‘I must protest, Inspector. Your man has stopped us from leaving.’ The speaker was a short, pugnacious man, wearing the latest Western-style suit. He pointed at Strachan. ‘My daughter has been through a horrific experience; we need to get her to the safety of her own home.’
He stood with his legs planted in the middle of the room, facing Strachan. His younger wife sat on a chair near the door, her elegant legs folded beneath her, her finger picking at an errant piece of lipstick clumped at the side of her mouth. The child, the other twin, was folded in the arms of a white-coated amah, who was whispering words of comfort in her ear. Miss Rawson was hovering in the background, wringing her hands and looking anxious.
Danilov ignored the man. ‘Thank you, Strachan.’
‘The Shanghai Municipal Council will hear about this, don’t you worry. A family being detained against their will, it’s an outrage. I own a cotton mill and I have friends on the council. Let me assure you, Inspector—’
‘Please sit down, Mr… ?’
‘It’s Mr Chen Teng Feng, sir,’ said Strachan.
‘Please sit down, Mr Chen.’
The man remained standing.
‘Well, you won’t mind if I take a seat.’ Danilov pulled out a chair and sat down facing the irate man.
Mr Chen looked around, embarrassed for a moment, and then sat next to his wife.
Danilov brought his fingers up to his mouth and gripped his bottom lip. He could do with a cigarette now. A half-smoked dimp lay in his jacket pocket, but he decided not to light it. ‘I have the onerous duty to tell you I believe your daughter has been kidnapped.’
The young girl buried herself deeper into her amah’s arms. The wife stopped picking at her lips for a moment. The man answered quietly. ‘Not true, Inspector.’
Danilov continued. ‘This morning, just before eight o’clock, three men seized your daughter and forced her to leave the school.’
‘You are mistaken, Inspector.’ Mr Chen’s eyes flickered upwards and he licked his lips. ‘I asked those men to come for my daughter. Her life was in danger. She’s been taken somewhere safe.’
Danilov shook his head. ‘I don’t understand, Mr Chen. Are you saying you ordered them to take her?’
‘I did, Inspector.’ The man smiled. ‘Now, if you have finished, we would like to go home.’ He stood up to leave, pulling his wife up at the same time.
‘I’m afraid that’s not possible. You see, those men, if they were your men, struck a teacher in the school, causing her grievous bodily harm. You need to tell me where they are so I can arrest them.’
‘You don’t understand, Inspector. This is a Chinese matter; we will handle it in our own way. Explain it to him, will you?’ He spoke the last sentence to Strachan.
‘I’m sorry, but it’s you who doesn’t understand, Mr Chen. These men have broken the law. They need to be apprehended.’
‘Please explain it to him,’ the man begged Strachan.
The detective sergeant stood there immobile, no expression on his face.
Chen Teng Feng closed his eyes. His shoulders sagged and his body looked like all the bones had been removed from it. He flopped back down onto the chair. His wife, saying nothing, sat down next to him, smoothing her dress over her knees.
‘What is the name of the child?’ asked the inspector.
The man mumbled something in response.
‘What was that?’
‘Her name is Annie.’ The other twin spoke.
Danilov smiled at her. ‘What’s your name?’
‘My name is Annabelle. Nobody can tell us apart, but we know. We always know.’
‘What happened this morning, Annabelle?’
‘Don’t say anything,’ her father ordered.
The girl ignored him. ‘A man took Annie away. She didn’t want to go but he took her anyway. He said her name before he grabbed her.’
‘He said her name?’
‘BE QUIET!’ her father shouted. He turned back to Danilov. ‘We will sort this out in the Chinese way, Inspector. No police involved. Do you understand?’
‘A crime has been committed… ’
‘Please, Inspector, we will do it ourselves.’
‘I understand perfectly, Mr Chen, but I think this is not a normal kidnapping. Your daughter is in great danger.’