Upon heaped cushions inside sat a beautiful native youth with sleek, dark skin, sculpted muscles, and lustrous eyes. A loincloth covered his sex.

DeGraeff’s breath caught. May the Lord have mercy on my soul … “How much?” he asked hoarsely.

A short while later, deGraeff emerged from the boat, more shamed than satisfied. There was no hope for his soul; he was damned. Then he saw, standing on the footpath nearby, the figure of a Dutchman, his broad-brimmed hat clearly outlined by the moonlight. The glow from his tobacco pipe illuminated the handsome features and golden hair of Jan Spaen. He must have been at the brothel, heard the procurer proposition deGraeff, and followed them here. Horror paralyzed deGraeff. He imagined strong hands forcing him into a hemp sack; heard his own screams as the sea enveloped him. Then Spaen nodded and sauntered away.

DeGraeff spent the next days waiting in terror for the police to arrest him. Then Spaen came. “I hear you’re one of the best men in the business,” he said. “I need a partner. I’ve already spoken to your superiors, and they’ve agreed to assign you to me. You’ll get the same salary for your regular duties—and a percentage of whatever we make on the side. I guarantee you’ll find it worth your while.”

He never mentioned what he’d seen, but his knowing smile brooked no refusal. Thus deGraeff had accompanied Spaen through the jungles in search of new spice supplies, to India and China to purchase silks for the European trade. While Spaen’s daring and charm had opened new markets and secured lucrative deals, deGraeff’s financial acumen had built their profits into a fortune. Yet deGraeff found the partnership unbearable. He abhorred Spaen’s drinking, gambling, sexual excesses, and combative nature; he was nearly killed during Spaen’s raid on Taiwan. And Spaen encouraged his vices, procuring men for him wherever they went. “I always reward good performance,” he would declare.

DeGraeff, having once yielded to sexual hunger, couldn’t withstand the constant temptation. Thus Spaen bound him tighter even as his desire for freedom increased. In Japan, deGraeff had told Spaen they were through. They’d had the argument Dr. Huygens had overheard. Now, though the extent of Huygens’s knowledge unsettled deGraeff, the doctor was a much weaker adversary than Spaen.

“You hated and feared Spaen, too,” deGraeff replied to Huygens’s clumsy attempt at blackmail. “If I had a motive for murder, then so did you. You hold a threat over my head, but it’s no worse than the one I hold over yours.”