Part 5 (1/2)

The Inspector examined the picture which didnat appeal to him. This would explain why Haum had fetched the ladder and the hammer. Having solved that little problem, the Inspector dismissed it from his mind and proceeded to look over the villa. He opened cupboards in the kitchen and in the sitting room, then finding nothing to interest him, he went upstairs, leaving Dong Ham in the hall.

A quick glance into the bathroom showed him everything was in order and he moved down the pa.s.sage to Jaffeas bedroom. He found the door locked. It was unusual, he thought, frowning at the door, to lock a bedroom door and to remove the key. He tapped on the door and listened, but heard nothing. Then he stepped silently to the banister rail and looked down into the hall to make sure Dong Ham was still there, seeing he was, he took a pick-lock from his pocket and unlocked the bedroom door.

He entered the bedroom. The contrast of the stifling pa.s.sage and the cold bedroom made him s.h.i.+ver slightly. He looked at the big clothes closet and his intent black eyes flickered. He tried the door and found it locked. Using the pick-lock, he opened the door.

Dong Ham waiting in the hall, nervously picking at the hard lump of skin on his hand, could hear the Inspector moving about upstairs. The old man watched anxiously. He was quite certain that something very bad had happened to Haum whom he liked.

It was a good half hour before Inspector NgocLinh came down the stairs. Dong Ham watched him come; he could read nothing from the brown, expressionless face.

aI will be returning,a the Inspector said. aIn the meantime no one is to enter the villa, and that includes you. Is that understood?a Dong Ham nodded. He was too frightened to ask the question that was tormenting him.

The Inspector waved him out of the villa, then following him, he locked the back door. He called to the uniformed driver who got out of the car and hurried to his side.

aYou will remain here and see no one enters the villa,a the Inspector said. aYou will let no one see you, unless of course, you have to prevent them entering. I may be two or three hours, but I will return.a Leaving the driver staring suspiciously at Dong Ham who blinked at him uneasily, the Inspector walked to the car and drove rapidly away.

III.

Colonel On-dinh-Khuc, Chief of Security Police, sat in a high-back, heavily carved wooden chair and breathed gently through his wide spread nostrils.

He was a grossly built man with a round hairless head, narrow cruel eyes, thick lips and big flat pointed ears. Half Chinese, half Vietnamese, he had the worst features of both races, both in his nature and in his appearance.

For six years he had controlled Security Police with an iron hand, but there were certain influential politicians who were determined to get rid of him, and this he knew.

They argued that he had long since served his purpose. He had been useful before the regime had been finally established, but his methods were so grossly uncivilized and his mentality so brutal, he could now very easily bring the regime into international disrepute. The sooner he went and a more acceptable man found the better.

This campaign to get rid of him was steadily gaining ground. Colonel Khuc was a man of extravagant tastes and vices. Compulsory retirement was the only thing he feared., Once he was deprived of his office, the large income he extorted from thousands of peasants and Chinese coolies who had reason to fear the police would come to an end. He would have his pension to live on and nothing more. The thought of living at such a reduced scale continually tormented his mind.

This Monday morning, he had been awakened from an opium drugged sleep by a terrified servant who had been forced to do so by Inspector NgocLinh.

Colonel Khuc had told himself that if NgocLinh had come on anything but emergency business he would make him regret his rashness to the end of his days.

He had got out of his silken bed, put on a black silk kimono with a gold dragon embroidered on the back and had moved silently on bare feet into his study where the Inspector was waiting.

Until his servant brought him a gla.s.s of tea and had gone away, Colonel Khuc had ignored the Inspector who stood motionless in front of the vast carved desk.

The narrow black gleaming eyes had finally moved to the Inspectoras face.

aWhat is it?a the Colonel asked softly.

If there was one thing he could do better than another, the Inspector could make a concise report. He had the ability to marshall all the important facts and to bring them out dearly, quickly and in their right order.

Colonel Khuc listened without interruption. From time to time he sipped his tea, but apart from the movement of his thick arm, he sat motionless.

When the Inspector ceased to speak, Colonel Khuc continued to stare at him without seeing him while his brain raced over the facts given to him.

The Viet Minh attack and the kidnapping of the American were matters of routine. They had happened before aand no doubt, they would happen again. Apart from a face-saving show of activity which would lead nowhere, there was nothing the Colonel could do about it.

But why had this American murdered his houseboy?

This was something that would require the most cautious and careful investigation. The American must have had a very good reason to have done such a thing. Before the murder became public news and before the American Amba.s.sador was informed, Colonel Khuc was determined to know what this reason was.

aWhat do we know about Haum?a he asked.

aI came to you immediately, sir,a the Inspector said. aI have had no time to check his record card.a Colonel Khuc rang a bell on his desk. The door opened almost immediately and his secretary, Lam-Than, came in.

Lam-Than was a tiny man with a slight limp. He had been the Colonelas creature for a number of years. It was said that there was nothing too bad, nothing too disgusting, nothing too degrading he wouldnat do for the Colonel. He was feared and hated by all members of the police. It was said it was he who obtained opium for the Colonel; the very young girls who were sacrificed to the Colonelas depravity, and it was he who organized the extortion system that provided the Colonel with his wealth.

This tiny man limped to the Colonelas desk and stood waiting.

aI want all the information you have on Steve Jaffe, an American working with American s.h.i.+pping and Insurance Corporation; on his houseboy Haum; on his cook, Dong Ham, on Haumas girl, My-Lang-To,a the Colonel said, then turning to the Inspector, he went on, aWait here.a He left the room, followed by Lam-Than who ignored the Inspector.

When the door closed, the Inspector remained motionless, aware of the real possibility that one of the Colonelas spies was watching him through some concealed peephole.

He remained motionless for twenty minutes, then Colonel Khuc returned, showered, shaved and wearing an immaculate lounge suit.

The time by the ornate gold desk clock was five minutes past six.

aWe will go to the Americanas villa,a Khuc said. At this moment Lam-Than came in.

aYou will come with me,a Khuc said. The three men went out to the Inspectoras car. Khuc and Lam-Than got in the back while the Inspector slid under the driving wheel.

At this hour only the coolies and the market vendors were moving on the sidewalks. No one paid any attention to the black Peugot as it swept along the empty streets.

Khuc said, aWhat do we know about Haum?a aHe was a good citizen,a Lam-Than said. aHe was studying political science. He was a supporter of the regime. He has never been in debt. We have nothing against him.a aWas he a h.o.m.os.e.xual?a aMost definitely not. We have absolutely nothing against him.a Colonel Khuc frowned. His first thought had been that Haum and this American had had an unnatural a.s.sociation, Haum had attempted blackmail and the American in a fit of rage had killed him. Obviously, it wasnat as simple as that.

aThe cook?a aHe is a very old man and he has had nothing to do with politics for the past twenty years. At one time he was cook to the French Amba.s.sador during the French regime. He is suspected to pro-French tendencies, but we have nothing further against him.a Colonel Khuc stroked his fat, flat nose and looked sideways at Lam-Than who was staring at the back of Inspector NgocLinhas head.

aAnd the girl?a aPolitically nothing. However, there is a rumour that her father has had incestuous relations with her. This is probably true. Her father is a degenerate.a Again Colonel Khuc stroked his nose.

aSo we would have a reasonable excuse to get rid of these two?a aYes, we could get rid of them,a Lam-Than said. The Inspector, listening to this conversation, moved uneasily. There were times when he wished he did not have to work for Security Police.

aNow tell me about the American,a the Colonel said.

aHe follows closely to the usual American pattern,a Lam-Than said. aHe drinks too much. He chases women. He is non-politically educated. He has been divorced. He is short of money. He goes often to the Paradise Club to satisfy his s.e.xual appet.i.te.a aNothing else?a Lam-Than shrugged his shoulders.

aHe is an American. There is nothing else.a aHe isnat a h.o.m.os.e.xual?a aNo.a The Colonel frowned.

Then why did he kill the boy? he asked himself. What could be the reason?

There was silence in the car for the few remaining minutes before it pulled up outside Jaffeas villa.