Patrick didn’t come back until after ten o’clock. Ava hated the thought of the two men discussing her business without her. The longer he was gone the more irritated she became, and by the time the door opened again she was really angry. Patrick walked in with the two men from outside Eckie’s, the cops who had taken Ng.
“You and I are going to see the Captain,” he said. “The boys will look after things here until we get back.” He saw the look on her face and said, “I tried to call. Your cellphone was off.”
She realized he was right about the phone, and bit back an irritable remark. Then she picked up the Barrett’s file and forced it into her kitbag. She wasn’t leaving anything behind for them to look through.
“What did he say?” she asked as she climbed into the Toyota truck.
“Who?”
“For God’s sake, Patrick, you know who.”
“He said he wanted to see you, that’s all. I explained the difficulty and he said he wanted to see you. Nothing more than that.”
“So this could be for nothing?”
“I can’t say for sure, but normally the Captain doesn’t waste his time on nothing.”
She felt a twinge of hope. “Where are we going?”
“The doughnut shop. It’s close by.”
The entire area was in utter darkness except for the odd flicker of a candle or flare from a flashlight. The shop, though, was lit up like Times Square. The massive figure of the Captain filled its window, a plate of doughnuts in front of him.
“I’ll wait here,” Patrick said as he parked the truck.
The Captain gave her a little wave when she walked in. “I ordered you coffee,” he said, pointing to a cup. “Patrick said you liked it.”
In the bright light he looked even whiter than she remembered. And in the small confines of the shop he looked even larger, a mountain of a man, and she was again taken aback by how startlingly blue his eyes were. If she had been meeting him for the first time, the impression would have been overwhelming.
She steadied herself and sat down. “We have to stop meeting like this,” she said.
His eyes twinkled, amused maybe, curious certainly, involved most definitely. “We have a problem, I hear.”
She noticed his use of we. This was, at the very least, going to cost her money. “We do,” she said.
“Unfortunate.”
“For no one more than me.”
“Seto was either rather clever or rather stupid. Patrick wasn’t sure which because he said you spoke to him in Chinese.”
“It was necessary for him to understand that I had been sent from Hong Kong.”
“And all that entails, implied or otherwise.”
“Implied.”
“But still effective.”
“Normally.”
“So you got what you wanted except for a minor twist?”
“If you want to call it minor.”
The Captain bit into a chocolate-coated doughnut. “I eat these every day and then rush home to take my cholesterol medication,” he said.
“Do you have a way to resolve this minor twist?”
“Yes, I probably do. But as I said to Patrick, what’s the point of exerting all that effort — and spending all that money — getting you and Seto there if the bank won’t cooperate?”
“I’ll handle the bank.”
“You sound so confident.”
“Just get me and Seto there and I’ll find a way to handle the bank.”
“You will find a way or you have a way? The difference is not inconsequential. I mean, you’re asking to us spend a considerable amount of capital — both financial and personal — assisting you to get to the British Virgin Islands. What if you fail? How do we get compensated?”
“How much do you want?” she asked.
“No, no, no,” he said, looking offended by the question. “You’re going about this in entirely the wrong way. This is not just about money. This is about making use of friends and contacts whom I don’t want to embarrass if things go awry. Friends and contacts whom I don’t want subjected to questions from their lords and masters. Friends and contacts I still want to have five years from now.”
“So this isn’t about money?”
“I said this is not just about money.”
“What do you want from me?” she asked.
“A plan. I want you to give me a plan for extracting the money from the bank. If I think the plan can work, then we can move on to the other details.”
It was, she thought, not an unreasonable request. It was even, she thought, a perfectly sensible request. He could have demanded more money, found a way to shuffle her and Seto to the BVI or somewhere close by, and then washed his hands of them both as he pocketed the funds. The only problem was that he was now becoming a partner, and the cost of business had just skyrocketed. It was a good thing Seto had that extra two million in his account.
“I’ll have something by tomorrow,” she said, having no idea how.
“Good. Tell Patrick when you’re ready to chat and I’ll make myself available.” He waved his arm at the shop. “We meet here more often than not — we own it. There’s a camera overhead and microphones dotted about here and there. I like to bring my political friends here. They think I’m slumming,” he said smoothly.
Ava wasn’t sure she believed him. If it was true and he thought sharing that confidence with her would earn trust, he was going to be disappointed. In her eyes the Captain was now more dangerous.
“I’d like to go back to the hotel; I don’t need the distractions at the house. Can you leave your men there overnight?”
“Consider it done.”