Lost Innocence: The Accused. Part One (14 page)

“
Nigel!” Doris
yelled, but it was too late….he was gone….

TWENTY

IT WAS
raining heavily as Harvey’s BMW crawled through
Bangkok traffic and Bo was looking pissed.

“
Why we take this
job?”

“
It’s been quiet with
all these protests going on. We need the money. I think we just
poke around a bit. Don’t worry, we won’t make any
waves.”

She raised her lower
lip. “Hope so.”

“
What do you think of
Nigel?”

“
Looks kind, think
have good heart.”

“
Rape isn’t regarded
as a big crime here, is it?”

“
Big, but still
happen, usually with young girl. People pay family, then problem go
away.”

They pulled into the
car park at the Evita. Harvey climbed out, dashed inside to escape
the downpour as Bo ran after him skipping over puddles.

Once inside, they
brushed off the rain and were met by a guy wearing round glasses
and a red suit.

“
Khun Harvey. It’s
been a while.”

“
Hello, Mr Anan, how
are you?”

“
Good.”

“
I’m here about a
girl.”

“
Most men
are.”

“
Not like that. I
just want to talk.”

“
They have sex-lines
for that.”

“
I’m on a case. You
have a girl here called Tee?”

“
Sure, I know
Tee.”

“
I need to talk to
her for a few minutes.”

“
The girls are not
paid for talking.”

Harvey reached into
his wallet, slipped out a purple five and handed it over. Anan took
it and hid it in a pocket. “Would you like to use my
office?”

“
That would be
fine.”

“
It’s open. Make
yourself at home. I’ll send her in.”

“
Thank
you.”

The manager walked
away. Harvey steered Bo to the office.

There was
a dusty desk, some files on a shelf and a window
in the corner. The air smelled stale and the temperature was warm.
Harvey flicked on the A/C then took a look at the books while Bo
pulled out her phone.

Bo had parked herself
on a chair and was playing Diamond Dash while Harvey was flicking
through a magazine featuring amulets.

A young girl appeared
at the doorway and looked in. Harvey smiled. “Come in, Tee. Take a
seat.”

She had long, brown
hair and wore a red gown with the number ten attached above her hip
bone.

“
What you want?” she
asked as she walked in.

Harvey perched on the
corner of the desk, took out his phone and showed her a picture of
Puku.

“
Is this a friend of
yours?”

She nodded and
smiled.

“
Where is she? When
you last see her?”

“
About two week ago,
she
works
at
Angel.”

“
Not
anymore.”

“
Then I not
know.”

“
She doesn’t come
here?”

Tee shook her head.
Harvey flicked through the images on his phone and showed the
picture of Mia. Tee reacted with surprise.

“
You know
her?”

She paused. Bo
shouted - Tee jumped.

“
Yes I know Mia, she
sister of Puku.”

“
When did you last
see her?”

“
Not see her for long
time.”

“
What about Puku?
When did you see her last?”

“
Not see for long
time.”

“
You have Mia’s
number?”

“
Have in
locker.”

“
Then go get it. We
can wait.”

She ducked out of the
office and hurried to her locker. Once she arrived, she slipped out
of her dress, pulled off a wig and fake eyelashes and stuffed them
into a bag. Climbing into her casual clothes, she stepped out of an
emergency exit and was rushing away when she was taken a hold of,
pushed up against a wall, spun round and pinned back by a sharp
knife at her throat.

“
Leaving so
soon?”

Tee was
speechless.
They were alone. Bo spoke
quickly as she pressed the blade firmly against Tee’s throat. “You
try to run away from me?”

Tee trembled. “You’re
hurting me.”

Bo took out her
mobile and called Harvey. “We’re outside. I tell you she not come
back.”

She hung up, slipped
the phone into her back pocket then delivered a sharp slap to Tee’s
face.

“
What are you not
telling me?”

Tee started to cry.
Bo slapped her again.

“
Okay, I tell. Stop
hurting me and I’ll talk.”

“
I’m
listening.”

“
Puku in trouble with
a man called Nawirat. He loaned her thirty thousand and was going
to kill her if she didn’t pay. She used her sister Mia to
trick
farang
to
get money, but he not pay.”

Harvey
appeared,
a little out of breath. Bo still
had Tee pinned to the wall.

“
What happened to
you?”

“
I just walked around
the building. You didn’t say where
outside. What’s happening?”

“
She owe thirty
thousand to some guy.”

“
Let her
go.”

Bo released her,
snatched her bag and searched it. She found her phone and opened up
her contacts.

“
What you want me to
do?” Tee asked Harvey.

“
Call Puku
now.”

“
I not have number,
she throw away phone.”

Bo looked over at
Harvey and nodded.

“
Where does Puku
live? “Where’s Mia?”

“
Puku moves around.
Mia stays with her.”

“
You’re not telling
us much, Tee.”

“
When she call me, I
give her message, call you.”

“
Good. Bo will put my
number in your phone.”

“
She scared, have men
chase her.”

“
I’ll take care of
that.”

“
What you
do?”

“
Go back to work.
When she calls, tell her that we’ve paid off her debt and that she
should call me.”

“
Alright, I do.” Tee
rushed away.

“
I expect to hear
from you soon!”

Bo frowned at Harvey.
“Why you always so nice?”

“
You never heard of
good cop, bad cop?”

“
No, in Thai have
only bad cop.”

TWENTY-ONE

PANG WAS
wandering along the hospital corridors with a
bulky box under his arm. He arrived at Stan’s room, strolled in and
was surprised at what he saw.

Stan’s masseuse, Aey,
from before was leaning over him, her hand moving rapidly under the
sheets. Pang didn’t leave and Aey didn’t stop. Pang started to
unpack the box as Stan reached down and placed his hand on Aey’s
arm. “We’ll finish this next time.”

He paid her; she
picked up her oils and walked out. Stan straightened himself out
under the sheets then looked over at Pang. “Don’t you ever
knock?”

Pang apologised then
continued to unpack.

“
Is it a good
one?”

Pang nodded and after
switching channels, a blue screen appeared with the letters
Teac DVD
in
white.

“
Who the hell is
Teac?”

Pang handed over the
remote as Stan looked around. “Where are the films?”

Stan lay there
restless and disappointed. “Can you buy me some films?”

“
Sorry I
forget.”

Two
nurses burst in wheeling in another
bed.

“
Am I expecting
company?”

They parked it next
to Stan, locked the wheels and straightened the sheets.

“
I didn’t sign up for
a roommate.”

They didn’t reply.
Pang shuffled towards the door and escaped.

“
Thank you!” Stan
yelled.

TWENTY-TWO

I FOLLOWED
‘Bald Guard’ to the meeting room and found a
middle-aged man sitting on the other side of the mesh. I took the
phone. “Hello?”

“
My name’s Harvey.
I’m the PI.”

“
I didn’t know we’d
hired one. Nigel sent you?”

“…
He doesn’t know I’m
here.”

“
How could he not
know?”

“
He was taken to
hospital.”

“
Hospital! Why - what
happened?”

“
He had an anxiety
attack.”

“
Was it
serious?”

“
Did you know he had
a heart condition?”

I nodded. “Is he all
right?”

“
Well, he’s still
alive.”

“
You can’t die from
an anxiety attack,” I added, trying to ease a little guilt that had
already settled.

“
You can die from an
anxiety attack if you already have a heart condition,” Harvey
explained.

“
What do you think
caused it?”

“
Who knows, but he’s
old, it’s hot….”

“
I never wanted him
to come here.”

“
I’m sure, but he did
and he’s in a bad way. I don’t know how much longer he can go on
running around in
all this
heat. He’s staying with his son at the same
hospital. It was your father who called me. Don’t you think it’s
time you end this stress you’re causing everyone?”

I never thought I
could feel worse than how I’d felt the first time I was brought
here….I was wrong.

“
Michael?”

“
Alright I’ll take
the deal.”

“
Excuse
me?”

“
I said I’ll take the
deal.”

“
You’ll plead
guilty?”

I nodded as a smile
widened Harvey’s face.

“
You’re doing the
right thing. How you’ve lasted so long has surprised me;
most
farangs
would’ve caved, then paid and gone home by now.”

“
Get me the
papers.”

“
It might not be that
easy. Once a case goes so far and procedures have been followed, it
becomes more difficult to pay your way out; too much paperwork to
disappear.”

“
Please make it
happen. I’ll do anything.”

“
Tell me about
Nincotte.”

I couldn’t
concentrate. I thought about Nigel lying in hospital, far from
home. How he’d come all the way here to save me and now lay in a
hospital bed next to my father. Guilt riddled me but then the image
of Nincotte entered my mind and I was overcome with anger. I raised
my eyes to the PI’s, tightened my grip and held the phone like I
wanted to strangle it. “What do you want to know?”

TWENTY-THREE

BO WAS
driving,
hopping from
lane to lane and listening to Harvey on the phone. He finished his
call and noticed her amused look. “What?”

“…
Nothing.”

“
I have the
address.”

“
I think bad idea to
go.”

“
Don’t worry, we’ll
be careful.”

“
We better
be.”

“
I’m always
careful.”

“
One time you come
back with lipstick on shirt.”

“
That’s a different
kind of careful.”

“
And then next day
you have
coleslaw
on lip.”

“
Cold sore.
I told you it was from a dirty glass.”

“
It’s funny you have
after night out at Nana.”

Harvey tore off a
piece of paper from his pad and handed it to her.

“
You want talk
another topic now?”

“
I’m just giving you
the address.”

“…
Writing not
good.”

“
I’ve just written it
in the car.”

“
So you say my
driving not good?”

“
Your driving is
fine. Can you get us there?”

“
Can and after I want
fish and chip.”

“
I told you, its fish
and chips. There is more than one chip. Don’t you want to speak
better English?”

“
My English better
than your Thai.”

“
That’s debatable.
Next you’re going to say you drive better than me, too.”

“
I do.”