Shanghai - Tuesday, 1. March 1949 - late evening
Though hardly the most reputable nightclub in Shanghai - the converted river steamer had been decorated inside to look like a smaller, cheaper version of the Folies-Bergere, with dim lighting and gaudy furniture - it was definitely one of the most popular. Not only because of the well-stocked bar and the excellent resident band, but because some of the girls performing the erotic floor show were usually agreeable to a little bedroom activity if the price was right. It was a practice Kao Kan, the eldest son of Lao Che, encouraged, considering that it helped business no end. He was sitting at a desk in his office, counting through several thick wads of dirty Chinese banknotes, sweat on his face as there always was when he counted money. He was a small man in his early thirties, stickily built, and wearing a sweat-stained linen jacket, a Browning automatic tucked away neatly in a leather shoulder holster underneath. There was a knock on the door and Kan scowled, but didn't bother to look up as he carried on counting the notes.
'I'm busy. What the fuck is it ?'
The door opened and one of his bodyguards appeared. He looked thoroughly dangerous, well over six feet, broad and muscular, tiny scars criss-crossing his face like a spider's web.
'Wu Han is here to see you, Kan. And Professor Li Ji's arrived. He's waiting downstairs.'
Kao Kan scooped the money into a drawer and locked it.
'Keep the Professor waiting and send Han in first. Then find Costas down in the cellars and tell him I need his arse up here.'
'Right you are, boss.'
A little later the door opened and a shifty-looking man appeared. Wu Han was no more than twenty-five, boyishly thin-faced, but when he removed his forage cap there was barely a wisp of hair on his smooth young head. Kao Kan came round from behind the desk, flashed a smile, all charm now, and shook his hand.
'Good to see you again, Wu. And what do you have for me this time ? Something interesting, I hope ?'
'For sure, two forty-gallon drums of petrol, a dozen bottles of best claret, and four sides of beef.'
'And who did you have to murder to get those ?'
Wu laughed. 'A man's got to live. Are you interested ?'
'How much ?'
'Forty Yuan.'
'You're a bigger thief than I am. Thirty, and not a fen more.' Kao Kan grinned. 'But just to show there's no hard feelings, I'll throw in a bottle of Scotch.'
'Done. You want me to drop the stuff off at the usual place ?'
'I'd appreciate it.' Kan slapped a hand on the Wu Han's shoulder and led him to the door. 'And do it after midnight, as always. Good to do business with you again.'
The door opened as Kao Kan sat perched on the edge of his desk, and a swarthy-looking man with a black moustache appeared. Costas Demiris was the son of a Greek merchant, his dark eyes were constantly on the move, missing nothing. 'What's the problem, Kan ?'
Kao Kan lit a cheroot from a pack on his desk. 'Professor Li Ji is here.'