The Samui Conspiracy

by Carline Bouilhet

  “I don’t know, miss, and we aren’t paid to ask questions. I can assure you though, that it’s legitimate and completely above board. Now, do you have that pen?”

  Lily, shell-shocked, wrote down the bank’s name, the account number and the password to access it. She then thanked him for his time and hung up, completely bewildered. This was unbelievable. Her brother never had any money of his own and whenever he did, it never lasted for long. She shivered. In her opinion, that much money could only mean one thing: her brother had dabbled in illegal activities, whatever they might have been. She also wondered why he singled her out as a recipient of his wealth. Or did he? Immediately, she dialled Sophie’s number to tell her what happened. The latter was still awake, watching a movie on cable TV. Sophie listened carefully to the entire tale, from Justine’s interpretation of the dream to the lawyer’s call.

  “So what do you think?” she asked somewhat impatiently. “The law firm of Ferguson and Freehill has been leaving messages here too, but I haven’t yet bothered calling them back. Now it’s too late: I can’t get in touch with them until tomorrow morning. It’s eleven o’clock here. Have you asked Stephanie yet if they have called her?”

  “No I haven’t, but wouldn’t she have mentioned it? Wouldn’t it be the type of thing you would divulge to your own sisters? It’s a bit like winning Lotto. You would tell your siblings and your parents, wouldn’t you?”

  “Except if she thought she was the only one, then she may have kept it under wraps to avoid upsetting us. In case we would have been jealous, you know? That’s a lot of money for Louis. How would he have found one and a half million dollars, assuming that both of you have received the same amount? I’m certain he wouldn’t have gifted it to one and not the others. We know how generous he was with whatever he had whenever he had it. How would he put his hands on so much money? Are you thinking drugs?”

  “How could I not?! What was he involved in? Actually, I don’t want to know!” replied Lily.

  “Except that now he’s dead…” mused Sophie. “I’ll call once I’ve confirmation one way or another. And I still have to get my head around the dream. Talk soon. I love you. And please don’t call me back with any more surprises; I don’t think my heart can take it!”

  That particular night, sleep eluded Sophie once again. She tossed and turned and kept revisiting the empty coffin, the clock, the twisting grey corridors and the pesky flies buzzing around insistently. When she finally found herself staring at her cup of coffee, eyes red-rimmed and her features taut, she decided to call the law firm as soon as it opened. On the dot of eight, she called Fergusons and Freehill in the city and asked to speak to Bruno Boulot, the man who had authored the series of messages left on her machine. When she finally hung up, she was as confused as Lily had been. She picked up her mobile to look for Stephanie’s number only to read her incoming text displayed on the screen. It simply read: “Me too. What does it mean?” What did it mean indeed? Sophie knew there was no such thing as a coincidence: it was all too strange. She now interpreted the dream as asking them not to take things at face value. The unexpected wiring of the money confirmed it. She suddenly realised that unless she flew to Thailand to figure out exactly what happened, she was likely to continue living with gnawing doubts and a pervasive sense of disquietude. In any case, under the circumstances, she would never be able to lay her grief to rest. Galvanised by her sudden decision, she began planning her absence. She figured she would need at least a couple of weeks and by the same token turn her curiosity into the holiday she so desperately needed. Indeed, the lawyers in the US and European offices knew nothing of the circumstances which brought their brother to their doorsteps, since they had only relayed instructions, but surely the one in Bangkok would know something. In her opinion, it was a good place to start anyway. She would first email her plans to her sisters so they would not worry about her, promising to bring back answers which hopefully would bring them all closure. Meanwhile, she needed to instruct her staff, book her tickets, reserve a cattery for her tomcat at the nearby Cat Hospital, and confirm overseas hotel reservations.

  She wrote her sisters a two-page email explaining that she needed to find out what happened; that she could not sleep; that she needed a holiday and a change of scenery anyway; that Bangkok was only an eight-hour flight; that the lawyers in Bangkok were surely the last ones to see Louis alive, and that she intuited they would probably know more about the circumstances which had brought him to their door than their overseas colleagues. After re-reading the letter once, making sure she did not sound alarmist in the slightest, she pressed sent. To her surprise, it took only a few minutes to receive both of their replies. They simply asked what day she was thinking of leaving so that they could coordinate their own flights. They also asked Sophie to make hotel reservations on their behalf. They had both decided to take a two-week leave from their jobs, effective the following weekend, three days away: would that work for her? Sophie was thrilled beyond words. How long had it been since they spent time together, the three of them alone? Besides the funeral, of course. Decidedly there was something to be said for siblings’ similarities. Obviously, her sisters were on the same wavelength. It would be fun and, she agreed that, for their own peace of mind, they all needed to figure out what really happened. She called the Lebua Hotel in Bangkok and changed her reservations to a suite that could sleep three. In her opinion, a hotel belonging to the Small Leading Hotels of the World, would mean that the accommodation would be to their liking. She had booked enough such hotels throughout the world for her brides’ honeymoons to know that she was not taking any risks. She also changed her first-class ticket to the following Friday afternoon. She would check in on Saturday afternoon, a day ahead of her sisters. She was now really excited and spent the rest of the day on the Internet researching the meaning of dreams. The weekend would never come around fast enough, but she had plenty of work to do prior to departure. She was now full of energy and, for the first time in weeks, was looking at the future with a certain amount of confidence.

  Chapter IX

  Smooth as Silk

  When Sophie landed in Thailand, she was grateful for the expedited customs processing available to first-class passengers, thanks to the airline’s efficient assistance. The same Thai Airlines employee, who had accompanied her through customs clearance, had also waited for her luggage to show up so as to guide her to the exit doors where the hotel town car, sent to meet her, would take her straight to her lodgings. With a heavy heart as to what the day ahead might bring, she wistfully looked outside the car window, once again tingling from the vibrations emanated by the city sprawling in front of her eyes, where infinite poverty began at the very back door of luxury buildings. She observed the sleek high-rise facades gleaming in the sun, juxtaposed to apartment buildings poignantly black with pollution, every faceless window blocked by outdated air conditioning units, meagre laundry drying in the stifling air behind barbed wire. In the face of such social inequalities, it was impossible to forget how lucky she had been, how kind fate had been to her, how equally easy it would have been to be born here on the wrong side of the tracks, with so little hope for improvement. As always when her mind wandered down such paths, her thoughts turned back to her brother, the only reason for her being in Bangkok at this particular juncture, and she bit back tears, remembering the apparent wastefulness of his life, whereas he had been given the same chances as her. Even when she essentially believed in free will and personal choices, she was loathe to blame his fall from grace on drugs alone, and secretly hoped that perhaps Louis had only followed his destiny, the one which had been written in his astrological sky before he was even born. She wiped away her tears and leaned forward to ask the driver to turn up the air conditioning in the stifling car, asking him in the same breath how much longer it would be before they reached the famous Lebua Hotel.

  “Fifteen more minutes, madam, to Silom Road. Thanks to the King’s new highway, it is now very fast into the cit
y.”

  So why did the traffic seem to crawl? she asked herself. Why was she so impatient to arrive anyway? No one waited for her. There was no schedule to adhere to either. Her sisters would only arrive with the morning flight. Moreover, it was already too late in the day to call the law firm and make an appointment. She should simply relax and agreed that, with a little luck on her side, she would be able to book a Thai massage within a few hundred feet from the hotel; it would certainly help her sleep.

  After a few minutes bartering over the price of the room she had reserved online, going through the ritual of checking the first room, finding it inadequate and requesting another which the hotel could not provide, Sophie was finally upgraded to a very large suite on one of the upper floors of the State Tower, just as she had intended and for the same price as her initial booking. The spectacular suite displayed a large entry hall leading to an open plan kitchen on the left and two en-suite bedrooms on the right. The kitchen opened to a living room with wide comfortable sleeper couches facing a large screen TV on one side. Floor-to-ceiling windows on the other showcased the city sprawled at her feet. On the left, a door led to a spacious master bedroom and a bathroom fit for a king with its large bathtub, double shower and double sink, all inlaid with white-veined Carrara marble. Plush towels were rolled on the shelves below the sink and oversized robes hung in the bedroom’s closet. The king-sized bed with its feather-light duvet on a feather-covered mattress was most inviting. Through the expanse of the bedroom windows, she could peer at another side of the city. She puzzled for the third time since she had walked in as to why they were so many hazard warning lights on top of so many of the buildings right across from the hotel. Surely planes never flew so low? After a couple minutes though she closed the drapes to avoid vertigo and turned her attention to her luggage. Once she had hung her clothes and taken a shower, she headed down to reception, remitted her key, exited into the blasting heat and began walking down the street in search of a decent spa.

  Thai Bliss looked clean and comfortable and she found it perfectly suited for spending a couple of indulgent hours recovering from her trip. She took her shoes off upon entering and sat at the desk where an impressive menu of treatments, no less than a dozen or so pages was placed at her disposal. She flicked through it rapidly and settled on a one-hour foot massage followed by a salt body scrub and topped by an aromatic oil massage. She selected her own oil blend, perfumed with lavender for relaxation and geranium for skin rejuvenation. She was led to the first floor where a row of comfortable seats with old-fashioned washtubs at their feet welcomed her. A young woman motioned for her to sit down. She cautiously tested the temperature of the water and the woman washed her feet carefully. After stepping over garbage and water puddles on the way over, Sophie was thankful for the shower she took on arrival, embarrassed as she was by the dirt on her feet, loathe to imagine what the poor girl would have had to deal with otherwise. Her feet were then dried and sheathed in soft slippers. She was led to another room where a dozen recliner seats, lined against a double glazed bay window overlooked the busy street. The shades were then adjusted so that she would not be inconvenienced by the setting sun and a soft blanket placed over her, leaving her uncovered to the knee. The young girl presented her with an eye mask which she refused and her chair was laid back to its most horizontal setting. Soft-belled accentuated music played in the background and the masseuse began working her magic on her feet by using a small turned piece of wood to press on each pressure point to relieve stress and fatigue. Sophie’s eyes automatically closed and she let her mind wander, hunger already threatening. When the girl nudged her awake indicating the treatment over, Sophie thanked her and slipped discreetly a few baht in the girl’s hand, knowing that she gave her a tip the equivalence of what she would earn in a day. Her gesture earned her a beaming smile.

  Another woman, as young it seemed as the first one, took her to a well-appointed room adorned with exquisitely carved wood panelling from floor to ceiling. Hand painted silks of exotic birds hung on the wall. The massage table, as wide as a bed, looked quite inviting and Sophie plucked the paper G-string laying there in a sealed pouch, wondering whether she was required to wear it. It had seemed pointless for a body scrub but she was not game enough to insult local customs by refusing to put it on. To her delight, two women walked in and began sponging her off and then massaging her ever so softly with coarse sea salt mixed with an invigorating citrus-based oil. Once her body thoroughly scrubbed, she was asked to take a shower and she marvelled all the way through the next hour of deep tissue massage at the softness of her skin. She would definitely recommend the place to Lily and Stephanie and on impulse booked another session for the three of them for the following day at 5 pm.

  Walking back in the evening’s chaos, acknowledging she was too tired to brave the crowds on her own, she decided the safest course of action was to avail herself of room service and watch a movie until her sleeping pill took effect. She was looking forward to her sisters’ arrival and thought of the adventure they would soon share. How long had it been since the three of them took a holiday together? Perhaps the only positive outcome after Louis’s death was to bring them closer? They had lived on different continents for so long and togetherness required so much planning that it had not been easy. Sophie though firmly believed that everything happened for a reason and that little was ever the work of chance alone. A shared dream was bringing them together and for the time being, it was simply enough.

  Back in her room, she ordered a light fare of sashimi and sushi, removed a Singha beer from the mini bar and turned on the television, first to CNN to hear the news, and then after some channel flicking settled on a movie. She barely remembered making it to bed. She slept so soundly in the noise proof room that it took three rings at the front door before getting her bearings. Upon checking her watch, she was horrified to see that it was already 9 am. Her sisters were due to arrive any minute now. Once again she heard the doorbell. She quickly threw on the hotel robe and quickly opened the door with a slight gesture of annoyance for being disturbed, only to stare at Lily’s beaming face.

  “Are you hiding a man in here?” she queried, merriment crinkling her eyes. “What took you so long?” she added hugging her.

  Stephanie was already brushing past them to take in her surroundings.

  “Wow! This is going to cost us a fortune! Count on you to find the most expensive hotel in all of Bangkok! This is truly amazing! Where am I sleeping?”

  “How come you are already here?” asked Sophie shaking her head, desperately chasing away the remnants of sleep which still hung around her head.

  “Well, Sleeping Beauty,” replied Lily, “believe it or not, it’s well past 9 am and our plane, as you know, landed two hours ago. Thanks to you, we were promptly whisked through customs to a waiting limousine and here we are. What an amazing city! I can’t believe how hot it is already!”

  “Coffee anyone?” asked Sophie delighted to see them both in such high spirits.

  “Well, I certainly need one,” replied Stephanie, “and we should both take a shower before deciding on a plan of action, but I’m sure you already have it all planned out,” she added turning to her for confirmation.

  “There are two bedrooms and one king-sized bed,” explained Sophie. “I can share with either one of you. Which one of you doesn’t snore?”

  “That would be me,” affirmed Stephanie. “Fine, I’ll share and pretend I’m back at band camp!” she added smiling brightly. She could not remember ever sharing her older sister’s bed.

  Lily was still looking around, vainly attempting to open the doors to step out onto the balcony.

  “Don’t bother,” shouted Sophie from the bathroom, where she was already drawing a bath for Stephanie. “They are permanently locked. Hence, this is why we were upgraded to a $1500.00 a night suite.”

  “What do you mean?” questioned Lily intrigued.

  “Well, you see, both in their printed brochures an
d on the internet, this hotel shows couples romantically drinking champagne on the balconies, with the city pulsating at their feet. They are the very same balconies you can’t access now, apparently due to security reasons, which were enforced probably minutes after the glamour shots were taken! So I argued, and obviously won that particular argument, that it was no less than false and misleading advertising and that I’d complain to the tourist police for such an obvious attempt at ripping off tourists.”

  Lily choked on her coffee.

  “You did what?”

  “Let me explain; I’m not exactly ruthless but when in Rome… Here in Thailand, the government is trying to promote safety for foreigners as tourism counts as one of their largest trades. In the past few months, there has been an abundance of negative articles in the international press describing how tourists get systematically ripped off and thus the government has appointed a special police which specifically looks after tourists’ welfare. Hence, my empty threat. Moreover, hotel management knows full well that a hotel of this calibre can’t afford bad publicity, and thus was happy to save face by letting me know that there was no other available room meeting my requirements but that we could be upgraded instead. Don’t ask: part of local customs!” she added laughing at her sister’s roll of the eyes.

  “Congratulations!” approved Lily. “Somehow you always manage to pull this type of stunt! I can’t even get a waiter to give me the meal I ordered so much less get them to credit my bill! Upgrades in flights or hotels are obviously well beyond my pay grade!”

  “While you take your baths, I’ll call the law firm and see if we can set up an appointment for this afternoon, or would you rather let it go until tomorrow when we are all better acclimated?” inquired Sophie.

  Two voices in unison replied ‘tomorrow’ and Sophie went to the safe to look up the number.