The Princeling of Nanjing (13 page)

“Vanessa, how soon can you start?” Brenda asked.

“If I can put the Consul file aside, I’ll get on it tonight.”

“Take as many trainee lawyers as you need, and call Beijing and get them started too.”

“Yes, Brenda.”

Brenda stared across the table at Ava. “You’ll get a report tomorrow. I’m not sure what will be in it, but we’ll do the best we can.”

“Thank you very much. Should I come here around the same time?”

“Why not.”

“If I have any questions, who do I contact?” Vanessa asked as she stood.

“Call me,” Brenda said. “I’ll reach out to Ava.”

Ava watched the young lawyer leave the room. “She seems very capable.”

“She is, but then all of our people are.”

“May Ling has said that many times. She has tremendous respect for your firm.”

“We hold her in the same regard. She is a remarkable woman, and your young Ms. Yee has the makings of one as well. You were the only partner I’d never met, although I do have to say that the way your partners, and others, speak about you, I felt I knew you already.”

“Pardon?” Ava said, surprised by the reference to “others.”

“Excuse me, I didn’t mean to get personal,” Brenda said, shaking her head. “I’m just happy to finally meet you and to be able to tell my husband that you are not a phantom.”

It was nearly nine o’clock when Sonny dropped Ava off at the entrance to the Mandarin Oriental. They had just spent close to two hours together with Uncle Fong, exploring the wonders of hot pot at a favourite restaurant of Uncle’s.

The dinner didn’t start very well. After exchanging greetings, Sonny asked Uncle Fong if he had taken the hydrofoil ferry back from Macau. It was an innocent question, but Fong blanched and suddenly looked quite angry.

Ava knew he didn’t want to her to know he’d been in Macau, and she would have thought Sonny would know that as well, but obviously he didn’t. The main reason that Ava was supporting Uncle Fong financially was because of his addiction to roulette and, to a lesser extent, other table games. He had made millions during his career and lost it all. Uncle had willed him a substantial amount of money, but he’d burned through it in a few months. When Ava found out about this loss from Andy, another ex-colleague of Uncle’s and a friend of Ava’s, she had called Uncle Fong to confirm that it was true. He admitted it was. Ava asked him how much money he needed every month to maintain a respectable lifestyle. When he told her, she doubled the amount and then set up a regular monthly payment. If he lost it gambling, she thought, the pain would at least be short-term. And not once had she remonstrated with him about his problem. He needed her respect and support — he didn’t need to be scolded by a young woman.

“And how was Macau?” she asked lightly. “The last time I was there I could hardly believe the changes. I can’t imagine that Stanley Ho is thrilled about all the new competition from the Las Vegas big boys.”

“I almost preferred the old days,” Fong said, his mood softening. “When I went into the Lisboa, I was treated like an emperor. Now everything is corporate, and the players are just numbers on a card. And the mainland Chinese dominate the place. Some of them lose more money in a day than I’ve ever lost in a month.”

Like many Hong Kongers, Fong regarded the mainland Chinese with some suspicion. It was an attitude that Ava was used to, because she’d seen it expressed not just in Hong Kong but in Singapore and even in cities like Shanghai and Beijing. Westerners looked at China and saw a monolith. They had no understanding of the differences in language, culture, history, and cuisine that existed within China and the diaspora. It was like China looking at Europe and assuming everyone there was the same.

A server appeared at their table, and right behind her was the man Ava remembered was the owner.

“It’s so good to see you back here,” the owner said to Uncle Fong. “And you, young woman, I remember you being here with Uncle Chow.”

“Yes, this was one of his favourite restaurants,” Ava said.

“And he was one of our most valued customers.”

“You used to serve us some very large shrimp that Uncle said you saved for special customers.”

“I have some for you.”

Ava looked at Sonny and Fong. “What else would you like?”

“Beef and fish balls and oysters,” Sonny said.

“Some greens and mushrooms and shrimp dumplings,” Fong added.

“That will get us started,” Ava said. “I see that Uncle Fong already has a beer. I’ll have a glass of white wine. Sonny?”

“Tsingtao.”

“And I’ll have another,” Fong said.

The owner turned on the element set into the table. Another server appeared with a large stainless steel bowl that he placed on the flames. The bowl was divided in two. One side held plain chicken broth and the other had a spicy broth.

Over the next hour and a half, platters of raw food arrived at their table, and just as quickly this food was put into the broths. Ava wasn’t surprised by how much Sonny could consume, but Fong almost matched him, and Ava did her best to keep up. They ate all of the initial order and then had seconds of shrimp, beef, and fish balls.

When the time came to settle, Ava reached for her wallet. Sonny’s hand shot out and took the bill from the tray. “I’m paying for this,” he said.

“Sonny!”

“No, you have to let me do this.”

She heard determination in his voice. “Yes, of course I should. Thank you.”

While Sonny was paying the bill, Uncle Fong said quietly to her, “I want you to know that I was in Macau for something other than gambling.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me.”

He shrugged. “Well, over the years I made a fool of myself and Uncle had to bail me out a few times. I thought he might have told you, because I know he told you just about everything.”

“He never said a word,” Ava said.

“Anyway, now you know.”

“Thank you for sharing that.”

He nodded.

“Do you want Sonny to drive you home?”

“No, I live close enough to walk. That’s one reason I like this place.”

“I’m so happy you could join us.”

“I know this sounds strange,” Fong said, “but I almost felt that Uncle was at the table with us. I mean, I know he wasn’t, but I could picture him sitting there next to you, plucking a shrimp from the bowl and then peeling it for you.”

“Yes, he often did that.” Ava laughed and reached out to touch Fong’s arm. “Now, I want you to stay in touch, and I promise you that we’ll have dinner every time I’m in Hong Kong.”

Fong nodded. He gave her a smile and then began walking away from the restaurant.

“I wish I hadn’t said anything about him going to Macau,” Sonny said when he was out of earshot.

“I know.”

“I didn’t mean to embarrass him. I know he’s a gambler and he can’t help it.”

“I know someone else like that,” Ava said, thinking about her mother. “I don’t think we should talk about it anymore.”

They climbed into the car for the short trip to the Mandarin. After a few minutes, Sonny said, “I told Michael this afternoon that since you’re in Hong Kong I won’t be available to drive for him until you leave.”

“I may not have a lot of driving for you to do.”

“I’d rather be on call and know for certain that I’m there if you need me.”

“That’s best, I think,” Ava said, knowing he wouldn’t be happy with any other answer.

When they stopped in front of the hotel, she started to open her door but saw Sonny coming around the car. She sat back until he opened it for her, and then she climbed out and looked up at the big man. “I have missed you. It’s great to be with you again, even if it’s just for a few days. I also want to say how much I appreciate your looking after my brother and Amanda. It takes a great weight off me,” she said, and then got on her toes and kissed him lightly on both cheeks.

“You will call if you need me?”

“You know I will.”

She checked her phone as she took the elevator to her floor. She hadn’t received any calls or texts during dinner. She had hoped to hear from Johnny but realized it was still quite early in the morning in Toronto. And despite herself, she wanted to know how her mother was doing. Uncle Fong’s travails in Macau had triggered Ava’s concern about Jennie Lee. In Ava’s mind, the problem was less about the money than about her mother’s psychological well-being. Bad casino losses took a toll on Jennie emotionally, and as much as Ava hated casino gambling, she hated what it did to her mother more. She thought about phoning the house to see if she was there, but then decided against it. Jennie wasn’t an early riser on any occasion and Ava didn’t want her to think she was checking in on her.

She spent fifteen minutes getting ready for bed and then turned on her computer to see if Johnny had emailed. He hadn’t. She debated about what to do.
Surely they’ve heard something from the Chinese banks,
she thought.
What the hell.
She called Johnny’s cell.

“Ava?” he said.

“Yes.”

“You’re so impatient.”

“I can’t help it.”

“I just finished talking to Felix a minute ago. I was organizing my notes before I called you.”

“He found something?”

“Yes, some of the banks answered his queries, but I don’t know what his information is worth.”

“Tell me what you have.”

“Give me a moment. I have to figure out where to begin.”

“I’ll wait.”

“He didn’t hear back from the bank that handles Shell Investments,” he mumbled as if he was talking to himself. “He couldn’t find anything about that KGS company or California Asian Trust, but he discovered quite a bit about this Mother of Pearl, and it is interesting . . .”

“Johnny!”

“Sorry. Now let me see,” he said and paused. “Okay, Mother of Pearl appears to be a holding company. It maintains an average balance in the low to mid eight figures.”

“Ten to fifty million?”

“That’s about right.”

“Dollars?”

“All the numbers are in dollars.”

“That’s a lot of cash.”

“We don’t know the account fluctuations. That fifty million could have been one time last year.”

“You said it was a holding company?”

“Yeah, according to its bank it has one major asset: it’s the biggest shareholder in a company called Jiangsu Trust and Insurance Corporation. Felix looked into that company. Four years ago it was a small provincial operation and then it got taken over by Mother of Pearl and a minority partner from the U.S.”

“Who is the American?”

“Patriot General Insurance, out of Hartford.”

“What percentage does it own?”

“Forty.”

“How much did they pay for it?”

“Well, the company sold for just under a hundred million, so you have to figure they put up at least forty million.”

“Which means Mother of Pearl paid the balance.”

“No matter who paid what, it seems to have been a really good deal.”

“Why do you say that?”

“A well-run insurance company will generate a return on equity of ten percent and up. Jiangsu was returning nine when they bought it. The price they paid indicates that the company had a book value assessed at around one hundred million dollars. Insurance companies are typically sold at a price equal to their book value. If in fact, as we think is the case, the book value was understated, the selling price wasn’t a reflection of the company’s actual worth or its potential profitability,” Johnny said. “Last year, Jiangsu’s return on equity was twelve percent, and according to Felix its book-value is now close to five billion dollars.”

“That’s an incredible increase in book value.”

“Felix attached a comment saying that the company’s sales skyrocketed right after it was bought. He also said that the original book-value price of one hundred million could have been misleading.”

“Is there any explanation for the rise in sales?”

“Yeah. According to the annual report, the company became the insurer of choice for Jiangsu Province.”

“I see. How about the misleading book value?”

“Felix wasn’t precise but he said that, looking back at the company’s sales four years ago and its ROE, he would have expected a book value of closer to five hundred million.”

“Johnny, is Jiangsu a private company?”

“Yeah.”

“Then how did Felix get those numbers?”

“Because Jiangsu is in the insurance business, it has to file mandatory reports to the Chinese government so they can make sure the customers are covered. And Patriot is a public company, so he was able to confirm some numbers through their annual reports.”

“Could I find those reports?”

“They’re available online.”

“Good, I’ll have a look at them. Now, one last thing, what personal names are attached to Mother of Pearl?”

“Just one.”

“And?”

“Wu Wai Wai.”

Ava gasped. Wu Wai Wai was Tsai Lian’s sister.

“You sound surprised,” Johnny said.

“Only in the nicest possible way,” Ava said.

“Do you want me to go on?”

“I sure do.”

“Okay, he also found some data on AKG Consulting. The principle shareholder and legal representative is someone named Ying Jie. Average account balance is in the low seven-figure range, but that’s going back only a year.”

“Is she the only person listed?”

“She is.”

“Did the bank provide any customer names for this consulting business?”

“I have to pull up a separate email. Felix was sending me information as he came across it, so it’s quite disjointed. Give me a second.”

Ava pulled out her chart while Johnny searched. The name Ying Jie went next to AKG, and Wu Wai Wai next to Mother of Pearl.

“Holy shit,” Johnny finally said.

“What?”

“That California Asian Trust you mentioned, Kitchen Giant and Kitchen Giant Syndicate, New Age Capital, and the Patriot insurance company are all listed as clients of AKG.”

“Isn’t that interesting. I’d love to get into those AKG bank records.”

“I can’t help you there.”

“No, I understand. So let me see, that leaves New Age Capital. Did Felix find anything on them?”

“He did. A guy named Zhu Huan is the legal representative, and there’s a Hu Chi listed as CFO. The monthly balance is in the low to medium seven-figure range. The only two customers mentioned are Kitchen Giant and AKG.”

“Do you sense that we’re starting to connect dots?” Ava said.

“You’d know better than me.”

“Yes, I guess I would,” Ava said as she circled the name Zhu Huan and drew a straight line that connected AKG Consulting and New Age Capital.

“That’s about all Felix got back from the banks he contacted. Do you want him to keep digging?”

Ava stared at the notes she’d made. “No, he’s already given me enough to work on. I need some time to absorb it before I start asking more questions.”

“Okay. You know where I am.”

“I do, and I’ll make sure that we send more business your way.”

“It’s all appreciated.”

Ava hung up the phone and looked at the changes she’d made in the chart.