China Wind
An intriguing new mystery by Anne Infante Between February 18^th and May 6th 2009, popular Brisbane author Anne Infante blogged her first ever online novel. A new chapter appeared on this website each weekday and all the chapters, as well as other readers’ comments and a message from the author are now available below. Read Chapters: Prologue|1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|18|19|20|21|22|23|24|25|26|27| 28|29|30|31|32|33|34|35|36|37|38|39|40|41|42|43|44|45|46|47|48|49|50|51|52|53|54| 55|56|57|58|Author’s Message| Readers’ Comments If you are enjoying China Wind you can support this novel by posting your feedback at the China Wind page at Web Fiction Guide: http://webfictionguide.com/listings/china-wind/. Anne would also appreciate receiving your comments: anne.infante@bigpond.com for inclusion in a readers’ feedback page.
China Wind: Conspiracy and revenge in the high-rise glass towers of big business ... Langford-Price: a leading Asian company; headquarters, Hong Kong. Six months before the transition to Chinese rule, in the still British colony, a disquieting increase in illegal guns in the hands of street gangs. A cache of weapons discovered in a skip on a Langford-Price building site. The site-foreman’s body, an ornamental dagger through the heart, dumped in the same skip.  A junior partner murdered in a warehouse. Rumours of falsified manifests. A secretary brutally attacked. Is someone high-up in the company, perhaps even Langford-Price MD, David Langford, involved in an attempt to arm the citizens for an open revolt against the Beijing Government in the fast approaching transition to Chinese rule? Or is the motive for gun-running and murder far less altruistic?
with a dash of corruption, secret criminal societies, a beautiful, promiscuous woman ... Wanda, promiscuous wife of company director Pat Langford, mysteriously disappears. Feisty Brisbane private investigator, Carol Monk, is hired to go to Hong Kong and find her. Carol immediately attracts some unwelcome attention and finds herself in the middle of a dangerous situation. BJ, the inspector on the case, doesn’t want Carol around. Is he conspiring to have David, his boyhood friend, convicted for Triad involvement and drug dealing? And what is the dark secret known only to David, BJ and police commander Peter King, a score King is determined to settle for once and for all? and a twist of romance. Against a background of political instability, Triad operations and personal fears for the future, the colony begins to celebrate Christmas. Carol is getting under BJ’s feet - but he’s the first to come to her rescue when her life is threatened and their mutual attraction leads them headlong into romance. Then Pat, David Langford’s own son and successor, disappears. His car is found abandoned with Wanda’s bloodstained scarf hidden under the seat ...
The settings: Brisbane: Modern, sub-tropical city. Tall palms fringe the hot blue sky, blue-mauve jacaranda flowers fill the city with colour; the white sands of Kodak Beach sit incongruously cheek-by-jowl with the bustling CBD; inner city suburbs still retain their unique architecture of high-stumped, tin-roofed timber houses and turn-of-the-century workers cottages; at night the city high-rises make a glittering backdrop to the luxury riverside apartment blocks and brightly-lit pleasure craft cruise the wide brown reaches of the winding Brisbane River, their jazz music drifting across the water; the air is warm, soft, humid. Sydney: Beautiful, bustling Sydney Harbour with its internationally recognised opera house and ‘coat-hanger’, the Harbour Bridge; the elegant harbour side homes of the city’s elite with enviable views across sparkling blue bays to the city skyline; the industrial suburbs around the docks where shady deals may be taking place behind warehouses’ steel roller-doors. Hong Kong: Six months before the transition to Chinese rule. The breathtaking approach to Kai Tak airport between high-rise apartment blocks; Kowloon’s crowded streets and markets; the constant building projects rising behind bamboo scaffolding; the Wanchai red-light district of bars, prostitutes, gambling dens and Triad operations; Hong Kong Harbour, crowded with ferries, great  ocean-going junks and pleasure craft; at night the glittering, multi-coloured neon and dazzling harbour side Christmas decorations reflected in the dark water; the glass towers of Hong Kong’s corporate empires; the mountain eyries of the rich and famous on Victoria Peak overlooking one of the most beautiful and expensive views in the world.
The Author: Anne Infante lives in Brisbane, Queensland. She has had five crime novels, set in Brisbane and the north coast of Queensland, published by Collins Crime Club, UK and her first mainstream novel, Escape from the Past, set on Queensland’s notorious colonial prison island, St Helena, was published in Australia by Saga Publishing. A former member of CrimeWriters Queensland, Anne has short stories published in their first three successful self-published anthologies of short crime stories. Anne is also a singer/songwriter, has performed on national TV and radio and at folk festivals in Australia and New Zealand and has recorded several CDs of her own songs. For a complete list of Anne’s published books and short stories go to Anne’s Books.
The Characters:
Carol Monk   In Hong Kong against her better judgement to investigate Wanda Langford’s disappearance.
Babs Cooper Has fallen under Wanda’s considerable charm and turns to Carol for help when Wanda can’t be found.
Inspector Philip Bannerjee Hong Kong special task force inspector rumoured to be in love with David Langford’s wife. It’s said that BJ wouldn’t mind if David was arrested for gun-running and murder.
David Langford Langford-Price managing director. He has considerable charm and an eye for the ladies. But is he Wanda’s secret lover?
Commander Peter King Known behind his back as ‘the King’ -not a compliment. His hatred of David and BJ goes back a long way. Now he finally has his chance to destroy David, make him lose face for good.
Jean Langford David’s wife has a very explosive skeleton in her closet which could bring down Commander King.
Wanda Lee Langford Pat Langford’s Chinese wife - exquisite, exotic and fascinating. In reality a shallow, selfish, rapacious woman, who will do anything, and sleep with anyone, to achieve her ambitions.
Pat Langford Wanda’s long-suffering husband and possibly the only one who knows how to handle her. Is he really the tyrannical, dangerous man Wanda paints him?
Jonathan Price Wanda’s new lover and MD Langford-Price Australia. Is there more to Jon than meets the eye?
Guy Langford Pat Langford’s cousin has a spy network all over Hong Kong to keep him ahead of the game. Wanda was once his mistress; now she loathes him - or so she says.
Gloria Langford Guy’s sister was engaged to Pat before he threw her over for Wanda. Now she’s determined to get him back.
Alice Lee Wanda’s mother - a tough lady with a formidable reputation and an eye to the main chance.
Sergeant Bob Lee BJ’s right-hand man - and Wanda’s cousin. Which puts him dangerously close to a very devious set of people.
Sergeant Jimmy Wong One of BJ’s team. He soon discovers his life is in danger. Why is he being targeted?
Sylvia Wong Jimmy’s wife - under Alice Lee’s wing. There’s nothing maternal about Wanda’s mum. Alice has her own reasons for befriending a woman whose husband is privy to the secrets of BJ’s special investigation.
Wing Chang Triad boss, owner of the Heavenly Joy Club - urbane and poised, Wing is fully in control of his world of gambling, prostitution and Triad activities - until BJ marks him down for special attention.
Sung Yen-Lo Hong Kong business tycoon Sung seems blessed with amazing good fortune. He’s most respectable ... or is he merely clever enough not to get caught at his shady dealings?
Silver Moon Silver Moon - beautiful prostitute at the Heavenly Joy club and police informer, which ensures that her lovely body, the face slashed as a warning to others, will soon turn up in Hong Kong Harbour.
Constable Tommy Chen An eager go-getter with his eye on promotion. Working under-cover at the Langford-Price construction site.
WPC Connie Wu Looks great in uniform and arouses Tommy Chen’s desire – but she’s out to get herself noticed by the high-ups and is happy to go under-cover for BJ - and stretch the rules for Carol.
Foreman Lo Chin Foreman at the Langford-Price construction site, Lo is found knifed through the heart and dumped in a skip. But not before he sends David a warning letter – which David denies receiving.
Jenny Wong Sergeant Wong’s sister Jenny works at Langford-Price head office. Her sharp eyes have noticed an anomaly in Pat’s faxes which puts her under sentence of death from someone who can’t afford to let her talk.
Captain Ho Skipper of the red-sailed ocean-going junk China Wind. Ho isn’t averse to carrying cargoes for the Ho family along with cargoes for Langford-Price – after all, who’s to know? But are Ho’s shipments really just jade? Copyright © Anne Infante 2009 Anne Infante asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of the work. Duplication of any part of this manuscript is prohibited except with the prior permission of the author.

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