‘Like I said, I have a message for him.’
‘You have come all this way to deliver a message?’ she said with disbelief.
‘That’s right.’
‘And Cody was your friend?’ said Namtaan.
‘That was a long time ago. But old friendships die hard.’
He stopped, and she continued to stare deeply into his face.
‘And if Cody was this baby killer, what would you do then?’ she asked.
It was a question that had gnawed at Hatcher since his last conversation with Sloan, a decision he had wanted to avoid. Now he had to make it.
‘I didn’t come here to judge Murphy Cody,’ Hatcher said. ‘I’ll admit the thought I might have to kill Cody has crossed my mind a lot in the last few days. But no matter what he’s done, I’m through playing judge, jury and executioner. I’ve had enough of killing. Somebody else can do the dirty work from now on. I came to deliver a message, period, and that’s what I intend to do.’
In the gloom of the dark room, the regulars were all quiet. There was no doubting the sincerity with which Hatcher had spoken.
‘And who is this message from?’ Namtaan finally asked.
‘That’s between Cody and me.’
‘There are ways we can find out,’ said Earp.
‘Not from me,’ Hatcher growled.
Riker chuckled at the remark. ‘Son of a bitch, I’m beginning to believe that,’ he said.
‘You feel that responsible to this Cody, do you?’ Namtaan asked.
‘The message is very personal. I’ll make it face-to-face or not at all.’
He suddenly turned toward the old figure in the corner, squinting his eyes and peering through the gloom at him. The last time Hatcher had seen the old man, he had been backing away from him in an alley in Bangkok after killing Wol Pot.
‘This old gentleman killed Wol Pot. He also had a clean shot at me, started to take it, and changed his mind. I’ve been asking myself why ever since.’
‘And what did you decide?’ Johnny Prophett asked.
‘Aw, c’mon,’ Hatcher whispered, staring across the dark room at him. ‘None of you would’ve let a stranger do your dirty work. Whatever reason you had to kill Wol Pot, and I can think of a lot of them, if it was to be done, one of you would have done the trick. It’s not your style to give the job to an old man.’
‘That’s very astute,’ Earp said.
‘So the answer is, he’s not an old man. He’s one of you.’
He turned back to the old man.
‘Right, Polo?’ he whispered.
The stooped Chinese stared across the room at Hatcher. Then he started to chuckle. He stood up, and then he stood erect, adding another three inches to his height. He limped across the room toward Hatcher.
‘Well, I’m sure as hell older. I haven’t heard that nickname since the academy, Hatch,’ said Murphy Cody.
THE SECRET OF HUIE-KUI
Hatcher felt a sudden rush of excitement. He had not been sure until that moment that Cody vas really alive. Now, looking at his old friend, he felt a sense of relief and joy.
Namtaan opened the shutters. Sunlight invaded the room, filling its dark corners.
‘Jesus, Polo, I’m glad you’re alive,’ Hatcher said. ‘I don’t remember you as being so tough,’ Cody said. ‘I didn’t remember you with white hair,’ Hatcher whispered with a smile, trying to break the tension.
‘Part of the act,’ Cody said. Every wife is very good at makeup and disguise. My real heir still has a little color to it.’
‘What happened to your leg?’
‘Tore it up when I fell out of my plane. How about your box?’
‘Walked into a gun butt.’
‘Funny how simple stories become after a while,’ Cody said. ‘With time, an hour-long story is reduced to a sentence.’
He seemed taller than Hatcher remembered and thinner. Whatever bad cards had been dealt to Murphy Cody through the years had taken a toll, although the powdered beard and age lines added illusion to reality.
‘Look,’ said Hatcher, ‘if you think you can trust me, I’d like to have a couple of minutes in private.’
Cody thought about that for just a moment, then turned to the regulars.
