Georgina took out her photo album. She smiled at the pictures of her and Ka Lei, squeezed into photo booths, laughing and making faces at the camera. Then she closed the album and put it back in her bag. She didn’t need to look at photos of Ka Lei to remember her. She would carry her cousin in her heart forever.

She would always miss her and she would always wish things could have been different, but she would never regret coming. She looked up at the screen:

Now boarding…

She closed her eyes for a few minutes. Inside her stomach was a solid weight of trepidation. But she knew she had to go. She must repair herself and rest. She needed to do this on her own. She was a grown woman now, she had to stand on her own two feet and find her place in the world. She would return one day. Maybe Johnny Mann would still be around. She hoped so. She stood and made her way through to Departures.

123

‘Hello, Kin Tak. Sorry it’s late.’

‘Of course, I don’t mind, Inspector. I wanted to see you. Please, come with me.’

Mann followed him into the long storage section, even colder than normal. He could see that Kin Tak was nervous. He looked like he hadn’t slept, or if he had it was fully clothed. Kin Tak stopped at a fridge and checked the list.

‘I am glad you called, Inspector. Just bear with me. I have something to confess. Something to show you.’

Mann began to feel decidedly uneasy. This wasn’t a good place to have a lengthy conversation. It was never going to hold fond memories for him.

Kin Tak opened the fridge and wheeled out a trolley. He unzipped the white body bag and for a moment stood in front of it, shielding it from Mann’s view.

‘What is it, Kin Tak?’

‘Helen Bateman was a special friend of yours?’

Mann felt a surge of anger. He almost pushed the young mortuary assistant aside. What the fuck had he done to her?

Kin Tak stepped out of the way. And Mann saw that Helen had been lovingly washed: her hair was glossy and bright, her body reassembled with the neatest stitching that would have served a plastic surgeon well. Her face was serene, beautiful. She was dead and gone, but she was his Helen again.

‘I thank you, Kin Tak.’ Mann found himself unable to speak. ‘Thank you very much. You have done a really good job.’

Kin Tak held his hands up as if to say there was no need to thank him. ‘I’ll wait outside. Take as long as you like. I am not going anywhere, Inspector.’ He beamed his baby smile.

Mann looked at Helen’s face for the last time. ‘See you on a beach somewhere, my love. Please forgive me.’

He zipped the bag back up.

124

He arrived back at the apartment. It was dark. It was empty. He saw the note on the table.

He checked his watch. It was nearly eleven – she wouldn’t be lifting off for an hour. A night flight to Heathrow, care of Cathay Pacific. He had plenty of time to get there, if he wanted to.

His phone rang.

‘Who else would know his way around Headquarters? I knew it was you who left it.’

‘I felt you were owed it. I had no hand in her death, or any of the others, you know that?’

‘I know.’

‘I will deny being on the island when CK asks.’

‘Of course. I never saw you.’

‘See you around, Johnny.’

‘See you, Stevie.’

Mann stood watching the night sky: glass in one hand, Georgina’s note in the other. Finally, he put the note down. He respected her decision to leave. He hoped she would come back one day. He shrugged and smiled sadly – people and their paths. His was a lonely one some times. But he’d rather walk it alone – for now. In the morning he would go for a long run, clear out his head, focus on his future, think about what had to be done and how to achieve it. For now, he needed to get a good night’s sleep.

But the morning seemed a long way away, and the night before him loomed lonely and long. He was restless. He had a need to forget everything for one night. He rolled the iced vodka glass around in his hand and searched the sky again. High up, a plane blinked its colours at him. He downed his drink, poured another, and drank a toast to Helen, to Kim, to Georgina, and to all the women he had known.

He was tempted to get blind drunk, but he didn’t think it would work. It wasn’t what he needed. He needed…He needed…Then it hit him. He picked up his phone. He needed Honey Ryder. At least it would be a good start.

Twenty minutes later he was stood by Ng’s bedside.

‘I thought you’d be in bed or out getting drunk somewhere?’

‘Yes, well. Nearly was, then I got a better offer and here I am. How’s it going, Confucius?’

‘In a couple of days I should be able to pee for myself, which will be nice.’ Ng rolled his eyes around the room. ‘Getting sick of lying about. What’s the news? Did you get Chan?’

‘I got him.’

‘I knew you would. He who walks on snow leaves footprints.’

‘Snow, water, he wasn’t very good at walking on either.’

‘What else…? I can see it in your face.’

‘I took the law into my own hands, Ng. I crossed the line. Not just Chan. I found out who murdered Helen.’

There was a silence in the room, just the droning of equipment. After a few minutes, Ng spoke.

‘Justice is not always written in stone or in the law books, Genghis. Justice comes in many forms.’

‘There will be repercussions.’

‘There will be some people who won’t like it, but there will be many more who will back you. There are lots of policemen just like us who won’t tolerate the triads any more. Enough is enough! Remember, Mann: It is not the cry, but the flight of the wild duck that leads the flock to follow.’

‘We’ll soon see. Hurry up and get well, Confucius. It’ll be good to have you back.’

Mann got up to leave.

‘I mean it, Genghis: Set yourself as standard and others will fall in behind you.’

‘You know, Ng – you’re full of shit. Take care of yourself. Leave the nurses alone. I’ll see you in a couple of days.’

Mann smiled to himself as he walked quietly down the empty corridor, just the sound of his Prada loafers on linoleum. Ng was right – there were many roads to justice.

THE TRAFFICKED

DETECTIVE JOHNNY MANN IS BACK …

Missing children. An evil racket. A race

against time…

Nine-year-old Amy Tang is the third child to be kidnapped recently and held for a vast sum of money. While the other two children were released after the ransom is paid – Amy is not.

Summoned to appear before his boss, Inspector Johnny Mann expects to be told that, owing to his insubordination, he is heading back to traffic duty. Instead he is ordered to lead the investigation into the kidnapping of Amy – who happens to be the illegitimate daughter of a major player in the Flesh Trade, CK Leung.

Mann’s investigation takes him to London, where he teams up with DC Becky Stamp. Within days of arriving in London, there is an arson attack that kills more than a dozen women and children. The bodies of the victims are found chained to their beds and are unidentifiable.

Mann must uncover the link between Amy’s kidnappers and the arson attacks before it’s too late.

Prepare to be terrorised all over again with this

disturbingly addictive thriller, unleashed in

autumn 2008.

ISBN: 978-1-84756-083-4

Read on for an exclusive extract from Lee Weeks’s next novel, The Trafficked, coming soon…