were highly thought of by some, if not everyone. He didn’t ‘suffer fools gladly’ seems to be a common refrain. Your attitude of ‘the end always justified the means’ meant you were never going to be popular among your more nervous colleagues who were only concerned with job security and promotion to a corner office with a window and a nice view.”

  Bent looked at him and smiled “Don’t worry, you and I are alike in many ways and that approach will serve you well if you work with us.”

  Mack glanced at Weston and wasn’t sure if he was expected to reply. He doubted he and Bent were alike. There was something quietly intimidating about Bent.

  Bent frowned. “We are not here to review your life history, though I expect aspects of it would be interesting, even amusing. So let’s move on, can you tell us about the Walker case.”

  Mack pondered for a moment, as if trying to recall a long forgotten fact that was buried deep within his memory. His reply was “Sorry, what is the Walker case?”

  “Come now Mack, you know full well what it was. Just give us an overview. Start with the blackmail threat.”

  Mack’s first reaction was to ask how they knew about his involvement with Walker, but he had learnt over the years that measured replies were much safer than knee jerk comments. He had been told he was by nature a suspicious person, which he accepted might well be true. Whether it was down to a genetic defect he inherited from his parents or the result of his police training was anyone’s guess. It didn’t matter either way, to him people asked questions for a reason and he saw no need to instantly respond to them without first considering the motive behind the question.

  As for the Walker case, to the best of his knowledge only his team and five people in Walker knew of his involvement. It was highly unlikely Bent had heard about it from an outside source so presumably he had a source inside Walker. Why would they have alerted him to that was the immediate question that sprang to mind.

  “I have no idea what you are talking about. Who or what is Walker?” he replied.

  “Mack, we believe you can help us with a problem we have. Helping us will be quite lucrative for you and we can open lots of doors for you in the future. We are simply trying to find out if you are up to the task. So tell us how you achieved such a great result for Walker. We really need this before we can move forward with you,” sighed Bent.

  Mack reminded himself that potential clients were entitled to ask him about his background and the type of cases he had previously worked on. It was all part of the due diligence process some people felt was necessary before they placed their trust in him. That did not mean that he needed to answer their questions though. Clients expected a high degree of confidentiality and he had no intention of abusing that simply to secure another client, even one as big as Westminster.

  “Gentlemen, I repeat, I have no idea what you are talking about. Now, is there anything else you would like to ask me?” His voice remained calm and showed no trace of annoyance or irritability.

  Weston responded first. “Mack, don’t be offended by our approach. We haven’t met before and we simply want to discuss how you approach things and whether you are up to the task we have for you.”

  Again there was silence for a few moments before Mack broke it by saying “I can understand your need to establish that. However, I have absolutely no intention of confirming which clients I have worked for in the past, let alone discussing individual cases in detail. I am happy to discuss how I would act in certain situations and also under what circumstances I would disassociate myself from a case. We can also discuss what my legal obligations are in respect of information I obtain whilst working with you, whether I need to report certain matters to the police etc. Unfortunately that is as far as it goes.”

  Mack wasn’t sure what reaction he would get and he wondered whether he would have to go back to Lindy and tell her Westminster had decided not to appoint them. One of Lindy’s ongoing concerns was cash flow. His business was profitable, but as she often
told him ‘Heaven is a healthy cash flow’ so she was always focused on getting paid in full and on time. For that to happen he had to secure the work and they needed high fee paying clients to offset some of the pro-bono cases, as she like to term them with her slight American twang, he occasionally took on. Whilst he knew she would be fully supportive of his stance on this issue, he didn’t relish going back to tell her they weren’t being appointed.

  Weston seemed lost in thought for a few moments and as the silence dragged on Mack felt little need to break it. The ball was in their court and he had to wait to see how they dealt with it. After what seemed like an eternity Weston said “Mack can I get you some more water?” He walked to the phone on a side table at the far end of the room and asked for more water to be bought in. As he returned to his chair he shrugged his shoulder and remarked “Sometimes you have to go with your gut reaction. Okay, let’s take it further, Paul, will you explain what our problem is.”