Singapore Sling Shot - Andrew Grant [118]
There was no diary, no address book, no cellphone, nothing but hundreds of DVDs and sexual playthings. The big walk-in wardrobe was full of clothes, shoes, boots and costumes. From Heidi to Catwoman with crotchless latex trousers, they were all there along with whips and restraints and every other bell and whistle you could think of.
I searched the bedroom from top to bottom, lifting carpets, looking for a safe and any other hiding places. I did the same in the bathroom. Nothing! The housekeeper had grabbed what she knew I would come looking for and made a run for it.
The room’s locks were many. Obviously, being the keeper of the royal household, Kaylin had ensured that no one could ever enter her little corner of paradise uninvited. I didn’t bother locking the door when I left.
I went into Sami’s office and tapped out his number. The only good thing about this situation was that K was not the one who had turned traitor. Lunch with Sami was still on.
“And what do you expect me to do about it?”
“Help me!”
“We had an agreement. You do as I ask and I make sure that your wildest fantasies are realised. Is that not what we agreed?”
“Yes, Mr Lu. I still want that, but now the man, this Mr Crewe, knows I helped with the bomb. He will kill me when he finds me.”
“Then don’t let him find you,” Thomas Lu replied, smiling his humourless smile. “Run, rabbit, run!” He hung up.
“The man in black,” he mused. “Mr Crewe. Perhaps it’s time I found out a little more about you.” Lu reached for his phone again.
“She had been in my household for three years,” Sami said. He paused and contemplated his next words for a moment. Then he sighed. “I have to tell you about Stanley’s other life for it to all make sense.”
“Other life?” I replied. Then I remembered he had hinted that there were some things about his stepbrother that troubled him.
“Other life,” Sami repeated. “On the surface, Stanley was a straight-laced family man with a loving wife, and he did love Helen. He loved his kids. He was a good businessman. Very talented, but he had what one could consider a problem.”
“Which was?”
“He was a sex maniac,” Sami said simply. I sat there stunned. “He had a whole other life beyond his office and home in Goodwood Hill.”
“Did his wife…did Helen know?”
“Most of it, yes. She tolerated his indiscretions providing they remained private. She loved him and he loved her, but Stanley just had to have constant sex.” Sami’s eyes met mine. Could I see myself reflected there and in his words? He didn’t dwell on it. “I own the penthouse but I have, until the last few weeks, never lived there. In fact, I had never even been inside it.”
“What?” I was absolutely stunned by his revelation.
“Previously when I came to Singapore, I used my secret apartment. Or if on business which involved Stanley, I stayed at his home. I bought the penthouse, but I let Stanley set it up. His furnishings, except for the study. He installed his people, including his frequent mistress.”
“Kaylin,” I added.
“Yes, Kaylin. She could do what she wanted on her own time, but she was at his beck and call. She hosted his private business dinners and gatherings.” Sami paused again and took a mouthful of his food.
“Fucking hell,” I muttered. I could see it all now.
“Until I walked into the penthouse and announced who I was, Kaylin had no idea I was Stanley’s brother. She had no idea.”
“That must have stunned her.”
“The fact Stanley had a brother stunned everyone, Lu included. But thinking back on Stanley’s last days and the situation with Lu, I wonder if at that point Kaylin was working with Lu against Stanley.”
“But she had everything,” I blurted out. “A beautiful apartment, a rich sponsor.”
“Sex,” Sami replied. “That appears to be what she wanted. You told me about the photographs and videos. She and Stanley had a lot of playmates. I’m not suggesting Lu was involved physically, certainly not with Stanley, but someone amongst the playmates was involved with Lu and Kaylin. Whatever Lu offered