Blood Is a Stranger (22 page)

‘This Chan link to Utun worries me,' he said. ‘They are seen together often. He seems to have great influence over the president. He virtually “controls” Utun's strike force. He seems to be displacing, or at least joining, Dalan as the president's closest confidant.'

‘I'm more concerned about Utun getting nuclear weapons,' Myrta said. ‘I find it hard to believe that the Americans would condone that.'

‘Why? Indonesia could never threaten the US.'

‘I just don't think they would go that far in arming a surrogate. It would leak out. Then the Americans would be universally condemned. The Russians might be inclined to give its surrogates nuclear weapons.'

‘I'm not so sure,' Perdonny mumbled. He sat down again.

‘What can we do?' Myrta said in frustration, ‘assassinate Blundell? If your theory is right, he must be masterminding the whole thing.'

‘No. We'll need the US when Utun topples.'

‘Well, you can't hit Utun. It's been tried. He is so closely guarded.'

Perdonny agreed.

‘Which leaves Chan,' Myrta said, ‘and he has his own highly trained commandos.'

‘But he is the most vulnerable,' Perdonny said ruminating, ‘for our purposes.'

‘I don't understand.'

Perdonny reached for his phone. ‘Our aim should be to sever the three-way links,' he said, ‘build doubts in their minds about each other.'

A hundred refugee peasants from a flood two hundred kilometres east of Jakarta trudged with remarkable dignity and elegance towards the poultice hot city as Perdonny's driver, Bani, took Rhonda and Cardinal to Halim. The peasants toiled with baskets balanced on poles across their backs.

Cardinal's eyes fell on an army base opposite a tourist hotel, and the traffic was soon forced to slow down for a tank escorted by two army trucks. The tank squeaked along with its gun barrel thrusting ahead. Their vehicle was almost brought to a standstill.

‘Anything you want me to do in Australia?' Rhonda asked.

Cardinal considered her for a moment. ‘If you could get hold of the autopsy report,' he said.

Rhonda pulled a face. ‘And steal the crown jewels,' she said, making a note on a pad. ‘I'll try, but they aren't made public'

‘I didn't get a chance to go over Harry's bank statements. I'll write to the manager authorising you to have them.'

‘What should I look for?'

‘See if he went into debt. He was a gambler. He liked roulette. Used to spend weekends in Altantic City losing money.'

‘What about his girlfriend?'

‘I couldn't work out how close they were. Maybe you could. She said she would move out of Harry's house soon. I'm having it rented out for the next year until it can be sold.'

Rhonda scribbled as the driver overtook the tank. ‘Anything else?'

‘At the house,' Cardinal said, ‘you'll find photos of Harry taken by Kim. Could you check if he has a ring on the small finger of either hand?'

Rhonda frowned. Cardinal pulled out the photo of him with his son. ‘On this you can see it's on his right hand,' Cardinal said giving it to her. ‘On the corpse it was on the left.'

‘Any significance?'

‘I dreamt that it was on his right. It was in this photo, at least.'

She eyed him.

‘I know what you're thinking,' he said. ‘I haven't fully accepted his death.'

‘But you identified the body,' she whispered.

‘Sure, and people who have to do that normally have no illusions that somebody is dead. But I guess because I couldn't see his face, I still have doubts. I'm compelled to follow them through, for my peace of mind.'

‘You sure that's all you want to know for?'

Cardinal did not answer. He was thinking beyond a meeting with Hartina.

‘If you learn anything,' he said, ‘please let me know.'

‘I promise.'

Rhonda looked at her watch. ‘That tank! I hope it hasn't made me miss my flight!'

Cardinal urged the driver to speed up, and he pulled out to pass other vehicles. Cardinal noticed him glancing in a side mirror. ‘Anything wrong?' he said.

‘Red BMW,' Bani said.

Another car was keeping with them. Cardinal kept his eyes on it and when it came close he could see the four occupants, all of whom were dressed in floral shirts and dark glasses.

‘Are they following us?' Rhonda asked.

‘Think so,' Cardinal said. ‘Utun has given you an escort.'

Suddenly the pursuit car overtook them. It cut in close.
Bani was forced to swerve onto the roadside gravel. He had trouble controlling the car. The BMW stayed in front of them.

‘Get past them!' Cardinal ordered. Bani, with his fixed grin becoming demonic, tried to overtake the BMW, but each time he pulled out it did the same. Frustration grew as the minutes slipped by and they were reduced to a crawl.

‘Look, we've got to get there.'

‘Let me drive.' Cardinal said. The Ambonese pulled over to the left. Bani slipped over into the passenger seat as Cardinal strapped in. He bustled the Holden out into the traffic. The BMW had stopped up ahead, but it pulled out in front. Cardinal checked the rear-vision mirror and accelerated as if he was going to try to pass the BMW on the left. It pulled hard left. Cardinal spun the steering wheel right and slipped past. He put his foot down.

The BMW was soon on their bumper. Cardinal had his right foot flat to the boards. He eased his left foot onto the brake and then pushed it down without reducing speed with his right. The BMW braked and skidded into the gravel in a cloud of dust. Other vehicles overtook it as it slid to a stop, and then tried to get back into the traffic. Cardinal continued to gun the Holden until Halim was in sight. The BMW gained on them, but only caught the Holden as they arrived at the airport.

Cardinal ordered Bani to wait as he and Rhonda ran to the ticket counter. The red boarding light was on for her Qantas flight.

‘You might just make it,' the receptionist said, with a look at her watch.

They dashed for the passport line. There were several people in front of them.

‘There was one thing I really wanted to tell you.' Rhonda said leaning close to Cardinal, ‘Perdonny can help you. I know you don't trust him, but he will help if you ask.'

Cardinal was watching the entrance. One of the floral-shirted ‘escorts' was dodging his way through passengers towards them.

‘Did you hear what I said?' Rhonda asked.

Cardinal nodded.

‘If you have trouble getting out,' she said, dropping her voice, ‘he can arrange things.'

Floral-shirt had positioned himself some paces from the passport official.

‘Forget me,' Cardinal whispered. ‘Let's get you out!'

Rhonda hugged him. ‘There's a pilot at Bogor,' she said in his ear, ‘an Australian working for Perdonny's company. If I can't get out today, Perdonny said he might take me early Friday.'

They reached the passport desk. Rhonda handed over her documents. The official nodded towards four men waiting to inspect luggage at his whim.

Cardinal stepped forward. ‘She'll miss her plane!' he said. He pointed at the departures board.

Floral-shirt took a few paces forward.

The customs official pointed at the inspectors and Rhonda was forced to open her case. There was a sharp exchange in Indonesian between Floral-shirt and the customs man. Her case was given only a cursory look before she was bundled through. Rhonda looked back once just before she disappeared.

Cardinal turned and was face to face with Floral-shirt, who touched the rim of his glasses and strode away. Cardinal walked up one flight of stairs to the main terminal lounge. He could see a bus pulling up at the bottom of the Qantas plane ramp, just as a steward began closing the front cabin door. It was shut firm. Cardinal watched Rhonda jump out of the bus. She hesitated and seemed uncertain what to do.

‘Go up!' Cardinal hissed to himself, ‘get up those stairs!'

Rhonda hurried to the top of the ramp. She hammered
on the door. Nothing happened. She took a few steps down the ramp. The door began opening. Rhonda turned and stepped into the cabin.

Cardinal had been uncertain whether he was under surveillance. But on the return to Jakarta, he had no doubts, as the BMW stayed close. His dilemma was whether to let them know he was staying at the Sari Pacific or attempt to give them the slip. He discussed it with Bani.

‘Robert say you no go to hotel,' he said. ‘I meet you at Hot Hands Harry again in maybe two hour?'

Cardinal wondered how they would get away from the BMW. He suggested taking the wheel again, but the Ambonese was adamant: he was remaining in the driver's seat.

‘Okay,' Cardinal said. ‘Drop me at the Borobodur. I'll pretend to be staying there and leave when I can.'

‘No risk, please,' the driver said.

Cardinal got out in full view of the tailing car. It was Bakin, the Indonesian secret police.

Cardinal was alert to the subtle change in manner of Perdonny towards him at their second meeting, this time at his villa. There were no anti-American jibes, and he seemed concerned, in his laconic way, about Cardinal's safety.

‘We are worried about Chan,' Perdonny said. They strolled to the wall beyond the pool that separated them from a swamp. ‘We fear his influence over Utun.' He told Cardinal about the Hercules at Ujung Pandang: ‘We have just heard that the yellowcake is to be taken to Bandang for processing. Utun is anxious to use it at the reactor.'

‘Could you do anything about Chan?' Cardinal asked.

‘It's not easy.' The little man frowned. They looked out
over the wall. ‘There are considerable risks.'

‘In what?'

‘In getting rid of him.'

‘You're that worried about him?'

‘He represents the only vulnerability in some conspiracy we are certain exists between the CIA, Utun and Chan.'

They reached the wall overlooking the swamp. Perdonny pointed out monkeys in the jungle behind it.

‘It's certain that Utun is developing secret weapons at Bandung with Hartina Van der Holland as chief scientist,' Perdonny said.

‘But what's Chan's connection?'

‘One theory is that the CIA and the Khmer Rouge could be asked to experiment with some new weapon in the Kampuchean resistance against the Vietnamese.'

‘Not nuclear weapons?' Cardinal said.

‘They could be small tactical weapons. It depends on what's happening at Bandung. They may be special Star Wars developments your government wants tried in South-East Asia.'

‘Rhonda had an idea that the whole thing had been transferred to Indonesia.'

‘Utun would want a trade-off. It's no secret in Jakarta that he is keen to have nuclear weapons.'

‘I can't believe the States would allow even a “friendly” power like Indonesia to have the bomb.'

‘Perhaps Utun was going to get it, anyway,' Perdonny suggested. ‘Someone like Blundell could do a deal to speed the inevitable along. After all, Indonesia, even under communist rule, would be no threat to your country.'