by Don Easton
Jack looked at Tarah and said, “I’m sorry. But there are two men in that apartment that we have spent a lot of time trying to catch. They traffic in human flesh ... children,” said Jack, pointing to Chi for emphasis. “We’ve come a long way and can’t afford to jeopardize our investigation at this point.”
“How long was I out?” asked Tarah, blinking her eyes.
“About ten or fifteen seconds. Are you okay?”
Tarah glared at Jack and asked Chi a question in Vietnamese.
Chi nodded that she was okay.
“Did you have to do that to us?” asked Tarah.
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t see any other option. I want to catch these guys. Right now, we still don’t have enough evidence to convict them. If they know we’re on to them, we lose everything. I really want them to go to jail.”
“They should be in jail,” said Tarah.
“Does your neck hurt?”
“I’m fine,” admitted Tarah, while massaging her neck with her hand. “I wouldn’t have known I was out, except suddenly you were carrying me and I’m here instead of down there,” she said, using her thumb to point toward the lane. “You freaked me out.”
“What are you doing here?” asked Jack.
“I used to teach in Calgary, but got tired of all the spoiled, snotty little rich kids who think the world owes them a favour. I came here and found kids who really need help. I’m a volunteer with The Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation.”
“I never heard of the Blue Dragon,” said Jack.
“It was started by a man out of Australia,” said Tarah. “In Vietnam, it is the only social work program for street kids. I operate a soup kitchen just a couple of blocks from here. Some kids don’t have any parents or others are from poor families. I entice the children with food, soccer games, music, arts—anything that works. The idea is to try to educate them so they’ll have a better option than ending up in prostitution. At the soup kitchen, we teach them to cook and how to be waiters and waitresses.”
“Sounds impressive,” said Jack.
“If you have time, we have a restaurant called Koto that is run almost entirely by our kids who are older and have been through our program. Many will be able to get jobs in some of the best hotels and restaurants around. We also teach them English, so they’ll have an advantage over the others.”
“I admire you for having the courage to step forward and do what is right. You’ve got a lot of guts.”
Tarah shrugged and said, “If anyone saw these children ... how much they need help ... the look on their faces when you do get through to them. Believe me, it is worth it.”
“What do you know about the men in the apartment you just went to?” asked Jack.
“One of the street kids told me that Chi was being taken and sent to live with some family in America. She’s an orphan here, so I guess it sounded pretty good. When I heard the name of the Vietnamese man who took her, I knew it was probably a lie. He has a reputation for being involved in drugs and prostitution. I found out where Chi was and got her back. No big deal.”
“What you did was a hell of a big deal,” said Jack. “Think maybe we can walk to your soup kitchen and talk?”
“Sure. For a donation, I’ll also make you breakfast.”
When they reached the soup kitchen, Tarah brought them inside a long narrow room with a wooden table lined with chairs. They sat down, but it was apparent that Chi was going to try to escape as soon as she could. Tarah argued with her in Vietnamese and Jack asked her what she said.
“I told her she was too young to end up in some brothel in America. She doesn’t believe me and says she is being adopted by a rich family and will later work in a nice hotel. Yeah, right! Like I haven’t heard that story before! She’s only twelve years old, so ...”
Chi made a dash toward the door, but Tarah grabbed her by the arm and made her sit down.
Jack told Tarah about another child, by the name of Hang, who also headed to America last January on a boat and ended up murdered in Surrey.
“Hang?” questioned Tarah. “It is not that unusual a name here. What did she look like?”
“She had an extra thumb,” said Jack.
Tarah was visibly shaken. “I knew a kid like that. Used to come here once in awhile with her younger sister. She quit coming around Christmas. I asked the younger sister where she was and she told me Hang had been sent to live with relatives in Saigon. Maybe it is just a coincidence. Agent Orange had caused a lot of birth defects. There are many—”
“I have a picture of her,” said Jack, pulling out his wallet. I must warn you, it was taken after she was murdered. It is awful to look at.”
Tarah took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before nodding and reaching for the photo. She looked at the picture and immediately started to sob. Chi also looked, but was too frightened to cry and hugged Tarah and asked her a question in Vietnamese.
“Why is she like this?” asked Tarah, ignoring Chi and pointing to the picture. “Her face ...?”
“She was held captive for months by a sadist and tortured,” said Jack quietly. “Maybe you should explain that to Chi.”
Tarah explained the situation to Chi, who immediately started crying. Tarah hugged her and gently whispered to her. Eventually Chi quit crying but she kept her arms around Tarah. There was no longer any fear of her returning to the apartment.
“Would you ask Chi, please, how many others were in the apartment we were just at?” asked Jack.
Tarah spoke with Chi briefly and Jack saw the surprise register on Tarah’s face.
“She says there were about forty young women,” said Tarah. “Chi guesses that most of the others are between the ages of sixteen to twenty-two. There were also two foreign men and three Vietnamese men in the apartment.”
“The two foreign men are the ringleaders,” said Jack. “They’re both Russian.”
“I had no idea there were that many people in there,” said Tarah. “I thought it was just a couple of women and Chi who were going.”
“Maybe just as well for you that you didn’t know,” said Jack. “Do you know where Hang’s father is now?”
Tarah nodded and said, “His name is Bien. He lives with his mother in a room off an alley in the next block. He works as a tour guide now. He speaks good English. Are you going to tell him?”
Before Jack could reply, Tarah said, “Or maybe I should.”
“We both should,” said Jack. He glanced at Laura and said, “Hand me the cell back, I’m going to call Sonny.”
“Who is Sonny?” asked Tarah.
“A Vietnamese policeman who has been working with us,” said Jack.
“Just a minute,” said Tarah. She spoke with Chi, who nodded and left the room.
“I sent her to get Bien,” continued Tarah. “I told her just to say that I had some urgent news. You might want to speak with him before he talks with the Vietnamese police. The relationship between the police and the people here is very different from Canada. He might be more forthcoming talking to us alone at first.”
“I understand,” said Jack.
“Oh,” said Tarah, “but I guess you need the police to get the people in the apartment before they ...”
“They can wait,” said Jack. “I’ll talk to Bien first. From what we know, the Russians will have probably have left the apartment by now. All they do is take a quick look to confirm the ... quality of the merchandise ... and leave. We need to let things proceed like normal for the bad guys and hope we can get more evidence. Perhaps with the Russians talking to the boat captain or paying him. Something to prove their involvement. Their being in the apartment is not enough.”
“It might be enough here in Vietnam,” suggested Tarah.
Jack nodded and said, “I believe that. But we are trying to solve Hang’s murder. I think the murderer is in Canada. Those are the rules I have to play by.”
Tarah nodded and said, “Whoever did that to Hang ... at the very least, I’d like to see that guy
sent here to a Vietnamese jail. It is tough enough over here for ordinary people. Try to imagine what the jails are like.”
“No colour TV or private rooms, I suspect,” said Laura, facetiously.
“Sorry,” said Jack. “If the murder happened in Canada, that’s where he’ll do his time. You said Hang had a sister?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Her name is Linh. She is younger than Hang is ... or was. I think she is about nine or ten.”
“Is she still around?”
“Actually, I haven’t seen her either for ... my God!”
Pops marked another X on the calendar and looked at Linh, who was curled up in a ball on the mattress, facing away from him.
“Only two days left until your first red-circle day,” said Pops. “What special thing do you think the box will hold for you?”
Linh did not move.
“Look at me when I talk to you!” yelled Pops.
Linh remained still so Pops walked over and kicked her lightly on the back of her leg.
Linh yelled in rage and spun quickly, kicking up with her feet and striking Pops on the shin, before leaping to her feet and crouching on the mattress in anticipation of his next move.
Pops stepped back and smiled with amusement. “That is great,” he said. “You are strong ... a fighter. You are the type who will endure much. Not wimp out and kill yourself like your stupid, stupid sister! Guess she didn’t think you were worth trying to protect!”
chapter twenty-nine
Jack saw Chi enter the room with Bien a few steps behind her. He had a round face that seemed out of place on his thin body. He walked with his shoulders stooped, giving the illusion that his face was even bigger and rounder than it really was. His black eyes looked sadly out over puffy mounds of darkened skin. Jack saw a flicker of optimism when Bien glanced his way.
“Are you an American policeman?” asked Bien. “FBI?” he said, as he shuffled toward him.
“No,” said Jack. “We are both Canadian police officers.”
“Canadian?” Bien frowned, but said, “I know why you are here.” He looked at Tarah and continued, “I am sorry, I told Linh to lie to you before. The news you want to tell me, I already know.”
“Tell us what that news is,” said Jack.
“That my daughter ... Hang, was killed in a car accident. Have you brought me her body or her ashes?”
Jack shook his head and said, “Please sit down. First I must ask you to look at a photograph. I have been told that it is a picture of your daughter. It was taken after she died. There are lots of injuries to her face.”
Bien sat and his hands shook as he took the photo in both hands. He looked at it for a moment before pressing it to his chest while squeezing his eyes shut, but not tight enough to stop the silent flow of tears.
Several minutes passed in silence before Bien opened his eyes and looked at the picture again. He choked out the words and said, “Hang ... her face ... did she die quickly? Did she suffer?”
“I will tell you about how she died in a moment,” said Jack. “First I would like you to tell me who told you she died in a car accident.”
Jack saw Bien’s eyes dart around the room before pausing and saying, “I do not know. It was a man I met at the market. He has relatives in America who told him the news.”
Jack watched Bien as he spoke. He grimaced at Bien’s pathetic attempt to lie. In Canada, many of the people who lie say they met someone they don’t know in a bar. Here it is a market. What is he hiding? Why would he lie about the death of his own daughter ... unless ... damn it!
Jack cleared his throat and said, “Bien, if you do not wish to tell me who told you of her death, please tell me this. Where is ...”
“I told you, I do not know the person!”
Time to use another approach. “You must be able to tell me how Hang came to be in Canada and why you believed she was in the United States?”
Bien shook his head and said, “It is late. I need to go. I have to be at work soon,” he added, getting to his feet.
“Bien, please sit down,” said Jack. “Hang did not die in a car accident. She was murdered and her body was found in a Dumpster.”
Jack saw the shock on Bien’s face as he gasped, grabbing the table for support as he fell back into his seat.
“That is not possible,” he said, as his brain grasped for other possibilities. “Perhaps after she was hit by a car she was put ...”
“She was chained and tortured for at least three or four months. Then she committed suicide, but because of what happened to her, it is still murder.”
“Chained and tortured! No! You are lying!” Bien’s face went red with rage. “You hope to catch the men who are smugglers by using such trickery!”
Tarah burst into tears, startling Jack and Bien, who ceased arguing and stared at her in silence.
Several seconds later, Tarah regained her composure enough to speak in halting sentences to Bien in Vietnamese. After a short exchange of conversation, Bien sat back in his chair and wept openly.
“I told him you were not lying,” said Tarah, while fighting to regain her composure. “That the police in Canada would never say such a terrible thing to a parent.”
“Bien,” asked Jack gently, “where is your other daughter? Where is Linh now?”
Bien’s face contorted in anguish and he emitted a moan that filled the room. Tarah moved to sit beside him and put her arm around his shoulders.
Bien looked at Jack and slowly shook his head. “She is in America, too,” he finally said, telling everyone what they already knew.
“Perhaps you’d better start at the beginning,” said Jack.
Bien told him how he was approached by local smugglers who arrived on his doorstep one morning. He described the events that followed, including a painful six weeks of worry when Hang made the trip to America.
“She called me from America,” said Bien. “I did not send Linh until I knew that everything was as it should be. Then I put Linh on the boat. She too, called me from America.”
“When?” asked Jack.
“One week ago,” replied Bien.
Jack and Laura exchanged a glance. That was around the time they had followed the cube van to Vancouver Island and back to Richmond.
“Did Linh sound okay?” asked Jack.
“She was crying because she was just told by Mister Pops that Hang was killed by a car. She said Mister Pops was very nice ... but she was sad.”
“Did she say how she was smuggled into the United States?”
“A man drove her across the border in a car. She saw the signs saying it was the United States border. She was excited to see the signs.”
“She just went through the border as a passenger in a car?” asked Jack. “Didn’t they ask for proof of ...?”
“No, no,” said Bien. “I asked her the same thing. She said she looked up and saw the signs but then pulled a handle to hide and the police at the border did not see her. I do not think that she was supposed to tell me that on the phone, but she was crying and not thinking very clearly. I think it was the same for Hang. She also told me about seeing the sign.”
“Jack,” said Laura. “She was in the trunk!”
“Folding rear seat,” said Jack, feeling nauseous.
“It was her that day who Dúc ...” Laura couldn’t bring herself to finish as the realization sank in as to how close they had been to Linh.
Jack briefly clenched his jaw to quell his tears.
“You know where she is?” asked Bien excitedly.
Jack shook his head and said, “No ... but we do know who one of the smugglers is in Canada. The one, perhaps, who drove her in the trunk of the car.”
“You must find her,” said Bien. “She is not as strong as Hang. She is like her name.”
Tarah saw the puzzled look that Jack and Laura gave each other and said, “The translation of Linh means Gentle Spirit.”
“Hang’s spirit is strong,” said Bien. “She
would not commit suicide, knowing that Linh would be coming to such a place.”
Hang’s spirit is strong—don’t you mean, was strong? thought Jack. He looked at Bien and said, “I’m sorry. Our medical examination was very thorough.”
“How did she die?”
“She used some type of metal rod to ... to make herself bleed. By the marks ... and marks on her hand ... we know that it was self inflicted.”
Bien looked at Jack and said, “If that is true, she did not do it for herself. It would be for Linh. She loved her very much. She promised me that she would do whatever was necessary for her sister. If she died, it was to save Linh.”
Silence descended on the room for a minute as everyone became lost in their own thoughts. Eventually, Jack placed his hand on Bien’s shoulder. “We will find her,” he said, forcefully. “We will also find out who did this to Hang.”
Bien nodded silently.
“I must call the Vietnamese police now,” said Jack. “There is a man I have been working with. He will want to speak to you.”
“Yes,” said Bien. “I will wait.”
Jack called Sonny and explained the situation. He handed the phone to Tarah to give directions, while watching as Bien walked over and opened the door and stepped outside.
Is he going to take off? Jack glanced at Laura who had also noticed and they quickly followed.
Bien stood on the doorstep. For the second time that night the clouds parted, giving his face an eerie complexion as he looked up at the moon. He dropped to his knees and started crying, while speaking Vietnamese and looking up to the sky.
Jack felt Tarah’s hand touch his arm and he turned and whispered, “We didn’t say anything to him. He just came out here. Maybe he needs time to be alone.”
Tarah shook her head and said, “The translation for Hang is Angel in the Full Moon. Look up. He’s not alone.”
chapter thirty
It was six o’clock in the morning when Sonny dropped Jack and Laura off at their hotel with a promise to call them in a couple of hours after he spoke with his superiors.
