And perhaps, he thought, Dzung’s limo business was his reward. “Maybe I know why,” he answered, opening the right front car door.

“Maybe,” said Dzung judiciously, suppressing his memories as he climbed into the driver’s side and started the car’s engine. “So, where we go, Cong Ly?”

Condley thought for a moment, looking out at the busy street, and then decided. “You know Sai Gon University?”

“Dai Hoc Kinh Te, you mean?”

“Take me there.”

Dzung glanced at him with surprise, for he knew that Dai Hoc Kinh Te, the School of Economics, was where Mai had studied. “You don’t go there, Cong Ly. I remember that.”

“I go now.”

“That girl who died?”

“It’s time.”

Dzung smiled, gladdened at the thought. “You’re sure?”

“We go now.”

“That is good, Cong Ly. It makes me very happy for you.”

Dzung pulled into the traffic. The car was impressively new. Its interior smelled as though it had just been delivered from the showroom floor. A question gnawed at Condley as he watched Dzung drive. “How did you pay for the car?”

“I don’t pay yet,” said Dzung carefully, turning onto Hai Ba Trung Street. They stopped at a red light and he glanced briefly at Condley. “They tell me I can drive the car and pay for it from our business.”

“A loan from the government?” asked Condley, amazed at the thought.

“They tell me that,” answered Dzung.

“They don’t have any money.”

Dzung shrugged. “Maybe they do.”

The light turned green and a swarm of motorbikes whined past them, weaving in and out of the traffic lanes. Dzung drove smoothly. The old Duc Ba Chapel was off to their left, as was the huge post office built at the same time by the French a century ago. Soon the limo would turn left onto Nguyen Thi Minh, near the grounds of the Reunification Palace and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Dzung seemed to gather himself a bit as he drove, and now he looked at Condley again. “They move my family out to Song Be. I have a house now.”

“Song Be?” Condley began to eye Dzung carefully. “All of this good luck, and I’ve been gone only a month?”

“No space to park a limo in District Four,” said Dzung. “I must tell you the truth. I was worried when you made the business application. But now I think it was a smart thing to do, Cong Ly.”