The Scottish Banker of Surabaya

by Ian Hamilton

  Every building or piece of property being acquired was described in incredible detail. The first group of properties was listed under the Rome branch. Initially the purchases were concentrated in Rome, but as the dates progressed the acquisitions spread to Milan, Florence, and Parma. The companies receiving the loans were almost as diverse, with home addresses spread all over Italy.

  New York was next, and two parts of the pattern changed. The companies getting loans were registered in the New York area and nearly all the individuals attached to them had U.S. addresses. The Toronto office had opened only six months after New York. Ava couldn’t believe how many properties were listed, using the New York model of local companies and addresses. It seemed that a lot of Woodbridge and Vaughan, two new high-end Italian suburbs in Toronto, was owned by the ’Ndrangheta, or at least by local Italians somehow affiliated with them. She searched again for names she could recognize. She thought a couple of the companies sounded familiar, and the name Rocca popped up repeatedly, although it was attached to Luciano, Alfredo, and Joseph, not Dominic.

  There were more pages outlining activity in Venezuela, but Ava had already seen enough to know that Cameron had been telling the truth. She scanned the pages a second time. There had to have been more than five hundred transactions. She quickly calculated their value — more than five billion dollars.

  Ava dug into her bag and found two USB drives. She downloaded the files onto one memory stick for herself and then onto the second as backup. When that was done, she phoned Uncle.

  “Wei.”

  “I got the passwords and I got into their system. He wasn’t lying about all the money they’ve been ploughing into real estate. It’s at least five billion,” Ava said.

  “How much information is there?”

  “More than I would have thought prudent,” she said. “Dates, company names, company officers and directors, addresses, and phone numbers for every company receiving a loan. Payment schedules, copies of corporate and personal guarantees — on and on it goes. And then enormous detail about every property being financed.”

  “Just what you need to record if you are really running a banking operation.”

  “Exactly.”

  “And all of which would look completely above board unless someone knew specifically what you were really doing.”

  “Yes.”

  “How are the loans grouped?”

  “By date, by branch.”

  “The Italian ones — where were the companies incorporated?”

  “Seemingly everywhere but in Reggio Calabria.”

  “That is not surprising,” Uncle said.

  “I downloaded it all, twice. I’ll keep a stick with me and arrange to have one sent to you before I leave here.”

  “Ava, we have booked you on a Cathay Pacific flight leaving Surabaya at six tonight.”

  “Okay.”

  “And I think Perkasa should get back to Jakarta tonight as well.”

  “I’ll tell him.”

  “The locals he hired, how good are they?”

  “Excellent.”

  “Will they keep their mouths shut?”

  “I think so, but you should ask Perkasa that question,” Ava said, not willing to vouch for people she didn’t know, hadn’t hired, and couldn’t talk to.

  He became quiet and she wondered if she’d offended him. Instead he said, “The banker is a problem.”

  “I know.”

  “He seems to like to talk.”

  “He was coerced,” Ava said.

  “No matter. If they suspect anything, they will make him talk as easily. He knows your name, yes?”

  “He does, and he knows people who are friends of friends — friends who know me very well.”

  “So the question is, can you trust him not to go to his employers and tell them that a young woman named Ava Lee has been sniffing around the bank? Believe me, he does not have to tell them any more than that to make them paranoid. And they are relentless. No one would be safe.”

  “I don’t trust him at all,” said Ava.

  “So, what to do?”

  “I was thinking about it during the car ride to the hotel. He has a meeting scheduled with the Italians in Surabaya tonight, at seven. If he doesn’t show, from everything he’s told me, they’re going to go nutty. The last thing we want is them running around digging into his past twenty-four to forty-eight hours.”

  “You cannot let him go to the meeting,” Uncle said quietly.

  “No, of course not,” said Ava. “The thing is, we can’t just dump his body and his car somewhere. Sooner or later they’ll be found. And even if they aren’t found right away, he can’t just go missing. We need to make them think he’s done a runner on them. We need them to think that Cameron is their problem. We need them to focus entirely on finding him.”

  “You obviously have some idea of how to do that.”

  “I’ve been thinking about it and I’ve come up with something that might work, but I really need the help of Perkasa and his two men here to make it happen.”

  “Do you need me to talk to him? Do you need more money?”

  “No, let me handle it.”

  “Ava,” he said quietly, “no matter what, I want you on that six o’clock flight. I know those people. They are to be taken seriously.”

  “I’ll be on the plane.”

  “And I will be at Chek Lap Kok to meet you.”

  “I’ll call you after I check in at the airport here.”

  “Be careful,” he said.

  “As always.”

  She phoned Perkasa as soon as she ended the call with Uncle. “We need to figure out what to do with the banker,” she told him before he could speak.

  “Do you have anything in mind?”

  “Yes, I want him to go to Singapore or Manila or KL.”

  “Okay,” he said.

  “Tell me, how tough is it for anyone to fly directly from Surabaya to any of those places?”

  “There are all kinds of direct flights.”

  “That’s what I thought, but that’s not what I meant. How difficult is security? Could we book a flight in Cameron’s name, get a ticket in his name, and then have someone else check in using his name?”

  He said, “I’m glad to hear you say he’s not the one actually flying.” And then he added, “You would need to know someone working at one of the airline check-in counters.”

  “Does either Waru or Prayogo?”

  “We have to ask. If they don’t, I can make some phone calls to Jakarta.”

  “How about at the gates? Do they double-check ID here?”

  “If they check a boarding pass, it’s normally just to make sure you’re getting on the correct flight.”

  Ava said, “Call the boys and see if they know anyone who can help at the airport.”

  “They may ask for more details,” he said. “Like, if one of them gets on a flight, how do they get back?”

  “I was thinking more of you getting on a flight. Do you have your passport with you?”

  “I do. But I think I’d like more details.”

  She said, “I haven’t thought it all the way through yet. The only thing I know, and Uncle agrees, is that we don’t want the Italians chasing after us. Look, you talk to Waru while I check today’s flight schedules.”

  She hung up the phone, went online, and did a quick scan of airlines flying from Surabaya to other major south-eastern Asian cities. There was a host of them: Cathay Pacific, Malaysian Airlines, Garuda, Singapore Air, and two airlines she’d never heard of. If the Indonesians had a contact, she thought it was likely she’d find a flight.

  She phoned Perkasa. “Did you get Waru?”

  “Just finished with him. Between him and his friends, they have contacts at virtually every airline that flies out of here. As long as you’re willing to pay enough, there won’t be any problem.”

  She ran through the flight schedules. “There’s a Malaysian Airlines flight to Kuala Lumpur at five
thirty and a Singapore Air flight to Singapore at seven. Call Waru back and tell him to make arrangements for the one that works best. And tell him I don’t care how much it costs, I just want it done right. If we have to pay ten people, then I will.”

  “Okay, I’ll tell him . . . Then what?”

  “Call me back with the details so I can make the booking.”

  “Five minutes.”

  “Good. Then get over to the Sheraton, pack your bags, and check out. Then come back here and pick me up. I’m going to be packed as well and ready to go.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “Away from Surabaya, but first back to the house. We need to look after the banker,” she said, and hesitated. “Will this be an issue with the brothers?”

  “I thought it might come to this,” Perkasa said. “Uncle thinks it is best?”

  “He thinks it’s the only sensible thing to do. He also wants me out of here today and you back in Jakarta as fast as you can get there. So will any of this be an issue with the brothers?”

  “No. We’ll pay them a bit more.”

  “They may have to do more than keep their mouths shut.”

  “No problem. It’s all about the money.”

  “I have lots of money.”

  “No need. Uncle sent me enough for a small army.”

  “Fine. Then I’ll see you in about twenty minutes,” Ava said.

  She looked around the room. She’d be leaving Surabaya without any money for Theresa Ng. She couldn’t remember the last time — actually, any time — she had been happy to leave a place without collecting any money or even having any hope of collecting it. There was Cameron’s million dollars or so that she might be able to get her hands on, but she was sure it could be tracked. Even if he had ten million, it wasn’t worth the risk.

  ( 34 )

  Perkasa phoned before she even had time to get her toilet kit packed. “Singapore Air,” he said.

  She went back to the computer and, using the Visa card she’d found in Cameron’s wallet, bought a one-way ticket for him, business class, to Singapore.

  Ten minutes later her bags were at the door. She took a last glance around the room, feeling that she had forgotten something. She did a quick search of the bathroom and double-checked the dresser drawers. They were empty. Then she remembered what it was she was looking for — her green jade cufflinks.

  Ava carried her bags into the lobby and went to the front desk. She asked for her bill and for an envelope. While the clerk fussed with her computer, Ava wrote Uncle’s name and Kowloon address on the envelope and slid the USB key into it. If she didn’t make it back to Hong Kong, the information would.

  Perkasa walked through the front door as she was settling the account. She waved him over. “When you get back to Jakarta, I’d like you to send this by courier to Uncle,” she said.

  He stuffed the envelope into a front jeans pocket and reached for Ava’s bags.

  Traffic was now as bad as she’d seen it all week. As Perkasa eased onto the road, Ava began to calculate the time they had left. If things went smoothly, she figured, they’d be at the airport by five.

  “When do we kill the banker?” he asked.

  “We have some business to finish first. Not much more than a few hours from now,” Ava said.

  He nodded.

  “We need to keep the Italians off-balance,” she said. “I want to make it look as if he’s still alive and has left Surabaya for reasons unknown. So we’ll drive the Porsche to the airport and park it there. We’ll have you board the plane as Cameron. I’d like for us to be able to check a bag in his name and have the bag picked up in Singapore; I think I may have a way we can get that done. When the Italians go looking for him, which they will, it would be helpful to have someone point them in the direction of Singapore.”

  “The car and the ticket shouldn’t be a problem. As for the other two —”

  “How close would he be to his housekeeper?” Ava asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Would the housekeeper be privy to his schedule?”

  “Yeah, by and large.”

  “So it wouldn’t be unusual for Cameron to tell his housekeeper he was going to Singapore on a business trip and that he needed to pack a bag.”

  “Of course not, but how are you going to get him to do that without him getting completely paranoid?”

  “We’ll have to side-door it.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Let’s wait until we get to Waru’s house,” said Ava, closing her eyes and putting her head back on the seat.

  Prayogo was standing outside when they arrived. He approached the Nissan as it drove up to the house and began to speak rapidly to Perkasa when he got out of the car.

  “The banker has passed out a couple of times since we left. They’ve been throwing water on him to revive him, but they’re not sure what’s going to happen if we leave him in the sun,” Perkasa said to Ava.

  “Then we’ll move him into the shade and they can give him all the water he needs,” Ava said, climbing the stairs into the house.

  She stood inside the kitchen while the brothers moved Cameron into the shade. Perkasa stayed with her, leaning against the sink, looking outwardly calm. “Who is going to kill him?” he asked, his voice even.

  “I am.”

  “Do you think —” he began.

  “No, there’s nothing to think about. It’s my job, my choice. Will Waru object if I use his gun?”

  “Of course not.”

  “You still need to explain our plan to them and why we think it’s necessary to eliminate him. And Perkasa, you can’t emphasize enough our concerns about our collective self-preservation. They can’t discuss this with anyone, not even their wives.”

  “I’ll make sure they understand.”

  “Good. While you’re doing that, I’m going to have another chat with Cameron.”

  The brothers had moved the chair against the back wall of the house. It was in the shade, but that hardly made an impact in the heat. Cameron was wet from head to toe, his hair flat against his head, the golf shirt stuck to his chest, his belly protruding like an upside-down bowl of jelly, his shorts and underwear heavy with water and lying in a lump at his feet.

  “How are you doing, Andy?” she asked.

  He grunted.

  “This will be over soon enough,” she said, as Perkasa led the brothers back into the house for their talk. “Now there’s a personal matter I want to go over with you.”

  He stiffened, and Ava knew he was imagining the worst.

  “I’m going to take the tape from your mouth. When I do, I want you to stay quiet until I have a chance to ask my questions. And then all I want you to do is answer me. Got that?”

  He nodded.

  She reached out and stripped the tape from his face. He threw his head back, gulping in air through his open mouth. “I checked your story and I discussed things with my partner, and it appears you were telling me the truth about the bank. So that’s a good thing. We’re also prepared to work a deal for your million or so dollars. That’s also a good thing. What’s not quite so good is that I think you stole a set of green jade cufflinks from my hotel room.”

  Cameron started to protest and then clamped his jaw tight.

  Ava waited for a few seconds and then said quietly, “Don’t make me ask again.”

  “I took them,” he said, his voice hoarse and breaking.

  “What were they to you, Andy, a trophy of some sort? Is that how you immortalize your conquests? Do you have a large collection of date-rape mementos?”

  He shook his head. “It isn’t like that.”

  “I don’t care what it’s like. What I need you to tell me is where they are.”

  “At my house.”

  “I want them back.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ll get them back to you,” he said quickly.

  “I know you will, and you’ll do it today. In fact, you’ll do it before you
leave here and before we transfer that million dollars you say you have.”

  “But how can I do that?”

  “Where are the cufflinks?”

  “On my dresser.”

  Ava sat quietly, letting him worry about what was coming next. “Is there anyone at your house?” she said.

  “I have staff there.”

  “And who runs the staff?”

  “Yannie, my housekeeper.”

  “Does she speak English?”

  “She has to. I have hardly any Indo.”

  “That’s good. Now, Andy, tell me, is your mobile phone in the Porsche?”

  “Aye.”

  “Good. So here is what we’re going to do. My friends will get your phone and you’ll tell us your home phone number and we’re going to call it for you. You will ask to talk to Yannie. When you get her, you will tell her that you’re at the golf course, in the middle of your game, and that you’ll be there until dinner time. Then you’ll say you forgot to bring the jade cufflinks with you. Tell her you bought them as a gift for a business associate and that you’re meeting him for dinner. Ask her if she could wrap them for you and then tell her you’re sending one of the security people from the golf course to pick them up. What do you think, Andy? Does that sound reasonable?”

  “Yeah, it does.”

  “She wouldn’t find it unusual?”

  “No.”

  “And do you think you can make that call without causing a fuss? I mean, can you do exactly what I just outlined, that and nothing more?”

  “Aye, I can do it.”

  “Because if you can’t, Andy, I have to tell you that what you received earlier will seem like a tickle.”

  His head bobbed up and down as if it were on a string. “I’ll do it, word for word.”

  “That’s good to hear. And if you do, then we’ll figure out something about the money and send you on your way, in time to make dinner with your Italian friends. How does that sound?”

  “Great, just great,” he said, his brogue thickening.