Sword of God(62)
“I’m assuming he already has.”
“You mean the village?”
Payne nodded. “Less than an hour after he faked his death, he killed how many innocents? And for what reason? To make sure no one knew he was alive?” He paused. “Unless—”
“Unless what?”
“Maybe he didn’t kill them to protect his death. Maybe he killed them to protect his mission. Obviously he saw Yong-Su’s bloody footsteps outside the cave. That’s probably what led him to the village. And if Schmidt was discussing the mission while the boy was in there? You know damn well he would’ve been forced to plug the leak before anyone could talk about it.”
“The black stone,” Jones suggested. “The boy kept muttering something about the black stone. Maybe that has more significance than we think.”
Ten minutes later, they’d realize how much more.
35
Payne walked into the interview room with a bagful of candy, the first time in his career that he’d ever resorted to a confectionery bribe. Yong-Su’s eyes lit up when he saw the wide assortment of sweets that Payne had borrowed from Crawford’s desk.
“Now, don’t get too excited. You earned only four pieces.”
Yong-Su nodded and smiled, practically knocking over the table as he reached for the bag.
“Wow! You really like candy, don’t you?”
He nodded again, grinning.
“In that case, how would like to make a deal?” Payne glanced at Chung-Ho, seeking his permission. “If it’s okay with your dad, I’d like to ask you a few more questions. If you get them right, we can double your reward.”
“Do you know how many pieces that is?” Kia asked.
Yong-Su held up both hands, spreading his fingers wide.
“That’s right! Eight whole pieces!”
“Sir,” Payne asked, “is that all right with you?”
Chung-Ho nodded, thrilled that Yong-Su was happy about anything.
“Great!” said Payne as he shook the bag for emphasis. The boy stared at it like a pit bull eyeing a pork chop. “Then let’s get started.”
The photographs of Schmidt and his crew were still on the table. Payne pushed them closer to the boy so he could get a better look. “When I was talking to your neighbor Mr. Kim, he told me that you heard the men talking in the cave. Do you remember what they said?”
Yong-Su nodded.
“Do you remember who was talking the most?”
Yong-Su nodded again, this time pointing to one of the photos. It was Trevor Schmidt.
“That’s good, real good. That’s what I figured.”
Payne collected the other three photos and moved them out of the way so Yong-Su could focus on the only person that mattered. “Okay, now here’s the fun part, the part that’s going to double all your candy. I’d like you to tell me what this man was talking about.”
Yong-Su glanced at his dad, who whispered something to him in Korean. Whether it was fatherly advice or a reminder of what Yong-Su had told him earlier in the week, Payne wasn’t sure. But whatever he said, it was effective, because Yong-Su started to talk.
“Man say black stone.”
“Black stone?”
“He say black stone come from heaven.”
“It came from heaven?”
“But he send it to hell.”
Payne grimaced. “He wanted to send the black stone to hell?”
Yong-Su nodded. “Me get candy now.”
“In a minute,” Kia said, giving Payne a chance to think. “As soon as he’s done asking you questions, you’ll get your candy.”
“Okay. Me wait.”
The problem was Payne didn’t know what to ask next. He didn’t know what the black stone was or why Schmidt wanted to send it to hell. Obviously he wasn’t talking about the hotel on Jeju, but it could have been anything else— maybe even a code that only Schmidt and his crew understood. For all he knew, Black Stone could have been the name of Schmidt’s mission.
But if that was the case, what did heaven and hell have to do with anything?
Payne paused for a minute, glancing through his small notebook. He had jotted different phrases in his personal shorthand, his way of guaranteeing secrecy, although with this mission, it wouldn’t have mattered who read it. There were too many holes to make sense of anything. Thankfully, just as his frustration was starting to build, he was saved by a knock on the door.
Handing the bag to Kia, he told her to give Yong-Su one piece for good behavior. Otherwise he knew the kid might start gnawing on the table. Never in his life had he seen a kid who liked candy that much. He figured it was probably the reason he was missing three teeth.