Ian Hamilton - The disciple of Las Vegas

“There will be a flight every hour or so, and the flying time is only an hour.”

“Then I’ll see you at the Pan Pacific,” she said. “I’ll be wearing a blue button-down dress shirt.”

“This is my cellphone number,” he said, reciting it. “Call me if there are any changes in your plans.”

She called her travel agent in Toronto, and within five minutes she had a flight to Vancouver and a room at the Pan Pacific. She decided it was time to call Uncle.

“ Wei,” he said.

“It’s Ava.”

“Did you find him?” he asked.

She was surprised by his abruptness. “I did.”

“And the money?”

“No.”

There was a heavy silence. Uncle told Chang Wang more than he should have, she thought.

“Do you know what happened to it, where it is?”

“Jim Cousins doesn’t have it. He was a just a conduit,” she said.

“You are certain?”

“I’m one hundred percent certain. Cousins was hired to be the front man for this piece of work.”

“By Chew?

“Of course.”

“I was hoping for something else — anything else.”

“Not to be.”

“This is very bad,” he said.

She wondered what he meant by bad. “The thing is, I don’t want you to say anything to Chang Wang or Tommy Ordonez just yet.”

“I told Chang that you had located Jim Cousins.”

“Now tell him that Cousins wasn’t in San Francisco when I got there. Tell him that I’m on his trail and I’m confident I’ll catch up to him in a day or two. Buy me a couple of days.”

“Why, Ava?”

“Because I don’t know what happened. I mean, I do know what Chew did and I have the documents to prove it, but I don’t know why he did it and I don’t know where the money is. It will take some time to figure it all out. If you mention that we have proof Chew did it, Ordonez won’t be able to contain himself. He’ll be on the first plane to Vancouver and the situation will degenerate into a family brawl, and any chance we have of collecting our fee will be dead.”

“I trust Chang,” Uncle said.

Ava took a deep breath. “Uncle, you told me that Chang is Ordonez’s creature. He may be an old and dear friend, but you know his primary loyalty is to Ordonez.”

It wasn’t often that Ava argued with Uncle, partly out of respect for his position and his age, but also because she accepted that he had tremendous judgement when it came to understanding situations and people. Uncle had gone quiet after her outburst, and she feared she had offended him.

“Do you have a plan?” he finally asked.

“I do.”

“A few days, you said.”

“Hopefully.”

“I would like to collect our fee as much as you would.”

“Then let me run with this,” she said softly.

“I will tell Chang that Cousins has not been run to ground yet.”

“Thank you, Uncle.”

He paused, and Ava was wondering if he was angry at her when he blurted, “How could Philip Chew do this to his family?”

In Uncle’s world, family extended far beyond blood relations, and disloyalty, even to the remotest fringes of the group, was cause for dismay. Causing harm to your immediate family was unthinkable to him. “That is what I hope to find out,” Ava said.

She was expecting him to criticize Philip Chew some more, but instead he said, “Ava, I have not found Jackie Leung yet, but I know who he contracted with. I have confirmed that there are two men looking for you.”

“I see.”

“The gang is from Guangzhou. I have been negotiating through an intermediary to have the contract cancelled. So far they have resisted, but I am not done yet. Either way, Jackie Leung will be located and dealt with. In the meantime, stay alert.”

Ava was sitting in the lobby of the Pan Pacific Hotel in black slacks and a powder-blue Brooks Brothers shirt with her jade cufflinks. Her hair was still damp from the shower she had taken after checking in. She glanced at her Tank Francaise watch. It was just past eight o’clock.

She saw Edward Ling before he saw her. A bulky man with a shock of white hair, wearing a tailored navy-blue pinstriped suit and a blue Hermes tie loosened at the neck, he was walking down a staircase from the mezzanine, scanning the lobby.

Ava stood so he could see her. He acknowledged her with a nod and walked towards her.

“Are you Ava Lee?” he asked.

“Yes, I am,” she said, offering her hand.

“You aren’t what I expected. Not at all what I expected.” He slurred ever so slightly, and she knew there had been alcohol with dinner.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You’re so young.”

“I’m not as young as I look.”

“Do you have a business card?” he asked.

She opened her purse and handed one to him. She also pulled out her Moleskine notebook and the envelope that contained Jim Cousins’ contract. Sitting down, she placed the papers next to her on the couch. Ling sat down across from her. She could tell he was agitated, and wondered how much he knew.

“Are you a daughter of Marcus Lee?” he asked.

“Yes,” Ava said, startled. “I am.”

Ava was the second daughter of Marcus Lee and his second wife, Jennie. Jennie had become Marcus’s wife in the old style, which is to say he had never left or divorced the first. Ava and Marian had become his second family, acknowledged and cared for but with no hope of inheriting anything more than their names and whatever their mother could put aside for them from Marcus’s generous allowance. Their father had four children by his first wife, who lived in Hong Kong, and another two with wife number three, who lived in Australia. It was — at least to Westerners — a strange approach to family life. But in Chinese eyes it was traditional and therefore acceptable. It was also not a lifestyle for a man without wealth.

“I met you when you were two years old.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I met you in Hong Kong when your father was still living with your mother. You have an older sister, right?”

“Marian.”

“When I heard your name earlier today, I had a vague recollection. And then I called a friend in Hong Kong and he made the connection for me. I wasn’t sure until I saw how young you were.”

“How do you know my father?”

“We were schoolmates in Hong Kong, and then later we knew each other in Australia.”

“What a coincidence.”

Ling stared at her and she began to feel uncomfortable. “You look a lot like him,” he said. “Although looking like your mother wouldn’t be so bad. She was a real beauty.”

“She still is,” Ava said.

“Do you stay in touch with your father?”

It was a rude question, designed to humiliate her. “Yes, and I’ll be sure to tell him we met and that you inquired about our relationship.”

Ling flinched. He realized he had gone too far. Marcus Lee wasn’t a close friend anymore, but he was a man who had too much wealth, power, and influence for Ling to dare offend him. “Well, anyway, it’s such a small world, isn’t it?”

“I’m here about Philip Chew,” Ava said.

“I thought as much when you mentioned Manila.”

“You incorporated a company called Kelowna Valley Developments for him. A man named Jim Cousins was designated president but the shares were held by Chew.”

“Are you always so direct?” he asked with amusement.

“It saves time.”

He shrugged. “As I remember, the shares in that business were held in trust by our law firm.”

“You incorporated the company for Philip Chew. It’s logical to assume that the shares are being held in trust for him.”

“I haven’t actually admitted incorporating the company for Philip. That is your assertion.”