Kiss & Die - Lee Weeks [114]
Sheng’s eyes opened wide. He stared straight at Ruby and then at the finger she held in her hand and he screamed into the gag.
‘One finger, two fingers, three and four.’ Snap snap snap…she cut his fingers off and placed a finger on each of the dolls’ laps and when she had run out she began cutting off Sheng’s toes.
Chapter 95
Mann didn’t answer the door straight away. He sat in his armchair in the lounge; Daniel Lu had let Mann keep the lounge furniture. The bedroom was empty; every item removed and now being scrutinized in the lab. The telly blaring. He thought it was Ng. He shouted, ‘Fuck off,’ and turned the volume on the telly up. The knock came again. Then Mann realized the knock was different; it wasn’t Ng’s. He paused the film and slipped out of the chair. He walked to the side of the door and called out.
‘Who is it?’
A woman’s voice answered. ‘Victoria Chan. I need to speak with you. It’s urgent.’
Mann looked through the spy hole. Victoria Chan looked back.
‘What do you want?’
‘To talk, as I said.’
She raised her hand, knuckles at the ready to knock again. She wasn’t going to go away. He unlocked the door and walked back into the room, his back to her. She walked straight in and seemed oblivious to the mess. She was wearing a black pencil skirt, a checked jacket, red stilettos, matching red handbag, red lipstick. Her hair was tied up.
She strode over to the armchair and sat down. ‘There were things I didn’t want to discuss in public, things that are just between us.’
Mann looked at the TV. He threw the mess off the other chair and sat down. He cleared the glass-topped table and placed the bottle of vodka down on it. He studied her with a cold eye.
‘You have nothing to say that will interest me.’
‘I had nothing to do with the death of your officer. I cannot help the fact that I used the information given to me and told of her infiltration into our ranks.’
‘Shut up. I don’t want to listen to you. I know where the blame for it lies. I have been suspended, and when I look at you, I see you had a big hand in it. Congratulations. But, before you start gloating, it won’t be for long. And just because I am suspended from the force doesn’t mean I have switched sides.’
She sat with her legs to one side, her hands on her lap. She looked around the room. ‘I can’t see you getting reinstated in a hurry, can you? I see that you have been going through your father’s papers.’
Mann studied her. She had balls. She was a woman who would never give up. She looked at the pile next to Mann’s chair. He’d been going over Tammy’s autopsy report. He picked it up and moved it out of her line of sight. ‘Believe it or not, there’s a system to this chaos. Now, can we get to the point? I’m a busy man.’
Victoria settled back into the chair. ‘Take the afternoon off. Let me get some food in. You look like you could do with some time out. Take a shower, relax. I may not be a friend but I am a business associate whether you like it or not. We have things to talk about. I expect by now you have seen that what I said is true. Many of your late father’s enterprises are linked with the Leung Corporation dealings.’
Mann rubbed his face. He pushed his hair away from his eyes. He suddenly felt completely drained. She was right, at least in that one small thing, he needed a break. ‘Okay.’ He stood up. ‘There’s a list of numbers in the kitchen. They all deliver. You choose.’ Mann got up and began to pick up the piles