Mr Wong Goes West by Nury Vittachi Read Free Book Online Page B

It’s massive. Remember, Britain is one of the richest countries in the world—it’s up there in the top ten with America and Switzerland and all those places. And the Queen is one of the richest people in Britain. That makes her one of the richest people on this planet.’
    ‘Oh. She has much property?’ asked Wong.
    Sinha gave a scornful bark. ‘Much?
Much?
“Much” is not the word. Let me tell you about the Queen’s property portfolio,’ he said, counting on his fingers. ‘She owns England. And Scotland. And Wales. And Northern Ireland.’
    The feng shui master was astonished. ‘All those?’
    Sinha leaned forwards. ‘Yes.
And
Australia.
And
New Zealand.
And
Canada.’
    ‘She owns Australia? And Canada?’
    ‘She does.’
    ‘I think Gibraltar too,’ Joyce put in. ‘That’s in Spain. And the Falkland Islands, which are part of Argentina really, but…’
    ‘Quite,’ said Sinha. ‘And she used to own Hong Kong. And India. And Sri Lanka. And what is now Bangladesh.’
    Wong was stunned. ‘What did she do with them? She sold them?’
    ‘Yep. Pocketed the cash. Money in the bank.’ Sinha leaned back in his chair. ‘Now
that
is a serious property player.’
    Wong’s brain was now ticking away at high speed. He had thought he knew all the names of the big players in property: from Li Ka-shing in Hong Kong to Donald Trump in America. But he had never realised that the Queen was in the game. Respect dawned in his eyes.
    Sinha, having satiated one appetite, was now happy to lean back and indulge a second great love: the sound of his voice. ‘Of course the British Empire has shrunk from its glory days, but at one time it spread across one-third of the world’s landmasses. One-third! And the Queen of England was ruler over all of it. As I say, her empire is not as large as it was, but she still holds sway over a large swathe of the civilised and uncivilised world.’
    The geomancer was impressed. It was indeed an impressive property portfolio. He had a vision of himself and the Queen sitting in a palace having a long chat on the subject of property arbitrage, square-foot pricing comparisons, hottest tips for emerging property markets, et cetera. And better still, she would be paying for it—at any rate he chose. Perhaps she would retain him as the royal feng shui master. It would be more fun doing palaces than doing scenes of crime, which had kept him busy for much of the previous three years. ‘So I can charge big extra premium, for sure?’
    ‘Make up a number. Ten times the normal rate should be no problem at all.’
    Joyce was excited. ‘So we’re doing it for sure? We’re going to London, too?’
    Wong grimaced. ‘Maybe
one
of us go. But only for a short time. And very hard work. Work hard, collect big bucks, go home.’
    The young woman stuck out her lower lip. ‘They wanted both of us. I told them we were a team. Besides, you can charge more for two operatives.’
    Sinha turned to her. ‘What exactly is the United Kingdom part of this assignment? Does the Queen want Buckingham Palace feng-shuied or what?’
    ‘I’m not sure. He didn’t say—the man who called up. He’s some sort of consultant. His name is Robbie Manks and he’s a PR man or lobbyist or something in that line. I don’t even know which member of the royal family he’s working for. It may not be the Queen.’
    This worried Wong. ‘Not the Queen? Other members of the family, are they also rich? All share the family fortune?’
    ‘I’m not sure,’ said Joyce. ‘I mean, yes, they’re all rich. But they’re not much of a family, if you know what I mean.’
    He looked at her blankly.
    ‘According to the papers, the family members don’t really like each other all that much. And they all hated Princess Di and Fergie, who never behaved like royals are supposed to. So I don’t know if they do all share the money or what,’ Joyce explained.
    ‘Don’t worry about it,’ Chong-li told Wong. ‘The Queen has Buckingham