“That one is easier. A crossbow is rarely used by anyone anymore. It would only be used by someone to whom history is important. For Chin, tradition means honor. Dad did something to Chin that offended his sense of morality.”
“Oh, come on, Abby. These guys don’t have principles.”
“No, Olivia. I’m not talking about a street dealer or kids wanting to show off muscle. I’m talking about people to whom money is so worthless they stopped counting ages ago. They are the ones who are dangerous because they care.”
“If you knew all this, why didn’t you tell me before?”
“Would you?” Abby asked.
Olivia understood. She looked at the clock. It was three a.m. “Let’s get some sleep. Maybe we’ll wake up tomorrow and find out it was all a nightmare.”
“Or maybe it’s just beginning.”
Chapter 29
At the police station, Garret discreetly slipped five thousand dollars to the officer on duty at the morgue. He had already burned through seventy grand with gifts to the coroner, his assistant and the desk officer. Prior to Garret’s arrival, ten grand had already been given to the morgue staff to ensure there would be no complications in having the body ready for immediate release.
The guard on duty pocketed the cash and allowed Garret to bring in three white-robed Taoist monks, along with a morgue attendant. The monks started to chant as the morgue attendant lifted the sheet covering Tommy’s body. Garret confirmed the body was indeed his friend’s and motioned for the attendant to remove the arrow. After carefully using a knife to enlarge the wound, the attendant pulled the arrow from Tommy’s heart, placed it into a plastic bag and gave it to Garret.
Garret nodded at the monks, who lit incense sticks and began to chant louder. The attendant placed the sheet back on top of Tommy. Carrying a picture of Tommy, Garret led a procession of monks and the attendant, who placed the body onto a gurney, then rolled it out of the morgue.
Garret was never one to leave things to chance. By evading an autopsy and careful examination of the body, he avoided unnecessary questions about the legality of any of the pharmaceuticals that might be found in Tommy’s corpse. This also ensured that the arrowhead in his heart would never be found, never be traced.
As sad as Garret was for the loss of his friend, he knew it would happen. He just wasn’t sure how. He and Tommy knew that, when they anonymously alerted Golden Asia’s accounting irregularities by accountant Ron Armstrong to government auditors, it was only a matter of time before things started snowballing.
And he knew who was next in the path.
***
Many Chinese were pragmatic rather than dogmatic in their approach to religion, so often funerals combined elements of a number of religions in their services. Tommy was not a religious man but, if anything, he was marginally Taoist, hence the presence of the Taoist monks accompanying his body to the crematorium. They chanted, sang, waved incense sticks, rang bells and beat drums as Garret, Master Wu, Abby and Olivia, all dressed in white, escorted Tommy’s body to an altar.
The altar had been prepared, complete with ten oranges assembled to form a pyramid, incense sticks, a cooked fish and sweet candies. A lamp in the center was flanked by two lit candles symbolizing sunlight, moonlight and a human’s eyes.
Abby and Master Wu perused the altar, nodding their approval. They then took seven incense sticks each and lit them. Grasping the sticks with both hands, they held them in a worshipful, prayer-like manner. They took three steps in tandem and stood before Tommy’s body. Holding the incense straight-armed in front of them, they bowed three times as the smoke from the incense created little wisps that floated to the sky. Master Wu took the sticks from Abby and stuck them into a sand-filled small copper vessel.
The intensity of the monks’ chanting and praying grew as Garret took out a roll of bills and placed it into another small earthen vessel. He took out a match and set the money on fire. Normal practice was to use fake money, but Garret refused to compromise for Tommy. As the fire died down, so did the performance by the monks. A single, small bell tolled the end.
The monks placed Tommy’s body into the brick cremation chamber and fired it up.
Garret turned to Master Wu. “Make sure he gets to where he’s going safely.”
Master Wu nodded, and he and Abby watched silently as Garret and Olivia left. After three hours at fourteen hundred degrees Fahrenheit, Tommy would complete his journey, and there would be no trace of his physical body for examination.
Chapter 30
People in the office looked at Noah strangely as he carried a large, covered potted plant into the office he shared with Olivia, who stared at but wasn’t really reading a Golden Asia contract.
He plopped it on her desk. “Happy birthday!” He whipped off the cover to reveal a Big Jaws X Venus flytrap plant slowly devouring the carcass of some poor fly. Olivia looked at him like he’s from Mars as Noah said, “Peace?”
Not the right question at exactly the wrong time. She went ballistic. “Moron! Loser! You insensitive, unfeeling dimwit! I hate you! I hate you!”
She stood up, picked up the plant and crashed it on top of Noah’s head. He just stood there, stunned, as she flailed away at him. He tried to restrict her as her arms pounded away.
“Hey, I’m sorry. The plant was Chad’s idea. I wanted to get you roses, but he said that was a bad idea.”
She stopped pounding and screamed, “I love roses! What’s wrong with roses? My mother loved roses, and so do I! And who the hell is Chad?”
Memo to self: Kill Chad. Noah wiped some of the dirt off his head and picked up the poor Venus flytrap.
“Um... Chad is my best friend, or was my best friend until about thirteen seconds ago,” he responded. He tilted his head to look into Olivia’s face, and was surprised to see tears in her eyes. “Hey,” he said softly, “hey.” He made a bold move and gently touched her, even though he was worried she might freak again. When she didn’t, he just held onto her hand. “I’m a good listener, and you need someone to talk to.”
“I have nothing to say to you,” she spat at him.
“Yeah, bad idea. Our conversations have been kinda underwhelming.”
No response from Olivia, so Noah tried again. “Um... Uh... do you like falafels?”
“At 8:15 a.m.? Are you really that crazy?” She stared at him as if she believed he was.
“I like them any time of day or night. Besides, I got here at 5:30 and need a break.”
It was true. Although official office hours began at 8:00 a.m., all the lawyers, especially the juniors, got to the office by 6:00 a.m. at the latest. Noah had only popped out to get the carnivorous plant.
“Falafels give you gas, and I don’t think anyone in the office wants to smell your farts,” snarled Olivia.
“You’ve never had one before, have you?”
“What makes you say that?” she retorted.
“Because you wouldn’t care about polluting the air with your personal gas if you had eaten one. You drown those little deep-fried chickpea balls with hummus, hot sauce and baba ghanoush... mmm, good.”
Olivia continued to glare at Noah, and then her rage and fear poured out. “Last night, I saw the firm’s biggest client, Tommy Sung, get murdered with an arrow from a crossbow. I was with his daughter, Abby, who also happens to be my best friend. I was an inch away from being victim number two.” She demonstrated with her fingers just how close it was. “I was just at the crematorium before I came here, saying goodbye to Tommy. I should be with Abby now but am only here because I’ve got to start making a dent in the damned Golden Asia file because I’m positive there’s a connection between it and his death, and somehow, some way, I want to find a way to nail the bastard who killed Mr. Sung. And, not to mention, my father is tied up in this mess. And you have the audacity to ask me out for a falafel? What kind of proposition is that?”
Noah swallowed. “You’re right.” He hung his head. “Bad idea. Would you like t
o go for a Caesar salad instead?”
Noah’s efforts at lightheartedness were starting to have the desired effect on Olivia. Her eyes wandered the room and, if one looked closely, one would swear there was the tiniest hint of a smile for a millisecond. She stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets.
“Falafels are full of garlic.”
“I’m not planning to kiss you.” He smiled. Yet. “Look, life’s a bitch, and you need to release all that garbage out of your system. Detox. Take up boxing or quilting... or you can take it out on me.”
Olivia shuffled her feet. “I guess I just did.”
Noah offered his arm; Olivia shook her head, but she followed him as he left the room. They entered the elevator and were the only two passengers. As it began its descent, without looking at him, Olivia took his hand and squeezed. If the ride never ended, Noah would think he had died and was en route to Heaven. Olivia’s eyes concentrated on the elevator door. “I’m not doing this because I like you.”
“No one likes me,” Noah said. “Why should I expect anything different from you?”
“I’m just totally freaked out and need someone to talk to. You just happen to be convenient.”
“I’m willing to be convenient for a long time. Forever, if necessary.”
“I don’t like jocks,” she countered.
“I’ll take Mozart over the Green Bay Packers any day.”
She tried again. “I’m a high-maintenance person.”
“I own an old British sports car. Try having one of those in Hong Kong. That’s what you call high maintenance,” Noah said.
***
The atmosphere was much different in the parking garage of the building that Pittman Saunders was located in. Garret drove his Bentley into his private parking stall. As he got out, Chin stepped out from behind a concrete pillar. The two confronted each other.
“That was a touching service this morning, Garret.”
“It was the right thing to do. Tommy wanted to be cremated within eight hours of his death. Not an easy thing to arrange when he was the object of a murder investigation.”
“Which is why I pay you a whacking pile of dough. If it were easy, I could save myself a lot of money.”
“You didn’t need to kill Tommy,” Garret spat. “I told you I would handle the situation.”
Chin grunted. “Yes, you told me that, but I didn’t tell you the reason why I wanted him gone.” He stopped to let the gravity of the moment sink in. “I want you to be the head of Golden Asia.”
Garret didn’t hesitate. “With you pulling my strings on every move? I don’t operate that way. No.”
“Your salary will be bumped up to twenty million a year, Garret. Twenty million. Except for elite Hollywood entertainers, sports superstars and Fortune 500 CEOs, few in the universe make this kind of money.”
“I can’t be bought, Chin,” Garret said. “You of all people should know that.”
Chin replied nonchalantly, “It’s worked so far. Think about it, Garret.”
“And if I say no?”
“No one ever says no to me. But in case you would like to be a hero and be the first, remember this. Everyone is expendable.”
Chin’s black Mercedes zoomed up. The door automatically opened, and Chin slid in. The car silently shot away.
Garret muttered quietly. “Everyone includes you, Chin.”
***
The Middle Eastern population was not terribly big in Hong Kong, which made the falafel restaurant population pretty small. Because those who wanted to eat the deep-fried chickpea balls wrapped in a pita for breakfast was even smaller, one might have thought it was a minor miracle that Noah was able to find a restaurant open at 8:30 a.m.
In fact, it wasn’t as difficult as that. Noah had still been pondering what to get Olivia before finally deciding on a dozen red roses. It just so happened that the 888 Florist close to the Pittman Saunders Building offered the unsellable Venus flytrap at a huge discount. Noah had decided the carnivorous plant was exactly the outside-of-the-box thinking that Chad had talked about.
The owner of the Falafel Palace had been opening up next door as Noah carried his precious plant out and gave him a two-for-one opening special coupon. So it hadn’t been creative thinking that drove Noah to give Olivia a carnivorous plant or take her to a falafel restaurant; it had been economic reality.
“Noah, so good to see you again,” greeted Hafez, the cheerful Iranian owner.
“You know this place?” wondered Olivia.
“Why else do you think I suggested it?” replied Noah, not exactly lying.
Hafez seated them at a window table and handed Noah a handful of two-for-one coupons. “You keep coming back at lunch, dinner and breakfast, okay? I make you special breakfast falafel. No one ever tried before.”
“Sure,” said the sheepish lawyer.
Olivia couldn’t care less about Noah’s financial situation. She just needed to hear and feel some kindness—missionaries and their kids were usually pretty good at that one thing.
“Pittman Saunders is Dad’s only love. It has been ever since Mom died. I don’t think he really wanted me after that. I’m not even sure he wanted me in the first place. He just went along with anything Mom wanted. Since then, he has maneuvered and manipulated me, all in the name of protecting me.”
“It’s his way of showing he cares. Most men find it difficult to express emotion.”
Olivia turned away to hide her tears. “Can you imagine what it’s like to watch a plane with your mother onboard blow up right in front of you?”
“Can’t possibly imagine.” Noah was appalled. “Is that what happened?”
Olivia nodded. “You think somehow it’s your fault, that you could have stopped it, or maybe it’s God trying to punish you for some terrible thing you’ve done or for being the terrible person you are. The only one who understands is Abby.”
“Abby? Why her?”
“Her mom was on the plane with mine, and she saw everything, too. Abby has seen both her mother and father get killed.” She let out a little snort. “Poor little rich girl. She’s now the owner of the biggest house on Victoria Peak, and she’d give it all up if she could, just to...”
The falafels arrived. Hafez, seeing their somber faces, quickly left, letting Olivia and Noah eat privately.
“Do you ever think there’s some possible connection between your mother’s death, Abby’s mom’s death and now her father’s death?”
“All the time. Why do you think I hate my father? I’m sure he’s got something to do with Tommy’s death. Last night opened my eyes to something that I... I...” Olivia struggled to continue. “Even as I hated him, I always respected him, but he knew that man. That scary, awful man.”
“What man?”
“He said his name was Chin Chee Fok, and I could tell Dad was scared. Noah, my father is never scared, but there was something about Chin... He also said he was behind Golden Asia, which means you and I are working for him, but I, for the life of me, haven’t found anything the least bit suspicious.”
Chin. Again.
“I don’t know who to turn to. I haven’t lived in Hong Kong for fifteen years.”
“You can count on me,” Noah said, taking her hand gently.
“Noah, you’re a very funny and sweet guy, but you are an ant playing with elephants. We don’t need a peashooter. Dealing with Chin requires an elephant gun.”
“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“Thanks for the falafel.” Olivia moved to stand up, but Noah boldly commanded, “Sit down, Olivia.”
Stunned by his assertiveness, Olivia contemplated slapping her arrogant coworker, but she just slumped back into her chair.
“You don’t trust men. You don’t trust anyone. I get that,” stated Noah. “I don’t blame you. What was taken from you was irreplaceable, and you’re afraid of getting close to anyone because you’re afraid that might happen again.”
“I’ve already spent ye
ars in therapy,” said Olivia, defense mechanisms shooting up like a shield. “I don’t need another shrink.”
“No, you don’t. But you do need to trust the world again.”
“And that begins with you?” Olivia snapped sarcastically.
It was hard not to like Noah’s genuine broad grin. “Absolutely. Now it’s time to get to work.”
***
Outside the Falafel Palace, Duke watched Noah and Olivia discreetly. As they finished their meal, Duke strolled away and dialed a cell phone number.
“Dad, Olivia bit on Noah. I think this is going to give us some leverage or, at the very least, some options.”
“Smart thinking. Keep it up.”
“You got it.”
Duke walked away, smiling.
***
Noah and Olivia left the Falafel Palace and passed by the florist.
Noah was about to enter when Olivia asked, “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to get you some roses.”
“What’s wrong with the dionaea muscipula?”
“Huh?”
“The Venus flytrap. I had one in Boston. Feeding it was my distraction from studying.”
“Oh,” said a much-surprised Noah.
“And flowers are so cliché. I must have had two hundred dozen bouquets sent to me by doctors, lawyers, MBAs, gym instructors, engineers... anyone without an original thought in his head. Say thanks to Chad for that.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“And, Noah, thanks for the falafel. Next time, it will be my treat.”
“Next time?” Noah gave himself an internal high-five.
Olivia moved a step closer to Noah. Close enough that a little gust of wind threw the scent of her lightly fragranced hair into Noah’s face. Noah had to catch himself from stumbling.
The Noah Reid Series: Books 1-3: The Noah Reid Action Thriller Series Boxset Page 15
