on to Yanji. Yanji is lousy with Koreans, in case you didn’t know.”
“Right.”
“Can you get me the tickets?”
“No, but I can tell you where to go.”
“A ticket office.”
“If you knew, why did you ask?” He was already reaching for the phone.
6
That night I went back to the restaurant where the Chinese girls ate before they went to work in the hallway. The Russian girl was sitting in the same corner.
“Hi,” I said. “Can I sit?”
“Sit.” She smiled up at me. “Yes, sit.”
“You’re here again.” I scanned the menu. “You want something beside noodles and orange juice?”
She shook her head. “It’s good. You want some?”
“Nah, I never eat the night before I travel.”
“You leaving? Changing hotels? That’s good. You don’t want to be at the Nam Lo.”
“I’m going to Shanghai. My uncle died.” Might as well put the story out in more than one place, though I felt bad using her.
“Sorry.” She shrugged. “You’re a nice man. I will miss you.”
“And you’re a nice girl with beautiful eyes. I wish you’d go home.”
“I can’t. I have a contract.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“I already told you, a thousand dollars.”
“How many other girls does your boss control?”
“You want someone else?” She looked hurt. “All right. There are eight girls altogether. For a few days we were nine, but now it’s back to eight again.”
“Someone went home?”
“Who knows? We never got a good look at her. She was older than the rest of us, showed up suddenly. My boss put her in the Nam Lo for one night. I don’t even think she was there the whole time. She didn’t work, that’s for sure, and then she was gone. I saw her from the back, just briefly. She was blond. When she left, my boss told me to clean out the room she had been in. There was a small suitcase full of clothes and a razor. Otherwise, it was as if she hadn’t been there.”
“But she had been there.”
“Yes, but the room didn’t feel right. It didn’t smell right.”
I stood up to go. “Maybe I’ll see you again.”
She stood and kissed me lightly on the cheek. “Make sure it’s before April. My contract is up then, and I’m never coming back.”
7
I had time on my hands, money in my pocket, and things on my list. The first thing I did was stop one of the girls walking up and down the hall.
“Where are the best pork buns in town?” The girl was carrying a black patent-leather bag with matching shoes. I figured if anyone knew about pork buns, she would.
“Fifteen hundred,” she said.
“Maybe later,” I said. “Right now, I need pork buns, the best. When you go out for pork buns, where do you and your friends go?”
She called over one of her co-workers, frilly white blouse and her hair done up in a tight bun. Very fetching, but not what I needed. The two spoke between themselves for a moment.
“You want both? Twenty-five.” The black bag swung provocatively.
“Listen,” I said. “When I need to kill myself, I’ll call you first. Meantime…”
“I know,” she said, “pork buns. Rua da Barra, not far. It’s a place called Mama Nhi’s. Pretty good.”
An older girl walked up. “Keep it moving,” she said, and looked at me. “Either buy or don’t buy.”
8
Mama Nhi didn’t have a box, but she did have a big shopping bag.
“Fill it up?” She put her hands on her hips. “That’s one hell of a lot of grease. You planning to sell the stuff? Tell me; I can get you more.”
9
I opened the door of the van. “These are for you,” I said. “Maybe we can talk.”
10
The next morning, I was at the luggage store in the Lisboa when it opened. None of the suitcases looked big enough for a body, not even for one of the skinny models waving from the photographs in the window.
“I need something large.” I smiled. “Let’s say I wanted to go on a trip. Let’s say for laughs I wanted to go in my own suitcase. You got anything?”
The clerk’s eyes opened for a flicker. “This is the biggest we have.” She went behind the counter and pulled out a Louis Vuitton, a two-wheeler.
“Nice,” I said. “But cramped. How about a Lancel? How about red?”
She shook her head. “Too bad. I sold the last one a few weeks ago.”
“Is that so? You remember whom you sold it to?”
“Sure. Some Russian woman, thin, very careful with the makeup. How come all the interest in red Lancels all of a sudden?”
All of a sudden, she said. I took a chance. “Luis was in last night?”
She shrugged. “You browse. Take your time.” She went back behind the counter. “I’m not going anywhere.”
I pretended to look around. So, Luis hadn’t followed the suitcase angle before. We all had blind spots. His were baggage and balconies. Senhor Penza hadn’t come with a red Lancel. A Russian woman had bought one and ended up floating in it a few days later. Luis hadn’t realized that before. He did now. It didn’t fit in my puzzle. Maybe it fit in his.
