Free Jade Lady Burning by Martin Limon Page B

and go through the motions, which was all, I figured, Eighth Army really wanted me to do. Mainly, I wanted to get back to the murder of Miss Pak Ok-suk and I didn’t need to waste a lot of time on some silly diversion.
    The first sergeant plodded down the hallway in his big wingtips and peeked in the door of the Admin Section.
    “Bascom. Sueño. Come on down to my office.”
    Miss Kim stopped her typing and gave Ernie a goodbye look. He got up, adjusted the buttons on his jacket, and marched down the hallway after the first sergeant. I followed.
    In his office, the first sergeant introduced us to Mr. Tom Kurtz. We all sat down: the first sergeant behind his desk, me and Ernie sort of off to the side, looking at Mr. Kurtz, seated in front.
    “What can we do for you, Mr. Kurtz?” the first sergeant said.
    “I thought Inspectors Burrows and Slabem would be here.”
    “They’re on a high-priority case and I’m afraid I couldn’t pull them off it.”
    “Ah, well. They were so helpful and so concerned about getting to the bottom of the corruption at KPA.”
    Kurtz was young, like maybe just out of college, with curly brown hair and a tailored blue suit covering his frail body. He kept pushing his glasses back up his pug nose.
    He bent forward, as if to confide in us. “You know I can’t stand working with people who aren’t totally honest. I don’t know how Eighth Army could have allowed the situation to deteriorate so much. I’ve recommended that a few of the people who work for me be fired, but all that happens is they get transferred, sometimes into better jobs, and the people who take their places are no better than the ones that left.”
    Kurtz sat up in his chair. “But I’m not here to complain. Not this time. I’m here to thank you for all your help. Since I put in my complaints and your investigation started, things have really changed for the better at the Korean Procurement Agency.”
    I had been starting to doze off but this woke me up. A little anyway.
    “For the first time we’re getting real competition during the bidding for contracts. Just last week an entirely new company won a major contract to build a recreation center at Camp Carroll down in Waegwan. And it wasn’t just one of those shifting-letterhead deals either. I met the man who got the contract. He was delighted to be doing work, for the first time, for the U.S. government. What convinced me that the whole thing wasn’t some sort of sham was how upset my Korean employees were at the whole thing. And that’s not the only contract that has gone to new vendors. The winds of change are sweeping through KPA and I have you gentlemen to thank for it.”
    “Just doing our job,” the first sergeant said. “You played a big role in this, too, Mr. Kurtz.”
    The first sergeant didn’t want all the blame.
    “No, no, no.” Mr. Kurtz waved off the compliment. “It’s you fellows. And especially Inspector Burrows and Inspector Slabem. Please give them my thanks.”
    “Write them a letter of appreciation, for inclusion in their personnel folders.”
    “I’ll do that, said Kurtz enthusiastically.
    That’s Top. Always looking out for his troops—when it doesn’t cost him anything.
    Kurtz got up, we shook hands all the way around, and he left.
    Ernie and I stood, grinning.
    “What was all that?” I said.
    “I haven’t a clue. Go on,” Top said. “Get out of here. Get back to work.”
    We clomped down the hallway. Ernie was chuckling but all I could think about was that there must be something terribly wrong at the Korean Procurement Agency. All that money wouldn’t have slipped away without a fight.
    But that worry belonged to Burrows and Slabem. I put it out of my mind and tried to figure how I could find the elusive Kimiko, as we drove off toward the ville.
    Itaewon during the daytime is sleepy and wonderful. We found a back alley parking spot for the jeep, Ernie chained the steering wheel, and we wandered up the street, past the