The Scottish Banker of Surabaya - By Ian Hamilton Page 0,122
the announcement to go to the gate came before she reached the editorial page in the Post. She left the lounge carrying her bag. In it she had her computer, her phone, a small toilet kit, and one change of clothes that she hoped she wouldn’t have to use. She had no idea how long it would take from the time they seized the plane to counting the money that would be on it. Hours, she presumed. If it went on long enough, she could forego a hotel, staying at the airport to catch her plane back to Hong Kong.
The CX flight was already boarding when she got to the gate: a long line of Bali-bound tourists waiting to board the economy section. There was no one in line for business class, and Ava was swiftly ushered to her seat. As she settled into it, the realization that she was actually returning to Surabaya took hold. I hope this isn’t a mistake, she thought. Please don’t let this be a mistake.
She searched the in-flight entertainment list to find something that would distract her. She was hoping to find a Gong Li film but saw there was a Maggie Cheung movie. Cheung was her mother’s favourite actress. And as with Anita Mui, her mother’s favourite Cantonese singer, Jennie bore a physical resemblance to her — lean and languid, with a long face and large eyes filled with emotion. Maggie Cheung Man Yuk had Shanghai roots like Jennie, and she spoke English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Shanghainese, and French with almost equal ease. She was a great actress, a star of close to seventy films, with a particular ability to convey vulnerability and heartbreak. Even if there hadn’t been a physical resemblance, Ava now wondered if her mother would still have identified with Man Yuk because her movie loves were often unrequited.
Ava started to watch a film in which Cheung played a drug addict in an unstoppable downward spiral, but the futility was too sad to bear. In its place she found a replay of that year’s Miss Hong Kong contest. The final group of contestants included a woman from Vancouver and another from Toronto. The woman from Toronto played the cello; Ava rooted for her even though she had no idea how well she was actually playing.
The plane landed five minutes early, but the extra time was immediately swallowed up by a long line of arrivals waiting to buy visas. Ava got in behind some Australians who, thankfully, were so merry that the thirty-minute wait passed quite quickly. At quarter to four she cleared Customs, bypassed Baggage Claim, and walked into the main terminal.
She turned on her phone and called Poirier. His cell rang four times and then went dead. Shit, she thought. She was about to redial when her phone sounded.
“Hello, I’m in the terminal,” she said.
“What?”
The voice sounded familiar, though she couldn’t put a name to it. “Who is this?”
“It’s John Masterson.”
“Oh, hi.”
“Is this Ava Lee?”
“Yes, John, this is me.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m back in Hong Kong.”
“Do you have time to talk?”
“Yes.”
“Ava, have you heard from Andy Cameron?”
“No, why would I?”
“No special reason.”
“Then why do you ask?”
“Because I received a very strange phone call earlier today from a man who claims to be his associate.”
“What was his name?”
“Foti, Emilio Foti.”
“What did this Emilio Foti want?”
“He was looking for Cameron and thought I might know where he was.”
“Why should he think you would know?”
“He said Cameron left the bank on Friday and they haven’t heard from him since. His calendar showed that he was having dinner with us that night.”
“Didn’t he have a golf tournament on the weekend?”
“Yes, but evidently he played on Saturday and then didn’t show up for the Sunday match.”
“Foti told you that?”
“Yes.”
“What else did he say?”
“He asked me if Andy had mentioned going to Singapore on business. I told him Andy never discussed his business plans — or his personal plans, for that matter — with me.”
“Why would he think Andy went to Singapore?”
“That’s where Andy’s housekeeper said he had gone.”
“Well, she would know more than anyone, don’t you think? Maybe Andy flew there for a dirty weekend and decided to stay for a few extra days.”
“That’s unlikely, knowing Singapore, and knowing that Andy can get all the dirt he needs here.”
“Well, it isn’t our problem, is it.”
“No, not at all. But I have to say this Foti guy was quite persistent. He asked me all kinds of questions about what I do, and then he grilled me about