Solving the Great Wan Chai Mystery!

In the midst of writing the climax and don't want to break my concentration by writing anything else, so I've simply grabbed another old letter, this one from 2004, I think.

Isn't it interesting that when something really intrigues you, 

you get a single piece of additional information, you go "Duh! 

Of course. So simple." and immediately the subject stops being so 

interesting. 

That's what has just happened with my latest Wan Chai Mystery: 

why our suburb, for a single day, yesterday, was suddenly full 

of solitary and sartorially-challenged Africans with lean and 

hungry bodies, far-horizon-staring eyes and the sense that 

they'd more normally be herding wilderbeast out on some 

far-flung and obscure African savannah in one of the smaller, 

poorer and lesser-known African states. 

Single piece of information and the whole thing is Instant 

Duhs-ville! 

Today is the start of the pan-China Ultra-Marathon right here

in HK. 

Need I say more?
 

Of course, there's the new mystery in why they'd ALL visit 

Wan Chai on their day off. Individually too.  Surely Mong Kok 

has a higher profile if you're after that-sort-of-thing AND it 

also has much better shopping? 

I guess Hong Kong and "The World of Suzie Wong" must still hang 

together in meaningful ways in Heartland Africa. 

You know, you can't BUY that sort of brand-recognition. Richard 

Mason's book is obviously still the best thing that ever 

happened to Wan Chai and they really should build a shrine to 

his memory somewhere down there in Lockhart Street.