Page 91 of The Killer’s Mark

‘How were concubines selected?’

‘During the Ming Dynasty, the age of the candidates ranged mainly from fourteen to sixteen. It wasn’t uncommon for poor families to sell their daughters to rich ones. It was considered the pragmatic thing to do. There was certainly no shame attached to it.’

Poe thought how the ‘then’ related to the ‘now’. He said, ‘And what would be considered a decent candidate?’

‘The usual,’ Susan replied. ‘Looks, body condition. Virtue and character. Intelligence.’ She paused for half a beat. ‘Much like the meat markets of today, I suppose. It was just more organised back then.’

‘Is it still practised?’

‘Not officially. The Chinese Communist Party banned it in 1949.’

‘And unofficially?’

Susan shrugged. ‘Who the hell knows? Probably. The Red Chamber are certainly doing their best to keep the tradition alive.’

Chapter 74

‘Lay out their business model for me,’ Poe said.

‘As we understand it, and there is plenty we don’t understand, the recruitment process begins in schools and colleges around the world,’ Susan explained. ‘Spotters are instructed to look for a certain type of girl. Conventionally beautiful. From a good family, but financially unstable. Someone who’s used to missing out on the things her friends take for granted. We think this is easier now, with mobile phones and designer clothes being allowed in schools. A lack of money stands out if you know what you’re looking for.’

‘They prey on the vulnerable.’

‘They do. But they aren’t traffickers or modern slavers. The girls all volunteer. The contract is laid out to them right at the beginning.’

‘Is there a contract? Like an actual document to peruse and sign?’

‘We haven’t seen one, but we’re told there is,’ Susan said. ‘It’s signed on their eighteenth birthday, which signifies the start of a three-year training programme. They attend a finishing school in the Swiss Alps for part of it; the rest is largely unknown. One of our sources said there is extensive training in how to physically please a man.’

‘You’re talking about sex?’

‘Yes, sex. These men want virgins, but they also want a skilled courtesan. In other words, although the girls must pass a purity test on the day the contract begins, the men want someone who can hit the ground running.’

‘My source said they understand body language,’ Poe said. ‘That they can anticipate their benefactor’s needs. I assume that’s more than fetching his pipe and slippers after a long day at the office?’

‘That’s our understanding as well. And it’s why the spotters don’t just look for beauty, as subjective as that is, and vulnerability – they’re also looking for intelligence.’

‘What happens to the girls who fall by the wayside? The ones who don’t pass the purity tests, the ones who mature and think, sod this for a game of soldiers, I don’t want to be a concubine, I want to be a doctor or an astronaut.’

‘Yeah, haven’t these jerks seen Barbie?’ Esmerée said. ‘A woman can be anything she goddam wants to be.’

Poe had seen Barbie. Estelle and Bradshaw had made him sit through it. After it had finished, Estelle had said, ‘Make my tea, Ken.’ Poe had laughed all the way to the kitchen.

‘They’re let go,’ Susan said.

‘They aren’t punished?’

‘No. A German source said that only around thirty per cent of the girls make it all the way to the end. And even if they finish the first two years of training, manage to pass the purity test, that doesn’t guarantee a match. A man still has to buy them. If they don’t pass the training, or don’t get a contract, they’re paid for their time and given a bus ticket home.’

‘If that’s the case, why don’t you know more about the training? Surely there’s an unhappy pappy out there willing to spill the beans?’

‘You’d think.’

‘But?’

‘But nothing. We think the fear of triad reprisal is enough for them to stay quiet.’

‘How many contracts are the Red Chamber running at any one time?’ Poe asked.