by Graeme Hall
‘Gao Shu-ming.’ He smiled and continued to hold her hand for a fraction longer than would be normal. ‘The pleasure is all mine.’
Emma relaxed a little when his given name turned out to be something quite different. And after all, she told herself, it was hardly an unusual family name. It could be nothing. Could be just chance.
Dinner progressed smoothly and Emma even started to enjoy herself a bit. There was the inevitable discussion of the handover itself and how they had spent the evening. Paul and Elizabeth at the Cricket Club, Mr Leung at home with his family.
‘And how about you, Mr Gao?’ asked Sam.
‘I was at the official banquet in the Convention Centre.’
‘That must have been quite an experience.’
‘Oh, I was on a table right at the back, a long, long way from anybody important.’
‘And were you at the ceremony itself?’ asked Paul.
‘Yes, but again right at the back. It’s a huge place, you know, I could hardly see anything. You probably had a better view watching on TV.’
‘Even so … to be at such an event … with history being made and all that,’ said Sam.
While Sam made polite conversation, Emma was starting to worry again. She didn’t dare ask the question that was foremost in her mind. Who are you, Gao Shu-ming, that you get invited to such an event? The Convention Centre may be large, but it wasn’t that large. Once you allowed for the people who had to be there, the politicians from all sides, the military, diplomats, overseas guests, there couldn’t have been that many places left over. Emma couldn’t believe that Mr Gao would have been invited unless he had connections in pretty high places.
‘True, and forgive me, Sam, Paul, Elizabeth, Emma.’ He looked at each of them in turn, his eyes finally resting on Emma. ‘I appreciate that you may feel differently – but being Chinese, I did feel a lot of pride. We’ve waited for this so long and now Hong Kong is back as part of the motherland. All Chinese people feel the same about that, no matter what their politics. Foreigners shouldn’t worry, Hong Kong is always going to be a great place to do business, but now, with Hong Kong people running Hong Kong, and support from Beijing, it’s only going to get better.’
To Emma it was like listening to an editorial from the People’s Daily, but she wasn’t going to respond. It was the sort of thing that was being said all over town. You just had to smile and nod.
‘Anyway, as long as the horses keep running, eh?’ said Mr Leung.
‘Of course! What would Hong Kong be without the racing and places like this.’ Mr Gao gestured to the restaurant, and this was when the words came. ‘My brother loved going to the races when he worked in Hong Kong, but of course he would never have been able to come here.’ Gao Shu-ming looked directly at Emma as he said this. Nobody else seemed to notice this, but Emma knew that he was speaking to her.
‘I didn’t know you had a brother,’ said Paul. ‘That’s not so common these days, is it?’
Emma was glad that Paul had diverted Mr Gao with a question while she gathered her thoughts and composed herself. She knew with sickening certainty who Mr Gao’s brother was.
‘Not these days, no. We were both born just before the one-child policy came in, but as it happens I was adopted. Our parents thought they couldn’t have children so they took me in, and then to everyone’s surprise my brother turned up. He’s younger than me but, poor guy, he looks older because of his greying hair. It’s a thing in our family – all the men go grey when they’re young. Except me, of course …’ Mr Gao ran a hand over his head. ‘I should be so lucky.’
He was no longer looking directly at Emma, but from time to time his eyes came back to her, as if he was waiting for a reaction.
‘What did he do in Hong Kong?’ asked Paul.
‘He worked at Xinhua for a couple of years. When was that now …? I think it was back in 1993 that he moved back to China. Anyway, working so close to the racecourse he used to go most Wednesdays, just in the public stands. Once in a while a business contact would invite him to a box, but for the most part back then business steered clear of anyone at Xinhua. Mind you, I mustn’t make it sound like he was hard done by. It was quite a – how do you say in English? – a good posting. He used to have a car and driver pick him up from the racecourse rather than fight the crowds on public transport. I was the jealous older brother.’
Mr Gao’s eyes were once more back on Emma, watching her, looking for any reaction. But after the first shock Emma no longer took in what he was saying. Indeed, she could barely make out the words at all such was the screaming in her ears: a vicious raw mix of frequencies that drowned out everything else. Nausea started to overwhelm her and she quickly excused herself, making it to the toilets just in time to throw up in the sink in front of a shocked attendant. When she was finished the attendant passed her a damp facecloth and Emma wiped her face, determined to return as if nothing had happened. Determined not to let Mr Gao win, not to let him see her suffer, and above all not to let Sam down.
***
Later that night, when she had finally grown tired and returned to bed, Emma dreamt of Peter. They were walking by a stream in woodland. The path was slippery and overgrown with ferns, but with Peter by her side her usual fear of the water had gone. It was summer and the trees were in full leaf, but sunlight filtered through the branches lighting the path in front of them. In the dream they are small children, but with the parallel logic of visions they talk as adults.
‘You need to let this go, you know?’ says Peter.
‘I can’t, Peter.’
‘I know. You always were a stubborn so-and-so.’
A kingfisher suddenly flies across their path and lands on a branch of a nearby tree. The bird sits there and they stand and watch it. Since it was a dream neither of them are especially surprised when the kingfisher speaks.
‘You shouldn’t trust that Liang-bao,’ it says. ‘He’s a bad’un.’
‘He’s right, of course,’ says Peter. ‘Liang-bao is definitely not to be trusted.’
‘What do the pair of you take me for? Do you think I’m an idiot or something? I know that. I don’t trust him one iota. Just who he is, though, I don’t know.’
The bird flies away and Peter picks up a handful of small stones from the path and lobs them one by one into the water. He watches the ripples spread out for a moment before turning to his sister.
‘Do you remember that time you visited me at uni and my room-mate refused to admit that he had a thing for you?’
‘I was only sixteen, he was, what … twenty? Twenty-one?’
‘Quite. And do you remember how you tricked him into admitting it on tape?’
‘That was funny. He was so embarrassed afterwards, but … oh, I see what you mean.’
‘Come on, sis, race you back to Mummy and Daddy.’
***
The frustration was that when Emma wanted to talk to Liang-bao in private, he was nowhere to be found. She only really knew him through Alice. She didn’t have an address or telephone number for him, and she couldn’t think of a good enough excuse to ask Alice. A couple of weeks ago it was like he was following her around wherever she went. Now he was nowhere to be seen.
She was glad of the distraction that Susan represented. Her call had come out of the blue. They’d first met in Chiang Mai when Emma was travelling with her then fiancé, Mike, and the three of them had shared a guesthouse for a few days. They took a day trip into the Doi Suthep-Pui National Park and got along so well that they talked about travelling together, perhaps going further north to explore the hill tribes close to the Burmese border. Then one evening, when they were in a bar experimenting by mixing Chang beer with potent local spirits, Emma came back from the toilet to find Mike flirting with Susan, his hand on her thigh. The argument that followed was only the final one of many.
But instead of being angry with Susan, if anything Emma was grateful that she had been the catalyst that finally brought an end a relationship
that clearly wasn’t going anywhere. Still, Emma hadn’t wanted to travel on her own, so over the next few weeks she and Susan joined forces. They got to know each other well and one night in Laos, when they were in Vang Vieng heading for Luang Prabang, when the heat and humidity made it impossible for either of them to get to sleep, Emma told Susan about Peter. Some weeks later they’d parted to go their separate ways. They’d promised to keep in touch but Susan always seemed to be on the move. Meeting up again it was like old times and it didn’t take many glasses of wine before Emma seized on the chance to unburden her worries in a way that she couldn’t with Sam. Emma was reminded of what a good listener Susan was; she was always interested in other people.
Still waiting and hoping that she would bump into Liang-bao somewhere, Emma finally gave in and realised that she would have to do something to get his attention. Lacking any better idea, she telephoned Xinhua and asked to speak to either of the Gao brothers or Liang-bao himself. As she expected, she was told that there was nobody there with any of those names, but she made a lot of noise and fuss and made sure that they knew her name. That they knew who was asking. Then she waited. Emma didn’t have to wait for long, and two days later she wasn’t particularly surprised when mid-afternoon she bumped into Liang-bao in the street. They exchanged fake pleasantries before Liang-bao suggested that they find somewhere to talk. A nearby café suited Emma and they took a quiet table at the back.
‘Give me a moment,’ Emma said, ‘I just need to put this in so I can hear you better.’ Emma took out an earpiece from her handbag and put it in her right ear. ‘There we are.’
‘So how was the Jockey Club?’ asked Liang-bao.
‘Not really my sort of place, but it was certainly an interesting evening.’ Emma didn’t bother asking herself how Liang-bao knew about the dinner. She hadn’t even told Alice.
‘I gather Mr Leung took a shine to you.’
‘He’s a gentleman. I’m not sure why he’s involved with someone like Mr Gao.’
‘Ah …’
‘Or does he have no choice about it?’
They paused while a waitress brought them the drinks they had ordered.
‘Oh, he has a choice,’ said Liang-bao, ‘everybody does. We all have choices that we can make, but he knows what’s best for him in the new Hong Kong. Do you, Emma? Do you know where your best interests lie?’
They were dancing round each other like boxers in the ring. Each keeping their guard up while throwing the occasional parry and feint. Emma was tired of this continued pretence.
‘Who are you, Liang-bao? Who are you really?’
Liang-bao took a sip of his tea before answering.
‘You may not believe this, Emma, but I’m a friend. Honestly, I really am. I know this is going to sound like a cliché, but you’re playing with things you don’t understand. You’re going to get hurt if you’re not careful. And so is Sam. I don’t want to see that happen – I really don’t. I’m sorry about what happened to your brother – yes I know about that – but that’s all in the past and the driver was jailed for it.’
‘Except that the right man wasn’t, so please don’t patronise me and treat me like a fool.’ Emma kept her voice level and collected. She was surprised and pleased with herself for managing to be calm. ‘The man who was actually driving the car, Gao Zhihua, got away scot-free and some poor sucker – God only knows how – was talked into taking the blame. Was he bribed? Threatened with something worse? Why on earth did he admit to something that he didn’t do?’
‘You can’t prove that Gao Zhihua was driving, and even if he was, well … it was still an accident. Nobody meant for it to happen and nothing you can do can change anything. He had a career ahead of him, family in Shanghai. Do you know what would have happened to him, or to his wife and child back in China, if he’d been jailed in Hong Kong?’
‘Excuse me?’ Emma was aghast at the way Liang-bao was trying to spin things. ‘Am I supposed to feel sorry for him? Fuck that. He was a senior mainland official who used his position to get away with killing my brother. It may have been an accident but he should have had the guts and decency to admit that it was his fault.’ Emma stopped when her voice started to falter.
‘Whatever … Like I said, you can’t prove anything and it’s history anyway. Do you think anybody is likely to be interested in revisiting such an old case?’
‘Given that Gao Zhihua is involved with a company buying into a Hong Kong telecoms business, then yes, I think they might.’
‘So Sam knows all about this?’
‘No, he doesn’t. Leave him out of it.’
There was a silence while they both took a breather after their initial skirmish. Emma wondered if she’d got enough of an admission from Liang-bao that Gao Zhihua had been driving. She wasn’t sure that she had. This was going to be her one and only chance. She knew she mustn’t let it slip by.
‘Just out of curiosity, do you know why Chan Wah Man took the blame? What was he offered?’
‘No, I don’t as it happens. Not for certain anyway. I did hear a story that he’d been drinking and that’s why Gao Zhihua was driving that night, so perhaps that was something to do with it.’ Emma decided that was good enough. If she pressed the point any further Liang-bao might get suspicious.
‘You didn’t really answer my first question,’ she said. ‘Who are you? Who do you work for?’
‘Oh Emma, I’m sure you’ve worked that out, in general terms anyway. I’m certainly not going to tell you the specifics.’
‘And what if I tell Alice? My God …’ A thought had just struck Emma. ‘She’s not … as well, is she?’
‘Alice?!’ Liang-bao laughed suddenly. A waitress stopped what she was doing and looked over to them. ‘No, certainly not. She’s a sweet little thing but not always that bright. You can tell her if you like but there’s no way she’ll believe you.’
‘Alice was your way into the group? To keep a watch on them?’
‘That was the plan, yes, but to be honest it turned out that the group was so small and ineffectual that they weren’t really worth the effort until you turned up. If it hadn’t been for you I would probably have quietly split with Alice and left the group to its own devices, but I stayed to keep an eye on you.’
‘You knew who I was even then? You’ve been watching me all this time?’
‘Of course. Just watching, nothing more than that. We’ve known that you were in Hong Kong ever since you first arrived, but until you started poking your nose into things you were quite harmless. But I think now it’s probably time I did leave Alice. She’s served her purpose and there are better things I can do with my time.’
‘Served her purpose? You bastard, Liang-bao …’
‘Oh come now, Emma, bad language doesn’t suit you. It’s not your style. Alice has had some good times with me. If you tell her the truth, apart from the fact she won’t believe you, she’ll hate you, you’ll lose a friend and it will just ruin her memories. Trust me on this if nothing else. I’m not a bad person. I’ll let her down gently. I’ll tell her that I have to go back to China or something. I expect I’ll be called back anyway. I’m pretty much finished with my work here.’
‘But your relationship was just a fake.’
‘This is Hong Kong, what do you expect? Most relationships here are fake. People get together for all sorts of reasons that are nothing to do with love. Sometimes it’s for money. Sometimes because their families want them to, or they do it to get away from their families, or to be able to buy a home. Or to get a visa or residency somewhere. Gweilo men with Filipina women, all sorts of reasons. Hongkongers are pragmatic people, you know that, they certainly don’t marry for love.’ Liang-bao gestured at the waitress to get the bill. ‘Emma, like I said, I’m a friend, so will you take my advice?’
‘Which is?’
‘Don’t be so cynical. The world isn’t black and white. I’m not evil and neither is Gao Zhihua. Not really, he made a big mistake, of course – a trag
ic one for you – but don’t think he didn’t get punished in our own way. Do you think that it went down well with his superiors that he made such a mess here that needed tidying up? Let it be.’
‘Or I could tell the authorities everything I know about Bright Talk, and Gao Zhihua’s involvement with it, and about my brother.’
‘None of which you can prove. Even if you could prove it, they wouldn’t care. What do you know about Bright Talk anyway? That there’s mainland money involved? So what? Emma, this is China now. Yes, I know, one country, two systems, and all that crap, fifty years of autonomy and so on, but we’ve been waiting for this for a hundred years. Leave with grace, leave with dignity. That’s what your politicians and army did. Chris Patten was very proper in the end, did things the right way, and your army were consummate professionals. They left with their heads held high. A credit to your country. You should do the same.’ The waitress brought the bill and Liang-bao handed her a few notes.
‘I wasn’t planning on leaving.’
‘But you will be, Emma. You’ll need a work visa next year and I can tell you now that you won’t get one. Don’t even bother to apply, it will just be refused. But Sam, that’s a different story. He’s got a future here. Mr Leung likes him, I like him. You know what happened with Sam in London, of course? He thinks nobody here knows, but we do. He will be very useful to us so he’ll get a visa with no problems, so long as you do the sensible thing.’
‘Which is?’
‘Don’t make a fuss, don’t tell Sam or anybody else about Gao Zhihua, and quietly leave Hong Kong sometime in the next few months. You’ve got no choice in this. You’ll have to leave whatever you do or don’t do, but do you want to wreck Sam’s chances as well? And for what? Nobody will believe you or care. You may get a sense of personal satisfaction for a short while but it won’t achieve anything except to make matters worse.’
‘You can’t make me leave, not if I marry Sam.’