Finale, page 4
Uncle put down the phone and then contemplated how best to spend the next couple of hours. On a normal evening, he would be sitting in his chair with a bottle of San Miguel, a pack of cigarettes, and the racing form. San Miguel was out of the question, but Parker had said he could still smoke, and Uncle thought his mind was sharp enough to tackle the form. He lit a Marlboro, took a drag, looked at the cigarette, and tried to remember when he had started smoking. He had been fifteen or sixteen when he had his first, but he didn’t have the money to support the habit until he was in his early twenties. Cigarettes were like an old friend, but an old friend who was now contributing to his death. He took one more drag, stubbed it out, and picked up the form.
He had barely started on the third race when his eyes began to close. He got out of the chair, walked around it several times, and retook his seat. Within minutes, his eyes began to close again, and this time he didn’t fight it.
The phone was on the table next to him, and the volume was turned up, so when it rang it startled him.
“Wei,” he answered, his voice sleepy.
“This is Phan.”
Uncle checked the time. Less than two hours had elapsed since they’d spoken. “If you have my information, I compliment you on your efficiency,” he said.
“I have the information, and although it wasn’t that difficult, it has generated interest here.”
“How so?”
“The car is registered to Lam Duc Dinh.”
“Is he related to my person of interest?”
“Yes, he is his older brother . . . and perhaps the leading neurosurgeon in Vietnam.”
“That is interesting.”
“My contacts thought so,” Phan said. “They were curious why I would be asking about a car owned by such a distinguished man.”
“What did you tell them?”
“I explained that our main interest was his brother.”
“Did they have anything on him?”
“He landed in Ho Chi Minh about five months ago, and he did put his brother’s address on the customs entry form as his residence.”
“Is he known to them otherwise?”
“He has no criminal record, if that’s what you mean. He left Vietnam about twenty years ago and has been coming back every three or four years for short visits.”
“Phan, do you have any way of confirming he’s actually staying with his brother?”
“It’s a bit late in the night for that. We can do something in the morning, but I have to say I’ll be surprised if he’s not there.”
“Well, if he is, I expect that my partner will be heading your way. Can I count on you to provide her with support on the ground?”
“Of course, and I presume the partner you’re referring to is Ava Lee?”
“It is. I can’t remember if you’ve met her.”
“I haven’t, but I have heard a lot about her. She has quite a reputation.”
“Pardon? What kind of reputation?”
“All very positive,” Phan said quickly. “People usually talk about how smart she is, though I’ve been told she’s as tough as she is clever.”
“That’s true, but she’s still going to need support.”
“I promise you she’ll have it,” Phan said. “And I’ll speak to you tomorrow morning after we confirm the brother is at the house.”
“I’ll be at my home number until about nine. After that, you’ll have to call my cell. If I don’t answer, just leave a message. If Ava is going to travel to Ho Chi Minh, I’ll call you with her travel details.”
Uncle put down the phone with a feeling of satisfaction. Despite the fact he had been officially out of the triad brotherhood for more than ten years, Phan had treated him with the respect typically reserved for a Mountain Master. And Ava was going to be pleased at how quickly they’d gathered the information she wanted, he thought as he called her.
“Hi Uncle, did your contact come through?” she answered.
“He did, and here’s what he found out,” Uncle said, and then related his conversation with Phan.
“That’s good news, and if he is still at his brother’s house, I’ll get to Ho Chi Minh as fast as I can,” she said. “In fact, in the hope he is there, I’ll hold a seat on the Cathay Pacific flight that leaves here at midnight for Hong Kong. I can catch a connection there for Ho Chi Minh.”
Even when she was just flying through Hong Kong, Ava and Uncle would try to find a way to meet. He should keep things as normal as possible, he thought. He calculated she would be arriving early in the morning on the day after his next treatment. “As I remember, that flight will get you into Hong Kong in time for breakfast. If your connection makes it possible, perhaps we could meet for congee?”
“I would like that,” she said.
“Okay, I’ll call you as soon as I hear from Phan tomorrow, and then we can finalize our plans.”
He put down the phone, and then smiled when he thought of Phan’s remark about Ava having quite a reputation. It was true, and she had earned it. What was more amazing was that no matter what senior triads knew of her exploits, they were even more impressed when they met her. At five foot three inches, and weighing about one hundred and fifteen pounds, she looked like a strong wind could blow her over when in fact she could take down men twice her size.
Uncle remembered the first time he saw what she was capable of. It had been ten years ago, he realized, almost shocked how those years had flown by. Uncle had just started his debt collection business, and his men Carlo and Andy were in Shenzhen hunting down a thief named Johnny Kung. They had located the hotel he was staying in and had called Uncle with that news, and with one other odd piece of information. Evidently, they weren’t the only people going after Kung; there was a young woman, who Andy had referred to as a “girl,” chasing him as well. Uncle couldn’t imagine why someone would hire a girl, and what made it stranger was that she had come all the way from Canada and didn’t seem to have any local support.
At Andy’s urging, Uncle had agreed they would work with her, and a plan was concocted that would have her isolate Kung from his bodyguards so Andy and Carlo could get their hands on him. She did her part, but before Andy could get Kung out of the restaurant, one of Kung’s bodyguards had arrived on the scene. Uncle’s smile broadened as he remembered the phone call he had received from Andy. He had relayed the news that they had Kung, and then mentioned the bodyguard’s intrusion.
“How did you handle him?” Uncle had asked.
“Boss, you won’t believe this, but it was the girl who took him out. He was waving a gun and she didn’t seem to care. She just stepped in front of him and two punches later he was on the ground rolling around in agony. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
At the time, Uncle had thought, What kind of girl is this? A few days later he had several answers to that question that included — as Phan had said — the fact she was as smart as she was tough, and as principled as anyone he had ever met. Had she found her way into his heart back then? Perhaps — but with Ava, the longer he knew her the more he came to care for her. Now she was the single most important person in his life.
( 5 )
Uncle woke at seven. He had slept fitfully, but there had been no mad dashes to the bathroom. It appeared there was nothing left for his body to reject, and for that he was grateful, but he also had a hunger that reminded him of the way he’d felt in China, when starvation had haunted him. He slid out of bed, steadied himself, and then walked into the living room. He went to Lourdes’s door and knocked.
A few seconds later, she said, “Yes, sir.”
“I’m sorry to bother you so early, but could you make me a bowl of white rice?” he asked.
“What would you like with it?”
“Nothing. A bowl of plain white rice is all I want.”
She opened the door slightly and peered at him through the crack. “I’ll do it right away.”
“Thank you, I’ll shower and shave while you get started.”
Thirty minutes later he sat at the kitchen table contemplating a mound of white rice. For reasons he understood were psychological and dated back to his escape from China, he always ate quickly — so quickly at times that he barely tasted his food. He knew that wasn’t an approach to take with this white rice. He took a few grains on his chopsticks, placed them in his mouth, and let them rest on his tongue. After a few seconds he began to chew as slowly as he could. When he felt the rice’s texture turn to mush, he swallowed. He didn’t expect his stomach to react immediately, but just in case he waited anyway. When nothing happened, he put a second helping into his mouth and repeated the process. After a few more, his hunger pangs began to recede, and before he was halfway through the bowl, he started to feel full. He put the chopsticks on the table, sipped his water, and sat quietly, willing his stomach not to rebel. After ten minutes, he felt secure enough to stand.
“You can’t finish the rice, sir?” Lourdes asked.
Uncle saw her in the doorway of her room and wondered if she had been watching him the whole time. “I’ve had enough for now. Save what’s left; I’ll eat it later.”
He went into his bedroom, put on a jacket, and returned to the living room to find Lourdes covering the leftover rice. One attribute she shared with him was an inability to waste food.
“I’m going to buy my newspapers,” he said. “I will be back.”
Uncle felt slightly light-headed as he went down the stairs, but after several deep breaths of fresh air the feeling passed, and he felt comfortable enough to walk to the newsstand. He took his time going there and coming back, conscious of how his body was behaving. When he reached the apartment building, he took up a position near the door. Usually he would have had several cigarettes by now, but for some reason the craving wasn’t as strong. He lit his first cigarette of the day and took a drag. The smoke had an unfamiliar bite as it reached his lungs. He took two more drags, had a similar if not quite as strong reaction, and threw the cigarette to the ground.
Uncle checked the time when he entered his apartment and saw he had an hour to spare before leaving for the hospital. He decided to read Sing Tao and save the Oriental Daily News for later.
“Sir, there were some phone calls,” Lourdes said before he got into his chair.
“Did you take messages?”
“Yes, a man named Phan wants you to call him back,” she said. “And Sonny was wondering if you had changed your mind about needing him today.”
“Thank you,” he said, pleased to hear about Phan, but slightly annoyed that Sonny was being so persistent.
He reached for the phone and called Phan.
“I hope you have good news for me,” said Uncle as Phan answered.
“I do. Lam is still living at his brother’s house.”
“How do you know?”
“My nephew Tran went there this morning. He saw him puttering around in the front garden.”
“He was sure it was him?”
“Uncle, we have a copy of his passport. He matches the photo.”
“Of course,” said Uncle. “Well, if that’s the case then Ava could be arriving in Ho Chi Minh as early as tomorrow.”
“Send me her itinerary when you have it. I’ll arrange for her to be met at the airport and escorted through customs. The line-ups there are brutal,” said Phan.
“That would be helpful. Who will you send to the airport?”
“Tran. He’s an up-and-coming police officer but has ties to the brotherhood. He went to university in Australia and speaks English well. He and Ms. Lee should have no trouble communicating. Tell her he’ll be dressed in civilian clothes and will be holding a sign with her name on it.”
“Thank you one more time.”
“Not a problem, Uncle. We old warriors have to stick together.”
Uncle’s next call was to Toronto. Ava’s line rang five times, and Uncle was becoming concerned he’d missed her when she answered, sounding slightly out of breath.
“I had just stepped out of the shower when I heard the phone,” she said. “I had to run to get it.”
“I would have left a message.”
“Now there’s no need. What have you found out?”
“Lam is still in Ho Chi Minh City. Our contacts there saw him in person about an hour ago. He was doing some gardening.”
“Then I’ll be catching the midnight flight.”
“Send me your itinerary before you leave for the airport. I want to let our friends in Ho Chi Minh know when to expect you.”
“I’ll do that in a few minutes.”
“And you might not see me at the airport with Sonny tomorrow morning. I would go with him as usual, but I have a project I’ve been working on that might need my attention.”
“Momentai, it will be great just to see you again. These past few months are the longest time we’ve been apart since we became partners.”
“I know, and I have to say I’ve missed you.”
“Me too,” said Ava. “Now, I should go. You need the itinerary and I have to finish packing. I’m rather out of practice at doing that for an overseas trip.”
Uncle put down the phone with a sigh. He hated not telling Ava the entire truth, but until his situation was clarified that’s what he felt he had to do. And speaking of what he had to do, he phoned Sonny.
“Yes, boss,” Sonny answered.
“Lourdes told me you called and asked if I needed you this morning. Unless I’m being forgetful, I thought I told you yesterday that I would be tied up for a few days. What is it you didn’t understand?”
There was a long silence, and Uncle knew he had stung Sonny. It wasn’t something he enjoyed doing, but once in a while it was necessary.
“I’m sorry, boss. I was just checking in.”
“Well, you’ve done that, and nothing has changed where today is concerned, but tomorrow is different. Ava will be arriving in Hong Kong on the morning Cathay flight from Toronto. I’d like you to meet her and then bring her to Morning Blessings.”
“Okay, I’ll look after it.”
Uncle sat back in his chair and opened Sing Tao. It was Wednesday and that meant night racing at Happy Valley, so almost automatically he turned to the back pages to see what the paper’s handicapper was choosing. But as he compared the picks to his own preliminary ones it occurred to him that he might not be well enough to go. It was a random thought that caught him off guard. He tried to remember the last time he had missed a race night at Happy Valley, and couldn’t recall ever missing a single one. The prospect shook him. In terms of changes in his life, not going to Happy Valley would be major.
Well, he didn’t have to make that decision, he thought, until after the day’s treatment. Maybe it wouldn’t hit him as hard as it had the day before.
At nine-fifteen, he folded Sing Tao and prepared to leave for the hospital. Just as he was slipping on his jacket, the phone rang, and he saw Ava’s Toronto number.
“Is everything okay?” he asked, surprised to hear from her so soon.
“Yes, I’m in a limo on my way to the airport. I’m booked on a Dragonair flight that will arrive in Ho Chi Minh at three-thirty.”
“I’ll let our Vietnamese friends know.”
“Fine, and I’ll see you for breakfast tomorrow in Hong Kong,” she said. “You have no idea how enjoyable it is for me to say those words.”
( 6 )
Parker didn’t come to see Uncle at the Queen Elizabeth until he had started his second treatment of the day. The first had gone well enough; though he felt weak and light-headed, the nausea wasn’t as bad as the day before and the diarrhea hadn’t returned.
“I hope they’re looking after you to your satisfaction,” Parker said as he sat down next to Uncle.
“It is all very professional.”
“We have a very good team here,” Parker said. “How are you holding up today?”
“Better than yesterday.”
“There will be ups and downs. The important thing is not to strain yourself even when you feel normal. With this treatment, you can go from fine to awful in a matter of minutes.”
Uncle pointed at the racing form. “I was considering going to Happy Valley tonight.”
Parker shook his head. “I would advise against it, and that’s coming from someone who is no stranger to Happy Valley,” he said. “As well behaved as those crowds are, moving amongst them will take a lot of energy, and you don’t have much to spare. I suggest you stay home, place your bets with a bookie, and watch the races on television.”
“And have plain white rice for dinner,” Uncle said with a smile.
“Is that what you had last night?”
“No, I had it for breakfast.”
“Have you kept it down?”
“Yes.”
“Then stick with it. If you still feel okay tomorrow, you can be a little more adventurous.”
“I was going to meet a friend for congee tomorrow morning,” said Uncle.
“That should be fine as long as you don’t jazz it up with things like spicy sausage, pepper, and soy sauce.”
“You seem to know a lot about congee.”
“I was born and raised in Hong Kong and had an amah who fed it to me several times a week.”
“I’ll keep it simple.”
“That is very wise of you, but that shouldn’t surprise me after the way Doctor Cho described you.”
Uncle cocked an eyebrow at Parker. He had expected that when Cho told Parker about Uncle’s desire for privacy, some information had been shared about Uncle’s roots. He only hoped Cho hadn’t gone overboard.
Parker seemed to sense Uncle’s discomfort. “He spoke about you only in the most general terms, of course,” he added quickly, before getting up to leave.
