Slicky Boys (14 page)

“But they did say you had to come with them to the MP Station, didn’t they? And that’s a direct order, isn’t it?”

“Still not arrest,” Ernie said.

“Jesus, Bascom, why do you have to make everything so damn difficult?”

“If you wanted to talk to us, Top, why didn’t you just swing by yourself instead of sending the MP’s?”

“It’s not me who wants to talk to you. It’s the Provost Marshal.”

Somewhere down the hallway someone shouted, “Attention!”

“Carry on.”

Boots pounded down the long corridor. The First Sergeant held the door open while Colonel Stoneheart, the Provost Marshal of the 8th United States Army, strode into the cell.

“Good. You’re both here,” he said.

What the hell did he expect? He’d sent a convoy of armed men after us.

Colonel Stoneheart was a slim man who stayed that way through religious jogging. His hair was short and brown with a slash of gray at the temples. The fatigues he wore were freshly starched. Not a good sign. Apparently, he’d put on his uniform and interrupted his evening at home just to talk to us.

The First Sergeant unfolded a metal chair and the Provost Marshal sat down. We faced him from a hard wooden bench.

“Thank you for coming down,” the Provost Marshal said.

I nodded. “Our pleasure.”

“I was at the Officer’s Club tonight,” Stoneheart said, “and this tragic murder of Trooper Whitcomb is quite the topic of discussion.”

He looked at us. Neither one of us said anything. Ernie’s face was grim. Unreadable. I think we both knew what was coming.

“Well, a British Liaison Officer was there and one thing led to another and . . . Well, anyway, he told me that the Sergeant Major of the British Honor Guard claims that you two talked to Whitcomb, at their arms room, the day before his death.” He let that sit for a while, still studying our faces. “Is that true?”

Ernie didn’t flex a muscle. He stared at the Provost Marshal, not aggressively but without emotion, as if he were a stone-faced deity from Easter Island. Handling this issue would be my job. We both understood that. It made sense to have one spokesman. If each party involved were mouthing off, almost inevitably you’d trip each other up, even when you were telling the truth. But especially when you’re lying.

Maybe Ernie expected me to lie. Maybe I did too. Instead, the truth popped out of my mouth.

“We saw him,” I said.

The First Sergeant’s face pulled back slightly but he regained his composure quickly enough. The Provost Marshal let out a little sigh.

“Why?” he asked.

“We met a woman in Itaewon. Or I should say she met us. She gave us a note and asked us to deliver it to Cecil Whitcomb.”

“What did the note say?”

“Something about a rendezvous.”

“Where?”

“In Namdaemun.”

The First Sergeant and the Provost Marshal looked at one another with exaggerated surprise. It was clear that they were in the process of washing their hands of us, steering away from any dirt we might be involved in. After this little act, Colonel Stoneheart spoke again.

“Who was this woman?”

“She called herself Miss Ku.” I turned my palms face up. “Naturally, since Whitcomb was murdered, we’ve been searching for her. So far, no luck.”

“Why did she give you this note?”

“They were lovers who’d been quarreling. That’s what she claimed and, at the time, that’s what we believed.”

“So you just did her a favor?”

“Right.”

“And Whitcomb ends up dead that night, after you delivered the note to him?”

I nodded.

“Why didn’t you tell us this before?”

“Well, to be honest, sir, we were afraid you might take us off the case.”

“You’re damn right I would have.” For the first time his voice raised slightly. “To think I had to hear about this through gossip at the O Club.”

That was his main worry. That he’d been embarrassed and that it would reflect poorly on his annual efficiency report. Even the slightest bad mark can keep a full colonel from being promoted to general. For him, the stakes were high.

Ernie hadn’t moved. I don’t think he really gave a shit. Of course, neither did I. Not about the colonel’s promotion, anyway.

The Provost Marshal seemed distracted as he spoke. “What about that other issue, First Sergeant. What was it?”

“The SOFA charges, sir.”

“Yes.” Stoneheart looked at us sadly. “Charges made against you two under the Status of Forces Agreement.”

Ernie’s back stiffened a little. SOFA charges were bad news. Usually made by a Korean civilian against an American serviceman—for abuse or assault or theft—under the provisions of the SOFA treaty between the United States and the Republic of Korea.. Sometimes the GI would end up in a Korean court, but more often everything was settled by an ROK/U.S. mediation board. Either way, the GI usually shelled out a lot of money in compensation to the victim.

“What SOFA charges are those, sir?” I asked politely.

The First Sergeant handed the Provost Marshal some papers and he shuffled through them.

“Apparently you two had a busy day. There was a traffic accident in Pupyong-ni. A female truck driver charges you with reckless driving that resulted in injury to her.”

Finally, Ernie spoke. “That was the broad we busted for stealing the copper wire.”

“Not proven,” the Provost Marshal said.

“The wire was in the back of her truck.”

“But you can’t link it to her. The other workmen who disappeared, maybe, but not her.”

“Sure we can. She helped them load it.”

“Maybe. Sloppy work anyway. And another incident here in Itaewon.” The Provost Marshal looked up from the paperwork and stared at Ernie. “Some workmen claim you assaulted them after they delivered some household goods.”

“Sure, I did. Because they were stealing.”

“Stealing what?”

“An iron, a toaster, a blender, shit like that,” Ernie said.

“Have these items been checked into the evidence room?”

Ernie lowered his head. “They sort of got misplaced in the heat of the incident.”

“Yes. Misplaced. So there’s no evidence of any theft. But there is eyewitness testimony of an assault.”

“They’re all slicky boys,” Ernie said. “Their word doesn’t mean shit.”

“They’re what?”

“Slicky boys. The same guys who’ve been ripping off this compound for years.”

A chill crept into the cell. As if the entire force of the Korean winter had busted right through the cement walls. The Provost Marshal lowered his voice. “What do you mean, Agent Bascom?”

Ernie went on to explain about the cartel that began in the Korean War and had been pilfering exactly four percent of U.S. military supplies and equipment ever since. He told the Provost Marshal about their high degree of organization and about how they stuck together whenever somebody went up against them.

After he finished, there was a lengthy silence. Colonel Stoneheart’s mouth drew into a thin line. I’d never seen him look so grim. Even the First Sergeant became nervous and coughed and shuffled his feet. Finally, the Provost Marshal spoke.

“Do you have any
proof
of the existence of this cartel?”

Ernie rolled his shoulders. “Proof? Everybody knows about them.”

“No,” the Provost Marshal said, half rising from his chair. “I’m talking about
proof.
Not some wild-ass speculations.
Proof,
Agent Bascom. That’s what you’re supposed to provide. You’re a professional investigator, not some punk on the block who repeats every ridiculous rumor that comes down the pike.”

He stood completely upright and waggled his finger under Ernie’s nose.

“Until you get proof, real evidence that will stand up in court, I will not have you spreading wild rumors about some gang of ‘slicky boys.’ You understand that?”

Ernie was stunned. Finally he realized that Colonel Stoneheart was waiting for an answer. Slowly, he nodded.

The Provost Marshal quivered and his lips almost disappeared altogether. For a minute I thought he was going to punch Ernie. The First Sergeant’s brow crinkled, and he stood and stepped a little closer. Maybe he thought the same thing. Finally, the Provost Marshal swiveled and marched to the door.

“Come with me, First Sergeant.”

“Yes, sir.”

The First Sergeant shot us a warning look which meant stay right where you are and followed the colonel down the hallway.

“What was that all about?” Ernie asked.

“The slicky boys,” I said. “A professional cartel of thieves operating with impunity right under the nose of the Provost Marshal. It’s his responsibility to stop them, but he can’t even touch them. Therefore, his only recourse is to deny that they exist.”

“How can he do that? They’re everywhere.”

“Nobody realizes that at the Officer’s Club. What with servants and drivers and maids, they live a sheltered life. And as long as they’re in the dark, the Provost Marshal’s reputation stays intact. But if the existence of the slicky boys becomes common knowledge, the first question will be, why didn’t he do something about it?”

“And he’ll be slapped with a low efficiency rating,” Ernie said.

“Now you got it.”

“And he won’t make general.”

“Right.”

“And he’ll have a case of the big ass.”

“Right again,” I said.

“At us.”

“Correct.”

“So I should keep my mouth shut?”

“Correct again.”

About two minutes later the First Sergeant came back into the room and sat down across from us.

“Good news and bad news,” he said. We waited. “The good news is that you’re free to go.”

That made sense. There were no criminal charges that could be filed against us. And the Provost Marshal wouldn’t try to trump any up. It would make him look as bad as us.

“The bad news,” the First Sergeant said, “is that you’re off the case. Burrows and Slabem will be taking it over.”

“Those two dorks?” Ernie said. “Out in Itaewon, they couldn’t find their way to the latrine.”

“They’re good investigators,” the First Sergeant said.

“But the Koreans don’t trust them and won’t tell them shit.”

The First Sergeant raised his voice. “At ease, Bascom! The decision’s already been made.”

Ernie draped his elbows over his knees and shook his head. The First Sergeant continued.

“Until further notice, you two will be assigned to the black market detail. Unless, of course, Burrows and Slabem dig up something about this meeting you had with Whit-comb. You two want to tell me anything more about it?”

Neither one of us answered. The fact that we’d been paid fifty thousand won to deliver the note would never cross my lips.

“The Provost Marshal expects you to keep your noses out of the Whitcomb investigation,” the First Sergeant said. “Bascom, you still have that request for extension pending. Don’t forget about it. Not if you want to stay in Korea. And you, Sueño, you can still be sent back to the DMZ. If you have an aching need to walk the line again, staring across the wire at those North Korean Commies, it don’t cut no ice with us.”

He stared at us long and hard, searching for a wise remark. When he heard none, he clapped his hands. “That’s all then. Report to the office at zero eight hundred tomorrow.” Outside, Ernie and I trudged toward South Post, neither one of us speaking.

There was still no snow falling, but the temperature had dropped and the drifts and mangled tufts of ice had frozen into crazy shapes that glistened in the moonlight. Freezing wind bit into my sinuses.

Finally, Ernie said what we were both thinking.

“We’re not really going to let Burrows and Slabem handle this thing, are we?”

“Of course not. They’re not the ones who convinced Cecil Whitcomb to show up out in Namdaemun that night. We are.”

“So it’s our responsibility?”

“You definitely got that right.”

“So we’re going after that slicky boy tonight?”

“Sure,” I said. “They’re filing SOFA charges against us now. That means that the slicky boys are nervous, on the run.”

“We gotta keep ‘em that way.”

“Absolutely. Keep ‘em off balance.”

Ernie had left the jeep at 21 T-Car for some fender work, so we had to hoof it. My blue jeans were almost dry. But not dry enough that they didn’t start to stiffen in the frigid breeze blowing out of Manchuria. We crunched across a frozen sheet of snow, heading toward the 121 Evacuation Hospital.

14

T
HE I2I IS A SPRAWLING COMPLEX WITH A LITTLE
snack stand out front—closed and shuttered at this hour—a horseshoe-shaped one-story hospital behind that, and a half dozen warehouses scattered about. We waited outside until just before zero one hundred, one in the morning. All the while I wished I had worn about three more layers of sweaters. Once we started moving 1 was happy about it.

When the army plans for injuries, they think big. The emergency room behind the 121 had not only a helipad but also a huge loading dock and a small fleet of ambulances.

Just let those North Koreans come south. We’re ready for them.

We found a dark spot beneath a naked elm tree near one of the warehouses. We didn’t have to wait long.