of Macau, near Seac Pai Van Park. It was custom-built and is more of a compound than a residence. Some of his men, including Wu, stay there. It is quite isolated, I am told.”
He slid the paper over to her. “There are the addresses, such as they are.”
“Thank you.”
“This does not make me happy, you understand.”
“I know.”
“Have you heard about the partner yet?”
“We’re working on it. I’ll know shortly, but I’m betting he’s still alive.”
“Lok is an animal. Wu makes all the noise and acts like the tough guy, but never forget that Lok is capable of just about anything.”
She picked up the teapot and poured. Neither of them touched their cups. “Uncle, I was thinking of asking Carlo and Andy to do some work for me, but I wanted to clear it with you first.”
“They are their own men.”
“Still.”
“If you have to ask them, I do not object.”
“And money — I’ve never paid them directly. What is their rate?”
“That depends on what you want them to do. When I sent them to Las Vegas to help you, I paid them five thousand Hong Kong a day. If it is not dangerous work, you could pay three thousand.”
“It isn’t dangerous, but I’ll pay five thousand anyway.”
“They will be as loyal for three thousand.”
“Now who’s being practical?” she said.
Her phone rang. The caller ID read amanda yee. “This is Ava.”
She listened, nodded, and said, “I’ll be about half an hour. We should head to Sha Tin as soon as I get there.”
“Sha Tin?” Uncle said after she closed her phone.
“They sent us the photo we wanted. The partner is alive. He lives in Sha Tin, and the wife is there, evidently now going out of her mind with worry. We need to see her.”
“Who is ‘we’?”
“Amanda Yee, my brother’s girlfriend, and me.”
“Yee . . . any connection to Jack?” Uncle asked.
I should be so quick, Ava thought. “His daughter.”
“Have they discussed you?”
“Evidently.”
“Jack thinks you walk on water.”
“That’s the problem,” she said.
As they left the kitchen he said, “Keep in touch. I do not want to hear things second-hand.”
“I will.”
Andy was standing by the cash register with his wife. They both gave a deep bow as Uncle passed. Ava saw him to the door and walked back. “Andy, can we have a word?”
“Sure,” he said, not budging.
Ava looked at his wife.
“She knows everything,” he said.
“Okay, I have a situation I need some help with. Could you get hold of Carlo and tell him I have a few days’ work for the two of you, starting, say, tomorrow morning?”
“No problem.”
“I’ll need you both to go to Macau, so bring your ID cards or passports.”
“No problem.”
“Five thousand a day okay?”
“Perfect.”
“Do you have binoculars?”
“No, but I know where to get a good pair.”
“How about a camera with a long-range lens?”
“I have my own.”
“Bring them with you. I’ll meet at the Macau Ferry terminal at ten o’clock.”
“Okay, boss. Good to be working with you again.”
“Same here, Andy.”
( 12 )
On the ride from Kowloon back to Hong Kong on the Star Ferry, she began to think about Derek. Three or four months earlier she wouldn’t have hesitated to tell him to get his ass on a plane to Hong Kong. He was her personal security blanket. They had met at bak mai, the only two students of their Toronto instructor. He was the son of a wealthy Hong Kong businessman, and as far as she knew he hadn’t worked a day in his life. His only source of income besides Daddy was the money she paid him for the support he had provided once or twice a year for the past few years.
The thing about Derek was that he never questioned, never hesitated. What had to get done got done. And if he had any fear, she’d never seen it. When they’d saved Jack Yee from what was going to be a horrendous beating, or worse, Derek had personally taken out three men, leaving Ava with just two, which he teased her about constantly. She loved Derek. The problem was that her best friend, Mimi, did too. And Mimi was pregnant.
Shit, why did I let them get together? she thought. It had been perfect the way it was before. They hadn’t deliberately hooked up; in fact, she had done what she could to warn Mimi off Derek. Looking back, that was probably the wrong thing to do with someone who was always willing to burn her fingers when it came to men.
I can’t do it, she decided