Page 73 of The Killer’s Mark

‘How much?’

‘I believe it’s negotiated every Lunar New Year. But if my time with the Forty-Fours is anything to go by, they would expect twenty-five per cent of all earnings.’

‘That’s a lot of money.’

‘Red Chamber concubines are a lot of woman,’ Chao said. ‘And they aren’t just indoor toys. They are refined. Capable of being in whatever company the man keeps. They might be introduced as a visiting relative or a personal assistant. Some men publicly refer to their concubine as their girlfriend, wife, even.’

‘What a bunch of jerks,’ Esmerée said.

Poe was expecting another hand incident, but thankfully she seemed to have it under control. He took a drink of tea.

‘I’m not buying it,’ he said after he’d put down his cup. ‘Men who can afford this type of service don’t need this type of service. There are plenty of high-class escorts available to people with money. They don’t need to spend a million dollars a year. Not when they could spend a thousand pounds a couple of times a week.’

‘Which brings us back to my earlier point. Red Chamber girls are not prostitutes, Mr Poe; they are concubines. They are trained to read body language and micro-expressions. It’s about need, and anticipating that need. I’m told they know what their master wants before he does. And yes, I understand the sex is extraordinary. Nothing is off limits. If their master wants it, the woman will enjoy providing it.’

‘Let’s say I believe you,’ Poe said. ‘Let’s imagine there is an organisation out there that provides this extraordinary service. And let’s pretend it’s run the way you say it is.’

‘It is.’

‘Then I can’t see how anyone is breaking the law. Morally it’s iffy as hell, but the exchange of sexual services for money isn’t illegal in Britain. Soliciting is, but paying for sex isn’t.’

‘I didn’t say anyone was breaking the law, Mr Poe.’

Poe took out a picture of Esmerée’s mother’s tattoo. ‘A few days ago, a pornographer called Mark Buckby was murdered because someone told him this tattoo was an urban myth. That person is missing. And three hours ago, a chucklehead with a badly drawn dragon tattoo accosted me in the Szechuan Palace and said if I didn’t stop looking for Kai Jin, they would chop me and Esmerée into bite-sized pieces. For a supposedly above-board business model, these people are remarkably quick to anger. How do you explain that, Chao?’

‘What can I tell you, Mr Poe? They’re triads. They do things differently.’

Poe thought back to Mark Buckby’s broken body. His ankles and knees pulverised with a meat tenderiser. The knife in his neck that opened his jugular vein.

‘Yes, they do,’ he agreed.

Chapter 60

Poe questioned Chao until the teapot grew cold and Xiang’s back started to ache. He didn’t get anything more out of him. It was clear Chao believed what he’d told him – the Red Chamber existed and they made a lot of money providing concubines to the rich – but he couldn’t square the circle of why Buckby had been tortured to death and why Poe and Esmerée had been threatened.

‘One last thing,’ Poe said. ‘I understand why you don’t want to give me Kai’s mother’s contact details. If I were in your position, I’d likely do the same. But I would be incredibly grateful if you could get a message to her.’

Xiang and Chao exchanged glances.

‘When I can speak to Mrs Jin safely, I will pass on your message, Mr Poe,’ Xiang said after a lengthy pause.

Poe thought about what he wanted to say to her. He didn’t want to make promises he couldn’t keep. He didn’t want to say that he could get her son out of the clutches of the Forty-Fours or the Red Chamber or any of the other gangs that might have their hooks in him. But nor did he want to be ambiguous. His message needed to be simple. Direct. Nothing that could be misconstrued.

In the end he opted for: ‘If she’s in touch with Kai, ask her to tell him I might be able to help.’ He thought of Hester Flynt. ‘Tell her I might be able to give him back his art.’

They stood. Said their goodbyes. Thankfully Esmerée’s alien hand didn’t do something stupid like punch the men who were trying to help them.

They were soon back on the A69. Poe was tempted to go home. Highwood was only five miles away and he was tired. He was about to call Bradshaw to tell her he was finishing for the day when his phone rang.

‘Think of the nerd and she shall instantly appear,’ he said, accepting Bradshaw’s call. He brought her up to speed, then asked why she had called him.

‘Poe, you know you said I am to ignore Nigel Flowers?’

‘What’s he done to annoy you this time, Tilly?’

‘I was going to the toilet to urinate and—’

‘Whoa, too much information,’ Esmerée said.