Martin Limón writes exclusively about Asia and most of his novels and stories are set in South Korea in some vague part of the 1970s. His heroes, George Sueño and Ernie Bascom, are investigators for the CID of the American Eighth Army.
This story involves two events that come together. The Army decides that suicides brought on by holiday depression are bad publicity so the cops are assigned to collect soldiers suspected of being depressed and making sure they are cared for.
"They'll be locked up," Ernie said.
Riley glared at him. "Not locked up. They'll be provided extra care. And extra training."
And not allowed to leave until after the holidays.
Meanwhile the CID has also been ordered to crack down on the black market. Specifically Korean wives of GIs using their PX privileges to pick up subsidized goods which they can then sell. Sueño thinks this campaign has less to do with saving tax dollars and more to do with officers not wanting to see Korean women on the base.
It was my job, and Ernie's to arrest these women for black marketing and thus keep the world safe for Colonels and their wives to be able to buy all the Tang and Spam and Pop Tarts their little hearts desired.
Neither of these cases may sound like they will result in riots, encounters with a man named Mr. Kill, and tying someone to a railroad track, but our heroes have a way of following a trail wherever it leads.
No comments:
Post a Comment