Seven Short Stories of the Vietnam War by Sarge Lintecum

Author:Sarge Lintecum
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-05-24T14:34:56+00:00

Vietnamese Police Arrive to Investigate the Murder Scene

Chapter 4

The Sky is Falling

Brooks drove off to the air base post office with the two duffel bags, and Phil took a motorized cyclo to the other apartment where Tuyen was waiting for him. Phil was going home in eight days, so every minute he and Tuyen had together they were grateful for. Phil entered the apartment and went directly to Tuyen, who was standing by the bed. He embraced her, and they kissed.

“You make me very happy, Tuyen,” Phil said as he spun around with Tuyen and fell backwards onto the bed with Tuyen held closely against his body, so she landed on top of him.

“You make me happy, too,” Tuyen answered.

“I want to be with you always.” Phil said, but Tuyen did not answer. They made love and Phil held Tuyen in his arms for more than an hour. He told her all about how life was back in the states. He described what life was like in Los Angeles, where they would live. Phil told her that his father was going to give the house to him because he and Phil’s mom were getting too old to handle all the work keeping up a big house. They both wanted to buy a townhouse in the suburbs. Phil tried to make everything sound inviting. Then he tried again to talk her into marrying him and coming to the States to live.

“My heart is here in Tuy Hoa,” said Tuyen softly, “and if I went home with you my heart would still be with my family here in Tuy Hoa.”

“Maybe we could send for your family later.” Phil suggested.

“They would never go,” she answered. Then Tuyen looked into Phil’s eyes and hugged him tighter. He could see in her face that she would never leave her family.

Phil was in that half-asleep, half-awake state when he heard the jeep screech to a stop outside. He thought it would be Brooks wanting Phil to go party in the bars, but Phil was going to turn him down to stay with Tuyen. The banging and shouting at the door was much more than Phil had expected, so he became alarmed as he rushed to open the door. It was Johnson, and he was panic stricken.

“Brooks is dead!” he said. “They shot him in the head and took all the gold!”

“What happened?” shouted Phil.

“The captain called me in and told me,” Johnson continued. “They shot him right through the head!” And Johnson collapsed on the floor, crying. Tuyen ran to Phil’s arms, crying, and Phil almost fell from her weight and had to sit down on the bed. Even after two tours of combat in the boonies, this was the worst day of Phil’s life. Brooks was found by a GI, who was passing by, at an intersection on the road to the air base. The jeep was nosed into the southwest corner of the intersection and Brooks was slumped over the steering wheel and he had been shot one time in the side of the head.

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