The Gensui's Treasure. B J Le Chêne
froze. What on earth was going on? Who was this Aziz who had his mobile phone number? And how did he know Yoshiro was there in the first place? He had a sudden longing for his father’s calm voice, and whatever it was that Akiro should have told him, but either hadn’t wanted, or had not had the courage to. He hoped it wasn’t the latter. He did what he had been asked to do, then went to his room, lay down on the bed, and waited until Ah Keat came to say that Mac was awake again.
Mac, sitting up in bed looked like a very old fuzzy owl. His curling, grey, unbrushed hair stood on end and with his wire-rimmed spectacles perched upon his long straight nose he resembled a mad wizard from Yoshiro’s most beloved children’s book. Yoshiro had a sudden urge to hug him. The deep blue eyes peering at him were however keen and very much alive with intelligence and Yoshiro readjusted his feelings to say, ‘Are you feeling better, Mac sama?’
‘I am not in pain just now, Yoshiro, I thank ye. I want to wait for Raja Aziz to arrive before explaining anything, so I have asked Boise to force himself to be patient and good-mannered and to play cards with us while we wait. You do play cards, I hope? It’s the last thing I have left to enjoy, d’ye see?’
Raja Aziz arrived at five pm. His driver, Alex, carried his bag into the house and he was taken to a room upstairs next door to Yoshiro. After he settled, he went with Ah Keat directly to Mac’s room where Yoshiro was playing gin rummy with the old man and Boise who was obviously winning.
‘Cheating again, Boise?’ Aziz asked, and leaned over to take Mac’s hand, asking, ‘How is it?’
Mac smiled at him saying, ‘Bleedy, but better for seeing you. Kairul, is he alright?’ His face was bleak.
‘Yes, Mac, luckily, it was a slipshod attack. No way to tell who. I was not expecting it. Those papers. They were nothing to do with our business, were they?’
‘No. It was about something else. My will, in fact. You have it safe? I can’t understand why they would target Kairul. He always takes my papers and banking to KL. He’s a bright lad. He must have spotted them to make him call you in such a way. I didna tell him what the papers were, there wasna any need. But he knew we were expecting trouble of some sort. Poor wee laddie.’
‘I am so sorry, Mac. His family are devastated. I will see them later.’ He made a quick grab at Boise’s hand and two cards fell out. ‘Gotcha!’ he cried.
‘This man cheats at everything he does,’ Mac said. ‘Never ever play with him for money. He will take you for every penny you have.’
‘Gotta practise,’ Boise said grinning. ‘Do you really think I would skin you?’
‘No son. I know you wouldna, for real.’ Mac patted his hand, his face soft and, Aziz thought, melted with love. He shuddered thinking of his own two and what children did to those who loved them.
Boise looked at Mac with a soft light in his eyes, though he smiled. He stood up and said. ‘Right then. I will leave you to it. Call, if you need me.’ He closed the door as he left.
‘Tell me, how much do you know about this business?’ Raja Aziz asked Yoshiro when the door closed.
Yoshiro leaned back in his chair and looked at the man in front of him, He was surprisingly tall, a little over a hundred and eighty centimetres. Lean aquiline features, clean crisp eyebrows and a wide mobile mouth. His eyes were his best feature, being deep brown, large and, surprisingly beautiful. They missed nothing and as Yoshiro’s eyes met them, he was suddenly aware of a sharp intelligence.
Aziz waited, knowing the Japanese man was assessing him. He would have done the same had the positions been different. Finally, Yoshiro spoke. ‘Very little I’m afraid. You are also involved, it seems. I know that the Yamaguchi-gumi were strongly represented in the army before the second world war, and that some of the high command looted – and a blind eye was turned by everyone from the government to the senior members of the forces. There are wastrels in any group and they were no exception to this rule. Four men, my father tells me, acted for and by themselves secretly outside of the Yakuza. Two of them eventually became extremely powerful men in Japan. They are dead now, but their sons, are not.’
‘Was your father a member?’ Aziz asked.
‘I don’t know,’ Yoshiro answered. ‘Mac may know, if he will tell us.’ He looked across at the old Scot leaning heavily against his pillows. ‘Will you tell us?’ he asked. ‘From the beginning. From when you met my father? He said it was in 1941. He said you helped him.’ He felt his heart squeeze. He did not know what these men thought of his father.
Ah Keat adjusted the pillows. Mac moved his head and smiled up at him. ‘It’s almost done. I have waited a long time now. I’ve tried hard to put the past behind me. But it keeps coming back in one way or another, do as I may. I am not going to be around for much longer. I’m tired of waiting, ye ken?’ he said to Aziz.
‘You must wait, or I will be very angry. You’d better eat some food and drink less whisky.’ Ah Keat thumped the pillow. ‘You need to eat!’
‘Okay. A fish paste sandwich from the little bottles.’
Ah Keat’s nose wrinkled, but he went to the door and bellowed in Chinese to someone in the kitchen. He did not leave the room. Returning to the bedside he said, ‘Okay. You can start to talk now.’
Mac laughed at him and nodded to Yoshiro. ‘It’s a story – they are all stories ye ken? You need to understand if you can. I dinna ken where to start? He looked at Aziz who smiled.
‘Mac, why don’t you tell us all of it - from the beginning? We have a few hours to get through before anything starts here and we, none of us, knows how it was for men like you and John Miller. Call Boise and Kim Seng and - no, don’t be alarmed,’ Aziz said quickly as Mac began to sit up. ‘Boise should hear your story. I for one, want to know how it all happened and why you are here now. I’m sure Boise, Ah Keat and Kim Seng want to know too. They are as near to sons as you have. Why not share this part of your life with them?’
Mac turned to Ah Keat and asked, ‘What do ye think lad? Do ye want to listen to an old man’s rambling?’
Ah Keat looked at Mac and said grimly. ‘You say you are going to die soon. Of course, we want to know about you so we can tell your grandchildren. You got four of them remember?’
Mac took Ah Keat’s hand. ‘I remember. Of course, I do. Bonny babes as they are. Aye, Elsie loved them and so do I. But dinna frighten them. It’s no a pretty yarn to tell when they are abed. Wait awhile until they are grown and can understand, aye?’
Boise came, bringing Kim Seng who carried a tray of drinks and sandwiches. Kim Seng introduced himself to Yoshiro and said, ‘Party time is it?’ Mac beamed at them. ‘Settle ye selves then, and Kim Seng, dinna interrupt like ye usually do, alright?’
‘Who me?’ Kim Seng grinned at Mac.
‘Yes, you. Ye never could keep from asking questions at bed-time. So, behave, do ye hear?’
Suddenly serious, Kim Seng said, ‘Mac, if you get tired, you stop. Okay?’
Ah Keat gave Mac a glass of orange juice with a shot of whisky in it. Mac sipped and sighed in approval. ‘Good lad. Aye ye’re a good laddie.’ He patted Ah Keat’s hand, moved his back a little and settling into the pillows he started. ‘Yoshiro, your father began it, by being kind to me. So, here we go …….’
Captured
‘In November 1940 after two and a half years at university, I came to Kuala Lipis to stay with my father. My father was an army liaison officer to the district officer for Pahang. I had a sister who was married and living in Glasgow, but I wanted to see this new place. My father had been posted to Malaya and I joined him for a holiday. Mother had gone home to Scotland because of the threat of war. Dad had been in Shanghai and Hong Kong before that, and as kids, we had learned to speak Mandarin. I thought Malaya sounded exotic. I’d studied geology and minerology and I was curious