Chen let out his breath. ‘I see...’
‘Yes. You can imagine. Tolonen was livid. He called Ebert and Fest back at once. It wasn’t what I wanted – even then I didn’t feel it was right to get Ebert thrown out of the force for something he’d said in a heated moment. But it was out of my hands at that stage. And then...’
‘Fest backed him up?’
Haavikko nodded. ‘I couldn’t believe it. They were both so convincing. So much so that for months afterwards I kept asking myself whether I’d been wrong. Whether I’d imagined it all. Whether their version of things was really the truth. It was as if I’d had a bad dream. But it was one I couldn’t wake from. And it all began back then. On that day ten years ago.’
A voice came from the shadows of the doorway behind them. ‘I remember that day well.’
The two men looked round, surprised. There was a figure in the doorway: a giant of a man, his head stooped to clear the lintel, his broad shoulders filling the frame of the door. Karr.
Chen was up out of his chair at once. He went across and embraced the big man, smiling fiercely. ‘Gregor! You should have said you were coming!’
Karr held his friend’s arms a moment, smiling down into his face, then he looked back at Axel.
‘Yes. I remember you well, Axel Haavikko. I remember you coming to watch me fight that day. But I never understood until today why you disappeared from things so suddenly. You have good cause to hate Major Ebert.’
Haavikko looked down, abashed. ‘If I spoke out of turn, Major Karr...’
Karr laughed. He had put his arm about Chen’s shoulders familiarly, like a father about his son’s. ‘Here, in Kao Chen’s, we have an agreement, and you must be a party to it, Axel. In these rooms there is no rank, no formality, understand? Here we are merely friends. Kao Chen insists on it, and I...’ His smile broadened. ‘Well, as your senior officer, I insist upon it, too. Here Chen is Chen. And I am Gregor.’
Karr put out a hand. Haavikko stood up slowly, looking at the offered hand, hesitant even now to commit himself so far. But then he looked at Chen and saw how his friend’s eyes urged him to take Karr’s hand.
He swallowed drily. ‘I’m grateful. But there’s one further thing you should know about me before you accept me here.’ He looked from one to the other. ‘You are good men, and I would have no secrets from you. You must know what I am. What I have done.’
‘Go on,’ Karr said, his hand still offered.
Haavikko stared back at Karr, meeting his grey eyes unflinchingly. ‘You heard me say how it felt as though I were in a bad dream, unable to wake. Well, ten years I inhabited that nightmare, living it day and night. But then, a month or so ago, I woke from it. Again I found myself in bed in a sing-song house, and once again a strange girl was lying there beside me. But this time the girl was dead, and I knew that I had killed her.’
Karr’s eyes narrowed. ‘You knew?’
Haavikko shuddered. ‘Yes. I remember it quite vividly.’
Karr and Chen looked at each other, some sign of understanding passing between them, then Karr looked back at Haavikko. His hand had not wavered for a moment. It was still offered.
‘We have all done things we are ashamed of, Axel Haavikko. Even this thing you say you did – even that does not make you a bad man. Chen here, for instance. Would you say he was a good man?’
Haavikko looked at Chen. ‘I would stake my life on it.’
‘Then it would surprise you, perhaps, to learn that Kao Chen was one of the two assassins you were after that day ten years ago.’
Haavikko shook his head. ‘No. He can’t be. They were dead, both of them. I saw the kwai’s body for myself.’
Karr smiled. ‘No. That was another man. A man Chen paid to play himself. It’s something he’s not proud of. Something he’d rather hadn’t happened. Even so, it doesn’t make him a bad man.’
Haavikko was staring at Chen now with astonishment. ‘Of course... the scar.’ He moved forward, tracing the scar beneath Chen’s left ear with his forefinger. ‘I know you now. You were the one on film. With your friend, the small man. In the Main of Level Eleven.’
Chen laughed, surprised. ‘You had that on film?’
‘Yes...’ Haavikko frowned. ‘But I still don’t understand. If you were one of the killers...’
Karr answered for Chen. ‘Li Shai Tung pardoned Kao Chen. He saw what I saw at once. What you yourself also saw. That Chen is a good man. An honest man, when he’s given the chance to be. So men are, unless necessity shapes them otherwise.’
‘Or birth...’ Haavikko said, thinking again of Ebert.
‘So?’ Karr said, his hand still offered. ‘Will you join us, Axel? Or will you let what’s past shape what you will be?’
Haavikko looked from one to the other, then, smiling fiercely at him, tears brimming at the corners of his eyes, he reached out and took Karr’s hand.
‘Good,’ said Wang Ti, appearing in the doorway. She moved past them, smiling at Axel, as if welcoming him for the first time. ‘And about time, too. Come, you three. Sit down and eat, before dinner spoils.’
Over the meal Karr outlined what had been happening since his return from Mars. Their one real clue from the Executive killings had led them to a small Ping Tiao cell in the Mids fifty li south of Bremen. His men were keeping a watch on the comings and goings of the terrorists. They had strict orders not to let the Ping Tiao know they were being observed, but it was not something they could do indefinitely.
‘I’m taking a squad in tonight,’ Karr said, sitting back from the table and wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand. ‘In the small hours. I want to capture as many of the cell members as possible, so we’ll need to be on our toes.’
Chen nodded, his mouth full. He chewed for a moment, then swallowed. ‘That’ll be difficult. They organize tightly and post guards at all hours. And then, when you do confront them, they melt away like shadows. You’ll have to corner them somehow. But even if you do, I’ve heard they’d rather die than be captured.’
‘Yes... but, then, so will most men if they’re given no other option. Sun Tzu is right: leave but one avenue for a man to escape by and his determination to fight to the death will be totally undermined. He will recognize how sweet life is and cling to it. So it will be tonight. I’ll offer them a pathway back to life. If I can capture just one of them, then perhaps we’ll get to the bottom of this.’
Haavikko smiled. The man looked, even ate, like a barbarian, but he thought like a general. Tolonen had not been wrong all those years ago when he had recognized this in Karr. Haavikko put his chopsticks down and pushed his bowl away, then reached into his pocket and took the notebook from it.
‘What’s that?’ Karr said, lifting his chin.
Haavikko handed it across the table. ‘See for yourself.’
He watched as the big man thumbed through the notebook. At first Karr simply frowned, not understanding, then, slowly, he began to nod, a faint smile forming on his lips. Finally he looked up, meeting Axel’s eyes.
‘You did this all yourself?’
‘Yes.’
Chen pushed his bowl aside then leaned forward, interested. ‘What is it?’
Karr met his eyes thoughtfully. ‘It’s an analysis of the official investigation into Minister Lwo Kang’s murder. And if I’m not mistaken, there are a number of things here that were never included in the findings of the T’ang’s committee.’
Karr handed the book across to Chen, then looked back at Haavikko. ‘May I ask why you did this, Axel?’
‘I was ordered to.’
Karr laughed. ‘Ordered to?’
‘Yes, by General Tolonen, shortly before I was dismissed from his service. He asked me to compile a list of suspects, however improbable. Men who might have been behind the assassins. It was a direct order; one he never rescinded.’
Karr stared back at Haavikko, astonished. ‘I see. But, then, surely Marshal Tolonen ought to have it?’
Haavikko h
esitated, then looked down, shaking his head.
‘I understand,’ Karr said after a moment. ‘And maybe you’re right. After what happened there’s no reason why he should trust you, is there? The Marshal would see it only as an attempt to get back at Ebert. He’d think you had invented this to discredit your enemies.’
Haavikko nodded, then looked up again, his eyes burning fiercely now. ‘But you two know Ebert. You know what he is. So maybe that,’ he indicated the notebook in Chen’s hands, ‘incomplete as it is, will help us nail the bastard.’
Chen looked up. ‘He’s right, Gregor. This makes interesting reading.’
‘Interesting, yes, but not conclusive.’
Chen nodded thoughtfully, smiling back at Karr. ‘Exactly. Even so, it’s a beginning.’
‘Something to work on.’
‘Yes...’
Haavikko saw how the two men smiled knowingly at each other and felt a sudden warmth – a sense of belonging – flood through him. He was alone no longer. Now there were three of them, and together they would break Ebert, expose him for the sham – the hollow shell – he was.
Karr looked back at him. ‘Is this the only copy?’
‘No. There’s a second copy, among some things I’ve willed to my sister, Vesa.’
‘Good.’ Karr turned to Chen. ‘In that case, you hang on to that copy, Chen. I’m giving you two weeks’ paid leave. Starting tomorrow. I want you to follow up some of those leads. Especially those involving men known to be friends or business acquaintances of the Eberts.’
‘And if I find anything?’
There was a hammering at the outer door to the apartment. The three men turned, facing it, Kao Chen getting to his feet. There was an exchange of voices, then, a moment later, Wang Ti appeared in the doorway.
‘It’s a messenger for you, Major Karr,’ she said, the use of Karr’s rank indicating to them all that the man was within hearing in the next room.
‘I’ll come,’ said Karr, but he was gone only a few moments. When he came back his face was livid with anger.
‘I don’t believe it. They’re dead.’
‘Who?’ said Chen, alarmed.
‘The Ping Tiao cell. All eight of them.’ Karr’s huge frame shuddered with indignation, then, his eyes looking inward, he nodded to himself. ‘Someone knew. Someone’s beaten us to it.’
Ebert was standing with his captain, Auden, laughing, his head thrown back, when Karr arrived. Signs of a heavy fire-fight were everywhere. Body bags lay off to one side of the big intersection, while the corridors leading off were strewn with wreckage.
Karr looked about him at the carnage, then turned, facing Ebert. ‘Who was it?’ he demanded.
‘Who was what?’ Ebert said tersely, almost belligerently.
‘Was it DeVore?’
Ebert laughed coldly. ‘What are you talking about, Major Karr? They were Ping Tiao. But they’re dead now. Eight less of the bastards to worry about.’
Karr went still, suddenly realizing what had happened. ‘You killed them?’
Ebert looked at Auden again, a faint smile reappearing. ‘Every last one.’
Karr clenched his fists, controlling himself. ‘Is there somewhere we can talk?’ he said tightly. ‘Somewhere private?’
Auden indicated a room off to one side. ‘I’ll post a guard.’
‘No need,’ said Karr. ‘We’ll not be long.’
When the door closed behind them, Karr rounded on Ebert.
‘You stupid bastard! Why didn’t you report what you were doing? Who gave you permission to go in without notifying me?’
Ebert’s eyes flared. ‘I don’t need your permission!’
Karr leaned in on him angrily. ‘In this instance you did! Marshal Tolonen put me in charge of this investigation, and while it’s still going on, you report to me, understand me, Major Ebert? Your precipitate action has well and truly fucked things up. I had this cell staked out.’
Ebert looked up at the big man defiantly, spitting the words back at him. ‘Well, I’ve simply saved you the trouble, haven’t I?’
Karr shook his head. ‘You arrogant bastard. Don’t you understand? I didn’t want them dead. We were going in tonight. I wanted at least one of them alive. Now the whole bloody lot of them will have gone to ground and the gods know when we’ll get another chance.’
Ebert was glaring back at him, his hands shaking with anger. ‘You’re not pinning this on me, Karr. It’s you who’ve fouled up, not me. I was just doing my job. Following up on evidence received. If you can’t keep your fellow officers informed...’
Karr raised his hand, the fingers tensed, as if to strike Ebert in the face, then slowly let the tension ease from him. Violence would achieve nothing.
‘Did any of our men get hurt?’
There was an ugly movement in Ebert’s face. He looked aside, his voice subdued. ‘A few...’
‘Meaning what?’
Ebert hesitated, then looked back at him again. ‘Four dead, six injured.’
‘Four dead! Ai ya! What the fuck were you up to?’ Karr shook his head, then turned away, disgusted. ‘You’re shit, Ebert, you know that? How could you possibly lose four men? You had only to wait. They’d have had to come at you.’
Ebert glared pure hatred at the big man’s back. ‘It wasn’t as simple as that...’
Karr turned back. ‘You fucked up!’
Ebert looked away, then looked back, his whole manner suddenly more threatening. ‘I think you’ve said enough, Karr. Understand? I’m not a man to make an enemy of.’
Karr laughed caustically. ‘You repeat yourself, Major Ebert. Or do you forget our first meeting?’ He leaned forward and spat between Ebert’s feet. ‘There! That might jog your memory. You were a shit then and you’re a shit now.’
‘I’m not afraid of you, Karr.’
‘No...’ Karr nodded. ‘No, you’re not a coward, I’ll grant you that. But you’re still a disgrace to the T’ang’s uniform, and if I can, I’ll break you.’
Ebert laughed scornfully. ‘You’ll try.’
‘Yes, I’ll try. Fucking hard, I’ll try. But don’t underestimate me, Hans Ebert. Just remember what I did to Master Hwa that time in the Pit. He underestimated me, and he’s dead.’
‘Is that a threat?’
‘Take it as you want. But between men, if you understand me. You go before the Marshal and I’ll deny every last word. Like you yourself once did, ten years ago.’
Ebert narrowed his eyes. ‘That officer with you... it’s Haavikko, isn’t it? I thought I recognized the little shit.’
Karr studied Ebert a moment, knowing for certain now that Haavikko had told the truth about him, then he nodded. ‘Yes, Haavikko. But don’t even think of trying anything against him. If he so much as bruises a finger without good reason, I’ll come for you. And a thousand of your cronies won’t stop me.’
Tsu Ma stood in the courtyard of the stables at Tongjiang, waiting while the groom brought the Arab from its stall. He looked about him, for once strangely ill at ease, disconcerted to learn that she had ridden off ahead of him.
He had tried to cast her from his mind, to drive from his heart the spell she had cast over him, but it was no use. He was in love with her.
In love. He laughed, surprised at himself. It had never happened to him before. Never, in all his thirty-seven years.
He had only to close his eyes and the image of her would come to him, taking his breath. And then he would remember how it had been, there on the island in the lantern light; how he had watched her lose herself in the tune she had been playing; how her voice had seemed the voice of his spirit singing, freed like a bird into the darkness of the night. And later, when he had been in the water, he had seen how she had stood behind her husband, watching him, her eyes curious, lingering on his naked chest.
One life? she had asked, standing in the doorway of the ruined temple. One life? as if it meant something special. As if it invited him to touch her. But then, when he had lea
ned forward to brush her cheek, her neck, she had moved back as if he had transgressed, and all his knowledge of her had been shattered by her refusal.
Had he been wrong? Had he misjudged her? It seemed so. And yet she had sent word to him. Secretly. A tiny, handwritten note, asking him to forgive her moodiness, to come and ride with her again. Was that merely to be sociable – for her husband’s sake – or should he read something more into it?
He could still hear her words. If I were free...
Even to contemplate such an affair was madness. It could only make for bad blood between the Li clan and himself and shatter the age-old ties between their families. He knew that. And yet the merest thought of her drove out all consideration of what he ought to do. She had bewitched him, robbed him of his senses. That, too, he knew. And yet his knowledge was as nothing beside the compulsion that drove him. To risk everything simply to be with her.
He turned, hearing the groom return, leading the Arab.
‘Chieh Hsia.’ The boy bowed, offering the reins.
Tsu Ma smiled and took the reins. Then, putting one foot firmly in the stirrup, he swung up on to the Arab’s back. She moved skittishly but he steadied her, using his feet. It was Li Yuan’s horse; the horse he had ridden the last time he had come. He turned her slowly, getting used to her again, then dug in his heels, spurring her out of the courtyard and north, heading out into the hills.
He knew where he would find her: there at the edge of the temple pool where they had last spoken. She stood there, her face turned from him, her whole stance strangely disconsolate. Her face was pale, far paler than he remembered, as if she had been ill. He frowned, disconcerted, then, with a shock, recognized the clothes she was wearing. Her riding tunic was a pink that was almost white, edged with black, her trousers azure blue. And her hair... her hair was beaded with rubies.
He laughed softly, astonished. They were the same colours – the same jewels – as those he had worn the first time they had met. But what did it mean?
An Inch of Ashes (CHUNG KUO SERIES) Page 8