Chapter twenty-five
Na telephoned me early the next morning to say he had some news for me. ‘I’ve got some for you, too’, I said.
I fetched my car from the garage and drove round to Sejong-daero.
‘Things are beginning to move’, said Na, as soon as I was admitted to his office. ‘They’ve killed Seong Jeong-ryong. I imagine he talked to you’.
It is always a shock to hear of the death of a person you have seen the previous day. I gripped the arm of my chair and said: ‘He talked all right. How did it happen?’
‘Obviously they were on to him. He must have been followed to your place last night. When he got back to his garage they were waiting for him. They put two bullets into his stomach. He died this morning’.
‘No witnesses?’
Na shook his head. He seemed rather anxious to change the subject. ‘What’s this news you’ve got for me?’ he asked.
‘Someone else is going to talk this evening’, I said a trifle grimly. ‘Or I’m much mistaken’. ‘Who might that be?’
‘Kim Joo-yojng. She’s done quite a lot of talking already, but it’s all been a pack of lies. This time, I fancy, she’s going to tell the truth. I think you ought to come along’.
‘Right’, said Na. ‘What time?’
‘Give me about an hour to work on her’, I said. ‘If you come at about seven you should catch her in the right frame of mind to put quite a lot of things straight’.
‘I’ll be there’, he promised, and dismissed me with a curt nod as he turned to a pile of papers.
Joo-young, relaxed and happy, sat on the settee in my living-room. She made, I thought, a delightful picture. She wore a dress of blue angora wool, which showed off her superb figure to perfection, with navy-blue kid court shoes, and exhibited a considerable amount of very shapely nylon-clad leg. I found myself wondering how a woman this beautiful, so poised, and so intelligent could make such an almighty fool of herself.
I poured gin and vermouth into a jug, added a lot of ice, stirred the mixture, and poured a generous portion of it into her glass.
She took a sip and made a wry face. ‘Darling, aren’t these rather strong?’
‘Of course they are’, I said. ‘Just relax. This is in the nature of a farewell party’. ‘Farewell party? Who’s going away?’
‘I am. I’m getting out of this country’.
She looked startled for a moment. ‘But, darling, why?’
I shrugged. ‘Now that I’ve got the money from Park, there’s really nothing to keep me here any longer’.
‘Well, it’s all rather sad, darling’, said Joo-young wistfully. Acting again, I thought.
I took a sip at my Martini. ‘If Park wants to cut himself off from all his old friends, then that’s his affair’, I said unconcernedly. I took his last letter from my pocket and handed it to Joo- young. ‘Read what he says in his letter’.
She read the note and passed it back to me. ‘That sounds pretty final, doesn’t it?’ she said.
‘It’s not exactly brimming over with bonhomie’, I agreed. ‘But what about you? Are you included in this fond farewell?’
‘I don’t know’, she replied thoughtfully. ‘The last time I saw him I got the idea that, as far as he was concerned, I was just a suitable person to act as a go-between – a stooge. Still, he’s not the only fish in the sea, I suppose’.
I looked at her appreciatively and I’m bound to say she delighted the eye. ‘For you, I should say, the sea will always be full of fish. Unfortunately, you can’t forget people like Park Song- yong: you can’t just brush them out of your life’.
‘I know’, said Joo-young. She looked moodily into her glass for a moment. I said: ‘Tell me exactly what happened when you met him’.
She looked faintly embarrassed. ‘I’ve already told you all there is to know. There’s nothing more’.
‘Yes, I know’, I persisted, ‘but the thing that puzzles me is why Park should have chosen a place like Ma Park’s cafe for your meeting’. Joo-young looked at me curiously and I nodded. ‘Oh, yes’, I said, ‘I’ve been there. It’s a real dump, isn’t it? The juke box blares away all the time and you can hardly hear yourself speak’.
‘You know Park’, said Joo-young evasively; ‘he always did like noisy places’.
‘There are various degrees of noise’, I said. ‘I should hardly have thought that ‘Ma’s Cafe’ was quite Park’s street’.
Joo-young glanced at her jewelled wristlet watch. She said: ‘I think I ought to be going. Perhaps you’ll tell me about this news –’
I interrupted her sharply. ‘You're not going yet’. She looked surprised. I went on: ‘I’ve always known you were a good actress. I’ve only just realised what a very accomplished liar you are’. ‘What do you mean?’ she demanded.
‘Just this’, I said. ‘In the first place, there’s no juke box in Ma Park’s cafe; there’s no music of any kind. The most noise in that place comes from the clicking of Ma’s false teeth and the clatter of cheap crockery’. I looked her full in the eyes. ‘You’ve never been near the place, have you?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about’, she retorted unconvincingly.
‘Oh, yes you do’, I said. ‘Your whole story was a pack of lies. You didn’t go to the cafe and you didn’t see Park. Well, how am I doing so far?’
‘I don’t like being called a liar’, said Joo-young icily. Two angry spots of colour showed on her cheekbones.
‘I may call you worse than that before I’m through’, I countered. ‘You spun me that tale about Park because you knew that as soon as I’d heard it I’d go straight to the cafe. Well, I went there and I met your charming little friend, Si. I must say I wouldn’t have thought he was quite your type. I don’t know how you fit into all this, but I’m going to find out’.
Joo-young passed a hand over her forehead. ‘I’ve got a shocking headache’, she said heavily, ‘and you’re talking a fearful lot of nonsense’. She started to get to her feet.
I pushed her gently back on to the settee. ‘You’re going to listen to me and like it. Whatever it is you’re mixed up in, murder’s only a small part of it’.
She looked shocked. ‘Murder?’
‘That’s what I said. Seong’s dead; he was shot in the stomach. He died this morning’.
‘But I don’t know anyone called Seong’, said Joo-young dazedly. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about’.
‘Oh yes, you do’, I contradicted, ‘and it’s not the only thing you know. You’ve been taking me for a ride long enough. You know where Park is, and you’re going to tell me’. I leaned forward and gripped her arm; it was not a gentle grip. ‘I want the truth’, I said, ‘and I’m going to get it’. ‘Please’, she protested weakly, ‘you’re hurting my arm’.
‘Where’s Park?’
She said helplessly: ‘I don’t know where he is’. I knew that she was still lying. ‘I’m not feeling at all well’, she said miserably. ‘I’m going home now’.
‘I’m afraid you can’t’. I looked at my watch. ‘I’ve got someone coming to see me at seven o’clock. He wants to see you too’.
‘Who is this person?’ Joo-young asked. ‘A friend of mine’.
‘Is he a policeman?’
‘No, not a policeman’, I said.
Na lit a cigarette and looked at Joo-young thoughtfully. His manner was quiet and persuasive. ‘Miss Kim’, he said, ‘I understand that this man Si came to see you about a fortnight ago. Is that correct?’
‘About a fortnight ago’, she said. ‘I’m not absolutely sure of the exact date’. Na inclined his head. ‘Go on, please’.
‘He called on me at the theatre’, continued Joo-young. ‘I’d never seen him before and I wondered what he wanted’.
‘Exactly what did he want?’
Although Na was quiet and considerate I could see something of his underlying ruthlessness. Joo-young, I decided, would tell the whole tale now and be glad to do so.
‘He told me that my fiancé, Park Song-yong, was in serious trouble. He said that Song-yong had stolen something and stood a good chance of being arrested’.
‘Did he tell you what your fiancé had stolen?’ asked Na.
She shook her head. ‘He was terribly vague about the whole thing. In any case, it sounded absolute none sense to me and I didn’t believe a word of it’.
‘What finally convinced you that he was telling the truth?’
‘A telephone call from Song-yong’. She paused, then went on: ‘Si said he’d arrange for Song- yong to speak to me. He called at my flat the next day and while he was there Park Song-yong came through on the telephone. He sounded absolutely desperate. He said that if he was to come out of this alive I must do everything that Si said’.
Na sat looking at Joo-young, his face devoid of expression.
Joo-young leaned forward. ‘Well, what was I to do? Rightly or wrongly, I’m in love with Park Song-yong and I still want to marry him. I don’t care what you think of me, but – well, I was prepared to do anything to save him’. She glared with a kind of nervous defiance at Na and then at me.
‘Are you quite sure it was Park who rang up?’ I asked.
‘I’m positive’, she said emphatically. ‘It was during the call that Song-yong let slip that he was at Sinjang-ri. I’m pretty sure he didn’t mean to, and Si got absolutely livid: he said that if I told anyone where Song-yong was they’d hand him straight over to the police’.
‘What did Si want you to do?’ I asked.
‘I was to persuade you to get off Song-yong’s trail’, said Joo-young. ‘Si said that he and his friends were trying to get Song-yong out of the country. The first thing I’d to do was to pay his debts for him’.
‘I see’, I said. ‘So it was your money all the time’.
She nodded. ‘I had to do it that way. The idea was that once you had the money you’d stop bothering about Song-yong. Anyway, I agreed to do this, and I did it’. She gave me a wan smile. ‘You know all about that’.
‘So far, so good’, remarked Na. ‘What else happened?’
‘I was to tell Moon Han-sang that I’d met Song-yong at Ma Park’s cafe’, went on Joo-young. ‘Of course, I’d never been to the dump – that’s where I slipped up. Si hoped that Han Sang wouldn’t go there; in which case he’d know for certain that he’d given up looking for Song- yong’.
‘But I did go’, I explained to Na, ‘and received a nice friendly warning from friend Si. He told me that if I didn’t lay off I was going to be in trouble. He meant it, too’.
‘Si seems to be a bright boy’, observed Na, and turned to Joo-young. ‘Is he the only contact you’ve had with these people?’
‘Yes’, she said. ‘I’ve seen no one else at all’.
‘And you’ve heard no suggestions as to why they might be?’
‘None at all, I’m afraid’. She assumed a contrite expression. ‘I suppose I’ve been an awful nuisance to everybody but – well, I was simply doing what seemed to be the only possible thing to help Song-yong. You see, I know him so well: he’s just the sort of person who’d get mixed up in a business like this and then be made the scapegoat’.
I thought cynically that this was a singularly charitable viewpoint to take, but I wasn’t engaged to Park. I said: ‘Do you know just how he did get mixed up in it?’
Joo-young hesitated. ‘Well, by stealing this … thing – whatever it is’.
‘And what about the model on my mantelpiece?’ I asked. ‘You told me it was Park who asked you to take the photo. Was that true?’
‘No, it wasn’t. It was Si. But I couldn’t tell you that without revealing the whole story’. ‘It would have been better if you had’, I commented.
Na pensively massaged his chin. ‘You mean’, he said slowly, ‘that he simply told you to take a photograph of the tobacco tin and its contents, and send the print to the shop in Eunpyeong-ro?’
‘Yes’, said Joo-young. ‘To Jang’s’.
‘Why?’ asked Na.
‘I honestly don’t know’, said Joo-young; she sounded weary and dispirited. ‘I know my story sounds very unlikely, and I know I’ve been stupid’.
‘You’ve been very stupid indeed’, said Na uncompromisingly. ‘Nevertheless, I believe you’.
Joo-young shot me a reproachful look. ‘Well, that’s something, anyway’. ‘I only wish you’d told us all this a little earlier’, I said.
‘I realise that now’, she said. ‘But I was scared stiff of Si, and I just didn’t dare to think what might happen to Song-yong if I told anyone’.
Na nodded understandingly. ‘I appreciate that you were in a very difficult position, Miss Kim. But you should have confided in Mr Moon’.
‘I know that’, said Joo-young, ‘but I didn’t know what Moon Han-sang was up to, or who he was working for’. She produced a wry little smile. ‘I still don’t, if it comes to that’.
Na smiled gently and lit another cigarette. He said: ‘I understand your show comes off at the end of the week, Miss Kim?’
Joo-young nodded.
‘Do you think you could get away before then? I’d like you to be out of the way for the next two or three days. Could you leave the show right away? Perhaps you could fly over to Tokyo?’ Joo-young thought for a moment. ‘It wouldn’t be easy’, she said dubiously.
‘Why not?’ asked Na directly. ‘Haven’t you got an understudy?’
‘Yes, but – ’
‘Give the poor girl a chance’, advised Na crisply. ‘She’s probably been longing for something like this to happen’.
Joo-young stared at Na. ‘Are you serious about this?’
‘Very serious. If something goes wrong during the next few days – and it could very easily – Si might take it into his head to drop in on you. I shouldn’t like that to happen, Miss Kim; I don’t think you would, either’.
Joo-young went pale under her make-up. ‘But what about Song-yong?’ she said.
‘This may sound a little brutal’, answered Na, ‘but I think you’ve given sufficient thought to your fiance for the time being. I can assure you that you won’t be helping him by staying here’. ‘You leave Park to me’, I said. ‘I’ll look after him’.
‘All right’, said Joo-young. ‘Tokyo it is. I’ll be at the Hilton if you want me’.
She held out a hand to Na, who shook it gravely. Then she picked up her fur stole and left the flat casually as if she were leaving her agent’s office’.
When Joo-young had gone I turned to Na. ‘Well, what do you make of it?’
‘She’s telling the truth now’, said Na decidedly. ‘It’s a pity she didn’t before’. I nodded in agreement. Then I said: Na, is it true that Park stole something?’
Na nodded sombrely. ‘Yes, he did’. He sat on the arm of the settee. ‘Have you ever heard of a man called Hong Jin-ho?’
I thought for a moment. ‘The name seems familiar’.
‘He’s very well known in his own rather specialised field’, went on Na. ‘He’s an aircraft designer. He’s been working for years on a new drone. It became rather a joke in scientific circles, but at last he’s perfected it’.
‘What’s so special about this drone?’ I asked.
‘It’s completely autonomous’, explained Ka, ‘and cheap to manufacture. It’s able to fly itself without any human intervention’.
‘To what extent?’
‘I can only describe it in layman’s language; I won’t wrap it up in a lot of scientific terms, even if I could. Apparently, it has the intelligence of a nine year old child’.
‘But that’s fantastic!’ I exclaimed.
‘Quite’, said Na. ‘So fantastic that a great many people, not all of them responsible people, became very interested in it’.
‘But how does Park Song-yong fit into all this?’
‘I’m coming to that’, said Na. ‘Park got to know Hong and tried to borrow money from him. Hong refused and they had a blazing row about it. That, apparently, was the end of the matter’. ‘Not if I know Park’, I interposed dryly.
‘Exactly. Anyway, a certain gentleman – let’s call him ‘X’ for the moment – scraped up an acquaintance with Park and offered him a substantial sum of money for a copy of the design plans’.
‘I’m beginning to understand’, I said. ‘This ‘x’ character traded on the fact that Park knew Hong and was still angry with him’.
‘Precisely. The idea appealed to Park and he decided to have a shot at it. Well, he was lucky: he got the designs, but having got them decided –’
‘ – that ‘x’ hadn’t offered him enough for them’, I interrupted, ‘and he was going to sell them in the open market’.
Na smiled. ‘You obviously know your friend. That’s exactly what did happen. However, to keep ‘x’ happy Park prepared a second copy with a dud info on it, and gave it to him’.
‘I see’, I said. ‘Go on’.
‘Park knew that ‘x’ had been in touch with a group of North Korean officials’, continued Na, ‘and also that he had contacted an armaments combine in the US. He was, in fact, playing one off against the other. Park decided to do the same. The North Koreans ordered Park to meet Arsenio, their Cuban intermediary, at Sinjang-ri. They told Park that Arsenio would pay the price he wanted and collect the plans, but Park wasn’t taking any chances’. Na paused and contemplated the toe of his right shoe. Presently he went on: ‘First of all, Park let it be known that his reason for going to Sinjang-ri was to meet you – this was in case ‘x’ became suspicious – and secondly, he made up his mind not to take the plans Sinjang-ri. Well, you know what happened’.
‘I don’t know what happened’, I corrected.
Na waved aside my interruption. ‘Park went to Sinjang-ri. He arrived the day before you did and stayed at the pub under the name of Ho Dae-du. Suddenly Mr Ho disappeared’ – Na snapped his fingers – ‘just like that’.
‘You mean he was kidnapped?’
‘Yes’.
‘By whom?’
Na shrugged. ‘What’s your guess, Moon?’
I thought for a moment. ‘It seems fairly obvious that he must have been grabbed by either the North Korean’s and their cronies, the Yanks, or by ‘x’, who had found out that he was being double-crossed’.
‘That’s how it struck me, too’, said Na. ‘Anyway, whoever it is, it’s quite obvious that they haven’t made him talk yet. He’s still holding out’.
‘Yes’, I said, ‘Park would’.
Na looked at me shrewdly. ‘I’m glad to hear you say that’, he said quietly.
‘You mustn’t underestimate Park’, I said. ‘he’s an irresponsible devil, and you couldn’t trust him a yard with a bearer bond or your wife. But he’s got plenty of guts’.
‘He’s going to need them’, said Na. ‘What happens now?’ I asked.
‘It’s all yours now’, he said smoothly. ‘Get up to Sinjang-ri and find Park. Don’t worry, I wont leave you in the lurch. There’ll be some of my people there too. This business is coming to a climax and we can’t afford to let up for an instant. You keep after Park; my people will be right behind you’.