by Lauren Wood
Leaving was harder than I would have imagined. When I got back outside, I got my phone back from the guard and walked to the car I had rented. It was compact and hard to fit in with my height, but I made the best of it. I drove to the hotel in a daze, my mind reeling with questions and less answers than I was comfortable with. I wanted to know what was going to happen tomorrow, but I really wasn’t sure.
The phone rang in my hand and I saw that this was the twelfth missed call from Ashlyn. I didn’t know what to tell her, but I knew leaving her in the dark was no way to deal with such a woman. She was like me. She wanted answers, even though I didn’t have many to give.
“Ashlyn, I was just about to call you.”
“I have been calling you for hours! What is going on Sam? It is like the two of you just dropped off the face of the earth.”
“Nothing like that Ashlyn. They won’t let me have my phone inside the jail. So the guard had it. I just left a few minutes ago. Had to power up my phone. Calm down mama bear.”
She didn’t like my little nickname for her and I thought for a minute, I can almost guarantee that she wanted to come through the phone and slap me.
“How is she?”
“She is no worse for wear. A little hungry and thirsty, but we took care of it.”
“So she is okay?” The relief was evident in her voice and I was more intrigued than ever, my mind coming up with all kinds of scenarios that would bring the two together. They seemed like polar opposites.
“Yeah she is good. She has your spirit.”
“Trust me. Meri has more spirit than I do.”
“She looks rather young.”
“I met her years ago when she was still a teenager. I became very fond of her after she helped me out of a jam when I first moved here. I don’t know what I would have done without her and even then Meri had far more moxie than I had seen in anyone else.”
Again I wasn’t quite getting what I wanted, but like all lawyers should know, information took time and finesse. It was all that I could do to hold my questions in. It just gave me far more curiosity than I had before.
“Well I am going to talk to the judge in the morning. I am sure we can get her some kind of release, even if it is only temporary until the trial. The charges are subpar at best, no evidence. I am hoping to have this all said and done in the next few days.” I was talking far more confidently than I was, but clients didn’t want to hear that it all rested on the whims of a couple of people. They could have fought with their spouse, had a bad dream or morning, it all depended on so many factors. That was the truth of the justice system that no one ever talked about. I needed the stars to all align tomorrow so that I could do what I said I was going to do.
“Really Sam! You don’t know how happy that makes me!”
I was hoping that I was not getting her hopes up for nothing. I answered a few more questions for her and I got off the phone with her by the time I got to the hotel. I was greeted by several lovely women that I would have usually tried to seduce, but not tonight. I was exhausted and I had my mind on someone else.
Instead of taking the slight woman up on her offer of some company, I made my way upstairs to mull over the day. It had been excited and different, not at all what I had expected. Meri was not at all what I had expected. I had always lived in the city and I had never met someone like her before in my whole life. She was far too open, yet guarded on other aspects. Even when she was explaining her night, the way she wrinkled her nose about certain things made me wonder how innocent she really was. I did know that after talking to her for a little while, I was about as sure of her innocence that she was charged with as Ashlyn. There was no way that Meri could do such a thing.
The more I thought about it, the more none of it made sense. When I got up the next morning, I hit the ground running. I got some breakfast and planned to take it to Meri as soon as I had talked to the judge. I got enough for him as well, knowing that food played as much of a part of greasing a wheel as money did. I wanted to make it clear that I was willing to brown nose the right people if need be. It killed my pride, the ego that had grown with my bank account, but then again it was probably good for me to be humbled a little.
The judge wouldn’t see me until I showed him the food bag and coffee. That seemed to get him going, but it was quickly clear that I was not going to be able to talk Meri out of jail. They were convinced that she had something to do with her friend’s disappearance and it appeared to me that the testimony that was given by Rico had a lot to do with the fact that Meri was in jail. The man’s name kept coming up and I had to wonder why that was. Maybe Meri was right about him.
“Well at least let me get her out on bond. We will stay here if that is what is required of us. It would look good for our countries if we did this in a better way. The treatment she has gotten since she has been here goes against several human rights.”
“It is the jail for everyone. Americans are no better when they come here and do crimes on our soil. This is our country, not America.”
The old judge had a hard look on his face and I was trying to figure out an angle. I am used to reading people, it’s what I did for a living, convincing people to see things my way. I just had to figure out how I was going to get this judge here in front of me to see things my way.
“You see Sir, it is not because she is better, in any way. If anything else, she is weaker than many of the women in there with her. She has a medical condition and the last thing either one of us wants is for something to happen while she is in jail. If she is out, I will make sure she doesn’t go anywhere, she will give up her passport until we have this all straightened out. I assure you that it will come to light that she had nothing to with the disappearance of her friend. There is no body, so there is no real proof of a crime.”
“She will not get out for free.”
“Naturally.”
“There will be conditions, but if you agree to them, I will go ahead with a temporary release.”
Relief flooded over me and I told him that I would agree to whatever I had to do to get her out of jail. She didn’t actually have a medical problem, but the fact that she was just so delicate should have been reason enough. A woman like Meri wouldn’t be able to survive in such a place for too long and I genuinely didn’t want to see her in that place another moment. It was no longer just about helping out Ashlyn. It was now about righting an injustice, the whole reason I became a lawyer in the first place.
Did it matter that my client happened to be young and absolutely beautiful? Well it certainly didn’t hurt anything.
Chapter 5
Meri
I didn’t hold much hope for Sam getting me out. When I saw him the next day, early in the morning, I was sure that he was going to tell me that it was hopeless. I wasn’t always pessimistic, but I just thought of it as being realistic. Sam told me that I would be getting out later today on restrictions. I didn’t even care what the conditions of the release were. They just didn’t matter as far as I was concerned. As long as I was able to leave this place and never come back, that was all that mattered to me.
“So when are you going to get me out of here?”
“There is going to be a hearing later with the judge, but I have already talked to him and he seems eager to strike a deal. You will be released from here and into my custody pending the trial. You will also have to give up your passport.”
None of that sounded like a problem, though the part about me getting released into my lawyer’s custody was not something that I had thought possible. Truth was that even though he was helping me and he knew Ashlyn, that didn’t mean that I really trusted the guy. I barely even knew him.
“Released to you?”
“Yeah, you need someone to vouch for you and I told him that I would make sure you went to all of the hearings and you weren’t going to skip town. They wouldn’t do it if I didn’t suggest it.”
“Oh, so what does that mean, I have to stay in Thailand?”
I was relieved, that was clear but it didn’t last long. I had other things on my mind. I was thinking about the job that I was going to lose and what was going to happen when I got back home? What about Carol?
“What is wrong? I thought you would be elated?”
“I am. I really am. I can’t thank you enough, but I am already several days late for a new job. I just graduated and I got a killer paid internship with a huge company in New York. I don’t want to miss this opportunity.”
“Well I can give them a call and let them know that you are here stuck with legal troubles. You can always call them when you get out later. I am hoping to have you out a little afternoon. I know this is not the conclusion that we are looking for, but it’s something and I am going to take this as a good sign.”
“What about Carol? Will I be able to look for Carol? I think something happened to her and if I find her, everything is dropped, right?”
“Yes, but you have to understand that this is a dangerous place. I know that they have beautiful beaches and it’s great for traveling, but there is also an underside to Thailand that I think Carol might have gotten wrapped up into.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. There are just a lot of things about this place that I am sure a lady like you wouldn’t know about.”
“I am a big girl Sam. You can tell me what it is you are thinking about.”
“Her friend Rico could have sold her into the sex trade. She could be into drugs or something even worse. All I know is that there is a big market for American women. None of the reasons are really that good.”
I blanched and I almost wished that I hadn’t have asked him to elaborate. Here I was thinking that she was on a bender and I was going to find her cuddled up with Rico or maybe even another man. It didn’t even occur to me that something like that could have happened.
“I am not saying that is what happened, I am just saying that it could have happened.”
I shook my head, not sure what to say. I was no longer so relieved. I came here with Carol and I intended to bring her back with me.
“I guess I just never thought about that as a possibility. We just came here to do some swimming, see the sights. This has turned into one of the worst month of my life. I wish I had never come.”
“I can see that. I am sorry this has happened to you, but we are going to get you out of this and I am going to help you find your friend.”
He pushed his hand through the bars and I took the offered gesture. A shiver ran through me and I pulled away from the comfort. I didn’t feel eased, I felt electrified and I met his dark blue eyes, not sure what to do next.
“Thank you Sam.”
***
Getting out of there was the single best moment of my life so far. It was extra special because for a while there, I really thought that I was ever going to leave that horrible place. I knew that I wanted to, that I hadn’t done anything to be there, but I had heard about several people that had come to a country for tourism and were never able to leave. I didn’t want to be another statistic and I wanted to kiss the ground when I got out of there.
Sam smiled at me. “Happy to be out?”
“You have no idea.”
“I spent a few days in a cell before, but not in a place like this. This is no place for you.”
“I never thought I would want to go home so badly in my life.”
He chuckled and told me that he was going to take me to the hotel. All I could think about was taking a shower and washing some of the grime off of me. When we got to the car, he opened the door for me and showed me my clothes in the trunk. I had everything that I needed, now all I needed was a bed and some dinner and I would feel better than I had in a week.
Sam talked on the way to the hotel. I only started to pay attention when he told me that it was booked up and since I had to stay with him, we were going to have to share the suite together.
“Share the suite?”
“Yeah, I have the top floor suite at the LaMark. It only has one bed, but I am pretty sure the couch folds out into a bed. I can sleep there and you can have the master bedroom.”
“I don’t want to put you out.”
“Don’t worry about it. You are not, trust me. I am just happy that I could get you out of there. For a while I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to. The laws are very different here than back home.”
“Well now that I am out, we have to find Carol. That will get us home faster and I am sure you want to get out of here as well. Thailand isn’t so charming anymore and we are about to be here for Monsoon season.”
“Yes, I would like to get home soon, although I will not leave until you leave with me. I promise you that.”
I smiled at him and for some reason, even though I didn’t really know him, I believed what he told me. I wanted to believe it and the way he said it made me believe him. I didn’t say much as we made our way to the suite. I was more than a little concerned with how everything was going to work out, but when I got there, I no longer had any worries. The place was huge, more than enough room for the both of us.
“I am going to jump in the shower if you don’t mind.”
“Go ahead. You do whatever you need to, but can you please call Ashlyn first. She has been calling me nonstop and told me that she wasn’t going to stop until she talked to you.”
“That sounds like her. I will call her as I run some water.”
“I am going to order something for dinner or we can go out.”
I wasn’t feeling up to going out, so I just told Sam to order me whatever he wanted. I wasn’t very picky and after the food offered where I had been the last week or so, anything would be a step up. This must have been the nicest hotel around, which meant that they most likely had good food as well. This was my hope anyways.
I locked myself in the bathroom and started the water before I used his cell phone to call Ashlyn. I was happy to hear from her and I was still amazed that she had been able to help me so far away.
“Hey Ashlyn.”
“Meri! It is so good to hear your voice. I was worried about you. Sam hasn’t called me in hours.”
“Leaving the jail took some time. There was a lot of paperwork that had to be done before they would let me leave.”
“So you are out?”
“I am out in Sam’s custody. They took my passport, but Sam says that he is going to help me work it out. We have to find Carol so that they will drop the murder charges.”
“Murder charges?”
“Yeah, crazy right?”
We were quiet for a few seconds, both trying to figure out what to say.
“You didn’t have to do this Ashlyn, but I am so thankful that you did. I don’t think I would have been able to get out of this. I don’t think there is any way I could do it without Sam. He is great.”
Ashlyn agreed. “He really is the only one that I trust. He is crazy busy here, but he is a good friend.”
“He is also really cute, is he that kind of friend?”
“No, not like that. I introduced him to some people I know.”
“You should see this hotel suite we are staying in. It is like out of some movie or something. Way out of my league.”
“It doesn’t matter where we come from Meri. You know that.”
Ashlyn had come from nothing. When I met her for the first time, she had been as broke as I was, if not worse. Now she had made herself over and she was the perfect mentor. I was helped her with what I knew and Ashlyn was teaching me about the other side of life. I never thought I would need all of her training, but we had become fast friends.
“Well look, I hate to cut this short, but this bathtub is full and I haven’t had a decent bath in a week.”
“Okay Meri. Call me in the morning and we will go over the game plan. We are going to get you home.”
I thanked her again, still not sure how I was going to repay her. I moved into the water and moaned at the hot water encas
ing my body. This bath was almost worth all the money in the world at this particular moment. It was heavenly and I never wanted to leave.
Chapter 6
Sam
I started to get worried about my charge after an hour. The water had stopped running long ago, but the woman never reemerged. Dinner was here and it was one of those times when I ordered one of everything on the menu. I didn’t know what it was that she liked to eat and it just seemed like the safe way to go about it. It was all getting cold though, so I finally moved to the bathroom and knocked gently on the door.
There was no answer and I knocked a little louder, sure that she had heard me. I called out her name a couple of times. Finally I tried to the knob and it didn’t turn. I knocked louder and got even more anxious for a minute. I am not sure why, but I was really bothered by the idea that something had happened to her.
Finally I heard her call out. Her voice sounded sleepy and I felt relief flush over me. Why did I care so much? I don’t know why, but I knew that I had this strong sense of protection that I felt for her. I didn’t want anything to happen to her, no matter how far out of the way I had to go to make sure that happened.
“Sorry Sam. I can’t believe I went to sleep in there. I was just so tired and the water was so warm.”
She was casually talking to me as she moved to the bed where I had put her bags. She was rummaging through them, one hand holding up the towel while she dripped water on the plush carpet under her bare feet. She was a sight, a natural beauty and I had to kick myself for not seeing it before. Under all of that stress and dirt, Meri was absolutely breathtaking and my eyes took in the new woman in front of me.
“Are you okay?”
“Yea, I um, you look different.”
The woman giggled and I felt my face getting hot. Was it that clear that she had me all bound up and tongue-tied? I certainly didn’t like the idea of that.
“Well I feel like a human being again. I can only imagine what I looked like in jail. They don’t have any mirrors to worry about that kind of thing.”