A Death in China by Carl Hiaasen & Montalbano Bill

Author:Carl Hiaasen & Montalbano Bill [Hiaasen, Carl & Bill, Montalbano]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Thrillers, General
ISBN: 9780375700675
Google: P1e9P9VVJyoC
Amazon: 0375700676
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 1984-01-01T11:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

“Idiots! My orders are to be followed. When I say that a man must be guarded, I speak for the state and for the Party. I must be obeyed. You listen to stupid rumors like old women, and you behave as donkeys. I am still the deputy minister, and I still command here.”

Wang Bin burst into the attic cell. In a pregnant moment, much was said between the two brothers, but no words were spoken. David Wang looked up at his brother quizzically.

“It is not what it seems,” Wang Bin said finally. “I will explain later

and apologize. Now we must go quickly. Here, put on these, there is a chill.”

The deputy minister handed his brother a well-cut gray Mao suit with a mourner’s band pinned to the sleeve of the jacket, and a pair of vigorously polished black shoes, one-half size too small.

“Please, hurry, David. We must go.”

Befuddled, unspeaking, David Wang dressed and followed his younger brother into the night. Wang Bin walked briskly. He had but thirteen hours left.

“What do you mean you can’t drive?”

“I was never permitted to learn

it was not my job,” Kangmei stammered. “In this country, we have drivers—”

“Get in,” Stratton said.

The truck was a bad Chinese imitation of a bad Russian flatbed, but it was the only vehicle in the museum’s parking lot with keys in the ignition. Stratton’s original plan had been to hide under some lumber in the truck and let Kangmei navigate the escape, but now he had no choice. Night was on his side, but not much else. Any half-blind idiot would see that the driver of this truck was not Chinese. Stratton turned the key and urged the transmission into first gear. The clutch yelped like a dog on fire.

“This is terrific,” Stratton muttered as they trundled down the two-lane blacktop.

Kangmei gave him a puzzled stare. Stratton laughed and reached out for her hand. “Never mind,” he said. “Where to?”

“A very safe place,” she answered, “but a long, long way, Thom-as. Eighty kilometers.”

Stratton flicked the headlights on and tried to hunch down as low as he would go in the driver’s seat. Kangmei found a dirty canvas cap under the seat, dusted it off and stuck it on Stratton’s head.

“I’m worried about you,” he said after a few minutes. “If we get stopped, I’m running. You tell them I kidnapped you and stole the truck. Tell them you never saw me before. I want you to promise.”

“No,” Kangmei said quietly. “I will not lie again. My father made me say those things at the struggle session. I am very sorry. He told me you were a spy.”

“Did you believe him?”

“No.” She looked at him pridefully. “It wouldn’t matter if you were.”

The sluggish truck picked up speed alarmingly on a long downhill stretch. A quarter-mile ahead, Stratton could make out a group of commune workers, trudging home down the middle of the road. He pressed on the horn and they parted slowly. Their ox, however, was disinclined to yield the right of way.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.