The Scottish Banker of Surabaya

( 34 )

Perkasa phoned before she even had time to get her toilet kit packed. “Singapore Air,” he said.

She went back to the computer and, using the Visa card she’d found in Cameron’s wallet, bought a one-way ticket for him, business class, to Singapore.

Ten minutes later her bags were at the door. She took a last glance around the room, feeling that she had forgotten something. She did a quick search of the bathroom and double-checked the dresser drawers. They were empty. Then she remembered what it was she was looking for — her green jade cufflinks.

Ava carried her bags into the lobby and went to the front desk. She asked for her bill and for an envelope. While the clerk fussed with her computer, Ava wrote Uncle’s name and Kowloon address on the envelope and slid the USB key into it. If she didn’t make it back to Hong Kong, the information would.

Perkasa walked through the front door as she was settling the account. She waved him over. “When you get back to Jakarta, I’d like you to send this by courier to Uncle,” she said.

He stuffed the envelope into a front jeans pocket and reached for Ava’s bags.

Traffic was now as bad as she’d seen it all week. As Perkasa eased onto the road, Ava began to calculate the time they had left. If things went smoothly, she figured, they’d be at the airport by five.

“When do we kill the banker?” he asked.

“We have some business to finish first. Not much more than a few hours from now,” Ava said.

He nodded.

“We need to keep the Italians off-balance,” she said. “I want to make it look as if he’s still alive and has left Surabaya for reasons unknown. So we’ll drive the Porsche to the airport and park it there. We’ll have you board the plane as Cameron. I’d like for us to be able to check a bag in his name and have the bag picked up in Singapore; I think I may have a way we can get that done. When the Italians go looking for him, which they will, it would be helpful to have someone point them in the direction of Singapore.”

“The car and the ticket shouldn’t be a problem. As for the other two —”

“How close would he be to his housekeeper?” Ava asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Would the housekeeper be privy to his schedule?”

“Yeah, by and large.”

“So it wouldn’t be unusual for Cameron to tell his housekeeper he was going to Singapore on a business trip and that he needed to pack a bag.”

“Of course not, but how are you going to get him to do that without him getting completely paranoid?”

“We’ll have to side-door it.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Let’s wait until we get to Waru’s house,” said Ava, closing her eyes and putting her head back on the seat.

Prayogo was standing outside when they arrived. He approached the Nissan as it drove up to the house and began to speak rapidly to Perkasa when he got out of the car.

“The banker has passed out a couple of times since we left. They’ve been throwing water on him to revive him, but they’re not sure what’s going to happen if we leave him in the sun,” Perkasa said to Ava.

“Then we’ll move him into the shade and they can give him all the water he needs,” Ava said, climbing the stairs into the house.

She stood inside the kitchen while the brothers moved Cameron into the shade. Perkasa stayed with her, leaning against the sink, looking outwardly calm. “Who is going to kill him?” he asked, his voice even.

“I am.”

“Do you think —” he began.

“No, there’s nothing to think about. It’s my job, my choice. Will Waru object if I use his gun?”

“Of course not.”

“You still need to explain our plan to them and why we think it’s necessary to eliminate him. And Perkasa, you can’t emphasize enough our concerns about our collective self-preservation. They can’t discuss this with anyone, not even their wives.”

“I’ll make sure they understand.”

“Good. While you’re doing that, I’m going to have another chat with Cameron.”

The brothers had moved the chair against the back wall of the house. It was in the shade, but that hardly made an impact in the heat. Cameron was wet from head to toe, his hair flat against his head, the golf shirt stuck to his chest, his belly protruding like an upside-down bowl of jelly, his shorts and underwear heavy with water and lying in a lump at his feet.

“How are you doing, Andy?” she asked.

He grunted.

“This will be over soon enough,” she said, as Perkasa led the brothers back into the house for their talk. “Now there’s a personal matter I want to go over with you.”

He stiffened, and Ava knew he was imagining the worst.

“I’m going to take the tape from your mouth. When I do, I want you to stay quiet until I have a chance to ask my questions. And then all I want you to do is answer me. Got that?”

He nodded.

She reached out and stripped the tape from his face. He threw his head back, gulping in air through his open mouth. “I checked your story and I discussed things with my partner, and it appears you were telling me the truth about the bank. So that’s a good thing. We’re also prepared to work a deal for your million or so dollars. That’s also a good thing. What’s not quite so good is that I think you stole a set of green jade cufflinks from my hotel room.”

Cameron started to protest and then clamped his jaw tight.

Ava waited for a few seconds and then said quietly, “Don’t make me ask again.”

“I took them,” he said, his voice hoarse and breaking.

“What were they to you, Andy, a trophy of some sort? Is that how you immortalize your conquests? Do you have a large collection of date-rape mementos?”

He shook his head. “It isn’t like that.”

“I don’t care what it’s like. What I need you to tell me is where they are.”

“At my house.”

“I want them back.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ll get them back to you,” he said quickly.

“I know you will, and you’ll do it today. In fact, you’ll do it before you leave here and before we transfer that million dollars you say you have.”

“But how can I do that?”

“Where are the cufflinks?”

“On my dresser.”

Ava sat quietly, letting him worry about what was coming next. “Is there anyone at your house?” she said.

“I have staff there.”

“And who runs the staff?”

“Yannie, my housekeeper.”

“Does she speak English?”

“She has to. I have hardly any Indo.”

“That’s good. Now, Andy, tell me, is your mobile phone in the Porsche?”

“Aye.”

“Good. So here is what we’re going to do. My friends will get your phone and you’ll tell us your home phone number and we’re going to call it for you. You will ask to talk to Yannie. When you get her, you will tell her that you’re at the golf course, in the middle of your game, and that you’ll be there until dinner time. Then you’ll say you forgot to bring the jade cufflinks with you. Tell her you bought them as a gift for a business associate and that you’re meeting him for dinner. Ask her if she could wrap them for you and then tell her you’re sending one of the security people from the golf course to pick them up. What do you think, Andy? Does that sound reasonable?”

“Yeah, it does.”

“She wouldn’t find it unusual?”

“No.”

“And do you think you can make that call without causing a fuss? I mean, can you do exactly what I just outlined, that and nothing more?”

“Aye, I can do it.”

“Because if you can’t, Andy, I have to tell you that what you received earlier will seem like a tickle.”

His head bobbed up and down as if it were on a string. “I’ll do it, word for word.”

“That’s good to hear. And if you do, then we’ll figure out something about the money and send you on your way, in time to make dinner with your Italian friends. How does that sound?”

“Great, just great,” he said, his brogue thickening.

“Good. Now you wait here and I’ll be back with your phone.”

Ava walked back into the kitchen. The three men standing near the stove turned simultaneously. There was no hesitation in their manner, no doubt in their eyes. Uncle had a good man in Perkasa, and Perkasa had good men in Waru and Prayogo.

“We need to get the banker’s cellphone from his car,” she said.

Perkasa spoke to Prayogo and then said to Ava, “What did you arrange?”

“He’s going to call his housekeeper and tell her he’s sending someone from the golf course to pick up a gift for a friend. You’re going to be the someone.”

“Okay.”

“When you get there, tell her that Mr. Cameron might have to leave on a business trip to Singapore that evening, and he asked you to ask her to pack a suitcase for him with just enough things for an overnight stay. He will want his passport put into the case. Tell her that if he is going, he’ll go to the airport directly from dinner and he’ll call her and update her on his schedule.”

“Do you have the housekeeper’s name?”

“Yannie.”

“Good. And this gift, do I need to know what it is?”

“It’s small and it will be wrapped. Bring it back to me. I want it.”

“Okay.”

“And when you get back, we’ll settle things with Cameron,” she said. “The boys are onside?”

“No problem.”

“Would Waru be okay with our burying Cameron in one of his back fields?”

“Shouldn’t be an issue,” Perkasa said without hesitation.

“Then could you ask the brothers to dig a hole — a deep hole — while you’re off getting Cameron’s things?”

“Sure.”

“Thanks.”

“I have to say, Ava, you’ve made quite an impression on them.”

“That wasn’t the intention,” she said.

Prayogo came back into the house carrying the mobile in his hand.

Ava looked at her watch. “Let’s get started.”