Anna and looked back at Jake and grinned—his mouth dark red, he spat phlegm into Jake’s path. He looked Anna up and down and nodded knowingly in Jake’s direction as if he knew that they were lovers. Saw did know. His animal senses detected every weakness, every failing. His perception of the world was animalistic. He smelt her body on Jake. He smelt her sex. Saw walked back past Jake, fixed him with his black eyes as he grinned, leaned towards Jake as if about to strike him, then slapped the mule hard on its rump.
19
Mann waited whilst Ng ticked off his preferences from the dim sum menu. Bamboo baskets full of steamed dumplings were already arriving before he’d finished his order in the small side street café in Western District.
‘Thanks for meeting me, Ng.’
‘What is it you need, Genghis?’ Ng and Mann had known one another for so many years that Mann had come to regard Ng as his friend, not just his colleague. Ng named him Genghis because in his youth he had looked like a wild man. Nowadays Mann was more groomed but inside he was the same lost soul. Ng was full of wisdom, both street and ancient. He knew the world and its failings. Ng saw the broad picture. He didn’t have Mann’s hot-headed temper. Ng was calm—a deliberator and negotiator. They had seen one another through difficult times. When Mann’s world collapsed after Helen was murdered, Ng was the one who Mann leant on, and when Ng needed back-up Mann was the first to risk his life for his friend. Mann trusted his opinion. Ng looked at him now with his puppy dog eyes. ‘It looks like you haven’tslept recently. You should cut down on the gym and eat more.’
‘I’m all right. I went away for a couple of days. I’ve got jetlag, that’s all.’
‘No, it isn’t. You haven’t been all right for a long time now, Genghis. It is five years since I saw you happy. You need to get yourself a woman. Did you ever get back in contact with that Eurasian girl?’
‘Georgina?’
‘Yes! That’s the girl. She was just right for you.’
‘She went back to England, as you know. She wanted to go home; she’d been through a lot.’
‘You could have stopped her.’
‘Wrong time, wrong place, Ng. Anyway…’ Mann shook his head. ‘That’s what it always comes down to for you—food and females. The last thing I need is someone who needs me, Ng. I can’t give it the time or the dedication. I’m strictly a single man, in love with his work.’ Mann smiled.
‘Huh…I thought being single was supposed to be fun. You don’t look like you’re having fun. You haven’t taken any time off since that investigation in the Philippines, that’s over a year now. Take some time off, go lie in the sun, go wave riding—what’s it called, surfing?’
‘Yeah, maybe you’re right…’ Mann smiled and rolled his eyes in defeat. ‘I’ve had a lot on my mind. Actually, I have put in for some leave starting tomorrow, but it’s unpaid.’
Ng lifted the tops from the dim sum baskets and began piling dumplings onto Mann’s plate. Mann put his hand up to stop him.
‘Eat,’ Ng said, as he filled his own plate. ‘Where are you going? Back to the Philippines?’
‘Thailand.’
Ng looked at him and almost choked. ‘You mad? No one is going to Thailand at the moment. Those kids were kidnapped, they haven’t been released. It’s not safe.’
‘ Those kids are why I’m going. I found out something about my father. I got an email from a Dutch woman, Magda. She told me she and my father were…lovers. Not just lovers, they had kids together. One of them is one of the kids who’s been kidnapped. I am telling you this, Ng, because I trust you to keep it to yourself. Mum would hate the whole world knowing.’
Ng looked confused. ‘Did your mother know all this?’
Mann nodded. ‘She found out after my father was murdered, when Deming’s will was read.’
Ng stopped eating, placed his chopsticks on their holder and thought for a few
19
Mann waited whilst Ng ticked off his preferences from the dim sum menu. Bamboo baskets full of steamed dumplings were already arriving before he’d finished his order in the small side street café in Western District.
‘Thanks for meeting me, Ng.’
‘What is it you need, Genghis?’ Ng and Mann had known one another for so many years that Mann had come to regard Ng as his friend, not just his colleague. Ng named him Genghis because in his youth he had looked like a wild man. Nowadays Mann was more groomed but inside he was the same lost soul. Ng was full of wisdom, both street and ancient. He knew the world and its failings. Ng saw the broad picture. He didn’t have Mann’s hot-headed temper. Ng was calm—a deliberator and negotiator. They had seen one another through difficult times. When Mann’s world collapsed after Helen was murdered, Ng was the one who Mann leant on, and when Ng needed back-up Mann was the first to risk his life for his friend. Mann trusted his opinion. Ng looked at him now with his puppy dog eyes. ‘It looks like you haven’tslept recently. You should cut down on the gym and eat more.’
‘I’m all right. I went away for a couple of days. I’ve got jetlag, that’s all.’
‘No, it isn’t. You haven’t been all right for a long time now, Genghis. It is five years since I saw you happy. You need to get yourself a woman. Did you ever get back in contact with that Eurasian girl?’
‘Georgina?’
‘Yes! That’s the girl. She was just right for you.’
‘She went back to England, as you know. She wanted to go home; she’d been through a lot.’
‘You could have stopped her.’
‘Wrong time, wrong place, Ng. Anyway…’ Mann shook his head. ‘That’s what it always comes down to for you—food and females. The last thing I need is someone who needs me, Ng. I can’t give it the time or the dedication. I’m strictly a single man, in love with his work.’ Mann smiled.
‘Huh…I thought being single was supposed to be fun. You don’t look like you’re having fun. You haven’t taken any time off since that investigation in the Philippines, that’s over a year now. Take some time off, go lie in the sun, go wave riding—what’s it called, surfing?’
‘Yeah, maybe you’re right…’ Mann smiled and rolled his eyes in defeat. ‘I’ve had a lot on my mind. Actually, I have put in for some leave starting tomorrow, but it’s unpaid.’
Ng lifted the tops from the dim sum baskets and began piling dumplings onto Mann’s plate. Mann put his hand up to stop him.
‘Eat,’ Ng said, as he filled his own plate. ‘Where are you going? Back to the Philippines?’
‘Thailand.’
Ng looked at him and almost choked. ‘You mad? No one is going to Thailand at the moment. Those kids were kidnapped, they haven’t been released. It’s not safe.’
‘ Those kids are why I’m going. I found out something about my father. I got an email from a Dutch woman, Magda. She told me she and my father were…lovers. Not just lovers, they had kids together. One of them is one of the kids who’s been kidnapped. I am telling you this, Ng, because I trust you to keep it to yourself. Mum would hate the whole world knowing.’
Ng looked confused. ‘Did your mother know all this?’
Mann nodded. ‘She found out after my father was murdered, when Deming’s will was read.’
Ng stopped eating, placed his chopsticks on their holder and thought for a few
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