Death is Forever

What did the Australian cops think of that?”
    “Nothing. Mr. Street caught the people in the act of burglary, they attacked him, and he killed them. Regrettable, but they were only slants after all.”
    Cole heard and understood the undercurrent of rage in Wing’s voice. Many Australians, especially in the outback, had little use for nonwhites. Chinese, in particular.
    “What did the autopsy say about Abe?” Cole asked.
    “If there was an autopsy, the results weren’t included in the report. There was simply a statement that death came as the result of heat prostration. It was quite some time before the body was discovered. Considering the climate, I doubt there was a great deal left to work with.”
    “I don’t like Street’s name turning up so often.”
    “Noted, but not really meaningful. There are so few people in the Kimberley it is unavoidable that the same names would crop up repeatedly, particularly in that Mr. Street was as close to a friend as Mr. Windsor had. Mr. Street even negotiated the Sleeping Dog contract with DSD. Undoubtedly he will be the man designated by the Australian government to appraise the state of the various Windsor leases.”
    “Keep Street out of here,” Cole said flatly.
    “We’re trying. Unfortunately, while certain members of ASIO are being reasonably cooperative with us, the Australian government itself shows every indication of being lobbied by various powerful members of the cartel.”
    “Are you certain Street doesn’t belong to ConMin?”
    “We have found no convincing proof he is ConMin’s, and we are looking very diligently. I think Street’s attraction for the various members of the cartel stems from the fact that he isn’t our man.”
    “Any potential competitor of ours is a potential friend of theirs?”
    “Precisely.”
    “I assume you’re taping this,” Cole said.
    “As always.”
    “That will save faxing you the list of camera equipment Erin decoyed to London.”
    “Everything is already at the station. We removed it at the New York stopover and rerouted it via a private courier. It arrived while you slept.” Wing chuckled softly. “ASIO was most surprised when they took apart the crates in the Darwin customs office. It seems they had erroneously concluded that Ms. Windsor was not really interested in photographing their lovely country.”
    Cole grunted.
    “Apparently they expected to find esoteric mining supplies,” Wing continued, savoring the bit of deception. “Instead they found only ordinary cameras, lenses, and film. Imagine their disappointment—”
    “How did you explain all the electronic gear you installed here?” Cole cut in.
    “It hasn’t been installed anywhere. BlackWing’s office in Darwin will be undergoing an expansion soon. We simply ordered and warehoused everything in advance to make sure all was at hand when we needed it.”
    Cole smiled at the satisfaction oozing from every syllable of Wing’s speech. Then amusement faded from Cole’s expression. “Just one more thing.”
    “Yes?” Wing said warily, hearing the change in the other man’s tone.
    “Lai is on the first transport out of here.”
    “That would make Uncle Li most unhappy.”
    “Tough shit.”
    “Lai is experienced in specialized communications and in computer programming with application to mineral surveys. She will be invaluable.”
    “Not to me.”
    “You sound like a man with an emotional investment in the subject. Perhaps even like a man still in love?”
    Dispassionately Cole decided it was just as well Wing was on the other end of a very long communications link. Cole would probably regret delivering Wing in pieces to his too-clever Uncle Li.
    “Having Lai rub up against me every time I turn around won’t start the kind of fire Uncle Li has in mind,” Cole said flatly. “The Chen family isn’t going to get their hands on any more than half of my half of the mine. Tell Li I’m disappointed in his estimate of my intelligence.”
    “There is no need to irritate him. He had nothing more in mind when he sent Lai than for her to provide you with the best liaison the Chen family has to offer.”
    Cole laughed coldly. When he breathed in, a haunting fragrance bathed his senses, calling up buried memories of hot nights and a golden woman crying love as she climaxed beneath him.
    Rooting and hooting about love./Mistresses of lies,/ Damn their hot cries.
    “Liaison, huh?” Cole repeated. “Is that what you call prostitution in