The King of Shanghai (20 page)

( 26 )

Uncle’s apartment was on Kwun Chung Street, near the Jordan MTR station in Tsim Sha Tsui, northeast of the Star Ferry terminal. As her taxi pulled away from the terminal and started north on Canton Road, she looked out the window at Victoria Harbour, barely visible behind the Gateway towers and the Royal Pacific Hotel. On her right was Kowloon Park, thirty acres of greenery in the middle of one of the most densely populated places on earth. Some mornings, after eating congee in a restaurant near Pacific Place, she and Uncle would cut through the park to get to his apartment. Whenever they did, he liked to find a spot to sit for five or ten minutes.

The taxi continued along Canton until it reached the northwest corner of the park, turned right on Austin Road, and then made an immediate left onto Kwun Chung. The Range Rover Sonny had driven from Shenzhen was parked outside the four-storey building. Both sides of the street were lined with older apartment buildings, with laundry hanging from small balconies or on poles below windows, and a store or restaurant on the ground floor. The restaurant in Uncle’s building was Nepalese, which Ava had found strange until Uncle explained that until 1970, Kowloon Park had been Whitfield Barracks, an important military base for the British. When the barracks were closed down, the Ghurkha soldiers — indigenous people from Nepal — had remained.

Ava pointed out the building to the taxi driver and he pulled in behind Sonny. Before she even had time to pay him, Sonny was at her door. When she stepped out, he took her bags. “I feel better seeing you here,” he said.

The building didn’t have an elevator, so they walked up the narrow staircase in single file. Ava let Sonny go ahead, and she was astonished by how enormous he looked from behind.

Uncle’s apartment — which he had left to Lourdes, his long-time housekeeper — was at the far end of the fourth floor. All the entrances had wooden double doors plus a heavy-duty metal screen. Ava had never understood why Hong Kong apartment dwellers felt they needed that level of security, but right then she was happy they did.

Sonny unlocked the outer screen and then the bright blue main door.

“Lourdes painted the door,” Ava said.

“She’s done more than that,” Sonny replied.

The apartment was close to one hundred square metres, which was rather large by Hong Kong standards. It had two bedrooms, a bathroom, a tiny kitchen, and a living room that Uncle had furnished sparsely, with an easy chair set by the window and next to it a table that held his ashtray and racing forms. His old twenty-inch television had sat against the wall next to his bedroom door, and just outside the kitchen was a wooden table with two chairs. The apartment had been so sparsely furnished and decorated so plainly that it looked huge.

Now that illusion had vanished. The pale wood floor hadn’t changed and the walls were still off-white, but that was all that was the same. As Ava stepped into the apartment she saw that the easy chair was still there, but sitting by itself in a corner. The old television was gone, replaced by what looked like a fifty-inch high-definition flat-screen. Lourdes had also added a plush red brocade couch, loveseat, and chair and a long glass coffee table. The old dining setup was gone; in its place was a dark wooden table with scrolled legs and six padded chairs.

“Good god,” Ava said.

“Well, it’s her place now, and she has a right to do what she wants,” Sonny said. “Besides, I always thought Uncle’s taste was a little too simple.”

“True enough.”

Sonny put her bags on the floor and handed her the keys. “We should talk before I leave,” he said.

“Yes, we need to,” Ava said. They sat down at the table facing each other. “You seem a bit jumpy.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve been involved in anything like this.”

“Sorry for being the cause of it.”

“Not your fault. I know you got sucked in.”

“I was a bit of a fool.”

Sonny shook his head. “No.”

“Wing played me to get to Xu — I should have seen the signs. But that’s done now. I can’t go back, so let’s move forward,” Ava said. She reached into her purse and extracted Carlo’s list. “This is all I know about Sammy Wing’s operations.” She slid the paper across the table to Sonny and then summarized its contents. When she was done, she said, “I know that doesn’t give Xu’s men much to go on, but I’m hoping you can fill in some of the blanks.”

“How?”

“I was thinking about the time you were hunting down those guys Li sent to kill me. Uncle arranged for Wing to help, and my understanding is that you and he co-operated. You must have met him someplace. You must have some idea of where he hangs out.”

“Yeah. I’ll tell Suen.”

“Good. And I’d also like you to talk to Uncle Fong. He must know Sammy Wing and Jimmy Tan.”

“Yeah, he does.”

“So talk to him and find out where he would go if he wanted to find them.”

Sonny nodded.

“So that’s a start, yes?” Ava said.

“Yeah, but that’s all it is.”

“This is out of our hands, Sonny. All I want to do is get past this and get back to my regular life. If I thought I could do that just by walking away, I would. But I suspect I’m still in Sammy Wing’s sights.”

“That stupid fat fucker.”

“Tell me, do you think he has a chance against Xu?”

“No.”

“Then let’s stay out of the way and let Xu’s men do their thing.”

“I need to get rid of that car. They might be looking for it,” Sonny said. “And you need to stay around here. Don’t wander.”

“I won’t, at least not tonight. I do have an appointment with our lawyers tomorrow. I’ll decide in the morning whether to go or not.”

“I’m going back to the clinic now,” Sonny said as he stood up. “I’ll call Uncle Fong on the way and see what he knows about Sammy. Then I’ll pass along Carlo’s information and anything else I can think of.”

“Sonny, what are you going to do?”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb.”

He smiled. “I’ve been thinking about it ever since we left Shenzhen. Part of me — the old part — wants to rip Sammy Wing apart for what he tried to do to you. The newer me says I should let Xu and his men handle it. It’s their fight, but . . .”

“But what?”

“I may tag along with Suen. You know, to keep an eye on things. I do know Hong Kong better than they do, and they may need me at some point.”

“I don’t want you taking any risks,” she said.

“Look who’s talking.”

“I didn’t go looking for trouble.”

“It found you all the same, just like it always seems to find me. If I’m with Suen, then at least I’m prepared for it.”

“I hope this doesn’t drag on. Uncle’s apartment is not my preferred place to stay.”

“Who knows? By this time tomorrow it could be all over and you can move back to the Mandarin Oriental.”

“Do you think there’s a chance?”

“I saw Xu’s men tear apart that gang in Borneo in about two hours. They were completely unforgiving. Wing’s men have never had to take on guys like these.”

“Well, I just want this to be over as fast as possible.”

“Okay, boss. I’ll do what I can to make that happen,” Sonny said with a smile.

Ava looked around the room, her eyes drawn to the old easy chair. “Try not to get directly involved, and keep in touch. I want to know about any significant change in our position. My phone will be on.”

He nodded, then turned and left. Ava stood by the door until she couldn’t hear his footsteps any longer. She picked up her bags and without thinking took them into Lourdes’s room. Her old single bed had been replaced by a king-size that almost touched the walls. Directly above its head hung a wooden crucifix flanked by images of Mother Teresa and Jesus with a pulsing red heart. Ava opened a bag and took out her toilet kit, a T-shirt, and underwear.

A bright blue duvet and six throw cushions covered the bed. Ava piled the cushions in one corner and pulled back the duvet so the bed could air. Then she wandered back into the living room.

She felt hunger pangs. It was almost five o’clock and she hadn’t eaten since breakfast. The fridge was empty except for some bottled water and various condiments. There were tons of restaurants within easy walking distance, but Sonny had asked her not to wander — advice she would take because it was advice she would have given. She decided to go to the Nepalese restaurant, which she could access through a side door from the apartment lobby and not have to go outside.

As she opened the restaurant door, she was greeted with the aroma of curry and other, unfamiliar spices. She took a look around before committing to stay. The place was narrow, with two rows of tables along the side walls and an aisle down the middle. The floor was white ceramic tile, the walls were painted white, and the tables were covered with white tablecloths. It was all quite pristine — more Toronto than Hong Kong.

A Southeast Asian couple seated by the front window were the only customers. Ava walked to the back and took the table farthest from the door. She had to wait a few minutes before a waiter emerged from the kitchen. He seemed startled to see her, and Ava wondered how many Chinese customers they had.

When the waiter brought the glass of white wine she’d ordered, she asked him what he recommended, and that prompted a five-minute description of Nepalese cuisine. Ava chose a pumpkin soup with coriander; chicken breast marinated with saffron, curry, and cashew nut paste and cooked in a clay oven; and prawns stir-fried in a tomato and almond gravy. None of it disappointed, and she was happy to take the leftover chicken and shrimp upstairs with her, along with a bottle of Pinot Grigio.

She turned on the television and saw that a marathon showing of
Forensic Heroes
 — the Hong Kong equivalent of
CSI 
— was scheduled for the evening. She opened the wine and settled into the couch.

One episode turned into two and then into three, and she kept pace with a glass of wine for each one. Whatever was happening on the streets of Wanchai or at the clinic in Mong Kok became less important by the hour. By ten o’clock, when she turned off the television to go to bed, all that seemed a world away.

( 27 )

The first phone call came just after 12:30 a.m. It was Sonny, and he was almost breathless. “More than forty of them arrived in Hong Kong from Shanghai during the evening. Their weapons got in at nine o’clock, as part of a shipment of iPads,” he said.

“That was fast.”

“They’re operators.”

“Are they going to wait for the others?”

“Not a chance.”

“It’s late.”

“The bars are still open and the street market is just shutting down. Suen is going to pick up that guy Marlon and Lop has gone to the bars on Hennessy. They want Tan and Wing.”

“They should be so lucky to find both.”

“They’ll start at the bottom and work their way up. Sooner or later they’ll get to them.”

“I’m surprised that Suen left Xu.”

“Two men from Shanghai are outside the clinic. No one is going up those stairs unless they’re friends. Besides, Suen has got serious revenge in mind. He’s not as crazy as that little fucker Lop, but he has a mean streak that runs just as deep when it comes to protecting his boss.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m in my car, following Suen.”

“Sonny, like I said before, I want you to stay out of it. Those guys can go back to Shanghai when this is done, but you can’t. You don’t need problems with the Hong Kong police or with the local Triads. Even if Xu’s men take down Wing, some people here will remember that you played a part in it.”

“I have my own mean streak, and I have my own boss who was threatened.”

“Yes, a boss who happens to be safe in Kowloon.”

He paused, then said, “I promise I won’t do anything stupid.”

Ava lay on the bed with her eyes shut and tried to force herself back to sleep. After ten minutes she knew that her mind wasn’t going to co-operate. It was in overdrive, bouncing from one Wanchai scenario to the next. The speed at which Xu’s men could move had startled her. They were as efficient as Sonny had claimed, and she had no doubt they would be equally ruthless. How many men would die in the next few hours? The thought made her shiver. She wasn’t a stranger to death, but it seemed to be becoming a more constant companion. In her early days of debt collecting there had been occasions when she, usually with her friend Derek alongside, had been forced to kill in self-defence. How many men over the years? She strained to remember, and realized she had pushed those men deep into the recesses of her mind. The violence had never been personal — it was work, but some resolutions, almost of their own accord, had been more tragic than others. When it was over, she always felt drained and saddened; even the satisfaction of recovering the money and restoring a client’s life and livelihood couldn’t overcome her depression. Now more men were going to die, and even though she understood rationally that it wasn’t her battle and that it hadn’t been brought on by her, even marginally, she still had a cold, clawing sensation in her belly.

She swung her bare legs out of the bed and felt chilled. She wrapped the duvet around her and dragged it like the long train of a wedding gown into the living room. The blinds were partly open and light from neon signs flickered across the walls. Ava bundled herself into Uncle’s easy chair and looked out at the street. Some restaurants were still open and the street was still busy with traffic, the distinctive red-and-white Kowloon taxis outnumbering regular cars. It all looked so normal.

Uncle had lived in this chair. Its brown leather was cracked and the recliner had stopped working, but she could still see him lying back in it, his feet well off the floor, as he watched the races from Happy Valley. When Xu came to Hong Kong, had he and Uncle met in the apartment? She doubted it somehow. Uncle wasn’t a man to mix personal affairs with business. He had let a handful of people into his life, and she and Sonny may have been the only two who knew him in his entirety.

Her mind flooded with memories of Uncle. She thought of his funeral and struggled to remember those who had journeyed to Fanling to pay their respects. One by one they came back to her — all the clients whose fortunes and lives they had saved, all the hard men from his previous life. Then she saw Sammy Wing. He was there, standing in the doorway of the funeral home talking to Uncle Fong. Next to him was Jimmy Tan. They looked sombre and respectful, and whatever malice Ava felt towards them began to ebb.

A phone rang.
Who would bring a phone to a funeral?
Ava thought. And then she realized it was hers. She pulled it from the depths of the duvet.

“Sonny.”

“They have Marlon,” he said.

“And?”

“He’s talking up a storm. I think he knows that it’s pointless not to co-operate.”

“How about Jimmy Tan?”

“No word yet, but for the last ten minutes we’ve been hearing a lot of police sirens in the direction of Hennessy Street. I can only assume that Lop is the cause.”

“So now what happens?”

“When they’ve squeezed Marlon for every bit of information he has, they’ll go hunting. That’s what they did in Borneo. Eventually they’ll get to Wing and Tan. When they do, it will be over. Ava, these guys are lethal. This isn’t like any gang I’ve ever seen. I thought they were good in Borneo — well, they’re better now. If I was Sammy Wing I’d be suing for peace.”

“On Xu’s terms?”

“Completely.”

“Sonny, despite what Xu said, do you think they’ll kill Wing and Tan if they find them?”

“I don’t know about Tan, but I heard Suen stress to Lop that Xu wants Wing alive.”

“Good.”

“Xu doesn’t let his emotions rule. He reminds me of Uncle — that and the way he thinks ahead.”

“I wish you hadn’t said that,” Ava exclaimed.

“I’m sorry, but it’s true — wait, Suen is waving at me. I have to go. I’ll call you when I can.”

Whatever chance she had for sleep had vanished. She curled into a ball and pulled the duvet more tightly around her. The nights could be chilly, particularly since Uncle’s apartment had no central heating. It was late afternoon in Toronto and she thought about calling Maria or her mother. To say what? That she was staying in Uncle’s apartment until a Triad war finished? When she had been on collection jobs, she had made it a policy to shut out what was happening at home. This wasn’t a job, but the feeling that she should keep them at arm’s length was just as strong.

Ava let her mind wander. She thought about the Pos and the deal Three Sisters had offered. She was anxious to learn their reaction to it. The offer was fair but she wondered if their lawyer was picking holes in it, as lawyers were inclined to do. She hoped not, because there weren’t many changes she was prepared to make. Ava’s main worry was that Clark Po had lost faith in them. Well, they’d have a better idea after Amanda spoke to Gillian.

Gillian and Clark were good people, and so were Suki and Chi-Tze. And Amanda and May Ling — she couldn’t have found better partners. After caring for Uncle and then grieving for Uncle, it was time for Ava to step up and play her part.

As the first signs of dawn crept across the street and lit up the apartment window, her phone rang again.

“Sonny, is it over?” she said.

“This is Sammy Wing. I need to talk to you.”