The Disciple of Las Vegas by Ian Hamilton Page B

Developments. The company had been incorporated in British Columbia just before Jim Cousins arrived in Kelowna. He was listed as president. The work had been done by the law firm of McDougal, Fraser, and Ling. The registered owner was a B.C. numbered company and the shares in the numbered company were held in trust by Edward Ling. The law firm’s offices were in the Pacific Tower in downtown Vancouver. Edward Ling was listed as a senior and founding partner.
    Ava put her notebook away and reclined her seat. She needed to take a break. She searched for a movie to watch and found Wong Kar Wai’s classic In the Mood for Love . It was a slow and introspective story about unrequited love, starring two of Hong Kong’s most famous actors, Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung. Ava wasn’t accustomed to seeing Leung in anything but action movies, but he held her interest, although not as much as Cheung, who, long and languid and dressed in the most exquisite cheongsams, stole every scene she was in.
    Ava fell asleep as Leung and Cheung misconnected for the last time. When she woke, the plane was less than an hour outside San Francisco, where, she hoped, she would find her next target.

( 9 )
    She had been to San Francisco twice before, once on a job and the second time with a lover who wanted her to see the gay scene’s Mecca. Unfortunately Mecca was too out there for Ava, and the trip went badly. She flew home early, and alone.
    It was a grey, dismal day, promising rain. Driving a silver Audi A6 she had rented at the airport, Ava exited the highway and started to work her way through Japantown and the Fillmore area to Lower Pacific Heights. She was impressed by how attractive the city looked, even in such gloomy weather. The twisting, climbing streets were lined with trees; colourful, quirky storefronts; and rows of red-brick Victorian-style houses.
    She turned onto Post Street, which was mostly apartment buildings, and parked the car at the end of the road. She looked at herself in the rear-view mirror and realized she was a bit dishevelled from the flight. She brushed her hair back and fixed it with the ivory chignon pin, retouched her makeup, and smoothed out the front of her shirt, tucking it into her slacks. Presentable, professional , she thought.
    The doorman smiled at her when she was still twenty paces away. He was positively beaming by the time she reached the entrance. “Hello, my name is Ava Lee. I called yesterday about viewing one of the apartments. Could you ask the rental office if they have time to show me a unit?”
    He called inside on his walkie-talkie. Ava heard a woman’s voice answer that she was in a meeting and hoped Ms. Lee wouldn’t mind waiting. The doorman looked at Ava, his eyebrows raised.
    â€œI have a colleague staying here — Jim Cousins. I could visit with him for a while. Could you ask if that’s okay?” she said.
    â€œCertainly,” the woman said. “Mr. Cousins is in apartment 306. Tell Ms. Lee to come by my office on the ground floor when she’s ready.”
    This is too easy , Ava thought as she walked through the door and into the building.
    She felt a touch of nerves as she approached apartment 306. This was the time when expectations gave way to reality. If he was home she hoped he would be reasonable, if not accommodating. But she was prepared for just about anything. Over the years she had experienced everything — shouting, cursing, crying, threats, even physical attacks.
    She knocked on the door and waited. Nothing. She knocked again and counted to twenty. She was about to turn and leave when the door opened. Jim Cousins stood in front of her, his hair tousled and pillow creases stamped on his cheek. He was taller than she had expected, definitely over six feet, and more handsome. He wore jeans and a white T-shirt that failed to hide his strong, lean physique. “Can I help you?” he said, not unkindly.
    â€œMr. Cousins, my