Kiss & Die. Lee Weeks

is all you are here to ask me then our conversation will be a short one. I was hoping for more from you. I have been waiting for this time for many years. You have found out much that has changed in your life. You have found out about your father?’

      ‘I found out that he had a double life. He had another family across the world in Amsterdam. His life was a lie. He was not the man I believed him to be. You could have told me that a long time ago.’

      CK leaned forwards, rested his elbows on the chair arms, and he pressed the ends of his fingers together. They interlocked in the air like long, thin, bony chopsticks. Without the sun the room had become dark, heavy, brooding.

      ‘I have watched and waited over the years, hoping that one day you would come to me with the knowledge of who you are and who you were destined to be. Yes. I could have told you but it is always better to allow a man to follow his own path.’

      ‘Yeah.’ Mann turned away and allowed his eyes the comfort of the darkened room. He spoke quietly. ‘Well, let me tell you. It’s not a path I ever wanted to travel. I was happier in ignorance. I wish I had never found out what kind of man he really was.’

      ‘And what kind do you think he was?’

      Mann shook his head and smiled ruefully. ‘If I said he was a personal friend of Mother Teresa, a defender of human rights and a generous benefactor of the poor, would that do?’

      ‘I could say yes but we’d both be lying.’

      Amusement came into CK’s eyes. CK rarely smiled. He was not a man to give in to pointless or telling gestures. In the Triad world showing emotions was considered a weakness. Every movement he made was calculated to give away as little as possible to his enemy. Mann understood and he played the same game. But CK had practised it for longer and Mann’s quick temper always let him down in the end. It was fast to flare. But at full flame, it turned ice cold, his body slowed, his pulse barely ticked over. It was then that he could kill calmly and methodically if he had to, and he had to sometimes. Justice came in many forms. Over the years he had come close to killing CK many times.

      ‘What he was…’ CK continued, ‘…was a clever man with a shrewd eye for business. But he was troubled. He was a man with his feet in two worlds. He was a man whose emotions overtook him sometimes and he made mistakes.’

      ‘He was a Triad: greedy, self-serving and worst of all he was naive. He was a fool who played with fire and got cremated.’

      ‘No, you are wrong. He was a genius. He was a clever entrepreneur. He saw the wisdom of belonging to a great organization.’

      Mann looked away in disgust.

      CK remained calm as he returned to nodding slowly, deliberately. ‘You need to rethink your mindset, Inspector. Triads merely adjust to their environment. They are a reflection of society and cater to its needs. If handled correctly a Triad organization can do much good for the community it serves. There is no denying that it can also further an individual’s career. Your father was proof of that. It is a pity his mind warped in the end and it went badly for him.’

      Mann counted to three as he took in a breath, held it for three then expired slowly. His heart rate slowed. ‘My father realized his mistake and was executed when he tried to leave the society.’

      CK inclined his head. ‘Of course. When one joins a society, one pledges allegiance to his brothers until death. It is an ancient oath that must be honoured.’

      ‘There’s nothing honourable in belonging to an organization whose main purpose is to launder money, peddle drugs and sell people.’ Mann stared coldly across at CK.

      CK leaned forward, over the desk. ‘Tell me, Inspector Mann, your loyalty in the Hong Kong Police must be in question, is it not? Son of a Triad…who would trust him?’

      Mann did not answer. His head was freezing, his hands hot.

      ‘Your father’s assets continue to grow after his death. The time has come for you to step into his shoes. You will be a better Triad than he ever was.’ CK’s eyes turned the colour of seaweed. ‘There are those waiting who will grow tired of waiting…’ He leaned forward. ‘If you wait too long they will come looking for you.’

      ‘Let them come.’ Mann felt the cold calm take him over. He leaned forward in his chair, no longer cradled. ‘I feel the mortal shame of having a father who was a Triad. I have nothing now to live for except my honour and serving those who need me. Warn those that would come looking for me: I fear life more than death and I will kill them.’

      CK pressed his fingertips together. He sat back in his chair. In the dusky light his eyes glowed.

      ‘All this talk of death in one so young. All this talk of fear and fighting. Is there not one piece of your soul that longs for happiness? Money can buy you a little joy in this difficult world. Everyone deserves that, don’t they, even you, Inspector? Dine with me tomorrow and let us continue our talks. I needn’t be your enemy. I could be the best friend you ever had.’

       Chapter 16

      Ruby closed the door behind her. She hummed to herself as she took off her disguise and unbuttoned the front of her uniform. She opened the cupboard and placed her wig back on its stand. She went into the bathroom and switched on the light. She removed her make-up meticulously. She stood looking at herself. She turned her head from side to side to examine her face from all angles. She saw a blank canvas. Ruby was lucky to have good bone structure. Her skin was light. Her features were regular, nondescript. Only her eyes gave away her roots but that too she could disguise with make-up if she wanted to. Her eyes filled with tears as she stared into the mirror at her reflection. She asked herself: who did Ruby want to be? She wanted to be the person she once was: the child full of hope, the girl with dreams still intact. She wanted to turn back the clock and decide her own destiny. There had been a time when she was happy. A long time ago when she had sat on her mother’s lap and her mother had brushed her hair and sung to her. She had felt loved. But that was before it all went wrong. That was before it happened. Ruby had believed in love once. She had trusted a man. She had been betrayed.

      She glanced towards the locked door. She loved the feeling of knowing he was waiting for her, of knowing he was all hers. She undid the last few buttons and slipped the dress from her shoulders, then glanced at the clock on the wall. She had time. She would use him one more time before the end. She heard a noise. She paused as she slid her knickers to the floor. She held her breath as she listened and then she grinned in the darkness of the room that never saw the light of day.

      She picked up one of her dolls and tipped it upside down. It cried one long realistic cry like a baby. Ruby held it to her breast and cooed to it as she pressed her nipple into its plastic mouth. ‘Come on, baby. Mummy wants to feed you.’ Ruby’s nipple grew hard as she brushed it against the doll’s cheek. She stopped to listen; he was calling her. He was in a lot of pain. She felt her stomach tighten. She felt her pulse quicken as her imagination took her down that delicious dark road of torture and sex. This was Ruby’s favourite place now. It was all she ever thought about, all she had left.

      ‘Coming, my love.’

      Ruby picked up a small handheld saw and pulled back the curtain and opened the door, saw in one hand, baby doll in the other. The room was pitch black, sweltering hot. She switched on the electric light – one bulb hung down from the ceiling. The white on the walls gave off an eerie sheen. There were hooks hanging down from the ceiling. In the centre of the room the man lay naked on a plastic mattress. His arms were tied to a chain above his head. His legs were tied together and chained to the floor. The room had a toilet in the corner, a wash basin, a hose for washing and a drain in the floor that had once been enclosed behind a small screen. Ruby had removed it. The room was tiled completely with white tiles. Most of the Mansions’ guest rooms had white tiles. It made them easier to keep clean. It meant the bedbugs and cockroaches had fewer places to hide. For Ruby it meant that she could hose off the blood easily.

      Steve