‘When did you see him last?’

‘Three nights ago. But I swear he was fine when I left him.’

‘And night before last?’

‘No. He knew I wasn’t interested.’

‘Why?’

She hesitated, looked guilty. ‘He roughed me up last time. I couldn’t work for a few days.’ She looked at Mann. She looked spent. It had been a long night.

‘Why did he do that?’

‘All right, he accused me of stealing money from his wallet.’

‘And did you?’

She shrugged. ‘Sure. But only when he turned nasty. What happened to him?’

‘You tell me. He got killed by someone he took to his room that he probably intended to have sex with. The barman says you left the same time as him last night. You will be taken in if your prints are in that room, or any part of your DNA is in there. Now I can’t help you if you keep lying to me.’

‘I promise you I didn’t do it, Mann. Sure, I talked to him last night, in between sets, in my break. He wanted me to go upstairs with him but I was in the middle of a set. Anyway, I could see what mood he was in. He looked like he hadn’t slept for a couple of days. I told him I wasn’t well. He went out for a while and then he came back in with a girl. They sat at one of the tables, they had a drink. They left the bar about eleven. I left just after. I’d had enough. I knew Lilly was up to something; I thought I might find out what. I wanted to get home. There’s a lot going on. Lilly and Rizal…things aren’t good at the moment.’

‘Who did he leave with? Did you know her?’

Michelle shook her head. ‘No. I didn’t get a good look at her. So many girls do a circuit of the hotel bars. I never saw her face. She could have been anyone.’

‘Tell me more about him. What kind of sex did he like? Was he into S & M?’

She shrugged her shoulders. ‘He liked what everyone likes. He liked to get a bit rough. He didn’t like getting it back. I told you he got carried away sometimes, he got nasty.’

‘Bondage?’

‘Sometimes.’

‘Did you use props, handcuffs, tape?’

She shook her head.

‘What about threesomes? Was he bisexual? Did he like ladyboys, young men?’ She hesitated. Mann waited. ‘Okay, let me reword it. What kind of men did he like?’

Michelle looked flustered. Mann sat back in his chair and waited. Michelle looked around the room. She glanced over at Ng leaning on the wall. He stared back. Mann looked at the clock on the wall, it was 1 a.m. Michelle was jumpy.

‘All right, okay. Once, twice, I don’t know…I got him a boy.’

‘What kind of boy did he like?’

Michelle rolled her eyes irritably. ‘Regular boy. He didn’t like ladyboys. He didn’t like gays. He liked a normal-looking boy.’

‘What did he like? Was he a giver or a receiver?’

Michelle couldn’t look at Mann as she answered. ‘A giver.’

‘And you found one willing?’

‘Sure. This is Hong Kong, remember. People will do anything for money.’

‘Who was he? Someone you know well?’

Michelle shook her head. ‘Just an Indian lad, lives in the Mansions. But you won’t find him. He’s a tout for a restaurant. He is just a lad, hungry for money. He means nothing.’

‘Do you often work with a male partner?’

‘Not often.’

‘But you have done before?’

‘Once or twice.’

Mann looked at her hard. ‘How come you had Kosmos’s wallet?’

Michelle stared at her hands resting on the table and then she took out a cigarette from her bag. The wardress stepped forward to light it for her.

‘It was passed to me.’

‘Who by?’

‘Look, Mann. I’ll tell you the truth. We have a little scam going here.’

‘Now, why doesn’t that surprise me?’

‘Cindy, Sandy and me. We get stuff for the working girls; we sell them dope, Viagra, GHB, whatever they need. I got his wallet in exchange for some pills.’

‘Who did you get it from?’

‘Well, that’s the thing…we don’t see the person. We get left a message. The waiting staff pass it to us, or the barman; we get told what they want and we put it in an envelope. Sometimes we leave it in the ladies, we all know where to look, sometimes we put it in an envelope and pass it back to the waiters. But, this girl, I have never seen. Honest. I’d tell you if I had.’

‘What did she want from you?’

‘She isn’t your average customer. All the other girls just want Rohypnol. She wants a type of GHB but not the usual. I had to source it. I found it from a supplier in Shenzhen. This time she bought a lot from me. The most she’s ever done.’

Chapter 39

Mann finished up his interview with Michelle and got to the incident room just as everyone was cramming into the room, trying to find somewhere to sit or stand. Shrimp was busy pinning up photos of Max Kosmos’s body lying in a halo of blood-soaked Egyptian white cotton sheets.

Daniel Lu came in late and stood in the corner by the door. Mann looked across at Sheng, he looked like he hadn’t had any rest either. He pulled at his tie and took off his jacket. His clothes were expensive but too flash. Around his wrist he wore a heavy gold chain that matched a thick gold ring he wore on the right hand.

‘As you all know a businessman named Max Kosmos was found murdered in his hotel room last night.’ Sheng addressed the whole room. ‘The reason we still have the members of the OCTB in here is because…’ Sheng flicked his head in the direction of the right-hand white board on which were photos of Rajini, ‘…the death of the young woman murdered in a Triad initiation ceremony and this man’s death are linked. It’s been confirmed that the same weapon was used in both murders. One to cut the girl’s hands off and two to torture Max Kosmos. Ng, what can you tell us about him?’

‘He was a forty-five-year-old American from Chicago. He’s middle management in an engineering projects firm. He is a frequent visitor to Hong Kong and does the Asia circuit every few months. Always stays at the Vacation Villas. This time he checked into the hotel four days ago. He was due to stay another day and then fly on to Australia.’

‘What was he working on here?’

‘Checking equipment supplied for container cranes down at the docks.’

‘Any Triad links?’

‘From him or his company, no. From the companies at the docks? Plenty.’

‘Mann, you were the first on the scene?’ Sheng had the look of one who was a chronic over-indulger: red faced, puffy eyes. He carried a little too much weight around his middle. It had aged him.

‘Yes. I went to Vacation Villas to speak to Michelle Mendoza after I saw her daughter Lilly near the scene of Rajini’s murder. Lilly’s been identified by our agent in Operation Schoolyard as a recruiter for the Outcasts at school. I wanted to find out what her mother knew. I’ve kept an eye on Michelle over the years. She is a heavy drug user, mostly ice. She has an abusive partner, Rizal, and a couple of small kids as well as Lilly. When she gets desperate she has a habit of fleecing the customers. She looked nervous when she saw me so I followed her to the cloakroom and got her to empty her bag; that’s where I found Max Kosmos’s wallet.’

Sheng interrupted. ‘I will interview Michelle myself as soon as we’re done here.’

‘I’ve just done it,’ said Mann. He looked across at Mia. She wasn’t looking at Sheng. He was glaring at her. He knew she must have given permission. ‘She told me she knew Max Kosmos. She had had sex with him before on a few occasions. The last time was three nights ago. She said she saw him leave with a woman at about eleven on the evening he was murdered.’

Sheng folded his arms over his chest. He was furious with Mia and Mann but trying to hide it. He listened to Mann’s account whilst looking at the floor, perched on the side of the table, tapping his foot, agitated. He looked up. ‘Is she lying?’

‘She’s certainly not telling the whole truth. The barman confirmed that he saw Max Kosmos leave with a woman but also added that Michelle left just before.’