To Chan it felt as though she had been living through some kind of dream sequence, an unscheduled and unexpected series of revelations that she could never have conceived or predicted, even in her most outlandishly imaginative moments.
Isabel wound up her story with a patient smile, took a fresh sip of water. ‘So, you see, sweet girl, my life has been rather eventful. One gets used to it, in time, but you can probably see that we’re really very different animals, you and I – very different indeed.’
Chan, not without difficulty, found her voice. ‘But … you say you were born in Korea – North Korea. I thought … not Malaysia, not like…’ Her world was beginning to crumble piece by piece as Isabel chipped at its edges, sawed away at the hope she had invested, the certainty with which she had gone about her search.
’Poor love.’ Isabel took a deep, admiring breath. ‘You are so pretty, and you do have certain … attributes that I find very appealing, but, sadly, I must be candid. It wouldn’t be fair otherwise, would it? To keep you hanging on, I mean. It would be cruel. I may be a lot of things, but cruel isn’t one of them. And another thing I am surely not is your relation, your estranged auntie. Wouldn’t it be lovely if it were true? But then, how many fairy stories come true, after all?’
‘I saved you,’ Chan said, a last, pointless statement. ‘I saved you from them. From prison, from humiliation.’
‘Did you? And what makes you think I’m such easy prey for your Irishman and his crew?’ Isabel tucked her legs underneath her, made herself more comfortable. A thought struck Chan like a hammer blow.
She’s enjoying this. She’s says she’s not cruel, but…
Chan suspected that the conversation was moving inexorably towards some fixed point, to a conclusion that, should she fail to recognise the signs, might end badly for her. For the first time in her life she felt a wave of raw fear run through her body, from the nape of her neck to the tips of her toes.
‘You’re not Iseul,’ Chan said. ‘I can see that. I was mistaken.’
Isabel’s casual demeanour was undergoing a subtle change; to Chan, she was becoming less like a woman, more like a coiled snake. She could sense the other woman’s hidden power, now humming louder in her ears than the distant rumble of the generator.
‘You’re right, sweetie. I am not Iseul. I am Ixora. Do you know what that means?’
Chan shook her head.
‘The needle flower. Sharp and pretty, as someone once said.’
Chan began to assess her options. A small knife was fastened to her ankle. It was always there, because it was prudent to be prepared. She was wearing a split skirt, so access wasn’t an issue, but she had a feeling that a knife would prove inadequate for whatever was about to happen. Her combat skills were sound, but something told her that direct physical contact with Isabel would be a mistake on her part. She recalled her first impressions. There’s something about her … something twisted…
‘Ixora,’ Chan repeated, more to buy time than anything else. ‘It suits you.’
‘Well, thank you.’
Chan considered making a break for the door, but the snake was tight now, like a spring at full tension. She could read the body language, if nothing else. Best just sit tight. Keep talking.
‘So … what happens now?’
Isabel returned a leisurely smile. ‘It’s a bit of a cliché, my lovely, I know, but I’ve told you everything about myself, haven’t I? I do go on a bit once I get started – it’s one of my failings. I’ve had slapped wrists for it on many occasions.’
Chan’s voice sounded small and childlike. ‘A cliché?’
‘Just so,’ Isabel said. ‘I’ve told you everything. And now, I’m afraid, I’m going to have to kill you.’
‘I won’t tell anyone.’ Chan’s bladder was rebelling. She was going to wet herself.
‘Well, of course you’re going to say that. I’d probably say exactly the same.’ Isabel sighed, looked at her with something akin to affection. ‘Yes, we’re both killers, honey pie. But you … you’re an amateur – a gifted one, I’ll not deny – whereas I … I am a professional, in the truest sense of the word. And so, I’m afraid your game of happy families has brought you to an unscheduled dead end.’
Chan moved her hand slowly down her leg. ‘We don’t have to finish like this, Isabel. I can help you – work with you, even. I have much to offer.’
Isabel laughed. ‘You don’t know what you’re saying, little one.’
Chan had reached the knife handle. Her hand closed around it. At that exact moment, the lights went out.