Forgotten: a truly gripping psychological thriller (28 page)

Pai was very much as she’d described in her journal. They pulled in next to a small café full of western faces. The few other foreigners who were on the bus grabbed their luggage and climbed off, yawning and stretching as though they’d just completed a long-haul flight. They all gravitated towards the café, lured in by the signs for
cold beer
and
many flavour pizza
. Mark got up and mumbled something about stretching his legs. He too disappeared inside the café only to appear again a few minutes later looking more relaxed.

‘That’s better,’ he announced as he sat down again next to Kai. ‘I was beginning to give up all hope of a toilet stop.’

The ‘toilet stop’ turned out to be a break of nearly half an hour in which Kai didn’t dare leave the bus in case it left without them. She knew that if she ever had to describe the café to anyone she’d remember the most minute details – including the huge cockroach she watched crawl slowly down a shadowed part of one of the outside walls. She read every poster in the window, every advert pasted onto the telegraph pole next to the bus stop and every notice inside the bus. Just as she thought she was going to have to get off or go mad, the driver appeared from the café and crunched the aging vehicle into gear.

The scenery beyond Pai was even more spectacular as the mountains suddenly sprouted rocky tops above the tree line. The day was very warm despite the fact that it was only a little after ten o’clock and a haze was already building, obscuring some of the most distant hills, making them look impossibly huge. The road degenerated to a seemingly endless series of hairpin bends and several of the passengers were turning an alarming shade of green. Just as Kai expected someone to shout to the driver to stop the bus, the road levelled at a high pass. Again they pulled in but this time it was for some sort of police check. Several men in dishevelled uniforms clambered aboard the bus using both exits in a pincer-like approach. They demanded papers from the bored-looking Thais while pointedly ignoring Mark and Kai and then, seemingly satisfied, they went back to the game of cards that had been interrupted by the arrival of the bus.

‘Not much further,’ Mark said, consulting the map that he’d dug out of his day sack.

‘Good,’ Kai responded, not because she was eager to start the walk but because she wanted to get off the bus, out into the fresh air and away from the danger of someone throwing up all over her.

The road descended sharply but the bends were less tight and the views more expansive until they reached the valley floor where the road became a ribbon of grey disappearing into the distant haze and the mountains stood well back, allowing room for the bus.

Suddenly Mark leapt from his seat and started shouting at the driver.

‘Stop here! Stop here please!’

The man looked puzzled and Kai wondered why Mark thought he might understand English, but Mark’s urgent tone and expression had obviously convinced the driver that something serious was about to happen and he floored the brake. Several of the other passengers were muttering and gesticulating angrily but Mark was oblivious as he pointed out of the window.

‘We’re here.’

Here
looked suspiciously like the middle of nowhere to Kai but she decided to trust Mark’s map-reading skills, grabbed her bag and stick and leapt out on to the tarmac before she could change her mind. The bus pulled away with a dusty roar of disgust and they were alone.

Mark folded the map so he could see the section they would need then he studied their surroundings.

‘There should be a track off to the left,’ he mumbled.

‘Can’t see anything,’ Kai informed him after a cursory glance. Suddenly this seemed like a really stupid idea, a dangerous idea. She felt like running after the bus or just running anywhere away from this road and the building heat.

‘Wait, hang on. We’ve just come from the south, crossed the river back there so the path should be just up there on, oh, on the right,’ he decided turning the map round.

‘There’s something that looks like a track,’ Kai pointed and Mark’s expression brightened.

‘All right,’ he announced, marching off in the direction Kai had pointed. Kai lagged behind, reluctant to rush in the increasing heat, until Mark seemed to realise that he was hurrying and stopped to wait for her.

‘Sorry,’ he grinned. ‘I was just keen to make sure we were in the right place. Is there anything about this in your journal? It might help us to check where we are.’

Kai shook her head. ‘The last entry was written in Mae Hong Son the night before I set off. It describes the bus journey that we’ve just done but that’s all. I would’ve had a look at it on the bus but the road was so bad I knew that trying to read would have made me sick.’

‘Never mind. I’m fairly convinced that this is the track. It’s a well-known walk, I read about it in a guidebook and it’s marked fairly clearly on the map. Are you sure you’re up for this?’

‘Well, at least I have some support,’ Kai laughed, brandishing her walking stick at him. ‘If it’s too much we can always rest or turn back. It says in my journal that it only takes about three hours or so to the next village and, as I obviously didn’t make it, I reckon we only have to walk for a couple of hours max. I’ll be fine. Anyway, it’ll probably be all downhill on the way back.’

‘Let’s go then,’ Mark suggested, already heading off down the track. Kai watched him for a few seconds as he strode confidently down the path; shirt sleeves rolled up, rucksack slung casually over one shoulder, his long limbs moving in loose, easy rhythm. Not for the first time Kai was struck by how attractive he was, especially when he was in charge and relaxed.

‘Okay, let’s go,’ she whispered as she set off after him.

XVI

Away from the road the track degenerated into a dusty path through a thin covering of trees which soon became a sprinkling of squat bushes and dry grass. The path climbed gently but steadily and Kai found herself leaning heavily on her stick trying to conserve as much energy as possible. If Mark was aware that she was struggling he showed no sign – he barely looked back until the path levelled off and the bushes started to thin out. He sat on a rock and waited for her to catch up, throwing his face up to the sunlight and basking like a lizard.

‘You okay?’ he asked without looking at her.

‘Fine,’ Kai panted. ‘Not used to the exercise, but I’m not doing too badly.’

She flopped down on to another rock a few feet away and hung her head contemplating the dusty ground and the busy ants. The sun was hot on the back of her head and she found herself wishing that she’d thought to bring a hat of some sort. She’d expected to be walking in the shelter of the trees all the time – she remembered the mountains as being heavily forested – but they were walking above the main tree line. It looked like they’d managed to find the only exposed track in the whole of northern Thailand.

Mark pointed ahead. ‘It looks like we’re coming out on top of a cliff. I reckon you must have fallen somewhere around here. It might be best if we slow down so you can take it all in. Maybe you should go in front.’

Kai shook her head. ‘You lead, I need to take my time and I’d feel uncomfortable with you behind me, like I was holding you back. Why don’t you look ahead for likely spots and I’ll try to get a feel for the place?’

‘Fine,’ Mark shrugged. ‘Whatever you think’s best.’

They set off again, more slowly this time, with Mark stopping every few yards to peer over the cliff. Kai kept well away from the edge of the path, unwilling to trust the uneven ground and loose rock of the trail. Instead she concentrated on the view. The cliff rose above a valley carpeted with rice fields, each one clearly defined by a raised boundary of brilliant green. The shapes were almost random – curves and ovals following the contours – rather than harsh geometric divisions. Above the fields the trees swayed in a gentle breeze, still in full leaf this late in the year, a sea of dark green. Fascinated, Kai moved closer to the edge to get a clearer look at the valley below; her view was partly obscured by trees but through them she could catch intermittent glimpses of a broad stream flowing lazily down towards the road. The water was speckled with the pattern of the trees and sparks of sunlight reflecting off ripples and waves.

She set off again, following the track carefully as it wound its way through a small thicket of bushes and then she checked the view again.

This was the place. She was sure.

‘Mark,’ she shouted. Up ahead he stopped and looked back, startled by her sudden call. She pointed over the edge and he trotted back to where she was standing.

‘Is this it?’ he asked.

‘I think so.’

‘Do you recognise it?’

‘It feels right. I haven’t looked closely yet, I’m a bit nervous about going near the edge. I’ll have a look in a minute.’

‘You look pretty tired. Is this all a bit much for you?’

She shook her head and sat down on the path.

‘Does this feel right? Familiar?’ Mark asked squatting next to her. Kai just shook her head and concentrated on trying to get her breath back. Mark put an arm round her shoulders, its weight heavy rather than comforting. Annoyed, she tried to shrug him off but he just held her more tightly.

‘Take it easy sweetheart, you need to conserve your energy, remember.’ His voice trembled with emotion as Kai allowed him to pull her closer.

‘You know, ever since I saw you in that hospital bed I’ve been waiting to get you on your own, completely on your own. I don’t want to share you with doctors and other people. You
are
mine you know. It’s meant to be.’

‘What…?’ Kai began. Then she froze. Something about the light, or maybe his expression. Why hadn’t she realised? She risked a glance at his face – he was lost in some memory of his own, gazing out at the trees below them. Of course it was him. How had she not known? On the bus, the control thing – that should have set alarm bells ringing. The way he’d manipulated her into coming here with him. How could she have been so blind? Looking at him now, how clear it suddenly became – the odd feelings she’d had towards Mark, the weird mix of attraction and repulsion, trust and suspicion. And he’d got her exactly where he wanted her. She had nowhere to run – she couldn’t hope to escape from him out here. Fighting the rising panic she forced herself to be calm as she spoke to him, willing her voice not to betray her.

‘That’s why I’m here. I want to be with you. I’m tired of pretending that we don’t know each other. I know there’s something between us, I know you’re part of my past and that you’re important to me, I just can’t remember how or why.’

David looked down at her, his eyes in shadow – he was clearly David now – she couldn’t believe that she’d ever thought that he was anyone else.

‘You remember me?’

‘I think so,’ she lied. ‘I think you’re important to me, maybe a boyfriend. I’ve had a feeling for a few days now. The other night, when you kissed me I sensed that there was something between us. I know you’re trying to help me and I know that you’ve been gentle, not forcing too much on me. I don’t know how I would have reacted if you’d told me who you really were straight away. I’d have probably freaked out or something. I appreciate your kindness.’

David stood up, still looking out into the distance reflectively. ‘That’s what it was you know, kindness. I didn’t want to see you hurt. I want to help you. That’s the main reason I brought you here.’

‘I know.’ She stood next to him and linked her arm through his. ‘And now I have to face up to what happened to me, here. I’m so glad you’re with me. I don’t think I’m strong enough to have done this on my own. I’d probably have never even thought of it.’

He nodded and took a step closer to the cliff edge. Kai held his arm and pulled him back.

‘Don’t, it’s not safe.’

He laughed and shook her off.

‘It’s okay. I just want to know if this is the right place. What should it look like?’

Kai closed her eyes, trying to picture the scene below the path. Rocks, trees, water.

‘There’s a stream,’ she said. ‘If this is the right place you should be able to see a stream through the trees. David leapt on to a rock which jutted out over the precipice and studied the valley below.

‘Hey, I think there
is
a stream down there. I can see something shining through all the leaves.’

Kai stood up and slowly made her way to the cliff edge. She raised the bamboo pole and jabbed it into David’s back between his shoulder blades, not hard enough to unbalance him but firmly enough to let him know that she was in control.

‘What the fuck?’ he spluttered, trying to turn round.

‘Move again and I’ll push you right over,’ she hissed.

‘What the hell are you doing? You could kill me for Christ’s sake!’

‘Shut up!’ she snapped.

‘Kai, I…’

‘I said shut up!’ She yelled. ‘You know my name’s not Kai, you can stop playing the innocent David! I know exactly who you are and I know exactly why you brought me here.’

‘I don’t– you said you remembered. You said that you knew I was important to you.’

‘Shut up,’ she said poking him firmly with the stick on each word. ‘I know who you are and I know exactly what you did. It was a beautiful plan, get me back here and then what, claim I jumped? I’m sure Doctor Ekachai would support any theory about my being depressed.’

David tried to turn round again until a sharp jab made him face back out over the cliff. He spun his arms frantically, trying to regain his balance.

‘You’ve got this all wrong. I was trying to help you. I thought if I told you who I really was you wouldn’t want anything to do with me so I pretended to be Mark. I wanted to be your friend. I thought if I could get you to trust me, we could try again after you got your memory back. I love you for fuck’s sake!’

Kai studied the back of his head, willing herself to keep the pole in his back and not simply smash his skull in with it. He was such a smooth liar. So convincing. But this time she’d out-manoeuvred him. He’d fallen for her gratitude, her weakness, just as she’d hoped he would.