by Ben Ezzell
11:39 PM
“Sawat dii, kahp. Kun Bren,” Tahm opened the gate. “Where Kun Jeffery?”
“I don’t know!” Bren growled. “And I don’t care. He can go to hell!”
“Is problem, mai kahp?”
“Problem? You think you know someone … I’m sorry, Tahm. Not your problem. Look, can you do something for me …”
Thursday, February 8th, 12:23 AM
“Did you carve this, Tahm? It’s very beautiful. I’m sorry … that someone broke it.”
“Mai pen rhy, Kun Sarah. Saabai dee mai, kahp? You not sleep?”
“I was,” she shrugged. “Then I woke up. Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“Not disturb,” Tahm assured her. “You like eat something? You like drink?”
“Some water would be nice but I can find it. Would … would you mind if I watched?”
“Not mind, very nice company.”
“Ah, thank you. I think you’re nice company too.” And he was, she thought, watching his careful, assured movements as he built a frame from bamboo, fitting the pieces around the statue. A few years younger maybe but did that matter? She’d always liked artists – good artists, anyway and there was no doubt about Tahm’s abilities.
“Wood very hard,” Tahm explained. “Clamp pieces very tight. Mend so mark not show, kahp. Just little glue. Leave until tomorrow. Then take loose.”
“You can hardly see it now,” Sarah peered over his shoulder.
“Not see at all when finish,” Tahm assured her. “Fix box for Kun Sarah too. Not see damage when finish.”
“You’re very good at making, things aren’t you, Tahm – that means ‘make’, yes?”
“Kahp, tahm mean make. Tahm tahm dee mak,” he grinned. “Make very good. Fix anything. Fix plumbing, fix electric, fix roof,” he shrugged. “Something break, Tahm fix.”
“Kun Tahm? Hello?” The call was faint and came from outside.
“Someone need come in,” Tahm suggested. “Must open gate.”
“I can do that,” Sarah offered. “You fix the statue, okay?” She took the key lying on the table and stepped out in the night.
Kun Sarah smell very nice, Tam thought. Very pretty, very nice. He added two more wedges to hold the head solidly against the shoulders, tapping them in softly with a block of wood.
12:47 AM
“Kun Tahm?”
“No, it’s Sarah. Is that you Jeffery? Where’s Bren?”
“I don’t know,” Jeffery’s answer was sour. “Can you let me in?”
“Sure,” she fitted the key in the padlock. “Is something wrong?”
“Wrong? What could be wrong? Here we are, the first real vacation we’ve had in years … Never mind! I’m going to bed. If you see Bren, you can tell him I’m asleep!” Jeffery wobbled slightly as he passed.
1:15 AM
“It looks so Rube Goldberg,” Sarah giggled softly.
“What Rube Goldberg?” Tahm asked.
“So very complicated,” Sarah touched the bamboo framework. “But this will hold it?”
“Will hold tight,” Tahm agreed. “Let glue set good. Who come in?”
“Jeffery – Jeffery Watts,” Sarah reported a little absently. “I think he and Bren had a fight.”
“Kahp,” Tahm agreed, checking the wedges to be sure that all of them were firm.
Tahm’s muscles moved so smoothly, Sarah thought. He really was attractive. “You do a lot of carving?” she asked, trying to distract herself. Would he be as good in bed, she wondered, as he was at carving?
“Carve many thing,” Tahm agreed, finally satisfied with his bracing. “Here, I show,” he pulled a box out of the corner, opening it and producing a figurine.
Unlike the statue, this one was twelve inches tall, jointed and dressed in a multi-colored costume.
“It’s a puppet,” Sarah exclaimed. “It’s beautiful.” She ran a gentle finger across the elaborately carved figure, feeling the gold leaf filigree on the intricately peaked headpiece. “The costume, that’s silk isn’t it? And so fine. I haven’t seen anything like this in the market. It must have taken you a long time to make this. Do you sell these?”
“Please,” Tahm asked. “You take please? For friend?”
“Me? I … I couldn’t. It’s too beautiful.”
“Make for fun,” Tahm explained. “Not sell. I like if you have. Then you remember Tahm, kahp?”
“I …”
“Please? For Tahm?”
“I … Thank you … Oh, I’m not suppose to say that, am I? But …”
“Mai pen rhy. You keep, mai kahp?”
They were both quiet for several minutes, Sarah admiring both the doll and the maker, Tahm admiring the girl.
Finally, Sarah broke the silence. “Would you mind if I kissed you?”
“Tahm not know how kiss,” he admitted, blushing. “See in many movie but not Thai custom.”
“I could teach you,” Sarah offered. “If you’d like.” She felt herself blushing. “Maybe we could go outside,” she suggested quickly. “On the lanai. And you could tell me about Thailand, ka?”
1:36 AM
“The first thing you do,” she suggested, lifting his arms and pulling them toward her, admiring the smooth muscles, “is put your arms around me. Like this.”
“Kahp,” Tahm agreed. “Know this part.”
“Yes, you certainly do,” she agreed a moment later. “Very well too. But now we do this…”
1:52 AM
“Very late,” Tahm suggested, feeling uncomfortably tight in wrong place but very reluctant to interrupt lesson. Kissing was strange ... but very nice. Sarah strange … but very nice. "I need to wake Khun soon.”
“Yes, I think you should wake Khun,” Sarah agreed, pulling away slightly … but only slightly. “I think time to go to bed. My bed. You wake Khun, then you come up quietly, ka?” Yes, she did have condoms, she thought quickly, blessing her Mother’s practical training.
“Kahp,” Tahm breathed heavily. “Kahp, I wake Kun Khun soon.”
Kun Terry keep Trojans in desk, Tahm thought. Say Trojans for guests. Sarah guest, kahp! He get Trojans first, then wake Khun.
DragonTree.com Contents
Chapter Seventeen:
Chapter Seventeen:
Baan Orchid, Thursday, February 8th, 5:11 AM
“Mai, not good stay Baan Orchid. I think one day maybe but two not good,” Khun kept his voice low but spoke with emphasis, his hand cupped around the phone. “Address you give Saanpa Surat Thani not exist. What if Saanpa come back?”
“Gardener not have money return. Farahng pay good money you stay,” Baw insisted. “He think maybe in safe. In office, mai krahp?”
“No way to open safe,” Khun protested. “Need combination, not have. Kun Terry have combination, not let anyone in office while open safe.”
“He say if not open safe, not pay.”
“Tell stupid farahng go Myanmar, find Karen rebel, buy bomb, blow safe open, krahp.” Khun growled. “I leave tonight. Let farahng …”
“Mai krahp!” Baw interrupted. “I know how to do. You stay Baan Orchid, work as gardener tomorrow. Then, tomorrow night…”
8:43 AM
“Good morning everybody,” Joan greeted those seated on the lanai. “Did everyone sleep well? Isn’t it a beautiful morning?” She burbled along, diplomatically ignoring two blushes among those assembled. She also ignored two silences seated at opposite sides and opposite ends of the table. “Well, we certainly had an interesting evening. Didn’t we, Rosalyn? Or has Rosalyn told you already?”
“I certainly have not,” Rosalyn assured her. “Bob was just telling us about his camera.”
“Then you found the right one?”
“Found exactly the right one,” Bob summarized. “The one they stole. The guy who tried to sell it to me had gotten it from someone else, naturally, but – now that I’ve given them a lead – the police say they may be able to find the other things that were taken.
No guarantees, of course, but they may get part of it back.”
“Last night,” Rosalyn amplified, “Bob hired an off-duty policeman as an escort before he went shopping for cameras. And he was very persistent about what kind of camera he wanted. So, when a vendor said he could supply one, it still had the tape cartridge with the video Bob shot here the other day.”
“And,” Bob confirmed, “when I identified the camera, the policeman arrested the vendor. And I think he’ll talk. So, maybe they can find some of the other stolen goods. Very simple, really.” He shrugged in dismissal.
“You realize,” Nolan offered, “that the odds of recovering stolen goods are … well, about even with the chances of it snowing this afternoon. My hat – if I had a hat,” he passed a hand across his hair, “would be off to you,” he finished with a sketchy bow.
“Hear, hear,” Greg raised his cup in salute. “Now, if you could find my shoes…” he let the suggestion trail off absently.
“I suppose,” Joan considered, “a bloodhound would be difficult to arrange? For your shoes, I mean. To identify them? Well, impractical anyway. But did we tell you? Rosalyn and I had an adventure too,” Joan winked at Tanya before favoring Sarah with a curious expression. “We did a little shopping, of course, and then we stopped at this nice little place for a margarita before coming home. They do a very nice lime margarita here, you know? And while we were having drinks, the nicest man came over to talk to us. I think it was Rosalyn who attracted him, of course,” she twinkled.
“Nothing of the sort,” Rosalyn protested, squeezing her husband’s hand. “He was a con artist, pure and simple.”
“Of course he was,” Joan agreed. “But he was charming. Anyway, we talked a while and he mentioned a few places we should see – and Wat U Mong does sound lovely, we’ll have to go there, it’s right outside the city to the west – and then we were talking about gemstones. Because of my ring, you know?” she held out her hand to show the sapphire ring she wore. “You do know they mine gems here, don’t you? Well,” she continued, not waiting for a response, “it just happened – not exactly a coincidence, you understand – that this nice gentleman knew someone who had some very nice gemstones for sale. Sapphires, as a matter of fact. And he even knew a way we could get them out of the country without having to pay taxes or import fees. For the United States, you understand?” Joan looked around to make sure it was clear.
“However, I want you to know dears, my dear James taught me everything there is about sapphires and there is no way I would pay such an inflated price for stones like those. And if there’s any smuggling to be done, I’ll certainly make my own arrangements, thank you very much,” Joan added with firm punctuation.
“Not that I’d mind buying a few good stones,” she resumed, “Some very good stones come from Thailand, don’t you know – but these weren’t even polished right. The stars were murky, the color wasn’t that good and a couple were seriously flawed. I guess some people think that a poor tourist will buy anything. Not me. I demanded they show me some real stones – at least twenty or thirty carets and real color, not those junk stones – and you know they had only a couple that were even worth looking at?”
“They certainly weren’t very pretty,” Rosalyn agreed.
“And the prices they had the nerve to ask! Now haggling I understand – you don’t spend twenty years married to a jeweler and dealing with the Jewish Mafia and not know haggling – oh, dear, none of you are Jewish, I hope? I mean, that’s just kind of a joke term – they aren’t really Mafia or anything – mostly they’re orthodox and reform but a lot of them wear those silly black clothes and have those curly ear-locks hanging down – the gem dealers in New York, understand? – but talk about haggling over prices... Anyway, I said I’d rather they didn’t waste my time with junk like that and I was sure I could find some much better stones without any trouble at all and they do mine them up here in the north, don’t they? Or is that emeralds? Out of Burma, I mean?
“Oh, dear, how silly of me. It really doesn’t matter where they’re mined anyway. But I would like to look at a few good stones – not that tourist junk – not that I really need any but I was so fond of James and sapphires always remind me of him. He really had a thing for sapphires. Didn’t really like diamonds – said they were dull – just shiny glitter but sapphires and emeralds had fire. Like this one,” she held out her hand again, turning it to let the large sapphire flash in the morning sun. “For our wedding,” she continued. “It had to be matched sapphires. So much nicer, don’t you think?”
“Kao jai sapphire, ka,” Mam’s forehead wrinkled, “sapphire dee mak. Many Thai sell sapphire, ruby, ka. You wish go Mai Sai buy stone? But think good be very careful,” she cautioned. “Many farang buy many bad stone, loose much money. Mai dee mak, ka!”
9:40 AM
“Time for school,” Nolan announced. “If everyone is ready?”
“Since I’m not really a cook,” Joan suggested, “I think I’ll sit this one out. Terry has been telling me where I can find some legitimate gem dealers. I was thinking … well, it couldn’t hurt to look, could it?”
“Have fun,” Nolan grinned. “Our school bus awaits,” he nodded toward the van.
11:15 AM
“Kun Joan? You have minute?” Tam was standing in the doorway, blinking to adapt his eyes from the bright sun outside.
She looked at him for a long moment before speaking, not unkindly but rather as if she were examining something she was considering buying. A gemstone perhaps. “Of course, Tahm. What is it? Please, come in.”
“You look at something? Tell me if important?” Tahm held out two folded pieces of paper.
“Of course,” Joan opened the first sheet. “What … Where did you get these? I … There was a time I wondered but … Tahm, have you shown these to anyone? Anyone at all?”
“No,” Tahm admitted. “Just find. Take everyone else to cook school. Come back, think good time repair box for Kun Sarah. Part not broken but not open. I think there more because see other box like this at market. I cut very careful where glue not proper, then open. Find these. Kun Sarah not here, I ask you. This important, mai kahp?”
“I think so,” Joan admitted, carefully unfolding the second sheet. “Oh my,” she breathed a moment later. “I don’t know … but this could explain a lot. Tahm, would you not say anything to anyone about this? Not for a while anyway?”
“Not tell Kun Sarah?”
“Especially not tell Kun Sarah,” Joan nodded. “Not for a while. Later, you can tell Kun Sarah. Later,” she smiled, “I suspect you can tell Kun Sarah a whole lot.”
“If you sure,” he sounded doubtful.
“Very sure,” Joan smiled. “Very, very sure. You won’t say anything?”
“Tahm not say, kahp!” he agreed. “But you tell me, kahp?”
“Definitely,” Joan agreed. “Now, just let me go upstairs and get something and then I need you to drive me to … oh, dear. Do you know where I can find a fax machine? And a copier?”
Moon Kao Travel Agency, Chiang Mai, 11:44 AM
“Do you know what time it is?” a very sleepy voice answered the telephone.
“Around two A.M., Daniel – why else would I call you at home? Now, is that any way to greet an old friend?”
“Joan? Joan Maguire? I thought you were on vacation. Where are you?”
“I am, dear. Chiang Mai – that’s in Thailand, you know.”
“Thailand? Don’t tell me you’re in trouble? All right, hold on, let me get my glasses ... No, I don’t know, honey. It’s Joan Maguire. She’s calling from Thailand.”
“Tell Evelyn I’ve found the loveliest silks,” Joan suggested. “And I’ll bring her some. With butterflies.”
“With butterflies,” Daniel repeated. “What do butterflies have to do with anything?”
“Don’t be silly,” Joan responded. “The butterflies are on the silk scarves. You’ll like them. But that has nothing to do with why I called you. Do wake
up and listen, Daniel.”
“I’m listening, I’m listening. Suppose you tell me what you need? You say you aren’t in trouble?”
“Well, they did steal my luggage,” Joan admitted. “But that was days ago. And the het mao was interesting really. But I’ll tell you about that another time. Now don’t distract me, Daniel – this is important. Besides, it’s all in the fax I sent you. And I know you can’t read my handwriting so I found a very nice secretarial service and they typed it all out for you. They did spell a few things a little oddly but the important parts are there … Sorry?”
“I said ‘what fax’?,” Daniel repeated.
“Why the fax in your office, of course. You don’t keep the fax machine in your bedroom, do you? That would be silly, wouldn’t it? Now just listen, Daniel. Everything’s in the fax but I want you to call me just as soon as you find out anything. And the phone number’s in the fax, of course. I’m staying at Baan Orchid but I wrote you that part too. You will call now, won’t you? No matter what time it is?”
“Certainly,” Daniel agreed, perhaps with a note of malicious anticipation in his voice. “Can this wait until morning?”
“Of course it can,” Joan agreed. “You couldn’t do anything about it before then now, could you? But I want you to get on it first thing. It’s important. You’ll do that?”
“Can I go back to bed then? Until morning?”
“Well, of course you can. And say good night to Evelyn for me. And don’t forget to tell her about the scarves now. Sawat dii, ka.” Joan broke the connection.
“You call two minute,” the girl behind the counter reached for a calculator. “And six minute for fax.”
Tha Phae Gate, Old City, 11:57 AM
“What do now, Kun Joan?” Tahm asked.
“Now,” Joan decided, “we geen kow, ka? Get lunch? And I want you to tell me, you like Sarah, yes?”
Baan Orchid, 12:10 PM
“Kun Terry, Kun Mam, sawat dii krahp,” the Inspector wai’d. “Sorry, I not mean to interrupt, krahp.”