Frank was becoming more attractive to her every minute. She loved his new image – especially his hair extensions – he looked like a movie star!

But where was her lovely Ka Lei? Where was her baby sister? Lucy dabbed her eyes carefully with a tissue. She could do without the red-eyed look. She needed to look at her most attractive for Frank and she couldn’t risk any upsets now. Feeling slightly better, she continued her packing. She would soon be out of the flat and away forever. She would carry her sister in her heart (and around her neck), but she had her own life to live. For the first time in her life she was having a lucky break.

She went into the bathroom and retouched her make-up. She was going to Club Mercedes for the last time. She had some things to sell and the foreign girls were the only ones who would buy any of Georgina’s belongings. The Chinese would never wear secondhand and, anyway, the clothes were too big for the local girls. She had no need to call Max because she would hail a taxi from the corner of Johnson Road, just as easy. Anyway, there was something strange going on with Max these days. He seemed not to be looking after himself and he was acting oddly. Lucy finished dressing and left the flat, promising herself that she would tackle the rest of the packing when she got back.

Club Mercedes looked the same as it always did. It was in its usual bubble, existing in its own time and space. Although it was early there were a lot of punters in. The Dressing Room was packed with hostesses, all in various stages of readiness.

There were a lot of new faces that Lucy didn’t know. There were some missing, though: Candy had finished funding her boyfriend’s deli and left, and Bernadette had still not been found. There were a bunch of new Europeans, a couple of English girls among them, doing the rounds of the Orient. Lucy didn’t feel too inclined to be friendly but she wanted to sell her things. She went over to introduce herself and make small talk. She was just about to produce her wares when Mamasan Linda came to find her.

85

‘Good girl, Lucy. There are plenty of men for you tonight. Your face looks like it healed well.’

‘Sorry, Mamasan,’ Lucy laughed. ‘I can’t work any more. I am engaged.’ She flashed the huge diamond Frank had given her. Mamasan Linda grabbed her hand and held it closer to get a better look.

‘Very nice. Good diamond. Good girl. Very clever, Lucy. Who are you marrying?’

‘You remember the big American – Flank?’

‘Aye! Big Flank! Such a good man, lucky you! But it’s not so good for me. I lose you.’

‘Sorry, Mamasan, but here is a gift from Flank to you.’ As was the custom with hostesses who made a good catch, Lucy handed her mamasan an envelope containing a generous amount of cash, to ease the blow of losing a good earner. Mamasan Linda took it graciously and inclined her head respectfully.

‘I wish you much happiness, Lucy.’

‘Thank you, Mamasan.’

‘And Lucy, so sorry to hear about your sister, very sad.’

Before Lucy had a chance to respond, Mamasan Linda’s name came over the tannoy.

‘Aye! be back in a minute …’ She was called to the floor, leaving Lucy to sell her things to the Gwaipohs. In the end she managed to sell Georgina’s CD player, nearly all of her clothes and some of her jewellery that Lucy didn’t want for herself. She’d made a few dollars out of it, enough to buy herself some new lingerie. She estimated she wouldn’t need much more than that in Florida.

She was chatting to some of the hostesses when Mamasan Linda re-entered the Dressing Room.

‘Lucy, I need you, come, juz for one minute.’

‘What for?’ Lucy felt her pulse quicken.

‘There’s an important guest asking for you. I told him: Lucy’s getting married, no more boyfriends. But he said he just had to see you for a few minutes … Come on, I’ll take you there!’

Lucy’s heart raced. She knew who it must be. She could try and run for it. But how far would she get? He was bound to have his men in the club somewhere. She would be caught before she got as far as the elevator. She had no choice. She had to face him. She had to do just enough to be able to get on that plane and get out.

She finished up in the Dressing Room and reluctantly followed Mamasan Linda.

Chan was alone in one of the small VIP rooms at the back of the club. He was very tired – worn out by his whistlestop tour of the frozen North, where he’d been sent on a menial business trip by CK. But Chan knew it wasn’t wise to push CK too hard. Not even he could expect to get away with it. He still had to do what he was told, for now.

‘Ah, Lucy! How nice to see you. Please, sit down!’

He motioned for her to come closer. Lucy was about to choose the chair furthest away from him, until he pulled the nearest one towards him and patted it.

‘I was just leaving when Mamasan Linda told me your news. How lucky that I happened to come in today, and that you happened to be here?’

Lucy smiled, tight-lipped. Mamasan Linda deemed it best to leave; she made some excuse about being needed somewhere else and promptly disappeared.

As soon as they were alone, Chan leaned back in his chair and stared hard at Lucy, his large, dark eyes focused with anger.

‘When were you going to tell me about Ka Lei? Was I supposed to find out from your mamasan that she is dead?’

Lucy looked around her – the room seemed uncomfortably small. ‘Nothing to say for yourself? You were supposed to be looking after her; that’s what I paid you for.’

She looked towards the door. She wanted to run.

‘That was the deal, wasn’t it? All you had to do was devote yourself to looking after my new concubine. All you had to do was stay at home, look after Ka Lei. Too much, was it, Lucy? Couldn’t resist the temptation to go out and earn some extra, huh?’

He leaned forward accusingly. She held her breath as she waited for the inevitable execution of her character. But it didn’t materialise. Just when she had steeled herself for the worst, he seemed to soften. He shook his head deliberately. ‘It is very bad news. She was so young and pretty and I had hoped we might have a life together. Such a shame.’ He sighed, pouring himself a large whisky as he did so, and sitting further back in his seat. Then he turned to her and smiled. ‘And now you are leaving us too, Lucy, is that right?’ His face was taking on a tight appearance, his fake smile overtaxing it.

‘Yes, I am going to live in America.’

‘In America? Good girl, Lucy!’ He leaned over and patted her leg. ‘I am glad it has turned out so well for you. We can exchange news.’ He paused and added ice to his glass before continuing. ‘You might be interested to learn how your cousin Georgina is?’

86

‘Georgina?’ As guarded as she had meant to be, Lucy’s reaction betrayed her panic as she grappled to understand what game Chan was playing. Lucy couldn’t think how it could possibly benefit him to bring Georgina into it.

‘How is she?’ she floundered.

‘She’s well. Considering what she has been through and what has happened to her. Can’t be easy knowing that you were betrayed by your only family – sold.’

Lucy’s face reddened and her heart pumped.

‘I was left no choice, if you remember. It is hard to think straight when under threat.’

He laughed. ‘Funny, Lucy, I don’t remember it like that. You had plenty of choices.’ He held out each hand in turn, as if weighing the evidence in a hammy gesture. ‘To gamble, not to gamble. To sell your sister, your cousin, or not to sell them. See! Plenty of choices.’

Lucy fought against the instinct to run.