The buffet was a grandiose affair, as expected. Stretching over several tables it was decorated with illuminated ice carvings that were dripping under the heat of the colourful spotlights. The buffet catered for every whim: from seafood to meat, from Western to Chinese delicacies, all first class, money had been no object.
Amanda eyed with gleeful anticipation the selection of desserts, which looked extremely enticing. She’d simply have to have a chunk of that cake over there, covered with a generous spread of dark chocolate and decorated with vivid green pistachios and flakes of what looked like genuine gold.
But dessert had to wait. Amanda first helped herself to chicken braised in red wine to which she added a generous helping of tempting gratin dauphinois.
It smelled so good. She was just about to lift her fork when her glance wandered back to the entrance. What she saw made her plate almost slip out of her fingers.
A Chinese man well into his sixties, remarkably obese, entered the ballroom. Wrinkles and dark spots on his face belied the youthful black colouring of his balding hair. Slowly he waddled towards Cynthia and Jacky, leaning heavily on a much younger man. The young man’s face held a faint resemblance to the older one, although he was as tall and thin as his presumed relative was small and fat.
‘Mr Wu of all people. How is this possible?’ Amanda exclaimed. ‘Is that his son next to him?’
Geoffrey looked taken aback. ‘How come you recognize Mr Wu? He’s a villain if ever I met one – certainly not the kind of person one should be socializing with. I tried once to make a business deal with him and was thankful to have come out of it much poorer – but at least alive. That’s his grandson by the way. His son died in a racing accident.’
‘I didn’t know even he had family.’ Amanda frowned. ‘It’s a long story. Mr Wu was on the same cruise me to New York – I met him more than a year ago actually. What a horrid personality… and I can only confirm that he’d make the perfect leading villain in any story.’
She watched Mr Wu kissing Cynthia’s cheeks, seemingly on the best of terms. Watching his moist lips near Cynthia’s face sent a shudder through Amanda and quickly she turned away; she had no intention of being recognized by chance by Mr Wu. Hadn’t he sworn revenge when they had last met?
‘Let’s move on, Geoffrey. Our food is getting cold,’ she suggested.
‘I couldn’t agree more.’
As they walked along the first tables, Geoffrey bumped into a group of friends who were queuing there. Geoffrey was greeted warmly and both of them were invited to join a large table where a lively conversation was already going on.
Geoffrey’s friends were a casual lot, avid travellers, and they seemed to know Asia like the backs of their hands. One of the younger lads, Joe, looked like a prototype of a fair and tanned Californian beach boy. Mischief was sparkling in his eyes, and Amanda was sure that he must have a lot of success with the ladies. As it transpired, Joes was in love with snorkelling in Thailand and it was fascinating to hear his stories about pristine beaches, crystal-clear water and lazy evenings spent on lonely beaches next to a campfire.
Amanda listened with awe, placing Thailand immediately on her mental ‘must see’ list – maybe for the coming Easter holidays. Thailand would be a nice alternative to the holiday she had planned. Her only problem was that her ‘must see’ list was growing by the week and choosing and deciding her destination would be a certain dilemma.
Ignoring Geoffrey’s obvious signs of displeasure, Amanda listened spellbound to the tales told by her attractive table neighbour. So she only vaguely heard the first exclamations of surprise that spread among the crowd.
A loud crashing sound made her jump to her feet in order to find out what was going on. The noise of a heavy object dropping and a table overturning echoed through the grand ballroom, followed instantly by the piercing sound of shattering dishes and glasses exploding into myriad fragments as they hit the marble floor.
Everybody was shocked into silence until, abruptly, chaos erupted. The band stopped playing while people started to scream and flee in panic towards the exit. Something truly terrible must have happened.
Amanda was still trying to figure out what was going on when Geoffrey drew her close. ‘Look! But be prepared, it’s a pretty nasty sight,’ he warned her. He was trying to sound cool and aloof but his voice had an edge of strain and his face had turned corpse pale.
Amanda turned round and, from the protection of Geoffrey’s arms, she spotted Cynthia’s lifeless body slumped over one of the buffet tables that had toppled on impact. A heavy ice sculpture, a smiling Christmas cherub with a harp, had fallen directly on Cynthia’s face and Amanda could see the blood seeping out of her skull and spreading quickly from her face to the wet tablecloth. The whole scene looked like an episode from a third class but very realistic horror movie.
Amanda swallowed hard and fought against the urgent impulse to run to the bathroom. In her haze she noticed two men rushing forward, probably doctors who had been invited to the party, but even to Amanda it seemed obvious that there was nothing more they could do for Cynthia.
In the meantime David grabbed the microphone. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, a terrible tragedy has occurred. We’re trying everything possible to help my sister, but may I ask you to leave the room. Obviously the party is over.’
He added some words in Cantonese but nobody took time to listen. Hong Kong’s high society was stampeding out of the ballroom like a horde of panicking sheep, fleeing from the terrible scene and heading home as fast as possible. It took a lot of resolve to push their way through the crowds but finally the four friends found themselves standing on the pavement outside the hotel, breathing the fresh evening air eagerly.
‘How terrible,’ Amanda cried. ‘What a despicable way to die.’
‘It must have been a cardiac arrest. It came so suddenly,’ Neil said. ‘But I really do wonder…’
‘What do you wonder?’ Susan asked.
‘Normally people complain, they have chest pain, or pain somewhere else, some feel pain in their arm. I was standing quite close to her and she just swooned, she didn’t utter a single word. If it didn’t sound so dramatic I would have a suspicion…’
‘Don’t keep us guessing,’ Geoffrey said. ‘What’s your suspicion?’
‘That she was poisoned, of course. Isn’t that an obvious conclusion?’
An embarrassed silence ensued; Neil’s words were like a bombshell.
‘Poisoned!’ Susan almost shrieked. ‘But that’s impossible. How could it be obvious?’
‘Mr Wu was around the last time someone was poisoned,’ Amanda whispered, glad that Geoffrey still held his strong arm around her.
‘Maybe I’m all wrong. The police will certainly find out the truth.’ Neil was clearly trying to placate Susan but he didn’t sound very convincing.
‘Nothing that we can do now, in any case. Let’s go into the hotel bar and have a drink. I need something strong,’ Geoffrey suggested.
‘The only sensible thing to do,’ Neil agreed. ‘Look at the queue waiting for a taxi, it may take up to an hour just to get one. We’d be better spending our time in the bar.’
‘Who could have a motive to kill Cynthia?’ Susan asked in a low voice.
‘Half of Hong Kong might say – her brother,’ Geoffrey whispered back. ‘She made it known that he hated her.’
‘I seem be pick up dead bodies whenever I decide to go on holiday.’ Amanda found that a good dose of sarcasm helped to restore the balance of her mind. ‘Luckily this time I won’t have to deal with the police – that’s a sort of consolation. Poor Cynthia. By the way, who’s going to inherit her fortune? The famous Hercule Poirot would say that greed, after all, is the biggest motivation to kill.’
‘I guess it’ll be David,’ Geoffrey said. ‘But for him it’s almost peanuts – he has billions already.’
‘Some people can never have enough.’ Neil shook his head. ‘But in David’s case, I agree. It sounds rather unlikely.’
/> ‘What about Jacky?’ Amanda asked. ‘Will he inherit something?’
‘Maybe, but I guess that Cynthia alive would have been a much better source of a steady income – they were going to get married, don’t forget,’ Geoffrey said. ‘Let’s hope it was a natural death after all.’
‘What kind of cocktail are you drinking?’ Amanda asked Neil to change the subject.
‘No idea, I just pointed to the list – the picture looked nice.’
Amanda looked at the drinks list. ‘Devil’s delight,’ she read aloud.
‘I have a Sex on the Beach.’ Susan grinned.
‘The Devil and sex… that’s makes a truly interesting combination. I certainly won’t disturb you tonight.’ Geoffrey laughed.
‘Cheers everyone! What a terrible evening we’ve had!’
The war of the tycoons
‘The newspapers and the internet are brimming with speculation. But so far nobody has mentioned poisoning. I really hope Neil’s suspicion will prove unfounded.’
Amanda was looking at the newspapers Geoffrey had bought. Cynthia’s sudden death had made the headlines everywhere; she didn’t need to be able to read Chinese to understand what the screaming headlines next to Cynthia’s photo would be saying.
In the English newspaper there were long articles about Cynthia, citing her diverse functions in the numerous charity organisations she had supported and her family background, whilst adding salacious hints that her estranged brother was to be counted among one of the wealthiest tycoons in Hong Kong.
It was only a day later when Geoffrey broke the news as he had spoken to David. An official inquest had been opened by the Hong Kong police. It was beyond doubt that Cynthia’s death had been the result of a cardiac arrest. But the cause had not been natural: an overdose of illegal knockout drops had been added to her cocktail glass. Murder had shown its ugly face.
‘How did David take it?’ Amanda asked.
‘He tried to put on a brave face, but he’s well aware that this will open the gates to a flood of rumour mongering of the worst kind. Everybody knows that there was no love lost between brother and sister and even if nobody accuses David openly, the shadow of doubt will always linger over him.’
‘Not a nice position to be in…’
‘Not at all.’
‘But enough morose thoughts for today. Let’s do something touristy tonight to cheer us up,’ Geoffrey suggested.
‘Excellent idea!’ Amanda and Susan exclaimed almost simultaneously.
‘What do you propose?’
‘That’s my little secret.’ Geoffrey smiled. ‘But I’m willing to give you a clue: ever heard of Aberdeen?’
‘Scotland?’
‘Not really, wait and see.’ He didn’t say anything else and although Susan and Amanda did their best to extract more information from him, he remained silent and closed as an oyster.
Amanda was tempted to take a glimpse into her tablet and interrogate Google Almighty, but that would have spoilt the fun and therefore, with pleasurable anticipation, she waited for the evening to come.
Finally the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the mountains and the city skyline began to lighten up, turning Hong Kong into a fairy-tale theme park complete with glaring lights and colourful laser beams moving to the rhythm of some secret master plan.
As they prepared to leave for Aberdeen Geoffrey gave them a clue. ‘We’re heading for an old fishing village located in a remote part of the island. It’s a picturesque village that has now become a hotspot of tourist activities. In the past it was a typhoon shelter that allowed the fishermen to brave the vicious storms that haunt us every summer.’
His explanation kept the girls wondering why Geoffrey should take them to remote a fishing village – it didn’t sound at all like his usual style of entertainment. As they alighted from their taxi Geoffrey ushered them towards a jetty where several small ferry boats were waiting, decorated with colourful neon signs inviting the guests to visit the ‘famous Jumbo Restaurant’.
‘That’s our destination.’ Geoffrey grinned. ‘It’s a must for every tourist – Hong Kong’s famous floating restaurant.’
Suitably impressed, they stepped onto the first ferry about to leave for a huge barge that was apparently moored permanently in the port of Aberdeen.
The famous Jumbo Restaurant looked more like a floating palace arising from a fantasy tale than a genuine boat. As the ferry chugged closer, Amanda took in all the splendour of the tall barge with its gilded decorations and colourful figurines, carved masks of fierce-looking gods surrounded by aloof celestial goddesses and arrogant warriors painted in screaming red and sinister black. But what stunned her most was the abundance of glittering gold – gold leaf had been applied lavishly everywhere as if the Emperor of China had left the forbidden city and opened his treasure chests.
In the meantime their small ferry had approached the entrance of the restaurant and here even more palatial splendour awaited them. Hostesses clad in traditional tight Chinese Cheongsam tailored from embroidered red silk greeted them reverently. They were led inside the barge, then up a broad staircase to the table that Geoffrey had reserved for his small party.
But once they had taken their places the notion of being inside an ancient imperial palace ended abruptly. Although the restaurant had been lavishly decorated it was crowded, mostly with noisy tourists, none of them dressed in any way to match the elaborate decorations around them. The carpets were stained – any kind debris from the tables would simply be pushed down to the floor, a habit found everywhere in the local Chinese restaurants, as Geoffrey explained to them.
Eating out in China was a noisy affair and the way the heavily made-up hostesses dumped the welcome tea on their table did not meet Amanda’s idea of being served in an elegant restaurant. But nobody else took offence to the fact that a good portion of the hot tea ended up on the stained tablecloth – it must have been the restaurant’s standard procedure.
Geoffrey ordered many dishes, from meat to seafood, followed by fried rice, which all arrived at amazing speed. There might be hundreds of tourists on the boat, but the kitchen coped with surprising speed and efficiency. Susan and Amada winked at each other as they picked up their chopsticks; luckily they had trained often enough in their favourite Chinese restaurant back home. Only Neil was apparently at a loss how best to handle the chopsticks, but the waitress quickly picked up the signs of a desperate tourist and discreetly handed him a fork and a knife.
Amanda followed Geoffrey’s lead and tasted all the dishes.
‘The food here tastes very different to the Chinese food I’ve tried in Europe,’ she stated, and frowned. ‘But, if I’m honest, I’m not sure if I don’t prefer the European alternative after all…’
Close to their table, a large party of Chinese guests occupied a big round table and the noise and chatter of their conversation was impressive.
‘A bit noisy, aren’t they?’ Susan made a face.
‘That’s normal here. You’ll get used to it.’ Geoffrey shrugged.
Their Chinese neighbours had ordered a lavish dinner and Amanda was trying to figure out what they were eating.
‘Is that eel?’ she asked Geoffrey.
‘No, it’s snake,’ he replied with a grin.
‘Snake?’
‘Yes, of course. Chinese tradition has it that eating snake warms the body in winter.’
Fascinated, Amanda watched their neighbours ploughing through an amazing array of dishes. A plate was brought with some kind of birds, their skinny cramped bodies complete, including heads, beaks and sorrowful blind eyes. One of the guests grasped a bird and started to gnaw the head – she could hear the bone splintering in his mouth. It gave her the creeps. Geoffrey noticed her face and grinned.
‘I hope you like Chinese food?’
‘I thought I did – I’m not so sure any more. What on earth is the lady over there eating now?’
‘Roasted chicken feet. It’s served as an appe
tizer, like we’d serve peanuts.’
‘Have you ever tried it?’
‘No, I’m a coward, I must confess.’
A new dish was brought and the whole table broke into fits of praise and admiration. The casserole was placed on a food warmer with an open flame, lid firmly closed. Inside, Amanda could hear clicking sounds as if something was moving.
‘What’s this?’ she asked Geoffrey nervously.
‘You may not like my answer,’ he replied. ‘They call it tipsy prawns.’
‘Why shouldn’t I like them?’
‘The prawns are thrown into boiling brandy, alive. The noise you can hear is made by the prawns that are still alive trying to escape the boiling brandy. This is considered a top-notch dish, very expensive… they use XO brandy. In China, food is only considered good when it’s fresh. Most animals can be chosen alive and are slaughtered especially for your meal…’
Amanda swallowed hard. ‘I think I’ll convert. Being a veggie isn’t that bad after all. That’s a bit too much for me to take.’
‘It’s a different culture.’ Geoffrey shrugged. ‘Don’t forget that for many people in rural China a fridge is still a sign of luxury. As meat and especially fish turn bad very fast in tropical temperatures, they don’t really have much choice. There’s a joke here: Chinese eat everything if it has four feet, unless…’
‘Unless what?’ Susan wanted to know.
‘Unless it’s the table!’ He laughed.
‘It certainly makes sense.’ Neil suddenly became interested. ‘From a scientific point of view it’s all proteins anyhow, it doesn’t really matter what kind of animal you’re talking about. I always wonder why people make such a fuss. I once tasted fried locusts – quite nice actually, very crispy.’
Amanda decided she’d better turn her attention back to her own plate as her appetite was evaporating with alarming speed. Luckily the fried rice and spicy Szechuan pork restored her faith in the skills of Chinese chefs, and she carefully avoided watching the neighbouring tables further; she had the impression she had learned enough about the local cuisine for this evening.
Death in Hong Kong: (Amanda Lipton Mysteries Book 3) Page 7
