‘Benzoylmethylecgonine,’ Neil said, ‘I’d swear.’
‘Can you speak like a normal person?’ Geoffrey protested. ‘What’s this benzol-thing-a-bob? I can’t even get my tongue in a suitable position to pronounce it correctly.’
‘Cocaine.’ Neil sighed. ‘What did you learn at school?’
‘Not a lot, I was busy – you may say distracted. I wrote messages to the girl sitting five rows in front of me. My God, she was so beautiful. But she never replied. Kind of sad, actually.’
‘Liar!’ Susan snorted. ‘I’m sure you dragged her into the first dark corner you could find.’
‘On second thoughts, yes, there might be an element of truth in what you’re saying. But it was so long ago.’ Geoffrey winked at her.
‘You mean Cynthia was drugged?’ Amanda came back to the present; she was scandalized.
‘Positive,’ Neil replied. ‘There’s no doubt – and that slimy brother of hers, Lewis, as well. I’m ready to swear that they share the same habit.’
Amanda suddenly felt sobered. These people had everything – and would ruin their lives for the sake of a silly white powder and a short-term kick.
They dropped Amanda off at her hotel and she went straight to bed – tired, slightly tipsy, and, for the first time, forgetting completely to think about Daniel.
It had been a remarkable evening.
Christmas in Hong Kong
Amanda and Susan had a great time discovering Hong Kong, often in the tow of Geoffrey who didn’t hide the fact that he was thoroughly enjoying their visit. Time was flying and suddenly it was time to celebrate Christmas.
It was a small and intimate party, made up of the four of them only. They sat around a large table in Geoffrey’s dining room, celebrating Christmas Day with a festive lunch that would stretch seamlessly into high tea and dinner. The table was decorated with crackers, candles and artificial fir branches – all placed upon a colourful printed tablecloth. The tablecloth itself was teeming with joyful, albeit squinting angels, sleighs loaded with parcels, smiling reindeer and a whole army of Santas. The latter appeared to be slightly drunk as they wore strange and very impish impressions on their faces. Apparently the Santas had enjoyed a good dose of vodka before setting out for their daunting task.
The tall evergreen plastic Christmas tree in Geoffrey’s living room was glittering and blinking in changing rhythms in all the colours of the rainbow. Amanda had to suppress a slight shudder, thinking with longing of her Christmas tree at home: always a natural fir, tastefully dressed in red and gold and decorated with glass baubles and carved figurines that had been handed down from generation to generation in her family. No blinking lights were ever allowed across the threshold of her home.
Geoffrey looked anxiously at his guests. ‘I hope you like it. I’m not really used to celebrating Christmas at home. Usually I go to a restaurant but I thought it would be nicer having you guys over here. I just light a candle and flip on the TV to watch a sentimental movie when I’m on my own.’
‘It’s simply wonderful,’ Amanda quickly replied, banning all previous heretical thoughts.
‘Didn’t you tell me that you don’t like blinking trees? Don’t try to be polite.’
‘Don’t worry, it’s… awesome.’ Amanda smiled, trying to reassure him and happy to have found an adjective that sounded sufficiently positive.
‘You did an amazing job, dear. It’s lovely. I adore this tablecloth! Look at the angels, aren’t they cute?’ Susan joined the praise.
‘Well… I’m not really competent when it comes to matters of decoration.’ He turned to Geoffrey. ‘But that bottle over there looks promising. A Bordeaux Superieur – let me have a closer look.’ Neil had clearly his own priorities.
Geoffrey had ordered a pre-cooked festive dinner and all they needed to do was to serve the starters (far too many) and warm up the centrepiece consisting of a stuffed turkey, gravy, and traditional trimmings.
‘It’s a stuffed turkey but what they don’t tell you,’ Geoffrey sighed, ‘is that one feels stuffed after eating it. Would anybody care for dessert now?’
‘No way! Not before next year… I’m so full,’ Susan moaned. ‘My God, eating so much is a sin, but it was delicious. I couldn’t stop!’
Time to exchange gifts. As was customary, they all adhered to the venerated etiquette of exclaiming suitable and hopefully convincing ahs and ohs whilst opening their parcels. Amanda was curious (a bad habit, she knew) to discover what Geoffrey might give her – not that she had really expected any gift at all, having been invited only a week before Christmas. But she hoped all the same that he might have thought of buying a gift…
She was therefore truly delighted when he handed her a beautifully wrapped parcel, and she opened it with great care.
‘How beautiful!’ she exclaimed.
Geoffrey had given her the beautiful but outrageously expensive t-shirt she had seen on her first day in Hong Kong. He must have taken pains to return secretly to the exclusive shop they had visited together when she had been searching a gift for Susan.
Amanda looked at him. ‘You shouldn’t have done this. It’s lovely, but…’
Geoffrey beamed with joy, happy as a small boy that his surprise had worked.
‘Do you like it? Really?’
Amanda forgot all her reserve and hugged him. ‘It’s lovely, and Susan will confirm it’s my favourite colour. But you’re mad, Geoffrey, it’s far too expensive.’
Geoffrey shrugged, visibly pleased. He dived into his own heap of parcels that he opened with an almost childish glee. Not knowing what to buy for him, Amanda had opted for a sweatshirt. Immediately he proclaimed that he had never owned anything more tasteful and comfortable and he returned the hug.
After they had worked their way through all the parcels, they opened a bottle of champagne, and the party continued. Christmas songs were playing and Susan insisted that they should all join in – which they did until they broke down with laughter as Neil never succeeded in hitting any note.
‘What’s the plan for tomorrow?’ Susan enquired, looking with pride at the small but elegant ruby ring that Neil had given her for Christmas. Knowing her betrothed quite well, she had told Amanda she was secretly a bit concerned that Neil might forget the mere fact that Christmas existed at all and that people generally were in the habit of exchanging gifts. Whenever any kind of scientific riddle surfaced, which was often the case, Neil was bound to forget the present. What a wonderful surprise and token of his love this ring was.
Amanda winked at Neil, who winked back gratefully. It would remain their little secret that Amanda had dragged Neil into a jeweller’s shop immediately after her arrival, avoiding a major crisis on Christmas Day.
Geoffrey started to speak after he had filled their glasses again. ‘I was planning to drive over to Lantau tomorrow, to show you one of the world’s largest Buddha statues. We can have lunch over there. In the evening Cynthia Li is throwing a party and she more or less insisted that I should bring all of you along. If that’s ok with you, I’ll accept the invitation.’
‘We’re invited back to David’s house then?’
‘No, she’s having her party in a smart hotel – I think she mentioned the Mandarin. It’s a bit old fashioned but still the height of elegance here. Admittedly they have the best afternoon tea in town.’
‘Why not?’ Susan answered. ‘But it depends on you – just do as you would normally.’ She laughed.
‘Let’s go then. The Mandarin hotel alone is worth the effort. You’ll see.’
The next morning Amanda had no option but to skip breakfast; the mere idea of bacon or eggs repelled her. Would she ever be able to digest yesterday’s orgy of lavish food? Not limiting himself to the turkey and its trimmings, Geoffrey had insisted that they must sample the genuine Scottish plum pudding he had air freighted at great expense from home. Afterwards they had all felt like stuffed turkeys themselves, stuffed to the point of being ready to explode.
/> While she was drinking her coffee, Amanda looked at her smartphone. The list of messages seemed endless. People had apparently given up writing Christmas cards or letters; most of her friends had switched to sending messages and pictures – she estimated about a billion. Dutifully she started to reply until she reached Daniel’s message, the last one of a whole series of messages, telling her how much he was missing her.
Daniel! Guiltily Amanda realized that she hadn’t even thought about Daniel, she had been so busy. Almost automatically her fingers started typing a message that she was missing him too. She was just about to push the send button when she woke up and stopped herself.
‘I can’t do that! Am I totally hopeless?’ she scolded herself.
After erasing several drafts of replies, she finally settled for a polite but noncommittal Christmas greeting. Then she composed a much longer message to her mother telling her what a wonderful time she was having in Hong Kong whilst trying her best to banish Daniel’s face from her mind.
After a quick cup of coffee she joined her three friends who were waiting for her in Geoffrey’s Land Rover, ready to leave for the promised excursion to the island of Lantau. Luckily the weather held its earlier promise, being rather a warm spring than a true winter day.
Kowloon was as crowded as ever; thousands of cars must have been heading in the same direction. It was therefore a considerable time before they managed to clear the last traffic jam and were able to head for the New Territories and then further on towards the same gigantic bridges that Amanda had already crossed on her arrival from the airport. They crossed the succession of tall bridges spanning the vast harbour until they arrived at their destination: the island of Lantau where the landscape and even the roads changed dramatically. The busy city was far away and they were driving on narrow roads through a lush tropical countryside. The roads wound up and down steep hills until they reached the famous plateau where the gigantic statue of Buddha had been erected.
The venerated statue of the golden Buddha towered at the top of a steep hill. A marble staircase led towards the majestic statue, which depicted a meditating, ageless Buddha. Enthusiastically they took the obligatory photos before they tackled the steep ascent. Amanda tried to count the steps, but it was hopeless; there were far too many leading uphill.
They hadn’t even climbed halfway up when Susan moaned, ‘Which genius had the idea of climbing several hundred steps?’
‘I don’t remember, but I fully agree. It’s a silly idea.’ Geoffrey coughed. ‘Climbing these steps is worse than my fitness training. I must confess – in case you missed the fact – I’m not precisely an athletic type of a person.’
Amanda stopped, breathing hard. ‘Do I really need to climb all these steps? They seem to be multiplying under my feet.’
‘One could argue that we’re enlightened already and don’t really need to make it to the top,’ Susan suggested.
But Neil continued mounting the steep stairs unabashed. ‘Come on, don’t spoil the fun. Isn’t this a great view? I’m really curious to discover what’s up there.’
Susan groaned and followed her betrothed who sped up the stairs at amazing speed.
At the top of the hill, standing at the feet of the Buddha, they were rewarded with a beautiful vista spanning numerous picturesque islands and the Pearl River delta.
‘See, I was right, it was worth a little effort.’ Neil beamed. Susan was still fighting for her breath and ignored this remark. They walked around the building that housed the statue and learned the story of the young prince Gautama and his conversion to the enlightened Buddha.
As they walked on they discovered a monastery that had been erected in the neighbourhood of the statue. Amanda was immediately fascinated by the atmosphere of peace and worship the place breathed, despite the presence of many tourists; it was truly a holy place.
As they strolled leisurely towards the temple, where a good dozen monks were reciting their daily prayers, the door of the shrine was wide open. They could smell the burning incense and listened to the monotonic chants of the Buddhist ceremony. Amanda was still spellbound when a nun stepped out of the shadow and greeted her and Geoffrey. Mistaking them for a couple she smiled at them and blessed them solemnly.
‘I needed you to come to Hong Kong to receive a heavenly blessing.’ Geoffrey smiled at Amanda. ‘I take this as a very good omen.’
Cynthia’s party was held in grand style. David Li’s sister had reserved the hotel’s grand ballroom; no expense had been spared. From the entrance to the tables up to its high ceiling the ballroom had been decorated in an abundance of traditional seasonal colours of red, ivy green, and gold. A lot of gold, Amanda thought, gazing with awe at the glamorous setting as they arrived.
A live band was providing background music, playing a mix of popular Christmas tunes and evergreens. It was quite difficult, though, to distinguish any particular song as the band filled the grand ballroom with an inoffensive musical mishmash that sounded like a single tune with no end to it.
‘Are we at the wrong party?’ Susan asked critically.
‘Why? I can see Cynthia standing there.’
‘This looks like Disneyland gone wild – or even worse – like a party organized by the Hong Kong jewellery association,’ Susan snorted. ‘Just look over there – have you ever seen so many necklaces, diamonds or assorted jewellery in a single place before? Even if the Queen was here wearing her favourite tiara she’d be feeling grossly underdressed tonight.’
Susan had a point; most of the ladies attending the party were wearing jewellery worth a fortune. Nothing was subtle. Cynthia was no exception – she wore a heavy ruby-and-diamond studded necklace, a watch, and three bracelets in the form of winding snakes. The golden snakes were encrusted all over with tiny diamonds and had vicious-looking ruby eyes.
‘How wonderful to see you again,’ Cynthia crooned and stepped forward to greet her guests. Jacky, who was playing host standing next to Cynthia, welcomed them in the same, slightly exaggerated tones. Niceties were exchanged while Amanda admired Cynthia’s bracelets.
‘Yes, aren’t they wonderful? My Christmas gift from Jacky. He had them made especially for me, to match my necklace. What a wonderful surprise!’ She caressed his arm lovingly.
‘Just a trifle, my love. Nothing will ever be good enough for you,’ Jacky said, patting her arm. ‘I thought you might like them.’
‘They’re lovely!’ Cynthia radiated with happiness. ‘What a wonderful idea – I love my Jacky so much!’
The next guests were approaching and Amanda took their arrival as a cue to move on.
‘Did you really like her jewellery?’ Susan whispered. ‘I think it’s a bit overdone – too much bling-bling nouveaux riche for my taste.’
‘If you have a problem with bling, we’d better leave immediately,’ Amanda said matter-of-factly. ‘The room is filled with bling. I feel massively underdressed. I should go and join the waiters.’
‘Yes, it’s terrible – I don’t feel underdressed, the fact is I am underdressed… but isn’t it sort of impressive in a freaky kind of way? The jewellery is amazing. I mean, I wouldn’t mind owning just the odd piece here and there… but not the snake bracelets, they’re making me shiver,’ Susan whispered.
‘True, those horrid flashing red eyes made them look so vicious,’ Amanda agreed. ‘I thought exactly the same. No way could I ever wear something like that.’
‘And they cover half of her arm, like Hollywood vintage trash,’ Susan added. ‘Now I remember – Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra, she had the same kind of bracelets.’
‘Cynthia is certainly less stunning than the Taylor was in her best days, that’s for sure. Well, ladies, in Hong Kong the women like to parade their jewellery, the men their watches,’ Geoffrey said. ‘Did you see Jacky’s watch, by the way? It must have cost a fortune. Let me guess… that must have been Cynthia’s gift for him.’
‘I can’t see David – isn’t he invited? I have some questions rega
rding the research money he was ready to pledge. I hope he’ll turn up tonight,’ Neil asked, clearly not caring about jewellery or trashy bracelets.
He was just about to finish his sentence when David appeared in the entrance, accompanied by an ethereal beauty who walked – or to be more precise, floated – on high-heeled shoes gleaming with crystals that matched a tight black dress strewn all over with the same glittering crystals. As she passed under the lights of the grand ballroom, the crystals sparkled in all colours of the rainbow.
‘What a spectacular dress.’ Susan sighed. ‘I’d give a finger to own it.’
‘Here’s our David and his girlfriend. Quand on parle du diable, on voit sa queue,’ Amanda whispered. That’s what they say in France, at least.’
Geoffrey grinned. ‘My French is pretty basic, but I think I got it: “When you talk about the devil, you see his tail.” Right?’
‘You’ve got one hundred points, sir.’
David’s greeting with his sister was polite but predictably cool.
‘I’m surprised David’s shown up at all. I thought he was at odds with his sister.’ Susan frowned.
‘Oh, he wouldn’t dare to snub her invitation – there’re already enough rumours circulating about the Li family feud in Hong Kong,’ Geoffrey said.
They watched David moving slowly through the crowd, stopping frequently to exchange kisses and greetings. Whatever rumours Cynthia might be spreading they certainly hadn’t affected her brother’s popularity in the city.
‘Let’s go the buffet,’ Geoffrey suggested, ‘I’m hungry. It must be the effect of climbing those steps in Lantau.’
To her great surprise Amanda felt hungry as well, although she had been prepared yesterday to swear never to touch food again before New Year’s Eve.
The buffet was a grandiose affair, as expected. Stretching over several tables it was decorated with illuminated ice carvings that were dripping under the heat of the colourful spotlights. The buffet catered for every whim: from seafood to meat, from Western to Chinese delicacies, all first class, money had been no object.
Death in Hong Kong Page 6