The Water Rat of Wanchai

by Ian Hamilton

  “Fine,” he said, pouring himself a glass of water. “Now tell me, Ms. Lee, in what capacity are you affiliated with Mr. Seto?”

  She took her business card from the Chanel bag and held it at two corners as she presented it to Bates. “Our firm is the accountant of record for Dynamic Financial Services. Dynamic finances purchase orders and letters of credit and generally facilitates trade among Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America. One of Mr. Seto’s companies, Seafood Partners, has used Dynamic’s services extensively over the past six months and the principals have developed a close working relationship. About two months ago, Mr. Seto decided to take an equity position in a scallop and shrimp plant in Yantai, on the northern coast of the Yellow Sea. He used Dynamic to broker the deal, and now we’re getting ready to close.”

  Bates looked at her business card and then back at Ava. She sat tall, Havergal style, her breasts thrust ever so slightly forward. “That all seems very interesting,” he said, words she knew meant nothing.

  “Well, it’s never easy dealing with the Chinese,” she said. “Dynamic, though, has extensive experience in that area. They always try, for example, to negotiate terms that leave the investors with exit options in case of problems. Quite obviously, they have contacts inside China that make this possible, contacts they have nurtured over a great many years. The fees they charge for brokering contracts like this, for being the stable bridge between the two parties, are exceedingly reasonable given the level of protection they offer.”

  He had a pen, a notepad, and a closed file in front of him. He didn’t write a single word as she spoke. “Our bank has a presence in Asia, of course, and I have heard how difficult it is to do business there,” he said.

  “It can be incredibly frustrating,” Ava said. “We represented an American firm one time that was negotiating a contract in Shanghai. It dragged on and on for months, and every time they thought the deal was done, some new issue would emerge. Finally they thought everything had been put to bed and were told by the Chinese to bring their senior people to Shanghai for a signing ceremony. A week later their CEO flew into Hong Kong from New York to catch a flight to Shanghai. When he got to Hong Kong, he was met at the airport by his local staff. They had just received a fax from the Chinese company signed by someone none of them had met or even heard of. The fax advised them not to bother coming to Shanghai — the deal was dead. The Americans tried phoning, faxing, and emailing everyone they had met during the course of the previous months. No one would take their calls or respond to any of their communications.

  “Dynamic made some phone calls for me and found out that the nephew of the Shanghai mayor had brought a German firm to the table the week before. All those months of work, all the complicated negotiations, all

  the money expended — it all went down the drain on the

  strength of a handshake between the nephew and

  the Germans.”

  “What a story,” Bates said. “You know, if you don’t mind me saying, you seem very young to have this level of experience and responsibility.”

  “I was thinking exactly the same thing about you,” she said. “I was expecting to meet some old banker in a tweed suit.”

  “A tweed suit wouldn’t do in this climate, and actually I rarely wear a jacket of any kind,” he said, smiling. “As for my age . . . well, Barrett’s is very aggressive when it comes to recruiting and very progressive in putting younger staff in positions that place demands on their learning curve. I’ve just turned thirty-eight and this is my second foreign posting. I was second-in-command of our Paris office before this.”

  “I had put you as even younger.”

  “Thank you, I guess, though that’s not always good in this business. I get clients coming in here who keep insisting that they want to talk to my boss.”

  “I get the same thing,” Ava said, shaking her head. “I’m in my early thirties and still get treated as if I graduated from university last year.”

  “I can’t say I’m completely surprised. I mean, you do look younger than thirty.”

  “Chinese genes.”

  “For someone who is Chinese, your English is remarkably good,” he said, and then caught himself. “I didn’t mean that to sound condescending.”

  “I was raised and educated in Canada.”

  “I love Canada,” he said, leaning towards her. “I have a brother living in Montreal and a sister in Vancouver.”

  “I love it too, but for work purposes I didn’t have much choice but to go back to Hong Kong.”

  “Now, Mr. Seto . . . He lives where exactly?”

  “He has a residence in Seattle and another in Hong Kong, and of course he has a home in Guyana.”

  “Yes, we’ve most often dealt with him from Guyana.”

  Ava didn’t want to go much further down that path. She opened her Chanel purse. It was time to raise the ante. “Here is the banking information for Dynamic,” she said, sliding a sheet of paper to Bates. “You already have their name and address. These are the bank’s particulars, including the branch address and the IBN and SWIFT numbers. The account number is at the bottom.”

  “Mr. Seto wrote that he wanted to send a wire.”

  “Yes.”

  “For how much?”

  “One for five million, and a second wire for two million.”

  “Two wires?”

  “Yes, the two million is to be sent to the holding company of the scallop plant as a deposit. Here is their data,” Ava said, passing over Uncle’s banking information. “The five goes to Dynamic. They’ll hold it in escrow until the deal closes, and that hopefully will be within the next twenty-four hours.”

  “Seven million total, then?”

  Could that be his only question? He had no concerns about the separate wires? “Yes, seven million.”

  He opened his file. She saw copies of the emails she had sent from Seto’s address on top. They looked bona fide, even to her. “There is sufficient money in the account,” he said.

  “I assume you’ll prepare two wire transfer drafts for Jackson’s signature?”

  He picked up the two pieces of paper she had given him and put them in his file folder. “Give me a few minutes. I’ll get them started right away.”

  Ava hesitated. He hadn’t mentioned the passport requirement or the need to present other ID. She thought about letting it pass and then just as quickly decided not to. Bates might not be entirely up to date with the account safeguards, but someone would be sure to flag them. It was better for her to be proactive, to appear as transparent as possible. She needed all the trust she could generate.

  “Excuse me, Mr. Bates, I don’t mean to slow things down, but Jackson did mention that the bank normally requires him to present his passport and other forms of ID, and to sign and date copies of them. I brought the originals with me just in case you needed them.” She reached into her purse and removed Seto’s American passport, Hong Kong ID card, driver’s licence, and credit cards. She spread them in front of Bates. “Take whatever you need.”

  He nodded. “Yes, thanks for reminding me. Marilyn usually handles this kind of detail. I’ll take everything to her and she can copy whatever she wants. She’ll be preparing the wire transfer drafts as well.”

  “How long do you think it will take?” she asked.

  “You’re in a rush?”

  “No, no, it’s just that I really need to make a couple of phone calls and I left my cellphone at the apartment.”

  “You can use the phone here if you wish,” he said, pointing to the one on the conference table.

  “They’re long-distance calls.”

  “Ms. Lee, I think the bank can afford to pay for a few long-distance calls. Any line will do. Dial nine for an outside line, and then 011 and the country code.”

  “Thank you, I really appreciate it.”

  “And I’ll close my office door. When you’re finished, just open it to let me know you’re free.”

  Bates put Seto’s p
assport and other ID into his file. Then he stood up and looked down at Ava. “I must say, this is a nice break from my usual routine,” he said.

  She watched him leave the room, grateful that he hadn’t made her ask to use the phone. Conscious more than ever of the camera at work in the corner of the ceiling, she tried to look as natural and composed as she could. Just pretend you’re calling Mimi, she thought, as she punched in Uncle’s Hong Kong cellphone number, fervently hoping he’d pick up.

  “Wei?” he answered.

  “Uncle, it’s Ava,” she said.

  “I don’t recognize this line. Where are you?”

  “I made it. I’m in the British Virgin Islands,” she said, switching to Cantonese.

  “Ava, I’ve been calling your cell. Why haven’t you been answering?” he said, matching her language choice.

  “I’ve made it but I’m having a bit of trouble.”

  “I thought Derek was there,” he said.

  “He isn’t, and that’s part of the problem. But I don’t have time to get into all of it, so please listen very carefully to me.”

  “I don’t like this.”

  “Just listen, please.”

  “Are you in any danger?”

  “Nothing I can’t handle, so don’t get anxious, please.”

  “All right, I’m listening,” he said slowly.

  “I’m at the bank and I’m close to getting Tam his money back, and a sweetener for us. If all goes well today, I’ll be able to wire five million to him and two million to your account in Kowloon. Once the wires have left here, and that should be sometime in the next twenty-four hours, I’m going to send you an email asking you to send another $2.2 million by wire to the account in the Cayman Islands we’ve already sent $300,000 to — except I don’t want you to send the wire. What I want you to do is get your friends at the bank to dummy one up. When our accountant gets it, I want him to scan it and send it to me and to another email address I’ll provide.”

  “Ava, this is all a bit more complicated than you expected, no?”

  “Uncle, will you have any problem getting your bank to dummy the wire?”

  “No, it is owned by friends of mine. But why are we sending more money to the Caymans, or pretending to, at any rate?”

  “It’s a shakedown. I don’t want to get into the details right now. Just believe that it is something I need done.”

  “I can get the bank to do it. That won’t be a problem,” he said.

  “Great. When I send you the email requesting the wire, I’ll include the guy’s email address and fax number so you can copy him when it’s issued.”

  “What makes you think he will accept the wire at face value?”

  “Well, he has before. And he’s not Chinese, so I’m assuming he has some faith in banks.”

  “That sounds thin to me.”

  “Uncle, I don’t have time to explain everything. I’m using someone else’s phone because I don’t have mine, so let me finish what I have to say.”

  “I’m listening, I’m listening,” he said.

  “All I’m hoping the dummy wire will do is buy me the time I need to get out of here. As I said, I’m not going to ask you to send the dummy until I know for sure our money is secure. So if for some reason this guy doesn’t bite, we just might have to send him his share. The extra two million I got covers most of it, and Tam can eat the rest.”

  “How will I know what is what if I can’t reach you?”

  “When I send the first request — the one I want you to dummy up — I’ll sign off simply as Ava. If I really need you to send the money, I’ll send a follow-up email asking for confirmation that the money has been sent and sign off as Ava Lee. If you don’t see my full name, don’t send anything.”

  “I don’t like this,” he said.

  “Uncle,” she said quietly, still conscious of the recording device, “this guy is trying to take us for a ride. I don’t like it, and I’m not about to roll over and play dead. I want Tam to get his money, all of his money. And I want us to get our share and then some. I know you’re not taking a cut from Tam’s end, but there’s no reason you shouldn’t have half of anything extra we collect. I mean, you did front $300,000.”

  “What if the guy there catches on?”

  “I’ll tell him there was a glitch in the system and send you the second email. All it should mean is that I’ll be stuck here for a few extra days.”

  “You’re confident about this?”

  “Enough to try it.”

  “And I still won’t be able to reach you?”

  “No, and don’t bother. I can’t use my cellphone or my computer on my own. Right now I’m in the banker’s office. I should be able to email you the wire request soon. If you don’t get it within the twenty-four hours and you don’t hear from me, send in some troops. I’m staying at the Guildford Apartments in Road Town. The room is booked in Derek’s name.”

  “You know,” he said softly, “I wish I hadn’t talked to Tam’s uncle about taking this job.”

  It’s a bit late for that, she thought. “Momentai — no problem, Uncle. Now I have to go. I’ll email you when I can, and hopefully I’ll be talking to you sometime tomorrow.”

  As she hung up she felt suddenly quite isolated. When was the last time she and Uncle had been out of touch through any reason not of their own choosing? What other option did she have, she wondered as she phoned Derek.

  His cellphone rang four times, and she was preparing to leave a voicemail when he answered, his voice defensive, as Uncle’s had been. “Who is this?”

  “Derek, it’s me, Ava. I’m in the British Virgin Islands. Where are you?” she said, again in Cantonese.

  “I’m in Montreal. I’m catching a plane back to Toronto in a few minutes. Do you know what happened?”

  “They told me your papers weren’t in order.”

  “Bullshit,” he shouted.

  “I know.”

  “I walked through Customs with absolutely no problem, caught a cab, and stopped at a market near the apartment to load up on some food and drinks. I was in the room for barely ten minutes before they came knocking — two customs officers and a guy who looked like a walking mountain. I tried to argue with them but they wouldn’t listen. If they hadn’t been customs officers I would have resisted. Sorry, Ava, but I just didn’t see the sense in doing that.”

  “No, Derek, you did the right thing, absolutely the right thing. No point in making things worse. They told me they shipped you back to Puerto Rico and then put you on a plane to Montreal. I’m glad you made it.”

  “Hey, how about you? You okay?”

  “Not so bad.”

  “You need help?”

  “That’s why I’m calling.”

  She heard voices in the background noise behind him. “They’re boarding my flight,” he said.

  “This won’t take long. Do you have a pen and paper?”

  “No. Let me see if I can find something.”

  “Wait, don’t bother,” Ava said quickly. “Turn off your cellphone when we hang up. I’ll call back and leave a voicemail with some names and phone numbers. Derek, listen to me — I need you to be completely available over the next twenty-four hours. I may need you to pick up something for me, so keep your cellphone charged and on. If I have to call in the middle of the night, I want to know I can reach you. Right now you’re my lifeline.”

  “I don’t like that word,” he said.

  “I’m just being dramatic,” Ava said with a light laugh.

  “But you’re not joking about my being available.”

  “No, I’m not,” she said.

  “Shit, Ava —”

  “Okay, Derek, enough. Go catch your plane and turn off your phone, and if you don’t hear from me, don’t worry and don’t be disappointed.”

  She hung up and waited, giving him two full minutes. When she connected with his phone again, she was put right into voicemail. Ava explained, slowly and carefully, what she wanted him
to do.

  ( 35 )

  AVA SAT QUIETLY FOR A MOMENT, TRYING TO COMPOSE herself, conscious of the camera tracking her every move. It was time to focus her attention back onto Jeremy Bates. The meeting had gone well, but she knew that was the easy part. There were still so many things that could go wrong. All it would take was one small doubt on his part and the words “I really do need to talk to Mr. Seto” and all the scheming in the world wouldn’t do her much good. Why did I think this was going to work? she thought. She shook her head, caught herself, and rubbed her eyes. It was becoming a struggle to stay in the moment. There were all the things that could go wrong with Bates, and then of course there was Robbins. Had she overplayed her hand by calling Uncle? No, she told herself, she at least had a backup plan now, and Uncle never failed her. The thought of Uncle reminded her of Tommy Ordonez. Uncle hadn’t had a chance to mention him during their talk, thank God, but now he intruded into her mind — the jinx that lingered. She pushed him away.

  One thing at a time, she thought. Get off the chair. Walk to the door. Open it.

  There was no one in the hallway, but she could see an open door halfway down the hall and hear Bates’s voice saying, “That looks just fine.” She turned and went back to her seat, her spirits improved already.

  Bates wasn’t far behind her, the file folder in one hand, a clutch of papers in the other. “Here we go,” he said, putting the papers on the table in front of her. “I had everything done in triplicate. One set for Mr. Seto and you and two sets for me.”

  Ava leafed through the documents. The two draft wire transfer requests looked perfect. All they needed was Seto’s signature. They had copied his passport, Hong Kong ID card, and Washington state driver’s licence. That meant fifteen signatures. She tried not to think about how difficult that would be.

  “I’m hopeful I’ll be able to get these back to you within the next few hours,” she said.

  “Ms. Lee —”

  “Please call me Ava.”

  “And I’m Jeremy,” he said with a slight smile. “What I was about to say, Ava, is that it would be ideal if Mr. Seto could accompany the documents in person.”