Bangkok A - Chapter 5

Her name is Lek and she is from Chaiyaphum. She is reasonably tall and has her hair braided. She is attractive without being attractive enough to lose everything for. Her eyes are deep and her forehead juts out slightly. Her mouth is full, and her lips when pressed together, form a pink heart shape. I was used to dealing in more stunning bargirls, but they are all stunning in their own ways. I pay her bar fine and take her to one of the towns restaurants. The place has a display of Red Snapper, Shark, Lobster, Tiger Prawns, Mussels and Oysters lay out on ice out front in a wooden container shaped like a fishing boat. I pick out some green shell mussels, a lobster, tiger prawns and some oysters. I ask the girl’s approval and she nods approvingly.

As we sit down the waiter appears and I begin to order the drinks in Thai and then stop myself.

“I took some lessons in England. To learn to speak Thai,” I tell Lek “I let you order the rest.”

And she does perfectly.

The route to a Thai girls heart is threefold. Money, food and fun. After the meal I take her to a night market at a local monastery and let her buy whatever she feels like buying. She buys some simple inexpensive clothes and some toys that are no doubt for her son, although she says that they are for a ‘cousin’. She is obviously nervous that if she mentions she has a child my interest will be broken. The night market weaves around the grounds outside the monastery which has been lit for the occasion. Bright orange and yellow lights carefully arranged on the temple. Simple games are set up here and there. I throw darts at balloons and win her a soft toy of a giant mouse. She jumps up and down with joy as the dart man passes it to her. She stops at a stall selling insects and buys a bag of black bugs, I settle for a bag of fried grasshoppers and we take a motorcycle taxi back to town.

The next morning I awake to the sound of the sea lapping against the rocks on Laem Nan cove. I had put Sterling’s retainer to good use securing one of the nicest rooms this side of the island. The bungalow overlooks the sea with floor to ceiling windows coastal side. The bed is large with crisp white linen and the room has a living suite in the far corner and a small kitchenette the other side. The bathroom has been built in such a way to incorporate the natural rocks of the mountainside form the far wall with the shower running down like a waterfall. Lek was, as planned, mesmerised by her surroundings. I had taken her first in the shower and then on the bed and let her fall and rise until she was finally gripped by the naked lust of the moment. She had slept before me and I had taken the opportunity to sit out on the balcony and smoke a cigarette, whilst staring at the photograph of Noy. What would be the best way to approach the situation? Delicately would be the best way, as however much I try and make Lek fall in love her priorities will always be with her fellow Thais. I had learnt that much, but I had also learnt that every Thai and perhaps everybody can be had for a price. The first step however had to be to buy her out of the bar permanently and take her on a holiday somewhere, somewhere safe.

I feel her arm reach between my legs and she holds me in her sleep, snoring quietly. I begin to move her hand underneath my own and simultaneously touch her own quivering mound with a gentle delicate pattern. She is beginning to breath in deeply now and exhaling through her nose she opens her eyes and smiles. Without saying a word she hoists her self aloft and guides me into her and gently rides in rhythm to the sound of the sea crashing onto the rocks beneath us. As she gains momentum I spring up and push her back onto the bed so that she has now become the receiver and I finish her satisfied, but still wanton.

I wait for several moments, the sound of heavy breathing dulls, she plays with the few strands of hair on my chest

“Why don’t you leave the bar?” I tell her “Come for a holiday?”

“I think can. But you have to pay bar. Maybe expensive.”

ldquo;I have money.” I tell her

“I think you have too much,” she says looking around the bungalow, “I think you have everything Jack.”

“Yes,” I say, “Jack have everything.” If only I could be Jack for real I think to myself. But there could be worse occupations than being Jack.

Several more ‘love’ sessions ensured that that afternoon the time had come to return to the bar to try and ‘buy her out,’ as it’s romantically known.

“I want to take Lek on a holiday.” I tell the Mama-san.

“She number one girl work bar. Very expensive for you.”

“How much?” I popped the question that Thais loved the most. She did some calculations in her head.

“10,000 Bart. But only for ten day. One day one thousand ok?”

“Ok.” I handed the money over and walked over to Lek and told her go get her things. The rest of the girls sat outside eating some kind of long runner bean and looked over with a mixture of contempt, jealously, and admiration all in one unanimous smile.

I needed to get off the island quickly. I had a case here last year and was not in the mood to see certain old acquaintances. I decided to hire a three litre Toyota pick-up. A black Toyota Pre-Runner, four wheel automatic with long wheel base. Lek was visibly shaking in excitement in the passenger seat, as we drove towards the port. The plan was working. She had the idea that she was on the road to riches beyond her wildest dreams. To be able to buy things for her family and become respected within her village. The little girl left for the city, she did good, and came back home. It’s almost like a fairy tale. The more I think about Sterling’s case the more I am grounded back into reality. Several millions stolen from his bungalow. The question that begs to be answered is why was there several million in his bungalow in the first place? Surely a bank would have been a better bet. A lot of foreigners got nervous following the recent coup and withdrew all funds from their Thai bank accounts. However, it seems that Sterling is new to the country, so this probably wouldn’t apply to him. Would he have brought the money over from Europe in cash on his person? That also seems very foolhardy. No matter whatever way I look at the case it doesn’t seem to stand up. Still, a million Baht is a million Baht, and I intend on resolving this one for better or worse.

We leave the car in the boat holding bay and walk upstairs and take a seat. I hold Leks hand for a moment and then point across the water to where a group of Dolphins are jumping out of the sea. She seems less than impressed by the sight. She would probably prefer to see a dolphin on a plate. She sits back down and falls into a peaceful sleep, snoring very slightly.

Dry land. I drive the Pre-Runner down the ramp from the ferry and towards Surat Thani. We head through the night. Rubber plantations, eucalyptus groves, sugar-cane fields. Limestone mountains appear in the landscape as if thrown randomly by a giant hand. The next morning we drive through sudden jungle until we reach a small village on the road to Kho Lak. The village is simply a few houses clumped haphazardly around a petrol station that doubles as the village shop. Elders sit on a raised wooden platform under a sickly banana palm, eyeing us suspiciously as we approach. Chickens and ducks peck at scraps in the dusty road. A few children stop playing for a moment, look us over, and start giggling saying over and over the word ‘Farang Farang.’ – Which means white westerner or Caucasian.

I fill the car with juice and find a toilet in the shape of a small wooden shack with a corrugated iron roof. Inside a hole in the ground with a bucket full of stagnant water for flushing and washing. I take out my new Nokia and search for Sterling’s number. He answers after four rings.

“Sterling, Do you recall a girl called Lek in the Red Lip bar?”

“Lek. Yes. Why?”

“I’ve bought her out of the bar and am working on pumping her for some information.”

“No good. I asked her already, she wouldn’t budge.”

“Well, maybe you wasn’t persuasive enough. I am sure I will have enough information within 48 hours. Problem is I am close to burning over the retainer, what with flights, hotels, car hire, bar fines etc. I require you to top up the funds.”

“Ok. Email me a report within 48 hours and I will top up the funds. You have enough left for the next couple of days?”

“Yes, I hope so. Oh one more thing Sterling. Is there anything more I should know about this case?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean the case is a straightforward robbery?”

“She took the money.” He says and then switches off the telephone. Something wasn’t right. Something definitely wasn’t right.

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