by Graeme Hall
Emma made herself tea and sat on the sofa, propping up the cushions so she could still see the lightning, which was now visibly closer. The storm was to the west, over Lantau, heading her way. One, two, three … Emma counted the seconds between the flash of light and the thunder. The gap was narrowing and the lightning getting closer, but then she could see that for herself without counting. She watched a particularly impressive strike hit the sea off Cheung Chau. The moment frozen in time by the illumination. That was when she suddenly realised what had been strange about her conversation with Liang-bao: why had he only asked if she had a brother? Not a sister?
Chapter 20
Susan inspected her face in the mirror of the hotel bathroom. The bruises around her eyes were healing, the scar on her left cheek had faded and was a little less obvious than before. The judicious use of some concealer and letting her hair fall more forward than usual should be enough to cover the remaining discoloration. Not that she had anything to hide, but she would prefer it if people didn’t stare the way they had on the plane. Now all that she needed was for the nightmares to stop.
Susan had been surprised when they struck her in the face. She had expected them to be more subtle than that. To not leave visible evidence. She wasn’t sure if that meant that her interrogators were amateurs, or whether they hadn’t expected her to be released so quickly that the bruising was still visible. Either way she was both relieved and at the same time in a curious way almost a little disappointed. Relieved that the physical pain had not been unbearable, relieved that she had been released after only two months, her ego disappointed that she wasn’t thought to be a big player. Not worthy of high-level operatives.
After being taken from the university, Susan had spent three nights in a cold and damp police cell. She had been stripped and left in just her underwear for the first night until they gave her a grey prison overall. Other than the guard who brought her food, she was left alone until the fourth day. Alone except for the cockroaches. She had been in a shallow sleep when the door opened and she was dragged out by two young soldiers, thrown in the back of a van and then driven for several hours to what she assumed to be a military prison. Her first interrogator was an older man who seemed bored with the whole thing and uninterested in anything she said. After a few days he disappeared to be replaced by a younger man who took more pleasure in his work. Days of beatings, interposed with threats of sexual assault, until without warning or expectation, she was released.
Susan guessed that strings had been pulled. She had expected at least a year or two in jail before being kicked out. No doubt, she thought, with the world watching China as the handover approached, they had decided that this wasn’t a good time to pick a fight with the United States. Whatever the reason, she had been taken from her cell in the early hours one Tuesday morning, and although she had feared the worst she had been driven to the airport and put on a plane to Hong Kong.
That had been a surprise at first – why Hong Kong and not the States?
‘To watch you, to see who you meet here.’
That was the explanation given by the consular official who met her off the plane at Kai Tak. ‘Be careful who you talk to while you’re here, if not for your sake then for theirs. It’s probably best if you don’t stay in Hong Kong too long.’ He was right, of course, and it didn’t take long for Susan to start spotting the same two or three people who always seemed to be in her vicinity. They made her uneasy even though her rational mind knew that nothing was going to happen to her in Hong Kong. In theory there was nobody that she had to see here and nobody would have complained if she had simply taken a flight back home. Indeed, she sensed that the Consulate would have preferred that, but she had an envelope to deliver somehow. She had been given it in the car from the airport.
‘I’m told this is what you wanted.’
Susan had taken the envelope, puzzled. The last two months had taken their toll, but when she opened the envelope and looked at its contents she smiled.
‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘Yes. This is just what I wanted.’ How to get it to its intended recipient was the only problem.
***
Hong Kong was a contradiction to Susan. Familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Starbucks and McDonalds next to Chinese medicine shops. The city was gearing up for the handover and she wondered if everybody would have been so relaxed about the change if they had spent the last few weeks in a Chinese prison, but she knew better than to discuss it with anyone she encountered. The Consulate itself was one place where Susan could talk freely. She was followed there, of course, but there were countless practical reasons why she might visit the Consulate so it shouldn’t seem suspicious. If it did, well, tough. They knew who and what she was anyway. She passed through the security barrier into the high-walled compound that occupied a prestigious spot near the cathedral. The Head of Station was expecting her. He was younger than Susan had expected, dressed casually, a West Coast university professor perhaps, and seemed to consider Susan an irritation that he could do without.
‘When are you planning on leaving for the States?’ had been his opening gambit when they were seated in his office. Very unsubtle, thought Susan.
‘Soon. I just have one thing to do here and then I’ll be out of your hair. I promise.’
‘Which is?’
‘I have to get in touch with someone in Hong Kong and give them an envelope.’
‘Have you tried the postal service? It’s quite efficient here, you know.’
‘Her name is Alice Chan.’ Susan was irritated by the man’s sarcasm and tried to ignore it. ‘She’s the cousin of a student I knew in Shanghai. She’s involved with a human rights group here in Hong Kong.’
The Head of Station sighed. ‘Miss Khoo, as you can imagine we are rather busy at the moment. Busy all the time, in fact, but with the handover approaching even more so. However, much as I may not like it, I do have instructions from Shanghai to help you in this. Alice Chan … Do you have a Chinese given name?’
‘No.’ Susan was embarrassed that she hadn’t thought to ask Kwok-wah this and she only knew the family name. ‘Sorry.’
‘I believe there are probably quite a few Alice Chans in Hong Kong. One moment.’ The Head of Section got up from his desk and spoke to a colleague in an outer room. He returned to Susan. ‘But we do keep a watching brief on local political activists. Nothing special, we don’t get involved and leave that to the Brits if they want to, but we like to know who they are and what they’re up to.’ A man entered the room carrying a file that he passed to the Head of Section.
‘Will you have been watching Alice Chan?’ Susan asked.
‘Possibly. Give me a moment.’ Susan let her eyes wander around the office while he started to go through the file. Portraits of past US presidents hung on the walls. She tried to remember who they all were, but she couldn’t go back any further than JFK. ‘How many Alice Chans do you need? We have three on our books. One of them is fifty-eight and a schoolteacher. Another is a forty-four-year-old barrister, and the third – which I’m guessing may be the one you are looking for – is twenty-eight and a secretary in a trading company. Have a look.’ He handed Susan the file.
‘That sounds like her. Do you have contact details? It just gives here the company she works for.’
‘Then that’s probably all we have. If you contact her, be discreet. They’re probably watching her.’
Susan bit her tongue. She wasn’t that green, and besides, another name in the file had caught her attention.
‘What do you know about this woman? Emma Janssen. It says here that she’s another member of the group.’
‘Here, let me see.’ He took back the file. ‘Not much. I think she’s a friend of your Alice Chan.’
‘No contact details?’
‘Nothing here … Oh, I see, that’s why there’s nothing. She’s a temp floating from job to job. She has – or at least had at the time this note was taken – a boyfriend. A lawyer working for McShan
e Adams, one of the big Hong Kong law firms. Why do you ask?’
‘I used to know an Emma Janssen. It may not be the same one, of course. The Emma Janssen I knew certainly wasn’t interested in politics at all, and if it is the same person I didn’t know she was in Hong Kong.’
It didn’t take Susan long before she was able to telephone Alice at her work. Susan thought it unlikely that a regular office number would be monitored.
‘Hi, I’m Susan Khoo, I’m a friend of your cousin Kwok-wah, studying at the same university in Shanghai.’ Susan had decided to assume from the start that she was speaking with the right Alice Chan. If not, no harm would have been done. ‘I was wondering if we could meet. There’s something I need to talk to you about.’
‘What is it? Is he okay?’ Susan could hear the anxiety in Alice’s voice.
‘Yes, of course … Sorry, I didn’t mean to alarm you. He’s fine but I’m not sure when I will be back in Shanghai and there’s something I would like him to have. I was hoping that if I gave it to you then you could pass it on to him the next time you see him.’
‘I suppose so …’ Susan could tell that Alice was still a little wary.
‘I was wondering if I could come to where you work?’ Susan had been giving some thought as to how she could meet Alice without her minders knowing. The best that she had been able to come up with was that by meeting within the offices of a large company they wouldn’t know for certain who Susan was meeting. Of course, they might put two and two together if they were watching, but then again her minders might be quite different from whoever was keeping an eye on Alice. Nothing was without risk. The only way of being safe was to do nothing. Susan was relieved when in spite of some obvious uncertainty and reluctance, Alice agreed to meet her.
When Susan found the building where Alice worked, she waited in reception until a woman, about thirty and almost as tall as Susan was herself, came over to her.
‘Susan?’
‘Yes. You must be Alice? Thanks for seeing me.’
‘I’ll admit that I’m puzzled … What can I do for you?’
‘Is there somewhere more private?’
Alice took Susan into an empty meeting room where they both sat at a table. Uncomfortable with each other, it was Alice who spoke first.
‘Forgive me, Miss …?’
‘It’s Khoo, Susan Khoo, but please, just Susan.’
‘I’ll be honest and say that Kwok-wah has never mentioned you. How do you know him?’
‘We were friends …’ Susan was a little unsure how far she could answer honestly. She didn’t want to lie to Alice. ‘But I had to leave suddenly – a family illness – and I’m not sure when I’ll be able to get back.’ Susan knew that she would be going nowhere near Shanghai any time soon, but she could hardly say that without raising even more suspicions. Susan pulled out an envelope from the bag she had with her. ‘It’s just that I need to get this to Kwok-wah.’ She placed the envelope on the table between them.
‘May I ask what it is?’ Susan thought that Alice sounded suspicious. She couldn’t really blame her.
‘It’s just something I know he would like … Some information that he wanted.’ Again Susan hesitated, not knowing how far she should go, before deciding that the less she said the more suspicious she must sound. ‘Has he mentioned Granny Sun to you?’
‘The woman who looks after his dorm building?’
‘That’s right. I don’t know if he’s told you this but Kwok-wah has become quite friendly with her. The thing is, she had to give away her son and she never found out what happened to him. The answer is in that envelope.’
Alice picked up the envelope and went to open it before stopping herself and putting the envelope back down on the table.
‘So how did you get this information?’
‘I’m sorry. I can’t tell you that.’
‘Who are you, Miss Khoo?’
‘I’m sorry … I wish …’
‘Kwok-wah will be back home soon. If you like you could give this to him yourself,’ said Alice.
Susan wasn’t expecting that. Term hadn’t finished yet in Shanghai. She’d like to see him, try to explain things. But what could she tell him? That his supervisor was in cahoots with the army? She knew that she shouldn’t see him.
‘I expect I’ll have left Hong Kong by then. Which is a pity. I’d have liked the chance to explain things to him.’ Susan paused, still tempted to tell Alice more but knowing that she shouldn’t. ‘Can I ask one last favour of you before I leave? Can you please tell him something from me?’
***
Kwok-wah almost stumbled backwards under the weight of Alice’s embrace. They were in the hallway of his parents’ apartment. His mother was in the kitchen.
‘It’s lovely to see you again. Home safe and sound,’ said Alice, when she had finally finished hugging him and ruffling his hair. ‘Let me have a look at you. You seem older. More grown up somehow. Must be the travel. Being away from home.’
‘I expect so.’
‘Yes, travel does wonders. Broadens the mind …’ said Alice. ‘Unless there’s something you’re not telling me.’
‘What are you getting at?’
‘You know very well, Kwok-wah. Just because you are several hundred miles away doesn’t mean that Cousin Alice doesn’t know what’s going on.’
‘You do? I wish you’d tell me …’
Alice lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘Susan.’
‘What about her? How do you know about Susan!’ Kwok-wah said in a louder than normal voice.
‘Shhh!’ Alice gestured to the kitchen. She continued to whisper. ‘I’ve something for you. We need to talk in private somewhere. Let’s go get a coffee.’ Then in a raised voice: ‘Hello, Auntie! How are you? I’m just taking Kwok-wah out to get a coffee. Bye-bye, Auntie! I’ll bring him back soon.’
They spoke only of mundane matters until they were sitting with two cappuccinos in a quiet corner of a coffee shop.
‘So, it’s a routine day at work, a couple of days ago,’ started Alice, ‘when I get a call from a young woman asking to meet me, American by the sound of her accent, and she comes round to the office. American-Chinese it turns out. Very good looking, I might add. I’ve no idea who she is or what she wants but she says that she’s a friend of yours in Shanghai?’
‘Yes, she is. Or at least I thought so.’
‘That sounds mysterious, but then she was mysterious as well. Anyway, she said that she had something you would want to see.’ Alice took the envelope from the plastic supermarket bag she had with her and passed it over to Kwok-wah. ‘Desperately curious though I am, I haven’t opened it. I’ve no idea what it contains except that she said it was something to do with Granny Sun and her son.’
‘Granny Sun? I’ve no idea what’s in here,’ said Kwok-wah as he turned the plain unmarked envelope over looking for clues but failing to find anything.
‘Then perhaps you’d better open it and find out?’
Alice watched as Kwok-wah opened the envelope and took out a sheaf of papers. He started to look through them. Alice gave him some time.
‘Well?’ she asked, when her patience was at its limit.
‘I don’t understand. How did she get this stuff? Is she still in Hong Kong? Did she say where she was staying?’
‘No, she didn’t. She said she wasn’t likely to be in Hong Kong for long and she didn’t know when she would be back in Shanghai either. What is it? What’s in the papers?’
Kwok-wah continued to look though them before answering.
‘So, he’s probably dead.’
‘Who is? Her son?’
‘Shu-ming, yes. Did Susan tell you the story? Granny Sun always wanted to know what happened to him, but the records seem to stop a few years after she lost him.’ Kwok-wah thought for a moment. ‘What do I do? Do I tell her? I don’t know if knowing for certain is better or worse than living with the hope that he might be alive somewhere. What do you think?’
&
nbsp; ‘I don’t know either. Here, let me have a look.’ Kwok-wah passed the papers over to Alice. ‘These are very official looking documents. Extracts from school records, hospital records …’ Alice leafed through the pages. ‘Where did she get these from?’
‘I’ve absolutely no idea.’
‘Tell me about her.’
When Kwok-wah had finished telling Alice about Susan and her disappearance, she moved her chair so as to be next to him and put an arm around his shoulder.
‘You loved her, didn’t you?’
‘Yes. I think she was the first girl I’ve loved. Really loved, you know? Not just dated and gone out with.’
‘I know.’ Alice passed Kwok-wah a tissue. ‘There’s one other thing that she asked me to tell you.’
‘What’s that?’
‘She said to say that she was sorry.’
***
The rain had started last Friday and continued over the weekend. It had scarcely relented since, and when he left for work that morning Sam had cursed the weather for making such a crappy start to the week. Without a job to go to, Emma was left to deal with the consequences of the rain in their apartment. There was a damp patch in the bedroom that was growing, and when the rain came in on the wind, the water forced itself around the living room window, leaving a puddle on the sill. Emma had started leaving an old towel there to soak up the water. She sat wrapped in her dressing gown and stared out the window, watching a stream of water tumbling from a broken gutter.
Emma was restless. She didn’t know what to do about the dinner with Sam’s client. It was still some time away, but it was already starting to preoccupy her. She desperately didn’t want to go, she didn’t want to have anything to do with his client, but she knew how important it was to Sam, how much he wanted to take her as his other half. At the same time she was still completely undecided as to what, if anything, she should do about Gao Zhihua being one of his clients. She had some work lined up for later in the week, which would help take her mind off things, but for the moment she was going stir-crazy indoors. Rain or no rain, she needed to get out. To be lost among other people, to be distracted from her thoughts.