Devil's Due: A Thomas Caine Thriller (The Thomas Caine Series Book 0) (10 page)

Caine sat down in one of the patio chairs and placed the gun on the table, making sure to keep it out of the old woman's reach.
 
Anna sat to his right.
 
Across the table from him, sitting in the free chair, was a small doll.
 

The doll was exactly the same size as a young human girl.
 
Its porcelain skin had a pink, glossy sheen to it.
 
Thick black hair fell to its shoulders, and Caine was certain the strands were real, human hair.
 
Its plastic eyes sparkled, reflecting the rippling glow of the pool. The thing almost looked alive in the dim, shifting light, and Caine found the effect unnerving.
 

The doll was dressed in expensive, designer clothes.
 
A plate of real food sat on the table before it.

Anna flashed him a toothy smile and poured him a cup of tea.
 
She poured another cup and set it before the inanimate figure.
 
"This is my luk thep.
 
Her name is Tia.
 
Say hello to Tia, Mr. Waters."

Caine turned his gaze from the doll to the old woman.
 
"It's a doll."

"It's not a doll; it's a luk thep.
 
Do you know what that means?"

Caine shook his head.
 

"It means 'child angel'," the woman rasped.
 
"She was blessed by a Buddhist priest.
 
She's not a toy; she's a talisman.
 
Now say hello, or I'll have my men you flay alive."

Caine turned to the doll.
 
"Hello, Tia.
 
Pleased to meet you."
 
He spoke as if he were talking to a small child.

The woman smiled and turned back to the TV.
 
"Damn, now I'm lost.
 
You picked an inconvenient time to disturb me, Mr. Waters."

Caine took a sip of tea.
 
The woman is deranged
, he thought.
 
He would have to proceed carefully.
 
"I was expecting to find a chao pho godfather in this house."

She gave him a shrew smile.
 
"Instead, you found a godmother.
 
The correct term is chao mae.
 
Surprised?"

Caine nodded.
 
"Pleasantly."

"We'll see.
 
I haven't decided if you get to live or not.
 
What are you doing here?"

Caine reached into his pocket, noting the way the gunmen surrounding them tensed up.
 
They relaxed when he pulled out his burner phone.
 
He had saved digital copies of the pictures Satra had shown him on its memory card.
 
He called up the pictures, and slowly slid the phone over to Anna.

"This website.
 
Thai Angels.
 
I believe the chao pho are running it.
 
These girls have been taken."

The woman picked up the phone and flipped through the pictures.
 
"Your chances are getting worse, Mr. Waters.
 
I don't see why I should care about some kidnapped bar girls."

"I want them back.
 
That's why I came here."

The woman put down the phone and squinted at him.
 
Her face was cold and still.
 
She gave Caine the impression of a gargoyle statue: cold, lifeless, and eternal.

"Why?" she asked.
 
"Why do you want them back?
 
What are they to you?"

"That doesn't matter," Caine answered quietly.

Again, the woman uttered her raspy chuckle.
 
"I think you will find it matters a great deal."

Caine leaned back in his chair.
 
"Anna, obviously you are a powerful woman.
 
I don't want to make an enemy of you.
 
I mean no disrespect, but please believe me when I say I have fought my way into and out of worse places than this."

Anna nodded.
 
"Yes, yes, you've got balls, and you've got skill--I'll give you that.
 
You're what, a con man, a smuggler?
 
Some kind of two-bit criminal, or at least you're pretending to be.
 
And yet you're risking your life sitting here at my table, looking for these girls.
 
Girls are a dime a dozen in Pattaya, so I know this isn't a business transaction.
 
Which means this is personal, isn't it?
 
You want to save them.
 
Save them from some horrible fate worse than death, yes?
 
What are you, some kind of guardian angel?"

Caine stared at her, but said nothing.

Anna's voice grew even more dry and raspy.
 
"But the way you took care of my men, fought your way into this house ... I can see by the look in your eyes, you've watched men die.
 
It leaves a mark on you.
 
Blood always stains."

Caine shifted in his chair.
 
"I'm sure you've seen your share of blood, Anna."

The old woman nodded.
 
"Oh, yes.
 
Take it from me, whatever your name is.
 
You can be both an angel and a devil for only so long.
 
Sooner or later, you have to choose one."

Caine reached out to grab the phone, and Anna slammed her hand on top of his.
 
The movement was sudden and powerful, and Caine was shocked the old woman could move so quickly.
 
Her stare pierced him like icy nails.

"If you wait long enough, Mr. Waters, one will choose you."

She released his hand, and he took back his phone.

"As I said, I don't want to make an enemy of you," Caine replied, "but I warn you not to make an enemy of me.
 
I'm not looking to save the world.
 
I just want these girls back.
 
I'll do whatever it takes to get them."

Anna nodded.
 
She turned her attention back to the TV.
 
"This actress is lovely; don't you think?
 
She plays the mother of the wealthy businessman.
 
She's a real dragon lady, the power behind his thrown, so to speak.
 
He wants to marry the common girl from town, but the mother has already arranged for him to marry his business rival's daughter."

As Anna rattled on about the plot of the drama, a servant emerged from the house to clear their dishes.
 
He removed the plate of food in front of Anna's doll and replaced it with a small dish that held a colorful assortment of macaroons.

"When police tried to investigate this website, your people set off a bomb in the floating market.
 
How many real children did you kill there?" Caine asked in a cold, flat voice.

"Oh, bullshit," Anna snapped.
 
Her nostrils flared with anger and indignation.
 
"My people didn't set off any bombs.
 
Whoever led you here is covering their tracks.
 
You've been played, Mr. Waters.
 
That website isn't run by me, or any other chao pho family.”

"You expect me to believe the chao pho doesn't engage in human trafficking?" Caine asked.

"Yes, I traffic women.
 
Poor girls from shit towns come to me, desperate for a new life, willing to do anything to make enough money to feed their families.
 
Do I profit off their misery?
 
Certainly.
 
I'm not going to apologize for that to a man like you.
 
We both know you've done far worse, and you don't have as many years behind you as I do.
 
Am I wrong?"

Caine returned her stare, waiting for her to continue.

"I ship them all over the world, and they do what they have to.
 
It's not pretty; survival never is.
 
But kidnapping local girls, auctioning them off like cattle?
 
That's not only shameful, it's bad business.
 
Too much risk.
 
Sends people like you to my door."

"Why should I believe you?" Caine asked.

Anna twisted her dry, cracked lips into a smile.
 
"Because I can prove it to you.
 
I can tell you who is really running the site--and, with a little luck, where to find your precious bar girls."

Caine leaned forward in his chair.
 
"Where are they?"

"Not so fast," Anna cackled.
 
"I'm not in the habit of giving out information for free.
 
There's a price.
 
And you did say you would do whatever it takes, didn't you?"

Caine glared at the leathery old woman.
 
"Fine.
 
How much do you want?"

Anna smiled again. "Do I look like I need your money?
 
No, no, keep your baht.
 
You have skills, connections.
 
You were able to find me here.
 
I want you to put those skills to work for me.
 
A favor, chosen by me at a later date.
 
Nothing too far south of your moral compass, I promise.
 
We have a deal, yes?"

Caine hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
 
"Deal."

Anna spit in her hand and held it out to Caine.
 
He shook it.

"Good."
 
The old woman took a deep, wheezing breath.
 
"Now, the people running that website are not chao pho.
 
They are the Red Wa.
 
Have you heard of them?"

Caine thought for a second.
 
"Drug runners.
 
They operate in the hills, on the northern border.
 
Refugees and immigrants from the United Wa State, an independent territory in Burma ... or I guess I should say Myanmar now."

Anna nodded. "You're well-informed.
 
The chao pho have had good relations with the Red Wa in the past.
 
We both have Chinese ancestry in our blood.
 
We have a partnership in the meth trade here in Thailand."

"So, why are you selling them out to me?" Caine asked.

"One of their number, a man we call Pisac, has been muscling into our territory here in Pattaya.
 
Massage parlors, brothels, beer bars ... he has overstepped his bounds.
 
These are chao pho operations.
 
Pisac believes his contributions to our drug trafficking success have earned him a cut of the profits from our other operations.
 
We do not share his belief."

"Pisac?" Caine asked.

"It means 'devil'.
 
Whatever you may think of me, I promise you, this man lives up to the name."

"I don't believe in devils or demons, Anna."

The old woman shrugged.
 
"As you like.
 
Anyway, I used to do business with the Rudov family.
 
They are old-school Russian mafia, a Vor family.
 
The father, Sergei, was recently released from prison.
 
Just before his release, Alexi Rudov, his son, cut ties with us.
 
We believe he is now working with Pisac and the Red Wa.
 
They set up the Thai Angels site together.
 
Handpicked girls. Pretty, sexy bar girls, not filthy village peasants with crooked teeth and scrawny bodies.
 
Girls like this, men see, men desire.
 
Now, they can have them, with the click of a button."
 
Anna shook her head.
 
"Shameful."

"I had a run-in with Alexi Rudov.
 
He's disappeared."

"He's probably gone to the Red Wa camp, to take possession of the girls.
 
They will be locked into a cargo container and loaded onto a ship.
 
No way out, no sunlight, pitch black darkness.
 
Maybe they have a flashlight so they don't piss and shit on each other.
 
Whatever food and water Pisac provides for them, it won't be enough.
 
Some will most likely die on their journey.
 
Maybe they will be the lucky ones."

"Where is the camp?" Caine asked, his eyes glowing with anger.

Anna turned her attention back to the TV.
 
Her show had ended.
 
On screen, the credits rolled over a still frame image, a Thai man and woman, holding each other in a passionate embrace.

"Damn, I missed the whole show. You really fucked up my night, Mr. Waters."

"Where are the girls?" Caine asked, his voice louder than before.

Anna picked up a remote and turned the TV off.
 
The screen went dark.

"I don't know.
 
Let me check with my people.
 
Leave your contact information with Lau, inside the house.
 
We will send you a location within twenty-four hours, and you can rush off to save your lovelies.
 
Assuming you survive, per our agreement, you will do a favor for me.
 
Yes?"

"That was the deal."

Caine stood up to leave.

"Say goodbye to Tia," Anna snapped, her voice hard as steel.

"You know, these bar girls do what they do to feed their families.
 
And you sit in this house wasting a fortune on food and tea for a doll."

Anna looked up at him, and a ripple of anger flashed in her black eyes.
 
"I told you, she's a luk thep.
 
She was blessed by a priest.
 
That means she has a soul.
 
She is like a daughter to me."