Chapter Forty
Somewhere on the drive back No Jung-jong lost consciousness. When I parked outside my apartment he was breathing heavily, his head lolling on the back of the seat. I dashed up to my apartment, poured a half tumbler of brandy, and returned to the car.
No Jung-jong was stirring slightly. He opened the one eye, which was still functioning. 'Milk . Moon . milk .' he murmured.
I managed to get him over my shoulder and carry him into my apartment. There I took off his jacket, loosened his tie, and lowered him into an armchair.
When I went out to the kitchen to get him a glass of milk and a bowl of rice I carried his jacket over my arm, and it wasn't until I'd looked through the pockets and found what I was looking for that I took it back to the living room, hung it over the back of a chair, and poured myself a large glass of soju.
'How are you feeling?' I inquired, coming over and gazing down at him.
'I'm perking up', he said. 'Thank God they didn't kick me in the stomach .'
He face was in a mess and there was a gash in his left temple, which I judged had been caused by a lethally-aimed kick.
'Who are "they", No Jung-jong?'
'Gang of teenagers', he said unconvincingly. There was an awkward pause as he took another spoon of rice. 'This is what the doctor ordered!' he chuckled, shedding grains of rice onto the front of his crumpled shirt.
'So a gang of teenagers beat you up just for the fun of it?'
'They do that, you know'. He nodded sagely. 'But this lot were after my money. Turned out all my pockets'.I crossed over to his jacket and took out his wallet. 'Well, they evidently missed that; and the forty thousand won inside'.
'Well, that's a stroke of luck!' he exclaimed. 'Maybe that Warden disturbed them. I wish he'd come sooner. Tomorrow I'll be so stiff I shan't be able to move'.
From his jacket pocket I took out two other articles and held them up. 'Then it looks as though you'll have to cancel this plane ticket to Vancouver. I see you're due for a flight timed ten-thirty a.m.' I tossed the ticket on to his lap.
'What the hell are you up to, going through my pockets?' he snapped, his one serviceable eye watching me apprehensively. 'And what are you doing with my passport?'
'I'm keeping it, No Jung-jong. Whether you get back it depends on how co- operative you are'.
His reaction was surly. 'I'm not going to answer any questions', he muttered.
'You're wasting your time, Moon'.
I threw the passport on to a table. 'There's one thing more in the pocket of your jacket, No Jung-jong. A gun. That might interest the ballistic experts at the lab. They've extracted the bullet from the man who was shot yesterday in World Cup Buk-ro.
'That wasn't me'. He levered himself up in the armchair, then fell back with a groan. 'I swear to God it wasn't'.
'You'll have to do better than that, No Jung-jong - otherwise I'm handing it over to the police. It is registered with them, I suppose?'
He gave a helpless sigh. 'All right', he said tonelessly. 'What is it you want to know?'
'First, why did you come to meet me with a gun in your pocket? . Or shall I answer that?' I crossed to him, put a hand under his chin, and held up his face to mine. 'You were going to use it to force me to hand over the diamonds, weren't you? Your plan was to double-cross Bae and get out of the country - wasn't it, No Jung-jong?'
'I paid for it, Moon?' he moaned. 'They rumbled what I was up to and beat hell out of me'.
'Don't expect sympathy from me', I said harshly. 'Was Bae with them?'
'Bae's too smart for that', he said bitterly.
'But you know who Bae is!' I persisted.
He shook his head, and a spasm of pain crossed his face. 'Those bastards never tell you anything'.
'Answer my question, No Jung-jong!' I said sharply. 'Who is Bae Yeon-seok?'
'I don't know. I've never even spoken to him on the telephone. And that's the gospel truth!' He eyed me wearily. 'Are you a detective, Moon?'
'You know who I am, No Jung-jong; you were tipped off about me by telephone the first time I came to your office. We'll take it from there'. I looked down at him, thoughtfully. 'Your job in the set-up is to act as a go-between. The diamonds originate in North Korea and are smuggled over via China by peoplelike Doyle. To prevent any slip-up the smuggler has to identify himself before being passed on to you. Am I right?'
'You said Doyle told you all that. Why do we need to go over it all again?'
'I'm just verifying the facts', I said equably. 'Now - if I were working for Bae I should be supplied with an auction catalogue, which I'd take to The Golden Sun, and they'd pass me on to you?'
'Jaw-long made a false move there', he said angrily. 'You'd never have got on to all this if the bloody fool hadn't given you that catalogue'.
'No doubt Bae will take care of him'. I nodded. 'Now you tell me the rest'.
'I daren't, Moon', he replied with a shudder. 'You see what they've done to me already. Next time it'll be . ' he drew a hand across his throat.
'All the more reason why you should tell me', I said, picking up his passport from the table. 'You're going to need this very badly - but you're not getting it until you've come through with all the information I want'.
'For God's sake, Moon! You've got to let me have that passport!' he shifted uneasily in the chair.
'Go on, No Jung-jong . '
I waited and at last he responded: 'When they're passed on to me I reel off a list of names. Among them is the code word. If they pick that out and repeat it, together with the code number . '
'Bronze Dragon. Four-nineteen', I said, with a smile.
'How the hell you knew it beats me; it's changed every week'. He gave me a sly look. 'Where you came unstuck was on the last test'.
'Ah . the chronometer'.
'That's right'. He extended a finger and waved it to and fro. 'You should have moved the finger to a certain number on the clock-face. When you didn't do that, I knew you were a phoney'.
'Suppose I'd known the number - what then?'
'You'd have been passed on to somebody else'.
'Bae?'
'Nobody gets passed on to Bae'. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. 'Give me a break, Moon. You wouldn't want them to kill me, would you?'
'You'd have killed me out there on Namsan Park, I said savagely. 'Is Kong So-ra the go-between?'
He licked his lips nervously, then nodded.
'And it was she who warned you about me on the telephone?'
He nodded again.
'You say no one gets passed on to Bae. Does Kong So-ra settle the deal?'
'Yes'. He plucked at the arm of the chair.
I half filled a tumbler with brandy and handed it to him. It was not entirely a gesture of solicitude, for I was relying on the brandy to loosen his tongue.
He gulped down most of it, then looked up at me contritely.
'You've got me wrong, Moon. I wouldn't have used the gun on you tonight.
It was only meant as a threat'.'I'll take your word for it', I said, dropping into a chair opposite his.
Presently, he said: 'You know something, Moon? After the way they beat me up, I'd shop them all'.
I decided this was to be the moment of truth, and that now was the time for me to ask: 'What do you know about a man called Chang Chu-chu?'
'I've heard of him', he admitted. 'He was killed in a car accident in Shanghai'.
'And the North Korean diamonds that were . '
'Chang Chu-chu knew nothing about the diamonds', he interposed. 'They were hidden in a chronometer that Chang was carrying, but as far as he was concerned he was just delivering a birthday present to a friend of his brother's'.
'His brother?'
'That's right - Joong-ki Salinger. Joong-ki often brought diamonds over to Bae, but at that particular time he was laid up with a broken ankle, so Joong-ki hit on the idea of hiding the diamonds in the chronometer and asking Chang to deliver them'.
'But Chang never got here'.
'He was knocked down when he was on his way to the airport. The chronometer vanished. I heard that Bae was furious about the whole business.
He thought Joong-ki was double-crossing him. He put the pressure on the poor devil, and Joong-ki finished up by killing himself'.
'How do you think Doyle got hold of the missing diamonds?'
No Jung-jong shrugged. 'He must have known Chang Chu-chu was carrying them. Maybe Joong-ki told him. Doyle probably decided to follow Chang and wait for his chance to knock off the chronometer. Anyhow, he came over here and tried to do a deal with Bae . You know what happened'.
This sounded remarkably like the answer to Na's problem. But I still persisted.
'Kim Su-mi was driving the car that killed Chang Chu-chu. Now, tell me what you know about her'.
'I told you before, Moon - the name means nothing to me. But knowing names isn't encouraged in Bae's outfit. I know Kong So-ra's because I have to contact her when someone comes into my office with a packet of blood diamonds. As a cover she runs a gallery'.
'With Kim Su-mi', I said, more to myself than to No Jung-jong.
'Doyle was murdered in Kim Su-mi's apartment, wasn't he?'
No Jung-jong scratched his head. 'Bae suspected Doyle of selling diamonds to some other set-up. If you ask me, that's why Doyle was murdered'.
'By Bae, personally?'
'Possibly'.
'Did you pass on the word that I wanted to do a deal with him?'
'Yes, through Kong So-ra. I don't know what made him suspect I was up to something. I told Kong you'd be bringing the diamonds'.
'Strange that Bae didn't set his gang of thugs on to me, then'.'That's what I thought. You had a lucky break there, Moon. But they'll catch up with you before long. You watch your step, Mister - you wouldn't want to finish up like Doyle, would you?'
'You can say that again!'
'Well', he said after a pause, 'do I get my passport?'
The telephone rang. I picked up the receiver, watching No Jung-jong as a female voice drawled in my ear. 'Oh, Mr Moon - this is Kong So-ra. I'd very much like to see you . Could you be at The Golden Sun at ten o'clock tomorrow morning?'
'I think I can manage that, Miss Kong'.
She cut in on me hastily: 'Don't mention this to anyone, Mr Moon - particularly Su-mi. Ten tomorrow, then. That's a date'.
As I replaced the receiver No Jung-jong said: 'What did she want?'
'She wants to see me'.
'What did I tell you!' he said knowingly. 'Your number's in the frame, Moon! I've warned you . Well - what about my passport?'
'It's all your', I said, pushing it across the table towards him.
He picked it up and slipped it into his hip pocket. 'And would you do me a favour?' he asked. 'Phone for a taxi. I'll never make it to the subway'.
I dialled the taxi firm.
'That's oaky, No Jung-jong', I said presently, 'It'll be here in five minutes. I should have a hot bath and a couple of asprin tonight. And be sure you catch that plane tomorrow morning'.
'You can bet on it!' He lifted his jacket from the chair, groaning as he tried to put it on. 'Could you give me a hand?'
As I helped him, I took the pistol from the jacket pocket. It was .38 automatic. 'I wouldn't be caught landing in Vancouver with this, if I were you, No Jung-jong. I'm told the Canadian police can be pretty rough with gunmen'.
'You're welcome to it. And good luck to you, Moon. No hard feelings, Ihope'.
'You're an optimist', I said, steering him to the door. 'There's your taxi now'.