“Isn’t this a bit extravagant?” Marissa asked as they pulled out of the airport.
“This must be one fancy hotel.”
“And why not!” Tristan said.
“Don’t you Yanks have the expression ‘you only go around once’? I’m on holiday and I haven’t been on holiday for years. I intend to try to enjoy myself, even if we are here on serious business.”
Marissa wondered what Robert would say when he saw the charges.
The hotel car quickly got bogged down in rush hour traffic, the likes of which Marissa had never seen. She was shocked when the driver said traffic was better than usual.
Even in the hushed interior of the Rolls-Royce limousine, Marissa was overwhelmed by the clamor and clutter of the city.
As Tristan had implied, it was different enough from the Australian outback to make her think she’d traveled to another planet.
They were snared in a crush of double-decker buses, trams, cars, bicycles, motorbikes, and people, lots of people. By the time they arrived at the hotel, Marissa felt drained, as if she’d had to walk the entire route.
But once the hotel doors closed behind them, the world changed again. The huge lobby with its gilded ceiling was decorated in a restrained yet luxuriant fashion with only a hint of Oriental flavor. The most disturbing sounds were those caused by high heeled shoes clicking against the polished marble floor. The melodious sound of a grand piano added to the elegant atmosphere.
The check-in procedure was accomplished with minimum confusion.
They left their passports with the receptionist. A manager accompanied them up to their connecting rooms on the sixth floor. At Tristan’s insistence, he unlocked the connecting doors.
Tristan said that there’d be no taking chances; he wanted ready access in case of any trouble.
Marissa joined Tristan at the window. They had a sweeping view of Hong Kong Harbor, which was filled with boats of every description and size. Tristan pointed out the green and white air, ferries that were passing each other in their runs to and from Hong Kong Island across the way. There were junks and sampans with’ graceful butterfly sails. Lighters were moored against the freighters anchored in the middle of the channel. Highly varnished launches sped through the choppy waters. Evena huge cruise ship was slowly edging its way into its berth at the ocean terminal.
The luggage quickly followed. Tristan tipped the bellman, who silently bowed and exited, closing the door behind him.
“Well!” Tristan said, rubbing his hands together.
“Here we are in Hong Kong. How do you like it so far?”
“I can see what you meant when you described it,” Marissa said.
“It’s a bit overwhelming.”
“How about a little refreshment before dinner?” Tristan suggested.
Without waiting for an answer, he picked up the phone and called room service. He ordered beer.
“None for me,” Marissa called before Tristan had hung up.
She’d had enough beer in Australia to last her for some time.
“Change that to champagne,” Tristan said into the phone.
“Two glasses.”
Marissa was about to object, but Tristan had already hung up.
“I’m not in much of a festive mood,” she said.
“Come on now, Marissa,” Tristan said, stretching out on the bed. He tossed his hat like a saucer into an easy chair.
“You have to lighten up a touch. You should enjoy yourself as well. There’s no harm in it.”
With Wendy’s horrid death still on her mind, Marissa hardly felt she should be expected to enjoy herself.
“I want to get down to business,” she said.
“How are we going to contact the Wing Sin Triad? What’s our first step?”
There was a soft knock on the door before Tristan could reply.
He leaped from the bed and threw the door wide open. A waiter with white gloves bowed and entered. He was carrying a tray with a champagne cooler and two long-stemmed glasses.
“Now this is service,” Tristan said with admiration.
“That’s the fastest response time I’ve ever seen.” He pointed to the desk.
“Right here, mate, if you would.”
The waiter silently put down the tray, then backed out of the room with a bow.
Tristan had the wire cage off in the blink of an eye, then popped the cork. To his delight it caromed off the ceiling. He filled the glasses and carried them over to Marissa, handing her one.