by Ian Hamilton
The question surprised her. “Does he have a problem?”
“No, he’d just like to see you. Truthfully, he doesn’t have many friends left since Uncle died. I try to get together with him every week or so,” Sonny said. “I think he’d also like to thank you for continuing to support him financially.”
“If he’s going to thank me, then I won’t have dinner with him,” Ava said. “He’s Uncle’s oldest and dearest ally and friend, and you know it was Uncle who asked me to look after him.”
“You would have anyway.”
“That’s beside the point.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Well, anyway, whatever he gets from me he’s earned, both from his days with Uncle and from the help he’s given me since Uncle died. We would never have been able to resolve the conflict with the gang in Guangzhou if he hadn’t helped us set up those meetings.”
“That is true,” Sonny said.
“So please tell Uncle Fong I’ll be happy to have dinner with him, as a friend. In fact, I’m free tonight, so ask him if he wants to join me somewhere,” Ava said.
“I’ll do that.”
“And Sonny, I’d like you to join us, as a friend to both of us.”
He twisted his head in her direction and she saw a rare smile cross his face. “I’d like that,” he said.
“What do you think he’d like best? There’s that noodle place near here that Uncle liked. Or how about Man Wah, the Chinese restaurant in the Mandarin?”
“There’s that hot pot restaurant near the Landmark Hotel. The two of them used to go there a lot.”
“Then tell him to meet us there at seven.”
“I’ll do it as soon as I drop you off,” Sonny said as he eased the car through the heavy Central traffic.
They reached the entrance to the Bond Building at five to three. “I can’t park on the street here,” Sonny said. “There’s an underground lot nearby. Call me when you’re finished the meeting.”
Ava nodded and then turned and walked through double glass doors into a spacious, marble-floored lobby. She took the elevator to the thirty-first floor and stepped out into a circular reception area.
“I’m Ava Lee and I’m here to see Ms. Burgess,” she said to the young woman at the reception desk.
“Yes, Ms. Lee, she’s expecting you. Let me show you the way to the boardroom.”
Ava was led into a room with a long wooden table surrounded by close to twenty leather and steel chairs. The table was made of a dark, dense wood that was scarred in several places, and it had eight thick legs that were carved from top to bottom. It wasn’t until Ava drew close that she saw the carvings were stylized dragons, their mouths agape near the tabletop, their tails wrapped around the feet.
“You’re admiring our table?” a voice said from the doorway.
Ava turned and saw a middle-aged Western woman in a light blue sweater set and a dark blue skirt cut below the knee. She was a bit taller than Ava, and thicker through the waist and shoulders. Her hair was cut into a loose bob with short bangs.
“Hello, Ms. Burgess.”
“Brenda.”
“The table looks like an antique.”
“It’s one of my husband’s most prized possessions. His great-great-grandfather was the first Bowlby to come to Hong Kong. He joined the Jardine Matheson trading company in 1845, just one year after it set up shop in Hong Kong and about fifteen years after it arrived in China. He eventually ran their Canton office. His son and his grandson after him worked for the firm. It was Richard’s father who broke the tradition by going into law, but he still maintained ties with the company. When Richard’s grandfather died, Richard’s father asked Jardine if he could buy something as a memento of his family’s time with the company. They allowed him to purchase this table. It dates back to the 1850s.”
“It’s fantastic, a combination of Western and Eastern.”
Brenda Burgess smiled and walked towards Ava with an outstretched hand. “While I’m glad to meet you, my husband was quite disappointed he couldn’t be here. He’s beginning to wonder if you really exist.”
Ava shrugged apologetically. “The last time I was in Hong Kong I was forced to cancel two meetings with him.”
“He told me it was three.”
“Maybe it was,” Ava said.
“And now that you’re finally here, he’s in the U.K. watching rugby.”
“Perhaps we’re not fated to meet.”
Brenda Burgess motioned to the table. “Let’s sit, shall we? Can I offer you anything to drink?”
“No, thank you,” Ava said.
Burgess went to the opposite side of the table so she was facing her. She pointed at the file Ava had in front of her. “Is that the purpose of this meeting?”
“It is indeed.”
“And you mentioned that it’s only indirectly connected to the Three Sisters.”
“That’s true.”
“Well, I’m here to listen.”
Ava opened her notebook and looked at the notes she’d made. “May Ling told me that you like to know everything about the work you’re asked to do.”
“Only because it usually helps us work more efficiently, and ultimately benefits the client.”
“I don’t think I can provide full details where this matter is concerned.”
“I see,” Burgess said slowly.
“It has nothing to do with trust. May has tremendous respect for you and your husband and the manner in which you operate,” Ava said. “My problem is that I gave my word to one of the parties involved that I would keep his name out of it.”
“Does May Ling know the party?”
“She does, but no one else.”
“That normally would be sufficient assurance, but I do have to ask you if this matter is in any way illegal.”
“No,” Ava said, finding the question a touch irregular.
“Then, as I said, I’m here to listen.”
“Thank you,” Ava said, opening her file. “Tell me, have you heard of the Tsai family?”
“From Nanjing?”
“The same.”
“I’ve certainly heard of them, and I have a rudimentary understanding of their background and standing.”
“Tsai Lian is the governor of Jiangsu Province. He’s a princeling, the son of Tsai Da-Xia, who was on the Long March with Mao and later was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee.”
“Yes, Chinese royalty.”
“Exactly,” Ava said.
“And doesn’t Tsai Lian’s cousin also hold a senior position in the province?”
“He’s the provincial secretary of the Communist Party.”
“What’s his name?”
Ava glanced at her notebook. “Ying Fa.”
“I should have remembered. I had a client who was trying to do business with the province and he ran afoul of Ying.”
“How so?”
“I can’t give you any details other than that money was expected to change hands and didn’t.”
“And the business came to nothing?”
Brenda just shrugged and smiled.
“We haven’t run into Ying yet, but it is early days,” Ava said.
“Do I take from that remark that Tsai Lian has had his hand out?”
Ava removed the spreadsheet from the file and passed it to Brenda. “This will help explain, but I haven’t made any copies yet.”
“Why don’t I get that done now.”
“That’s a good idea, and while you’re at it, could you have this page of my notebook copied as well?” Ava said, turning to the page where she’d drawn her last chart.
Brenda took the documents and then turned and picked up a phone that was on the credenza behind the table. “Vanessa, could you come into the boardroom, please?”
In less than a minute a tall young woman strode into the boardroom.
“Vanessa, this is Ava Lee. I think you know the name. She’s a partner with May Ling Wong and Amanda Yee in the Three Sisters,” Brenda said. “And Ava, this is Vanessa Ogg. She’s one of our best young lawyers, and she has in fact handled most of the due diligence and paperwork related to your company’s acquisitions.”
Ava looked up at a long, angular face that was more striking than pretty. The young lawyer’s sleek black hair was shoulder length and her eyes were a dark brown. “Ogg is a name I’ve never heard,” Ava said.
“It’s Scottish.”
“Ah.”
“The name originated around Aberdeen and is a sept of the Clan MacGregor. When James the First of England outlawed the MacGregors, he also banned any use of their name. The Oggs got caught up in that and the name fell into disuse.”
“How interesting,” Ava said. “It’s strange that a name should generate such a strong reaction. Mind you, I was in Indonesia on business not that long ago and met the members of a Chinese family who, like every other Chinese family in the country, were forced to change their name to an Indonesian one because Sukarno banned the use of their Chinese one.”
“Did it make them any less Chinese?” Brenda asked.
“Not in the least.”
“Unfortunately, there’s very little that’s Scottish about my father except for his name,” Vanessa said. “He was born in Hong Kong. My grandfather worked for the Swire Group and my grandmother was Chinese. As is my mother.”
Brenda held up the spreadsheet. “Vanessa, I hate to interrupt, but could you have this copied, along with this page of Ms. Lee’s notebook?”
“Of course.”
“And then come back and join us for the rest of the meeting.”
“Okay.”
When she left, Brenda said to Ava, “Vanessa is a rising star in the firm. That’s why I had her handle the Three Sisters business. Whatever it is you want done, I’ll most likely assign it to her, so it makes sense for her to sit in with us.”
“That’s not a problem.”
“Do jeh.”
“You speak Cantonese?”
“I try. Richard is fluent, but then he has his Hong Kong roots and was raised by an amah who spoke only Cantonese to him.”
Vanessa returned to the boardroom with Ava’s originals and two copies. She took a chair next to Brenda.
“Ms. Lee was starting to outline a problem she has with the Tsai family of Nanjing,” Brenda said, looking down at the spreadsheet. “You said this would help explain things,” she said to Ava.
“You’ll see I have identified a number of companies. The spreadsheet shows how much money has been going to some of them, where the money came from, and where the money was sent on to.”
“Do you mind if I ask you where you got this information?” Brenda asked. “It is quite specific and remarkably detailed.”
“I had access to company bank accounts. This is a summary. I have more information if it’s needed.”
“Can I ask how you came by that access?”
“I would rather you didn’t.”
Brenda nodded.
“There are individuals’ names attached to some of the companies on your chart,” Vanessa said.
“Yes.”
“Is there any connection between them, other than corporate?”
“They’re all linked to the Tsai family.”
“I see.”
“My hope is that when you find out more about the companies that don’t have names attached, that same link will be a constant.”
“New Age Capital, AKG Consulting, Shell Investments, and Mother of Pearl Investments,” Vanessa said.
“And KGS, which stands for Kitchen Giant Syndicate. There’s also another company called California Asian Trust. I’m not sure if they’re American or Chinese and they’re not on the chart,” Ava said.
“What exactly is it that you want to know?” Brenda asked.
“All I have right now are the company names and their banks. I’d like to see where and when they were incorporated. I’d like to know who they’re doing business with and what kind of businesses they actually are, because I don’t have a clue. A list of shareholders, including as much information as you can get on them individually, would be very helpful. And if there’s any way of finding out what assets these companies own or control, I would appreciate knowing.”
“That’s a fair amount of work,” Brenda said.
“Well, it could be even more, because I’d like the same information on every company you can link to those on my chart.”
“Can I use our Beijing people?” Vanessa asked her boss.
Brenda looked at Ava. “We have a law firm in Beijing we often call upon to assist us in this kind of search. They have better access to some records.”
Ava started to say no and then stopped. “You trust them completely?”
“We do.”
“They can’t know who the client is.”
“Well, actually, aside from you, I don’t know who the client is,” Brenda said.
“It’s me, personally. This has nothing to do with the Three Sisters.”
“All right.”
“And there also can’t be any mention of the name Tsai coming from your office in any of the inquiries. Just stick to the company names, and if Beijing notices the connections, put it down to coincidence.”
Brenda turned to Vanessa. “That seems clear enough. Will it be an issue with Beijing?”
“No.”
“Now, Ms. Lee, as I said before, this is quite a bit of work. How soon do you want to see results?”
“Tomorrow?”
“You’re joking, right?”
“Testing, and please call me Ava.”
“Vanessa, if I clear your workload, how soon can you get this information pulled together for Ava?”
“Three or four days, depending on Beijing.”
“What’s your hourly billable rate?” Ava asked.
The question seemed to catch both women off guard, and Vanessa looked at Brenda to answer.
“Our normal rate is six thousand Hong Kong dollars an hour, but we give a discount of ten percent to valued customers, and Three Sisters is valued,” Brenda said.
“I’m the client, not Three Sisters, so I don’t expect a discount,” Ava said. “And I appreciate that speed sometimes costs more. So, I’ll pay you ten thousand an hour if I can get a preliminary report by this time tomorrow.”
“How preliminary?” Brenda asked.
“I’ll want everything that Vanessa and your people in Beijing have been able to uncover after working full-time on this project from the time I leave your office. I don’t have any other conditions.”
“And after you get the report?”
“I’ll pay ten thousand an hour for follow-up on anything that I deem necessary.”
“I wasn’t referring to the rate. I was asking if you are going to be satisfied with a preliminary report.”
“I won’t know until I see it, but my instinct is telling me that I won’t be.”
“Good, because we don’t like to leave jobs only half done.”
“That’s a trait I share.”
“Vanessa, how soon can you start?” Brenda asked.
“If I can put the Consul file aside, I’ll get on it tonight.”
“Take as many trainee lawyers as you need, and call Beijing and get them started too.”
“Yes, Brenda.”
Brenda stared across the table at Ava. “You’ll get a report tomorrow. I’m not sure what will be in it, but we’ll do the best we can.”
“Thank you very much. Should I come here around the same time?”
“Why not.”
“
If I have any questions, who do I contact?” Vanessa asked as she stood.
“Call me,” Brenda said. “I’ll reach out to Ava.”
Ava watched the young lawyer leave the room. “She seems very capable.”
“She is, but then all of our people are.”
“May Ling has said that many times. She has tremendous respect for your firm.”
“We hold her in the same regard. She is a remarkable woman, and your young Ms. Yee has the makings of one as well. You were the only partner I’d never met, although I do have to say that the way your partners, and others, speak about you, I felt I knew you already.”
“Pardon?” Ava said, surprised by the reference to “others.”
“Excuse me, I didn’t mean to get personal,” Brenda said, shaking her head. “I’m just happy to finally meet you and to be able to tell my husband that you are not a phantom.”
( 19 )
It was nearly nine o’clock when Sonny dropped Ava off at the entrance to the Mandarin Oriental. They had just spent close to two hours together with Uncle Fong, exploring the wonders of hot pot at a favourite restaurant of Uncle’s.
The dinner didn’t start very well. After exchanging greetings, Sonny asked Uncle Fong if he had taken the hydrofoil ferry back from Macau. It was an innocent question, but Fong blanched and suddenly looked quite angry.
Ava knew he didn’t want to her to know he’d been in Macau, and she would have thought Sonny would know that as well, but obviously he didn’t. The main reason that Ava was supporting Uncle Fong financially was because of his addiction to roulette and, to a lesser extent, other table games. He had made millions during his career and lost it all. Uncle had willed him a substantial amount of money, but he’d burned through it in a few months. When Ava found out about this loss from Andy, another ex-colleague of Uncle’s and a friend of Ava’s, she had called Uncle Fong to confirm that it was true. He admitted it was. Ava asked him how much money he needed every month to maintain a respectable lifestyle. When he told her, she doubled the amount and then set up a regular monthly payment. If he lost it gambling, she thought, the pain would at least be short-term. And not once had she remonstrated with him about his problem. He needed her respect and support — he didn’t need to be scolded by a young woman.