Instinctively Willy positioned himself for the worst-case possibilities. But the man he was facing was hardly a threat. He was built like a broomstick, with thick glasses.

“Are you Dr. Marlowe?” Willy asked.

“Righto,” Dr. Marlowe said.

“The Royal Flying Doctor Service gave me your name,” Willy said. “I called to talk with Dr. Williams, but they said he was on holiday and you were available for his patients.”

“I am indeed,” Dr. Marlowe said. “Is there some kind of problem?”

“It’s my wife,” Willy said. “When will Dr. Williams be back?”

“In about a week,” Dr. Marlowe said. “He left this morning. His departure was unexpected so I’m afraid he was unable to inform his patients. What’s the problem with your wife?”

“She’s been ill for years,” Willy said. “It took me a long time to convince her to allow Dr. Williams to attend her. I know she won’t see anyone else. She’s not sure about Western medicine.”

“I understand completely,” Dr. Marlowe said. “If it’s not an emergency, you can wait for Dr. Williams to return.”

“Perhaps a phone call would do,” Willy said. “Maybe if he just adjusted her medications. Would it be possible to ring him?”

“If you don’t mind ringing Hong Kong,” Dr. Marlowe said. “He left word that he could be reached at the Peninsula Hotel. If you’ll wait a moment, I have the phone number.” Dr. Marlowe ducked back inside his house.

Willy glanced through the screen door. A small, dark-brown-and-tan long-haired dog snarled at him. He tried to think of a way to find out about the woman, but nothing came to mind.

“Here you go,” Dr. Marlowe said, coming back to the door and handing out a slip of paper. “Good luck. If you need me, just ring.”

Willy stalled for a moment, hoping to think of something. But his mind couldn’t come up with anything that didn’t sound suspicious. Instead, he merely thanked the doctor and walked back to his rented car.

Once in the car, Willy sped back to the Charleville airport. While he waited for his charter flight to be fueled, he called Charles Lester.

“I found out something interesting,” Willy said as soon as Lester had picked up the phone. “Tristan Williams left suddenly for Hong Kong this morning.”

“That doesn’t sound good at all,” Lester growled. “Was the Blumenthal woman with him?”

“I don’t know,” Willy said. “If I stayed here I might be able to find out.”

“I want you in Hong Kong immediately,” Lester said. “For the moment we’ll assume she’s with him. Fly through Sydney; there are more connections. Ned is checking with emigration about the woman; by tomorrow we’ll probably know for sure. Any idea where he’s staying in Hong Kong?”

“The Peninsula Hotel,” Willy said.