AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We went up to the forty-eighth floor, where we stepped out into a marble lobby with two doors: a service corridor and a double-width oak door that gave access to the only apartment on this floor. The huge door opened as we walked toward it, and a woman I recognized from Google image searches greeted us formally then bowed her head in apology.
“I’m sorry,” she said in perfect English. “Where are my manners? You must be Jack Morgan,” offering me her hand as she spoke. “I’m Molly Tan. My doorman told me you’d like to ask me some questions. Please come in.”
She stood aside and ushered us into a hallway with a marble floor and wooden cabinets lining the walls.
She took us into a huge vaulted living room with double-height floor-to-ceiling windows that offered a breathtaking view of the vast city. There were several seating areas, some more formal than others. She took us across to an informal arrangement of sofas and armchairs near the window. A woman in a blue silk dress placed a tray of small bowls and a teapot on a low table before quickly withdrawing into an ante-room.
“Please sit,” Molly invited us. She took an armchair and offered us tea as we both sat down on a sofa opposite her.
“Thank you for agreeing to see us,” I said.
“Of course,” she replied. “I’m a client of Private. Anything I can do to help after the terrible attacks.”
“You know about them?” I asked.
“They have been in the news. The police are eager to question you, I understand? But I know how complicated these situations can be and I am sure you will talk to them at the appropriate time.”
She pushed a delicate porcelain cup toward Zhang Daiyu, who nodded her thanks.
“Would you like tea?” Molly asked me as she filled another.
“No, thanks. We’d like to talk to you about David Zhou,” I said. “You hired us to investigate him and his business dealings. Why?”
“Mr. Zhou and I have crossed paths many times,” she replied indirectly, picking up her cup.
She sat back, looking every inch the billionaire in a black couture dress hand-embroidered with red, pink, and gold finches in a beautiful swirling design. Her long black hair was arranged in an intricate up-do and her makeup was flawless, accentuating her delicate features.
“We were both supposed to be part of a syndicate of investors taking over an international shipping business, but I did not wish to risk tarnishing my reputation by association. I’d heard things about Mr. Zhou and his business partners. Thought I should do due diligence before entering any business deal as his associate.”
“What sort of things had you heard?” I asked.
“That he is connected to the underworld. That he comes from an old Triad family,” Molly replied. “The kind of rumors that canbe unsettling for a businesswoman who cares about her own reputation.”
I looked at Zhang Daiyu. Nothing like that had ever come up in our background investigation of David Zhou. Had Molly Tan been fed misinformation? Or was she lying to us?
“What’s happened to the deal?” I asked. “Since his arrest.”
“It’s lost momentum,” she replied. “We’re all waiting to see what happens to him. Whether he needs to be replaced.”
“There was no mention of this deal in our original terms of engagement,” Zhang Daiyu remarked.
“I did not wish to risk word of your inquiries reaching my fellow investors and spooking them,” Molly replied.
Something was off here, that much was clear. She wasn’t being entirely honest with us.
“There was no mention of it in our background investigation either,” Zhang Daiyu countered.
“In our world these things are agreed with a phone call and a handshake,” Molly replied. “The lawyers do the paperwork when we are ready to sign. We weren’t yet at that stage when I spoke to you. Particularly not after I heard the rumors about Mr. Zhou.”
“Who told you about them?” I asked, and she looked momentarily taken aback.
“I can’t say. Not without breaching a confidence.”
“Why us?” I asked. “Why choose Private? There are plenty of other agencies in Beijing.”
Molly didn’t get a chance to answer me. The hallway door opened and two children spilled into the room, chattering to each other. They were accompanied by a slim man in a tailoredsuit. Molly rose and spoke to them in Mandarin and the children ran over and gave her a hug. Both boys, they were between ten and twelve years old and wore matching school uniforms.
“Mr. Morgan, Detective Zhang Daiyu, these are my boys Ru and Yan.”
