A Death in China - Carl Hiaasen [67]
“Yes, Comrade. I believed him.”
“What happened when you went to his hotel room in Xian?”
“He held me against my will. He abducted me. He beat me. He said my father, the deputy minister, represented all that was evil about the Communist Party, and that he must be destroyed.”
“So,” Zhou said, “he threatened to kill a Chinese deputy minister. What else did he say?”
“Thom-as Stratton admitted that he is an agent of the imperialist United States government, and that he was sent to China to encourage terrorism and disrupt the efforts of the loyal workers.”
To Stratton’s surprise, Kangmei did not recite her indictment in monotone. Rather, her tone was impassioned, the words seemingly spontaneous. Her eyes seemed to glisten, but whether in rage or sorrow Stratton could no longer be sure.
Zhou said, “What did you do when you heard Stratton denounce your father?”
“I argued with him, Comrade. I became very angry. I told him he was not worthy to visit our country, and that I was going to report him to the Public Security Bureau. When I tried to run out of his room, he grabbed me by the arms and threw me down on the floor. Then he kicked me between the legs …”
“No!” Stratton bellowed. “Kangmei, please, I know what’s happening, but—”
Zhou motioned to the jailer, who swiftly moved behind Stratton and dug a knee into the small of his back. Then he seized Stratton’s hair and yanked back so that Stratton was forced to stare up at the roof, his neck stretched tight. Zhou scooped a handful of rancid manure from the floor and dropped it into Stratton’s face. He retched.
“You will remain silent from now on,” Zhou said mildly.
Stratton stared back with dead eyes. His face was chalky.
Kangmei continued her story: “Stratton gagged me so I could not scream. Then he tied me to the bed in the room.”
“Then what?”
“He ripped my clothing off … and raped me.”
“Several times?”
“Yes, Comrade Zhou. Several times … and once in a terrible way.”
Stratton grimaced. A horsefly landed on one cheek, beneath his left eye. Even as it bit him, Stratton made no move to brush it away. His arms hung like butcher’s meat.
“Finally I was rescued when two comrades came to the hotel room. They must have heard me fighting back. Stratton escaped, but at least my ordeal was over.”
Stratton gazed sadly at Kangmei, and shook his head back and forth with determination. Her eyes never softened.
Zhou said, “Kangmei, do you now see the folly of your contact with foreigners, especially decadent Americans? They are a menace to the state, a threat to everything we are working for. They are not to be trusted, and never to be believed. Stratton is a model of this—a murderer …”
“Murderer!” Kangmei agreed.
“A thief, a corrupter …”
“A thief!” she yelled in a suddenly shrill voice that startled Stratton.
“A rapist,” Zhou concluded.
“Rapist!” Kangmei cried. “A murderer and rapist!”
“You were deceived,” Zhou said.
“Yes, Comrade, and I am truly sorry. He seemed sincere and I believed him. I was blind, like a man who suddenly loses his sight and becomes confused.”
Stratton wasn’t looking when she said it, but he heard Kangmei’s voice crack.
“Blind, Comrade Zhou,” she repeated. “Nearsighted. Clumsy. Foolish.”
Stratton stiffened. He tested the muscles in his arms and legs with invisible isometrics. He hurt everywhere, but he willed himself to be ready.
“Blind,” Kangmei said softly. “Blind, blind, blind!” And with that, she plucked the bottle-bottom glasses from Zhou’s eyes and tossed them across Stratton’s cell. They landed in the worst corner. Insects scattered.
Zhou was utterly bewildered. The jailer shouted a question in Mandarin. Stratton did not wait for the answer. He rammed a fist into the side of Zhou’s head, spilling the inquisitor off the chair into a writhing heap.
Stratton grunted to his feet and stood rubber-legged, facing the jailer. The man dove for Stratton’s waist and brought him down. They rolled together in the fetid slop; the jailer, clawing for Stratton’s throat and eyes; Stratton, weak and nauseous, using his long arms and his weight to entangle