The Next Best Thing

by Wiley Brooks

  Jess thanked him as he signaled the bellman over. He handed the man their keys and they followed him to the elevator and on to their room on the sixth floor. It was spacious. The bellman opened the drapes to reveal a view of the river and the town that hugged it. He then stepped into the bathroom. Switching on the light, he gave the room a quick visual inspection. The bellman then re-entered the main room, handed the keys to Joey and asked if they required anything else. Joey said no, then handed the man another five-ringgit tip.

  “You know,” Joey said once the bellman had closed door. “Those ten ringgits I’ve just given in tips would pay for our bungalow on Perhentian.”

  “Hey, stop thinking about money.”

  Mason rushed back to the Victoria and checked out. He had the kitchen make him a basket of food for the road. The staff provided a couple sandwiches, a small selection of cheeses, fruit and strawberries, as well as two liter bottles of water. He was out the door headed north by three, which meant he’d be well through the mountains before dark.

  He knew Joey and Jessica were not returning to Penang. They were on an adventure around Malaysia. They were, and of this he felt quick certain, heading to the Perhentian Islands. The Perhentian Islands were made up of a small cluster of islands in the South China Sea off the coast of northern Malaysia. The jumping off point was Kuala Besut, a small town that offered little more than fishing boats and a ferry to the islands.

  Five of the Perhentian Islands are tiny and uninhabited. The other two were where the action was, which is saying more than it’s worth. Perhentian Besar is the larger island and the most developed of the two. But again, to call it developed would be an overstatement.

  There are no services on the islands. None. No common electricity. Certainly no phones. No roads. There is a small general store at the jetty that serves the small island, but it only accepts cash for items that are markedly more costly than they are back on the mainland.

  What the Perhentians offer are beautiful powdery white sand and crushed shell beaches and pristine turquoise waters. Big green sea turtles and blacktip reef sharks that can measure up to six or seven feet casually swim the waters. The sharks, which frighten away many swimmers, are timid creatures that avoid humans. People snorkel and dive among them every day in peaceful co-existence.

  The undersea world also offers abundant color in crystal clear waters. Unlike so many dive spots throughout Southeast Asia and the rest of the world, the coral surrounding the Perhentian Islands is largely undisturbed. It’s vibrant and thriving. It attracts an amazing array of clown fish, blue-spotted masons, trigger fish, puffer fish, and so many more.

  The families and others who like to stay on Perhentian Besar might call it primitive. Perhentian Kecil, literally Small Perhentian, is even more so. It is less developed, though slightly nearer the mainland. Many believe, though, that the snorkeling is better than on the big island. Kecil even boasts what amounts to a small fishing village. Backpackers prefer it, if for no other reason than it provides cheaper accommodations. To be honest, though, cheaper in this case doesn’t mean inferior. Basic is basic, whether it costs two dollars a night or ten.

  As Mason drove north on Route 8, he was again alone with his thoughts. Again, he asked himself why now, after so many years, was he seeing things that he had been oblivious to? Again, he questioned if the faces he was seeing in his nightmares were real. They could simply be grotesque images his mind was conjuring up.

  But did it matter? Either way, they felt very real to him.

  He now, for the first time really, was confronting the magnitude of what he had done. In any context, he was a terrorist. That it got him bounced from the CIA was no consolation. In a just world, they would have executed him. But all he got was a quiet discharge. They even set him up with his first client, for Christ’s sake. No wonder he was having horrendous flashbacks. The only question was why it had taken so long.

  Mason took the turnoff at Route 3 to Kuala Besut. He figured that Joey and Jessica likely were already on one of the islands, given their head start. Night had fallen an hour earlier, so he would have missed the last ferry of the day. That was okay, though. He would board an early morning crossing and be there on their first full day.

  He hadn’t planned on the scarcity of places to stay. He thought there would be at least one or two decent guest houses or inexpensive Chinese hotels. After all, everyone wanting to visit the Perhentians had to go through Kuala Besut. He was wrong. He should have figured it out when his South-East Asia Handbook gave no recommendations for places to stay in Kuala Besut. His Lonely Planet guide offered only one guest house, called simply Rest House. That’s where he stayed.

  The Rest House was spartan, but it did have a pay phone in the common area. After getting settled, Mason waited patiently while a French couple called home. He then made four calls of his own. He figured he’d be out of reach for several days, perhaps even a week or more. He needed to update everyone.

  First up was Bo. He wanted to give him a status report before it got any later in the evening. Bo, after all, was a family man. His next call was to the office. Boonsri wouldn’t be there, but she needed to know his whereabouts and that he was going to be unable to check in for quite some time. He left a message with the service and had them read it back to him to make sure it was right.

  Fitz was next. The two men had a brief but fruitful chat. Fitz had finally connected with Pastor Johnny. The reverend, Fitz said, was protective of Joey. He said he was a good boy. Joey was very loving, especially toward his wife, Mrs. Helen.

  Joey, he said, would act out from time to time, like all kids do, but he never saw him do anything mean or violent. In fact, he said Joey was the opposite of impulsive. He was a plotter and planner. If there were something he wanted or needed, he’d figure out how to get it. But, the pastor said, it was always things Joey could do. He said Joey never hurt anyone. He didn’t see any way possible that Joey would have killed anyone.

  Fitz was able to clear up the mystery about Mrs. Helen’s sudden departure and the pastor’s following on. Mrs. Helen had developed an aggressive form of breast cancer, Fitz said. That’s why she left abruptly. And it was why Pastor Johnny followed her a month later. He wanted to be with her through all her treatments. She fought for months, but eventually the cancer killed her.

  “I asked him why they didn’t take Joey with them or at least tell him what was happening,” Fitz said. It turns out that they had raised him, but never actually adopted him. Getting him released to them would be difficult and time consuming.

  “Joey was a catch twenty-two kid,” Fitz said. “Authorities insisted he was a Muslim while at the same time denying that he was a Muslim because he didn’t have a Muslim father.”

  Pastor Johnny and his sick wife felt they didn’t have the emotional strength or time to fight that battle, Fitz said. Mrs. Helen was dying and trying to save her sucked them dry.

  “Pastor Johnny said their big mistake was not telling Joey what was going on,” Fitz said. “All the pastor said to him the day he left was that he’d be back. When months passed, though, without word, Joey felt he was on his own. He had no idea that the pastor had learned that once Joey turned eighteen, less than a year away at the time, he’d be free to travel on his own.

  The pastor planned to send him a ticket. Once he was in the states, they’d legally adopt him. None of that happened, of course, because they never told him it was their plan. To Joey, they just deserted him.

  “Pastor Johnny eventually went back to Melaka to find Joey, but it had been months and Joey was no longer there. No one knew where he had gone,” Fitz said. “He hired a private investigator, but the PI got nowhere. Pastor Johnny said it had troubled him ever since.”

  “Did you tell him why you were askin’ about Joey?”

  “Pretty much had to. When I told him, the poor man started to cry. He kept saying it couldn’t be Joey because he was such a sweet boy. But a part of him knew or at least feared it was all true. H
e blamed himself for not taking Joey with him, or at least not letting him know what was happening. Joey was seventeen. He was old enough by then to handle it.”

  No argument from me on that, Mason thought. There’s a good chance none of this killing would have happened if they’d simply told Joey what was going on.

  Mason then called Bob. Bob was always excited to take Mason’s call.

  “Mason!” he answered enthusiastically. “What’s happening?”

  Mason told Bob that he had tracked them to the Perhentian Islands, off the northeast coast of Malaysia.

  “There are two islands where people, mostly backpackers and serious marine biologists, visit,” Mason said. “The islands are primitive. Only a handful of places to stay. You can’t really hide there. I’ll find them tomorrow or the next day at the latest.”

  Mason told Bob a little about the islands, about how basic everything there was, but also about how the snorkeling and diving were supposed to be among the best in the world.

  “The reefs are pristine, but it’s only a matter of time before the tourists discover the place.”

  Mason told Bob not to be surprised if he didn’t hear from him for a week or more. “There is no communications there,” he said. “Not even a radio phone. It’s a remote place.”

  Bob asked how long Mason thought Joey and Jessica would stay.

  “I really don’t know. Backpackers will sometimes find a place and just not fuckin’ leave. I mean, sometimes, they’ll stay on an island for a month. I don’t think that’ll be the case with these two. My guess is that it might be a week or so. But I wanted you to know, in case you don’t hear from me. Once I find ’em, I ain’t gonna head back to the mainland just to make a phone call. I’ll stay on ’em like white on rice.”

  “So, what’s the plan?”

  “He won’t do anythin’ to her there. He wants the money and he ain’t gonna get it on the Perhentians. I’m gonna play it by ear. I might move on him there. I might wait till they’re back on the mainland. I’m toyin’ with the idea of findin’ a way to talk to the girl. She’s a smart cookie and might listen to facts. I don’t know yet.”

  “I want to be there!” Bob said. There was gravitas in his voice. “This is the part where we decide together what to do. We can’t do that if I’m on the other side of the world and not even reachable by phone.”

  “I know it’s what you want, Bob, but I don’t know if it’s a good idea. The thing you want most is justice for your girl…”

  “Justice is only part of it,” Bob broke in. “And I’m not so sure I trust ‘justice.’ I want what you had. I want revenge. You called it the next best thing. I want to be there and watch the life leave his body. I want to see the fear dance across his eyes knowing that it’s over. I can’t do that if I not there.”

  “I hear you, Bob. But when we started, he wasn’t targetin’ a new girl. Plan A puts this Jessica girl at risk. If he gets the sense someone is closin’ in on him, he could kill her. That troubles the hell out of me. Her folks don’t even know yet. You should find it pretty damn easy to put yourself in their place. Nothin’ would be more important than keepin’ her safe. That should be our goal, too.”

  “I don’t see anything you’d do differently if I were there,” Bob said.

  “Maybe. Maybe not. But I work alone. I’m concerned that if you were here there might be things I’d not do to avoid the risks. I gotta keep my options open. We’ve made a lot of progress doin’ it my way. Give me a little more time.”

  “I hear you, Mason. You want me to stay out of your hair until you wrap things up. I’m not going to make any promises, though. I’ll think about it.”

  “That’s all I ask, Bob. If you think about it and how close we are, you won’t wanna get in the way.”

  Calls completed, Mason returned to his room. He had his two glasses of Jack and popped two sleeping pills. Would he avoid the nightmares tonight? God, he hoped so.

  The images woke him at four. At least he got six hours of sleep.

  Day 22

  Joey awoke to the smell of fresh brewed coffee from the in-room coffeemaker. He could hear Jess in the shower. He rose from the bed, opened the curtains and looked out at Kota Bahru. It wasn’t much to see, but he knew it was an important city just south of the Thai border. It even had an airport.

  He poured his coffee, then added one of the little tubs of half and half. He put on one of the plush white bathrobes and saw that there was a newspaper on the table. Did someone enter their room? Unlikely, he surmised. Jessica must have picked it up. It didn’t matter. He had zero interest in the news.

  He sipped his coffee, then tapped on the door to the bathroom, opened it and entered. He let the robe slide to the floor, opened the door to the shower and joined her. She smiled at him.

  “This is a great shower,” she said. He nuzzled her from the rear and playfully nibbled her neck.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “I need a little breakfast.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  She turned to face him. They kissed while his hands caressed her butt. He was already aroused. She smiled and took the soap from the dish, rubbed it in her hands to work up a lather, then moved to his groin. She lathered him up, turned him around and did the same to his backside. Still behind him, she reached around and took him in her hand and began to stroke him.

  She turned him back around to face her. The shower rinsed the soap away.

  “I want you in me,” she said, standing and pointing down to a bench along the back wall of the shower. He sat, his back against the wall. She put one foot on the bench then lowered herself on him. She was in control. Slowly at first, she moved up and down. She moaned softly.

  “This is what I want,” she said. The pace quickened. She looked at his face and saw his eyes closed. He was feeling the moment just as she was. She stepped it up again, driving him deep with every thrust. He started making those little noises that he did when getting close, but she could no longer think about him. She felt her own orgasm rising inside of her, rushing to her pelvis. Then, in a burst of release, she cried out, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” Three thrusts later, he, too, released.

  She stayed there with him inside her for a moment, reveling in the satisfaction. Then she pulled her head back, looked him in the eyes, smiled and said, “I’m up for an omelet. How about you?”

  They finished their shower, dressed and went to breakfast. At ten, they had checked out and were making the short drive down the coast to the jetty at Kuala Besut. They loaded up on some supplies along the way.

  “Everything on the island costs twice what it does on the mainland, if you can even get it,” Joey told her as they looked for a market on the way out of Kota Bahru. They grabbed two six-packs of Tiger beer, a bag of Oreos and even two apples. Then they added a few rolls of film for her camera and two of the new Fujifilm disposable cameras in waterproof plastic cases for snorkeling. They found parking near the jetty and were able to grab the last two seats on the noon crossing.

  The hour and a half ferry ride was uneventful on a placid sea. Joey and Jessica disembarked at the fishing village on Perhentian Kecil, the ferry’s first stop. To call it a village was a stretch. It consisted of a few small wood-frame buildings with tin roofs. One housed a one-room store, another a restaurant. The other structures had no markings. There was no road; just a meandering path. That gave the buildings a non-linear arrangement. The sound of fuel-powered generators could be heard behind the store and the restaurant buildings. There was no electricity provided anywhere in the Perhentians.

  “We’re going to head up to Long Beach,” Joey told her.

  “Is it far?” Jess asked.

  “Not really. About twenty or thirty minutes. We could try to find a water taxi. Would be quicker and cooler.”

  “I like that idea,” Jess said.

  They walked back down to the water.

  “Wait here,” he told her. “Let me see what
I can arrange. I’ll use what little Bahasa skills I have.”

  A minute later he flagged her to join him.

  “This is Mat. He’ll take us to the Majestic Turtle for two ringgits.”

  “Hello Mat. I’m Jessica,” she said sticking out her hand to shake, but Mat just turned and walked to his boat.

  “Not the chatty type,” Jess said.

  The boat ride was an experience. The ferry had been a big, lumbering vessel that cut a smooth path across the sea between Kuala Besut and the island. Mat’s boat was more like a small fishing boat you’d find on rivers and lakes back in the States. Maybe four feet at its widest point and perhaps sixteen feet long. Mat revved the outboard motor and almost immediately tore northward. As soon as he was away from the beach, the little boat picked up speed and splashed through the rolling waves, at times swaying back and forth.

  The wind and splashes of the waves blew through Jessica’s red hair as she death-gripped the sides of the boat with both hands.

  “Holy shit!” she exclaimed to Joey. “Next time we’re walking.”

  “Trust me. You get used to it.”

  After five minutes that felt to Jessica more like an hour, Mat steered the boat up to the beach. A sign announced they were at Majestic Turtle Chalets.

  “This is a great place,” Joey said. “Right in the heart of Long Beach. Nice huts, each with their own shower and toilet.”

  “Hot water?”

  He looked at her with a scrunched`up face. “What do you think?”

  “All I’m saying is you saw this morning what a good hot shower does for this city girl.”

  “I’ll just have to find a different way to meet your needs.”

  “I’m sure you will,” she said as they climbed out of the boat. Joey gave Mat a two one-ringgit notes. They hefted their backpacks and stood at the water’s edge while Jessica took in the great arc of the beach.

  It was everything Joey had said it would be. Pure, white sand with pieces of shells underfoot. Crystal clear water lapped at the feet and Jessica instantly knew that the snorkeling would be great. The jungle hung back forty or fifty yards and then was resplendent with a variety of palms and other shade trees. Colorful flowers perfumed the air.