Message From -Creasy 5 (24 page)

From
the balcony Jens could count over twenty ferries plying back and forth. It was
bliss. He had been a ferry buff since he was a small child. He had sat on his
parents' patio at Helsingor watching the ferries passing through Oresund
Strait.

Much to
the chagrin of his wife Birgitte, his idea of a restful holiday was taking one
of the big Swedish ferries that plied the Baltic. She could never understand it
since he would spend most of his time in the bar drinking beer with Schnapps
chasers. He had even joined the Ferry Appreciation Club and he and other ferry
fanatics would go on trips and get profoundly drunk.

He had
been looking out over the harbour for half an hour. The Owl was lying on his
bed with his Walkman by his side and the earphones clamped to his head. He was
silently conducting Beethoven's fifth symphony. Jens tore his eyes away from
the view, glanced at his watch and shouted: "Let's go! We'll take the Star
Ferry to Victoria and pay a visit to the business registrations office. I want
to find out who's behind the Cuontum Import-Export Agency."

Reluctantly,
The Owl switched off Beethoven and stood up. Jens opened his briefcase and from
one of its pockets took out a stack of business cards. He flicked through them
and selected one, saying: "Today I'll be Svend Torp, managing director of
the Viking Credit Rating Agency."

Twenty
minutes later they were at the inquiries counter of the business registrations
office, and Jens was charming the middle-aged Chinese woman in charge. She
studied his card as he told her that he wanted to see the records of the
Cuontum Import-Export Agency. It was a routine inquiry on behalf of a Danish
company who were about to start trading with it.

She
went off into a back room and returned three minutes later with a blue file
tied with a black ribbon. She explained that he could only take photocopies of
the statutory directors and shareholders list. Being a private company, it did
not need to file its annual balance sheets, but it did need to record changes
on the board of directors and major shareholders.

He went
immediately to the back of the file and noted that there were only two directors
who had founded the company.

One was
William Crum and the other Tam Wok Lam LD. He flicked through the pages and
noted that in March 1977, William Crum had ceased to be a director and that
Connie Lon Crum had been appointed to the board four years later. Her address
was given as care of the other director, Tam Wok Lam, in a building on Ice
House Street. There had been no other changes on the board since the company
was first formed in 1962.

He
turned the file around, pointed and asked the woman: "What does LD
signify?"

She
looked at the name and said: "It signifies that Mr Tam is a lawyer. In
fact, he's a very prominent lawyer in Hong Kong with many business interests.
He also sits on the Legislative Council, appointed there by the Governor. He's
a very respectable person."

"That's
good to know," Jens said. He closed the file. "Thank you for your
help. I don't need to make any photocopies."

Outside
on the busy street, Jens turned to The Owl and said: "I need to learn a
little bit about gemstones, especially those that originate from Indo-China.
Let's go and find a jeweller. And then, maybe, we'll go and talk to Mr Tam. But
before that I have to phone a friend in Copenhagen." He smiled cheerfully.
"Then, this evening, I'm going to ride a few of those ferries. Do you know
that they have eighteen different destination points from the island to the
mainland?"

"I
didn't know that," The Owl answered. "It's a very serious gap in my
knowledge of trivia."

"A
very serious gap," Jens said severely.

The
Dane ended up buying a small sapphire ring for Birgitte. It cost him two
thousand Hong Kong dollars, but he considered it money well spent, since he had
deliberated for over an hour with the shop's owner, examined most of his stock,
and gleaned a great deal of information about the various gemstones and their
sources.

They
made the five-minute ferry journey back to the hotel and Jens phoned a good and
old friend in the police department. He needed to know the name of a jewellery
importer in Denmark who on the surface appeared reputable, but was maybe a
little shady in the background. Someone who would deal in gemstones as a front
for money laundering. His friend promised to phone him back soonest, and for
the next half hour Jens watched the ferries while The Owl conducted Beethoven.

It was
the most luxuriously appointed office that Jens had ever been in. A deep
Tientsin carpet covered the floor, the walls were panelled with mahogany and
the furniture was comprised of leather and carved ebony. On the desk was an
intricately carved ornament of ivory. The man behind the desk was short and
bald and dressed in an immaculately cut dark suit. He rose as Jens entered the
room and took the proffered business card which had been printed only an hour
before. It indicated that Jens was a Mr Lars Petersen of the Odense Import
Company in Denmark. Mr Tarn offered Jens a seat, and a girl brought in a pot of
jasmine tea and two gilded cups.

As Jens
described his business, the Chinese man sipped at his tea and watched him
intently. Then he asked: "Why have you come to me, Mr Petersen? Why did
you not go directly to the Cuontum Import-Export Agency and see Mr Fu, the
manager?"

"For
two reasons," Jens answered. "Firstly, I discovered that it's always
better to discuss business with the organ grinder than with the monkey. And
secondly, I prefer dealing with lawyers."

Mr Tarn
smiled and nodded slightly. "But how did you know that I was connected in
any way with the Cuontum Agency?"

"I
make it a rule to always find out who are the directors and the shareholders of
the companies I deal with. Then I require information about their reputations.
I was at the business registrations office earlier and noticed that you were
one of the two directors, along with a Miss Connie Lon Crum. You are also a
fifty per cent shareholder."

"That's
correct. I founded the company with Connie Crum's father. After his death, she
acquired his shares and the directorship."

"That
was in 1977, wasn't it?"

"Yes,
I believe so. Mr Crum died in 1977 and left his shares in the company to his
daughter, Connie. She became a director some years later, when she reached the
minimum age of twenty-one."

"Yes,
I noticed that from the records. Now, Mr Tarn, I've only been in Hong Kong a
short time, and I know of your fine reputation. But I know nothing about Miss
Crum. And there is another important factor. I am mainly interested in buying
Cambodian sapphires. Naturally, over the past years, the supply has been very
erratic."

Mr Tarn
nodded in agreement, and said: "That's the strength of our company. You
may know that most of the sapphires come from the Cardamom mountains and that
area is largely controlled by the Khmer Rouge. Miss Crum's mother was Cambodian
and it happens that she has close connections with the people operating in the
Cardamom mountain range."

"You
mean with the Khmer Rouge?"

"No,
no," Mr Tarn answered with a slight smile. "I would never even
suggest that. She spends a lot of her time in Paris and in Bangkok. But because
of her connections, she does have an influence in south-west Cambodia, and that
influence means that the Cuontum Trading Agency has a regular supply of top
quality sapphires. You need have no worry about that. I'm sure that Mr Fu can
help you. He carries considerable stock. Would you like me to make an
appointment for you?"

"Not
just yet," the Dane answered. "First I would like to discuss
financial matters with you."

Mr Tarn
was immediately alert. "Financial matters?"

"Yes.
You might know, Mr Tam, that import duty and taxes are very high in Denmark. My
company intends to import a very significant amount of sapphires over the next
few years. Of course you would understand in this business that such stones are
a financial commodity easily transported."

"Of
course."

"We'll
need to come to an arrangement with the Cuontum Agency so that the stated value
of the stones we import would be somewhat different from the real value."

"I
understand, Mr Petersen. It's quite common and it's not a problem in Hong Kong,
which is a free port. I assume that you would pay the invoice value by
irrevocable letter of credit?"

"Certainly.
And the difference will be paid before shipment into any bank account you
nominate anywhere in the world."

"Very
reasonable," Mr Tarn said and then gave a conspiratorial smile.
"Although business taxes in Hong Kong are quite low, it's still painful
having to pay them. The arrangement will suit us. When would you like to see Mr
Fu and inspect his stock?"

"Not
for a couple of days. I only arrived in Hong Kong this morning and it makes
good business sense to get over the jetlag before sitting down to what I know
will be tough negotiations. I plan to do a little sightseeing before getting
down to business, and perhaps go to Macau for a day trip."

The
Chinese man stood up and said: "You're a practical man, Mr Petersen. I
suggest you phone Mr Fu when you're rested. In the meantime, I'll brief him on
our conversation. And I look forward to a long and profitable relationship."

"What will happen," The Owl asked, "if Mr Tarn checks with the Odense
Import Company?"

They
were sitting in the Captain's Bar at the Mandarin Hotel, round the corner from
the lawyer's office.

Jens
answered: "It's no problem. My friend in the police headquarters in
Copenhagen has twisted a couple of arms down in Odense. If they get a fax from
Mr Tarn, they'll send a fax back stating that Lars Petersen is their purchasing
director and he's currently travelling on business in the Far East."

He took
a contented sip of his Carlsberg beer. He had not ordered it out of patriotism;
he just preferred it to the local San Miguel. He looked around the crowded room
and muttered:

"Connie
Crum, aged thirty-four, daughter of Bill Crum. She's the one stalking
Creasy."

Creasy
listened and then said: "It's good work, Jens. Well done! I want you to go
to Bangkok and try to dig up some information on her there. Meanwhile, Susanna
will see what the American Embassy might have or be able to find out."

He hung
up the phone, turned to Susanna and Guido and said: "Bill Crum had a
daughter by a Cambodian mother. She's thirty-four years old and is apparently
well connected to the Khmer Rouge. From what Jens told me, she could even be
part of that organization. She spends time in Bangkok and Paris and presumably
also in south-western Cambodia. Jens and The Owl will leave for Bangkok this
afternoon and try to get more information about her. In the meantime, Susanna,
I'd like you to talk to your ambassador again. The CIA may have a file on her
and it's almost certain that they have satellite surveillance photographs of
the whole of Cambodia. It would be useful to see some pictures of the area
where that temple is located. I'll give you a map grid reference."

She
picked up the phone, called the Embassy and arranged a meeting with the
Ambassador in twenty minutes.

After
she had left, Guido stated: "This is a matter of revenge, and it has been
very cleverly arranged. The woman must know that you killed her father. She's
three-quarters Oriental and we both know that Oriental people have long
memories and huge patience. She has waited a long time and whatever she has in
mind for you will not be pleasant. I think you should get the hell out of here..."

Creasy
shook his head. "You know damn well I won't do that! Their organization is
superb. It stretches from Cambodia all the way to San Diego. She obviously has
a lot of money and influence. It's not in my nature to run and hide and even if
I did, she would find me. In a matter like this it's her life or mine. She's
planning to kill me for sure. My guess is that first she wants to talk to me.
She wants to tell me why she's doing it and she wants to watch my face. I've no
other choice but to go down the trail that she's laid so cleverly. If she's one
per cent as evil as her father, killing her will not bother my conscience a
bit."

Guido
was probably the only person in the world who could truly understand Creasy's
mind. He said: "Then I'm going to call in some back-up in the shape of
Maxie and Rene. If you're even dreaming of going into Khmer Rouge territory,
you're going to need firepower and you're going to need information. Whatever
satellite photographs the CIA may have are probably not going to be enough.
They will just represent routine surveillance of a wide area which is heavily
forested." He pointed at the phone. "I think you're going to have to
phone Senator Grainger. The Ambassador here will co-operate with Susanna, but
you need more than mere cooperation."

Abruptly,
the Italian smiled. "It's like old times," he said. "I already
feel ten years younger."

"Don't
ask me," Colonel Jonas Chapman said to his co-pilot. "We just fly the
damn thing. The fucking onboard computers know more than I do. The orders come
from the top, A1 priority. We overfly Manila and then pretend to be a civilian
aircraft en route to Bangkok. We make a slight diversion over south-west
Cambodia at twenty thousand feet and there the computers trigger the cameras at
prearranged co-ordinates. And before we even land at the base in Thailand, the
photographs will be on their way to whoever wants to have a look at that little
piece of South East Asia. We'll finish the checks. Get taxi clearance and start
up the engines."

Five
minutes later the AWAC (plus 246/7) surveillance plane with its giant radar
dome and its crew of fourteen experts lifted off the US Air Force runway on the
Pacific island of Guam. After they had levelled off at 42,000 feet and set up
the computers, Colonel Chapman and his co-pilot sat back in their seats and
began drinking the first of many beakers of black coffee. They would not touch
the controls for the next five hours.