detective story - part 4

Part 4 - Madame Bovarine

“Cuckoo, cuckoo....” the alarm of my handphone rang. I reached over, and wanted to press the snooze button, but decided against it. Today's a long day for me, and i don't want to be late with the breakfast appointment. Especially with Madame Bovarine, the socialite tai-tai.

I reached the Sri Petaling dim sum shop at 8am. Its easy to spot her actually. A fat lady sitting on a big table, pile up with all sorts of dim sum you can imagine – Shark's fin, abalone, bird's nest, crabmeat, prawn ball, crusty egg tart, fried yam(wu kok) , pan fried carrot cake(lor bak gou), steamed pork bun(char siew pau), chicken's sweet rice(lor mai kai), and a host of mouth-watering tibits i cant name.

With a wave towards her, i waited for her to gesture to me before sitting down. The huge man in black standing behind her looks menacing in his dark glasses. Why must body guards always have a typical look? That's when i noticed a sleek man, with nicely creamed hair, in white, sitting nearby. Ah, so the urban legend that rich and famous usually have a pair of bodyguards is true afterall. Black white two kill (Hei1 Bai2 shuang1 sa4). The way he looked at me seems as if i'm stripped naked by his eyes. Aargh, disgusting and unnerving.

“Oomph...you mast be mister sickee....” the fat lady mumbled with her mouthful of food.
“Kam, hef sam ting to eet...” she said, while licking at her oily fingers, studded with ornamental rings. I feel like facing a big vase, and quickly brought my attention back to the present.
“Ah, good morning, and thank you, Madam.”
“Ah Kau, ask them to ta pau(take away) this, this and this for George.” the tai tai ordered her bodyguard.
“Taking back for your husband? How lovely” i squeezed out a weak smile.
“NO lar ! Its for my loyal dog....”she scowled.
“Oh..sorry, Madam...”
“Listen to me, i know why you are here today, so i'm not going to let you waste my time...”she began.
“I didnt steal the ruby, and i dont have to, i have tons of them.....”
I nodded my head. Detective handbook rule #1 : Listening gains more information than talking.
“You know ar? I went for the party becos i give face to Flauntine..she think she what ar? If not becos her cook can serve great sweet and sour fish, i also no time to “layan” her...”
Still nodding, i began taking notes mentally.
“Plus, i also share a company with Flauntine...”
“You mean you are both partners”
“Aberthen(meaning : what do you think?) ? You think i pray pray ar....”
“No, madam, please continue...”waving my hands, i motioned for her to proceed.
“Flauntine that bitch ar....”and the information extracting process continued for the next few hours...

“Thank you, madam.” I bowed slightly, as the Mercedes Compressor pulled away, leaving me to take in the smokes.

Next stop, lunch at Mademoiselle Marine's place, at Sheung Wan.

To be continued...