Chapter One - Richard Lewis

"Those whores," the Captain spat. "They danced naked before the generals. They
went wild. Savage. Castrated them, ripped out their eyes. When they heard we were
coming, they fled like roaches. Don't worry, we'll find them and crush them."
Reed didn't want to bump into anybody he knew, so he stayed away from the
usual expat haunts. He took a room in a boarding house in Kota, the old part of town,
once a stopping place for colonial traders and merchants, but in recent years favored by
gentlemen seeking the fleshpot delights of area's red light district. The Oranje Huis was
clean and anonymous and, most importantly, had a phone in manager's office. Reed put
in two calls to Singapore and waited patiently for the first of the call backs.
"Where the hell are you?" Bob said.
"Out and about."
"Auntie wants to hear from you."
"What about that name I gave you?"
"Couldn't get anywhere with it. Call Auntie—"
Reed hung up.
A half hour later, Harry Chen was on the line, telling Reed that Bambang
Sastrohartono was still on Permina staff, but as yet Harry hadn't been able to get in touch
or get a contact number.
Reed hired a betjak to the Blessed Heart convent. The city had come to a
standstill for the slain generals' funeral. The shops shuttered and the roads were empty,
patrolled by armored cars. At the convent, Reed did not get to see Mother Agnes, but a
young novice gave him word that the Reverend Mother would be at the Cathedral for
four o'clock mass, the hour changed because of the curfew.
The Cathedral and its stern gothic towers always struck Reed as a piece of Europe
misplaced among the Djakarta's bamboo shanties and tin shed slums. He got there an
hour early, and already congregants filled the pews. Reed took one of the few open seats
in a pew of nuns.
Mother Agnes slipped into the pew beside him. She genuflected, and the murmur
of her prayer swept Reed back to his childhood. Going to church was always a furtive
business, his mother sneaking him into some Southie cathedral, full of hard Irish and
harder nuns. Hush, we won't tell your father.
When Mother Agnes took her seat, Reed didn't waste time with chitchat. He
quietly said, "I'm looking for Naniek. Yuyun. She was called back to Djakarta just before
the coup. To the Halim air force base. Could you ask your Gerwani contacts if they know
where she is?"
Mother Agnes sighed. "You could also try praying."
"I'm at the Oranje Huis. Room 6." He stood to leave.
"You should stay for Mass. Say confession."
"I'll wait until my sinning is done, Mother."
The Oranje Huis was connected to the city power grid, which was on most
evenings, and had a small TV in its lobby. There was only one station, the government
TVRI. That night, Reed stood in the back of a standing room only crowd to watch the
news clips of the generals being exhumed from the well. An emotional General Soeharto
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