The Scottish Banker of Surabaya

COMING SOON

from House of Anansi Press

in February 2014

Read on for a preview of the next thrilling Ava Lee novel, The Two Sisters of Borneo.





( 1 )

Ava Lee sensed something was wrong the instant she saw May Ling Wong standing alone at the entrance to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

It was the second Saturday in January, and the sky was overcast. It was cold and dank, typical weather for the middle of a Hong Kong winter. Ava was in a Bentley limousine with Amanda Yee, the bride-to-be and her future sister-in-law, and three bridesmaids when she spotted May Ling. Amanda was about to marry Ava’s half-brother Michael, and Ava was the maid of honour. They had driven from Sha Tin, the town in the New Territories where Amanda’s parents lived.

The five women had been up since six that morning, getting coiffed, made up, and dressed by some of the most expensive hairstylists and makeup artists in Hong Kong. Ava had resisted having her shoulder-length black hair twisted and sprayed into an elaborate updo. She had declined to have her face slathered with foundation and powder. But she had no choice about the sleek lavender silk dress that Amanda had chosen for the bridal party. The tight strapless gown fell to Ava’s knees and made her feel as if she was enveloped in coloured plastic wrap.

Ava was in her mid-thirties but this was only the third wedding she had attended. The first had been her older sister Marian’s, when she married a gweilo civil servant named Bruce. The previous August her best friend, Mimi, had married Ava’s best guy friend and occasional work associate Derek Liang, at Toronto City Hall in front of ten friends and family members. Mimi was pregnant with Derek’s child, and the wedding had been little more than a formality. They had already started their life together, recently moving into a house in Leaside, one of Toronto’s more affluent neighbourhoods. Afterwards Derek had treated everyone to lunch at a nearby Chinese restaurant. The Hong Kong wedding, in contrast, would be going from the splendour of the cathedral to an eight-course feast in the ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Hotel.

When the limousine arrived at Immaculate Conception, three photographers and two cameramen were waiting for the bride and her bridesmaids. Twenty or thirty of the several hundred wedding guests were huddling together on the sidewalk for a last-minute cigarette. May Ling stood to the side, apart from the others. She wore a fitted coral and pale green Chanel suit, the skirt coming to just slightly above the knee. She stared vacantly, her face impassive, her back pressed against the grey stone church wall.

“There’s May,” Ava said to Amanda. “She looks a bit troubled.”

“Huh?” Amanda said, her attention focused on gathering up the metre-long train of her ivory Vera Wang wedding dress.

“Nothing,” Ava said, knowing the word troubled shouldn’t have escaped her lips. The wedding might be taking place in Western fashion in a Roman Catholic church, but Chinese superstitions couldn’t be that easily dismissed. Even a negative word, let alone deed, was viewed as having the potential to jinx the married couple. As the maid of honour, part of Ava’s role was to make sure that Amanda stayed protected inside a happy bubble.

When Ava got out of the limo, May Ling took a step forward and waved. She smiled, but her brow was furrowed and the smile was fleeting.

Amanda slid from the car, posed for the cameras, and was then surrounded by the bridesmaids for more photos. The plan was for them to escort her to a small room just inside the main entrance, where she could make any last-minute adjustments and prepare for the walk down the aisle. As the bridal party started towards the church, Ava moved next to Amanda.

“We have about twenty minutes before the ceremony starts,” Ava said. “I’m going to have a quick chat with May Ling and then I’ll meet you inside.”

“Where is May?”

“Over there,” Ava said, pointing, and realized with relief that Amanda hadn’t heard her earlier comment.

Amanda glanced at May. “I’m surprised she’s here.”

“Why?”

“She phoned me a few days ago to say she might not make it.”

“Why not?”

“She didn’t say. She just said she had some issues in Wuhan to deal with.”

“Well, she’s here, so I guess the problem has been resolved. Now you’d better get inside.”

“Don’t take too long. I’m more nervous than I thought I would be,” Amanda said.

“I’ll be there shortly.”

Ava turned and walked towards May Ling. The two women had met the previous year, when May and her husband, Changxing, had hired Ava and her partner, Uncle, to help them locate and recover the millions of dollars they had lost purchasing forged paintings. Ava and Uncle were then in the debt-recovery business. The case had not gone smoothly, and the relationship between the two women had degenerated into betrayal and mistrust when May had used and deliberately undermined Ava. But a short time later May had come to Ava’s assistance in a case that involved Ava’s family — specifically her half-brother Michael — and the two women had found common ground and begun to build a friendship.

May took a step forward and held out her arms. Ava slid into them and the two women hugged. “You look absolutely gorgeous,” May said.

“I spent last night and this morning with Amanda and those twenty-something friends of hers. They made me feel old, not gorgeous.”

“You’re only in your mid-thirties. I’m in my mid-forties, so imagine how I feel.”

“May, men adore you,” Ava said.

“Changxing does, anyway.”

Ava took a step back. May was the same height as her — five foot three inches — and weighed maybe five pounds less at 110 pounds. She was slim, fine-boned, and, like Ava, had an ample bosom that she didn’t hesitate to show off. Her hair was straight and cut short in a fashionable bob. Physically she gave off a sense of vulnerability, but she had a sharp mind and a quick tongue that could be raw and cutting. And she could be highly charming and subtly seductive. Uncle said that men were torn between wanting to protect her and wanting to impress her.

“Where is Changxing?” Ava asked.

“He doesn’t like weddings and he hates churches. He’s spending the afternoon with Uncle. He’ll meet me later at the Mandarin Oriental to get dressed for the dinner.”

“Uncle didn’t mention anything to me about Changxing.”

“He called Uncle this morning to see if he was up for a visit. He said he was, although I did tell Changxing he should have checked with you.”

Uncle, like Changxing and May Ling, was from Wuhan, in Hubei province in central China. He had fled when he was a young man to escape the Communists. After he landed in Hong Kong, he had became prominent in the Triad society before retiring as its chairman and starting the debt-collection business that Ava later joined. Changxing liked to emphasize the Wuhan ties between the two men. Uncle’s interest in the wealthy businessman, who was known as the “Emperor of Hubei,” had always been in his guanxi, his connections, and in his ability to deliver favours.

Ava and May Ling’s relationship stood separate from that of the men, a situation that Uncle endorsed. Though her feeling was unsubstantiated by word or deed, Ava had a sense that Changxing didn’t share Uncle’s enthusiasm for the women’s increasingly tight friendship, which was further emphasized by the fact that they had set up a business together. The Three Sisters was the name of their newly formed investment fund. May Ling and Ava were the majority shareholders and Amanda had a minority stake. The fund was now Amanda’s full-time occupation; May Ling was splitting her time between their new venture and her business interests with Changxing; and Ava had committed herself to the business after Uncle gave her his blessing.

“I’m not Uncle’s nurse or his secretary, and he hates it when I start acting like one.”

“How is he?” May asked softly.

“As well as anyone can expect. The cancer has travelled from his stomach to his other organs. While the doctors don’t like to talk about time frames, I don’t think I’ll be needed in Hong Kong for much longer.”

“It’s been four months now?”

“We’re in the fifth month. He’s better than I thought he would be, though. Most days I meet him in the morning, for congee, and if he’s up to it, for dinner somewhere in Kowloon. The dinners are becoming rarer these days; there are only so many things he can eat. That irritates him, and not many things do. But he seems to accept what’s happening, and we manage to spend our time enjoying each other’s company and talking about other things. My mother flew over from Toronto for two weeks in early December. She was a blessing in terms of supporting me and taking Uncle outside himself. She makes him laugh.”

“Ava, in these talks you’ve had with Uncle, have you kept him up to date on our business?”

“I’ve kept him briefed. I told him you and Amanda are running things until I’m ready to join full-time.”

“Good.” May hesitated, her eyes wandering past Ava towards the church door. “I think one of the bridesmaids is looking for you,” she said.

Ava turned and saw the one named Camille standing in the doorway. “I’ll be right there,” she shouted.

“I can’t help but think how strange this situation is,” May said, looking around at the guests, who were now filing into the church.

“What do you mean?” Ava asked, again surprised by May’s vagueness.

“Sorry. I meant your being the maid of honour,” she said, and then put her hand to her mouth. “Oh, Ava, I’m sorry again. I don’t mean to offend; it’s just that people are talking.”

“I know. This morning I met Michael’s three brothers — my half-brothers — for the first time. At first they were distant, tentative. Then we chatted a bit and, truthfully, they couldn’t have been nicer. But I know what some people are saying about the daughter of a second wife having such a major role in the wedding of the eldest son of the first wife.”

“It is unusual.”

“The way I look at it, I’m a friend and now a business partner of Amanda. Her father, Jack, was Uncle’s and my client, and we even saved his life. If she had been marrying anyone else I’d have the same role. I’m here for her.”

“Ava . . .” Camille’s voice could be heard from the church doorway.

“I have to go,” Ava said to May.

“Tomorrow can we meet for breakfast? We can have dim sum at the Mandarin.”

“Sure, that should be fine,” Ava said, and then realized May was looking past her again. “Is there a problem?”

“No, not really. We just have some things we need to go over.”

“Ava, Amanda is almost ready,” Camille said, appearing at her side, a hand reaching for her elbow.

“Tell her I think she’s the most beautiful bride I have ever seen,” May said.

“Yes, I will,” Ava said, and then turned and walked into the church with the bridesmaid.

What a strange day, she thought. First meeting all my half-brothers, and then May acting so anxious. And now I’m going to walk down the aisle right behind Amanda, knowing that most of the people in this church think it’s scandalous for me even to be in the building.

What Ava didn’t know was that the day was about to become stranger still.





ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I want to thank Sarah MacLachlan and her team at House of Anansi Press for their continuing support.

My agents, Carolyn Forde and Bruce Westwood, for their commitment and dedication.

My wife, Lorraine, and my children — Jill, Ian, Stephanie, and Alexis — all of whom beat the drum and cover my back.

My daughter-in-law, Jane, and my sons-in-law, Todd Howell and Brian Moniz, who are there for me whenever I need them.

My editor, the great Janie Yoon. This is our fifth book together, and her insight is as sharp as ever and her contribution perhaps even more impactful.

There were also a number of people who helped me form The Scottish Banker. Among them: Robin Spano, a friend and a fine crime writer in her own right; Catherine Rosebrugh, a lawyer and another good friend; John Paterson, former business partner and a resident of Bali; and Kristine Wookey, the wife of Bruce Westwood, but more important to me, someone who understands Ava.

Last, I want to thank book clubs. Over the past few years I have made it a point to accept every invitation I have received from book clubs. I have never been disappointed. There is something refreshing, almost affirming, about meeting people who love books — even if they don’t always love mine — and aren’t hesitant about expressing their opinions about them. I have made changes to manuscripts and reprints on the basis of book club input.

One club in Richmond Hill has been particularly supportive. That seems uncannily appropriate since that’s where Ava was raised and her mother still lives. That club was my first, and those women of Richmond Hill have stuck with me through every book. I almost consider them my good-luck charms: a book launch without them wouldn’t feel the same. So my thanks to Samantha, Kim, Sherri, Ann, Kristine, and the rest of the women of Richmond Hill.





IAN HAMILTON is the author of The Water Rat of Wanchai, The Disciple of Las Vegas, The Wild Beasts of Wuhan, The Red Pole of Macau, and The Scottish Banker of Surabaya. 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. The sixth book in the Ava Lee series, The Two Sisters of Borneo, will be published in February 2014.





ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

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.”