09.14.2008 / EP. 39
Whose Plot is It?
Milly gave Lin a ride in her Porsche. They drove on the highway with the wind heaving the car sideways every few minutes. Then they took the smaller routes toward Altamont and Knox. It was a challenge to keep on the road and Milly drove like a demon. She loved the danger. This was a side of Milly Lin hadn’t seen. He loved it.
“Hit Pam hard and fast and get out,” Milly said. “I work alone.”
“With inanimate creatures. Dolls, I hear.”
“Where did you hear that?”
“I’ve tested Pam’s defences.” He stretched. “They’re good. Pam has a friend in town from France, someone with lots of experience. I’ve dealt with him before. It makes my job easier.”
“How?”
“More predictable.”
“Get the job done and move on.”
“My boss has long range plans. The Governor’s committees, for example, have nothing to do with you. If I do a good job, the Governor may want me to stay. And afterwards – you know the drill – I might take a chair at a university.”
“Keep out of my sight. I work alone.”
“You pretend you don’t speak educated English. Why is that?” Lin held onto the seatbelt. Milly’s car rocked on the curves.
“In America, we don’t like to sound superior.”
Lin ignored Milly’s fatuous remark. “I’ve seen often a fear of smart people, maybe even jealousy. The average American hates those who train their memories and analytical skills, obedient children, students who do their homework, co-workers who care about their jobs, contribute to their company, make improvements and maybe are superior. I wonder, anger is the natural expression of jealousy. China went through Mao’s re-education period, a very bad time. Anyone literate was spat upon, beaten and sent to do manual labour on farms.”
“Were you?” Milly increased the speed.
“My parents, yes.”
“There are educational psychologists who say that every child has unique gifts.”
Lin snorted. “And every day has clear skies and scudding clouds. Dream on. Your education system produced Presidents who can’t put two coherent thoughts together. No, there are deeper problems: fear of knowledge, alliance of politicians with corporate America, government by news headline and spin doctors, pervasive lies, flattery of the mediocre.”
Milly laughed. “You know all the jargon. You forgot to say that China is miles ahead of us in technology and pollution control. And corruption; China has no corruption. Or is the truth that any breach of duty is severely punished? I can’t recall which.”
“It keeps changing.”
And so the conversation drifted. It gave Milly a chance to take Lin’s measure. He was disconcertedly aimless. What he revealed she stored to turn against him, though she couldn’t be sure of its truth. What he chose not to talk about, for example his family, Milly also noted, tempered by the likelihood of misinformation. All in all, she enjoyed the banter. Lin didn’t become upset when she attacked sacred cows. His curiosity was universal and comments profound even when off the cuff. “Your dolls are your best friends,” he said, for example. “They don’t criticize. You don’t have to live up to their expectations.”
What was she to say about that? Milly said she’d think about it. Which is when the tire blew and they nearly went off the road. Milly didn’t utter a word. They tackled their respective tasks: Lin replaced the tire with the spare; Milly stared into a ravine, fascinated by the sheep. Lin noticed a metallic gleam in the treads of the flat, a thin worm that might have been a corrugated spike. He didn’t raise the subject. After all, what could he say? That he’d have chosen this method to make murder look like an accident?
Milly’s thoughts followed similar lines. Porsche’s don’t blow tires. Someone had tried to kill her and it wasn’t Lin. He didn’t seem suicidal. Which left Pam as prime candidate. Retaliation, moreover, had nothing to do with responsibility. Milly had to set an example. The attack must be avenged. Pam would die, guilty or not. The point was how painfully and how fast.
“We don’t report this to the police,” Lin murmured.
“That’s obvious,” Milly replied. During the entire trip back to Albany, she didn’t glance at Lin. She remained mute and self-contained. Her thoughts didn’t settle till she entered the dolls’ room, where – curled up on the floor – she found peace.
Lin, for his part, steeled himself to await Milly’s next step. The attack on her had made them allies.
