Page 123 of The Killer’s Mark

‘Ah. Then yes, they did threaten to “out” him. He is well compensated, but really he is their indentured servant.’

‘Tell me about Océane Blue,’ Poe said.

After a short pause, Greta said, ‘No.’

‘Why not? Does he not remember her?’

‘Kai remembers every single woman he has tattooed. He spent hours with them.’

‘Then why not tell me?’

‘He says that although he works for a criminal organisation, he will not betray Océane’s confidence. He will talk in generalisations as his mother asked him to, but he will not reveal her secrets, her hopes and dreams.’

‘Then I’m afraid I have to do something unpleasant, Greta,’ Poe said. ‘It’s important this is repeated to Kai verbatim.’

‘I understand, Mr Poe.’

‘The next voice you’ll hear is Susan Hawksworth. Susan is a detective constable in the National Crime Agency. The NCA is the FBI’s backward cousin. She’s been involved in a transnational investigation into the Red Chamber. Susan also happens to be corrupt. She’s been on the Red Chamber’s payroll for several years now. It’s because she likes nice things, apparently. She’s here under duress, but you can trust what she says on this. If she lies, even the crows won’t find her body. Susan, please explain what happens to the Red Chamber concubines when their twenty-year contracts are complete.’

Susan did. And when she had finished, Greta began to weep.

Chapter 98

‘How can Kai trust you?’ Greta managed eventually.

‘He can’t,’ Poe said. ‘But he can trust Susan, as she’s one of his. She’s told him things just now that I didn’t know. That the investigation into the Red Chamber didn’t know. Insider secrets. But ultimately, he knows these men. He knows how much they are driven by greed. Does he think murdering women for ten million pounds a go would be beyond the pale for them?’

Greta stayed quiet for almost a minute. Eventually she said, ‘Kai is crying, Mr Poe. He’s asking what he’s done.’

‘It’s not about what he’s done, Greta. It’s about what he can do.’

Poe explained that Océane Blue had escaped before she could star in her own snuff movie. Before her foot could be skinned. That the NCA, the FBI and a bunch of other three-letter agencies believed she had proof that could take down the whole organisation. That they were looking for her. That the Red Chamber were looking for her. And now so was Poe. He told Kai why. That in their mistaken belief that he knew where Océane was, they’d abducted her daughter, Esmerée. He finished by saying, ‘And we want her back.’

‘But he doesn’t see the women again, Mr Poe. Never. Not once. I don’t understand how he can be of help.’

‘How long does it take him to do one of his tattoos?’

‘About six hours,’ she said after a beat. ‘Some of the girls have more interesting features, which can add time. The shortest he’s done was three hours. The longest was nine.’

‘And he talks to them?’

‘He did. He won’t any more. They are very young when they come to him, Mr Poe. Little more than children. They’re about to begin the adventure of their lives and they’re almost always nervous. Talking to them calms them down. And a calm customer is less likely to flinch.’

‘What did Kai and Océane Blue talk about?’

‘He says she was an interesting woman. And he says “woman” intentionally. Most of them are girls when they sit in his seat, but she was a woman. She wasn’t naïve. She was hard-nosed and bitter and knew what she wanted. She was willing to do whatever it would take to achieve it. Of all the women he tattooed, Océane Blue was the one he liked the least.’

‘Tell me everything,’ Poe said.

Chapter 99

Via Greta, Kai told them that Océane Blue’s real name was Brandy Calhoun. That she was from Wheeler County in Georgia, one of the poorest counties in one of the poorest states in America. She had grown up on a trailer park. Her stepfather had abused her; her mother had turned a blind eye. She’d been a virgin when she applied to become a Red Chamber concubine, but only because her alcoholic stepfather hadn’t been able to perform. When she was fifteen years old, she’d fled Georgia. She later heard that her mother and stepfather had died when their trailer caught fire. Kai said he wondered if Océane had started the fire by way of a leaving present. Poe made a note to check. She wound up in North Dakota, and this was where her love of honey, bees and beekeeping had begun.

Esmerée had mentioned her mother’s love of honey a couple of times, Poe thought.

Bradshaw chipped in at this point. She said that North Dakota was the USA’s honey capital, producing double the amount of California, their nearest rival. She said it was because it had the right climate. That the state’s warm days and cool nights were optimal for nectar secretion.

Océane had odd-jobbed for a family-run honey producer. She had learned the trade. The family had brought her into their home, let her stay in a spare room. At night, they’d eaten together. They didn’t have a television; the family patriarch thought the signals were bad for the bees. Instead, they read. Océane had never read a book that hadn’t been assigned to her at school, but she discovered a love for it. Loved immersing herself in different worlds. For her birthday, she was gifted the complete collection of Sherlock Holmes.