Steve stirred. He opened his eyes, blinked, then seeing her watching him, he smiled.
“Hello, Mrs. Jaffe,” he said and dropped his hand onto her. “What’s the time?”
She looked adoringly at him. He couldn’t have said anything nicer to her than that simple “Hello, Mrs. Jaffe.”
“It’s only four.”
He slid his arm under her shoulders and pulled her to him.
“How glad I’ll be to get out of here,” he said, absently stroking her flank. “Thirty-one more hours. It’s damned funny really how in a few hours one’s whole life can change. In thirty-one hours you and I will be in a helicopter. Have you ever been in a helicopter?”
“No.”
“Nor have I. This will be the first of many new experiences we are going to share together.” He saw the worried expression come into her eyes and he shook his head, smiling at her. “The first thing we’ll do when we get to Hong Kong is to find a lawyer to get your family fixed. You’re worrying about them, aren’t you?”
“A little. They will be very sad when I leave them.”
“They’ll get over it.” He lay quiet for some moments, then, “You won’t change your mind and stay here with me? Your grandfather can go and tell your family you’re leaving with me to get married. I’ll give him the money for a taxi. Come on, Nhan, change your mind. Let’s get to know each other. We shall have thirty-one hours in this little room to talk. We should know each other pretty well after thirty-one hours’ talking shouldn’t we?”
“Yes.”
She was tempted to stay. It was strange, she thought, when I am with him, I’m not frightened. With him, holding me, I can really believe that I shall go to Hong Kong with him and I shall stay at the best hotel and have a car of my own and a necklace of pearls as he promised. Not that I want anything really except him.
She wrestled with temptation to stay. Her three brothers didn’t like her grandfather. She never knew quite why. It wouldn’t do for him to go to them and tell them she was leaving Saigon and wouldn’t see them for a long time. They relied on her. They would miss her so much. It was her duty to explain why she was leaving them herself.
“I must go, Steve,” she said, looking anxiously at him. “I want to stay, but as I am leaving them and going to live with you, it wouldn’t be right not to tell them myself.”
“I guess that’s right.” Jaffe bent and kissed her. “You’re a funny kid, Nhan. I admire you for being able to feel that way. I couldn’t: it’s not in me.”
“You are very kind.”
“No, I’m not,” Jaffe said, frowning. “I’m in love with you. I wasn’t kind even to you before I learned to love you. Now it’s easy to be kind to you, but not to anyone else.” He got off the bed and slipped on his shorts, then crossing to his canvas hold-all, lying on the floor, he opened it and took out the typewriter ribbon container and came back to her. “Lie still,” he said and opening the container, he gently spilled the diamonds into the little hollow between her breasts.
She lifted her head and looked at the diamonds sparkling like fireflies on her brown skin. They felt cold, and she suppressed a shiver as Jaffe very carefully moved them with his fingers, making a little pattern with them.
“They’re terrific, aren’t they?” he said. “Look at them! I’ll be sorry to sell them. I’ll pick the best of them and I’ll have it mounted on a ring for you.”
The feel of the diamonds against her skin gave her the same feeling of horror she once had when, lying in the long grass, a snake had slid over her naked legs. Then, she had sprung to her feet, screaming. Now, seeing the pleasure the diamonds lying between her breasts gave him, she fought down the horror and controlled the impulse to sweep them off her body and scream.
But she couldn’t hide the sudden tensing of her muscles and Jaffe, puzzled, scooped up the diamonds and put them back into the tin.
“I wonder if I’ll ever learn to understand you, Nhan,” he said. “One second you’re happy and relaxed, the next you’re scared out of your wits. I’d like to know what goes on in that funny mind of yours.”
She rubbed her hand between her breasts as if trying to get rid of the feel of the diamonds.
“I wonder sometimes what goes on in your mind too, Steve.”
“I guess.” He looked at the diamonds before putting the lid on the tin. “These stones give me more pleasure than anything else in the world - except you.”
“I’m glad.”
She slid off the bed. She couldn’t bear to talk about the diamonds a moment longer. If it hadn’t been for those hard sparkling stones, Haum would still be alive and this nightmare that was happening to them both wouldn’t be happening.
“I must get dressed. I don’t want to miss the bus.”
“There’s time.” He stretched out on the bed and lit a cigarette while he watched her slip into her clothes. As she went over to the mirror to tidy her hair, he said, “You understand what to do, Nhan? There must be no mistake. Blackie will call for you at ten o’clock tomorrow night. He will bring you to the old temple. I’ll be there at eleven. Don’t bring too many things… just a small suitcase. I’ll buy everything you want when we get to Hong Kong.”
“I understand.”
She put her comb back into her bag, then from the bag, she took out a small object and came over to him. She sat on the edge of the bed, looking seriously at him.
“I want you to keep this until we meet again.”
“What is it?”
She took his hand and put the object into it. Frowning, he held it up to examine it. It was a tiny Buddha carved in ivory.
“It belonged to my father,” she said. “It will protect you from harm. It is very powerful, Steve. Keep it with you. So long as you have it, no harm will come to you.”
He was touched by her simple faith.
“I’ll keep it,” he said. It didn’t occur to him the sacrifice she was making by giving the Buddha to him. All her life she had kept this little ivory carving. She relied on it for comfort: parting with it was giving away her most important and valuable possession. He put the Buddha on the table by his watch. “Well, kid, it won’t be long now.” He sat up, putting his arm around her. “I’ll be waiting for you. Don’t look so serious. It’s going to be all right.”
“Yes. I must go.” She touched his face with her fingers, then leaning forward she kissed his mouth. “Good-bye, Steve.”
He went with her to the door.
“In another thirty and a quarter hours,” he said and smiled down at her. “So long till then.” He gave her a little hug, then stood back and watched her go swiftly down the stairs.
She didn’t look back.
He went over to the window and watched her walk down the dusty road. He admired her neat, upright carriage and the way she held her head.
During the drive back to Saigon, Nhan’s mind became a torment of fear, apprehension and indecision. Without Steve’s strength and confidence to support her, she felt lost and frighteningly alone.
After she had prepared supper for her three brothers, she told herself, she would go to the pagoda of Dakao and spend the night in prayer. She would light four candles. She wished now she hadn’t given Steve her Buddha. She didn’t think he would value it, and she felt lost without it.
She was glad when the bus finally pulled up at the Central Market. She walked quickly along the pavement crowded with food vendors selling Chinese soup, the juice of sugar cane and dried meats. One vendor held out a stuffed snake towards her, grinning as she shied away, turning her head and quickening her steps.
The evening sun was hot. The road crowded with hooting motorcars, pousse-pousse and bicycles created a strident violent movement that beat on her nerves.
As she approached her apartment block, she didn’t notice the black Citroen parked a few yards from the entrance to the block. Inspector Ngoc-Linh sat in the car, a plainclothes detective at his side. Both men were smoking. The Inspector kept looking at his watch uneasily. The time was one minute past six.