Part 4 (2/2)

This man was very small and thin and shabbily dressed. His brown skinned face was typically Vietnamese. His black hair was cut in a bad imitation of a crew-cut. His shoes were dusty, his white s.h.i.+rt soiled and his wine-coloured tie frayed from constant knotting and re-knotting.

Wade stared at him as he ran his sweating hand over his dishevelled hair. He knew he must look pretty awful. He never did look much until he had had a shower and a shave.

aMr. Wade?a the little man asked politely.

aYeah,a Wade said. aWho are you? What do you want?a aI am Inspector NgocLinh of Security police. Please excuse this visit. I would not have disturbed you, but the matter is very urgent.a Security police! Wade thought. That jolted him. This could be serious. To cover up his agitation, he moved over to an occasional table and helped himself to one of Ann Fai Wahas cigarettes.

aHow the h.e.l.l did you know I was here?a he demanded. The Inspector made an apologetic gesture.

aOne of my men saw you last night with the Chinese woman. Having tried to find you at your house, I came here.a d.a.m.n yellow spies! Wade thought. You canat even blow your nose without them knowing!

aWell, what do you want?a he asked, glaring at the Inspector.

aYour car has been stolen.a Wade felt a rush of blood to his head. He was suddenly so angry he could have taken the little man by his throat and thrown him out of the window.

aDo you mean you came here and woke me up to tell me that?a he bellowed. ah.e.l.l! Iall report you, for this! aIall . . . Iall . . .a aThe car has been found wrecked on the Bien Hoa road,a the Inspector said quietly.

aMy car?a Wade stared stupidly at the Inspector. His rage oozed out of him like air out of a p.r.i.c.ked balloon. aWrecked?a aThat is so,a the Inspector said, his flat black eyes never leaving Wadeas face.

That d.a.m.ned Jaffe! Wade thought. Wrecking my car! I must have a hole in my head to have lent it to him!

aYouave got it all wrong,a he said angrily. aThe car wasnat stolen. I lent it to a friend of mine. Where is the car? Iall collect it sometime today.a Then a sudden thought struck him and he stiffened. aWas anyone hurt?a aThere was no one in the car,a the Inspector said. aIt was abandoned.a Well, for the love of mike! Wade thought, las.h.i.+ng himself into another rage. The sonofab.i.t.c.h wrecks my car and then calmly walks off. He hadnat even the decency to telephone me!

aI canat do anything about it now,a he said. aNot at this hour. You donat expect that, do you?a aWho was the person you lent the car to, Mr. Wade?a Wade scowled at him.

aThatas none of your d.a.m.ned business. I lend my car to whoever I want.a aThere has been a bad accident and it hasnat been reported. That is a serious offence, Mr. Wade.a That was a fact, Wade thought. All members of the diplomatic corps had been repeatedly warned that any infringement of the traffic regulations unless reported could be a serious offence. He thought viciously: serves the punk right! Smashes my car and then walks off! Theyall chew his d.a.m.n cars off!

aI lent it to Steve Jaffe,a and he gave Jaffeas address.

aThank you, Mr. Wade,a the Inspector said and wrote the address in his notebook. aI regret having to trouble you. I may have to trouble you again later. May I call at the Emba.s.sy?a aOh, sure,a Wade growled, abut not before half past ten, and donat try to drag me into this! I just lent my car. If Jaffe was mug enough to have had an accident, you canat blame the...a aMay I ask why you lent him your car, Mr. Wade?a aBecause his own car had broken down and he had to go to the airport.a The black eyes staring so intently, flickered slightly.

aThe airport? Are you sure about that, Mr. Wade?a aThatas what he told me.a aThe accident took place on the Bien Hoa road. As you know it is the wrong direction for the airport.a Wade moved impatiently.

aIam telling you what he told me!a Was he with someone?a Wade was quite sure it was no business of the Saigon police whether Jaffe had a girl with him or not. He was d.a.m.ned if he was going to give them any information not relating to the accident.

aHe might have had a car full of Chinese coolies for all I know.a Again the little black eyes flickered.

aDid he in fact have Chinese coolies with him, Mr. Wade?a aI donat know who he had with him and I donat give a d.a.m.n!a aThen he did have someone with him?a aI tell you I donat know! Iave had enough of this! I want to go back to bed!a The Inspector bowed. aI understand. Iam sorry to have disturbed you. I will see you later in the day. Thank you for your a.s.sistance,a and turning he left the room.

When Wade heard the front door close, he drew in a long breath of relief. He turned to the bedroom to find Ann Fai Wah standing in the doorway, glaring at him.

aYou bring the police to my home!a she said viciously. aNever will you come here again! Get out!a aWho would want to come here again?a Wade snarled.a aWho are you kidding, you yellow fake?a She began to scream abuse at him, half in Chinese, half in French, but Wade was too tired and angry to care. He pushed past her into the bedroom, collected his coat, and with her still screaming at him, he stamped out of the apartment.

When he reached the street, he realized he had to walk home. When he finally reached home, he discovered Ann Fai Wah had stolen all his money from his wallet.

It certainly had been one h.e.l.l of a night.

II.

A police car pulled up outside Jaffeas villa and Inspector NgocLinh got out. He signed to the uniformed driver to remain where he was and then walked up the drive to the front door.

He didnat expect to find Jaffe there. He had already formed an opinion as to what had happened to the driver of the wrecked Chrysler, but he had to make sure.

The outrage at the police post had been discovered fifteen minutes after Jaffe and Nhan had ridden away.

Hearing the sound of the distant explosions, two policemen on road patrol had ridden fast to the post. Fortunately, they found the telephone was still working, and in less than twenty minutes, a number of Security police, including Inspector NgocLinh, had arrived on the scene.

Apart from the wrecked Chrysler, it seemed to be a typical Viet Minh demonstration although it was unusual for the bandits to leave any of their own dead behind in an attack of this kind.

The presence of the Chrysler baffled the Inspector, but now that he knew Wade had lent the car to Jaffe, he was satisfied that Jaffe was either dead or had been kidnapped.

He rang on the front doorbell and it didnat surprise him that there was no answer. He was turning away when he saw Dong Ham come around the side of the villa from the cookhouse.

He listened to the old manas anxious story with attention and interest.

This story intrigued the Inspector who could make neither head nor tail of it.

aAnd Mr. Jaffe?a he asked. aDid he go out?a aHe went out at six, taking his car.a Dong Ham said, his wrinkled face screwed up with alarm.a The Inspector turned over in his mind what he had heard, but he still couldnat understand what it was all about.

aYou have the key to the villa?a he asked finally.

Dong Ham handed him a key.

aYou havenat been in there?a aNo. I am the cook. I have no business inside the villa.a The Inspector balanced the key on the palm of his hand while he considered what to do. Entering property rented by an American could cause a diplomatic incident, but in view of what he had learned, he decided he was justified in seeing if the houseboy was in the villa or not.

He told Dong Ham to remain where he was, then walked around to the back door, unlocked it and entered the kitchen. He saw the stepladder leaning against the wall. He then entered the sitting room and looked around. Everything there seemed in order except a broken drinking gla.s.s and a damp patch that could be whisky on the floor.

He went into the hall, opened the front door and beckoned to Dong Ham who came up the steps reluctantly.

aHave you ever been in here before?a the Inspector asked.

Dong Ham said he had been in twice to help Haum move some furniture.

aGo in there and tell me if you see anything unusual in the room.a Dong Ham entered the sitting room and looked around.

Immediately he pointed to the picture on the wall. That, he said, he hadnat seen before.

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