The large limousine with its dark-tinted panes drew up slowly just besides David’s yacht, and Wu Junior helped his grandfather to alight, a difficult undertaking in view of his massive belly. Finally, Wu Senior had freed himself from his seat and waddled along the gangway that was luckily made from solid steel.
Amanda had been expecting this moment with trepidation, but she was only awarded a bland glance, both men pretending never to have seen her before.
David started the introductions. ‘I think you know my friend Geoffrey already. He’s brought another guest along – may I present Miss Amanda Lipton.’
Both men shook her hand and Amanda felt a sudden urge to wash her hands as soon as she touched the wobbly and slightly sweaty hand of Wu Senior.
‘Nice meeting you,’ he mumbled.
‘Nice to meet you.’ She forced herself to smile broadly. ‘I think we’ve met already, maybe a year or two ago? I don’t recollect where exactly, though.’
Mr Wu’s eyes opened wider for a second. ‘Like a poisonous toad that’s sizing up its prey,’ Amanda reflected with a shiver. ‘I feel like a human fly.’
‘Now you mention it, Miss Lipton, I also recollect that we must have met already. But it’s a long time ago, as you said.’ He gasped; the short walk over the gangway must have cost him a considerable effort. Not finding Amanda worthy of any additional attention he moved his focus onto David. ‘Nice boat, David, maybe a bit small. Mine is bigger.’
David laughed. ‘You wanted confidentiality, that’s what you get. Next time I’ll invite you on the Seabreeze III, but she’s moored in Miami now. She’ll be more your style. Come, make yourself comfortable. It’s a bit early for cocktails, what can I offer you?’
The old Mr Wu slumped immediately into a comfortable deckchair behind him. ‘Chinese tea, please. The same for my grandson – our family loves tea.’ His grandson nodded obediently; Amanda could only marvel at this change of attitude. Was this the same man who had intimidated her only yesterday in her hotel room? Had she been dreaming?
‘What about you, Amanda?’ David woke her from her thoughts.
‘A coffee would be lovely, if it isn’t too much trouble?’
‘Not at all, I’ll have the same actually. Geoffrey, what about you?’
‘Joining in for a coffee! Nothing better to get me going in the morning,’ Geoffrey replied. David gave the orders in Chinese to a servant clad in a spotless white uniform who had been waiting unobtrusively in the background.
Fresh coffee and tea arrived only minutes later when the small group had settled down in the remaining deckchairs. David did his best to keep the flow of conversation going; luckily there were enough topics about the perilous state of the world economy and the rollercoaster prices of raw materials to trigger genuine interest for lengthy discussion, whilst being sufficiently innocuous. The delicate topics would follow later.
In the meantime the yacht had left the marina and was sailing on the open sea, offering them an amazing panorama with Hong Kong Island on one side and the mainland on the other. Geoffrey stood up. ‘Amanda and I will take a stroll to the front deck if you don’t mind. Amanda, may I invite you for a bit of sightseeing – maybe followed by some sunbathing on the front deck?’
Amanda got the cue. ‘Of course, what a lovely idea. Will you excuse us?’
David and his guests replied in unison that they wouldn’t mind at all. Did Wu Junior look a little relieved?
Geoffrey led her to the front where they settled comfortably on thick mattresses. ‘I think we’ve discussed a good chunk of the world’s problems already.’ He smiled. ‘I think it was about time to leave the three of them alone so they might discuss their own business without being disturbed by us.’
‘Yes. Mr Wu certainly didn’t come to drink tea. Just walking up the gangway must have been a major exercise for him. Do you think they’ll find an agreement?’
‘Chances are good. I’m not really in David’s confidence, but he has an idea to swap some companies and pool their interests, as otherwise the mainland Chinese shareholders will have the majority and that might be even worse in his eyes. The time of Hong Kong’s supremacy in business is drawing to an end. Both parties know that China now has the best cards in its hand. They need to find an understanding.’
Geoffrey changed the subject and pointed out several sights of special interest. The sun was doing its best to make Amanda forget that it was still winter in Hong Kong.
‘What a lovely day,’ she said, taking her jumper off.
‘Good idea! Let’s find a nice sunny corner.’
They found a sunny corner that protected them from the cool breeze and stretched out lazily.
‘I love a holiday like this. But sitting here in the sun makes me thirsty. What about you, Amanda, do you fancy an orange juice?’
‘That sounds like one of your best ideas ever. Be careful – if you don’t stop pampering me I’ll have a hard time getting back to reality when I’m home and have to start teaching again.’
Geoffrey laughed and jumped up. ‘Give me two minutes and I’ll be back.’
In the end it took almost ten minutes for Geoffrey to come back with two glasses in his hands.
‘My apologies, but I forgot that we’re on the boat of a rich man. There was no way to convince the stewards that bottled juice would be just fine. They insisted we have it freshly squeezed.’
‘Apologies accepted, sir.’ Amanda smiled and took a long sip from the straw. ‘Mm, that’s delicious! It was certainly worth waiting for. What are our conspirators doing, cutting each other’s throats?’
‘Certainly not watching fish or their fellow sharks. They’re standing at the rear reeling, talking and gesticulating. No agreement yet, if you ask me. On the contrary, it doesn’t look like a particularly smooth discussion…’
‘I think we chose the better part here. Isn’t it lovely?’
Amanda sipped her juice, thoroughly enjoying herself. Could there be anything better than having a glass of fresh juice combined with lying under a light breeze, plenty of sun and a pleasant companion whilst cruising the sea? Her idle glance wandered around. They had already left the narrow strait that separated the Island of Hong Kong from the mainland and were heading further into the open sea that was littered with small rocky islands, most of them overgrown with lush tropical vegetation.
‘Doesn’t this scenery look like a film set, something to do with pirates?’ Amanda remarked lazily. The sun and the swaying boat were lulling her into a state of blissful sleepiness. ‘I’m just waiting for Jonny Depp alias Jack Sparrow to appear any moment.’
‘Yeah, could be,’ came the sleepy reply next to her. ‘Maybe he has a Chinese cousin. I hope you won’t mind if you hear me snoring soon.’
‘It’s just a question who’ll be asleep first, I guess,’ she replied, watching the reflections of the sun glittering on the water – like a net of diamonds that had been thrown randomly across the sea.
Suddenly she noticed a shadow almost flying above the water. ‘Wow, look, isn’t that boat over there going very fast?’ Amanda cried out, drowsiness gone. ‘Are there any races going on this weekend? Look, Geoffrey, isn’t that a bit dangerous?’
Geoffrey frowned, looking for the boat Amanda was pointing at. ‘That’s not a race boat, Amanda, it’s a speedboat. It’s a bit unusual to see – especially during daytime. Usually the Chinese mafia uses that kind of boat. Unless the police can get hold of a helicopter fast, they never stand the slightest chance of catching them.’
Amanda watched the boat as it sped closer. It was quite big; foaming water was gushing from its roaring engines. The boat was so fast that it seemed to fly over the water.
Geoffrey started to shout, ‘Is the guy crazy? Stop!’
Amanda saw that the speedboat was now racing at full speed directly towards their yacht. Geoffrey closed his arms around her protectively, and they waited for the crash.
But the yacht’s captain must have realized the danger as he
made a sharp U-turn, sirens and loudspeakers blasting across the sea. The speedboat turned and changed course seconds before it might have collided with the yacht, coming so close that Amanda could see the members of the crew, their faces hidden by scarves.
Motors howling, the speedboat disappeared out of sight behind the next island while the yacht swayed like a nutshell and almost capsized.
‘These damned idiots!’ Geoffrey shouted. ‘Are you all right?’
‘Yes, feeling dizzy, but all right. Luckily we were protected by this railing. Why did they do that?’
‘They wanted to capsize our yacht – that’s pretty obvious. But why? Let’s go and check on the others.’
Clinging to the railing of the yacht that was still swaying madly they crept back to the rear deck. They found Wu Junior and the stewards in a state of total panic. The engines of the yacht were howling as the gears were put into reverse; the captain was frantically trying to stop the boat. Amanda could see lifebuoys being thrown into the sea.
‘My grandfather!’ wailed Wu Junior.
‘Where’s David?’ asked Geoffrey.
‘Both men were taken unawares by the sudden movement and toppled into the sea, sir,’ the steward stammered, flushed. ‘The captain has already started the emergency procedure, sir. It all happened so fast. I saw the gentlemen in deep discussion but when the yacht swayed wildly they were thrown into the water.’
‘Why are both of you standing here doing nothing?’ shouted Geoffrey. Wu opened his mouth in protest but his lips moved silently like a fish on dry land, incapable of answering. Nobody must ever have dared to speak like this to the grandson of Hong Kong’s most powerful tycoon.
Quickly Geoffrey climbed up the ladder to scan the sea. ‘I think I can see someone! But he’s drowning,’ he shouted.
Not waiting for any reply, Geoffrey ripped his jumper off and jumped into the sea. Breathless, Amanda watched him swim towards the head she could see bobbing in and out of the foaming sea.
‘Are there any sharks around?’ she asked nervously as her eyes followed Geoffrey.
‘Yes, but mostly in summer,’ the steward replied.
‘I guess I’d better take that for a no.’
Soon Geoffrey had reached the drowning man. Amanda watched as he firmly got hold of him and swam back to the boat, holding the man with one arm, swimming with the other. From the slim build of the person he had rescued, this must be David. Amanda could only marvel at the ease with which Geoffrey managed to keep David’s head above the water whilst he steered him to the safety of the yacht.
All the sailors had gathered on deck to watch the rescue operation and cheered as Geoffrey hauled David onboard. David was numb, in shock, but alive.
‘Where’s my grandfather? Why didn’t you save my grandfather?’ howled Wu Junior. ‘You’ll regret this insolence!’
‘Hold your tongue or I’ll teach you to swim.’ Geoffrey was shaking with cold and anger. ‘First of all, I didn’t see your grandfather and second, he’s fat. You’d need a fully equipped lifeboat to rescue him. Why didn’t you jump into the water? Scared to get wet? Where did you see him disappear? Why are you just standing here arguing? Do something and stop menacing me, I’m not in the mood for jokes,’ Geoffrey shouted, visibly angry and still panting heavily from the strenuous exercise.
Wu Junior closed his mouth. His eyes were flashing with anger but he must have been able to see that Geoffrey was so worked up, any further reply might truly land him in cold water.
‘Where did you see your grandfather disappear?’ Geoffrey repeated his question. ‘Why didn’t you launch the lifeboat?’
‘I was in shock, I simply don’t remember,’ was the pitiful reply. ‘It all happened so fast. The captain should have launched the lifeboat. I’ll have him sued – and you too!’ He looked at David now.
Geoffrey only sighed. Quickly he climbed up to the bridge where the captain was already scanning the surface and dutifully they launched the lifeboat. The first helicopters soon appeared to be joined by police boats, as indeed the captain had immediately sent an emergency call. As both tycoons were celebrities not only the police but even the Chinese army was requested to help in the search.
But to no avail; Mr Wu had disappeared.
His grandson left David’s yacht to join the police boat and suddenly broke the awkward silence he had been keeping. Voice thick with hatred he hissed, ‘You’ll regret this, all of you! I’ll avenge my grandfather, that’s my sacred oath.’
‘Stop playing the idiot,’ David replied in a tired voice. ‘Who’s the only one who’ll profit from this? Certainly not me.’
‘Shut your mouth,’ Wu hissed back. ‘First you got rid of your sister, now you’ve killed my grandfather. I’ll have you prosecuted in China – they have capital punishment for people like you.’
As soon as the raging Wu was gone, David’s yacht returned to the marina and it seemed only natural for Geoffrey and Amanda to accompany him back home and make sure that he was firmly tucked into bed by his servants.
Later that night, as they drove back to Amanda’s hotel, Geoffrey spoke. ‘I think we’re all still in shock. Maybe I’d better leave my car in the parking lot and we’ll have a drink together. I could do with something stronger than water.’
‘This sounds like a plan. I just wonder… why do these things always happen to me?’ Amanda made a face. ‘Susan will say it’s typical. She leaves me alone for a day and I end up in trouble.’
‘You weren’t really alone, were you?’
‘You know what I mean. I seem to attract trouble. That makes me wonder, who’s behind all this? I can’t help thinking that Cynthia’s death must be linked – this can’t be sheer coincidence, just a random speedboat chasing us. There must be some master plan behind it.’
‘I tend to agree, Amanda. Someone’s having a go at the Li family. We’re talking about filthy rich people, so money must be taken into account. One winner is sure…’
‘Wu Junior!’
‘Yep, he’ll inherit a fat fortune now. He didn’t move a finger to get the lifeboats out, did you notice? So tempting to be his own master now.’
‘Now you say it, you’re absolutely right! He played the inconsolable grandson, but as you said, he didn’t move a finger to rescue his grandfather.’
‘Of course he’ll try to make everything David’s fault – blaming David will come in very handy for him. If he succeeds in getting David’s name smeared Wu Junior can take over the company in China that they’ve been battling over. David would be too busy to stop it. It’ll take years to clear his name in China.’ They were sitting in a cosy bar by now, two glasses filled to the brim with strong liquor in front of them. ‘I was amazed to see that David didn’t swim.’
‘Many people don’t know how to swim. I was impressed by your performance – congratulations – you saved David’s life today.’
Geoffrey grinned and couldn’t help looking a bit smug. ‘I spent some time studying in Australia. I don’t look it now but I was a lifeguard there, it helped make some extra money. And the girls loved us.’ A smile was playing on his lips; those must have been great times…
‘Baywatch style!’ Amanda was impressed. ‘You certainly didn’t lose your skills.’
He laughed. ‘Only my shape… But I guess it’s like riding a bicycle, once you know how to do it, you never forget.’
They sat a minute in a comfortable silence, then Geoffrey continued. ‘David was one of the top swimmers in the college swimming team, he was better than I’ve ever been. Did you see his reaction? He acted like a robot after he came out of the water.’
Amanda swallowed. ‘You mean…’
‘Someone had drugged him – and maybe Grandfather Wu as well. Not too much though, just enough to slow them down. Maybe a mild sedative in the tea.’
‘Which means that everything had been planned beforehand – and it leads us back to Wu Junior, doesn’t it?’
‘Maybe, Amanda, maybe. It’s all very p
uzzling.’
‘The worst thing is,’ Amanda sighed, ‘we’ve become part of this puzzle. Like it or not.’
‘Cheers, mate!’ Geoffrey replied. ‘Welcome to amazing and peaceful Hong Kong!’
The clash of the tycoons
The next day, Amanda and Geoffrey set out to visit David at his house, this time accompanied by Susan, who was nearly bursting from curiosity. When Amanda told her the story of their little island cruise, Susan nearly had a fit.
‘I leave you alone for one morning and what do you do? You immediately get involved into a fatal accident!’ she cried, scandalized.
They found David sitting in a comfortable lounge chair on his roof terrace, tucked in blankets but shielded from the sun by a large umbrella, a taupe coloured designer’s dream come true that must have cost a fortune.
‘Here comes my saviour,’ he exclaimed as soon as he spotted Geoffrey. ‘I guess this time I owe you more than just a bottle of wine.’
‘Less of the bullshit,’ Geoffrey replied cheerfully. ‘I wasn’t ready to buy the flowers for your funeral. That’s the Scot in me, we’re a thrifty bunch of people. How’re you doing, David? Feeling better?’
David hesitated but finally spoke. ‘Yes and no. It was quite a shock and I’m not sure if I’d been sitting here if it wasn’t for you. I simply don’t understand what was going on yesterday, it was like a bad dream. I’ve been grilled by the Hong Kong police special branch for two hours. Wu must have put the wind up them – hinted that it had all been staged by me to kill his grandfather and cover up Cynthia’s death. They had to admit though that killing myself during the exercise would have been overdoing things a bit and finally left me in peace. But I know that won’t be the end of the story. Wu will move heaven and earth to incriminate me. My lawyers are already working out a strategy to fight him.’
David sounded worried and tired and Amanda immediately felt a wave of sympathy for him. And yet, did she really know if he was as innocent as he appeared to be? He could have faked the drowsiness; sooner or later someone would have rescued him. Was he really the nice guy he seemed to be – or the evil man his sister Cynthia had always proclaimed him to be?
Death in Hong Kong Page 9