The Diamond Queen of Singapore

by Ian Hamilton

  “When was that transaction?” Ava asked, leaning forward.

  Fozdar opened the file. “Four years ago, and it was only for one hundred and twenty thousand.”

  “What was the name of the bank?”

  “The Alberta Dominion Bank.”

  “Was there a name attached to the transaction?”

  “I knew you’d be particularly interested in this transfer, so I had my daughter retrieve the paperwork,” Fozdar said. “The wire came from a numbered company but included a purchase order that matched one that Jasmine had given us, so we assumed the money was from her.”

  “Do you have a copy of the wire?”

  Fozdar smiled and handed Ava a slip of paper. She glanced at it and then gave it to Jacob. “Will you check to see if that bank and account number are on the list that Todd Howell gave me?” she asked.

  As Jacob opened his briefcase, Ava refocused her attention on Fozdar. “What about the transfers from Singapore? How and when did they take place?”

  “Both of them were made almost five years ago, and they were small. I don’t think they’ll be of much interest to you; they came from the Jewellery Circle bank account that her father had been using for years,” Fozdar said. “What I don’t understand is why Jasmine stopped using it and started sending us money from Amsterdam and Chengdu.”

  “That’s a very interesting question,” Ava said. “Do you have a theory?”

  “Excuse me, Ava,” Jacob said before Fozdar could reply. “The Calgary account number corresponds to one that Malcolm Muir established, but there isn’t any record of the wire on the list of transactions Howell provided.”

  “It was a relatively small amount, it was four years ago, and the money went to Antwerp rather than Amsterdam, so it may not have seemed relevant. Still, we’ll need to ask Howell about it,” Ava said, and then looked at Fozdar. “Do you have any objections if I make a call to Canada?”

  “Of course not. Feel free.”

  Ava found Howell’s number in her phone and dialled. It would be ten in the morning in Toronto, and she hoped he’d be in the office. The receptionist said he was, and a moment later he came on the phone, sounding breathless. “You’re the last person I expected to hear from today. Has something happened?” he asked.

  “Yes, but nothing earth-shattering,” Ava said. “I’ve discovered that Amsterdam wasn’t the only destination for Harvest Investment money. Four years ago, a hundred and twenty thousand dollars was sent from its Calgary account at the Alberta Dominion Bank to the Fozdar Trading company in Antwerp. Did you know that?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then why isn’t it on the wire transfer list you gave me?”

  “I told you I went through my files and extracted what I thought was most important,” Howell said. “My focus was on Amsterdam. The Antwerp transfer was an outlier, a one-of-a-kind event.”

  “I can see why you might have thought that, but did you at least confirm the details of the transaction?”

  “It was exactly as you described.”

  “Who authorized the transfer?”

  “Muir.”

  “Do you have a copy of his request?” she asked.

  “I have it somewhere in my files.”

  “And you’re sure his signature is on it?”

  “Absolutely. It was such an outlier that I remember every detail.”

  “Did you know that Fozdar Trading deals solely in diamonds?”

  “I did,” Howell said. “I contacted them to follow up on the transfer, but no one there would talk to me. They told me they never share information about their customers. At that point I gave up. I figured Muir had splurged on some expensive jewellery for his wife and left it at that.”

  “Todd, was it the only outlier you discovered? Could there be other anomalies you didn’t think were important enough to include in the file you gave me?”

  “The wire sent to Antwerp is the only one.”

  “Thank you. That’s very helpful.”

  “Ava, now that I’ve been so helpful, would you mind telling me how you found out about this?”

  “It’s too soon for that, but maybe later. Thanks again for the help,” Ava said, abruptly ending the conversation and turning to Jacob. “Well, that confirms that the link between Muir and Yip goes back at least four years. And since it was Muir who sent the wire and a copy of Yip’s purchase order to Mr. Fozdar, he also knew that the money was being used to purchase rough-cut diamonds.”

  “They had a long-term plan,” Jacob said.

  “That seems to be the case,” Ava said, and then turned to Mr. Fozdar. “Excuse me for interrupting earlier. I think you were about to suggest a possible reason why Jasmine Yip stopped sending you money from Singapore and instead began remitting it from Chengdu and Amsterdam.”

  “If it was dirty money, I’m assuming she wanted to keep it separate from her regular business.”

  “If she was laundering money, the opposite would be more likely. She’d need a legitimate business to provide cover.”

  “That’s a good point,” Fozdar said, and then smiled wanly. “I’m not familiar with the ins and outs of money laundering.”

  “And I’m quite unfamiliar with China,” Jacob said. “For one thing, I’ve never even heard of Chengdu.”

  “It’s a city in western China, in Sichuan province,” Ava said. “As I remember, it has a population of about ten million people.”

  “That’s more than half the population of the Netherlands. I feel silly that I didn’t know about it.”

  “There’s no reason for that. It isn’t even in the top five largest Chinese cities,” Ava said.

  “Why would Jasmine choose to do business there?” Jacob asked, and then looked at Fozdar. “Is it a diamond centre?”

  “No, most of the diamond trade in China is in Guangzhou and Shenzhen,” Fozdar said.

  “Is all the information you have on the Chengdu bank in the file you’ve prepared?” Ava asked.

  “It is, but you will find it very basic.”

  “How often were transfers made?”

  “Every few months or so until about four months ago.”

  “What happened then?”

  “Jasmine stopped making purchases.”

  “Over the past four years, how much did she spend on diamonds in total?”

  Fozdar turned the page in front of him. “Approximately thirty-two million dollars.”

  “She stopped buying because she’d finished laundering all the money in the Amsterdam bank account,” Ava said to Jacob.

  “That’s logical.”

  “Did you make copies of all the transfers for us?” she asked Fozdar.

  “I did.”

  “And were the transfers tied to purchase orders like the one from Calgary?”

  “Yes, and we’ve attached a copy of the purchase order relevant to each transfer.”

  “Thank you, that was very thoughtful of you,” Ava said. “When can we get the file?”

  “When you leave.”

  “Unless Jacob has some additional questions, I think we could leave now,” Ava said.

  “Not quite so fast. There’s something I need to make clear,” Fozdar said. “As I mentioned before, I don’t want Jasmine — or anyone else for that matter — to know how you came by this information. My daughter wanted you to sign something to that effect, but I don’t think we need to go to that extreme. Do we?”

  “We don’t. You have my word,” said Ava.

  Fozdar nodded, then pushed the file across the desk towards her. “When you conclude your investigation, I would like you to inform me of the result.”

  “You have my word on that as well.”

  “Hopefully it will turn out that this man Muir was the mastermind and Jasmine simply an innocent foil.”

  “Howe
ver it ends, you will hear about it from me personally,” said Ava.

  They left the building a few minutes later with Fozdar’s file tucked under Ava’s arm. She was anxious to get into it but wanted to do it in a place where she could concentrate. “I’d like to get back to Amsterdam as soon as we can,” she said to Jacob.

  He checked his watch. “There’s a train in twenty minutes. If we hurry, we should be able to catch it.”

  “Let’s go,” she said, picking up the pace.

  They made the train with five minutes to spare. As they settled into their seats, Jacob pointed to the file. “What’s your plan for that?”

  “Let’s go through it now. If it contains everything Fozdar said it does — and I don’t doubt him — then there are two very obvious paths for us to follow immediately,” she said. “First we need to find out everything we can about Jasmine Yip, and then get her to talk to us.”

  “Why would she agree to do that?”

  “My former partner often said that people will do the right thing for the wrong reason,” Ava said with a smile. “And sometimes you have to create that reason.”

  “I’ll leave that to you,” Jacob said, returning her smile. “But you mentioned two paths. What’s the second?”

  “We need information about the bank account in Chengdu. Who owns the account? Who controls it? Where did the money originate?” she said. “Do you think your bank contacts are capable of taking that on? They would have to be discreet. The last thing we want to happen is for the Chinese bank to suspect there’s a problem and alert the account holder that foreigners are asking questions about their business.”

  “I might have to script an approach.”

  “Jacob, just so we’re clear, they must not do anything that will raise an alarm. The only advantage we have right now is that no one knows we’re coming after them.”

  (16)

  It was almost six when she entered the lobby of the Dylan Hotel in Amsterdam, which meant it was close to midnight in Shanghai. Back in her room, she took out her phone, found Xu’s number, and dialed.

  Xu was her closest male friend and confidant. He was also the triad leader, or Mountain Master, in Shanghai, and had been mentored by Uncle. When Uncle died, Xu had entered her life and had been a fixture ever since. He was someone Ava trusted completely.

  The phone rang four times, and Ava began to regret calling so late. Then she heard a lively “Wei” from Auntie Grace, Xu’s housekeeper.

  “Auntie, this is Ava. I’m sorry for calling at this hour, but if Xu is still awake, I’d like to speak to him.”

  “Is everything okay?” Auntie Grace asked, her voice instantly full of concern.

  “Everything is fine. I do need help with something,” she said, “but if Xu is sleeping it can wait until tomorrow.”

  “He would be angry with me if he knew you called and I hadn’t told him,” Auntie Grace said. “Besides, I think he’s still awake. Let me check.”

  Ava placed Fozdar’s file and her notebook on the desk and waited. A moment later she heard Xu’s distinctive voice. “Mei mei, it’s good to hear from you. Are you and Fai still in Canada?”

  Mei mei meant “little sister,” and Ava responded with the term for “big brother.” “No, ge ge, I’m in Amsterdam. A friend in Toronto has a problem that I’m helping with.”

  “Is Fai with you?”

  “No, she’s gone to Taiwan to make a film. It was a last-minute thing, but a tremendous opportunity for her.”

  “Is everything going well with you two?”

  “It couldn’t be better,” Ava said. “The fact that I’m in Amsterdam and she’s in Taipei is totally coincidental.”

  “That’s good to hear. Auntie Grace and I think you’re a terrific couple.”

  Ava paused, surprised by Xu’s open support of her relationship with Fai. He knew about her sexuality, but it was something they hadn’t discussed. “I’ve never been happier,” she said. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m not pushing myself too hard. Quite honestly, I think I’m back to normal, though you wouldn’t think so if you saw how Auntie treats me.”

  “You are her boy.”

  “I know, and I’m not really complaining, but being looked after so well is tiring in its way.” He laughed. “I apologize for wandering off topic. You said you’re in Amsterdam to help a friend?”

  “Yes, my friend Mimi’s family has run into some serious difficulties. Someone scammed them for all they were worth. I’ve tracked the money this far, and now I could use some assistance.”

  “Tell me what you need, though I’m sure you know I have no influence in Toronto or Amsterdam.”

  “How about in Singapore?” she asked.

  “I don’t have much influence there either,” he said.

  “Really? The triads have no presence there?”

  “No. During my father’s time we had a loose affiliation with a gang called Ang Soon Tang, but the Secret Society Branch of the Singapore police wiped them out,” Xu said. “Singapore is not a good place to run afoul of the law. Their Internal Security Act allows the government to detain people indefinitely without trial.”

  “Indefinitely?”

  “The guy who headed up Ang Soon Tang died in prison after being held for twelve years, and that’s not a record. There are people who have been held for longer than twenty years without a trial.”

  “I knew Singapore was almost fanatical about maintaining order, but I didn’t know it went that far,” Ava said. “That’s rather discouraging.”

  “Well, there is another gang they didn’t eradicate entirely. Most of the members operate independently, but they do assist one another from time to time. Depending on what you need, I might be able to find someone to help.”

  “Right now all I need is information.”

  “About what?”

  “There’s a woman named Jasmine Yip, or Yip Liling, who I’m told lives in Singapore. She runs a diamond business called Jewellery Circle. I would like to know as much as possible about her personal and professional life.”

  Xu hesitated, then said, “I think Tommy Tiu might be able to help you. He’s in the money-lending business. Gathering information about clients is central to his work.”

  “Can he work quickly?”

  “If I ask him to.”

  “And how much would he cost?”

  “He owes me some favours. I’ll call one in,” Xu said.

  “I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

  “Ava, these favours go back years, and I have so little to do with Singapore that I’ve never had a chance to use them,” said Xu.

  “Then in that case, thank you. You know it’s appreciated,” Ava said. “Is there any chance you could call him tonight?”

  “I expected that would be your next question, and the answer is yes. Once I’ve spoken to him, I’ll get out of the way and let him communicate directly with you. I’ll let him know, though, that supporting you is a priority for me, and that I expect him to do whatever you ask.”

  “Thanks again, ge ge.”

  “What’s a big brother for?” he said. “Send me the information and I’ll track down Tommy.”

  “Give Auntie Grace a hug for me,” she said before she ended the call. Then she thought, Thank goodness for guanxi.

  Despite being raised primarily in Toronto, Ava had been exposed to some key elements of Chinese culture. One of those was guanxi — the cultivation and utilization of personal relationships. Uncle had been a master of the craft, and she had learned from him. Anyone who wasn’t an enemy was a potential friend, he taught, and even enemies could become friends through the judicious granting of favours. “You always need to remember,” Uncle had told Ava more than once, “a favour, however small, is always far more significant to the person getting it than to the one giving it. So never hesitate to
give, but do it without asking for anything in return. The obligation will be there regardless, and by being selfless you make the person who owes you the favour all the more eager to repay. In my world those unspoken obligations, those favours exchanged, are more important and binding between two people than any contract.”

  Uncle’s world was also Xu’s, and as she opened her laptop, Ava couldn’t help but wonder what favour Xu had granted Tommy Tiu. A few minutes later, everything she knew about Jasmine Yip had been sent to Xu. Now it was a matter of waiting.

  Ava looked out the window that overlooked the courtyard. She checked her phone and saw that Fai had texted to tell her the day had gone well. Ava thought briefly about calling her but decided it was too late. Instead she texted, Glad things are working out as you hoped. I had an interesting day here, but I expect I’ll be on the move soon. I’ll let you know where I’m headed as soon as I decide where I’m going.

  She heard a clap of thunder and looked outside again. Dark clouds had settled over Amsterdam and there wasn’t much doubt that it was going to rain. Ava saw people scurrying along the sidewalk, trying to get where they were going before the storm began. She’d never had much luck with weather in Amsterdam, but at least this time she was dry and indoors.

  A gaping yawn caught her by surprise. She had slept for maybe two hours on the plane the night before and knew if she lay down she’d be asleep in seconds. It was too early for that if she wanted to avoid jet lag, but she knew she couldn’t stay in the room or the bed’s attractions would get to her. She would have gone for a walk if the weather weren’t so threatening, which left her the option of going downstairs to one of the Dylan’s restaurants. She wasn’t especially hungry, but this was about killing time.

  The Dylan had two restaurants: Vinkeles, a Michelin-starred high-end eatery, and OCCO, a brasserie. Ava had eaten in OCCO before and decided it was worth another visit. It was long and narrow, with a floor inlaid with small red bricks and an exterior wall lined with twelve-panelled windows that on a sunny day infused the place with a sense of well-being. Even on a gloomy day the windows framed the outside world and made her feel less isolated.