The Fund. Jeff Edwards

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СКАЧАТЬ notice our friend did not offer an apology,’ said Fred.

      ‘No he didn’t, did he,’ replied Brian. ‘I think admitting he did the wrong thing is something totally alien to someone like Mr H Leong Soh,’ he said, reading from the business card.

      ‘Definitely not the type of person that would know the meaning of the word “humble”,’ agreed Toby.

      ‘Still, I admire his taste in women,’ offered Fred as he continued to watch the Asian couple who had now taken seats on the opposite side of the room.

      They had entered the salon soon after the three friends and when Soh had seen where they sat he had then taken his wife’s arm roughly and steered her to seats as far from them as possible.

      Fred felt a wave of anger when he noticed the grimace of pain on the woman’s face as Soh forced her to precede him.

      Chapter 11

      As the ferry headed out to sea Toby took a newspaper from his attaché case and immersed himself in the sports section while Brian took his phone out and rang Lana. He let her know about the accident and requested that she contact the Jaguar dealership to arrange for the car to be repaired on his return.

      Fred continued to seethe inwardly while silently watching the couple on the opposite side of the room.

      Soh, like Brian, was soon on his mobile phone and became oblivious to the woman by his side.

      Mrs Soh placed her Louis Vuitton purse before her and rummaged through it before extracting a compact and closely inspected her make-up. Not satisfied with the image in her mirror she applied more foundation to repair an almost invisible imperfection.

      Toby glanced up from his paper. ‘Put your tongue back in, Fred. She’s married.’

      ‘It doesn’t cost anything to look. I wonder what else she’s got in that purse of hers?’

      ‘Definitely not War and Peace,’ said Brian. ‘I doubt if she’s read a book in her entire life.’

      ‘You’re being a little bit hard on her aren’t you?’ asked Fred. ‘She could be a very intelligent person.’

      ‘Married to someone like that?’ said Brian. ‘I doubt it. Our friend over there wouldn’t want anyone around that could possibly out-think him.’

      Soh continued to talk on the phone, ignoring his wife.

      Mrs Soh seemed to have finished the repair to her make-up and now was looking around at the other passengers and the expanse of sea beyond with a totally bored expression. Finding nothing to interest her, Mrs Soh said a few words to her husband, who was completely distracted by his phone conversation, and slowly made her way toward the duty free store.

      Fred said to his companions, ‘She’s off to buy a novel.’

      ‘Bullshit,’ said Toby under his breath.

      ‘I heard that. I’ll bet she is.’

      Toby smiled. ‘A fiver says she buys nothing more intellectual than a lipstick.’

      Fred was quickly on his feet. ‘You’re on!’

      Brian and Toby watched him make his way after the stunning Mrs Soh.

      ‘It’ll be worth a fiver to get him out of our hair for a while. He’s smitten by the woman,’ said Toby as he reached for his phone. ‘While we wait to find out the result of our bet I’ll ring Suzie and see if she wants anything from the duty free.’

      The store had an open front and Fred had no trouble spotting Mrs Soh, but he was a little disappointed to find that she was rummaging through the racks of souvenir t-shirts.

      As he approached he noticed that the shirts were in child sizes. ‘You’re either buying that for someone else or you’re thinking of going on a very drastic diet.’

      Mrs Soh looked up and laughed at his silly joke. ‘You’re very funny.

      Of course I’m buying it for someone else. It’s for my daughter Sunny.’

      ‘You’re much too young to be a mother.’

      ‘My Sunny is one. I miss her a lot. I wish I was home with her right now.’

      ‘You must have been just out of high school when you had her.’

      ‘Almost,’ she laughed.

      She selected a tiny shirt and then moved on to the display cabinet showing Australian opal necklaces and other pieces of jewellery. Fred realised that she was a woman that loved to be complimented and followed after her.

      ‘Oh! They’re beautiful!’ she exclaimed as her eyes fell on a pair of large white opals made into earrings.

      ‘Almost as pretty as you.’

      Mrs Soh blushed and smiled at the same time. ‘They’re my birth stone. I’m named Opal too.’

      ‘Ah! So you’re Mrs Opal Soh. In that case I should introduce myself as well. My name is Fred Marks and I am an accountant,’ he said, holding out his hand.

      ‘What are you doing?!’ came an angry voice.

      Opal Soh’s mouth formed a frightened ‘O’ as her husband strode to her side. She cringed visibly as he took her by the upper arm.

      ‘I was simply making conversation with your wife. She was telling me all about your daughter.’

      Soh ignored Fred completely. ‘Go back to your seat,’ he ordered.

      Opal Soh returned the t-shirt to the rack and head hung low, returned to her seat.

      Soh watched her go and then fixed Fred with a steely glare but said nothing. He turned to follow his wife and was soon engrossed in yet another call while his wife stared silently out to the horizon.

      Fred returned to his seat while trying not to glance in the couple’s direction.

      ‘That went well,’ said Fred dejectedly.

      Toby looked up from his paper. ‘Well? Was it War and Peace, or Revlon?’

      ‘Neither. It was going to be a shirt for her daughter Sunny. That is until her husband came along.’

      ‘Crashed your party did he?’

      ‘He’s a very warm chap. Not!’

      ‘Well, you will mess around with married women. What did you expect?’ said Brian.

      ‘Her name is Opal by the way,’ offered Fred. ‘Named after the gemstone.’

      ‘Not unlike the rocks inside your head,’ said Toby as he settled down to work on the paper’s crossword puzzle.

      ‘Shut up and give me the finance section,’ said Fred. He needed something to distract him from looking at the couple across СКАЧАТЬ