The hotel manager was a short and bald man named Edward James. Around my father’s age. He had a habit of pulling out his white handkerchief and wiping his face every two minutes.
Constable Flint asked if we could use his office for a quick discussion. Mr James wasn’t pleased, but he said yes.
“I demand full police protection,” Mr James told Constable Flint. “Get your men to patrol this area. At least until you catch that monster responsible for the explosion. My poor guests are extremely distressed. If they move to another hotel, it would be your fault!”
Inside his office, there was a long couch. Ma and I sat on it while Constable Flint pulled up a wooden chair.
He took out his notebook and a pencil stub from his breast pocket.
“Tell me everything you know,” he said. “We have to find Miss Priya fast.”
Ma nodded. She looked grim.
“Miss Priya is an expert on Asian languages,” Ma said to Constable Flint. “She has given many lectures in Singapore, and also around the world. Recently, a group of scholars in London invited her to be part of an important translation project.”
I guessed that Ma was talking about the assignment I was helping Miss Priya with. Until I got distracted by the circus.
“These people want to translate all the great books of Asia into English,” Ma continued. “They hope to gather the ancient secrets of the East and the West, and share this knowledge freely across the world. They have no official name. But they are sometimes referred to as the Assembly of True Equality.”
Constable Flint scratched his cheek. He looked stumped. He was great at chasing pickpockets and ambushing smugglers. But he didn’t have much interest in translating books, or even reading them.
“Madam Hong, let’s cut to the important bit,” he said, almost impatiently. “You mentioned that Miss Priya had something valuable here. What was it?”
Ma took a deep breath before continuing. “One of the books they want to translate is an ancient sword fighting manual from China, called The Sword of Lady Yue. It was written over two thousand years ago. The Assembly of True Equality asked Master Hong to recommend someone suitable to do the translation. He suggested Miss Priya.”
Constable Flint sat back. I could sense his brain working hard to figure out where all this was headed. I could also sense that he wasn’t making much progress.
“There are only four genuine copies of this book in existence today,” Ma said. “They are locked up in private libraries across China. Heavily guarded day and night. But with Master Hong’s help, the Assembly of True Equality was allowed to borrow a copy from the Hanlin Academy, where my husband’s cousin’s wife’s brother is the Library Master. The book was delivered to Miss Priya last week, so she could start working on it.”
Constable Flint opened his mouth to speak, but Ma quickly continued.
“When I searched the room just now, I discovered that not only has Miss Priya disappeared, but the book is gone too. It was probably what the man in black came for. We must find the book before the Hanlin Academy hears about this. They’ll feel insulted and betrayed. I know them very well. To save their honour, they’ll send an assassin after my husband.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. My father was innocent. He was just being helpful. Why should the Hanlin Academy blame him?
Constable Flint jumped to his feet. As if someone had dropped a bucket of hot coals on his lap.
“We will not tolerate such lawless behaviour in this colony,” he said. He looked even more vexed than before. “I assure you that we’ll protect Master Hong from any such nonsense. But, and I repeat, you mustn’t hide anything from me.”
Ma looked at him in a wary way. “What do you mean?”
“I understand how important the book is,” Constable Flint said, “but is there anyone who might also want Miss Priya out of the way? When they appointed her as the translator for this project, was anyone unhappy?”
That was a good question. I was surprised that Constable Flint could be so sharp.
Ma looked like she was wrestling with a very difficult decision.
“Old Master Foo was furious,” Ma revealed at last. “He said that there are plenty of great books from India, which Miss Priya could translate for the Assembly of True Equality. He insisted that a Chinese scholar should be given the honour of translating The Sword of Lady Yue. He wanted my husband to recommend his grandson, Robert Foo, instead.”
Constable Flint took notes. His pencil flew across the page, leaving lines and lines of jagged scribbles. He didn’t even look up. Now he had a suspect.
“And then?”
“Master Hong discussed it with a few others in our community,” Ma said. “Everyone agreed that Miss Priya was the right person for this job. But Old Master Foo said he would be disappointed if his grandson was not given the opportunity.”