Ernie looked straight ahead.
“It wasn’t any of my business, you got a right to your privacy, and I shouldn’t have been poking around in there. Somebody signed out your paperwork.”
“For what?”
“Shopping for companions.”
“I don’t like it, George. We ought to just go grab Bohler’s ass and slap him with an assault charge.”
“If he had a little less rank I’d agree with you.”
“What do you mean?”
‘This is a two-star general, the chief of staff to boot. They’re not going to take the word of some low-level enlisted scum CID agents against his and they’re definitely not going to even consider the testimony of some slut Itaewon bar girl.”
“She’s not a slut.”
“Yeah. I know. Just trying to make my point.” I shook my head in resignation. ‘The commanding general would probably put out the word and have the Korean National Police arrest us for pandering-for trying to corrupt the morals of some poor innocent two-star general.”
“Sounds about right.”
“Yeah. And we’d not only lose our jobs for bringing those kinds of accusations without proof, but we’d also stand a chance of getting court-martialed ourselves.”
“For what?”
‘The Uniform Code of Military Justice has a clause concerning the willful defamation of an officer’s reputation. You can’t call him a scumbag and you can’t spread rumors about him that could hurt the morale of the troops by exposing the man in charge, who might lead us into combat someday, as the scrotum that he really is.”
‘They wouldn’t charge us with anything,” Ernie said.
I looked at him. He looked back at the road.
“All right. Maybe they would.”
“You’re damn right they would.”
“So how do we nail this dick?”
“Get the goods.”
It was nearly dark by the time I got to her place. I didn’t knock but just slid the door back. The Nurse tilted her face slowly upward and looked at me as if she’d been expecting me.
She wore a tight black sweater and dark corduroy pants. The room was empty except for her purse and a coat and a broken mirror on the wall. I slipped off my shoes, stepped in, and slid the paneled door shut behind be. I sat cross-legged on the floor and faced her.
‘Tell me about the General.”
She looked down at her lap.
‘That night,” I said, “the last time you saw Bohler, did you bring him back here?”
She looked up, suddenly angry. ”I never bring man back here! Only one man. Ernie.”
“What was the marriage application for?”
“Ernie wanted to marry me.” She threw her long hair back off her shoulder. “I thought about it. Maybe he was the first one who made me think about it. But I can’t.” She looked away. “I can’t leave Korea.”
“Why not?” I said. “What has Korea ever done for you?”
“I have to stay,” she said.
“What about Ernie?”
“You don’t understand. Me and my little brother, we need money. Nobody help. We have to get money. But we didn’t want to hurt Ernie. Just for money. Ernie young. He’s GI. He doesn’t need money.”
She took a slow breath and looked down at her lap. “I had done… it before. Some GIs… I don’t know why.” She waved her hand as if to dismiss something. ‘They like me. They all the time want to steady me, they all the time want to marry me. But they want do strange things. So I tell them I need money, bring money, and maybe then we can do.”
“What about Bohler?” I said.
She looked down again. “I have to do.”
“Have to do?” Who says you have to do?”
“Everybody,” she answered. “Policeman say, Korean man say. Everybody say General number-one honcho. I have to do.”
“How did you meet him?”
“With Korean men.”
“Who?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. They all same.”
“What happened?”
“Korean man say I have to eat with him at party house. I pour him drinks, I laugh at what he say.” She shrugged again. “He like me.”
“And then he started coming to your place every night?”
“Not every night,” she said matter-of-factly. “Maybe two, three times one week.”
“And then you realized that he’s not a normal man.”
“Yes.” She said it very softly. “He’s not normal.”
She got very tense, and very red, and very quiet.
She had been coerced by the local powers into assuaging the needs of the chief of staff of the Eighth Army. Despite the shame, it had given her a strange sort of power. No one would hassle her. In fact, they could probably count on a certain amount of protection by the local police. As long as they were taking care of the General, the police and the mayor and the local businessmen were all happy. Everyone was happy. Except Miss Pak.
“What are you going to do now?” she asked. “You tell Ernie?”
“No,” I said. “No.”
“I don’t know, Geogi.” She looked sad.
“What about Bohler?”
“I don’t ever want to see him again.”
“Bohler will look for you,” I said. “He might even send the Korean National Police after you. There are two of them outside now pretending to be neighbors.”
“Yes.” She nodded. “But they won’t find me or my brother.” She didn’t seem too sure of that, however.
“What about the police outside? Aren’t you worried about them?” I said.
“No. They want the film. They are looking for you, Geogi,” she said.
15
One of the things they teach you in the training course for the Criminal Investigation Division is that when you’re getting chased by the bad guys never run into a dead end. Funny how that dictum stuck so well in my mind as I careened through the crowded streets of downtown Itaewon. But every time I turned a corner I prayed it wasn’t a dead end.
The policeman kept blowing his whistle, which was sort of convenient because I could tell that he was falling a little behind. It stood to reason. The streets were crowded with pedestrians, carts, and vendors of all sorts. I knew which way I was going at each turn. He had to stop at every intersection and check which way I had gone.
I was heading in the general direction of the compound, away from the downtown. I turned down one road and it turned out to be a small outdoor market. Stalls on either side of the road were covered with canvas awnings supported by wooden poles. There were clothes and fish and produce but I didn’t have to admire any of the goods. I was very rude pushing my way through the crowd. I’m afraid a few people were probably knocked to the ground but, like Satchel Page, I didn’t look back or listen for footsteps. I was afraid something might be gaining on me.
