has he kept the money, this time, do you know?’
It was her turn to nod.
‘Yes, I do,’ she said.
‘Tell me,’ I said.
‘It’s because it’s not the same man, this time.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘This Macau triad organisation has had a recent change of leadership. New has replaced old. The old leader is dead and a new, much younger man has taken over. As he didn’t personally do the deal with the Swiss banker he believes he can keep the money, and for insurance he has sent me.’
It sounded plausible.
‘But how can we get the money back?’ I asked.
‘I’ll only tell you that once we’ve made a deal,’ she said. ‘Call your boss and ask him.’
I used my K106. Bartholomew Meriwether’s voice was less animated than usual. The outcome had clearly disappointed him. I wondered if what I was going to tell him would make any difference.
‘She says she knows how to get the money back,’ I said.
‘Does she?’ he said. His voice lifted but I wasn’t sure if it was in hope or disbelief. ‘Do you believe her?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know, maybe.’
‘Give me five minutes,’ he said. ‘I want to read her file. Hoagy will find it for me on his laptop. I’ll call you back.’ He ended the call.
The tension charged the air like the Hadron Collider. Xing didn’t want to ask me but she wanted to know. I said, ‘He’s going to read your file and then call me back.’ The tension remained.
Xing broke the silence. ‘In Tenerife, the other man I killed was a soldier, wasn’t he, like you?’
‘Yes,’ I said.
‘I followed him up. Like a soldier, he was only interested in what was ahead not what was behind. I watched you fight him. I thought you were going to kill him. Why didn’t you?’
I didn’t answer. Instead, I said, ‘I don’t want to talk about Tenerife. Let’s leave it in the past.’
We returned to tension charged silent waiting.
My K106 played “Rule, Britannia!” I answered the call.
‘I’ve read her file,’ Meriwether said. ‘Did you know her father was British? He was a Hong Kong policeman. You know, we should never have given it back to the Chinese.’
I did know he had been a HK policeman. Charlotte had told me. I got the feeling this nationalistic knowledge made a difference. To Meriwether it counted for something. It counted for a lot.
‘What does she want?’ he asked.
‘A deal,’ I said.
‘Umm, well, it may be worth our while exploring this development a little further, don’t you agree? Tell her I’m prepared to make a deal with her. Ask her to accompany you back to London. I should like to meet her. We can discuss terms then.’ Meriwether ended the call.
‘How would you like to spend Christmas in London?’ I asked.
She smiled.
The tension lifted.
‘That would be nice,’ she said.
We left the cabin and Ulrich, dead on the floor. Outside it was snowing again. I dismantled the rifle into its component parts and stored it away in Xing’s rucksack. I wasn’t sure what to do with it.
‘What had you planned to do with the rifle?’ I asked her.
‘That’s a secret,’ she said.
‘Tell me.’
‘Okay,’ she said. ‘I was going to post it back to Hong Kong, to an unnamed postal address. If you ever need to move small weapons around the world, send them by airmail. You can then fly clean and collect them from the postal service when you arrive. It usually works well.’
‘How were you planning on getting back?’
‘By train to Paris and then Air France direct to Hong Kong.’
‘We should get rid of the rifle, just in case,’ I said.
‘I’ll post it, if you’ll let me.’
We went down the mountain on the trail side by side. I rested on my skis and Xing walked beside me. She kept her hood up and I used my hat and goggles. There wasn’t any need to give anybody the opportunity of describing us to the police when the investigation started.
‘You don’t ski?’ I said.
‘No, I grew up in Hong Kong,’ she said.
‘Why
It was her turn to nod.
‘Yes, I do,’ she said.
‘Tell me,’ I said.
‘It’s because it’s not the same man, this time.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘This Macau triad organisation has had a recent change of leadership. New has replaced old. The old leader is dead and a new, much younger man has taken over. As he didn’t personally do the deal with the Swiss banker he believes he can keep the money, and for insurance he has sent me.’
It sounded plausible.
‘But how can we get the money back?’ I asked.
‘I’ll only tell you that once we’ve made a deal,’ she said. ‘Call your boss and ask him.’
I used my K106. Bartholomew Meriwether’s voice was less animated than usual. The outcome had clearly disappointed him. I wondered if what I was going to tell him would make any difference.
‘She says she knows how to get the money back,’ I said.
‘Does she?’ he said. His voice lifted but I wasn’t sure if it was in hope or disbelief. ‘Do you believe her?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know, maybe.’
‘Give me five minutes,’ he said. ‘I want to read her file. Hoagy will find it for me on his laptop. I’ll call you back.’ He ended the call.
The tension charged the air like the Hadron Collider. Xing didn’t want to ask me but she wanted to know. I said, ‘He’s going to read your file and then call me back.’ The tension remained.
Xing broke the silence. ‘In Tenerife, the other man I killed was a soldier, wasn’t he, like you?’
‘Yes,’ I said.
‘I followed him up. Like a soldier, he was only interested in what was ahead not what was behind. I watched you fight him. I thought you were going to kill him. Why didn’t you?’
I didn’t answer. Instead, I said, ‘I don’t want to talk about Tenerife. Let’s leave it in the past.’
We returned to tension charged silent waiting.
My K106 played “Rule, Britannia!” I answered the call.
‘I’ve read her file,’ Meriwether said. ‘Did you know her father was British? He was a Hong Kong policeman. You know, we should never have given it back to the Chinese.’
I did know he had been a HK policeman. Charlotte had told me. I got the feeling this nationalistic knowledge made a difference. To Meriwether it counted for something. It counted for a lot.
‘What does she want?’ he asked.
‘A deal,’ I said.
‘Umm, well, it may be worth our while exploring this development a little further, don’t you agree? Tell her I’m prepared to make a deal with her. Ask her to accompany you back to London. I should like to meet her. We can discuss terms then.’ Meriwether ended the call.
‘How would you like to spend Christmas in London?’ I asked.
She smiled.
The tension lifted.
‘That would be nice,’ she said.
We left the cabin and Ulrich, dead on the floor. Outside it was snowing again. I dismantled the rifle into its component parts and stored it away in Xing’s rucksack. I wasn’t sure what to do with it.
‘What had you planned to do with the rifle?’ I asked her.
‘That’s a secret,’ she said.
‘Tell me.’
‘Okay,’ she said. ‘I was going to post it back to Hong Kong, to an unnamed postal address. If you ever need to move small weapons around the world, send them by airmail. You can then fly clean and collect them from the postal service when you arrive. It usually works well.’
‘How were you planning on getting back?’
‘By train to Paris and then Air France direct to Hong Kong.’
‘We should get rid of the rifle, just in case,’ I said.
‘I’ll post it, if you’ll let me.’
We went down the mountain on the trail side by side. I rested on my skis and Xing walked beside me. She kept her hood up and I used my hat and goggles. There wasn’t any need to give anybody the opportunity of describing us to the police when the investigation started.
‘You don’t ski?’ I said.
‘No, I grew up in Hong Kong,’ she said.
‘Why
Similar Books
