Unseen by the three in the car, from behind the truck a bedraggled figure appeared. Leaving the car, frustrated with the holdup, he had run around the corner and now he watched, panting, as the car containing Leo, Allissa and Tau pulled away and disappeared through the sheets of rain.
Chapter 81
Mya stands and heads towards the bar. The Goan sun has almost sunk now below the murmuring ocean. Lights start to twinkle in the restaurants and bars along the wide strip of sand.
As she passes, the eyes of two men drinking at another table follow her figure.
Leo has been walking for five minutes. How could she do this to him? It’s his job, she can’t expect him just to leave. That’s a big decision. Jobs are important. Money makes the world go around.
Hearing the comments turn in his mind, Leo suddenly doesn’t recognise them as his own.
These are the attitudes that, he realises all at once, have kept him trapped for years in a job that isn’t going anywhere. And here he is, punishing the person, angry with the person, who is trying to show him the breadth of the world.
Stopping, bare feet sinking into wet sand, Leo looks around. Yes, work is important, but the woman he loves and the moments they share exploring the world – they’re more important. So what if he pisses off a couple of guys in a dusty newspaper office on the other side of the world? He has everything he needs right here.
Smiling to himself, the anger gone out with the sweep of a wave, Leo turns and begins to walk back. As he does, he notices how the warm surf washes over his feet in its endless cycle. He knows the smile Mya will give him when she sees him, a knowing beam which says, welcome back, I’m glad you’ve decided to agree with me.
Leo lifts his eyes towards the chairs spread out on the sand and looks for Mya’s outline. He can’t see her. Where is she? Getting closer, the place they’d been sitting comes into view. He can picture her there, but she isn’t. It’s their table, his shoes beneath his chair, his half-finished beer.
Scanning the restaurant, he sees her sitting on a table talking to two guys. She leans backwards slightly and pulls on a fresh bottle of beer. Jealousy rises again. Assert yourself, go and get her. But he doesn’t. He sits, sips his own warm beer, and watches the wrestling ocean.
Chapter 82
Leo and Allissa slept especially well. Entering their top floor rooms, they’d fallen straight into the dreamlessness of necessity after two virtually sleepless days. The rooms were basic, but all they needed.
They’d been reassured that Tau had used the hotel many times and knew the owner. He’d greeted them in the foyer with a wide smile and promises of discretion, happy to fill three empty rooms. Leo paid in cash and everything remained out of the official records. This gave them the comfort to get the sleep they needed while the storm wreaked havoc.
Looking out of the fifth-floor window that morning, the storm subsiding with the coming of day, the city looked fresh and clean. The dust had been stripped from the buildings and the thick, congealing clouds had cleared, leaving a sky of blameless blue with high strips of candyfloss white. Down at street level, the plague of dust had been purged by the torrents of water, and now lay in dunes along the swollen drainage channels.
The bright cityscape impressed itself upon Leo as he stood at the window of his hotel room. It was the first time he’d seen anything he liked about Kathmandu. The monotone grey was gone, and in its place a bright, colourful skyline. His eyes were drawn to a flag, a pinch of colour on the roof just below the level of his window. Bright red, being pulled against its pole in the wind which had cleared the storm. Then he noticed another two on the buildings behind, yellow and white. Two more on a building to the right, blue and red. The more he looked the more he saw, stark and honest and bright under the freshly rediscovered dome of blue sky. He strained his eyes to focus on the furthest flag he could, a hint of light blue, a sparkle in the distance. Then he looked up towards the streak of clouds across the horizon. Slowly, they came into focus. They weren’t clouds at all, but the snow-covered crowns of the Himalayas, dwarfing the lives of the three million people with their ancient shoulders. It was the first time Leo had seen mountains of that size, especially rearing above the city sprawl.
For centuries the city existed because of the mountains, because people from those mountains needed somewhere to work, or live, or trade. Many people came to the city because they wanted to, but some visited because they had to, because they were forced to and now they had nowhere else to go. Like the women Allissa helped. Women who had been lied to, cheated and imprisoned, to whom Allissa was bringing hope. He and Allissa had talked about how the government and police were trying to stop the people who brought them into the cities with the promise of great jobs and riches. Promises which disappeared when they arrived to a life of inescapable servitude.
That’s when the idea struck him. How they could blow this wide open and make sure the men at the restaurant never hurt anyone again.
* * *
Leo, Allissa and Tau met for breakfast on the patio behind the building. It was quiet away from the throbbing road and the clear sky bathed them in previously unknown warmth.
“I know how we can sort this,” Leo said, explaining his plan as the others finished their coffee.
“It will be dangerous,” Allissa said when Leo had finished. “Particularly for you.” She looked at Tau, who had sat relaxed throughout.
“Those men are evil, right?” Tau said.
“Yeah,” Leo agreed. “They’re killers.”
“Then this is my opportunity to do something good,” Tau said, taking a deep breath and letting it go slowly. “In a way, I’ve been waiting a long time for this. People have done good things for me, this could be my way to give back.”
Leo looked at Tau and realised, although he completely trusted the man, he knew very little about him. When this was over, Leo promised himself, he would get to know Tau better before they parted.
“How do you feel about involving the girls at the guesthouse?” Tau asked Allissa.
“Chimini and Fuli? Not great.”
“Do you think they’ll do it?”
“Yes. That’s the problem, they trust me, so they’ll do anything I ask. But I’m not sure it’ll be good for them. Particularly Fuli.”
“They’ll be helping bring some bad people to justice, hopefully,” Leo said. “And they won’t come to any harm, we will make sure of that.”
Allissa smiled weakly.
“No harm will come to either of them,” Tau said. “That I can guarantee you.”
“What about my dad?” Allissa asked.
“He’s no doubt got people coming after us,” Leo said, looking at Allissa. “Once we’ve made sure those men have paid properly, I say we get out of this city.”
Something in Allissa’s eyes flickered. She looked thoughtfully to Tau as though seeking another opinion.
Hearing a voice, all three turned. The hotel owner stood nearby, his eyebrows knitted together in anxiety.
“A man has been asking for you. He has a picture of you.” He pointed to Allissa. “I said I have never seen you and he left. But this must not be good news. There is someone looking for you.”
The three looked at each other.
“He’s obviously just going around hotels asking,” Leo reassured. “If he knew we were here he wouldn’t be asking, he’d just have come in.”
“He left this,” the hotelier said, handing Tau a business card on which a phone number was scrawled.
“How much was he offering?” Leo asked.
“Fifty dollars.”
“Cheapskate!” Leo said, “I’ll give you twice that for not saying anything.”
The owner looked towards him urgently.
“You are my guests and my friends, I would never betray your trust like that.”
“Of course, I didn’t mean…”
“He didn’t mean that,” said Tau. “He would like to give you one hundred dollars to pay for two more n
ights though.”
Leo didn’t argue as the bulky hotelier shuffled away happily.
“This makes things a little easier,” Allissa said, reaching over and taking the card from Tau. “We can just invite him along to our little gathering later.”
The three smiled to each other.
“We need to make sure he’s not watching the hotel, though,” Tau said, lifting himself from the chair. “I’ll check the road. You two stay inside until I’m back. He won’t know who I am.”
Leo and Allissa shuffled their chairs to face the door Tau was now jogging towards. Both sat straighter with the mention of someone looking for them.
As Tau disappeared inside, Leo listened to the drone of the traffic. You could find places where the noise was dulled, but it was always present. The intensity of the dust and pollution in the air had subsided with the storm, though.
“How long have you been having panic attacks?” Allissa said.
Leo, surprised by the question, looked directly at her. Allissa squinted slightly in the bright sunshine.
“Panic attacks? Nah, it’s nothing, honestly,” he said, belittling the thought with a flick of his hand.
“It didn’t seem like nothing. You were in a pretty bad way.”
“Well, yeah, we had been through a pretty horrible experience.”
“I know, but that wasn’t the first panic attack you’ve had, was it?”
“No…” Leo said, looking down at his empty coffee cup.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about.”
“I suppose, but…”
“It’s not at all.” Allissa looked directly at him. “You’re not letting it stop you do things, and that’s great.”
“It’s annoying though.” Leo thought of all the times he’d refused to go out with friends because of the embarrassment he would feel should one come at that time.
“A couple of years ago,” he continued, “I thought I’d got rid of them completely. Then when Mya… you know… they came back.”
“You just need to know how to cope with them,” Allissa said, her warm smile more supportive than her words could ever be. “You need to know that you will survive and that they don’t make you any less strong.”
Leo looked up at her.
“When the time comes,” Allissa said, putting a hand on his arm, “I’d trust you to do the right thing. That’s what counts.”
Chapter 83
I’ll arrange for her to be taken there, yes.
The voice of Stockwell played again on the ear piece Green wore in the restaurant of his hotel. Breakfast was being cleared from the tables in the grand dining room by men in red jackets.
Having heard the recording dozens of times, Green felt he knew it word for word. It was the closest he’d come to actually speaking with Stockwell, to finding out directly what was going on. He listened again now that he was in Kathmandu to see if it held any more meaning, to see if anything clicked into place for him.
It didn’t seem to. He still didn’t know where Stockwell was arranging for Allissa to be taken, and who was doing it for him, or if it had already happened.
Green rubbed his eyes and finished the small cup of coffee before asking a passing waiter to refill it. More than one cup would be needed today, the sleep of the night before being measured in minutes rather than hours.
Arriving late last night to his luxurious hotel, Green had met with his team so that they could get started first thing this morning. The men, having been sorted for him by a contact, were mostly taxi drivers, but for a reasonable fee they would be his eyes and ears around the city. All spoke relatively good English, but by the time he had briefed them and checked they understood, it was very late indeed.
Green looked down at his phone. No word yet. Each had been told to contact him if they saw or heard anything that might be useful.
“Yes, she’s already in Kathmandu,” the recording said.
But where was she in Kathmandu? That’s what Green needed to know. And soon. He didn’t have much time. She didn’t have much time.
Scrolling through his phone, Green brought up the picture of the Stockwell family. In the picture, Allissa looked off to the right of the frame. Where are you? Green thought, and what do you know?
It’ll be tonight or tomorrow, you need to look out for her, Stockwell’s voice again.
This case was so close to being tied up, Green knew it. He had almost everything he needed. He just needed to find Allissa before her father did.
I need to know you’ll do everything, there can’t be any loose ends.
Again, Green winced at the nonchalance.
No loose ends.
Chapter 84
Dusk was falling as Tau and Fuli walked beneath the swinging bare bulb. Tau, trying to look like a tourist, carried a bag which Fuli and Chimini had brought from the guesthouse.
Finding the restaurant again had been a miracle. Leo and Allissa were sure they would be able to if they came from the bar with the Chinese lanterns, despite the fact it was dark when they made the journey last time. Unreassuringly, they couldn’t agree all afternoon as to whether it was left, left and left again, or left, left, right. Somehow though, with minimal wrong turns, they made it.
Fuli kept three paces behind Tau, making no attempts to disguise the fact she didn’t want to be there. She was doing this for Allissa.
Initially they’d discussed Tau going alone, but decided that was too dangerous. There needed to be someone else there just in case. At least someone who could run for help if needed.
It would also look more natural if Tau was with someone. Although tourists often travelled to Kathmandu alone, they would eat and drink in groups, exchanging tales of misadventure over food and beer. And it was to be Fuli’s testimony that would seal the fate of the men, so a good description of them and the restaurant was essential.
Despite the descending dusk outside, Tau’s eyes needed to adjust as he pushed open the dark, blistered door. Looking around, the restaurant was as Leo had described it, like some forgotten underground cave.
Noticing Tau and Fuli enter, a waiter crossed and greeted them in English and Nepalese. Tau caught his gaze for a moment and felt himself shudder. This man was a murderer. Although none of the violence could be seen behind the oily smile and quiet, efficient manner.
Without breaking his gaze, the waiter indicated a table and slid off to take an order.
Positioning himself on one side of the cramped table, Tau noticed how busy the restaurant was. It was impressive that so many people could be seated in such a small space. They lounged on stools, which the locals made look comfortable and the Europeans struggled with, stooping at odd angles with cumbersome knees. At the small table, Tau and Fuli sat awkwardly close. Twice Tau tried to start a conversation to reassure Fuli and twice she ignored him.
It didn’t matter to Tau, he wasn’t there for the conversation. There was a job to do and seeing the size of the place, he realised it wasn’t going to be an easy one. He needed to move without being seen in the small restaurant. Timing would be everything.
Watching the waiter slither from one group of tourists to another, Tau couldn’t stop thinking of the expression on the waiter’s face as they’d entered the restaurant. The unblinking, watery eyes of a killer. A killer they were going to bring to justice. Without thinking, Tau slid the bag from his back and positioned it between his legs under the table. They would wait for the right moment and get out as soon as they could.
Leo and Allissa waited outside; they couldn’t risk being seen by the men. Allissa had suggested that she and Leo go in, on account that the waiters probably wouldn’t try anything when the restaurant was open. Tau and Leo thought it was a risk they couldn’t take. As such, the pair stood in a shaded doorway less than thirty metres from the restaurant’s unassuming entrance. The passage was narrow, but the inset doorway concealed them if they stood with their backs to the wall. If they were needed, they could be there in seconds.
Above the door, the bare bulb swung gently on its wire, moths gathering with the faltering daylight.
The restaurant being busy was fortunate, Tau thought, looking around. There was less chance of the men seeing him if they were talking to customers.
One of the waiters, the one who had welcomed them, was taking an order from a group of tourists at the back of the room. His already curt service was turning to irritation with constant questions. Tau knew he needed to wait for the right moment, when both waiters were in the restaurant, absorbed in serving the customers. Leo had said there were two, and Tau hoped he was right.
Tau shuffled the bag beneath the table. He needed to leave it somewhere customers wouldn’t go, and his best bet was the kitchen. If it were left in the dining room the men could just blame it on a customer. Its contents would corroborate the testimony Fuli was going to give and provide enough evidence for police to look very closely at the restaurant.
Appearing from the kitchen, the other waiter walked into the restaurant. Tau noticed instantly how alike they looked – they must be brothers. He carried two long metal bowls of steaming, sizzling meat. It looked juicy and delicious. Tau, gripping the bag, realised this might be his opportunity. It was the only plan they had. It had to work.
Making like he was heading for the toilet, through the door in the corner, Tau paused as he passed the kitchen door. For a second, he turned to see where the two men were. Leo and Allissa had assured him no one else worked in the restaurant. He was prepared to feign being lost if they were wrong.
Looking back across the bustling room, the larger of the two men continued to take orders, his back to the kitchen. He poked violently at a menu whilst explaining something in three-word English. The other rounded the final corner with the two trays of steaming meat, his back to the door of the kitchen.
Now!
Tau pushed open the door, knowing any sound would be hidden in the noisy room.
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