The King of Shanghai (30 page)

She saw Xu standing just inside the doorway, talking to May. He was dressed, as was his habit — which Ava was sure he’d picked up from Uncle — in a black suit and white shirt. But instead of his normal black tie, he was sporting one in light blue silk patterned with red and white dragons. About six feet tall, he was slim and elegant. His fine features were accented by strong eyebrows and a thick head of hair that he wore swept back. He looked every inch the successful professional. And so he was, except that his profession was running the Triad organization in Shanghai and functioning as chairman of the Triad societies across Asia.

May was standing close to Xu, looking up at him with her hand resting on his arm. It unexpectedly occurred to Ava that May was flirting with him. If she was, Xu didn’t seem to be discouraging it.

“Hey, what’s going on with you two?” Ava asked as she drew near.

May moved back, looking a bit flustered.
You were flirting
, Ava thought.

“I was just telling our silent partner how well the money he put into our business is doing,” May said quickly.

Ava was slightly taken aback by the comment, and she glanced around to see if anyone else might have heard it. Xu had put $150 million into Three Sisters. He had carefully assembled the money from his many enterprises, including factories that made knockoff electronic devices and designer bags and clothes. Then he had separated the money as far as possible from its Triad roots before transferring it to them.

“I’m quite sure that come as a surprise to him,” Ava said, relieved to see that no one was in earshot.

Xu smiled at Ava, but she thought it looked a bit tentative. She immediately noticed that there were dark circles under his eyes and that his face looked gaunt. She wondered if he was having lingering health issues from the knife wounds he’d received in Shenzhen five months before, when his main competitor for chairmanship of the Triad societies had tried to take him out of the running.

“
Mei mei
, it is good to see you,” he said.

Ava stepped into his arms. “And you.”

“May said you were meeting with a very influential woman from Lane Crawford. I hope I did not drag you away from her.”

“Our business was done.”

“How did it go?” May asked.

“Well enough, I think.”

“How do you know her?” Xu asked.

“Uncle and I did a job for her family.”

“It was successful?”

“Yes.”

“And she feels indebted?”

“Enough that she came here. For the rest of it, she has to see and like Clark’s clothes. I told her that’s the way it should be.”

“Getting her here was a feat in itself,” May said. “Ava is always teasing me about my
guanxi
, but now she’s demonstrating her own.”

“Don’t exaggerate,” Ava said, and then turned back to Xu. “There’s champagne and other drinks and food on the terrace if you want some.”

“I am sorry, but I cannot stay.”

“Suen told me you have visitors from Nanjing.”

“I do, and I have to take them to dinner.”

“You’re coming to the launch tomorrow?” May asked.

“That is still the plan, and I will be bringing the manager of our main clothing factory with me. His name is Wu.”

Ava couldn’t help but notice how intently May was staring at him. For his part, Xu seemed detached, and his face, as well as being gaunt, looked weary. “May, I do not mean to be rude, but I have to leave soon and I would like a word alone with Ava, if you do not mind.” Xu spoke so softly that Ava wasn’t sure she had heard him correctly.

“No, of course not,” May said. Nearby, Amanda and Gillian were still greeting people as they arrived. May went to join them.

Xu looped his arm through Ava’s and gently led her away from the door.

“What’s this about?” she asked.

“When the reception is over, could you possibly join me at the restaurant where I am taking my guests?” he said.

His question surprised her, and it showed.

“I am sorry for dropping this on you so suddenly.”

“Is it a business dinner? I wouldn’t want to get in the way.”

“It is not supposed to be about business, and even if it is, you are never in the way.”

“They won’t find it strange that you invited a woman?”

“That is one of the reasons I would like you to come. I was told a few minutes ago that Pang Fai is going to be there.”

“The actress?”

“Yes.”

“I love her work,” Ava said. “I must have seen ten of her films, and I don’t think there’s anyone better at drama. But she’s so famous. What’s she doing at your dinner in Shanghai?” She saw his brow crease ever so slightly. “Oh, Xu, I hope that didn’t sound rude. You must know what I mean. It is Pang Fai, after all.”

He smiled. “She is the girlfriend — or at least a friend — of the main guy in Nanjing.”

“He must be wealthy.”

“He is, and powerful.”

“Would I know him?”

“His name is Tsai Men. His father is the governor of Jiangsu.”

“I’ve never heard of him.”

“There is no reason why you should have.”

Ava hesitated. The idea of arriving late at a dinner party held little appeal, but she was intrigued by the prospect of meeting one of China’s biggest movie stars. “Xu, I have no idea when this reception will be over, and I can’t leave early.”

“Come whenever you can. I have made a reservation at Capo. It is next door, on the fifth floor of the Yifeng Galleria. You can walk.”

“Capo? That doesn’t sound Chinese.”

“It is Italian. That is where he always wants to go, even though he never orders anything Italian. He says they have the best fresh oysters and steak in Shanghai.”

Ava shook her head. “Xu, I’m not sure —”

He squeezed her arm gently. “I do not care when you come. Knowing Tsai, it will be a long night anyway.”

“And look at the way I’m dressed.”

“You look stunning. I have been with Pang Fai before, and believe me, she does not dress down. You will fit right in.”

“Okay, I’ll be there,” she said, giving in to his persistence.

“Thank you.”

“But arriving in the middle of dinner is going to look odd. How will you explain it?”

“I will tell them you were at a reception.”

“And how are you going to introduce me?”

“As my girlfriend.”

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The King of Shanghai
is the seventh book (not counting the novella
The Dragon Head of Hong Kong
) in the Ava Lee series, and it seems that with each book there are more and more people to thank for their assistance and encouragement.

Sarah MacLachlan and her team at House of Anansi Press continue to provide tremendous support. So my thanks to her and to Barbara Howson and her sales team, Laura Meyer on the publicity side, and Carolyn McNeillie, a digital whiz.

As always, this book owes much to my editor, the great Janie Yoon. She doesn’t particularly like the word
collaboration
, and she may be correct that our working relationship falls a bit short of being exactly that. But it’s close nonetheless, and it’s amazing how often we’re on the same wavelength when it comes to identifying gaps and weaknesses in manuscripts.

My agents, Bruce Westwood and Carolyn Forde, are two of my earliest manuscript readers, and their support and input have been unfailing. Many a miserable writing day has been brightened by talking to them. It’s much appreciated.

My rather large family continues to beat the drum for the books, and I know we wouldn’t have had success without them. I love them all.

Last, there are some individuals who made direct contributions to
The King of Shanghai
. I want to thank Robin Spano and Farah Mohamed for their editorial input. Vincent Yin very generously reviewed my Chinese references and word usage and made sure they were accurate. And Carrie Kirkman, whose day job is CEO of Jones New York in Canada, took the time to educate me about the business of fashion.

IAN HAMILTON
is the author of seven novels in the Ava Lee series:
The Dragon Head of Hong Kong: The Ava Lee Prequel
,
The Water Rat of Wanchai
,
The Disciple of Las Vegas
,
The Wild Beasts of Wuhan
,
The Red Pole of Macau
,
The Scottish Banker of Surabaya
, and
The Two Sisters of Borneo
.
The Water Rat of Wanchai
was the winner of the Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel, an Amazon.ca Top 100 Book of the Year, an Amazon.ca Top 100 Editors’ Pick, an Amazon.ca Canadian Pick, an Amazon.ca Mysteries and Thrillers Pick, a
Toronto Star
Top 5 Fiction Book of the Year, and a
Quill & Quire
Top 5 Fiction Book of the Year.

House of Anansi Press was founded in 1967 with a mandate to publish Canadian-authored books, a mandate that continues to this day even as the list has branched out to include internationally acclaimed thinkers and writers. The press immediately gained attention for significant titles by notable writers such as Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, George Grant, and Northrop Frye. Since then, Anansi’s commitment to finding, publishing and promoting challenging, excellent writing has won it tremendous acclaim and solid staying power. Today Anansi is Canada’s pre-eminent independent press, and home to nationally and internationally bestselling and acclaimed authors such as Gil Adamson, Margaret Atwood, Ken Babstock, Peter Behrens, Rawi Hage, Misha Glenny, Jim Harrison, A. L. Kennedy, Pasha Malla, Lisa Moore, A. F. Moritz, Eric Siblin, Karen Solie, and Ronald Wright. Anansi is also proud to publish the award-winning nonfiction series The CBC Massey Lectures. In 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011 Anansi was honoured by the Canadian Booksellers Association as “Publisher of the Year.”

PRAISE FOR IAN HAMILTON
AND THE AVA LEE SERIES

PRAISE FOR THE WATER RAT OF WANCHAI
WINNER OF THE ARTHUR ELLIS AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL

“Ian Hamilton’s
The Water Rat of Wanchai
is a smart, action-packed thriller of the first order, and Ava Lee, a gay Asian-Canadian forensic accountant with a razor-sharp mind and highly developed martial arts skills, is a protagonist to be reckoned with. We were impressed by Hamilton’s tight plotting; his well-rendered settings, from the glitz of Bangkok to the grit of Guyana; and his ability to portray a wide range of sharply individualized characters in clean but sophisticated prose.”

— Judges’ Citation, Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel

“Ava Lee is tough, fearless, quirky, and resourceful, and she has more — well, you know — than a dozen male detectives I can think of . . . Hamilton has created a true original in Ava Lee.”

— Linwood Barclay, author of
No Time for Goodbye

“If the other novels [in the series] are half as good as this debut by Ian Hamilton, then readers are going to celebrate. Hamilton has created a marvellous character in Ava Lee . . . This is a terrific story that’s certain to be on the Arthur Ellis Best First Novel list.”

—
Globe and Mail

“[Ava Lee’s] lethal knowledge . . . torques up her sex appeal to the approximate level of a female lead in a Quentin Tarantino film.”

—
National Post

“The heroine in
The Water Rat of Wanchai
by Ian Hamilton sounds too good to be true, but the heroics work better that way . . . formidable . . . The story breezes along with something close to total clarity . . . Ava is unbeatable at just about everything. Just wait for her to roll out her bak mei against the bad guys. She’s perfect. She’s fast.”

—
Toronto Star

“Imagine a book about a forensic accountant that has tension, suspense, and action . . . When the central character looks like Lucy Liu, kicks like Jackie Chan, and has a travel budget like Donald Trump, the story is anything but boring.
The Water Rat of Wanchai
is such a beast . . . I look forward to the next one,
The Disciple of Las Vegas
.”

—
Montreal Gazette

“[A] tomb-raiding Dragon Lady Lisbeth,
sans
tattoo and face metal.”

—
Winnipeg Free Press

“Readers will discern in Ava undertones of Lisbeth Salander, the ferocious protagonist of the late Stieg Larsson’s crime novels . . . she, too, is essentially a loner, and small, and physically brutal . . . There are suggestions in
The Water Rat of Wanchai
of deeper complexities waiting to be more fully revealed. Plus there’s pleasure, both for Ava and readers, in the puzzle itself: in figuring out where money has gone, how to get it back, and which humans, helpful or malevolent, are to be dealt with where, and in what ways, in the process . . . Irresistible.”

— Joan Barfoot,
London Free Press

“
The Water Rat of Wanchai
delivers on all fronts . . . feels like the beginning of a crime-fighting saga . . . great story told with colour, energy, and unexpected punch.”

—
Hamilton Spectator

“The best series fiction leaves readers immersed in a world that is both familiar and fresh. Seeds planted early bear fruit later on, creating a rich forest that blooms across a number of books . . . [Hamilton] creates a terrific atmosphere of suspense . . .”

—
Quill & Quire

“The book is an absolute page-turner . . . Hamilton’s knack for writing snappy dialogue is evident . . . I recommend getting in on the ground floor with this character, because for Ava Lee, the sky’s the limit.”

—
Inside Halton

“A fascinating story of a hunt for stolen millions. And the hunter, Ava Lee, is a compelling heroine: tough, smart, and resourceful.”

— Meg Gardiner, author of
The Nightmare Thief

“Few heroines are as feisty as
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
’s Lisbeth Salander, but Ian Hamilton’s Ava Lee could give her a run for her money . . . Gripping . . . [Ava is] smart, gutsy, and resourceful.”

—
Stylist UK

“With Ava Lee comes a new star in the world of crime-thrillers . . . Hamilton has produced a suspenseful and gripping novel featuring a woman who is not afraid of anything . . . Captivating and hard to put down.”

—
dapd/sda

“Thrillers don’t always have to be Scandinavian to work. Ava Lee is a wonderful Chinese-Canadian investigator who uses unconventional methods of investigation in a mysterious Eastern setting.”

—
Elle
(Germany)

“Ava has flair, charm, and sex appeal . . .
The Water Rat of Wanchai
is a successful first book in a series, which will definitely have you longing for more.”

—
Sonntag-Express

“Hamilton is in the process of writing six books and film rights have already been sold. If the other cases are similar to this first one, Ava Lee is sure to quickly shake up Germany’s thriller business.”

—
Handelsblatt

“Brilliantly researched and incredibly exciting!”

—
Bücher

“Page-turning till the end of the book! . . . Ava Lee is the upcoming crime star.”

—
dpa

“Exciting thriller debut with an astonishing end.”

—
Westdeutsche Zeitung

“Seldom does one get a thriller about white-collar crime, with an intelligent, independent lesbian and Asian protagonist. It’s also rare to find a book with such interesting and exotic settings . . . Readers will find great amusement in Ava’s unconventional ways and will certainly enjoy accompanying her on her travels”

—
Literaturkurier

PRAISE FOR
THE DISCIPLE OF LAS VEGAS
FINALIST, BARRY AWARD FOR BEST ORIGINAL TRADE PAPERBACK

“I started to read
The Disciple of Las Vegas
at around ten at night. And I did something I have only done with two other books (Cormac McCarthy’s
The Road
and Douglas Coupland’s
Player One
): I read the novel in one sitting. Ava Lee is too cool. She wonderfully straddles two worlds and two identities. She does some dastardly things and still remains our hero thanks to the charm Ian Hamilton has given her on the printed page. It would take a female George Clooney to portray her in a film. The action and plot move quickly and with power. Wow. A punch to the ear, indeed.”

— J. J. Lee, author of
The Measure of a Man

“I loved
The Water Rat of Wanchai,
the first novel featuring Ava Lee. Now, Ava and Uncle make a return that’s even better . . . Simply irresistible.”

— Margaret Cannon,
Globe and Mail

“This is slick, fast-moving escapism reminiscent of Ian Fleming, with more to come in what shapes up as a high-energy, high-concept series.”

—
Booklist

“Fast paced . . . Enough personal depth to lift this thriller above solely action-oriented fare.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“Lee is a hugely original creation, and Hamilton packs his adventure with interesting facts and plenty of action.”

—
Irish Independent

“Hamilton makes each page crackle with the kind of energy that could easily jump to the movie screen . . . This riveting read will keep you up late at night.”

—
Penthouse

“Hamilton gives his reader plenty to think about . . . Entertaining.”

—
Kitchener-Waterloo Record

PRAISE FOR THE WILD BEASTS OF WUHAN
LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FINALIST: LSEBIAN MYSTERY

“Smart and savvy Ava Lee, Toronto forensic accountant, returns in this slick mystery set in the rarefied world of high art . . . [A] great caper tale. Hamilton has great fun chasing villains and tossing clues about.
The Wild Beasts of Wuhan
is the best Ava Lee novel yet, and promises more and better to come.”

— Margaret Cannon,
Globe and Mail

“One of my favourite new mystery series, perfect escapism.”

—
National Post

“You haven’t seen cold and calculating until you’ve double-crossed this number cruncher. Another strong entry from Arthur Ellis Award–winner Hamilton.”

—
Booklist

“An intelligent kick-ass heroine anchors Canadian author Hamilton’s excellent third novel featuring forensic accountant Ava Lee . . . Clearly conversant with the art world, Hamilton makes the intricacies of forgery as interesting as a Ponzi scheme.”

—
Publishers Weekly
,
STARRED
review

“A lively series about Ava Lee, a sexy forensic financial investigator.”

—
Tampa Bay Times

“This book is miles from the ordinary. The main character, Ava Lee is ‘the whole package.’”

—
Minneapolis Star Tribune

“A strong heroine is challenged to discover the details of an intercontinental art scheme. Although Hamilton’s star Ava Lee is technically a forensic accountant, she’s more badass private investigator than desk jockey.”

—
Kirkus Reviews

“As a mystery lover, I’m devouring each book as it comes out . . . What I love in the novels: The constant travel, the high-stakes negotiation, and Ava’s willingness to go into battle against formidable opponents, using only her martial arts skills to defend herself . . . If you want a great read and an education in high-level business dealings, Ian Hamilton is an author to watch.”

—
Toronto Star

“Fast-paced and very entertaining.”

—
Montreal Gazette

“Ava Lee is definitely a winner.”

—
Saskatoon Star Phoenix

“
The Wild Beasts of Wuhan
is an entertaining dip into potentially fatal worlds of artistic skulduggery.”

—
Sudbury Star

“Hamilton uses Ava’s investigations as comprehensive and intriguing mechanisms for plot and character development.”

—
Quill & Quire

PRAISE FOR THE RED POLE OF MACAU

“Ava Lee returns as one of crime fiction’s most intriguing characters.
The Red Pole of Macau
is the best page-turner of the season from the hottest writer in the business!”

— John Lawrence Reynolds, author of
Beach Strip

“Ava Lee, that wily, wonderful hunter of nasty business brutes, is back in her best adventure ever . . . If you haven’t yet discovered Ava Lee, start here.”

—
Globe and Mail

“The best in the series so far.”

—
London Free Press

“Ava [Lee] is a character we all could use at one time or another. Failing that, we follow her in her best adventure yet.”

—
Hamilton Spectator

“A romp of a story with a terrific heroine.”

—
Saskatoon Star Phoenix

“Fast-paced . . . The action unfolds like a well-oiled action flick.”

—
Kitchener-Waterloo Record

“A change of pace for our girl [Ava Lee] . . . Suspenseful.”

—
Toronto Star

“Hamilton packs tremendous potential in his heroine . . . A refreshingly relevant series. This reader will happily pay House of Anansi for the fifth instalment.”

—
Canadian Literature

PRAISE FOR THE SCOTTISH BANKER OF SURABAYA

“Hamilton deepens Ava’s character, and imbues her with greater mettle and emotional fire, to the extent that book five is his best, most memorable, to date.”

—
National Post

“In today’s crowded mystery market, it’s no easy feat coming up with a protagonist who stands out from the pack. But local novelist Ian Hamilton has made a great job of it with his Ava Lee books. Young, stylish, Chinese Canadian, lesbian, and a brilliant forensic accountant, Ava is as complex a character as you could want . . . [A] highly addictive series . . . Hamilton knows how to keep the pages turning. He eases us into the seemingly tame world of white-collar crime, then raises the stakes, bringing the action to its peak with an intensity and violence that’s stomach churning. His Ava Lee is a winner and a welcome addition to the world of strong female avengers.”

—
NOW
Magazine

“Most of [the series’s] success rests in Hamilton’s tight plotting, attention to detail, and complex powerhouse of a heroine: strong but vulnerable, capable but not impervious . . . With their tight plotting and crackerjack heroine, Hamilton’s novels are the sort of crowd-pleasing, narrative-focused fiction we find all too rarely in this country.”

—
Quill & Quire

“Ava is such a cool character, intelligent, Chinese-Canadian, unconventional, and original . . . Irresistible.”

—
Owen Sound Sun Times

PRAISE FOR THE TWO SISTERS OF BORNEO
CANADIAN BESTSELLER

“There are plenty of surprises waiting for Ava, and for the reader, all uncovered with great satisfaction.”