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knew about the wealth Joy and John and then Jy-ying had brought with
them, and the new wealth they had been creating every day, but to see
it symbolized in this huge, well-guarded mansion on its many acres of
grounds was another thing. I robbed people with such wealth, she
thought, and then shoved the thought away as irrelevant.
Hands was greeted somberly by the whole staff, who expressed
their regrets and sadness over the loss of Master John Banks and Miss
Khoo Jy-ying, the woman they believed was the sister of his former
mistress, Joy Phim. Kate had been apprised of these roles, and that
Hands would now assume the master s role, and she would be his mis-
tress, with all the powers the positions entailed. After due attention to
Hands, the staff all greeted her with civility and covert appraisal.
Hands showed Kate around with the others trailing behind and kib-
itzing, often with false high spirits she could tell this even without
knowing them well. When they got to the master bedroom, Hands visi-
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R. J. Rummel
bly slumped. Staring at the floor, he waved at the room and said in an
unsteady voice, This is the master bedroom. He waited, keeping his
eyes down. The others remained in the hallway.
She said into the silence, What a beautiful room.
Hands nodded and turned to lead her out. Every line in his face
seemed to succumb to gravity as he declared in a leaden voice, It will
never again be occupied. It is sacred.
No one said a word as Hands led Kate to his bedroom on the third
floor. Within the hearing of the others, he told her in a tone still reflect-
ing his sadness, This is our bedroom.
At that moment, Sal said just the right thing to dispel the dark de-
pression that had set in. Ah, Kate, my bedroom is bigger.
Well now, Sal, is that all that s bigger?
He flushed, speechless. Dolphy s jaw dropped. Mariko whispered
in Dolphy s ear and when he explained the rejoinder sotto voce to her,
she looked at Kate with wide eyes and covered her mouth with her
hand. Hands just grinned.
From what Hands had said about Sal, she knew that, with her little
rejoinder, she had won him over.
Hands
Hands ate little at supper that evening. Now it could no longer be
delayed; the small talk was getting increasingly strained, and it was up
to him, as so much now would be, to reveal the details of what had
happened and tell all of them about its consequences, and get their mis-
sion reset on its path. And Kate must be properly introduced, if they
were to understand her role in the mission. She d suggested he start
with her, to make it easier to slide into the details.
First, the lubricant. Mariko fetched a cup of green tea from the
kitchen and the guys took bottles of Anchor Steam beer from the
new white Puritan refrigerator. Kate selected a Budweiser, the clos-
est she could get to her favorite Radeberger pilsner beer. Then
Hands led them to the mansion s lower lounge, what Jy-ying always
called their talk-talk war room. He felt more comfortable there.
The library, where John always held their discussions, made him un-
comfortable.
While the others settled on the two sofas and the easy chairs,
Hands went to the file room and got what he needed. He didn t think
it maudlin. No, it was appropriate. He and Kate had spent hours pre-
paring it, that afternoon. He could barely do it, but Kate provided him
Genocide Never Again 133
with the strength when he needed it most. He came back to the lounge
carrying each in one arm, and positioned them as he d planned on a
carved mahogany wall table.
When he was ready, he stood, drink in hand. He could barely speak
the words; they came out broken, but he didn t think anyone noticed. I
want to toast our leaders . . . the best friends humanity we could ever
have. Their ashes . . . their souls are now together for eternity . . . .
Kate took over, her voice none too steady itself. The ashes of Joy,
John, and Jy-ying are combined now in this gorgeous urn they would
have loved it. Of course, Prince Wei, the dog I heard so much about, is
in the smaller urn, and forever now will be near his mistress.
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