by Ian Hamilton
She had barely fallen asleep when her cellphone rang. She cursed softly, but reached for it.
“Ava Lee.”
“It’s Mummy.”
“Where are you?” Ava said, sitting up.
“At home. Did you get my text?”
“Yes, and thanks for the Italy offer.”
“Aren’t you going to ask me how much I won?”
“No,” Ava said.
“Close to forty thousand dollars, and Cindy and Maggie each won about twenty. The casino was happy to see us leave.”
“How many hours did you gamble?”
“Twelve or thirteen, but we took time out for dinner.”
“I can’t imagine sitting that long.”
“I’ve gone for as long as thirty-six hours.”
“I know,” Ava sighed.
“Anyway, I just got off the phone with Marian. I’m going to fly to Ottawa in a few days to spend some time with the girls and to get the trip to Disneyland organized. She won’t agree to anything without talking to Bruce, so I’ll be there when she asks. That will make it harder for him to say no.”
“I think that’s the best way to handle it.”
“And have you told Maria about Italy?”
“Mummy, with everything going on here, I’ve hardly had a chance to breathe.”
“Well, tell her as soon as you can. I’m going to the bank today to deposit thirty thousand.”
Ava started to ask about the other ten but then stopped herself. She had no doubts it would be reserved for mah-jong or baccarat, or both.
“She’ll be thrilled.”
“Good. Now I’m going to head to bed and try to get some sleep.”
Ava put down the phone with an enormous sense of relief. Her mother wasn’t poor by any means, but she tended to push the outer edges of her monthly income. Ava had offered, several times, to give her mother a substantial amount of money, but Jennie had declined. She had a husband whose obligation it was to look after her. If her children wanted to spoil her now and again, that was okay, but it was Marcus Lee’s responsibility to support her, and she wasn’t going to give him any excuse to avoid it.
Ava fell asleep almost at once and entered a dream in which she was arriving at an old, grungy airport. She had to fight to retrieve her bag from the carousel and then get past a long customs line, where male officers were making passengers undress. She began to prepare herself to resist. She wasn’t taking her clothes off for anyone, and if she had to fight she would. As she reached the first officer, two more appeared and the three of them stood side by side.
“Strip,” the one in the middle said.
“No.”
He turned his head and smiled at his colleagues. They started to move towards her, all of them grinning.
“Ava,” a familiar voice said.
Behind the officers materialized a small man in a black suit, his white shirt buttoned to the collar.
“Uncle, what’s going on here?”
“Nothing for you to concern yourself with,” he said. “Come with me.”
The middle officer swung around to face Uncle. Ava saw his fist clench and his arm coil. She was about to reach for it when it stopped in mid-air.
“Sir, I apologize,” the officer said to Uncle.
“You need to talk to your superiors,” Uncle said. “This young woman is with me.”
A phone rang. Ava looked around the customs area and couldn’t see where the ringing was coming from. She woke up, and it took her ages to realize it was her phone.
“Ms. Lee, this is Feng. I hope I’m not calling too late.”
“No, it’s okay.”
“We reached an agreement with the woman at Founders’ Bank. She’s printing documents as we speak.”
“Is she at the bank this late?”
“No, she’s at home, but she can access everything from there. The plan is to meet her tomorrow morning just outside Shanghai. She wouldn’t do half and half, but she has promised we can take all the time we want to go through the documents before paying her.”
“She’ll wait?”
“She took the day off work.”
“How much are we giving her?”
“Two hundred thousand renminbi. I know that’s more than Huan projected, but I didn’t think you’d mind.”
“No, it’s fine. Who will be meeting with her?”
“Me and Zheng.”
“The woman won’t know who you are?”
“Nope.”
“How much are we paying Zheng?”
“Twenty thousand RM.”
“What time is the meeting?”
“It’s at ten.”
“I’ll go to the bank in the morning to get her money.”
“Ms. Lee, I’ve got the cash here. Xu wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Call me Ava, and I wanted to pay for this myself.”
“You can’t. He’d kill me.”
First Suen and now Feng, Ava thought.
“I won’t argue,” she said.
“Thank you.”
“You said you’re meeting her outside of Shanghai, but how far out?”
“In Nanqiao. It’s a suburb only thirty to forty minutes from central Shanghai.”
“And where in Nanqiao is the meeting being held?”
“I told Zheng to rent a hotel room. I figured we’d want privacy, and if we need to check any of the documents we have somewhere for her to stay while we do.”
“What’s her name?”
“He calls her Lanfen.”
“Feng, I’m starting to think that I’d like to go to the meeting.”
“I was going to suggest the same thing,” Feng said slowly. “You may have some questions after you look at the documents, and she’ll be there to answer them. When she gets her money, we’ll want the transaction to be complete.”
“How are you going to get there?”
“I’m going to drive. If you want, I’ll pick you up at your hotel.”
“That would be fine.”
“I’ll be there around nine fifteen. I drive a red Toyota Reiz.”
“I’ll be at the entrance.”
Ava went to her computer and emailed May Ling. I have to leave the hotel early to go to a meeting that’s related to the Xu affair. I think it’s best if we skip breakfast. Call me when you get to Wuhan and I’ll bring you up to speed.
Then she sent one to Amanda. I don’t think I’ll be able to go to Pudong tomorrow. That other business I’m trying to deal with has raised its ugly head. I’ll call you when I get back, but my cell will be on in case you need me.
She started to get up and then saw that an email had arrived from Maria. She hesitated and then opened it.
I haven’t heard anything formal about the appointment extension yet, but the Consul-General seems to think it’s a done deal. And that’s got me thinking about my house. If the extension is granted then I have to decide whether to renew my lease. The landlord has been making noises about selling it and I’m unsure about what to tell him or what to do. Do you have any ideas? Maria wrote.
Well, she is trying to be subtle, Ava thought, but the last thing she needed right now was any more pressure. She felt herself slipping back into her old job mode, and when that took a grip, her habit had been to shut out the entire outside world with the exception of Uncle and those directly related to the case.
Maria, I think it’s premature to make a decision about your lease. It’s better to wait until you know for sure about the appointment extension. Now I’m involved in a project here that’s going to keep me occupied, so you may not hear from me for a few days. There’s nothing to worry about. I’ll touch base when I can. Love, Ava.
She shut down the computer and went back to bed.
( 12 )
She woke at eight after a peaceful sleep, brewed some coffee, and collected the newspapers from the door and quickly scanned them. It was nine o’clock by the time she had showered and dressed. She checked her mobile phone for voice messages and texts, and then went to her inbox. Both Amanda and May had emailed telling her not to worry about getting together and to just do whatever she had to do.
Ava looked at herself in the mirror before leaving the room. She had opted for a white Brooks Brothers button-down shirt and a pair of black slacks. She wore no makeup and her hair was tied back and fixed with her ivory chignon pin. It was a serious look for a serious meeting. At nine fifteen she exited the hotel carrying her Chanel bag. Inside was the Moleskine notebook that she had designated for the Tsai family.
The red Toyota Reiz was parked three cars down from the hotel entrance. Feng stood by the driver’s-side door reading a newspaper and smoking. He didn’t turn his head until Ava said, “Hey.”
He was wearing grey slacks and a navy blue blazer over a white polo shirt. He somehow looked younger than when she’d seen him at Capo. He was about five foot six and lean, and had a full head of grey hair.
“Ms. Lee.”
“Ava.”
“Yes, Ava, right on time.”
“Let’s go.”
A doorman rushed to the car and opened the passenger door for Ava. She climbed in and then watched Feng give him a healthy tip.
“Please don’t smoke in the car,” she said to him as he got behind the wheel.
“I never do. My wife would kill me.”
“Between Xu and your wife, your life sounds as if it’s in constant danger,” Ava said.
“That’s true enough,” he said, and laughed.
They left the Peninsula and started the drive towards Nanqiao. Ava lost all sense of direction within minutes. Unlike her mother, who was a slave to her GPS, Ava liked to know where she was going without having to depend on a computer. Parts of cities like downtown Boston and London defeated her. The most perplexing was Hamilton, Ontario, where north and south were inverted; Ava had once driven hours trying to get back to a highway. Shanghai had the same effect on her.
“Everything is on schedule,” Feng said a few minutes after they left the Peninsula. “Zheng stayed at the hotel last night, and he’s already heard from Lanfen. She said she’d be there by ten.”
“Perfect. Does she have all the documents I asked for?”
“She told him she has lots of paper, but I can’t speak to the contents.”
The car was now on a highway and moving at a moderate speed. Ava saw a large sign for Fengxian and, underneath, a smaller one for Nanqiao. They were only twelve kilometres away.
“We’ll be there in no time,” she said.
“You can never predict traffic.”
“I don’t mind being early,” Ava said, and then glanced sideways at Feng. His eyes were intently focused on the highway. “How long have you been dealing with the Tsai family?” she asked.
His expression didn’t change. “Directly, for the past five years; indirectly, for another ten.”
“Indirectly?”
“Before I became White Paper Fan — the gang’s administrator — I helped my predecessor cope with them.”
“It doesn’t sound like you’re too fond of the family.”
“I’ve only met Tsai Men.”
“What do you think of him?”
“He’s a prick.”
“That’s blunt.”
Feng shrugged. “Do you remember Ling, from the dinner the other night?”
“Tsai’s man?”
“Yeah. He does for Men what I do for Xu. In private, I’ve never heard him say a kind or complimentary word about his boss. He calls him ‘the greedy cocksucker,’” Feng said, and then looked at Ava. “I don’t mean to offend you with my language, but that is exactly how he always refers to him.”
“Nice.”
“I can’t blame Ling. You should hear the way Men talks to him. It’s like he’s shit on his shoe. When Xu isn’t around, Men treats me the same way.”
“Why doesn’t Ling leave?”
“He only puts up with it for the money. I think he’d leave if he could.”
“And he really thinks Tsai Men is that greedy?”
“Him and his entire family. According to Ling, the way they act, you would think the family owned Jiangsu.”
“Does he know the other family members very well?”
“He works a bit like a Straw Sandal,” Feng said and then paused. “Sorry, I don’t know if you know that term.”
“I think I do. It means he functions as a go-between?”
“Yeah, something like that. At one time he supposedly worked for the Governor’s wife.”
“Did he tell you that?”
“Not directly, but he hinted at it more than once over a few beers.”
“In Indonesia they used to call the wife of President Sukarno ‘Mrs. Ten Percent.’”
“I wish it was ten percent with the Tsais.”
Ava thought about the drug lab and the 50 percent demand and wondered if that was what Feng was hinting at, but she didn’t pursue the point. She didn’t know exactly what Xu had told Feng about how much she knew, and it wasn’t ground she wanted to test.
“Has he ever talked to you about who else is giving them money?”
“No.”
“But you agree it makes sense that if they’re taking money from you, then they’re taking it from a bunch of other people,” Ava said.
“Yeah, but — and I don’t mean to be rude — I’m still not sure where you think it leads. They’re clever. Everything is disguised as a legitimate business transaction, and they’re careful to keep the old man out of it. You never hear his name.”
“And you’ve never met the sister or her husband?”
“No. Since I’ve been involved it’s been only Men and Ling.”
“Still, I figure they all have to be in on it.”
“Maybe, but they’re just taking advantage of the system. They didn’t create it, but they sure as hell have figured out how to use it to their maximum advantage.”
“From what I’ve heard, that doesn’t make them unusual in China.”
“No, but there have to be limits.”
“What kind of limits can you put on someone who has so much power?” Ava said. “From what I’ve read, a governor has an almost unlimited amount as long as he doesn’t step into Beijing’s political territory, and as long as he keeps the provincial party secretary onside. Tsai Lian has obviously succeeded at doing both of those things.”
“The secretary is his cousin,” Feng said.
“So I was told.”
“That makes it easy, no?”
“I guess.”
“As for the other part, there’s always someone in Beijing threatening to do something about corruption — except it never happens.”
“I’ve read about senior officials being charged.”
“It’s always the low-level officials that they make an example of, or if it’s anyone of any substance, then it’s someone who’s screwed up politically, and launching corruption charges is the easiest way to get at them. They’re all corrupt, every last one of them. It’s all about degree.”
“Every system has its weaknesses,” Ava said. “And in fact, the senior Communist Party leaders don’t operate much differently than wealthy people in the West.”
“Except they’re not supposed to be capitalists,” Feng said as he pulled off the highway.
He made two right-hand turns and came to a sudden stop in front of a shabby concrete building. Ava would never have thought it was a hotel, but the neon sign above the double glass doors read THE NANQIAO FRIENDSHIP HOTEL.
“We’re fifteen minutes early,” he said.
Feng got out his cellphone as he led the way into the lobby, which had a dirty white tile floor and was furnished with two visibly worn leather couches and four chairs. “They’re in 309,” he said. “Lanfen is already there.”
They waited five minutes for the elevator. When it finally reached the floor, they ran almost directly into a tall, thin, bald man. Ava moved to one side to let him pass, but Feng extended his hand. “Good to see you again,” he said.
“You too,” the man said. Ava assumed this was Zheng. He looked at her. “And this is?”
“My name is Jennie Kwong,” Ava said, using a familiar alias. “I’m an accountant. I’ve been hired to examine the paperwork.”
“Feng said he was bringing someone. I just didn’t expect a woman.”
“Does it make a difference?” Ava asked.
“Of course not,” he said.
The door was open when they got to the room. Ava walked in first and saw a woman sitting at a small round table near the window. She was in her mid-forties, Ava guessed, and was heavily made up, with her hair piled high. The makeup and hair were in sharp contrast to the blue jeans and plain red cotton blouse she was wearing.
“Hi, I’m Jennie Kwong,” Ava said. “I’m here to look at those documents.”
The stack of files looked to be close to two feet high.
“All of them?” Lanfen said.
“As many as I think is necessary.”
“That could take hours.”
“I think that’s a fair estimate,” Ava said. She turned to Feng. “Why don’t you take Zheng and Lanfen out for an early lunch? Come back in a couple of hours. If I need more time, I’ll tell you then.”
“Okay.”
Ava looked again at the files. “How long did it take you to copy these?”
“I worked most of the night.”
“Thank you,” Ava said.
Half an hour later Ava couldn’t help thinking that Lanfen had let them off incredibly cheaply.