Lost Innocence: The Accused. Part One (13 page)

“
Noy!” Nigel called
out. She turned a corner then disappeared through a side
door.

A manager with a long
stride and a rash on his chin caught up with Nigel. “Is everything
okay sah?”

Pang arrived, spoke
Thai to ‘Rash Chin’ then turned back to Nigel. “Girl ok for
you?”

“
She was fine. She
got jumpy with my questions.”

“
What questions?”
‘Rash Chin’ asked.

Nigel took out his
phone, flicked to the picture of Puku and showed it to
him.

“
I was asking if she
knew her.”

“
We have lots of
girls here.”

Nigel took out a
thousand, folded it and slid into the manager’s hand.

“
I know her, but I
don’t know where she is.”

“
When did you last
see her?”

“
We fired her last
week.”

“
Is there anybody who
would know where she is?”

“
Her friend Tee
might. She used to work here.”

Nigel sighed. “You
fire a lot of girls?”

“
It’s hard to get
good staff.”

“
Where is she
now?”

“
She works at a
massage place not far from here.”

“
What’s it
called?”

The manager handed
Nigel a card. “A friend of mine works there. Tell him I sent
you.”

Nigel settled both
bills then turned to leave.

“
Are you alright Mr
Nigel? What happened?”

“
I’ll tell you all
about it in the car.”

“
Where we
go?”

“
To the pharmacy then
I need to call a PI.”

EIGHTEEN

THE PLAQUE
read HARVEY GOULD, P I. It was the middle of the
day, but the blinds were closed. Inside a desktop sat flanked by
three non-matching chairs, a creased, leather sofa and a bookcase
full of fiction.

A middle-aged man lay
back with a pair of briefs hanging around his ankles. A gorgeous,
young lady was bent over him in a pair of pink panties that
stretched over her pert buttocks. Her head was bobbing up and down
and her long, thick black hair swished around her neck with each
bob. Harvey lay motionless, moaning.

He was an ex-pat
who’d lived in Thailand for many years. He was short and stocky
with dark brown hair and light brown eyes. He currently had one
lady in his life for which he cared for-his assistant Bo: She
was
assisting him now.

He’d found her
working the seedy hostess bars of Bangkok and taken her home.
They’d become more than friends, she knew the capital well and had
helped him on a few cases. He’d offered her a better life and with
his investigative skills and her knowledge of the streets, they
made a good team.

Harvey’s body
suddenly stiffened. He was about to let go, when the Mission
Impossible theme rang loudly on his phone. Her head popped up,
Harvey pushed it back; she couldn’t stop now. She continued. He
finished. She left for the bathroom. The phone was still ringing.
Harvey answered, out of breath. “Hello?”

“
Is this Harvey Gould
PI?”

“
Hello? Yes, this is
he.”

“
Are you all
right?”

“
I’m fine. I was just
working out. Who is this?”

“
My name is Nigel,
Nigel Walker.”

“
Hello Mr Walker.
What can I do for you?”

“
I’m looking for a
couple of missing Thai girls.”

“
Are they officially
missing?”

“
What do you
mean?”

“
Are the police
looking for them?”

“
Not that I know
of.”

“
Do you know them,
personally?”

“
No, not
personally.”

“
Can I ask why you
are looking for them?”

“
Can we meet? I’m at
The Landmark.”

“
I know it
well.”

“
Are you free
today?”

“
One second, let me
see.”

Harvey laid the phone
on the table and rustled through some papers. “Mr
Walker?”

Nigel
coughed.

“
I have a window
after six.”

“
Why don’t we meet in
the pub downstairs, say around seven?”

“
That works for me,
see you then.”

Harvey hung up, took
a tissue, wiped his crotch then pulled up his shorts. Bo stepped
out of the bathroom fully dressed. “Who that?”

“
It was a client. We
have a case.”

“
It about
time.”

NINETEEN

NIGEL STROLLED
into the Huntsman and clocked a middle-aged man
in a wrinkled shirt and creased trousers. He was sitting with a
gorgeous girl about a third of his age, wearing tight, faded jeans
with designer rips in the knees and a top that teased.

On the table beside
them was a chunky camera with an enormous zoom lens.

Nigel approached as
the man and his companion stood up and smiled. “Mr Walker I
presume?”

“
Hello, Mr
Gould.”

They shook hands,
each trying for the firmer grip.

“
Harvey is fine. And
I should call you….?”

“
Mr
Walker.”

“…
.Very well then.
This is my assistant, Bo.”

Nigel shook her hand.
“That’s a strong grip.”

“
She’s real tough.
I’m an ex-marine. I taught her everything she knows. Take a look at
her knives.”

Harvey pulled up her
top at the waist to reveal a set of throwing knives hanging from a
black belt. Nigel noticed a cute belly-button piercing of a white
flamingo on her toned stomach. He diverted his eyes back to the
knives. “Would she ever use them?”

“
You never know when
you’re in the red zone.”

“
Well, nice to meet
you, Bo. This is my partner, Pang – working partner that
is.”

The Thais waied, then
everybody took a seat. Nigel’s eyes flickered onto the
table.

“
That’s Lisa
my
Leica
9. She’s
ideal for outside shots, excellent zoom, definition, you can take
shots without a flash; great for private surveillance.”

“
Very
impressive.”

“
So you have two
girls you want us to find?”

“
That’s
right.”

Nigel felt a
vibrating in his pocket. “Excuse me, I have a call.”

He rose and
stepped
away. “Hello?”

“
Hello, Daddy…..You
forget me already? I am Sung, your son’s
special
friend.”

“
Oh, hi Sung. Did you
find anything?”

“
Not yet. It’s
difficult without good picture.”

“
I understand. We’re
looking now for a girl called Puku. We think she’s the sister. I
have her picture. We’re also looking for her friend who works at
Evita.”

“
I know that place.
Who is friend?”

“
Her name’s Tee but
we don’t have her picture.”

“
Okay. I see what I
can find out about Puku. Not forget to send picture.”

“
I’ll do it
now.”

Sung hung up. Nigel
was about to return to the table when his phone rang, again.
“Hello?”

“
Hello, Mr Walker.
This is Pamon. I just heard that the case has been postponed for
twelve days.”

“
Why? What does that
mean?”

“
It means they’re not
ready to charge him with a crime and he may still have time to make
a deal.”

“
That’s good to know.
Can I call you back? I’m in a meeting at the moment.”

“
Of course. I’m sorry
to have disturbed you.”

“…
Not at all. I’ll
get back to you later.”

Nigel hurried back to
Harvey. “Sorry about that. Where was I?”

“
You were about to
tell us about the two girls.”

“
That’s right, but I
better tell you why we’re looking for them, first.”

“
That works for
me.”

“
Then let me
begin….”

‘
Who Wants To Live
Forever’ was playing on the jukebox. Harvey was on his third
whisky, Nigel and Pang were drinking Chang and Bo was sipping on a
diet Coke through a straw.

“…
.And that’s how
Mike ended up in prison.”

“
It sounds like a
well organised scam.”

“
So, what can you do
for me?”

“
Normally this would
be a simple pay-off case, but since Michael has refused to pay,
it’s become complicated. If it does go to trial and becomes a
matter of public record, it will be more difficult to bury the
paperwork and buy him out. His twelve days are almost up and if he
hasn’t paid by then, they have three choices: charge him, release
him or extend the case for another twelve days.”

“
I just had a call
from my lawyer and can confirm that the court date has been
postponed.”

“
Maybe they want to
settle. Could we?”

“
I’d like to, but
Michael isn’t keen.”

“
Normally with the
conditions of the prisons here, they can’t wait to get out. People
die all the time. Doesn’t he want out?”

“
Of course he does.
He just doesn’t want to plead guilty to a crime he didn’t
commit.”

“
Is he worried about
a record?”

“…
Amongst other
things.”

“
I could make that go
away, I know a guy…”

“
He will
not plead guilty. We still have twelve days to
find these girls. That’s where you would come in.”

“
If we find either of
these girls, what makes you think they’ll cooperate?”

“
I’ll talk to them,”
Nigel winked at Pang.

“
Even if they agreed
to drop the charges, the police captain would lose
face.”

“
What does that
mean?”

“
It’s like the worst
kind of embarrassment.”

“
I’m not concerned
with that.”

Harvey’s eyes
betrayed a flicker of fear as he glanced at Bo. “I think I should
meet Nincotte and see if we can still buy Michael out.”

“
Mike doesn’t want to
pay! I only need you to find these girls. I’ll handle the rest.
Will you help us?”

“
Okay, I’ll see what
we can find, but please
urge
Michael to reconsider settling.”

“
I’ll try. How much
is your fee?”

Harvey pulled the
creases up on his trousers. “Ten thousand a day and nothing is
guaranteed.”

“
That’s
fine.”

Harvey sat back,
content. Bo followed with her eyes as Nigel reached into his jacket
pocket, pulled out an envelope of cash and laid it on the
table.

“
So, we’re looking
for Tee who’s a friend of Puku who’s a friend of Mia and the only
girl who we don’t have a picture of?”

“
That’s right, but we
do know where she works.”

Nigel handed over the
card. Harvey read it and handed his card to Nigel. “I’ll keep you
informed and from now on, please leave all the investigating to
us.”

Nigel nodded. “I
could use the break.”

Harvey took the cash,
rose then left with Bo.”

Nigel paid the bill,
said goodnight to Pang then returned to his room.

He entered
his suite with an expression of relief, kicked
off his shoes, picked up the phone and called home. “Hello?
Doris?”

He could hear
breathing, waited then coughed. “It’s bloody hot here. I’m working
with a Thai guy called Pang and a lawyer called Pamon. It’s a crazy
place Bangkok, but I like it. I love the food. It’s a little spicy,
but you get used to it and the people are so friendly. I’m staying
in Stan’s suite. It’s better without Stan...Doris?”

He sighed. “I’m sorry
for hurting you. I don’t know what came over me. I’d like to blame
the meds, but I’m not sure that I can. I was mad at Stan then mad
at you for trying to manage me…. Are you there?”

He heard her sniff.
He was meant to hear it.

“
Michael’s alone and
afraid. I’m all he’s got and I’m scared too. The great lawyer I’m
supposed to be counts for nothing out here. I need your support. I
need your forgiveness…..Doris?”

A soft voice
whispered, “I’m here.”

He was about to reply
when a rippling pain ripped through his body. The blood from his
face drained as his veiny hand clutched the excruciating pain of
his chest. He dropped the phone and cried with the last breath he
had left. “Help!”