The Lepidopterists – Part 3
With studied impassivity, Khanh held the car door open. Yvette took Daniel’s proffered hand, but the trio simply watched as Jessica struggled to get out of the car, awkward in her tight dress and ungainly platform heels. She emerged unsteadily. “Wow! I didn’t know there were places like this here. It’s huge!” The gravel crunched […]
The Lepidopterists – Part 2
Two lurid pink cocktails later, in the humming darkness of the back of the merc, Yvette and Daniel sat with a slightly more intoxicated Jessica between them. Her hair glinted like copper in the strobe of the passing street lamps. Daniel wound a heavy lock of it around her fingers. “What beautiful hair you have.” […]
The Lepidopterists – Part 1
“Delectable,” murmured Yvette. Daniel followed her line of sight to its target and sat back, crossing his legs. “I agree.” For several minutes they sat in silence, sipped their drinks and watched the lithe, pretty redhead press the flesh and mingle her way through the diplomatic gathering. Yvette canted her head towards Daniel and whispered. […]
The Madwoman of Thu Duc – Part 11
Through the branches of the tamarind trees, the light played dappled games with the surface of the pool at the Cercle Sportif. Children paddled in the shallow end, supervised by nervous nannies who were hardly old enough to bear children themselves and certainly could not swim. The French denizens of Saigon reclined in their ornate […]
The Madwoman of Thu Duc – Part 10
I should tell you that I resisted, shouldn’t I? That when Etienne pushed me to the foot of the bed and pressed my body into the mattress with his own, I struggled or fought or at least protested? I wish I could say I did, but I won’t allow myself that dishonesty. The caress on […]
The Madwoman of Thu Duc – Part 9
An unfamiliar sound dragged me from my oblivion. Like the bark of a dog or a piece of wood being split. When it came again, I knew that it was a cry, louder and longer than before. My head was a sluggish river of thoughts as I slid off the bed, snatched my dressing gown […]
The Madwoman of Thu Duc – Part 8
We played a few hands of gin rummy on the terrace. At eight the wind foretelling an evening thunderstorm came up and, although it was cooler, the gusts threatened to blow the playing cards off the table. I suggested that perhaps Etienne was tired after all his traveling and the heat, but the brandy had […]
The Madwoman of Thu Duc – Part 7
Dominique Grimaldi was propped up against his own bar when Heraud walked in. Of course, no one ever called him Dominique, or even Monsieur Grimaldi; the Corsican owner of the La Perle Noire was generally referred to as The Pirate. Not because he had spent any significant amount of time at sea, but because he […]
The Madwoman of Thu Duc – Part 6
The day had cooled a little, but it was still very hot, and I knew that, for those recently arrived from cooler climes, this made eating difficult. The cook had prepared us a very simple dinner. Iced tomato and cucumber salad, and then chicken with mushrooms and rice, cooked in a clay pot – one […]
The Madwoman of Thu Duc – Part 5
It was almost five in the afternoon when we reached the house. My chief foreman, Le Hoang Nam, was waiting to deliver his report of the day’s operations. He narrowed his eyes as Etienne stepped down from the car. I knew what he was thinking and what he feared: that in the year since Robert’s […]