ONE
Author's notes:
1. If this is your first introduction to Sarabeth MacAllister, "Guns, Gifts and Secrets" begins where "One Story from Korea" ends. You may want to read "One Story" to gain background information not covered in this tale. However, both stories can stand alone.
2. For everyone who sent me reviews on "One Story"--THANK Y'ALL! I enjoyed reading your comments and you have made me thinkof things in a different way. I hope y'all will enjoy this contribution, as well.
Oct. 29th, 1952: 0630 hours
In a wooden building, in the war zone known as Korea, one man was sitting at his desk. That piece of furniture was located in the outer office of the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital unit known as the 4077th. The man, Corporal Max Klinger, was staring, unhappily, at the plywood walls that surrounded him.
He had delivered the bundles of letters and packages to the other members of the medical outfit and had lifted the morale of camp personnel considerably.
Unfortunately, for his own morale, he had opened his mail. First, he discovered he had missed his cousin's wedding; had missed all the food and the festivities; had missed being with his family. Second, he had received more details regarding the love of his life, other wise known as his no-good cheating wife, and her new "friend". That letter was now crumbled and thrown across the room.
It was probably a good thing Colonel Potter was in his office talking on the phone to someone. Otherwise, Klinger would have thrown something else; the typewriter, his footlocker, an operating table….
"Oh, Laverne. Why?" He asked the empty office. He didn't receive an answer.
With a sigh, the man walked over, picked up his letter, carefully refolded it and placed it on his cot. Maybe he would read the rest of it, later. And, then again, may be not.
Spying the shabby fedora that he had bought from a Korean peddler, the corporal set the hat at a rakish angle on his head and looked at his reflection in the small mirror by his bed. "You still got it, Max," he declared, hopefully.
Returning to his desk, he propped up his feet and, to keep himself entertained, he began to speak out loud, "The day was cold, wet and depressing. I was sitting in my office wondering how I was going to pay this month's rent. Unexpectedly, I heard foot steps approaching from the hall. Through the window in my door, I could see the profile of a woman."
"As she entered, my hopes of paying the rent increased. Just one look told me…this was no ordinary woman. She was a lady of quality and good breeding. She was wearing a black dress that clung to her every curve. A strand of perfectly-matched pearls hung around her neck. Her hair was blonde. And, through a hat with a half veil, her beautiful blue eyes looked at me in desperation."
A red-haired, green-eyed woman, wearing metal dog tags and olive-hued Army fatigues covered by a wet poncho, had entered the building. Looked down at her clothing, Lieutenant Sarabeth MacAllister grinned, "I hope I'm in the right office," she said with a Texas twang in her voice.
"You are," the man assured her. "I'm Private Detective Klinger. Sam Klinger. Come right in." Already feeling more cheerful, he helped his visitor out of her rain gear and pulled out a chair for her. "Tell me about your troubles, miss."
"Well, Mr. Klinger, this is a delicate matter," the woman answered with her soft drawl. "Father Mulcahy, our parish priest, recommended you. He said you could help me."
"Indeed, I can." The man with the impressive nose answered. He moved to his desk, took a seat and jauntily re-adjusted his hat. "What do you need? Someone located? Missing jewelry recovered?"
With a smile she replied, "I need some discrete information. I have this list of people and I need their home addresses...but I don't want to ask them for the information."
"So you want to keep them from getting suspicious."
"Right. And I also need someone to intercept the mail before these people see, and recognize, the handwriting on the letters, or packages, I'll be receiving."
"You're conducting your own surveillance?"
"Something like that. Can you help me?" she asked.
"I considered the lady's problem," the detective narrated his thoughts out loud. "A little voice was telling me there was more to this story than she was willing to tell me. But I couldn't resist the appeal in her baby blues. So I told her I would take the case...for a price. Intercepting mail...that was a federal offense. I could wind up in the slammer over this one."
"Oh, I'm willing to pay the price, Detective," she placed a package on his desk, "a dozen homemade cookies, now. And another dozen when the job is done."
"Could this mystery woman afford such a high price, I wondered? She must be very desperate. That fee is acceptable, I told her."
"Oh, thank you, Mr. Klinger. I knew I could count on you."
"The lady smiled at me. Suddenly, we heard footsteps coming from my side door. The woman looked up in apprehension at the man who entered. Who was this tall, dark-haired man in the purple tuxedo?"
Doctor Hawkeye Pierce, with his treasured bathrobe wrapped around him, had a puzzled expression for the two people in the company clerk's office. "I think I must be in the wrong book," he decided and then added, "Sarabeth, I need to talk to you."
Instantly, Lieutenant MacAllister and Corporal Klinger dropped their pretense. "One of the patients, sir?" the nurse asked. She was ready to respond to any medical problem.
He shook his head, "I need a favor."
Detective Sam Klinger's narration was resumed, "There was something sinister about this man," he decided.
"There's nothing sinister about this man, Mr. Klinger," the lady spoke. "Dexter, maybe; but not sinister," she grinned. "This is Reginald Pierce, my brother, the dashing young surgeon. I told you not to follow me, Reggie."
"I have to keep you from wasting Father's money, dear sister," Hawkeye responded. He had decided to join in their play acting. "Come along, Regina. The limousine is here. And you know how cranky the chauffeur gets when he is kept waiting."
The woman smiled at the detective. "You will get right on that, won't you, Sam? I'm depending on you."
"Right away, ma'am," he assured his newest client.
Captain Pierce led Lieutenant MacAllister through the passageway. "Why do you encourage him?" he asked, "It only makes him worse."
Sarabeth laughed, "Major Winchester says the same thing about you."
"I'm different," the man replied. "I need the encouragement---particularly from a pretty woman."
"Speaking for all the women in this camp, you don't need any encouragement, at all! What's the favor, Hawkeye?" She added quickly, "And, I still refuse to be raffled off at your Halloween party!"
"It's not that. This is a real favor. But, I don't want anyone else to know about it."
"Come over to my office, then."
MacAllister unlocked the door to the medical storeroom. Since her position as nursing second-in-command had been approved, she had converted one small area of the room into her office. Turning on the lights, the woman from Texas invited him to sit down. "OK, Hawkeye. How can I help you?"
"I've been waiting to get you alone in a storeroom for a long time," the man from Maine informed her with obvious enjoyment.
"Did you notice that I left the door open for that very reason?" She grinned and sat down beside him.
"You're no fun," Pierce smiled at her. "Anyway, I want to do something really special for B J. So he won't miss Peg and Erin so much. And I need your ideas."
"You could ship him home in a duffel bag."
"If I thought that would work, I'd ship myself home in a duffel bag," he answered. "No, I need something really special."
"H-m-m." Seriously considering his problem, MacAllister suggested, "how about calling Peg and asking her to have someone make a home movie of the two of them doing ordinary things: giving Erin a bath, taking a walk around the neighborhood or things like that. And, later, on another reel, she could have them eating Thanksgiving dinner or opening Christmas presents."
"That's not bad." Hawkeye Pierce nodded. He suddenly shouted, "I've got it! You know what would be even better?" he asked. "Why not fly them here?"
"HERE!" Sarabeth was startled by his suggestion.
"Not here, exactly---Tokyo, rather," the man explained. "Wouldn't it be great if B J and I were on R&R and we walked into a hotel and saw them standing there in the lobby?" He rubbed his hands gleefully. "Oh, this will be good! What will we need? Let's see, we'll need plane reservations and…" Pierce looked at MacAllister who was staring at him in astonishment. "What are you waiting for? Start writing this down!"
The woman found her voice, "Hawkeye, you can't fly them to Tokyo! I doubt B J has enough extra money available to pay for the plane tickets, or the hotel rooms!"
"That's no problem," he replied, still excited about his plans. "We can use the money from the Halloween party to help pay for it. And every other event that we have, we can charge admission. We'll call it...The Tokyo Children's Fund."
The woman shook her head firmly. "No. You have already announced that all proceeds from the Halloween party would go to Sister Teresa's orphans. You can't take that money to use for something else."
"We'll make it up to them. Right now, this is more important." Captain Pierce replied.
Lieutenant MacAllister was unconvinced. She continued, "And, what about Peg? Do you know if she would even want to fly this far? To get on a plane---go halfway across the world---with a toddler to take care of? That's asking a lot."
"Of course, she would want to see B J! What is the matter with you?" The man was becoming agitated.
"And, what about B J?" she tried again, "There is an element of danger. You're the one who told me about Lieutenant Colonel Blake's plane being shot down over the Sea of Japan. If anything happened to either of them, it would destroy B J."
"Look, I thought you would help me with this!" The doctor responded angrily. "But if you don't want to help, lieutenant; I'll find someone else!" He stormed towards the exit.
"Hawkeye, whoa up!" The woman called to him, "I didn't say I wouldn't help you. I just think…" The rattling of the shelves as the door slammed covered her words.
Captain Pierce's irritation at Lieutenant MacAllister continued through out the rest of the day. Later that morning, when she stopped by the Swamp, he ignored her attempts to talk to him. At the noon time meal, he moved to another table when she tried to sit down beside him. When she moved to that table, he shouted at her in annoyance and left the mess tent in a huff.
His actions had everyone staring at the Texan in amazement. Lieutenant Monica Parnelli was amused, however. "Trouble in Paradise?" she asked with a smirk.
"Nope," MacAllister replied with a frosty smile. "Everything's fine and dandy." She also left the mess tent; the door slamming behind her.