Chapter One - Richard Lewis

"Be careful. It's said that 1965 he bought human hair from the military and the
nationalists and sold it for a pretty profit. Victims' hair, Tina."
Now this she hadn't heard before. It was possibly true. She hung up, deeply
troubled, but telling herself to give Reed the benefit of the doubt until she knew for sure.
After Gestapu, the unofficial order of the military was amankan PKI sampai akarakarnya.
Secure the Communists to their very roots. A nice euphemism. At least thirteen
had been "secured" just down the beach from this bungalow. Only a very few out of fifty
thousand slaughtered, but then again, thirteen skeletons made it very real and very close.
From the living room sideboard, Tina picked up the one object she had not yet
packed, which would go in her hand luggage. It was a photo of her and her sister, framed
in a folding case, which carried around with her like a talisman. It was a casual backyard
shot taken a month before Nancy was abducted from the scrub brush behind the wall
visible in the photo. Tina was fifteen, and just finding out about boys. She had her arm
slung over Nancy's thin but staunchly squared shoulder. That was Nancy, who even at a
young age was always ready to take on the world's injustices.
The photograph was the only one Tina had of her sister. She couldn't remember
the occasion when the photo was shot. With her arm around Nancy, Tina looked
protective, like a big sister should be.
She'd certainly failed, hadn't she?
At that moment, she made up her mind. She'd wouldn't leave. She would stay and
try to find out what had happened in Batu Gede.
For those anonymous dead.
For her missing sister.
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