Take A Thousand Cuts

by TERESA HUNTER

  She drank coffee after coffee to keep the terror of the night at bay.

  At midnight – it was time. She had a quick wash, placed the velvet purse in her inside jacket pocket and zipped the zipper tightly. As she pulled it up, her mind turned bizarrely to the Mary Quant zipper-dress in the Fashion and Textile Museum. She thought of Rebecca, where for her the story had begun.

  Sweaty night heat blasted as she emerged from the hotel. Her skin was clammy when Mantel’s car arrived. She got in and sank back in the air-conditioned leather as the driver pulled away, crossing a handful of streets, before swinging up a winding back road to Victoria Peak. Julia gulped a sharp intake of breath as he accelerated fiercely up the steep climb. If he keeps this up, I’ll be sick. She closed her eyes to block out lights flashing by. Keep calm, she exhaled slowly. Look down and the flickering will fade.

  Still the car wound higher, the streets becoming more deserted – traffic and buildings left far behind. Julia took the velvet purse from her pocket and held it in her lap with an iron grip, nervously twisting one of her fingers round the cord.

  What did Mantel call it? A business deal. A simple trade. No different from the trades in shares and commodities made in their billions every day. Here she was trading people’s lives. Laura’s life. Potentially the lives of thousands who could be saved with her epidemiological findings.

  No, this is too much, an inner voice groaned from somewhere deep inside, gripping her stomach, clawing up from her very bowels. The second brain they call it.

  Stop! Go back! Abort! What am I doing here? This is not my story. Wrong person, wrong place, wrong time.

  Her first brain overruled. Julia stayed put.

  The driver pushed down harder through the gears, throwing the car at high speed round bend after bend as he raced up the near vertical final lap of the ascent, high above the jungle. Julia moved her tongue round her drying mouth.

  Finally, they reached the top. The car swung sharply into a parking bay, braked hard and stopped. The driver pointed straight in front of him, and said something in Cantonese, indicating she should get out and walk.

  No thanks for the ride, she thought, standing upright. She knew where she was going. She had rehearsed the route so many times in her imagination. Cord still tightly wound round her finger, she shoved the purse up her elasticated sleeve, and headed towards the Lion Pavilion, a populous tourist site during the day – now deserted. As she drew near, she heard the low hum of voices. Then she saw him in the half-light. Mantel with his ubiquitous orchid in his pocket. Four men stood with him. They withdrew slightly as she approached.

  Not exactly the sort you would want to meet on a dark night, in a lonely spot, Julia thought. Problem is that’s me, dark night – lonely spot.

  There was no sign of Laura.

  “Why always an orchid?” she asked nearing Mantel, who stood under the single spotlight shining in the Pavilion.

  “National flower of Hong Kong. Each orchid has meaning. Tonight I wear a white orchid – the symbol of elegance.” He removed the flower from its pin and held it out.

  “Here, you have it. To show how glad I am you’ve come.”

  She took it, looked at it closely as if examining it, then crushed the petals letting them fall to the floor.

  A flicker of anger flashed across Mantel’s controlled expression.

  Good, at last I’m breaking through his Teflon coating.

  “Where’s Laura?”

  “Do you have the diamonds?”

  “Where’s Laura?” she repeated.

  “All in good time my dear. The way this works, you give me the diamonds, and Laura will be returned to you in due course.”

  “Are you mad?” she raised her voice in defiance.

  Mantel let out a cruel laugh. “Shout away. No one will hear you up here. We’re completely alone. The tram closed hours ago. Save your energy. You may need it later.”

  He moved towards the parapet. “Before we conclude our business, let’s take a moment to look down on this fabulous city and the wealth it has created. Look at it. Those sparkling lights, like diamonds glimmering in the dark. How much of that wealth was earned honestly do you think? Either by the British, the Portuguese or the Japanese. People like your friend Mr Silverman. He created a scheme to squeeze the system that weekend, which made him very rich. How’s he different from the drugs pushers and racketeers? That’s what everyone’s after – a way to squeeze the system. This way he gets to repay a bit.”

  “They were kids. You were their puppet master. You should’ve stopped them. Put in controls.”

  “And wipe out the biggest boom the world economy has ever enjoyed – a chance for so many to become rich? Why would I do that?”

  “You’re nothing but a two-bit crook.”

  “Maybe. For the record, I had nothing to do with Adam Lee’s death. I was fond of Adam.”

  “Where’s Laura?” she asked again.

  Mantel turned to one of his henchmen.

  “Get the girl,” he said.

  Julia moved to the viewing platform overhanging a sharp descent. She stared out across the city lights, as she waited; breathing calmly, waves of subdued relief gently stirred. Soon Laura would be here. She could hand over the diamonds and they could escape. She would be free to go home, salvage some stories from this mess and everything could go back to normal. She looked out again into the black night, lights glistening like shards of glass. Tall skyscrapers with lanterns blazing, a city built from a jungle – beacons to the pinnacle of human achievement.

  Hard not to be moved, Julia thought. Then again, am I looking at the pinnacle of man’s endeavour – or man’s greed.

  She heard footsteps. A smile warmed her lips. At last she would see Laura again. She turned determined to savour the moment.

  But her blood froze as her eyes focused in the dark. Her heart pounded so loudly she thought her ears would burst.

  Stay calm and think, a voice inside warned. Don’t let them see your shock and fear.

  Two men dragged an exhausted Dr Kathy before her. She was badly beaten. One eye was closed shut, the other red raw. Both had taken a hammering. Her pretty hands hung lifeless and crushed. Her usually serene features were swollen and distorted, stained with bloody gashes. They released their grasp a few yards from Julia, and threw her like a broken doll to the ground.

  Her sight, her hands, Julia thought as she reached towards her. What have they done to your beautiful eyes?

  “Leave her,” Mantel’s voice boomed ugly through the night. Gone the sophisticated charmer.

  “You monsters,” Julia said softly. Keep control, her inner voice repeated.

  “Did you wonder on your Odyssey, how the authorities were always ahead of you? Here’s the answer. Your beloved Dr Kathy betrayed you every step of the way. And betrayed her good friend Laura.”

  “Kathy?” Julia whispered.

  “For what? For money pure and simple. Once you came sniffing round, my Triad friends saw potential for profit. They knew what Laura was worth and they wanted her. Everyone can be bought. Everyone has a price.”

  “Where is Laura?”

  Mantel threw his head back again and laughed that dark sinister laugh.

  “Here’s the really funny thing. We don’t know. Absolutely no idea where she is. We stole her. Then someone stole her back. No honour among thieves. You’ve had a wasted journey. Not quite. We must decide what to do with the diamonds. Obviously you’re going to give them to me. The question is, what’s your price? One million enough?”

  Julia hesitated.

  “Alright then, you can have two. How many gems are in the purse? Ten, twenty? We can split them easily. The car’s waiting. You can disappear into the night.”

  “For what? To be like you? Like Adam Lee? A life always looking over my shoulder?”

  “One way or another, you will give me the diamonds. Your friend here, Kathy, took this beating so you would be clear what would happen to you if you didn’t co-op
erate. Last night we were playing with you. Tonight the game is over. What would your life be like without your sight – with your hands crushed to useless? Where would your precious sword of truth and journalism be then?”

  “I don’t care,” Julia shouted running to the very edge, freeing the black pouch from her sleeve and loosening the tie. She leaned over the parapet, dangling the diamonds into the dark unknown.

  “You’re not having these. Come one step closer I’ll spray these diamonds into the jungle. Look as long as you like, you’ll never find them. Maybe a child might one day stumble across one buried in the undergrowth. Or a granny ten years later. They’ll be lost to you.”

  Mantel took out a gun.

  “I count to three and then I shoot,” he pointed the weapon directly at her face.

  “And then I drop,” Julia shouted back.

  They stared deadlocked – each daring the other to move first.

  Time stood still as they faced each other in a life or death standoff.

  It was Mantel who blinked first. Suddenly distracted by a rumble to his right, he turned away at the sound of an engine humming. The Peak tram had restarted and was climbing fast. Julia saw fear flash across his face.

  He wasn’t the only one. Who’s this? her chest tightened. Rival gangsters after the gems? Shit, where does this leave me?

  Time unwinds as the scene unfolds. Julia watches as if in slow motion. Tram doors open. Men spill out wielding weapons, a private army. Gun fire pierces the air. Flares, blue, pink, red and yellow break the night. The battery divides and advances, ordered but chaotic. Noise blisters her ears, a commotion of shouting and shooting, orders and threats. Gradually, the cloud of flares clears.

  Julia focuses on the man leading them. She gasps. Ziggy. They’re led by Ziggy. Her knees weaken. She all but collapses against the wall. The gunshots fall to silence.

  My God he’s got his own private army. Ziggy – he’s a rival Triad boss.

  She struggles to grasp this new reality, when behind him, she sees Michael Chen, Chief Fraud Investigator. To his right, another figure she can’t quite see in the darkness.

  Ziggy shouts something in Chinese. Mantel puts up his hands in surrender.

  Michael Chen walks up to Mantel. “I’m arresting you for conspiracy to fraud.”

  “At least we can start with that,” Ziggy bars his teeth at the fallen banker. Without looking at her, he shouts across to Julia, “You OK?”

  She opens her mouth and tries to answer, suddenly aware that one arm is still dangling the diamonds over the wall.

  A figure, the one she couldn’t quite see, is walking towards her. She feels a soft touch on her arm.

  “Give me the bag Julia, you need to rest now. I need to look after you. And we both need to look after Kathy.”

  Julia pulls back from the precipice and hands the diamonds to Laura.

  CHAPTER 48

  Early Hours Saturday August 28

  AN EXPLOSION of flashing lights and sirens brought police and ambulances racing to the scene. Michael Chen took command, yelling orders, choreographing men and movements. Dr Kathy was placed on a stretcher and carried away. A knife twisted in Julia’s heart.

  To think I trusted her more than anyone on this island.

  Ziggy touched her arm. “We’re leaving now. None of us is safe on the island any more. We have a yacht in the harbour. Casting off as soon as we get there. Want to come?”

  She hesitated, her mind numb.

  “I think you should come, Julia,” Ziggy repeated. “We must hurry.”

  I can’t think, I can’t think, her mind panicked with indecision, like a cat caught in headlights. What else can I do? Who’ll protect me now?

  “OK, I’ll come.”

  They flew down the Peak in the high speed tram. A fleet of cars were waiting. These whisked them through the night to the harbour.

  “Prepare yourself for a couple of surprises,” Ziggy whispered to Julia, as he led the way along the dock. She climbed aboard, when the first bolt hit from the blue. Patrick Silverman stood on the deck.

  “Huckleberry Finn, you’re the last person I expected to see.”

  “I’ve only just arrived. Sorry I couldn’t get here sooner. Flight only landed half an hour ago.”

  The shocks kept coming when Silverman took Julia’s hands in his own, and stared deep into her eyes.

  “I can never thank you enough for bringing my sister back to me,” he said.

  “Your what?” exhausted though she was, Julia still had strength to be astounded. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I don’t know. I thought maybe if it got out, her life would be in even greater danger.”

  Suddenly she was angry.

  “From the start, I’ve had nothing but lies from you.”

  “Ah! You’re right. What can I say? I know...”

  He held up both hands with first and middle finger crossed.

  “Oh no you don’t. Don’t try that fainites stunt on me again. This is serious.”

  Ziggy was coiling up lines ready to get moving. Julia realised she owed him an apology.

  “I don’t know what to say,” she said.

  He smiled. “Least said, I reckon. We need to get this boat out the harbour. These diamonds make us sitting ducks.”

  He wasn’t alone in that thought. Silverman shouted an instruction and Julia heard the engines throb into life.

  “We’ll get as far out into the ocean as we can. The plane’s ready,” Silverman said, coming over to them.

  “There’s a seaplane aboard,” Ziggy explained. “Plan is to fly to Singapore, then take a private jet back to London.”

  “This must be costing a fortune,” Julia said, before tapping her palm on her forehead. “Oh no! Don’t tell me. You own the company.”

  “My personal investments are top secret, so I’m afraid you’ll have to keep guessing,” he smiled. “You’ve saved me $10 million. This is small change. We need to get those diamonds back to London.”

  He turned to join Laura who sat at a table sipping tea. Julia noticed he didn’t sit close beside her, but kept his distance.

  “They’ve a lot to catch up on,” Ziggy grinned.

  “I think we’ve got a lot to catch up on, but right now my head is spinning.”

  “I tried to tell you from the start I was on your side.”

  “Next time, try shouting louder.” She placed a gentle hand on his arm, her eyes drawn to his tattoo.

  “My lucky charm. Magpies are a sign of happiness and good fortune in China,” he said smiling.

  “So not a bad omen like at home. Who are you, Ziggy? That’s what I haven’t been able to work out. Who’re you working for? And who were those men with you?”

  “Why I’m the Chinese Ambassador’s nephew, and I work at the School of Oriental and African studies. How many more times must I tell you?”

  She stared at him squarely in the eyes. He pulled a face and they both burst out, laughing.

  “Have it your way,” she said, turning to join Patrick Silverman and Laura.

  “No Julia, it’s best if you sit on the other side of Patrick.”

  “No worries,” she said, although her brow wrinkled, puzzled.

  Patrick handed her a plate of sandwiches and poured coffee from a piping hot jug.

  “That’s the most terrifying thing I’ve ever been through,” Julia said, sipping the reviving black liquid. “If Ziggy and his henchmen hadn’t appeared, I’d probably be dead by now.”

  “Thank God for MI6,” Patrick said.

  “What?” Julia choked on her coffee, as yet another curved ball bounced off her chest.

  “Ziggy works with MI6. He’s been looking after you all the while, reporting back to your friend Chief Inspector Pitcher. Thank God he has. His henchmen, as you call them, yes – are Triads. Not all Triads are criminals. There are good Triads who fight crime. Some work with the British Government to protect our interests in South East Asia. They got wind of where La
ura was hidden and staged a raid of their own.”

  “Face saved, pride and prestige restored,” Laura said.

  “Order renewed. But Ziggy’s the Chinese Ambassador’s nephew. He can’t be MI6.”

  “It’s a murky world.”

  “My head’s spinning, spinning, spinning,” Julia spun her coffee saucer.

  Laura laughed. “Now it’s my turn to say thank you. You were so brave Julia. They were going to kill me once they got their hands on the diamonds. Mantel convinced his criminal customers we were the cause of their losing so much money on the markets. Killing me would show the world Patrick and Stephen had been punished.”

  Patrick turned to Laura love brimming out of his eyes.

  “All these years, I didn’t know I had a sister, but I knew there was something special about Laura.”

  “I thought she was your sweetheart.”

  “No, Julia, never that. But someone I was inexplicably drawn towards.”

  “Thicker than water. Sometimes I think we have some kind of atavistic knowledge, buried deep in our genes, we can’t explain.”

  Patrick nodded. “Maybe. It was only reading Dad’s will that I discovered the truth. He was engaged to mum when he was sent out to Hong Kong. He had an accident and broke his arm. Laura’s mother, Clare, was the doctor at A&E. They fell in love. Clare was engaged to another doctor. They were both racked with guilt. In those days a promise was a promise. You didn’t break your pledge. When she discovered she was expecting, her fiancé agreed to bring the baby up as his own. They all thought it best if Dad returned to the UK and married my mum, as planned.”

  “I don’t remember much about her,” Laura said. “Mum died when I was very young. Dad a few years later in a car accident. My grandparents brought me up.”

  “Something else we have in common,” Patrick winked his nervous wink. “And this is the bit you don’t yet know big sis. Dad left his entire fortune to you. I guess he thought you would put it to better use than I would. I couldn’t be happier.”