BLOOD DRAGON by Freddie Peters (books to get back into reading .TXT) 📕

There was nothing else to add.

Cora bit her lips to stop herself from crying. She dropped abruptly to the floor. It was impossible. But denial would not make the grim reality go away.

She recalled Amy’s enthusiasm at helping every artist that exhibited at Philippe’s gallery. She had been very excited about a recent discovery.

For a moment Cora forgot she was on the phone to Philippe … Ollie, now Amy. She wanted to scream … Why?

Just as she had a few years ago when her parents disappeared … she asked herself why? Why them? The searing feeling of loss ignited again. Philippe was calling her name and she could barely reply.

“Sorry … sorry, Philippe.” Cora stood up, grabbing the edge of the window for balance. She looked across the courtyard. DS Branning was still collecting his meal it seemed.

“I’m at the Gallery … I could do with some company.”

“Give me half an hour.” Cora hung up. Branning was crossing the yard with a large takeaway container. She returned to the kitchen. The soup she had prepared no longer looked appetising.

The door of the flat opened and the smell of food crossed the threshold of the kitchen before he did. She felt her stomach heave, ran to the window and opened it wide to let in some fresh air.

The soft sound of the box landing on the table told Cora Branning was in the kitchen. She took a few deep breaths. She rubbed the back of her hand over her eyes in a short wiping gesture.

A large hand gently landed on her shoulder.

“More bad news?”

Cora nodded. She had not expected the question, nor in such a kind tone. She turned around. Branning looked at her with attentive searching eyes. He might not like her friend’s cooking or the arty gang’s way of life, but DS Branning understood adversity when it came knocking.

He closed the window, moved to the kettle and started boiling water. He made two cups of tea in silence.

“It’s a friend of mine.” Cora eventually volunteered.

Branning placed a cup in front of her and came to sit opposite. The warm liquid soothed her throat a little.

Branning’s hands had circled his mug. It had almost disappeared in his meaty grasp. Cora told him about Amy. He listened without interrupting.

When she had finished, Cora glanced at the takeaway lunch. “It’s going to get cold.”

Branning shrugged. “I’ll whizz it in the microwave.” He moved slowly around.

“So, you’d like to see your friend Philippe?”

Branning finished his mug, got up and placed it in the sink.

“That would be nice.”

He nodded. “Okay … let’s go.” He caught Cora’s glancing at his lunch again.

“I need to lose a few pounds anyway.”

DS Branning was smoking a cigarette outside whilst Cora and Philippe hugged each other for a long moment after she had walked through the doors of the Gallery.

“Any more news?” Cora finally asked.

“Nothing since I last spoke to you, but the Hong Kong police were pessimistic. Apparently, it’s a well-known spot for suicides. The tide takes people out to sea in no time.” Philippe slumped down at his desk.

“It’s complete nonsense.” The burn of anger had replaced the sorrow she felt earlier on.

“Of course, I said that to them.”

“What have Liu and James said about it?”

“They are puzzled and in disbelief, just as we are.”

“What did Nancy say?”

A flash of anger came and went in Philippe’s eyes. “I told her I wanted to go to Hong Kong, but she was not encouraging. She thought it might be dangerous.”

Cora came to sit next to Philippe. “I know this is not what you want to hear but … she might be right.” Cora shook her head. “No … she is almost certainly right.”

Philippe frowned.

“Amy told me a bit about the research she was doing for Nancy. She wasn’t specific but she said she was helping her with her father’s disappearance.”

“She was not supposed to talk to anyone about that.” Philippe’s voice trembled.

“It’s such an old story … 30 years ago. She didn’t think it was a dangerous assignment.” Cora sat back in her chair. “I didn’t even think about warning her either and I should have known better.”

They stayed silent for a while, both locked in thought.

“Why were you calling me in the first place, anyway?” Philippe asked.

“I wanted to check whether Ollie had chatted with you about anything in particular … anything that sounded unusual … worrying.”

“Nancy asked me the same question … I can’t think of anything.” A shadow moved across Philippe’s face. “Unless …”

Cora nodded encouragingly.

“He had asked Andy a lot of questions about Hong Kong and China.”

* * *

In the cab she had hailed whilst crossing London Bridge, Nancy called Cora and Philippe and had a short conversation with them. Her second call was less fruitful. Pole’s mobile ran into voicemail. Nancy settled back in the rear of the vehicle. The traffic was heavy but still flowing, albeit at a reduced speed. She took her yellow pad out of her satchel and jotted down notes about the conversation she just had with Yvonne.

The call with Cora and Philippe had not entirely surprised her. Something had alerted her, she needed to pay more attention to Ollie’s connection with Philippe’s gallery.

Ollie had always been curious about China. He knew about Nancy’s father forming a connection between her and Cora, whose parents had disappeared eight years earlier in a fateful visit to the mainland. But his questions had become more searching.

How independent was Hong Kong now that the British had left?

What was the influence of mainland China and its political elite on business there?”

Had Nancy ever done business in Beijing?

She hadn’t detected the signs of someone’s concern about the country. She had merely assumed his curiosity was motivated by the sympathy he had for Cora’s past. But now she wondered why the place was so much on his mind. Pole needed to be made aware of that too.

Cora had given her the address of the biotech company Ollie