Cocktails & Dreams

by Lilburne, Guy

“Good morning. We are very sorry to disturb you, but we were hoping to speak to the family of Pukky” she said, holding her smile and keeping eye contact with the ladies.

  “Pukky is dead. She was killed nearly nine years ago” said the younger of the two old ladies, showing her gums and few remaining teeth stained dark red from years of chewing betel nuts.

  “So we are at the correct address. We were hoping to talk to someone about Pukky’s death. We are investigating her murder because we think it might be connected to the current series of deaths in Phuket.”

  The old lady didn’t know anything about a series of deaths in Phuket. They were out of the news loop. The only news that concerned them was what was going on in the village, and that was slow news that could be passed on by word of mouth; usually about a death or a birth or an accident or maybe about somebody getting drunk and ‘boxing’ his wife again. The old women twisted slightly and shouted towards the house. Another much younger woman came from inside and exchanged wais with Nok and Danny. The old lady told her that Nok and Danny were investigating Pukky’s murder.

  “I am Pukky’s mother. This is her grandmother and great aunt. You investigate Pukky’s death after all this time?”

  “We are working with the police and we think we may have some leads into Pukky’s death, but we were hoping that you would tell us first about everything you know.”

  Pukky’s mother started crying and brought both hands up and pulled at her left breast, her anguish even after all these years was still as fresh and painful as it was on the day she was told that Pukky had been murdered.

  “It was a terrible death” she sobbed.

  Nok walked forward and cradled the woman in her arms and the two women hugged. The grandmother wiped tears from her own eyes with dark bony fingers. The other old lady looked at the tall farang. Danny just offered a fleeting smile and shrugged his shoulders. Without the language he could offer no words to express his sorrow.

  “My name is Phim” said Pukky’s mother.

  “My name is Nok and this is the Great British Detective Khun Danny O’Brien.”

  More wais were exchanged and Danny realised for the first time that, in Thailand, they had mistaken Great British Detective for a ‘great’ British detective. In Thailand they thought he was British and he was a great detective. He didn’t have the language skills to explain the difference and decided that he could live with the mistake.

  “Please sit down” said Phim, sweeping her arm in invitation to sit with the old ladies. Phim shouted back into the house and two young teenage girls and a boy of about eight years came out and wai’d to Nok and Danny. Then, giggling, they ran back into the house only to return carrying bowls of yesterday’s food. Half eaten fish in spicy sauce, some crispy beef, some dried fish, some fresh salad, two baskets of sticky rice and a bottle of water with a red plastic bucket of ice cubes. Danny didn’t think it looked delicious, but he sat crossed legged and picked at it along with Nok, Phim, the children and the old ladies, while a few hungry flies kept landing on it in spite of the odd flick of a lazy hand to keep them away.

  The family were all eager to hear more about the investigation. Nok explained that there had been a series of murders down in Phuket and that they thought the same killer may also be responsible for the murder of Pukky.

  “Do you know he cut off Pukky’s penis and put it in her mouth” said Phim in English.

  “Yes we know” whispered Nok.

  ‘That’s a real kick in the bollocks for any girl’ thought Danny, without smiling at his own dark humour.

  “What was Pukky like?” asked Nok in a sensitive whisper.

  “She was a good girl. She worked hard and take good care of family. She worked hard in hairdresser. She very good.”

  “Did she have a boyfriend?”

  “She only ever have one boyfriend, a farang name Mr. P. He come here from Bangkok with broken heart and he fall in love with Pukky. He good man and he build this house. Make like new because he love Pukky and he love her family.”

  There were nods of agreement and comments from the others, who obviously agreed with Phims observations.

  “What happened?”

  “Everything was good. Mr. P and Pukky fall in love very much and everyone very happy, but suddenly Pukky go missing. Everyone search everywhere. Mr. P even pay people to search and offer reward. He very sad, now have another broken heart. After more than one month he have to go. He cry too much every day. He think Pukky not really love him. He decide to go back to America. He say Thailand too cruel to his heart.”

  “And then what happened?”

  “Then police find Pukky body in Ping River. Detective Bee, very nice lady, investigate and make friend with all family, but she never find killer. She say no suspect. I ask her one day about Mr. P. I say to she ‘do you think he do something?’ But she say no, he leave before murder happen, cannot be him. I am happy because I think he a good man and not do like this.”

  “I am very sorry for you and your family Khun Phim.”

  “We be very happy if you find killer. Can you tell me who did it?”

  Nok looked at Danny before she answered.

  “Khun Phim, we have an idea, but we need to prove it first. We will come back and see you again very soon and tell you who did this. I promise.”

  Phim burst into tears again and once again the two women hugged.

  Danny and Nok got back to the hotel before they discussed the case.

  “Tee rak, I am sure Bee kill all these people. She wasn’t covering for Mr. P. I think after Mr. P break her heart she change and decide to kill everyone he love. She do this for revenge. Thai lady can do like this.”

  “I think you are right Nok.”

  “I think she make vow to follow Mr. P whenever he in Thailand and ruin his life. Same-same he ruin her life.”

  “That’s exactly what I was thinking” smiled Danny.

  Nok beamed one of her huge smiles. She liked being a detective and she liked it when Danny said she was right.

  “Now we just have to prove it” she said. “Do we have a plan yet?”

  “Yes, I think we might have a plan. We need to get back to Phuket.”

  “Are we going to tell Colonel Wattana what we think?”

  “No, not until we make sure the plan will work.”

  “Good, that’s what I was thinking too. Same-same you.”

  Chapter 35 I will be paying cash.

  The two young Thai men were kick boxers from a gym in Chalong. Simon Humphreys didn’t want them to come to any of his hotels or bars, so one of his own men had arranged the meeting in a quiet bar in Nanai Road. His driver pulled up outside the bar in the silver Mercedes with blacked out windows and Simon Humphreys got out of the back of the car with his two personal bodyguards. He hadn’t taken them to the dinner with the police Chief at the exclusive Baan Rim Pa restaurant on the night when Danny O’Brien had tried to rip his balls off, but he wished that he had. He hadn’t stopped thinking of revenge ever since. He still couldn’t walk properly and was in constant pain. His own doctor had already told him that he might need an operation to save one of his testicles. He didn’t want to hurt Danny O’Brien, he wanted him dead, and, in Thailand, that wouldn’t cost too much.

  Humphreys climbed the two steps up into the bar, followed by his bodyguards. He walked along the red wall, plastered with photos recording years of previous customers and bar girls, each a snapshot of one night in Patong. Graffiti and names, dates, jokes and good wishes were scribbled in thick black permanent marker pen over the photos, on the bar, on the pillars and even on the ceiling between an Australian flag and a Welsh flag, pinned there with drawing pins. Humphreys walked to the back of the bar where two men were sitting on high chairs drinking from half empty bottles of cold water. They stood up from the stools a
nd wai’d to Humphreys as he approached, panting slightly from his short walk. His huge overweight body was sweating as soon as he left the cool air conditioning of the Mercedes. Humphreys nodded an acknowledgement to the two, unsmiling, Muay Thai fighters. Humphreys sat on one of the two, low, red leather settees and nodded for the two Thai boxers to sit on the other one on the other side of the low level wooden table. Humphreys grimaced with the pain as he sat down. A floor fan, set on high, made a drinks menu lying on the table quiver, as if it was trying to flap open by itself. A pretty young bar girl came over and wai’d to Humphreys.

  “Whisky” he snapped. He had a King Edward cigar clamped between his teeth, almost hiding the ugly black tooth at the front of his mouth. He lit the cigar and puffed out thick white smoke, which was blown along the bar by the fan.

  “Anything else, Sir?” asked the girl with the sweetest of smiles.

  “If I wanted anything else then I would have already asked for it.”

  The girl glanced at the two men sitting opposite Humphreys, but they didn’t look at her. She thought they looked tough, and they were.

  Humphreys waited until the young girl had gone back to the bar before he spoke to the two men.

  “I have been told that you two are good at what you do. That’s why you are here. Do you know what I want from you?”

  “Yes. You want us to kill a farang” said the slightly older of the two men, without any emotion.

  “The farang is an Irishman, a tough guy called Danny O’Brien; he’s an ex cop.”

  Neither of the men made any reply. It was just another job; a paying job like any other. Just like being paid to collect a car or drop off a package; like collecting a debt or hurting someone. The young girl came back to the table with the whisky and the bar bill on a small Formica tray. She leaned over Humphreys to place the drink on the table and Humphreys rammed his hand up her short skirt, hard into her groin. It hurt her and she squealed with shock and pain and stood up quickly. Humphreys pulled out a 1000 baht note and held it rolled up between the fingers of his left hand. He grinned at the frightened girl and nodded for her to bend over the table again. After a few uncomfortable seconds thinking time, she bent over the table again to place the bar bill next to the whisky. Humphreys put his hand back up her short skirt and rammed his chubby fingers inside her panties and inside her pussy. She was dry and it hurt her. He pulled her backside around towards him and then pulled her knickers over to one side and pushed the rolled up 1000 baht inside her and gave her a hard sharp slap on the backside. She stood up again and wai’d to him. Despite the tears in her eyes she managed a thin smile.

  “Khob khun kha, (Thank you)” she said.

  “They love it” said Humphreys, taking a swig from his glass. “I don’t just want you to kill the farang. I want you to bring him to me first and then kill him. I want to see him die. I want him to know that he is going to die because I decided he is going to die.”

  “We were told that you wanted us to kill a farang. If you want us to kidnap him first and then kill him, it is double the money.”

  “Double?”

  “Yes. Double the job, double the danger, so double the money.”

  “No, double is too much. You should remember who I am. Nobody rips me off.”

  The two men looked at each other and, without speaking, got up and started to walk away from the table.

  “OK, OK” said Humphreys. “Sit down. OK, double the money.”

  The two men looked at each other again. The younger of the two men sucked his spit through jagged, broken teeth that made him look as if he had spent a lifetime chewing on concrete blocks. The two men sat down again. Humphreys flicked a chubby finger in the air and one of his personal bodyguards stepped forward and handed an A4 size envelope to the older of the two men.

  “Inside are some photos of Danny O’Brien and some useful addresses to help you find him. He is staying at the Holiday Inn Hotel. He hasn’t checked out yet, but he hasn’t been there for a few days. There are also some details of his wife, kids and his business partner in some Detective Agency. Do whatever you have to do to these people to find out where O’Brien is. You have the phone number of my contact. If you need anything else, you speak to him. Otherwise, I don’t want to hear anything until it’s a message that you have him, and I’ll tell you then where to take him.”

  The two men nodded their understanding.

  “We want half the money now” said the older of the two men. His body was toned and all muscle. There was no fat. His skin was dark. He was slim, but looked as if he could and would kill anyone with his bare hands.

  “That was predictable.” Humphreys nodded and the other bodyguard handed over another envelope which contained the cash. The men nodded and calmly got up and walked out of the bar. They got onto a motorbike and drove off along Nanai Road.

  Humphreys put another 1000 baht note on the table and held it under the glass. It flapped and slapped the table in the blow of the floor fan.

  “They won’t be around to collect the second half of the payment” smiled Humphreys.

  Humphreys grimaced in pain as he got up from the settee. He instinctively checked his ponytail with a gentle tug and walked out of the bar. He fired an imaginary gun at the young bar girl as he walked past. She wai’d to him, relieved he was leaving. Another bar girl went over to her and hugged her. She started crying.

  Chapter 36 That sounds like a plan.

  By the time Danny and Nok got back to Patong it was already early evening. Nok had called Suzie and Meiwa on their mobiles and arranged for them to all meet up in ‘Sam’s Steak House’ in the main wing of The Holiday Inn Resort. Nok had time to go to Danny’s room and shower and change. Danny wanted to call the meeting to update everyone on the team about what they had discovered in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Nok put on a medium length white dress, high heels and some lip gloss and looked fantastic.

  “Why are you dressing up?” asked Danny, buttoning up his shirt.

  “We have meeting with Meiwa and Suzie in Sam’s Steak House. They will be dressed up very nice too.”

  “How do you know?”

  “They Thai.”

  “Oh!”

  Nok was right. Meiwa and Suzie were waiting at the bar of the restaurant and they both looked stunning. The three of them greeted each other with hugs and kisses, as if they hadn’t seen each other for months or years, not just a few days. Danny just looked on and smiled before Meiwa and Suzie gave him a kiss on the cheek. Both left red lipstick marks on his face, but didn’t bother to tell him. All the diners in Sam’s Steak House looked smart. Danny even wondered if it was a rule of the restaurant that no casual dress was allowed. Danny stuck to drinking fresh orange juice, but bought the girls a bottle of wine. After drinks at the bar they were escorted to the table in the far corner of the restaurant, away from the other guests. They ordered various steaks to be cooked to various degrees and served with various sauces.

  “What did you find out? Were Mr. P and Bee really married?” asked Meiwa, as soon as the smart waiter was out of ear shot.

  “We find out that Mr. P was in love with the two katoeys in Bangkok and Chiang Mai and they were both murdered” said Nok.

  “Yes, they were married,” added Danny.

  “Wow! Oh my Buddha” gasped Meiwa, putting her hands to her heart and biting her bottom lip between her teeth.

  “Do you think that Detective Bee was covering up his crimes then?” asked Suzie.

  “No, we are pretty sure that Bee committed the murders” said Danny.

  “Are you sure?” asked Suzie.

  “128% sure” said Nok.

  “128% !” said Danny looking at Nok.

  “Yes tee rak. That’s how very sure we are.”

  “The thing is,” said Danny, “we don’t even think that Mr. P ev
er knew that the two ladyboys who he fell in love with in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, were murdered. We think that he thought that they had just left him, and it broke his heart, so he went back to the States. When he came back to Thailand he had already made his mind up that he was never going to fall in love again. From then on it was just sex.”

  “Well, what happened to Bee? Why did he marry her if he loved a ladyboy?” asked Meiwa.

  “It’s a very sad story, but he meet Bee first and think he love her and Bee really love him sure. They get married and she think everything good and they plan family. Mr. P tell Bee best friend that he not love Bee anymore and he meet ladyboy called Chutima. Bee get pregnant but Mr. P not know and he say her that he not love her anymore and he love Chutima. So he leave her and go to Chutima. Bee very broken heart and cannot love again any person. Chutima disappear and then Mr. P broken hearted. He not know she dead and search everywhere, but then leave and go to Chiang Mai to get over broken heart. Then Chutima body found and Bee best friend, Apple, think Bee do murder, but not say anything. Bee has baby called Pip and leave on doorstep of best friend. She transfer up to Chiang Mai, where she find out Mr. P in Chiang Mai and has another ladyboy girlfriend called Pukky.” Nok stopped for breath and a sip of her wine. She was getting excited with the drama of the story. She was enjoying the fact that both Meiwa and Suzie were listening, opened mouthed, to the incredible dramatic story of love, betrayal and murder.

  “What happen in Chiang Mai?” encouraged Meiwa.

  “In Chiang Mai, same-same thing happen. Mr. P was in love with Pukky and take good care of her family. Every person say he good man. Then Pukky go missing and Mr. P cannot take any more pain to his heart. After he search every place he go home to America with broken heart, and then body found. Detective Bee investigate case. She tell family that no suspect found. When Bee find out, after all these years, that Mr. P come back to Thailand and stay in Phuket, she transfer again to work police in Patong……”