Читать книгу The Fund - Jeff Edwards - Страница 6

‘You murdered my unborn son,’ Harry Soh snarled as his strong fingers closed tightly around the elegant neck of the latest in a long line of lovers.

Unable to cry out, Lindsay Sung’s brightly coloured nails flailed at her attacker in a vain attempt to make him stop, but surprise had robbed her of any chance of success.

She knew that she was about to die.

* * *

Just a few short hours later, Harry Soh leaned on the balcony rail, the smoke from his cigar sending wisps of blue up from the corner of his mouth as he keenly watched the scene below.

A cacophony of noise rose from row after row of the sewing machines which were spread across the floor of the factory. Despite it being the middle of the night, the women operating the machines worked quickly, their heads down, oblivious of time and their surroundings as they strived to meet the harsh quotas demanded of them.

Other women rushed up and down the aisles collecting the garments and delivering them to the women performing the next part of the garments’ assembly. Here they sewed on a row of buttons or a collar, until the garment was completed and they were pressed and folded. Then they were sent to the warehouses in the compound outside, prior to being dispatched to the world of fashion conscious consumers.

Enormous air conditioning units kept the temperature to an almost comfortable level in the steamy Hong Kong summer, while lint, a byproduct of the cotton being handled below, was removed, avoiding the risk of fire.

This was the part of Harry’s empire that he was most proud of, and which he showed to his many clients, unlike the much older factories at the rear of his vast series of manufacturing compounds where conditions were not nearly as modern. Clients would never be permitted to see the working conditions there.

Harry smiled in satisfaction. Everything was fine now. His problems of the last few days had now been solved.

It had been a long night, but Harry Soh was still fully alert with the adrenalin pumping through his veins from the excitement of the last few hours.

After a meal at one of their favourite restaurants, Lindsay Sung and Harry had driven to the docks where a speedboat driven by Harry’s head of security and his only true friend, Lee Sang, had been moored, waiting for their arrival.

Harry had cast off the lines and soon the trio were speeding off into the hectic night traffic of Hong Kong harbour. As Lee Sang steered between the ships making their way to their berths, Harry checked on the box that Lee Sang had brought aboard earlier and which was now stored behind Lee Sang’s seat. Lifting the lid, Harry caught sight of the lights of a passing floating restaurant being reflected back from the ingots of gold.

Harry smiled at Lindsay Sung as he replaced the lid and made sure the box was well secured. It could prove dangerous to have the heavy container sliding around the deck as they sped out to sea.

Lindsay settled back in her cushioned seat in the stern and watched Harry, her lover. They had been seeing each other for some time now and she was certain that now his wife had found out, he would divorce her old school friend and they could finally be together.

After all, Harry had told her often enough just how much he loved her and how Wendy had been neglecting him.

As the tiny boat cleared the harbour, the darkness of the open sea enveloped them. The ocean swell was higher out here and made it necessary for Lindsay to hold on to the boat’s railing for support as spray was whipped up and blown over them. Lindsay hoped that the ship they were meeting was not far off. She couldn’t wait to get back to dry land so that she could change into dry clothing.

Harry sat down beside her and she gratefully snuggled into the crook of his arm, seeking protection from the cold. Harry smiled down at the beautiful woman while stroking her upturned lips in a gesture of true affection, the tips of his fingers gently caressing the sides of her face, tracing the outline of her classic Asian features before moving down the exposed line of her throat and the string of pearls she wore.

Suddenly, Lindsay let out a gasp of surprise as Harry’s hands found her throat, his thumbs pushing cruelly, cutting off her breath.

Shocked, Lindsay writhed beneath Harry’s hands, her long fin-gernails raking across the back of his, trying to force him to let go. Star flashed before her eyes.

Harry ignored the futile attempts to fend him off and pressed harder, watching in fascination as the spark of life left Lindsay’s eyes. Her arms dropped to her side and her dead body slumped backward in the seat.

Lee Sang had been watching over his shoulder and now throttled back the motor, finally putting it into neutral before joining his friend who was standing triumphantly over the dead girl.

‘The stupid bitch thought that she could dictate to me. She thought she could tell me how to run my life,’ said Harry Soh. ‘No one tells me what to do.’

Lee Sang patted his friend on the back. ‘You deserve better than the family of a casino owner. You would have lost face if the world found out about her.’

From a locker, Lee Sang dragged out a length of heavy chain usually reserved for anchoring the boat which they wrapped tightly around the dead body before padlocking the ends together. Lifting the body, they placed it on the boat’s rail and rolled it overboard. With barely a splash, Lindsay Sung disappeared beneath the waves.

‘Let’s get going. There’s a ship out there waiting for us,’ said Harry.

An hour later, the pair of friends were on their way back to Hong Kong.

Harry’s gold was now safely stored on a cargo vessel which was now continuing on its way towards Europe. When it reached the English Channel, Harry would be there in the middle of the night to meet it and to supervise the transfer of his treasure to yet another small boat for delivery to his bank in Jersey.

* * *

Now, as Harry looked out over his cowed employees, the memory of Lindsay Sung’s last seconds came to him.

Unlike the power he held over his employees, the ultimate power he had exercised over his dead lover was energising Harry, making him feel almost godlike.

He needed to release the energy within, so he scanned the workers below.

‘That one,’ he said, pointing. ‘The one in the third row, second from the end. Bring her to my office.’

Lee Sang nodded. ‘I’ll get her cleaned up and send her up.’

‘Don’t worry about that. Just get her up to my office. I want her now.’