Free The Disciple of Las Vegas by Ian Hamilton

contract, you have their money. It could get ugly.”
    â€œIs that a threat?”
    â€œNo, a friendly warning.”
    â€œI’m not giving it back,” he said again.
    She could tell he was uneasy, but the truth was she didn’t want to push too hard. The two million wasn’t going to make much difference to Ordonez, and Cousins had been cooperative. She could always explain to Manila about the contract and tell them she didn’t want to risk having Cousins go public.
    â€œFair enough,” Ava said. “Tell you what, we’ll leave it like that for now, under the condition that you don’t show that contract to anyone else. This is strictly between you and me.”
    â€œWhy would you do that?”
    â€œYou’ve been honest with me when you could have lied.”
    He looked dubious.
    â€œI’m not lying to you,” Ava said.
    â€œAnd all I have to do is bury the contract?”
    â€œBasically.”
    He extended his hand across the table. “It’s a deal.”

( 10 )
    Ava sat in the rented Audi outside Cousins’ apartment building, going through her options. About one thing she was certain: if she went to Chang Wang and Tommy Ordonez with the information she had, her involvement would be over. They would circle the wagons around the family and deal with Philip in their own way. She did not want that to happen. For one thing, she was curious, really curious, about the Costa Rica connection. Even if there wasn’t any money for her to reclaim in Central America, she wanted to understand the how and the why of what Philip had done. And then there was the money — maybe a lot of money — and she wanted her chance to go after it. The job still had the potential of being one of the biggest paydays she and Uncle had ever had.
    It was just past one thirty in the afternoon, which meant that it was four thirty in the morning in Hong Kong. Still too early to call Uncle, but the perfect time to call Vancouver. She needed to confirm for whom the shares were being held in trust. She didn’t have much doubt that it was for Philip Chew, but it would be a way for her to start a conversation with Edward Ling, and he might help get her access to Chew.
    The receptionist at McDougal, Fraser, and Ling informed her that Mr. Ling was not in the office and asked if she wanted to leave a message. “This is a matter of some urgency involving a member of his family,” Ava said. “I need to speak to his assistant.”
    â€œTo whom am I speaking?” Ling’s assistant asked.
    â€œMy name is Ava Lee. I need to speak directly to Mr. Ling.”
    â€œWhat is this concerning?”
    Ava knew she wasn’t going to get anywhere by being evasive. “I’m an accountant, a forensic accountant, and I’ve been engaged by a multinational corporation to investigate the improper transfer of a considerable amount of their money. I believe that your law firm has an involvement in this transaction. Specifically, I believe Mr. Ling has an involvement through a client of his.”
    When the assistant didn’t respond, Ava made things clearer. “I need to talk to him to straighten this matter out, one way or another, before I submit my report and various authorities, legal and otherwise, get dragged into it,” she said.
    â€œHe’s in conference and won’t be back for another hour or two.”
    â€œPlease have Mr. Ling call me as soon as possible. I’ll be waiting.”
    Ava sat in the car looking up and down Post Street for a restaurant, but she didn’t see one that interested her. Then she realized she was only a short ride from Chinatown.
    At one time San Francisco’s Chinatown was pre-eminent in North America. But with a growing Chinese diaspora across the continent, the Bay area could no longer boast having the best Chinese restaurants. Maybe she was just being biased, but Ava didn’t think any city could