Dang’s head fell. “Alas, to my eternal regret, I do. I sent him there.”
Belinda was as surprised as Ben. “You did? Why?”
“Coi Than Tien orders a small quantity of various alcoholic beverages from the Bluebell Bar on a regular basis. We use it for ceremonial purposes and, on occasion, to soothe worried brows. The owner of the bar, a man named Mac, is kind enough to order it at wholesale rates and to supply it to us at cost. In that manner, we can obtain what we need in a less expensive … and safer manner.”
“So you sent Vuong to pick up the shipment.”
“Exactly. I sent him with three other young men from the settlement. I thought he would be safe.” He looked down at his long, thin hands. “And now Tommy Vuong is dead.”
29.
BEN REALIZED IT WAS pointless to tell Dang not to blame himself. “I have one favor to ask. Do you think it would be possible for me to talk to this Pham fellow?”
“I can introduce you,” Dang said. “Whether he will talk to you is quite another matter.”
Dang led them down the dark path that lined the shacks and Quonset huts. A few minutes later they reached the Pham residence. Dang led them through the front garden and knocked on the door.
Ben noticed an older man sitting on the porch of the house next door. He appeared to be using a flashlight to read a book, but at the moment his eyes were fixed on Ben and Belinda. He was watching them carefully.
The door opened. A young Vietnamese man stood in the doorway. He glared at Elder Dang. “I told you I have no wish to continue our previous conversation!”
“I have not come to attempt to persuade you,” Dang said. “I fear you have already gone so far you cannot hear the voice of reason.”
Pham made no reply, but his irritation was evident.
“These kind people wish to speak to you.” With that introduction of sorts completed, Dang left the porch.
“I’m Belinda Hamilton,” she said. “I’m with Hatewatch.”
Pham nodded politely.
“This is Ben Kincaid. He’s with me.” She left it at that. Ben just hoped Pham didn’t read The Silver Springs Herald.
Apparently he didn’t. “I am honored to meet you,” he said. “How can I serve you?”
“We’re investigating the Donald Vick case,” Belinda explained.
“He must be brought to justice!” Pham said emphatically. “He must be punished for his crime.”
“I’m sure we all agree,” Belinda said hurriedly. “If he’s guilty.”
“If these men are not stopped, they will continue until we have all been killed. Did you hear what they did to young Nhung Vu?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“They must be taught that they cannot treat us with such contempt. In the only way they understand.”
“Are you responsible for the firebombing at the ASP encampment?” Ben asked.
Pham eyed Ben carefully. “I do not know that there was any firebombing. The camp still stands.”
“The fact that the attack was unsuccessful doesn’t mean it didn’t happen,” Ben said. “Besides, you haven’t answered my question.”
“We are not sheep!” Pham’s voice soared. “We will not stand idly by while our families are slaughtered!”
“Well, let’s not exaggerate. No families have actually been slaughtered.”
“My grandmother is in the hospital! A seventy-six-year-old woman—shot by a vicious sniper. They strike our old. They strike our young. We must take action!”
Belinda dealt herself back into the conversation. “What we really wanted to know was whether you had any information about what passed between Tommy Vuong and Donald Vick.”
“Tommy was a brave man,” Pham answered. “He was willing to fight for his people.”
“Did you ever see him with Vick? Or hear him mention Vick?”
“Of course not,” Pham said. “He would not descend to the company of such swine.”
“Apparently he did,” Ben replied. “I think they may have met before the incident in the bar.”
“I cannot believe it. Even setting aside the shame and dishonor of such a meeting, it would be suicide.”
“We understand Vuong was making a supply run to the bar the afternoon of the fight. Were you one of the men who accompanied him?”
“I was not. If I had been, the result might have been different.”
“I didn’t get the impression Vuong needed any more muscle. Apparently they thoroughly trounced Vick.”
“But they let him live.” A cold glint reflected from Pham’s eyes.
“Are you saying they should have executed him?”
“If they had, Tommy Vuong would still be alive. And my grandmother would not be in the hospital. And Nhung Vu would still have his face.”
Ben felt a shudder creep up the back of his neck. Pham was obviously on the verge of some major violence. And according to Dang, he represented many others who felt the same way and were willing to do whatever Pham wanted done. “Were you the last to see Tommy alive?”
“No.” Pham stepped through the door and looked to the porch of the neighboring home. “That honor fell to Colonel Nguyen.”
The man on the next porch set down his book and flashlight. He paused for a moment, then came to meet them.
Despite the man’s relative shortness he had a dignity and bearing that immediately impressed Ben. His hair was cut short; flecks of gray highlighted the temples.
“Colonel Nguyen is a great war hero,” Pham said. “He commanded thousands of South Vietnamese in the Great War. He led our people to many of their greatest victories.”
“Not great enough,” Nguyen said gruffly.
“The outcome of that war was not your fault,” Pham said. “You served your country bravely and well. I only wish you would do the same in the current war.”
“There is no war,” Nguyen said firmly.
“There is.” Disappointment clouded Pham’s eyes. “I only wish you had not lost your taste for battle.”
“I have lost nothing,” Nguyen said. “I have only gained an understanding of the importance of caution.”
Ben tried to derail what was obviously an ongoing argument and to return to the matter at hand. “I understand you were the last to see Tommy Vuong before he was killed.”
“That is so. We walked together from Silver Springs back to Coi Than Tien. We only have two automobiles—one now—which we all share, so it is frequently necessary that we walk.”
“Did Vuong seem unusually nervous? Scared? Edgy?”
“Only a fool would not be frightened when death is all around us.” Nguyen hesitated a moment. “But there was something … unusual about Tommy that night. Some feeling of foreboding.”
Now that was interesting. “Do you have any idea why he felt that way?”
“No. At the time I assumed he was simply expressing the anxiety we all feel here. It was only after he was dead that I wondered if the words had more meaning.”
“Did you see anything—or anyone—unusual during the walk home?”
“No. We parted just outside the fence. I returned to my home and—I assumed he would return to his.”
“Then you weren’t at the actual scene of the murder.”
There was only the slightest hesitation. “No.”
“And you didn’t see what happened.”
Colonel Nguyen gazed into Ben’s eyes. “No.”
“And you don’t have any other information about the murder?”
“I—no. Nothing more than what I have already told you.”
Ben couldn’t put his finger on it, but for some reason, he was almost certain Colonel Nguyen was holding something back. But what reason could he have to lie?
Ben shifted the focus to Pham. “Are you planning any more attacks on the ASP encampment?”