Their relationship had been going on for the last three months. Usually they met on the beach and made love in his boat. Brad had been to her apartment a few times, but she had never been to his place. Sarah just assumed that it was because he felt that he could never compete with her living accommodation. If they wanted to get together they would phone each other and arrange it, but it was not an everyday thing. Well, not any more. They both had their own lives to be getting on with and, although they liked each other, it was not love.
Sarah embraced life and lived it to the full. She had made many friends in Patong and always had time to chat to people. She loved the feeling of belonging here and everyone knew her name. The locals would shout out her name, which they pronounced as ‘S-e-ll-a-h’, and would wave to her as she went past on her motorbike, smiling and waving back to them. At night time, when the bars came alive with bright lights, loud music and smiling bar girls, she would be around the bars and the nightclubs. Her favourites were ‘Banana Disco’ on the beachfront, ‘Tai Pan’ opposite the top end of Bangla Road and ‘Safari Beach’ just out of the town. This place did not even open until 2:00am and she could dance there until 7:00am.
Chi finished the rice and jumped up onto Sarah’s lap. She liked being tickled under her chin as she was stroked.
“Do you want to come out with me today, baby? I’m going down to the beach to see Brad and I’ve got to go buy some more milk. I’ve got to try and get my bloody camera fixed and then we can go and get something to eat and do some people watching. What do you think?”
Sarah often talked to the dog. Chi cocked her head to one side and yapped.
“Come on then.” Sarah put Chi onto the floor and walked back inside the apartment and through into the bedroom. She pulled off her kimono and tossed it onto the bed and walked into the walk-in shower in the en-suite. Chi followed her in and enjoyed the cool water as Sarah showered.
Chapter 2 Sarah Appleby. Tuesday Daytime
Sarah left the apartment feeling refreshed and looking stunning, as usual. She did not wear make-up during the day time, just a touch of lip gloss. She had put on her favourite pink tee-shirt with the words ‘Boys Toy’ in silver sequins written across the chest and she had also pulled on her tight white hot pants and white Nike trainers. She carried Chi in the beach bag hung over her shoulder. Chi stood on her hind legs so she could peek out of the top of the bag.
The front door of Sarah’s apartment led out onto a small hallway that was only shared with the next door neighbour. The hallway could not have been more than 8ft square. To the left there was a small table with a plant on it. Opposite was the neighbour’s door and to the right were the stairs and the lift doors. Sarah always skipped down the stairs of the four floors to the bottom. She only ever used the lift to come up. Once outside she tucked the beach bag into the basket on the front of her motorbike, which already held her pink crash helmet.
She rarely ever wore it, only if she ever saw a police checkup ahead and they always seemed to do those on a Thursday. Today was Tuesday, so the chances of being stopped were slim.
Sarah drove out of the apartment complex. Although it was only a short distance to the beach front, the one way system meant that she had to drive in a big circle along Rat-U-Thit Road and Beach Road to get to the beach front. She waved to a few of the shop keepers and bar owners who called out to her as she drove past. The roads were always busy, night and day, with motorbikes, tuk-tuks and cars. Every road was lined with hundreds of parked motorbikes. The smell of cooking food filled the air as road side vendors eked out a living cooking and selling everything from chicken and fish, bananas and corn cobs to insects, scorpions, bugs and frogs; all served with sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves. Tourists packed the pavements, haggling with shop keepers and buying copy clothing and DVD’s. There was something about Patong that Sarah found intoxicating and compelling. Nothing was surprising here and everything was accepted as normal.
Nobody paid any attention to the 70 year old man with only one leg, in a wheelchair being pushed along by a beautiful 20 year old Thai girl, who would occasionally lean over and kiss his bald head or hold his hand. For the next week or two at least she was his girlfriend. So what!
Sarah managed to find a tiny gap to park her bike in the shade of a palm tree at the north end of the beach. Brad usually worked from the north end and, as she pulled her beach bag from the basket, she could see Brad’s boat floating just out from the water’s edge.
The pavement was taken up with locals sheltering in the shade of the palm trees. Thin plastic mattresses were laid out for beachside massages. The man who hired out the beach lounges, the food sellers, the cold drinks man and the old lady, who sells fresh cut fruit, were all resting in the shade, taking a break from the relentless sun. Only the farangs (foreigners) lay out in the sun. She put Chi on the ground and the little dog raced off onto the beach. She liked rolling in the sand and barking at the sea as it lapped on the shore. Sometimes she would find a jelly fish or a crab to bully. Sarah walked down to Brad’s boat and called out to him from the sand. His head popped up from the boat and, with his usual big lop-sided grin, he shouted ‘Hi’ and waved to her. He was always delighted to see Sarah. He jumped into the water and waded back to her. Brad liked to keep himself in shape and the hours spent in the gym showed. He proudly wore an Australian flag tattoo on his shoulder and a boxing kangaroo on his left calf. The heavy gold chain around his neck finished the look that he had spent years trying to achieve. It was not everyone’s cup of tea, but Brad liked his own image. Sarah called Chi, who came running and was put back into the beach bag. Brad swept her up in his well-muscled arms and carried her back to the boat.
“G’day. You look gorgeous as ever Princess. Where were you last night? I tried to ring you, I wanted you.”
“I went out on the town with a girlfriend, but you got me now.”
Brad started the boat up and steered a little way out into the clear turquoise sea before he closed down the motor and dropped anchor. Sarah was already naked.
“What, no camera today?” asked Brad.
“Yes, I have it, but it’s broken. I’m taking it to get repaired today.”
“I hope I can still perform then, when I’m not on camera” he laughed. “Sarah, what are you doing tonight? I’ll take you out.”
“I can’t tonight. It’s Tuesday.”
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
“I didn’t mean ‘it’s Tuesday’. I meant I’m busy tonight.”
“Busy with what?”
“I’m just busy tonight Brad. Maybe tomorrow night?”
“Okay, but you ring me tomorrow.”
“Sure.”
They made love in the bottom of the boat as it rolled gently in the slow swell of the current. It was not romantic, it was more functional, and before too long it was over. Well, for Brad at least. He pulled his trunks back on and started up the engine again. By the time he had returned to the shore Sarah was dressed again. He jumped into the warm sea water and then carried her back to the beach.
Sarah had to do another big arc of the one way system to get to Mr. Ching’s motorbike repair shop. You would have to be a local to know, but he also repaired watches, cameras and computers. He also did good business selling rip-off DVDs. He had not seen Sarah for a while and was happy to see her again. She handed him the camera.
“The screen is broke, it’s all black. I dropped it last night. Can you fix it, Mr. Ching?”
Mr. Ching laughed.
“Can do. No problem.”
He looked at the camera and tutted and sighed a few times.
“Can fix, but need to get parts. Take longer time. You leave and I ring you. Okay?”
“Sure, that’s great.”
He opened up the side and slid out the memory card. Waving it above his head, he cal
led to Sarah as she was walking out of his shop.
“Sellah, you keep chip.”
He watched her wriggle and tuck it into the little pocked of her tight pants.
“Bye” she smiled. She waved as she skipped out and rode off on her bike.
Sarah rode to the ‘O-Top’ market and had a couple of beers and some chicken and rice at one of the numerous small open air bars that lined the thoroughfare. She liked this place. It was a market made for the tourists and the stalls only sold gifts and copy designer clothes. There was a little circular bar every 20 feet throughout the market. It was a great place to watch the people walk by, and besides that, the food was great and very cheap. Chi sat on the bar top and got a lot of fuss from the bar girls and from the customers. She drank some of Sarah’s beer from out of a saucer and shared her rice. They stayed for over an hour before heading back to the apartment. On the way they stopped at the ‘Family Mart’ shop, on the corner as she turned into the Soi that led to her apartment complex, and she bought some fresh milk.
She had plenty of time to put Chi back on her own balcony, have a shower and a sleep before ‘Prawat’ arrived. Prawat was her drug dealer and Tuesday night was party night. Since they had become lovers she always seemed to get a lot more merchandise for her money.
Chapter 3 Tuesday night
At 9:00pm on the dot the doorbell chimed. Sarah finished applying her lipstick and pouted in the mirror. She looked fabulous in her black mini dress, dark stockings and high heels. She felt sexy and she was sexy. She knew it would be Prawat waiting at the door and she liked to keep him waiting a few minutes. Prawat was a very young looking 25 year old. He had been a drug dealer for 7 years, married for five, and had a quick nervous energy about him. He was more than slim; he was skinny. But he had a handsome face and he was a caring and enthusiastic lover and Sarah really liked him. He adored Sarah and had never believed that they would ever be more then friends. They had met a year ago when Sarah had first arrived in Patong. He sold her some Yaa Baa pills (MethAmphetamine) in the Safari Beach Disco. He then became her regular supplier of Yaa Baa, Cocaine and Marijuana, which everyone still calls Ganja in Thailand. About six months ago he started making the home deliveries, supplying her with enough for the whole week, so Tuesday night had become ‘Party night’.
Sarah opened the door and Prawat flashed his quick, nervous, shy smile. In some ways he was like a child with an infatuation and Sarah loved the power that she had over him. She knew that she could make him nervous with just a look or a few words and she thought that this made Prawat cute and sort of vulnerable.
Prawat was loaded down with gifts. He brought cigarettes, packets of ‘Lay’ crisps, bars of English chocolate, some chewy mint sweets, cans of coke, a bottle of vodka and some ‘Pot Noodles.’ They were all for their midnight feast. The illegal presents were safely wrapped and tucked in his pockets.
The apartment was lit by candles and it gave a moody and seductive feel to the place. The music of Al Green filled the room from hidden speakers. Prawat put his stuff onto the smoked glass top table. Sarah pulled at his jacket and, turning his body towards hers, she pulled him in closer and kissed him, before pushing him slightly away again.
“Dance with me” she whispered.
Prawat could not dance and looked awkward and embarrassed in his movements, but Sarah looked amazing and smooth and natural. She brushed up against him and could feel his erection inside his trousers. This was a game of seduction, and Sarah was the master. Prawat was just a toy in her hands. All evening she would tease him and entice him; a kiss, a gentle whisper in his ear, a flash of stocking top, a brush with her breast. He knew the prize was going to be his, but he knew he had to play the game and wait until he was allowed to open his gift.
They drank a little vodka and snorted a few lines of cocaine. Later Sarah had decided that they would smoke some Ganja on the balcony and she was going to let him fuck her in the Jacuzzi, but for now the dance continued.
Chapter 4 Wednesday Morning
Chi would not settle and barked constantly. She was different this morning. Nui always left her at 7:00am and it was only a quarter to, but Chi kept barking and running to the patio doors, desperately trying to tell her owner something was wrong.
The dog had disturbed her sleep last night as well. Nui ignored her for as long as she could. She had already thrown her slippers at the ‘stupid dog’ and cursed her for not letting her get dressed properly in time for work. Finally she gave in.
“You stupid dog. What you want?”
Nui opened the patio door and Chi raced to the glass partition that separated her balcony from Sarah’s. Chi barked incessantly at the glass and Nui looked over the balcony into Sarah’s apartment. She stepped back and gasped for breath. The blinds were closed, but some were twisted and open. Bloody handprints were smeared on the glass and there was a lot of blood splattered on the white blinds. She could see only a few of the floor tiles near to the patio doors, but she could tell that they too were covered in blood. She left Chi to continue to bark at the door and ran into her apartment to pick up her ‘Handy’ (Mobile phone) and call the police. Nui was shocked, in panic and totally out of breath, but she managed to tell the police the address and about the blood.
The Police response was slow and cumbersome to start off with, although Nui did not have to wait very long before a local uniformed officer was knocking on her door, having responded to a radio message. Nui had already rung into work and, although she had not seen a body, she had no hesitation in telling her boss that the girl next door had been murdered. She babbled excitedly and nervously to the police officer, explaining as best she could about Chi alerting her about her neighbour. She walked the officer through the apartment and out onto the balcony. The officer saw the bloody hand prints on the windows, the blood splattered window blinds and suddenly he became nervous. He was just a local patrol cop and this was looking serious. He wanted to look like he knew what to do, but he did not know what he should do. He just got on the radio and confirmed what Nui had already reported to the police. While he waited for a supervising officer to attend, he asked Nui if there was any way to get into the apartment without forcing the door. Nui told him that the cleaners had a key card for every apartment that they cleaned and she knew that they cleaned the blonde farang lady’s apartment.
When Police Inspector Lt. Col. Kittipongding arrived, some twenty minutes later, the officer was waiting for him outside the apartment building with a key card in hand, which he had obtained from the cleaners. He saluted his superior officer as he approached. The Inspector was a stocky man and had a commanding presence about him. He acknowledged the salute with a nod and a raised hand.
The Inspector entered the apartment by only two steps before he stopped. He could see a mangled naked body, bloody and lifeless on the tiled floor. There were signs that a struggle had taken place and there was a lot of blood on the walls and doors. There were footprints in the blood on the floor. He could not tell from his viewpoint if the body on the floor was male or female, but the blood soaked long hair and the fact that the officer had told him ‘a lone farang female lives here’ suggested to him that it was the body of a woman. She looked like she had been carved up into pieces. The Inspector signalled the officer to move back so he could step back out of the room and preserve the crime scene. The Inspector had been a Murder Squad Detective years ago in his police career and had no problems with sorting out a murder scene.
“Get a chair from next door and sit yourself down at this table in the hall. You are in charge of the key card and I want you to start a log of everything that happens here today. You start with the time you arrived, who you spoke to, what they said and what you saw. Then the time I arrived and the fact that I looked inside the apartment. Everyone who comes here today, you record their name and rank, what department they are from, the reason they are here, the time they enter and the tim
e they leave. Do you understand all that? It is very important.”
“Yes Sir. I understand.”
“Nobody goes in there without first giving you this information. I will give you my mobile number and you are working under my authority. Any problems and you ring me. Okay?”
“Yes Sir.”
“Have you enough paper to write on?”
“No Sir, I don’t think so. Only my pad.”
“I’ll get the chair for you. You go and get a big writing pad from the Family Mart on the corner.”
“Yes Sir.” The officer was impressed with the way the Inspector had taken control of the situation. He was happy that he was the superior officer who attended, because he did not have as much confidence in some of the other senior officers.
While Inspector Kittipongding waited for the officer to return with a writing pad, he made a phone call to Kathu District Police Station.
“Hello. Inspector Kittipongding speaking. Have you got the call to the Patong View Talay apartments as an open serial?”
“Yes Sir.”
“Okay. It’s a murder scene now. I want you to maintain an open log and designate a secure radio channel for all officers engaged on the enquiry. We do not need to alert the press any sooner than they will already find out. At this time we have no suspect and the victim appears to be a white female farang. No other details known. Can you inform Police Colonel Sarit Wattana (Commanding Officer of District) that we have a murder? I also need Superintendents Dhanarajata (Central Investigations Dept. Crime Suppression Division) and
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