Blood Is a Stranger (36 page)

‘Can I ask what your info's based on?'

‘Satellite photos.'

‘Who were the hijackers?'

‘The Khmer Rouge.'

‘I've been told that there was some kind of co-operation between the Americans and Khmer Rouge,' she probed.

‘Was
is the operative word. There may have been a split.'

‘Is that why the CIA has passed on these photos?'

‘Probably.'

‘Then wouldn't it be useful for me to continue the project?'

‘Don't be naive, Rhonda. Your story would expose the CIA's follies. They hardly want that public'

‘So you want to cut me off because you're back in bed with the CIA.'

Hewson flushed. ‘I don't want you getting in too deep. I like you. It's my duty to warn you.'

Rhonda waited. She could see he was troubled.

‘It's all getting nasty,' he said, grimacing. ‘The unofficial Kampuchean Embassy in Jakarta suffered an attack earlier in the week. Now it has been evacuated, according to our Jakarta Embassy.'

‘Anyone killed?'

‘One person. An important Khmer Rouge leader was
also hit and wounded. His name is Chan.'

Rhonda fidgeted.

‘Thought you might be interested in that.'

‘This Chan survived?'

Hewson nodded. ‘Whatever happened has also upset Utun,' he said. ‘The Bandung reactor has been sealed off. So has the Van der Holland home nearby. We think the Khmer Rouge cleared out with a little excess baggage.'

‘Hartina?'

‘Your guess is as good as ours on that one,' Hewson said phlegmatically. ‘Suffice to say that Utun is not happy with the Khmer Rouge or the CIA. The CIA is unhappy with Utun and the Khmer Rouge. So everybody is accusing everybody else, and we have been listening to all the bitching. The Russians are laughing and so are the French.'

‘I can understand the Russian position,' Rhonda said, ‘but why should the French be so happy?'

Hewson opened his hands. ‘The Khmer Rouge and the French have always had a special relationship. Pol Pot and company have maintained it since their student days. The French are very interested in a pay off.'

‘With the Americans out of the picture?'

‘Put it this way. If Van der Holland is caught up with the Khmer Rouge, she would only be there for one purpose: to develop laser technology. The French would like a share of it. They've been more interested in laser weaponry than just about anyone.'

Rhonda examined the stem of her glass.

‘Australia's involved because two of our best people have gone missing,' Hewson said.

Rhonda had extracted much more from Hewson than she had expected. It was time to leave. She used the telescope to take one last look. The Jaguar was still there.

Perdonny and Webb flew to Sydney for a debriefing by ASIO; Cardinal stayed a night in Darwin and Burra invited him to his house for a meal.

‘Judy is bloody inquisitive,' Burra said as they dined. The old woman skulked away from the dinner table and sat in front
of
television. ‘She asks too many questions.'

‘Like what?'

‘She wanted to know if you were still having trouble at night, with those nightmares.'

‘Did I talk in my sleep?' Cardinal asked her.

She muttered to herself, her eyes fixed on television.

‘My people, especially her generation,' Burra said, ‘place enormous store in dreaming.'

‘So you said about Jimmy Goyong,' Cardinal prompted.

‘You don't want to know about that stuff,' Burra said, zipping the top of another beer for both of them. ‘You would find it bullshit.'

Cardinal glanced at Judy. ‘I
am
still having trouble with those damned dreams.'

She half turned her head, the black sockets of her eyes glaring at her son-in-law.

‘Can I tell you about them?' Cardinal asked.

Judy looked straight at him. She stood up and joined him at the table. Burra handed her a can. Cardinal told them of the dream where the figure was half buried.

‘The earth is symbolic of death to Aborigines,' Burra explained. ‘Those nightmares mean that you and your son are in danger.'

Cardinal looked at Judy. ‘Is that why I tried to pull him from the grave . . . the earth?'

Judy listened with her eyes. ‘It's broader than that. It suggests that your son's life is on a road of self-destruction, and yours too, if you continue the way you are going.'

‘My whole life?' Cardinal asked. ‘Or my current problem?'

‘Your dreams reflect your whole life,' Burra said. ‘But it does not mean you cannot change direction.'

‘I want to know one other thing,' Cardinal said. ‘Does all this dreaming mean I'm obsessed? Does it mean I can't face my son's death, or what?'

Judy responded.

‘She says you doubt he is dead,' Burra explained, ‘and that you should stop having doubts and follow your instincts.'

Cardinal opened another can of beer.

‘We believe that all the symbols of our dreams are universal,' Burra said. ‘We believe in a sort of universal, unconscious truth that all men know in their hearts and minds if they search for it.'

‘You said something like that before,' Cardinal said, ‘that dreaming provides the clues to reality.'

Burra nodded.

‘In that case,' Cardinal said, turning to Judy, ‘you are telling me I know the truth.'

She stared at him.

‘You are saying Harry is alive.'

Judy shook her grey, lank hair. ‘No. You are telling you.'

‘What do you think they'll do about the Khmer Rouge?' Webb said to Perdonny as their plane approached Sydney. ‘Would they consider taking out their base in the Cardomom mountains?'

‘You mean use commandos?' Perdonny said.

‘That's what they're trained for.'

‘No,' Perdonny said. ‘That won't be an option. For one thing, the Khmer Rouge control a big section of those mountains. They'll have dug in against the Vietnamese. If they can't dislodge the Khmer Rouge, then not even ten Australian commando forces could. For another thing, the whole area will be crawling with Vietnamese troops. They're on the offensive, it's the dry season. Any effort by us to go in would meet dual opposition from the Khmers
and the Vietnamese.'

‘But surely something will be done,' Webb said. ‘I can't see ASIO and the CIA sitting on their bums knowing that our uranium and scientists are there!'

‘I doubt there'll be much co-operation with the CIA,' Perdonny said. ‘Besides, any attack on the mountain base could endanger the scientists.'

‘But something has to be done!' Webb said. ‘Otherwise the Vietnamese will take out the base.'

‘They could if they located it.'

‘Do you think Harry Cardinal is with the Khmer Rouge?'

‘It is a big problem if both he and Van der Holland have been captured. The CIA is worried.'

‘Why do you say that?'

‘Well, why else would it be scrambling to get our help? Things are out of hand.'

‘I would love to get into those damned mountains,' Webb said.

Perdonny gave him a quizzical look. ‘You're crazy, Spider! Do you want to commit suicide?'

Webb's large nose bent as he broke into a mysterious grin. ‘Not necessarily. We have been told the French may be trying to fill the support vacuum for the Khmer Rouge.'

‘So?'

‘So the French will have to send somebody to negotiate,' Webb said. ‘We could intercept them.'

‘How the hell would we do that?'

‘It's not so tough, Robert. If the CIA had a connection to the Khmers, as you suspected, they would have had contacts in Bangkok or in the Khmer Rouge refugee camps on the Thai-Kampuchean border. The French will go to the same people.'

‘Okay,' Perdonny said, in a less sceptical note. ‘Suppose we found the French, intercepted them, and even posed as them with the Khmer Rouge representatives in the camp . . .”

‘And they led us into the mountains,' Webb interjected, ‘to the Khmer base.'

‘I'm intrigued. What then? What if we got agents in? What could they do? Wipe out the base and grab Van der Holland and the yellowcake and make an escape?'

‘No. But those observers could gain enough intelligence on the route, and the base, to prepare something bigger.'

Perdonny was sceptical.

‘Don't you think we owe it to Van der Holland and Ken Cardinal's son, if he is alive, to try to help them?' Webb asked.

‘Why the change in attitude?' Perdonny said. ‘You weren't so gung-ho about helping Cardinal.'

‘I thought Bum was a suicide mission,' Webb said. ‘You knew the damned place. You had been there before.'

‘Well, do you know Kampuchea?'

‘You bet your sweet Ambonese arse I do!' Webb said.

Cardinal awoke with the early morning sun streaming through the balcony window of his son's Bronte home. Rhonda was asleep next to him, and although he was far from content he was riding high: he had survived Buru.

Cardinal made fresh filtered coffee and sat on the balcony watching surfers. A strong breeze was building consistent waves. He was joined by Rhonda who draped an arm around him and kissed him.

‘What's wrong with you?'

‘I've been thinking,' Cardinal said.

‘Why would you actually use your brain on a lovely morning like this?' Rhonda said with a laugh.

He smiled.

‘Okay, Mr Art Dealer, what's on that complex mind of yours?' she said, kissing his forehead.

‘This interview you want,' he said, ‘I can't do it.'

‘Why not?'

‘I still want to find Harry, if I can. Publicity is not what I need.'

‘All I want is to do the interview with you. We don't broadcast it until you're satisfied and ready.'

‘Have you that much editorial control?'

‘All you have to do is stipulate the conditions you want, and I'll get them. And there's money in it for you.'

Cardinal looked surprised.