“It’s true,” Ben told Mike. “I saw it myself.”
“These gooks moved in where they don’t belong,” Dunagan grunted. “They asked for trouble.”
“Where we don’t belong?” Pham countered. “We were here long before you!”
“No, my people were here long before yours.” Pham and Dunagan were standing nose to nose. “You declared war on ASP. And that war is going to go on and on until your people crawl back to the rice paddies where they belong!”
“We will not go back!” Pham cried. “We will fight you to the last man!”
“Will you listen to yourselves!” Ben pushed himself between them. “When in God’s name will you ever learn? Violence is not the answer. Hate doesn’t do anyone any good. One of you swears to fight, the other one swears to retaliate. And look what happens. Look!”
Ben grabbed them both by the back of their necks and forced them to look at the smoky remnants of Coi Than Tien, the huddled families that had nothing left and nowhere to go, and at the crest of the hill, the church that was now a waste heap waiting to be shoveled over and forgotten.
“Both of you were determined to hurt your enemy. And both of you ended up hurting yourself. Can’t you see how wrong this is?”
Dunagan turned away, his eyes closed. “I never meant for this to happen,” he said quietly.
“It’s too late for regrets,” Ben said. “As soon as I have a conversation with the district attorney, ASP is history. You might as well tell your men to start packing up the camp now. Hate is going out of fashion.”
Dunagan’s face flushed with fury. “You think that’s going to accomplish anything? You think you can stop us? So you run us out of Arkansas. So what? We’re everywhere. Everywhere. We’re in your schools, in your churches. We’re in your armies and your police forces. We’re the skinheads in Portland. We’re the KKK in Corpus Christi. Stopping me won’t change anything.”
“Mike,” Ben said through clenched teeth, “please take this … man away.”
“Gladly.” Mike grabbed Dunagan by the cuffs and hauled him back toward the sheriff’s car.
Ben faced Pham. “Once ASP leaves town, you can disband your resistance league.”
“We still have many grievances—”
“Who doesn’t?” Ben laid a hand on his shoulder. “You’ve got to put your hate behind you. And start rebuilding.”
“There is too much to do,” Pham said, gazing at the vast destruction. “I cannot possibly—”
“You’ll need help. And I know where you can get it.” Ben pointed toward the front gates. Colonel Nguyen was heading away from them. Leaving.
“Colonel Nguyen!” Pham shouted.
Nguyen turned and cautiously approached. “I know what you will—”
“You were right,” Pham said, interrupting him.
Nguyen fell silent, surprised.
“I was wrong. Armed attacks were not the solution. We accomplished nothing. Nothing good.”
Nguyen shook his head. “At least you were willing to take action. To try. He turned away. “I am leaving—”
“Our people have suffered much tonight, Colonel. There is work to do. I cannot do it alone.”
Nguyen stopped walking.
“But,” Pham added, “I believe that we can do it together.” He held out his hand.
Nguyen clasped it and squeezed tightly. “Together.”
Several moments later Colonel Nguyen bowed politely. “If you will excuse me, Mr. Kincaid. I need to have a … conversation with my wife.”
Ben nodded. “There’s still the matter of the woman who was murdered,” he said to Mike.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Mike replied. “We found a handgun in the shack where her body was found. The bullets match. She wasn’t shot during the ASP attack. She killed herself.”
“Suicide?”
“Yeah. I think she’d been there for some time before she was found. Here, I took a picture.”
Ben took the Polaroid. He recognized her immediately. It was the young woman he had rescued from the first fire. The one who disappeared.
Mike pulled a sheet of paper out of his coat pocket. “While I was still in town I got a copy of the corpse’s prints from Deputy Gustafson and faxed them to the FBI database in Washington. We got a response about an hour ago and someone relayed it to Collier over the radio. Take a look at this.”
Ben took the paper and read. His jaw fell. He couldn’t fathom it—
But of course. It was the final piece of the puzzle. Now it all made sense, everything he had seen and heard, everything Vick had told him. Everything.
“Mike,” Ben said. “I think I’m going to have a chat. …”
“Want me to come with you?”
“No. Maybe I can get Colonel Nguyen—” He spotted the Colonel sitting in front of his home, locked in a tight embrace with his wife. “Never mind. You get Christina to a hospital.” After making sure no one was listening, he whispered a few more words in Mike’s ear.
“I’ll take care of Christina,” Mike said. “Are you sure you can do this?”
“I—” His voice cracked. He inhaled deeply; after a few moments, he was able to continue. “I’ll be all right.”
Mike nodded. “Good luck.”
“Too late for that,” Ben said. “Much too late for that now.
68.
“THANKS FOR COMING,” BEN said, when Belinda entered what was left of Coi Than Tien’s barn.
“I came as soon as Mike told me where you were.” She ran up to Ben and clasped his hands. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.”
“I heard you were trapped inside that church. My God—you might have been killed!” She reached up and brushed some of the black soot from his face. “I was so worried.”
“Belinda—” He gently pushed her away.
“What’s wrong? What’s bothering you now?”
“Belinda—” Ben’s eyes began to swell up. He fought it back. “Belinda. I know.”
“Know what? I don’t understand.”
Ben looked down at the dirt. He hurt so much he wasn’t sure he could go on. “I know you killed Tommy Vuong.”
“Me?” A horrified expression crossed her face. “Is this some sort of sick joke?”
“Of course not.”
“What could ever make you think I killed him?”
Ben unfolded the paper in his pocket. “Cindy Jo Simpson. The last name threw me off at first, but then I remembered that you were married previously. Your husband’s name was Hamilton, and you didn’t retake your maiden name when you were divorced. I had Mike check it out. You were born Belinda Todd Simpson.” He crumpled the paper in his hand. “Cindy Jo Simpson was your younger sister.”
Belinda fell back against several bales of hay stacked against the wall.
“I remember Mary Sue described the woman who visited Vick as resembling you, only younger,” Ben said. “And when I first saw her in the smoke of the Truong home, I thought she was you. Small wonder there was a resemblance.”
All at once tears tumbled from Belinda’s eyes. “How much do you know?”
“I think I’ve figured out most of it, but I’d rather hear it from you. Revenge, right?”
Belinda brushed the tears from her cheeks. “I told you my sister was always in trouble. And it was always my job to get her out of it. To set the world right again.”
“I know Vuong was accused of rape about a year ago. Your sister was his victim, wasn’t she?”