The Axel Files: Snuffed

The Sūn Collection Feud

The Sūn Collection auction of Qing Dynasty snuff bottles at the Shangri-la Hong Kong Hotel was highly anticipated. Three super-wealthy international financial magnates wanted the collection, but only one could get it. The winner, Kyan K. Tomkins of Toronto, represented by Alastair Hughes, snagged the prize. Tomkins’ British competitor, Sir Benedict Foxcroft, had to settle for two miniature jade Fu Dogs that cost him a paltry five hundred thousand bucks. American Michael C. Bullock was represented by his daughter-in-law, Wu Jing. She came up empty. The other significant bidder for the collection was Lester Green, representing Texas oilman Bobby Crawford. None of these men like to lose, but Bullock is the only one willing to do something about it.

Wu Jing’s uncle, HKPF Senior Superintendent Chan Fu, was responsible for protecting the items stored overnight in the vault room in the basement of the Shangri-la Hotel. Chan worked with two shady subordinates, Constables Lin Shi and Xū Chun. Chan looked forward to a comfortable retirement funded by Bullock if he could steal the snuff bottles from the vault room. The task proved more complicated than expected. The three crooked cops couldn’t crack the vault lock, so they spent the night breaking through the brick above the vault door. After hours of hard work, they finally created a large enough hole for Constable Lin to crawl through. He immediately spotted the snuff bottles. He tied them to a rope so his partner, Xū, could hoist them out of the vault. Lin looked around and saw the two miniature jade Fu Dogs. He was alone in the vault, so he stuffed the two jade miniatures into his pocket. It was almost the perfect crime, but the Fu Dogs would be their undoing.

Tomkins was livid when he heard the news. He demanded Hughes get his snuff bottles back. Hughes called Private Investigator Axel Webb an expert in finding lost, stolen, or misappropriated art and artifacts. Within hours, Axel was on a plane to Hong Kong. And so, the story of the Qing Dynasty Sūn Collection begins.

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