James Church - A Corpse in the Koryo

"I always meant to take that boat," Pak said. "Maybe I'll write a list of things I meant to do."

Kang clucked his tongue. "Too soon to be morose. No one will make a move yet."

Maybe it was his tone of voice, but I felt a sudden surge of anger.

"You are pretty calm about this. You've been awfully damn calm the whole time, even in Manpo after you killed Chong."

Pak's right hand moved slightly. I thought he might be going for his gun. "Chong? The guy they were asking me about?"

Kang didn't change expression. "The inspector didn't tell you about our adventure?" He laughed. "Did he tell you about his Finnish girlfriend?"

Pak's hand stayed put. "It must be raining Finns. We're drowning in them. Come to think of it, I never did get a report, Inspector."

"No time for that." Kang nodded at three men who had just stepped into the restaurant. One of them was Colonel Kim. He was wearing civilian clothes; the two others were in well-fitting Military Security uniforms, fine buttons and all. Kim glanced out the window at us. He caught my eye and held it, then looked away and followed the restaurant manager to a private room off to the side. The manager, a tall man with a sad face, was sweating profusely. He did not look happy to see Kim.

Kang had already started down the steps to the parking lot, two at a time. "I'll meet you at the monuments." He flashed that smile of his, the one with the teeth. "Should be a splendid view."

Pak started his car and then turned the ignition off. "What's going on? Why didn't you tell me about Chong?"

"Chong? Arab blood? I started to, but you said you didn't want to know."

He gave me an acid look. "I didn't need to know if you two were acquainted.

That's a hell of a lot different from knowing one of my inspectors was present when Kang shot a Military Security operative. Did you at least report it to someone?"

"Ha! He didn't shoot him. It was a rock." Pak stared out the windshield.

"Kang said not to report it. He had some sort of operation under way at a compound in the hills just below where it happened, and he didn't want activity."

"What compound?"

"I don't know. He said it was run by Military Security, and he wanted me to get inside, but then you found the Finn and I had to come home."

"Did Kang seem rattled that I ordered you back here?"

"Kang? You've got to be kidding. Even when those three guys were frying in the jeep-"

"What jeep?"

I paused. "Let me give you the whole story as we drive." When I finished, Pak pulled into a narrow side street where an ice cream vendor had set up in the shade of three enormous mulberry trees. A few of the customers looked over when the car stopped next to the curb, but on a sunny afternoon, eating ice cream beats staring at a parked car. After a minute, no one looked to be paying much attention.

"You go back to the office." Pak ran his fingers through his hair.

"Take the bus, if it's running today. No one will be laying for you on a city bus. I saw the way Kim sneered at you in the restaurant. They may not be tailing us right now, but it won't take them long to locate our cars.

"This is what you meant, isn't it, about all hell breaking loose.

They're about to move in on Kang, and you think you're on the list, too. Have you been working for Kang? Military Security has no reason to get you. You weren't there when Chong was killed." Pak didn't say anything. "Does it go back farther? You and Kang?"

"What you don't know, Inspector, can't hurt you."

"I'm not worried about what I don't know. I'm worried about you.

Why don't you go back to the office? Or better yet, get over to the Ministry.

The Minister won't let Military Security into the building. I can get to the monuments from here on foot. There won't be any trouble there. I think they're still waiting for something. That look from Kim wasn't the one a snake gives before it strikes. More like an invitation to play a little longer. Come on, mouse, try to get away. Anyhow, I have some business with Kang."

Pak reached over and opened my door. "Nope. You're outvoted, comrade. The People's Committee of Ministry Unit 826 has just voted and recommends you go back to the office. Period."

"You're going to have to tell me sooner or later what this is about.

You just can't leave me dangling. Kang says you two know each other a long time." I got out and slammed the door.

Pak started the engine. "Go back to the office, straighten things up. Get to my desk. It was used by the Japanese army, probably the security people. It's not the normal junk we have. Second drawer, there's a fitted compartment. Inside is an envelope. Use it when you need it. You'll know what to do with it when the time comes. If they took apart the desk, they'd find it. Otherwise it would sit there for years, and then it would be too late. In my filing cabinet, there are transfer papers for you, a residence card, and a temporary food certificate."

"For where?"

"Not Kanggye." He smiled. Then the smile disappeared. "Stay low.

Sand your wood if that's what you need to stay sane. The unit where you're going won't ask questions. Don't raise any. And wear the fucking pin, will you?"

I started to say something, but the car pulled away. The people sitting on the curb across the street concentrated on their ice cream and pretended they hadn't heard a word.

Pak's phone was ringing when I walked in an hour later. As soon as I picked it up, the line went dead. My office had been searched. The sandpaper I'd left on the desk had been opened and then refolded the wrong way. Why had they driven away just after Kang came up? How did they happen into the same restaurant just as we were leaving?

The only thing I was sure of was that Pak was yelling at Kang this very minute, demanding to know why the Investigations Department had exposed one of his inspectors to danger without telling him, and warning that he was going to cut off cooperation with Kang once and for all.

Pak's phone rang again. I let it go several times before I picked it up. It was the vice minister. "Inspector, your phone seems to be disconnected."

His voice was dangerously normal, like the lid on a bottle of poison. "Get over to the Ministry, now. The Minister wants to see you. There's been an accident." Before I could ask what he meant, he hung up.

The Ministry was a five-minute car ride away. On my bicycle it would take longer. The bicycle was leaning against the tree where I had left it. It looked like the back tire had lost more air, but there wasn't much I could do about that. At the first intersection, the traffic lady whistled for me to stop and use the underpass. I ignored her. She could blow her whistle until she was red in the face, because 1 knew she didn't have a radio, and by the time a patrol car appeared to ask her what was wrong, I'd be at the Ministry. I gave her a salute as I rode by.

The guards at the Ministry's gate waved me through without asking to see my ID. The vice minister was in the Minister's outer office, sitting on a couch with an assistant, going over some papers. He pretended I wasn't there. Finally, he stood up and nodded to me. "The Minister is on the phone. As soon as he gets off, we'll go in. You will stand and listen to what he says. Don't ask him any questions, and don't comment on anything he says. When he's done, come back out here and wait for me."

"What happened? You said there was an accident?" I realized I still had the pistol in my back pocket. A good reason to let the vice minister walk ahead of me.

"Inspector, do us both a favor. Say nothing." His lips quivered with the rage that had long ago boiled away all his other emotions. "You think you're above the rest of us. You think you can ignore the regulations, sidestep politics, forget to come to the study sessions for months on end.