Tempus Genesis
Page 23
The Rooftop Garden and Restaurant on the fifth floor of the Rex Hotel is regarded as one of the must do attractions for travelers to Vietnam. Infamous for being the favoured location for journalists during the Vietnam War and famous for broadcasts from its terrace, whilst the Vietnam War raged in the background.
Oliver, Jenny and Jamie were drinking cocktails. They lounged in large comfortable padded bamboo chairs. The evening heat was much more pleasant and the torrential rain an hour earlier had eased the humidity. It should have been a very pleasant moment but Oliver was frustrated.
“I think she was lying, she knows Dyer,” Oliver said.
“I don’t think so, she sounds very sweet,” Jenny replied.
“She is sweet, a very honest woman, which made it much harder for her to lie, but lie she did.”
Jamie sipped his mojito, “But there’s nothing you can do about it, unless you’re suggesting we go turn her over, drag the information out of her?”
“Of course not, it just means Dyer is still out there, otherwise if he was dead she would say so, if he’d moved on she would have said. No for her to need to lie means he is somewhere on the Delta,” Oliver deduced.
“You could be right, but where do we start?” Jenny asked.
“Yes there is still the small problem that the Delta is thirty nine thousand square kilometers, we could take,” Jamie did a quick mental calculation, “thirteen thousand kilometers each?”
Oliver smiled, “More cocktails will get our creative juices going, it can’t be impossible.”
Oliver waved a hand and an ever attentive waiter glided over to them. The terrace was very classy with fine furniture, elegant statues and a gloss black grand
piano.
As the three chatted they didn’t notice the young man in smart white trousers and white polo enter the room. He carried a black leather shoulder bag and held a clutch of business cards. He worked around the room engaging guests and handing out business cards for his eco tours. Oliver first noticed him when the round of cocktails he had ordered, were being placed at their table. Four Americans (Oliver assumed this from the prejudicial stereotypes he held in his mind) laughed loudly at the young man, who was very animated in manner. Oliver heard him say something like ‘you guys crack me up’ and then he turned around. Seeing Oliver looking across the young Vietnamese man dressed all in white raised a finger of engagement towards Oliver and walked over.
“Well done,” Jamie said to Oliver having also noticed him and seeing Oliver had caught his eye. Jamie shrunk down in his seat. Jenny smiled.
“Hey guys, how you doing?” Van Cong Son said, “call me Van.” Van vigorously shook hands with each of them. Jamie was less enthusiastic. Van spoke excellent English with a Vietnamese/American blend of accent (due to much of his learning being from USA programmes and cinema). He had a slightly effeminate drawl as he spoke.
“My god,” Van observed Jamie, “Would you look at this guy, how good looking is he?”
Van checked out with Oliver and Jenny as he pointed at Jamie, “my god you are a looker, best looking guy in the Rex, no in Ho Chi Min City, hell no in Vietnam, how long have you been in Ho Chi Min handsome guy?”
Oliver and Jenny were laughing, Jamie as cool as he thought he was, was blushing.
“Just one day,” Jamie answered.
“You’re going to have a great time with the girls with that face my friend, much fun,” Van swayed his hips, “and you won’t have to pay either.”
Van then placed a hand on Oliver’s shoulder, “Unlike you’re friend here, I hope you have plenty of Dong.”
It was Jamie’s turn to laugh and Jenny almost roared at Van’s comment.
“Hey,” Oliver protested.
“I’m only kidding, you’re not bad, is this you’re girlfriend?” Van asked.
Neither Oliver nor Jenny knew how to answer this direct question. They had become close, formed a partnership even, but hadn’t discussed or examined what they meant to each other. Jamie intervened.
“So what do you do Van?” Jamie asked.
“Tour guide good looking guy, best tour guide in southern Vietnam, you are English?”
“Yes,” Jamie answered.
“Manchester United, that’s my team, Rooney, Roooneeey,” Van chanted gently.
Oliver laughed, “Leeds United here, Good looking guy is Spurs and Jenny?”
Jenny answered Oliver, “Brighton.”
“I’ve not heard of Brighton,” Van paused and then looked at Jamie again, “are you a movie star, or a model or something?”
“No Van, I am not,” Jamie said a little straight laced.
“You make Brad Pitt look like a rats arse,” Van smiled at them all, “So what brings you guys to Vietnam?”
“Just a holiday,” Jenny answered.
“Holiday, good, so you want to have a look around, see a bit of Ho Chi Min, maybe go to the coast?” Van asked.
“What about the Mekong Delta?” Oliver asked.
Van turned to answer Oliver, not noticing Jamie’s waving arms making gestures of protest, “Mekong Delta? Yes, very interesting area, vast waterways, vibrant floating markets, wonderful small businesses and eco guest houses, would you like a few nights there?”
“No,” Jamie answered for Oliver, “we were going to travel independently.”
Van laughed loudly, “independently. How the hell are you going to do that? Travel in Vietnam is murder, no, you guys need a guide and you’re luck is in as Van has a window over the next few days.”
Van handed them out a card each. Jamie took a long drink through the straw of his cocktail.
“We were trying to track down an old friend of my fathers,” Oliver suddenly said, “He lives on the Delta, but it is such a big place.”
“Vietnamese guy?” Van asked.
“No no, English, older man, in his sixties a former Professor,” Oliver clarified for Van.
“English guy on the Delta, I should be able to help you there, what’s he look like? You see I’m there all the time doing my tours, by the way I am fully qualified, licensed and my transport is luxury, you’ll do well with Van.”
“Thanks,” Jamie said waving the card, “we’ll think about it and call you, Van.”
Oliver had reached into his back pocket and pulled out the photograph of Dyer, he handed it to Van, “We think he must be over sixty now, but I think he is a bit of a recluse. Dad would just like to get back in touch, he was a family friend for years.”
Van studied the picture, “Hey, I know this guy, travels round the Delta on his own, I’ve seen him at the floating markets at Cai Be, sure I could find this guy for you.”
Jamie looked at Jenny disbelievingly, Jenny just shrugged. She knew Oliver was becoming impatient even though this was still their first full day.
Oliver wanted a lead badly, “Okay Van, so how would say a three night tour work? Including you helping us find our friend?”
Van smiled, he had sealed the deal, “You have a good eye for a quality service sir,” Van said sitting down, “look I was only joking before, you’re a good looking guy too.”
“Thanks,” replied Oliver flatly, Jenny smiled and edged forward on her seat.
“And you’re girlfriend is very pretty, very angelic face,” Van smiled at Jenny, she smiled back.
Jenny looked across at Jamie who was looking less pleased and less engaged by Van’s charming business patter.
Van unzipped his black leather bag, he took out a large shiny map and a well thumbed brochure, “Okay we have many options, but if you’re friend is around the Cai Be area, he would have been shopping there if he lives that way, he won’t live further away than this,” Van took a pencil and drew a circle around an area of the vast Delta river on his map.
“How would you know that?” Jenny asked.
“Because,” Van pointed at four other points on the map, “here, here, here and here are other floating markets, outside of this circle and you’d go to one of these, inside and Cai Be is you’r
e local market. See you’re getting good value from me already and I haven’t even had a dollar from you.” Van laughed loudly again.
Even Jamie smiled and felt there was some plausibility to what Van said if indeed he had recognised Dyers picture, which Jamie doubted.
“Cai Be it is then,” Oliver said, throwing himself headlong towards Van’s lead. What else did he have to follow, thought Oliver.
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