Up Country Part 55

I left and made my way through the market, out onto the river walk, and I headed toward the bridge to the new city.

It was not yet four o'clock on New Year's Day, the first day of the Year of the Ox. It might also be the last day of the year for the jacka.s.s, meaning me. How do I get myself involved in things like this? For a take-charge kind of guy, I keep falling into vats of s.h.i.t: career-limiting homicide cases, dangerous a.s.signments to hostile countries, and complicated love affairs.

I got onto the pedestrian walk of the Trang Tien Bridge, and I stopped halfway. I cracked open some peanuts and dropped the sh.e.l.ls into the river. I popped a few peanuts in my mouth and chewed.

The sky was a layer of clouds and a few raindrops fell. The air was damp and cool, and the Perfume River ran swiftly to the sea.

Well, I thought, I hadn't misunderstood Mr. Conway at Dulles, or Mr. Anh in Hue. Washington wanted Tran Van Vinh dead, and they'd be happy if I killed him. And they didn't even bother to give me a reason, beyond national security, which could mean anything and usually did.

The reason the geniuses didn't tell me ahead of time why this guy needed to be whacked was because if he was already dead, then I would have information I didn't need.

But for some reason, they seemed to think that if and when I met Mr. Tran Van Vinh, I'd know the reason, and I'd do what I had to do.

Whatever this poor b.a.s.t.a.r.d saw in the ruins of Quang Tri during Tet of 1968 was going to come back to haunt him, and to kill him. And that really wasn't fair, if he had indeed survived the whole war and had grown old... well, about my age, which is not old, but mature.

I tried to bring all my considerable powers of deductive reasoning to this puzzle, and I was getting close to something, but it kept slipping away.

The thing that was easy to deduce was this: If what Mr. Vinh saw was going to get him killed, then what Mr. Vinh told me could also get me killed.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE.

I sat in the c.o.c.ktail lounge of the Century Riverside Hotel sipping a Scotch and soda while the little guy at the piano was playing "Strangers in the Night." sat in the c.o.c.ktail lounge of the Century Riverside Hotel sipping a Scotch and soda while the little guy at the piano was playing "Strangers in the Night."

It was ten after six, and the place was filled with Westerners chatting away while pretty c.o.c.ktail waitresses in short skirts hurried around getting drink orders wrong.

I started wondering if Susan had gotten herself re-p.i.s.sed and was going to stand me up. Women don't care where they are when they're p.i.s.sed off at the guy they're with. I've had women make scenes in Soviet Moscow, East Berlin, and other places where it's not a good idea to attract attention, with no regard to their surroundings or the situation; when they're p.i.s.sed, they're p.i.s.sed.

Another possibility was that Susan had been picked up for questioning. After that little scene this morning at the police station, I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to hara.s.s me through her. Despite our charade, they knew we were together.

A bigger anxiety, however, was the gun, and the possibility that someone had seen her burying it. But even if the cops had been alerted, they wouldn't make a move until someone came to dig it up, which was why I intended to leave it there.

I ordered another Scotch. The three veterans were a few tables away, and they'd acquired some company in the form of three women in their mid-twenties, young enough to be their daughters. These guys may have once been officers, but they were not gentlemen; they were pigs.

The women looked and acted like Americans, but beyond that, I couldn't tell much about them, except that they were tourists, not expats, and they liked middle-aged guys with bucks.

Anyway, it was 6:30, and I was getting a little concerned. This is why it's better to travel alone, especially when you're on an a.s.signment that could get dicey. I have enough trouble watching my own a.s.s without worrying about a civilian.

But maybe she wasn't a civilian. This got me thinking about Mr. Anh, who, like Susan, was doing a little favor for Uncle Sam. This place was becoming the East Berlin of the post"Cold War world: shadowy people running around doing deals, doing favors, keeping their eyes and ears open. The CIA must feel re-energized now that they had a place where they could stir up the s.h.i.t again.

The Americans, of course, don't like losing, and they'd learned a good postwar lesson from the Germans and the j.a.panese; if you lose the war, buy the winner's country.

Susan appeared at the door and looked around. She spotted me as I stood, and she smiled. You can always tell when someone is sincerely happy to see you by how they smile when they spot you in a crowd.

She walked over to the c.o.c.ktail table, and I saw she was wearing black jeans, which I hadn't seen before, and a white silk V-neck sweater, which I also hadn't seen.

She gave me a big hug and kiss and said, "I knew you'd returned safely because I checked with the desk."

"Safe and sound."

She sat, and I sat across from her. She asked, almost excitedly, "So, how did it go? You had the rendezvous?"

"Yes. It went fine. What did you do today?"

"Shopping and sightseeing. So, who met you?"

"A Eurasian woman named Dep Throat."

"Come on, Paul. This is exciting. Was it a guy? An American? A Viet?"

"A guy. And that is all all I'm saying." I'm saying."

"Do you know where you have to go next?"

I didn't seem to be getting through to her. I said, "Yes, and that's the end of the conversation."

"Is it far from here?"

"What are you drinking?"

"San Miguel."

I signaled the waitress and ordered a San Miguel beer.

Susan asked, "Where did you meet this guy? Where is Number 32? I'll bet that refers to the map in the guidebook."

"Did you sleep well?"

"I slept like a baby until noon. Did you go to the Immigration Police?"

"Yes."

"Did it go all right?"

"Yes." I added, "Actually, we had some words."

"Good. When you're nice to them, they think you're up to something. When you mouth off, they figure you're clean."

"I know that. I was a cop."

"I stayed away from the Citadel, as you asked, and now you have to tell me where you met this guy."

"Obviously, I met him in the Citadel."

"Do you think you were followed?"

"I wasn't. I don't know about him. Did you buy that outfit today?"

"Yes. You like it?"

"Very nice."

"Thank you."

Her beer came, and she poured it into a gla.s.s. We touched gla.s.ses, and she said, "Sorry about last night. You don't need the ha.s.sle."

"That's okay. I did the same thing to you about Bill."

"You did. I got rid of him."

I didn't reply.

I noticed the three vets again, and they were looking at Susan even though they already had three babes. What swine.

"What are you looking at?"

"Three Americans over there. Former army or marines. I saw them here yesterday and also at dinner. They're eyeing you."

"They're cute."

"They're pigs."

"The women seem to be having a good time."

"They're pigs, too."

"I think you're jealous."

"No, I'm not. You're the most beautiful woman in the room."

"You're so sweet." She changed the subject back to business and asked, "So, do you know how to get to this place you're supposed to go to?"

"I think so."

There was a good deal of background noise in the lounge, so no one could overhear us, and the piano player was playing Tony Bennett's "Once Upon a Time." I decided that the time had come to get at the bottom of some things that could affect my health. I said to her, "Now, let me ask you a few questions. Look at me and keep eye contact."

She put down her beer and sat up in her chair. She looked at me.

"Who are you working for?"

She replied, "I work for American-Asian Investment Corporation. Sometimes I do favors for the American consulate in Saigon, and the emba.s.sy in Hanoi."

"Have you ever done favors for the resident CIA guy in Saigon or Hanoi?"

"Saigon. Just once."

"You mean now."

"Yes."

"Do you get paid?"

"Expenses."

"Did you have formal training?"

"Yes. A month at Langley."

Which explained the trip to Washington. I asked, "Is American-Asian Investment a CIA front?"

"No. It's a real investment company. But it is a vetted facility."

"Anyone else at AAIC doing favors?"

"I can't answer that."

"What were your instructions regarding me?"

"Just meet and greet."

"They didn't tell you to pump me?"

"No. Why bother? Are you going to tell me anything about why you're here?"

"No. Did they tell you to travel with me?"

"No. That was my idea."

"Right now, Susan, are you on the job or off the job?"

"Off the job."

"I'm believing everything you say. You understand that? If you say it, it's the truth."

"It is is the truth." the truth."

"Are you in love with me?"

"You know I am." She smiled for the first time and said, "I did fake one o.r.g.a.s.m."

I tried not to smile and asked, "Do you know anything about my a.s.signment that I don't know?"

She didn't reply.