Up Country Part 18

We looked around the underground war rooms: conference rooms, a communications room with vintage radios and telephones, a nicely furnished bedroom and sitting room for the president, and so forth, all frozen in time.

We left the underground war rooms and went outside into the sunlight, behind the palace, where President Thieu's old Mercedes-Benz still sat; another piece of frozen time that made this place eerie.

We walked through the gardens of the former presidential palace, which were quite nice.

She asked me, "Was that all right?"

"Interesting. Thank you."

"I'm never sure what people want to see, but as a vet, I thought you'd appreciate that little piece of history. I have a few more places in the standard tour, then you get to pick."

"You really don't have to show me around Saigon."

"I enjoy it. When I lived in New York, I never got to see the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building unless out-of-towners were in."

"I have the same deal in Was.h.i.+ngton."

"You know, I've never been to Was.h.i.+ngton."

"Sometimes I wish I'd I'd never been to Was.h.i.+ngton." never been to Was.h.i.+ngton."

She glanced at me, then said, "If I ever get to Was.h.i.+ngton, you owe me a tour."

"Deal."

We continued our walk around the grounds. The air was fragrant with blossoms, which was nice in January. We stopped at a refreshment stand, and we each bought a half-liter bottle of water.

We drank as we walked, and I asked her, "When your parents first visited, what was their reaction?"

"They were appalled. They wanted me to pick up and leave right then and there." She laughed and added, "They couldn't picture their coddled little girl living in a Third World city. They were really b.u.mmed out by the prost.i.tutes, the Communists, the beggars, the food, the heat, disease, me smoking, me going to a Catholic church-you name it, they were b.u.mmed out." She laughed again.

I asked, "Did you take them on your motor scooter?"

"Heavens, no. They wouldn't even get in a cyclo. We took taxis." She added, "My brother and sister came once on their own, and they loved it. My brother disappeared one night and came back with a smile."

"I'm sure he went to a puppet show. How old is he?"

"He was in college then."

"What do your parents do?"

"My father is a surgeon, and my mother is a high school teacher. How's that for perfect?"

"My father was a mechanic, my mother was a housewife. I grew up in South Boston."

She didn't reply to that, but she made a mental note of it.

She seemed to be heading for a particular destination, and we took a path that led through a line of flowering shrubs. In front of us was a small slope of gra.s.s, and she walked halfway up it and sat down. She took off her shoes and socks, and wiggled her toes, then unb.u.t.toned the top few b.u.t.tons of her silk s.h.i.+rt.

I sat a few feet from her.

She took off her f.a.n.n.y pack, fished out a cigarette, and lit up.

I took the cell phone out of my pocket and said, "Maybe I should call the hotel."

She took the cell phone from me and put it in her f.a.n.n.y pack. "No rush. I'll call for you later. They respond better when you speak to them in Vietnamese."

She finished her cigarette, rolled up her sleeves, lay back on the gra.s.s, and closed her eyes. "Ah, that feels good. You should take off your s.h.i.+rt and get some sun."

I took off my s.h.i.+rt and lay down beside her, but not too close. I put my s.h.i.+rt and empty water bottle under my head.

The sun felt good on my skin, and there was a little breeze blowing now.

She said, "You looked too pale."

"I just came from winter."

"I actually miss winter. I miss the fall in the Berks.h.i.+res."

We made small talk for a while, then I said to her, "This may be none of my business, but I feel a little guilty if you and Bill had an argument about you spending your Sunday with me." I didn't feel at all guilty, but I wanted a response from her.

She didn't reply for a while, obviously considering the right response. Finally she said, "I explained to him that you were going up country Monday morning and needed to be briefed-that this was part of the stupid favor he was asked to ask me to do." She added, "He wanted to come along. I told him no."

"Why?"

"In Vietnam, three is an unlucky number, and three people together bring bad luck."

I replied, "I thought three was a lucky number in Vietnam. You know-Ba Ba Ba-lucky beer."

She stayed quiet a moment, then said, "Maybe I got it wrong." She laughed, but didn't really answer my question.

It was getting hot in the sun, and I was sweating, but she looked cool as a pomegranate. I said, "So, brief me."

"Where are you headed next?"

"I'm not sure."

"Then how can I brief you? And why don't you know where you're going?"

"I'm just supposed to travel around, maybe visit some battlefields, then I have an appointment about a week from now."

"Where?"

"I can't say."

"You're not helping me."

"Just give me a general rundown of transportation, communication, how the hotels work, customs, currency, and all that."

"Okay. It's the Tet holiday, as you know, and it's hard to get transportation for the next week. Then, from New Year's Day on, everything's shut down, or on a very light schedule-the train service actually shuts down for four days. The roads, planes, and buses are empty because everybody stays close to home, and they eat and sleep. Nine months from now, there'll be a baby boom, but that's not your problem."

"And most people are in their native towns and villages?"

"That's right. I'd say ninety percent of the population manages to get home. The big towns and cities that are full of formerly rural people really empty out-and the villagers and peasants have the pleasure of houseguests in their little huts for a week."

I remembered the weeks leading up to Tet '68, and the sight of thousands of people walking, bicycling, riding in ox carts on the rural roads. The army had put out a communication telling the troops what this was all about, and we were told not to interfere with this ma.s.s movement of people, but to keep an eye out for Viet Cong, who might have infiltrated these pilgrimages. Viet Cong meant any male of military age who had two arms and two legs and wasn't wearing a South Vietnamese army uniform and wasn't carrying an ID card.

I didn't recall finding any VC, but in retrospect, these throngs of civilians must have been filled with VC infiltrators, on the move and getting into place for what was to come. And to make matters worse, a good portion of the South Vietnamese army was either on leave, or were going AWOL to be home. General Giap, in Hanoi, who had planned this surprise attack on Tet Eve, the most sacred and most militarily defenseless day of the year, was a smart guy. I hoped that Colonel h.e.l.lmann in Was.h.i.+ngton, who had planned my Tet operation, was at least as smart.

Susan went on about the general conditions in the countryside and reinforced some of what Conway had told me.

She said, "The people are generally friendly, and they won't rat you out to the police. They don't like their government, but they love their country. Be respectful of their customs and traditions, and show an interest in their way of life."

"I don't know any of their customs."

"Neither do I. I know Saigon, but it's very different out there. Don't pat anyone's head. The head is sacred. The feet are the lowest part of the body. Don't get your feet above their head. That's disrespectful."

"How would my feet get above someone's head?"

"I can think of a few ways."

So, we lay there, and Susan went on about customs, pitfalls, police, health matters, food, guest houses where they didn't report your presence to the police, and so on.

I asked her, "Is there still a danger of land mines?"

"There seems to be. Every once in a while you read about some kid getting blown up. If you're really out in the boondocks, stay on the well-trodden paths." She added, "You wouldn't want to find what you missed last time."

"No, I wouldn't."

She asked me, "Are you going into the former North Vietnam?"

"Maybe."

"Well, if you are, then the situation changes. The Communists have been in power there since the 1950s, and they're pretty well organized. According to my company booklet, which I had to read, the secret police in the north have an extensive network of government informers. The people in the north are not particularly friendly to Americans, as I discovered on my first business trip to Hanoi. We killed about a million of them. Right? These people will will rat you out to the police." She glanced at me and said, "If you're going to the north, be prepared for a more efficient police state." rat you out to the police." She glanced at me and said, "If you're going to the north, be prepared for a more efficient police state."

"I've heard."

"Pa.s.s yourself off as an Australian. They'll be friendlier to you. But that doesn't work with the cops, of course, who can look at your pa.s.sport."

"How does an Australian act?"

"Always have a can of beer in your hand."

"Right."

"You might hear the words Lien Xo spoken regarding yourself. Kids in rural areas, who don't see many Caucasians, will yell out, 'Lien Xo!' This just means foreigner, or Westerner, but the literal translation is Soviet Union."

"Run that by me again."

"Okay. When the Russians were here from 1975 to the 1980s, there were no other Westerners here, and the term Lien Xo came to mean Westerner. In the north, Lien Xo is not derogatory-the Soviets were their allies. In the south, it once had derogatory connotations because the southerners hated the Russian military and civilian advisors. Now it just means Westerner. Follow?"

"Sort of. In the south, I'm an American, in the north, I'm Australian. But people will call me Soviet."

"That just means Westerner. Don't get confused."

"Why can't I be a New Zealander, or a Brit, or how about a Canadian?"

"I don't know. Try it. Okay, up north, the people are not as materialistic as they are in the south."

"That's good."

"No, that's bad. They're real Reds, and are not as bribable as in the south. Maybe it's a philosophical or political thing, but it's also because there aren't as many consumer goods in the north, so American money isn't G.o.d. So, you can't give a cop a tenner and expect him to turn the other way. Understand?"

"How about a twenty?"

She sat up suddenly and said, "You know... my office is closed the week after next for the holiday. And this week is very slow. You want company?"

I sat up.

She said, "I'd love to travel around the country. I've hardly been out of Saigon in a year. It might be interesting to see some of the war stuff with a veteran."

"Thanks, but-"

"You're going to need an interpreter. They don't speak a lot of English outside the cities. I wouldn't mind taking a vacation."

"I'm sure there are other places you could go. Winter in the Berks.h.i.+res."

"I always go out of the country on vacation, but I'd like to take an in-country vacation."

"I'm sure Bill would be happy to join you."

"He doesn't like Vietnam. Can't get him out of Saigon."

"I'm sure he'd make an exception if he was looking for us."

She laughed and then said, "We can travel together as friends. People do it all the time. I trust you. You work for the government."

"I don't think the people who sent me here would approve of me taking on a traveling companion."

"They would if they understood what this place is about. Aside from the language problem, men traveling on their own are ha.s.sled unmercifully by pimps and prost.i.tutes. That doesn't happen if you have a woman with you. Also, the police are less likely to bother you. A guy by himself is presumed to be up to no good. I don't know why they sent you here alone."

Neither did I, now that I thought about it. I suppose it had to do with the strong desire to limit the knowledge of this murder investigation that wasn't a murder investigation. I smiled and said to Susan, "How do I know you're not a double agent?"

She smiled in return. "I'm a boring investment advisor. I need a little excitement."

"Drive your motor scooter."

"Done that. Think about my offer. I can leave a message in the office tonight, pack, and be at the Rex at 10 A.M. A.M., latest."