'Ask.'

  Conway Kan said, 'I have lost something.' He said, 'It is a thing of small value to anyone but myself and it is a matter I should like to keep between men of discretion like ourselves—' (O'Yee thought, "Rolling in it! Lighting cigars with thousand dollar notes! Mysterious phone calls in the night saying 'Buy Hong Kong Codpieces Limited'—millions on the Stock Exchange!") Conway Kan said, 'It is an object that belonged to my father and has been lost.'

  O'Yee asked, 'Stolen?'

  Conway Kan opened bis hands.

  'I see.'

  Conway Kan said sadly, 'It is not a matter for jocularity.' He glanced skywards to show that the world was full of men who, unlike themselves, had no respect for The Way. He said, 'It is a Ramphastes Toco in a state of perfect antique preservation.'

  O'Yee paused.

  'It has been lost.' Conway Kan said, To make this fact known would give rise to certain attempts at crude humour that men like ourselves would find distressing and base.'

  O'Yee nodded. He thought, "What the hell is a Ramphastes Toco?"

  Conway Kan leaned forward a little in his seat. He dropped his voice. He said conspiratorially, 'You are aware what a—'

  'I'm afraid I—'

  Conway Kan lowered his voice even lower. He smiled one of his smiles. He said, 'Ah, my dear friend—'

  O'Yee waited. He tried to look inscrutable.

  Conway Kan said, 'Dear friend, I have lost my stuffed toucan.' He said quickly to explain all the machinations for evil and loss of face and malicious double-dealing in the world, 'You see? "Conway Kan's toucan." "I can, Conway Kan too," "Toucan if one can—"' He said sadly, 'You see?' He asked, 'Are such things amusing? Do you find such things humorous?'

  O'Yee's face started moving of its own accord. He gritted his teeth.

  'Well?' Conway Kan asked. He suddenly seemed like a very small old man.

  'No.'

  Conway Kan nodded. He said pleasantly, 'You will allow me the honour of inviting you to refreshments in the Members' Rooms?' He stood up to show O'Yee the way.

  Thank you.' O'Yee stood up. He had never heard of the Members' Rooms. No one had. He followed Conway Kan through a lacquered door.

  Conway Kan said, 'There are some interesting antiques for the enjoyment of Members that you may find interesting to examine.' He stood aside and let O'Yee enter first. He said. I appreciate your sparing the time.'

  O'Yee nodded. He felt more Chinese than Confucius.

  They went into the Hong Kong holy of holies to discuss, as equals, one of life's little vicissitudes.

  *

  Spencer's phone rang. It was Nicola Feiffer. She asked pleasantly, 'Is Harry there, Bill?'

  'No, I'm sorry, he's out.' Spencer said, 'There's a job on. I don't know when he'll be back.' He offered, 'I can probably get in touch with him if you'd like.'

  'No. It isn't important' (Spencer thought he heard her change positions in a chair with an effort.) 'I just wanted to talk to him, that's all. It doesn't matter if he's too busy.'

  Spencer said quickly, 'It isn't that. He really has got a job on.' He said earnestly, 'He'd never pretend to be out when you rang. I've seen him almost leap at the phone when you call.' He waited.

  There was a pause. Spencer said, 'Honestly.'

  'Hmm.'

  'Really—honest.' He asked, 'Are you still there?'

  Nicola said, 'You haven't had too much experience catering to the neurotic whims of pregnant females, have you?'

  There was a silence. Nicola said, 'Bill?'

  Spencer said, 'I don't know what to say.' He glanced hopefully at the door of the Detectives' Room, but anybody who had had experience with the neurotic whims of pregnant females was distinctly reticent about using the door to come in. He said, 'I don't think you're neurotic'

  There was a long neurotic pause.

  Nicola said, 'How are you getting along? It must be a change from Police Administration.' She asked, 'How long is it now you've been a detective?'

  'Eighteen months.' Spencer said, 'Did you hear Christopher O'Yee got his promotion to Senior Inspector?'

  'Yes.'

  Spencer said, 'He deserves it, don't you think?'

  There was another pause. Spencer tried to think of something to say. He wondered what she was doing at the other end of the line. He thought, "It must be lonely for her by herself." He said, 'Um—'

  There was a sudden sound. It sounded like she sniffed, cleared her throat, and then sniffed again. Nicola said, 'Harry tells me you keep getting mysterious phone calls from someone named Frank.' She said, 'Is there any chance that Frank is short for Frances, with an e?'

  'Frankie.' Spencer glanced at the door to check that no one was there. He lowered his voice. He said, 'Yes.'

  'A girl?'

  'Well—yes.'

  'Personal?'

  Spencer cleared his throat. 'Yes.'

  Nicola Feiffer said, 'I'm delighted.' She said, 'I always thought you were the nicest one of the lot down there.' She said, 'It's about time you met a girl who appreciated you.' Nicola asked, 'She does appreciate you, doesn't she?'

  Spencer thought of Frank. He said, 'Well, um—'

  'Is she pretty?'

  Spencer said, 'Beautiful!' He went red. He said quickly, 'Well, I mean—' He said, 'Well, I think so—um—' He asked to change the subject, 'It can't be too long now before the baby's due. Is it two weeks or three?'

  Nicola Feiffer made a disgusted, due in two weeks or was it three noise in the back of her throat, 'Who cares?' There was another of those frightening pauses. 'Who bloodywell cares?'

  Spencer wished that someone would come through the door. He had a brainwave, 'Well, Harry does anyway.' He said, 'He talks about nothing else. He seems absolutely delighted about it'

  There was just another pause. Spencer thought, "Now I've done it!"

  Nicola Feiffer said, 'Does he? Is Harry pleased?'

  'Yes, of course.'

  'Really?'

  'Yes,' Spencer said, 'Of course he is. Wouldn't anybody be?'

  'Is he?'

  'Of course.'

  Nicola Feiffer said irritably, 'You keep saying "of course" as if it should be part of the human condition to be pleased. Maybe it is. But is he?'

  'Hasn't he said so?'

  'Has he said so to you?'

  Spencer was about to say, "Of course." He thought that mightn't be such a good idea. He said, 'He's said so to everyone.'

  'How would you know?'

  'What?'

  'How would you know about everyone? I don't think he's said so to anyone. He obviously hasn't said so to you.' She demanded miserably, 'Has he?'

  'Of course he has!' He said, 'He's pleased!'

  "Would you tell me if he wasn't?'

  'No!' He said quickly, 'Yes!' He said, on a third thought, 'He's pleased.'

  There was a long silence.

  He said, 'Nicola, are you there? Is that all right?'

  There was another pause. Then it ended. Nicola Feiffer said, 'Do you know what I dislike most about you?'

  There was nothing to say to that.

  Nicola Feiffer said, 'Your trouble, Spencer, is that you're just too bloody nice!' She hung up ferociously.

  Spencer looked at the phone, then put it gently back on its cradle. It rang again and he said wearily, 'Spencer—'

  There was a pause.

  Spencer said, 'Answer, blast it!'

  It was Frank. She said in a very hurt voice, 'I thought you'd be glad to hear from me...'

  Spencer said—

  He sighed.

  *

  Conway Kan considered his bowl of jasmine tea. He looked worried. He said to O'Yee and the jasmine flower floating on the surface of the tea, 'May I ask if you have any thoughts on your method of procedure?' He looked very worried indeed.

  O'Yee said, 'The—' He paused, 'The Ramphastes Toco is over a hundred years old?'

  Conway Kan nodded. 'It was my father's. He was briefly in the Caribbean and preserved it as a reminder of those days.' He said, 'He and my mother were married there.' He looked into the tea.

  O'Yee said, 'I would assume that whoever took it would attempt to sell it. He said, 'The usual place for it to end up in that case would be an antique dealer's.' He said, 'If, as you say, there were no signs of forcible entry in your house, we can assume it was taken by someone who knew you.' He asked, 'No one would take it simply to hurt you?'

  Conway Kan said, 'You are the first person to whom I have confessed its attachment for me.'

  Then I propose to get in touch with the dealers and see if it's been offered via a market stall or whatever.'

  Conway Kan said, 'And the question of criminal charges?'

  O'Yee said, 'It can remain a private matter. If you like, you can simply have someone walk in and purchase the bird.'

  Conway Kan nodded. He said, 'I fear you will lay yourself open to some ridicule asking people if they have bought a stuffed toucan.' He considered the meniscus in his cup.

  O'Yee said, 'Te jen ch'ieh jen, te nai ch'ieh nai.'

  'When it is proper to forbear, forbear.'

  There was a silence.

  O'Yee looked at Conway Kan. He looked like a very old man. Conway Kan looked down at the floor. There seemed to be tears in his eyes. He seemed to be a very long way away.

  O'Yee said suddenly in English, 'For Christ's sake, don't worry! I'll fix it!' He thought, "God, there goes a million dollars..."

  Conway Kan nodded. He seemed very embarrassed.

  Conway Kan said, 'About this morning—' He said, 'I heard about—what happened with the men you found in the water and about—'

  O'Yee nodded.

  Conway Kan said, 'I know why you wanted to wait.' He said, 'I hear most things that happen in Hong Bay.' He said, 'I know what you were wondering about and whether or not you did the right thing about—about, you know—'

  O'Yee nodded.

  Conway Kan said, 'You were right to insist on recovering everything.' He said, 'The family of the man would be grateful if they knew.' He said, 'They will know.' He said, 'I shall see to it.'

  O'Yee nodded and looked at the floor.

  They sat in silence.

  *

  Feiffer and Auden watched Macarthur and the two ambulancemen put Mr Leung's body into an ambulance and take it away, then they went back into what was left of the ivory shop.

  The ivory shop was a mess of ivory. It looked as though someone had taken a hammer to the two thousand small pieces of ivory Mr Leung had kept on his shelves and pounded each one of them to bits, then moved on with a larger hammer to the larger pieces and pounded them as well. Feiffer went to the remains of Mr Leung's desk, blew a cloud of ivory dust from the surface, and bent down to sniff the black scorch mark in the centre of the wood. The wood smelled burnt. He glanced at the rear wall where Auden was bending down looking at something on the floor.

  Auden said, 'Skin tissue.' He straightened up and looked at the third person in the room. The third person in the room, a man smoking a small black cigar, continued gathering up scraps of half incinerated paper and slipping them into plastic bags with tweezers. He took his black cigar from his mouth, considered the length of its ash, opened a brown Gladstone bag near his feet, extracted a tiny silver ashtray, and ashed the ash in it. Auden said to him, 'Are you Forensic?'

  The third person in the room shook his head. He smiled. He closed the Gladstone bag and locked it. He found another scrap of paper and slipped it into a plastic bag.

  The tearing down of Yellowthread Street had halted briefly as a mark of respect. The third person in the room said 'Hmm . . .' to himself and picked up something metallic with his tweezers. He looked at it. It was part of a triggering device. The third person in the room looked at Feiffer.

  Auden said to Feiffer, 'Who's he?'

  Feiffer asked the third person in the room, 'Anything for us?' The third person in the room considered the triggering device and made a soft sniffing noise. He smiled at Auden. The third person in the room was one of those Chinese whose face seemed to have never seen a line or a wrinkle. His skin was very smooth: when he smiled his face was still expressionless.

  He answered Feiffer, 'No.'

  'It was a letter bomb though?'

  'Yes.'

  'Leung.'

  'Yes.'

  Feiffer said, 'The letter to us said political.' He asked the third person, 'Was he?'

  'No.'

  Auden asked Feiffer irritably, 'Who the hell is he?'

  The third person in the room said to Feiffer, 'Why send a letter to the cops in advance if it's political? Why not just blow the bugger up without a word?'

  Feiffer said, 'If you're thinking it's some sort of intimidation, forget it. If it's someone who didn't pay extortion to one of the local strong-arm men, they're still not going to tell us in advance.' He said, glancing at the ivory and the blood. 'Whoever sent the bomb intended it to go off.' He asked, 'Did you know him: Leung?'

  'Did you?'

  'Only by sight. We don't know anything against him. So far as I know at the moment he was exactly what he seemed to be, a middle aged Chinese male resident in Hong Bay who sold ivory.'

  Auden said, 'Who the hell are you anyway?' He asked Feiffer, 'Is he a cop or what?'

  The third person in the room said, 'I'll check up, but he's not a known political.' He said, 'If he is into something nasty it doesn't say much for my files.'

  Auden said, 'You're Special Branch!'

  Feiffer opened his notebook and flipped over a few pages.

  'Have you got the wife's statement?'

  Feiffer found the page.

  Auden said, 'That's who you are! You're Special Branch!'

  'Mrs Leung, taken at scene of crime by Detective Chief Inspector and so on.'

  The third person in the room tapped the end of his cigar on the rim of the silver ashtray. The cigar was out. He unlocked his brown Gladstone bag and put the remains of the cigar and the half-filled ashtray into a little paper bag and placed it carefully somewhere in one of the leather pockets. He closed his bag again and locked it.

  ' "Who did it? I know who did it! It was him! He did it! Question: Who is 'him'?"'

  Auden looked at the third person in the room. That was who he was all right. No doubt about it.

  ' "Tam! That's who did it! Tam! His so-called partner! Him! He said he would and he did! It was him!"'

  Before they had taken the body away, Mrs Leung had shrieked, 'His so-called partner! His so-called rotten, lousy, vermin-infested friend! Him! Him with half the profits on his lousy bacteria-ridden capital and no work for the business! Him! That man! Mr plague-poxed Tam! Him! Him! Him! She had caught sight of one of her husband's bloodied hands under the plastic sheet the ambulancemen had used to cover him and shouted, 'My poor husband!' She shrieked, 'Who's going to support me and my children in my old age now?' She shrieked at Feiffer, 'It was him! Tam!'

  Feiffer made a note in his notebook. He asked quietly, 'Address?'

  'Soochow Street! Somewhere in a rat hole in Soochow Street! Somewhere where decent clean people—'

  "This man Tam was your husband's partner?'

  'It all goes to him now! All of it! All because of his miserable few lice-crawling dollars—his investment!' She shrieked at Feiffer and the bloody lump under the rubber sheet, 'What do I get? Nothing! Nothing! She shrieked, 'All because of that pariah Tam!' She shouted to the heavens, 'Twenty-two years he's had money in the business and what has he done except take the profits? Nothing!' She put her hands over her face and wailed, 'My poor children!' She wasn't a day under fifty-five. She shouted, 'I'll never have any children now!'

  Feiffer said, 'Tam.' He underlined the name in his book.

  'Tam!' Mrs Leung took a breath.

  Feiffer said, 'I see.'

  'That—that dirt! That dog's diarrhoea! That rat-turd! Tam! That pariah! That—that—' She found another word, 'That—that leper!'

  Feiffer closed his notebook.

  Auden looked at the third person in the room. Special Branch. Written all over him.

  The third person in the room said to Feiffer, 'You can't say fairer than that.' He said to Auden, "That's what's known as a good line in insults.'

  Auden thought, "Sir? I'm a Detective Inspector, maybe he ought to add 'sir.' She does a good line in insults, sir. Doesn't she? Huh, Maybe." Auden asked brusquely, 'What rank are you?'

  The third man in the room said, 'Detective Chief Inspector. >How about you?'

  Auden shut up.

  The third man considered his collection of artifacts from the envelope. He watched Feiffer return the notebook to the pocket of his coat, 'And that's the shot you're following?'

  'Yes.'

  The third man in the room nodded. 'I think you're right. I'll have our people run what's left of the bomb through, but it doesn't strike me as a political job.' He asked Feiffer, 'Then why say it was in a letter to the local fuzz?' He said, 'I'll have a news clamp put on it anyway just in case.'

  Feiffer nodded. He said, 'You'll let me know?'

  The third man nodded. Auden said, 'Excuse me, Chief Inspector—'

  Feiffer said, 'This fellow Tam seems to be a sitter for it. The wife claims he put money into the business donkey's years ago—and he's been sitting back and taking half the profits ever since.'

  'There's nothing illegal in that.'

  'I wouldn't be too sure that's the way she looks at it.' He went on, 'I gather that Leung has been trying to buy out his interest for some time. The people in the neighbouring shop say there was some question of a legal action.' He asked the third man in the room, 'Was it a professional bomb? A good one?'

  'Fair average quality.'

  'Not professional?'

  'I wouldn't have said so. But it's someone who knew how to make a letter bomb all right.'

  Feiffer glanced around the room. 'But it doesn't go against your initial reaction that it could have been constructed by an amateur on a one-off basis?'

  'No.' The third man agreed, 'I think Tam is your best lead.' He stifled an involuntary yawn. 'Hard night.' He said, 'I've been waiting for something to come off at the docks for the last eight weeks.' He was about to say more, but changed his mind. He said, 'I'll leave it to you, Harry? OK?' He said, 'You'll probably have it all sewn up by tea-time.' He said for no apparent reason, 'Watercress sandwiches and pink gin and Darjeeling tea.'

 

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