by Simon Palmer
TWENTY-FOUR
NIGEL WOKE to the distinct smell of antiseptic. He was lying in a hospital bed next to his son.
“How are you feeling?”
Nigel frowned. “Is there only one damn hospital in Bangkok?”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m still alive.”
“I was wrong to involve you.”
“It was my choice to come here.”
“I want you to go home. I’ll fly out another guy.”
“You won’t, and we have a PI on the case now.”
“I know. I saw his name on your phone and called him. How much is he costing me?”
Nigel started to sit up.
“Take it easy. Tell me what’s going on.”
“All right I will. Harvey the PI is looking for a girl called Tee. She knows Mia, who set Mike up.”
“What about Puku? Who is she?”
“Puku is Mia’s sister.”
“So, we’ve got to find Tee to find Puku to find Mia. Let’s hope we don’t have to find anyone else.”
“You’re surprisingly sharp today, Stan.”
“Just trying to keep up. Why are you so tense?”
“You’re the one who was supposed to be doing all this running around, not me.”
“You can’t possibly make me feel any guiltier than I already do. I came here to bring Mike home. I speak to his mother every night and just want to give her some good news. She lies awake every morning waiting for my call. I’ve been here for over a week and I haven’t even seen Mike yet.”
“And whose fault is that?”
They were still bickering when Harvey walked in, smiled then faced Nigel. “How are you feeling?”
“I’ll be fine….Stan, this is Harvey. Harvey, Stan.”
“We spoke earlier,” Stan smiled.
“Where are we on finding the girls?” Nigel asked.
Harvey pulled up a chair. “I met with Tee and she’ll speak to Puku, who will speak to Mia.”
“Sounds complicated,” added Stan.
“Yes it is. According to Tee, Puku owed some money to a Japanese man called Nawirat. Puku went to Nincotte and they used Mia to set up Michael. As we know, Michael was refusing to pay, which left Puku out of pocket and in hiding. To cut a long story short, we’ve now paid off some of Puku’s debt, so hopefully she’ll come forward.”
The veins in Nigel’s forehead pulsed. “Did you say Mike was refusing to pay, meaning now he will pay? How would you know that?”
“I went to see him.”
“What possessed you to do that?”
Nigel turned to Stan. “Was that your idea?
Stan shook his head. Nigel glared at Harvey. “We didn’t ask you to do that.”
“Lighten up Dad. I’m sure he only had Mike’s best interests at heart.”
Harvey nodded a thank you, but still sat in front of Nigel, his demeanour that of a scolded school boy.
“How’s he doing?” Stan asked.
“Not so bad considering the circumstances, but he was concerned about his grandfather’s health.”
“You told him about that!” Nigel bellowed. “Don’t you think he’s under enough stress already?”
“I’m sorry. He asked why you weren’t there and it slipped out.”
“Dad. You’re forgetting that Mike has agreed to let us pay. I think Harvey’s done a bloody good job.”
“It’s not what Mike would have wanted, you know that,” said Nigel doggedly.
“What about his family?” Stan added. “What about his mum? She’s talking about coming here.”
“What do you want, Stan?” Nigel asked.
“I want Mike out, now, today. I don’t care how.” Stan turned to Harvey. “Do whatever you need to do to finish this and get him out.”
Harvey nodded. Nigel turned away.
“So what’s next?” Stan asked the PI.
“I have a meeting with Nincotte later today, but I can’t be sure how far along this has gone, or how he’ll react. I have no experience dealing with such people, but my contact at the station has confirmed that Nincotte could still make this all go away.”
Stan was hopeful. “That’s great, right Dad?”
“This could still work out for us,” Harvey added, “but I must warn you, the payment could be higher.”
“…Whatever it takes. In my briefcase under the bed is a hundred thousand in a jiffy bag. Take it all and settle this.”
Harvey slid out the case, opened it and took out the jiffy bag. He nodded his thanks to Stan then glanced over at Nigel for forgiveness. He didn’t get it.
“Well done, Harvey,” Stan smiled.
“Thank you. I’ll keep you both informed.”
TWENTY-FIVE
HARVEY AND BO arrived at an old police building off Makasan. “Not like it here - not like police.”
“I know you don’t. We won’t be here long.”
Arriving at Nincotte’s office, Harvey was shown in by an older lady as Bo hung around in the hall. He produced the jiffy bag of cash, opened it, pulled out a neat pile of thousands and laid it on the desk. “That’s a hundred thousand as we discussed.”
“I’m afraid it’s now a little bit more. A lot of paperwork has already been processed. We have substantial evidence against Michael Walker. It will be difficult to brush it all under the carpet.”
“How much will it take?”
“Two hundred thousand should cover it.”
“I get the money, you can guarantee his release?”
“You have my word.”
“When?”
“Soon. Give me your card and I’ll call you.”
Harvey handed him his card, then pointed at the cash. “You’ll take that as a down payment?”
“Alright, but please hurry with the rest.”
Nincotte stood, indicating that the meeting was over then saw Harvey out into the hall. His eyes met with Bo’s. She didn’t smile, neither did he and Harvey didn’t offer introductions. He took Bo by the arm and marched her out. She skipped alongside him to keep up. “Everything okay, boss?”
“We just made a payment on Michael’s freedom.”
“We did?”
“Yes. Keep walking.”
TWENTY-SIX
SOMEBODY WAS howling like a hungry hound in the room two doors down and it wasn’t helping with the tension between them. Nigel lifted up his blanket slightly and Stan’s nostrils started to twinge.
“That’s a bit fruity,” smelled Stan. He sat up, “Is this how it’s going to be now?”
“You were always for taking the easy way out.”
“No, Dad. Listen to me, this is Michael. I won’t take a chance on his life.”
“So Nincotte will continue to scam innocent guys coming into this country?”
“This is not our fight dad. It’s not our country.”
“You’re making decisions again without my say-so, Stan. And Harvey….don’t get me started on him.”
“He was only doing what he thought was right. You should have done the same when you arrived. Why did you give him a choice?”
“At least I made it to see him. I wasn’t blind drunk, then hit by a Tic Tac.”
Nigel struggled out of bed and began to dress.
“Where are you going?”
“I have an appointment with Pamon.”
“Who’s Pamon?”
“The lawyer, Stan. Try to keep up.”
“You can’t leave.”
Nigel gave Stan a sideways look as he strapped on his watch. “The case is over, isn’t it?”
“You can’t just walk out, not like this. What are you so mad about?”
“Mike stood by his principles and is doing time to prove a point - yet you just pay his way out.”
“This is not about what is right and wrong. This is family, and I have failed him by being stuck in here.”
“You’ve failed him, not me.”
“Thank you for reminding me.”
“Hav
e you done anything remotely useful Stan, since you’ve been here?”
“I’ve been keeping our ladies informed.”
“That’s something.” Nigel frowned.
“I want to make this right, whatever the cost.”
“You do, do you?”
“I thought you of all people would understand.”
“You do whatever you have to Stan, you always did and you always will.”
Nigel was on the point of storming out when Stan blocked his path with a crutch.
“Wait a minute, will you? At least have a doctor give you the all clear.”
“I’m fine.”
Stan’s phone vibrated. He took it out and read a text. “Harvey’s on his way. He said it all went to plan. Don’t you want to speak to him?”
Nigel shook his head, kicked away the crutch and strolled out of the door.