Finally, after two hours, the inspector gave up, but he concluded by saying that he might want to question Tristan further and that Tristan should stay in Hong Kong until further notice.
Immediately upon his release Tristan went to the house phone and called Marissa.
“I’m free at last,” he said.
“Let’s celebrate by going out and replacing our watches!”
They went back to the same jewelry store where they’d gotten the first replacements. The second time around, Tristan insisted on an even better deal than before. After a brief protest, the clerk obliged.
Returning to their rooms, they locked themselves in. They decided to stay in for the remainder of the day. Not having eaten since breakfast, the first thing they did was order food.
While they waited for room service they sat by the window in front of the spectacular view.
“Hong Kong’s beauty reminds me of the Great Barrier Reef,” Marissa said, gazing out the window.
“Its splendor masks its violent eat-or-be-eaten core.”
Tristan nodded.
“As the man in the white suit said, everything is for sale. Everything!”
“Do you think he’ll still show?” Marissa asked.
“I wonder if the Wing Sin will learn of your two hours with the police?”
“I don’t know,” Tristan said.
“But you can bet that episode in the lobby will make the newspapers. So he’ll read about it and at least we’ll have an excuse.”
Marissa sighed.
“What an experience Hong Kong has been. I know you warned me, but I could never have imagined what we’ve had to go through. I’m a nervous wreck. I’m afraid to leave the hotel, Hock, I’m afraid to go down to the lobby. Just getting these new watches was an ordeal. I kept expecting something dreadful to happen.”
“I know how you feel,” Tristan said.
“Remember, we can always just leave. We don’t have to see this through.”
“I suppose we could,” Marissa said halfheartedly.
For a few minutes Marissa and Tristan watched the harbor in silence.
“I think I want to keep going,” Marissa said at last. She straightened up in her seat.
“As much as all this terrifies me, I can’t give up, not now. I’d never be able to live with myself. I can’t help but feel we’re close to figuring it all out. Besides, every time I close my eyes, I see Wendy.”
“And I see my wife,” Tristan said.
“I know I’m not supposed to say this, but being with you reminds me of her. Please don’t take offense; I’m not making conscious comparisons. It’s not that you look like her or even act like her. It’s something else, something about the way you make me feel.” Tristan surprised himself
It wasn’t like him to be so up front about how he was feeling.
Marissa gazed into Tristan’s blue eyes. She could only imagine the anguish the man must have suffered when his wife died.
“I won’t take offense,” she said.
“In fact, I’ll take it as a compliment.”
“It was meant as one,” Tristan said. Then he smiled self%41 consciously and looked away toward the door.
“Where the devil is that food? I’m famished.”
During their meal, they remembered Freddie, the limo driver.
They wondered what had happened to him. They hoped he was all right. They couldn’t believe that he was comp licit in their kidnapping, but then again, in Hong Kong everything had its price.
“Talking about Freddie reminds me,” Tristan said.
“If we’re going to persist in this, I think we should hire another car and get a driver who could double as a bodyguard.”
“And who speaks Cantonese,” Marissa added.
“There’ve alreaay been several times when that would have been helpful.”
“Maybe if we’re lucky he’ll let us ride in the trunk,” Tristan teased.
Marissa smiled. How Tristan could keep his sense of humor through all this was beyond her.
After they finished their meal, they pushed the table aside and returned to the chairs by the window. Marissa sipped the remains of her wine while Tristan enjoyed another can of Foster’s Lager the hotel had managed to find for him.
Marissa’s thoughts had drifted back to the incident in the lobby.
“If that Chinese man downstairs was the same one who threw the chum in the water back in Australia, then he must be in the employ of Female Care Australia.”