The Disciple of Las Vegas by Ian Hamilton

in Manila. And now Aunt Lily says you’re here in Vancouver already.”
    Ava felt a tiny surge of optimism. If she had been speaking to Marx, then Maggie Chew knew something was going on. “What did Louis tell you about me?”
    â€œHe said you’d been hired by my uncle but, despite that, you seemed to be fair.”
    â€œI try to be.”
    â€œAfter talking to Louis I was going to try to contact you anyway. You didn’t have to drag Aunt Lily into this. Her call upset my mother. She doesn’t want her friends to know that my father is going through a rough patch.”
    â€œI’m sorry. How was I to know?”
    â€œYou couldn’t, I guess.”
    â€œI’m sorry anyway.”
    â€œAre you really in Vancouver, like Aunt Lily said?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œYou move fast.”
    â€œIt’s what I do,” Ava said.
    â€œShe said you wanted to meet with my father.”
    â€œIf it’s possible.”
    â€œIt isn’t.”
    â€œI see.”
    â€œHe isn’t making any sense right now. I think he’s had some kind of nervous breakdown. My mother and I have been trying to get him to see our family doctor or go to the hospital, but we can’t get him to listen to us. He seems totally lost, like he’s burrowed into himself.”
    â€œLouis said he was distressed.”
    â€œCatatonic is more like it.”
    â€œI’m sorry.”
    â€œYou keep saying that.”
    â€œWhat would you prefer me to say?” Ava asked.
    Maggie hesitated and then said, “I’ll meet with you if you want. I have some understanding of what’s been going on, and I know my Uncle Tommy will be howling for blood. Maybe there’s a way we can manage all of this better.”
    â€œIt certainly can’t hurt,” Ava said, her optimism notching up another gear.
    â€œWhere are you calling from?”
    â€œThe Pan Pacific Hotel.”
    â€œThere’s a very good Chinese restaurant near there, the Emperor’s Crown, in the Marine Building in the inner harbour. Could you meet me there in about an hour? I’ll be wearing a powder-blue sweatsuit.”
    â€œBlack Adidas nylon jacket and training pants,” Ava said. “And Maggie, I wish I didn’t have to ask you to do this.”
    â€œWell, I know sooner or later we’ll have to talk to someone, and better you than some other people I can think of . . .”
    â€œI’ll see you in an hour,” Ava said softly.

( 14 )
    Ava got to the restaurant at exactly one o’clock. From the entrance she scanned the room for a powder-blue sweatsuit. When she didn’t see one, she asked for a table for two by the window. She put the envelope that contained the information from Cousins and Edward Ling on the table and then sat for ten minutes watching float planes land and take off from the marina in the harbour.
    A server was placing a pot of jasmine tea on the table when Ava saw a silver BMW pull into the lot. It was a high-end Series 5 or 6, and the driver was wearing a powder-blue sweatsuit. It was the kind of car she would expect the only daughter of wealthy Chinese parents to drive. She was no stranger to the breed. Not all of them were spoilt, arrogant, and manic about acquiring the latest fashion in clothes, cars, shoes, and purses. But more than enough were.
    When Ava saw the BMW, she assumed Maggie Chew would fit the bill. But as she watched the short, pudgy girl walk into the restaurant, the image disappeared.
    Ava stood up, and when Maggie saw her, she walked towards the table with her head down, her eyes fixed upon her unlaced white running shoes.
    â€œThank you for coming,” Ava said.
    Maggie raised her head. Ava saw that her skin was marred by bright red pimples high on her cheeks and small pits beneath them. Her eyes were large, with dark circles around them. “I didn’t think I had much choice,” she said.
    â€œShall we