Chapter 8
LI FAI CLIMBED into the cabin and sat down on the bench opposite Johanna. Anton shut the door behind him, enveloping Johanna in the smell of wet clothing and the faint tag of a foreign perfume.
The coach jolted into motion.
“Thank you,” Li Fai said, pressing his hands together before his chest and bowing.
There was a short silence, thick and awkward.
“Were they bothering you?”
“They were asking things I don’t know.”
“Do you know any of these men? Have you met them before?”
“They have businesses in the harbour, don’t they? One is from the Nieland family?”
Johanna nodded. “What did they want to know? They didn’t hurt you, did they?” It was far too dark in the coach to see if he had any injuries to his face.
“No.” He let a short silence lapse, in which Johanna filled in, N
