‘Go on …’

‘They all have soil debris on them that’s contamin ated with pig blood. There are even pig hairs in the residue from Beverly Mathews’ hair. Plus, the abrasions on the back of victim four’s legs – where she was dragged – clogged with pig hairs.’

‘So, they have all been dismembered in a place that’s been used to slaughter pigs. Good work, Shrimp. Get Ng on to it. I want him out looking at all the slaughter houses in the New Territories, all the farms. Tell him he can close the lot down if he needs to. Anything else?’

‘You’re going to like this. The knife he uses has a nick in it. It leaves a distinctive shape in the cut.’

‘Shit! Well done, Shrimp! Good lad. Anything else?’

‘There are sixty-eight cigarette burns on Gosia’s chest.’

57

Ng and Johnny Mann took the ferry across the harbour to Kowloon. The evening rush was just beginning to slow down. It gave them time to talk and a change of scenery to do it in.

‘I get this niggle in my head about the Butcher, Ng. The inconsistencies in his profile just don’t add up. No clear idea of age … only that he has to be over forty. In some ways he seems very organised. He plans these girls’ abductions very well. He waits for his chosen victim. That would indicate someone of a high level of intelligence. Someone sociable and probably well-liked. He might even have a family. He could easily be a prominent member of society. But then he is disposing of the bodies in a hurry. In a careless and disorganised manner. That would indicate a loner, a man of low intelligence. Why take all that care to kill them and then leave their remains around for us to find?’

‘Nothing is clear. This butcher has one knife, but many sides to his blade.’

They disembarked and headed up Nathan Road, before turning left onto Peking Road. The road opened out to an area swarming with gap-year kids and young locals. Along the street was an Irish pub, two Aussie bars, a Kiwi place and a steak house, all within spitting distance of each other and all nestled between traditional Chinese girly bars. In front of them was the largest and most notorious of Hong Kong’s backpacker hostels. It was an area where young kids were constantly hassled to part with their money. After a few drinks they could buy a fake watch, sign up for a trip to China and get laid – all by the same person.

Shrimp was waiting for them. He looked like an extra from Miami Vice today. Mann sent Ng on to O’Reilly’s to get what he could from the local Irish expats about Bernadette. They would meet again in forty minutes and work their way up the street in tandem.

Mann and Shrimp crossed the street and pushed through the swing doors of The Western – a saloonthemed pub with sawdust on the floor, dead animals on the walls and an impressive collection of spurs.

A rotund middle-aged Filipina named Annie was in the process of collecting glasses as they swung through the doors.

‘Watcha, Johnny,’ she drawled, and nodded in the direction of Shrimp.

‘How you doing, Annie? Meet my colleague – Li.’

Her eyes lit up and she gave a wet-lipped smile. ‘Hello, handsome.’

Li stood rigid, panic-stricken, gave his girly giggle and looked to Mann for help. Mann grinned and wagged his finger at her.

‘The older you get, the worse you become, Annie.’

She laughed like a full-strength smoker who can never quite clear her throat, pushed her Stetson to the back of her head and pulled down her fringed waistcoat. Then, swinging her hips into action, she shimmied over. ‘Always had a big appetite for life – you know me, Johnny, can’t seem to grow out of it …’

Mann watched her and marvelled how she still had it. She’d been wearing the same cowgirl suit for at least twenty years. When she’d first put it on the gun belt had hung at a lazy slant from her nubile hips; now it was wedged around her midriff. But she moved those hips like a belly dancer. She was still a very sexy woman.

‘You got a licence for those?’ He leaned forward to kiss her cheek and pointed to the two antique guns she had in the belt. She gave a deep-throated giggle and reached up to kiss him. She loved the same old joke, and Mann always obliged her.

She put her hands up in the surrender position. ‘You just gonna have to take me in, Johnny. You’ll need cuffs, though,’ she purred. ‘I should warn you – I aint’ goin’ quietly.’ She reached out and ran her finger down the buttons of Li’s pink shirt. ‘I might promise to behave for your friend, though – just keep it to a whimper and it’ll be his choice – with or without the cuffs.’

Li blushed scarlet. Annie laughed and coughed at the same time.

‘Same old Annie. The only way you know how to behave is badly. Get me a drink and I’ll think about it. He could do with educating.’ Mann winked at Li, who hadn’t understood all the patter, but he’d seen the exchange of looks and it was enough to petrify him.

Annie winked back as she went behind the bar to pour their drinks – two vodka tonics. She turned back from the optics, set their drinks down, and leaned over the bar, squeezing her breasts into an impressive cleavage.

‘You’re looking good, Annie.’

‘Thank you, Johnny,’ she said, keeping her eyes on Li and rocking from one cowboy boot to the other.

‘How’s it all been going?’ Mann asked.

‘Dandy. Just dandy. Never better.’

‘Yes, and really?’

‘Crap.’ She turned back to Mann and the smile dis appeared.

‘Don’t worry, it’ll pick up now. The high season is on its way. It already feels cooler out there. People will be pouring in here soon.’

‘I hope so. I hope so. Ain’t gonna afford bullets for these here guns else …’ She patted her holster and gave a wry smile. ‘But … as much as I love to see the bestlookin’ cop in Hong Kong – you’re here on business, aren’t ya? What is it you want to know?’

‘I wanted to ask you something about the old days.’

She looked perplexed. ‘What old days?’

‘Before you took this bar on.’

‘Huh! You must be jokin’, Johnny. I can’t remember that far back.’

‘I mean when you were a working girl, Annie.’

‘Ahhhhh. I see! Okay, what do you wanna know, apart from the fact I was the best there was.’ She ran her tongue around her lips and grinned at Li, who shuffled nervously over to study the spurs collection.

‘Anyone that was around then, who’s still around? Anyone who was a regular of yours?’

‘A couple. Of course, I don’t know whether they’re still into the same action. But then it’s a hard habit to break – so I should think they are. Let me see … I haven’t seen him in a while, but there’s James Dudley-Smythe. He was a really good customer of mine. Liked his booze a bit too much, and most of the time he needed help to get anything going. You had to know how to handle him, though – give him half a chance and he could get nasty. He had quite a collection of mean-lookin’ whips in that cupboard of his. But … if you knew how … he was easy. Some of the girls used to get him drunk first. I used to insist that he wore the handcuffs.’

‘Anyone else?’

‘I had several clients who came regularly from abroad. I still see them around town. They look older now, of course. I remember their faces, and certain other things about them, but not their names.’

‘Any more locals?’

She shook her head. ‘Can’t think of any.’

‘Any word on the street about someone getting nasty? Really nasty?’

She shook her head. ‘No one’s spoken to me about it. If one of the girls had been hurt I would have been told. Hang on a minute! There was some talk recently. I heard these young lads talkin’ in here. They’d been buyin’ films off a stall on Nathan Road. One of them got taken round the back and shown weird stuff. Apparently there are some dodgy films going around.’