The Trafficked

52

Becky and Mann had finished looking around the beach property that they had agreed to view at four-it was a bit dilapidated but ripe for conversion into a small hotel-and were now waiting for the owner to return. He had disappeared to consult his partner about the price. Becky had a message alert on her phone. It was from Alex…

Hi Baby. Sorry keep missing your calls. Reception crap.Am fine. V busy here in Hong Kong. Will call you in acuppla days. Love Al. Xx

She was in the middle of texting him back when her phone went.

‘Hi Jimmy? Anything wrong?’

‘I think so. I’ve just been around to your flat and there was a woman there. She said she was a friend of a friend. Said she’d been told her that you were thinking of renting the flat out and that she was given the key to come and have a look whilst you were away. I told her who I was and she gave me back the key and left. She definitely didn’t like me finding her there, Becky.’

‘I don’t have a clue what that’s about. Did she give you a name?’

‘No.’

Becky finished the call and went to rejoin Mann.

‘Anything wrong?’ He looked at her face and saw that she was troubled.

She frowned. ‘Not sure really. Is the phone reception in Hong Kong bad?’

‘The best there is-we practically invented it, for Christ’s sake. Why?’

‘It’s just that Alex has been trying to get through. He says the signal’s bad there.’

Mann shrugged. ‘I’ve never known it to be.’

‘And there was something else strange going on back home…but I’m sure it’s nothing…Jimmy’s looking into it for me.’ She gave a flicker of a smile but Mann could see she was worried.

Becky didn’t want to say any more. She had to try and work out what it meant. Why was there a woman in the flat? The owner returned with his brother-in-law.

‘We are sorry, sir, but we have already sold the house. It is no longer for sale.’

‘You have had an offer?’ asked Mann.

‘Yes-a very good offer.’

‘Who made you that offer?’

The two men looked at each other and spoke in their dialect.

‘A Chinese man.’

‘The offer was made today? Did he come here?’

‘No. He made the offer by phone.’

‘And you accepted it? He could cheat you. I can give you a payment right here.’ Mann pretended to fish in his pocket.

‘No, no…’ They shook their heads and looked decidedly edgy. ‘We know this Chinese man. He has made a good offer. We accept.’

‘You have done business with him before?’ They nodded. ‘Okay. No hard feelings. I bet you’ve had a lot of interest in this house, huh?’

The men looked at one another and held out their palms in wonderment. ‘We could have sold this house three times today-any price. But we only have one house.’

‘Lucky Chinese man. What’s his name?’

The two men sensed a trick. They shook their heads and started to walk away.

‘Just Chinese, that’s all. Bye bye.’ They waved and walked back into the house.

Becky looked at Mann.

‘Stevie Ho?’

‘It could be elusive Stevie, who suddenly has enough money to buy the world it would seem. But they did the transaction by phone. The man must have wanted them to know he was Chinese. I am not convinced they have done business with him before; they looked like they were saying what they thought I wanted to hear. We need to get a better look at those westerners you saw. I’m thinking of sending you in, under cover. Could you work the bars, do you think?’

‘Yeah, that’ll work!’

‘Hey, look…a woman has a lot of pulling power here. Especially a western woman-they’re going to think all their Christmases came at once.’

‘Yeah, right! They are going to think reporter. They come here to escape women like me, not have sex with them. Anyway, we’ve been seen as a couple.’

‘Just winding you up.’ He grinned. ‘But can I just say-if it was me, I wouldn’t have a problem with that.’

She thumped his arm. He ducked out of the way to answer his phone, It was Shrimp.

‘You all right? What happened? David White emailed me. He said you were both set up.’

‘It was nothing, boss. I dealt with it-a couple of wanksters-would-be gangsters. Basically I kicked ass.’

Mann knew that Shrimp had come off well but not unscathed. He was a great martial arts expert but he wasn’t used to having to protect at the same time. He had had a hard job defending David White and fighting, but he’d done it well.

‘Who were they?’

‘White Circle. They told me before I kicked the shit out of them and sent them away crying.’

‘We can’t move without them knowing.’

‘There’s something else Boss-Micky’s missing.’