Free The Disciple of Las Vegas by Ian Hamilton Page A

surpass Chinatown North in Toronto. In fact, she and Uncle sometimes argued about whether Toronto was on par with Hong Kong. A thousand of the best Hong Kong chefs were now practising their trade in Toronto, and they hadn’t lost their skills in moving to the West.
    Ava parked her car in a lot on Bush Street and walked two blocks east to Grant. The southern entranceway to Chinatown was framed by two sets of double pillars connected by an archway crowned with a traditional green tile roof. She headed north and was immediately immersed in the sights and smells of every Chinatown she’d even been in: restaurant windows displaying barbecued ducks and pigs; porcelain, fabric, and furniture stores selling “genuine” Chinese antiques; herbalists and tea merchants; fruit and vegetable stands spilling out onto the sidewalks; and clinics offering acupuncture and whole-body massage. She admired the quality of the architecture. The Bank of America’s columns and doors were tattooed with gold dragons and there were fifty or sixty dragon medallions on its façade. She stood in front of the Bank of Canton and studied its triple-tiered green slate roof with upward-sweeping eaves, the edges painted poppy red.
    She walked the entire eight blocks to Broadway Street, turned, and then headed back. She stopped at the Sing Chong Building, a jewel of old Chinese-style architecture and the first structure to be erected in Chinatown after the 1906 earthquake, before entering a neighbouring restaurant that advertised dim sum for four dollars a plate.
    She ordered hot and sour soup, chicken feet, steamed cow stomach, and salty fried scallops. The dishes came in quick succession. The food is good , she thought. Maybe not quite Toronto good, but good.
    She was halfway through her meal when her cellphone rang. The screen displayed a Vancouver area code, and she guessed it was Ling.
    â€œAva Lee.”
    â€œMs. Lee, this is Edward Ling.”
    â€œThank you for calling me back —”
    â€œI’m not sure what game you’re playing,” Ling said swiftly, “but you caused some distress to my assistant.”
    â€œI assure you, Mr. Ling, this is not a game.”
    â€œThen what is it? I’m a senior partner in this law firm, and my client list is exceedingly short and select. I’m not aware that any of them have engaged in the kind of activity you described to my assistant.”
    â€œI’m in San Francisco. I flew here this morning from Manila. My plan is to catch a plane to Vancouver either late this afternoon or early this evening. I would like to meet with you when I get there.”
    â€œManila?”
    â€œYes, Manila. I’ve been hired by a company with its headquarters in Manila.”
    â€œDo I have to guess who it is?”
    â€œI think it’s best if you don’t. I just want to assure you that right now I am party to information that I haven’t yet shared with my client. There are questions that still need answers, and I think you can help me and perhaps help your client as well.”
    â€œAnd which client of mine are you trying to assist?”
    â€œMr. Ling, let’s not say any more than we have to over the phone. We can discuss the situation when we meet.”
    â€œI really don’t like doing this,” he said.
    â€œMe neither, but the alternative is almost guaranteed to be less palatable.”
    He sighed. “I have a working dinner at six o’clock at the Pan Pacific Hotel. Meet me in the lobby at eight o’clock.”
    â€œDo you know anything about the flight schedules between here and there?”
    â€œThere will be a flight every hour or so, and the flying time is only an hour.”
    â€œThen I’ll see you at the Pan Pacific,” she said. “I’ll be wearing a blue button-down dress shirt.”
    â€œThis is my cellphone number,” he said, reciting it. “Call me if there are any changes in your