“Since I’ve been going. The first time I was there I asked Wu about it, and he told me they had a place in Taipa that was attacked by another gang. They lost four men. That’s when they moved to Coloane. Better safe than sorry, he said.”
“I saw the walls, the wire, the gate. What other security do they have? Is there an alarm system in the house?”
“Yeah, the whole house is wired. There’s a keypad at the front door and Wu has one in his room, and you can figure Lok has one in his too.”
“Do you know the code?”
“As if.”
“It doesn’t hurt to ask,” Ava said.
Fay gave her a get real stare.
“I saw cameras outside the house. Are they working?”
“Yeah, there’s a monitor screen in the den and Wu has one in his room.”
“What do the cameras record?”
“The courtyard, the front of the house.”
“Fay, have the alarms ever gone off while you were in the house?”
“Yeah, a couple of times.”
“What was the sound like?”
“A screech, a high-pitched screech.”
“Loud enough to wake everyone in the house?”
The woman began to answer and then caught herself. “It’s funny you should ask that, because one time when it woke me, I went to the top of the stairs with Wu. One of the girls who’d been with Lok had tried to go outside for some fresh air, so there wasn’t any threat or anything. He went downstairs to get her back in the house, close the door, and reset the alarm. It wasn’t until he was nearly done that the guys ran in from the wing, so I figure maybe the noise doesn’t carry so well there.”
“That’s interesting.”
“And when the alarm was reset, Wu phoned the police.”
“He what?”
“He called the cops to tell them everything was okay. He told me the alarm was hooked directly into the police station and that the cops would already be on their way to the house. He said it cost them a fortune to set up that deal, but it was worth every dollar.”
Ava couldn’t hide the feeling of despair on her face.
“Guess you didn’t want to hear that, right?” Fay said.
“No, I didn’t.”
“Sorry.”
Ava took a deep breath, gathering herself. “But I needed to know, and thanks for remembering. So anything else about security you can think of?”
“No, that’s about it.”
“Then one last thing,” Ava said. “When you were there last night, did you see a short man with dyed blond hair?”
“No.”
“Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?”
“I don’t understand what you’re getting at.”
Ava paused, unsure about how much she should say. “I think they’ve kidnapped one of our friends and are holding him hostage,” she finally said. “And I think they’re holding him in the house. If they are, I’d like to know where in the house. Would you have any idea?”
The woman shook her head. “No, I don’t have a clue.”
Ava gave her another few seconds, then said, “I’ll get your money. You can go now.”
“I need to pee first.”
“Take your time,” Ava said.
Amanda was awake, sitting at the coffee table and sipping another bottle of mango juice. Carlo and Andy had left the window and now sat side by side on the bed facing her, the three of them talking. Ava couldn’t begin to imagine what they would have in common to discuss, until she heard the words Happy Valley and remembered that Jack Yee owned racehorses.
“We’re finished here. I just have to pay the girl and we can leave,” Ava said.
She took five U.S. hundred-dollar bills from her jacket pocket. Fay came out of the bathroom and stood at the hotel room door. Ava went to her and counted the money into her hand. “Thanks,” Ava said.
“I won’t say anything to anyone,” Fay said.
Ava nodded and then went back into the room. “Okay, let’s collect our stuff and get back to Hong Kong.”
The elevator ride to the lobby was animated. Amanda was as much a horse-racing addict as the boys, and she seemed to know her stuff, because they kept asking insider questions and then looking appreciative as she answered them. Ava was pleased to see them distracted, since she was in no mood to chat.
When they got to the lobby, she excused herself and ducked into the business centre. It took her five minutes to find the Citadel Security Company. It was in Zhuhai, and she noted the email address and phone number.