“How long was I out?” asked Tarah, blinking her eyes.

“About ten or fifteen seconds. Are you okay?”

Tarah glared at Jack and asked Chi a question in Vietnamese.

Chi nodded that she was okay.

“Did you have to do that to us?” asked Tarah.

“I’m sorry, but I didn’t see any other option. I want to catch these guys. Right now, we still don’t have enough evidence to convict them. If they know we’re on to them, we lose everything. I really want them to go to jail.”

“They should be in jail,” said Tarah.

“Does your neck hurt?”

“I’m fine,” admitted Tarah, while massaging her neck with her hand. “I wouldn’t have known I was out, except suddenly you were carrying me and I’m here instead of down there,” she said, using her thumb to point toward the lane. “You freaked me out.”

“What are you doing here?” asked Jack.

“I used to teach in Calgary, but got tired of all the spoiled, snotty little rich kids who think the world owes them a favour. I came here and found kids who really need help. I’m a volunteer with The Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation.”

“I never heard of the Blue Dragon,” said Jack.

“It was started by a man out of Australia,” said Tarah. “In Vietnam, it is the only social work program for street kids. I operate a soup kitchen just a couple of blocks from here. Some kids don’t have any parents or others are from poor families. I entice the children with food, soccer games, music, arts—anything that works. The idea is to try to educate them so they’ll have a better option than ending up in prostitution. At the soup kitchen, we teach them to cook and how to be waiters and waitresses.”

“Sounds impressive,” said Jack.

“If you have time, we have a restaurant called Koto that is run almost entirely by our kids who are older and have been through our program. Many will be able to get jobs in some of the best hotels and restaurants around. We also teach them English, so they’ll have an advantage over the others.”

“I admire you for having the courage to step forward and do what is right. You’ve got a lot of guts.”

Tarah shrugged and said, “If anyone saw these children ... how much they need help ... the look on their faces when you do get through to them. Believe me, it is worth it.”

“What do you know about the men in the apartment you just went to?” asked Jack.

“One of the street kids told me that Chi was being taken and sent to live with some family in America. She’s an orphan here, so I guess it sounded pretty good. When I heard the name of the Vietnamese man who took her, I knew it was probably a lie. He has a reputation for being involved in drugs and prostitution. I found out where Chi was and got her back. No big deal.”

“What you did was a hell of a big deal,” said Jack. “Think maybe we can walk to your soup kitchen and talk?”

“Sure. For a donation, I’ll also make you breakfast.”

When they reached the soup kitchen, Tarah brought them inside a long narrow room with a wooden table lined with chairs. They sat down, but it was apparent that Chi was going to try to escape as soon as she could. Tarah argued with her in Vietnamese and Jack asked her what she said.

“I told her she was too young to end up in some brothel in America. She doesn’t believe me and says she is being adopted by a rich family and will later work in a nice hotel. Yeah, right! Like I haven’t heard that story before! She’s only twelve years old, so ...”

Chi made a dash toward the door, but Tarah grabbed her by the arm and made her sit down.

Jack told Tarah about another child, by the name of Hang, who also headed to America last January on a boat and ended up murdered in Surrey.

“Hang?” questioned Tarah. “It is not that unusual a name here. What did she look like?”

“She had an extra thumb,” said Jack.

Tarah was visibly shaken. “I knew a kid like that. Used to come here once in awhile with her younger sister. She quit coming around Christmas. I asked the younger sister where she was and she told me Hang had been sent to live with relatives in Saigon. Maybe it is just a coincidence. Agent Orange had caused a lot of birth defects. There are many—”

“I have a picture of her,” said Jack, pulling out his wallet. I must warn you, it was taken after she was murdered. It is awful to look at.”

Tarah took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before nodding and reaching for the photo. She looked at the picture and immediately started to sob. Chi also looked, but was too frightened to cry and hugged Tarah and asked her a question in Vietnamese.

“Why is she like this?” asked Tarah, ignoring Chi and pointing to the picture. “Her face ...?”

“She was held captive for months by a sadist and tortured,” said Jack quietly. “Maybe you should explain that to Chi.”

Tarah explained the situation to Chi, who immediately started crying. Tarah hugged her and gently whispered to her. Eventually Chi quit crying but she kept her arms around Tarah. There was no longer any fear of her returning to the apartment.

“Would you ask Chi, please, how many others were in the apartment we were just at?” asked Jack.

Tarah spoke with Chi briefly and Jack saw the surprise register on Tarah’s face.

“She says there were about forty young women,” said Tarah. “Chi guesses that most of the others are between the ages of sixteen to twenty-two. There were also two foreign men and three Vietnamese men in the apartment.”

“The two foreign men are the ringleaders,” said Jack. “They’re both Russian.”

“I had no idea there were that many people in there,” said Tarah. “I thought it was just a couple of women and Chi who were going.”

“Maybe just as well for you that you didn’t know,” said Jack. “Do you know where Hang’s father is now?”

Tarah nodded and said, “His name is Bien. He lives with his mother in a room off an alley in the next block. He works as a tour guide now. He speaks good English. Are you going to tell him?”

Before Jack could reply, Tarah said, “Or maybe I should.”

“We both should,” said Jack. He glanced at Laura and said, “Hand me the cell back, I’m going to call Sonny.”

“Who is Sonny?” asked Tarah.

“A Vietnamese policeman who has been working with us,” said Jack.

“Just a minute,” said Tarah. She spoke with Chi, who nodded and left the room.

“I sent her to get Bien,” continued Tarah. “I told her just to say that I had some urgent news. You might want to speak with him before he talks with the Vietnamese police. The relationship between the police and the people here is very different from Canada. He might be more forthcoming talking to us alone at first.”

“I understand,” said Jack.

“Oh,” said Tarah, “but I guess you need the police to get the people in the apartment before they ...”

“They can wait,” said Jack. “I’ll talk to Bien first. From what we know, the Russians will have probably have left the apartment by now. All they do is take a quick look to confirm the ... quality of the merchandise ... and leave. We need to let things proceed like normal for the bad guys and hope we can get more evidence. Perhaps with the Russians talking to the boat captain or paying him. Something to prove their involvement. Their being in the apartment is not enough.”

“It might be enough here in Vietnam,” suggested Tarah.

Jack nodded and said, “I believe that. But we are trying to solve Hang’s murder. I think the murderer is in Canada. Those are the rules I have to play by.”

Tarah nodded and said, “Whoever did that to Hang ... at the very least, I’d like to see that guy sent here to a Vietnamese jail. It is tough enough over here for ordinary people. Try to imagine what the jails are like.”

“No colour TV or private rooms, I suspect,” said Laura, facetiously.

“Sorry,” said Jack. “If the murder happened in Canada, that’s where he’ll do his time. You said Hang had a sister?” he asked, changing the subject.