The Red Pole of Macau

( 15 )

The house had seventeen rooms — not counting four and a half bathrooms — each of them neatly designated by the builder, although Ava knew that meant nothing if Lok had decided a den could become a bedroom and a bedroom a den.

The front door led into a foyer. To its right were a dining room and kitchen and to its left a living room and the den. A stairway to the far left ran at an angle to the second floor, where an open mezzanine overlooked the lower level. Lok probably hired someone to do feng shui, she thought. There were five bedrooms on the second floor and two full bathrooms.

Also on the left, at one end of the den, was a door that led into the windowless wing Ava had seen from Coloane Peak. The wing had a corridor with four rooms and two full bathrooms on each side. It looked exactly like her old university dormitory, and it seemed to have just the one door, no other way in or out.

The top floor had no details. The diagram showed open space that could be accessed by a small set of stairs at the right side of the second-floor corridor. She checked the date on the drawings and saw they were eight years old. That floor could have been converted into anything.

Amanda sat at the coffee table drinking mango juice and wolfing down a plate of nasi goreng while Ava went over the plans.

The same contractor had built the walls. They were stone, a metre thick and six metres in height — higher than Ava had thought. He’d installed the gate as well, and it had a name: the Citadel Anti-ram Security Gate. Anti-ram. Ava wasn’t happy to read that description.

She searched for information on the cameras, the electric wire, and whatever other security measures had been built into the place. There weren’t any, which wasn’t surprising. She leafed through the documents Amanda had gotten at the registry office to see if a name was recorded there. Again she came up empty. Given what she knew already, she had no doubt that Lok had built in some extras. Finding who had done them wasn’t going to be easy, and getting them to share the information was going to be even harder.

Ava had felt Amanda staring at her as she looked at the plans, and she fought to keep her body language neutral.

“Is it what you needed, what you expected?” Amanda asked as Ava rolled up the drawings before putting them back in the tube.

“Exactly. You couldn’t have done better.”

“So now what?”

“We wait here for a while.”

“Why?”

“Carlo and Andy are out looking for another piece of information. I expect to hear from them soon. If you want to go out for a walk or do some shopping, feel free. I’ll call you when we’re ready to go back to Hong Kong.”

“I’ll stay here, if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t.”

“And I’m tired. Would you mind if I lie down?”

Ava sat at the window, binoculars scanning the street, just killing time. She peeped periodically at Amanda, who seemed to be sleeping. She’d done well, but Ava was beginning to regret involving her. She was accustomed to working with men like Derek, Carlo, and Andy, people who knew her and with whom she didn’t have to care how she acted. She didn’t want to be constrained by concerns about how Amanda might react to any given situation. She didn’t want to be constrained at all.

She saw Carlo before he phoned her. He was two blocks away, the Chinese girl by his side. Andy trailed them, looking around, always attentive. She saw him reach for his phone and smiled. He motioned for Andy and the girl to go ahead while he made his call. Ava focused on the hooker’s face: puffy eyes, tired, bored. She’d probably been hauled out of bed by her mama-san. She was wearing jeans and a T-shirt from Hong Kong Disneyland.

“Where are you?” she asked when her phone rang.

“A few blocks from the hotel.”

“I think you have the Chinese girl.”

“Good guess.”

“I bet she’s wearing jeans this time of day, right?”

“Yep.”

“And a tee?”

“Don’t rag me, Ava.”

“Disneyland?”

“We’ll be there in five minutes,” he said, laughing.

“If you have any problems with Security, call me.”

“It’s the Kingsway, not the Peninsula.”

She waited a full five minutes and then went to the door to wait. She’d love for Amanda to sleep through her chat with the hooker. The elevator doors finally opened and the trio meandered towards the room. Ava swung the door open as they got close. The woman saw her, stopped, took two steps back, and said, “I don’t do women.”

“And I don’t want to be done,” Ava said.

Carlo grabbed her by the elbow and propelled her forward. “Relax, this isn’t what you think.”

When they entered the room, Ava opened the bathroom door and guided the woman into it. “Keep quiet — Amanda is sleeping,” she said to the boys. “If she wakes, try not to alarm her. And keep her away from the bathroom.”

Then she turned to the woman. “Don’t be scared. I just need to talk to you.”

“What the f*ck is this?”

Ava closed the bathroom door, sat on the side of the bathtub, and pointed to the toilet. “Take a seat.”

“What the f*ck is this?”

“What’s your name?”

“Fay.”

“Fay, how much did you expect to earn this afternoon?”

“Two thousand Hong Kong.”

“I’m going to give you five thousand, and you can keep your clothes on.”

The woman looked at the door. “Don’t think about it,” Ava said. “You don’t want to mess with me, and if you somehow made it out there, the boys would take care of you.”

“What do you want?”

“Just some information.”

“About what? I don’t know anything that’s worth five thousand.”

“You’d be surprised.”

“What the f*ck is this about?”

“Kao Lok.”

The woman raised her eyebrows. “That creep?”

“Yes. Now do you see how easy this is going to be?”

“Five thousand, right?”

“Yes.”

“What do you want to know?”

Ava said, “Not so fast. You need to understand the rules first.”

“Rules?”

“They’re very simple. I’m going to ask you some questions and you’re going to give me complete and honest answers. Where it gets tricky is that as far as the rest of the world knows — and that includes mama-san, your girlfriends, your boyfriends — this conversation never took place. No one, and I mean no one, is to hear even a whisper, because if they do, Fay, I’ll send the boys next door to find you and punish you.”

Fay leaned against the back of the toilet. Through the binoculars at Lok’s house, Ava would have guessed she was in her mid-twenties. Up close, her face looked worn, small lines etched into the bags under her eyes, the skin along her jawline beginning to sag. She’s in her mid-thirties for sure, Ava thought. Maybe even early forties.

“Do you mind if I smoke?” the woman asked.

“Actually, I do.”

“Then let’s get this over with. I know how to keep my mouth shut.”

“I saw you leave Lok’s this morning. How often have you been there?”

“I can’t count.”

“That many?”

“I’m a regular. Wu has a thing for me.”

“For how long?”

“At least three years.”

“Good. Now just wait a minute while I get something,” Ava said, standing up.

The woman’s eyes grew large, and Ava knew she’d frightened her. “It’s a floor plan of Lok’s house, that’s all,” she said.

“The castle, you mean.”

“Castle?”

“That’s what we call it.”

“I’ll be right back,” Ava said.

Amanda was still sleeping. The two boys stood at the window, Carlo with the binoculars fixed on a smaller hotel across the street. Ava opened the cardboard tube and extracted the floor plans. The boys didn’t even turn around as she headed back into the bathroom.

She spread the drawing across the bathroom sink and counter. “Come and look at this, please,” she said.

When the woman was right next to her, Ava could smell the mixed remnants of perfume, sweat, and sex. “Couldn’t you have showered?”

“I was told to move my ass, so that’s what I did.”

Ava sighed and passed a pen over the plans. “Okay, this drawing is eight years old. I need you to look at it and tell me if there have been any big changes. For example, there is a kitchen and dining room here on the right — is that still the case?”

“Yeah.”

“How about the other side, with the den and living room?”

“It’s one big room, that’s all. Lots of couches and throw cushions and a huge high-definition television. That’s where the guys hang out.”

“And here,” Ava said, moving the pen to the wing. “This is where some of the guys sleep?”

“Yeah.”

“How many?”

“It’s always changing. I’ve seen as few as three and I’ve seen the entire house filled with them.”

“How many is ‘filled’?”

“Fourteen, fifteen . . . I’m not sure.”

“How many last night?”

“I think there were seven.”

“Does that include Lok and Wu?”

“No, just the guys.”

“And they all sleep in this wing?”

“Yeah, unless there’s an overflow. Then they’ll put some of them upstairs, but I know they don’t like to do that. One time it happened when I was there and Wu didn’t stop bitching about it.”

“There are five bedrooms on the second floor. Where do Lok and Wu sleep?”

“Wu is here, the bedroom at the top of the stairs. Lok is at the other end.”

“So, three empty bedrooms separating them?”

“No, there are two servants, a husband and wife. They sleep in the middle bedroom.”

“Servants?”

“Yeah, they cook and clean. Nice old couple,” Fay said, turning towards Ava. A raw odour hit Ava like a hammer.

“You didn’t even brush your teeth,” Ava said.

“I did, but we ate salty fish last night, and that smell stays with you for days.”

“Then breathe away from me,” Ava said. She pointed to the third floor. “What’s there?”

“I don’t know. Never been there, and I’ve never seen anyone go there.”

“There are stairs.”

“Yeah, but at the top there’s a door, and I’ve never seen it open.”

“When you’re in Wu’s room, have you ever heard any sounds coming from the floor above?”

“Like what?”

“Footsteps, furniture moving, a television or radio?”

“Never.”

“What are the evenings like there? How does everyone spend their time?”

“What do you mean?”

“The other two girls were Russian, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Both for Lok?”

“That’s what he likes. Big girls, big tits, and always two.”

“So how did the five of you spend your evening?”

“We didn’t get there until eleven. We sat in the kitchen and had something to eat and drink, and then we went upstairs to f*ck. That’s it.”

“Where were the other guys?”

“In the den, playing cards or mah-jong or whatever and watching TV, like every other time I’ve been there.”

“Do they go to bed early?”

“Midnight is early for those guys.”

“So what time do they go to sleep?”

“One, two, three, something like that. Every time I get up to pee it seems like the TV is on.”

“How about in the morning — any early risers?”

“Yeah, the husband and wife, that’s it.”

“How early?”

“I don’t know, maybe seven o’clock. I do know that I’ve gone down earlier to get something to drink and the entire place was empty.”

“This is good, Fay,” Ava said. “You’re being helpful.”

“Then can I have a smoke now?”

“No, but we’re almost done.”

The woman sighed, her breath leaking sideways. Ava almost gagged. “You can sit down, though,” Ava said, motioning to the toilet. “Now I want to talk to you about security.”

“Security? You’ve seen the place — how much more secure can it be?”

“Has it always been like that?”

“Since I’ve been going. The first time I was there I asked Wu about it, and he told me they had a place in Taipa that was attacked by another gang. They lost four men. That’s when they moved to Coloane. Better safe than sorry, he said.”

“I saw the walls, the wire, the gate. What other security do they have? Is there an alarm system in the house?”

“Yeah, the whole house is wired. There’s a keypad at the front door and Wu has one in his room, and you can figure Lok has one in his too.”

“Do you know the code?”

“As if.”

“It doesn’t hurt to ask,” Ava said.

Fay gave her a get real stare.

“I saw cameras outside the house. Are they working?”

“Yeah, there’s a monitor screen in the den and Wu has one in his room.”

“What do the cameras record?”

“The courtyard, the front of the house.”

“Fay, have the alarms ever gone off while you were in the house?”

“Yeah, a couple of times.”

“What was the sound like?”

“A screech, a high-pitched screech.”

“Loud enough to wake everyone in the house?”

The woman began to answer and then caught herself. “It’s funny you should ask that, because one time when it woke me, I went to the top of the stairs with Wu. One of the girls who’d been with Lok had tried to go outside for some fresh air, so there wasn’t any threat or anything. He went downstairs to get her back in the house, close the door, and reset the alarm. It wasn’t until he was nearly done that the guys ran in from the wing, so I figure maybe the noise doesn’t carry so well there.”

“That’s interesting.”

“And when the alarm was reset, Wu phoned the police.”

“He what?”

“He called the cops to tell them everything was okay. He told me the alarm was hooked directly into the police station and that the cops would already be on their way to the house. He said it cost them a fortune to set up that deal, but it was worth every dollar.”

Ava couldn’t hide the feeling of despair on her face.

“Guess you didn’t want to hear that, right?” Fay said.

“No, I didn’t.”

“Sorry.”

Ava took a deep breath, gathering herself. “But I needed to know, and thanks for remembering. So anything else about security you can think of?”

“No, that’s about it.”

“Then one last thing,” Ava said. “When you were there last night, did you see a short man with dyed blond hair?”

“No.”

“Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?”

“I don’t understand what you’re getting at.”

Ava paused, unsure about how much she should say. “I think they’ve kidnapped one of our friends and are holding him hostage,” she finally said. “And I think they’re holding him in the house. If they are, I’d like to know where in the house. Would you have any idea?”

The woman shook her head. “No, I don’t have a clue.”

Ava gave her another few seconds, then said, “I’ll get your money. You can go now.”

“I need to pee first.”

“Take your time,” Ava said.

Amanda was awake, sitting at the coffee table and sipping another bottle of mango juice. Carlo and Andy had left the window and now sat side by side on the bed facing her, the three of them talking. Ava couldn’t begin to imagine what they would have in common to discuss, until she heard the words Happy Valley and remembered that Jack Yee owned racehorses.

“We’re finished here. I just have to pay the girl and we can leave,” Ava said.

She took five U.S. hundred-dollar bills from her jacket pocket. Fay came out of the bathroom and stood at the hotel room door. Ava went to her and counted the money into her hand. “Thanks,” Ava said.

“I won’t say anything to anyone,” Fay said.

Ava nodded and then went back into the room. “Okay, let’s collect our stuff and get back to Hong Kong.”

The elevator ride to the lobby was animated. Amanda was as much a horse-racing addict as the boys, and she seemed to know her stuff, because they kept asking insider questions and then looking appreciative as she answered them. Ava was pleased to see them distracted, since she was in no mood to chat.

When they got to the lobby, she excused herself and ducked into the business centre. It took her five minutes to find the Citadel Security Company. It was in Zhuhai, and she noted the email address and phone number.

The jetfoils back to Hong Kong ran every fifteen minutes, and at that time of day there were lots of open seats. “I have to make some phone calls, so I’m going to sit alone up at the front,” she told them. “I’ll come back when I’m done.”

The call to Citadel was more difficult than it should have been. She had to argue her way past a receptionist who insisted on taking her number so someone could call her back, then finally got passed along to a man who seemed to have some idea of customer service.

“We’re building a pharmaceutical factory in Zhuhai, and security is of pressing concern. We’ve seen pictures of your anti-ram gate and we think it could work for us. Could you give me some more information on it?”

Ava let him ramble, and when he was finished, she said, “Could you send me that information electronically, and whatever specifications you think I should be aware of?”

“What size gate are you thinking of? That does have a bearing,” he said.

She checked her notes. “About six metres across, three metres high.”

“That’s big.”

“We have large trucks coming and going all the time.”

“I understand. We’ve built them that size before, so I’ll dig up what I can for you.”

“Thanks, I really appreciate it. And tell me, when you say ‘anti-ram,’ what does that really mean?”

“You could run any car, at any speed, into it and not make a dent.”

“I assumed that, but how about a van or a Range Rover, say?”

“You couldn’t generate enough impact.”

“How about a truck?”

“What kind of truck?”

“Say a semi, fully loaded.”

“The gate isn’t built to withstand everything; it has its limits. It could repel a large truck, I think, but it would depend a lot on the velocity of the vehicle.”

“So a truck could get through?”

“Possibly. Depending on what type, how heavy it was, and what speed it was going when it hit the gate.”

“Thanks for this, and here’s my email address. Please send me the specs,” Ava said.

“Okay, I’ll send something through in the next hour.”

A lot of good it may do me, Ava thought as she made her second call.

“Wei.”

“Uncle, it’s Ava.”

“How are you?”

“Not terrific.”

“Where are you?”

“On the jetfoil coming back to Hong Kong from Macau.”

“So, not a good day in Macau?”

“No. Can you meet me for dinner?”

“Of course,” he said. “Let’s go to the Dynasty hotpot restaurant in Central. I will meet you in your hotel lobby at seven.”