Cocktails & Dreams

by Lilburne, Guy

  “Detective Bee Khumsombot, you are under arrest for committing a series of murders” said Colonel Wattana. “Read her the list of victims and take her away.”

  Danny and the Chief walked back to the police vehicle.

  Danny and Nok went with some other officers to search Bee’s apartment. They found some old photographs of Bee with Mr. P and some love letters. Nok read them and they made her cry. Nok also spotted the gold Buddha amulet that belonged to Tuk, the murder victim who was found on the beach. The gold Buddha amulet had been given to her by her mother when she was a child and, according to her roommate, Tuk never took it off. Nok had photographs of Tuk wearing the amulet and photographs from the post mortem showing the marks on her neck when the chain was ripped off by the killer. She got on her knees and wai’d to the amulet in prayer, before she picked it up and showed it to Danny.

  “They will be able to get DNA off the chain to prove this is the one that belonged to Tuk” she said to Danny and placed the amulet in an evidence bag.

  The Chief wanted Bee interviewing after the search of her apartment had been completed, but, by the time it had been done and all the arresting and searching officers had written their statements, it was late. Danny decided that she could wait until morning. He wanted a clear head when he spoke to Detective Bee under caution and on tape.

  Chapter 38 I understand you.

  Thankfully, the rain had stopped and the hot tropical sun was already baking everything by the time Danny had got up and showered. People were already swimming in the huge hotel pool as Danny caught a tuk-tuk to the police HQ. He headed straight for the detectives’ office. Pon was waiting for him and he looked in a state of shock. Danny knew that he had been left out of the loop because of his close relationship with Bee, and he knew that he would want to know what was going on, now that he knew Bee had been arrested. He greeted Danny with a wai instead of the usual handshake.

  “Khun Danny, they tell me that Bee has been arrested for the serial murders. Has she done them?”

  “Yes Pon, she has. I’m sorry.”

  “There is no mistake?”

  “No.”

  “I know you are a great detective. Was it you who got the evidence to prove her guilt?”

  “Yes, it was.”

  “Then I know she is guilty Khun Danny.”

  “I’m sorry Pon. I know you like her.”

  “No, not really. I didn’t like her. I loved her.”

  “I know you did.”

  Pon wanted to know more and he wanted to ask more questions, but the words just wouldn’t come. Danny patted him on the shoulder and went to Colonel Wattana’s office, because the Chief had insisted on being in on the interview. When they got to the holding cells they received their first surprise. Bee had decided that she didn’t want a solicitor. Two uniformed officers set up the interview room ready for the interview. Danny inserted the tapes after Bee had been brought into the room and sat down on the other side of the table, which took up the centre of the room. The room felt harsh and unfriendly. One bare light bulb hung down from a long cable and illuminated the grey painted walls. Sometimes the light flickered and buzzed as power surged elsewhere in the police station. Danny did the introduction announcements and the Chief read out a caution.

  “You didn’t want a solicitor Bee?” asked Danny

  Bee took a long time before she answered. Her eyes found Danny’s and he held her gaze. She didn’t see hatred or pity, just his deep blue sparkling eyes looking into her very soul.

  “I don’t need a solicitor to say ‘No comment’” she said, in not much more than a whisper.

  “Bee, I want you to think very carefully about this interview. I can prove that you did these murders. I can lead you along, let you tell lie after lie and keep denying everything, then drop indisputable evidence on you to show that you not only killed these people, but you are now also a liar. What you say in these interviews will define what people think about you forever. People will know that you are the serial killer, but you will be remembered for what you say about it today. Bee, don’t let people think that you are some cold killing monster. Tell me about Mr. P and how he broke your heart. Tell me about how he left you expecting his baby and how you then left your baby to follow Mr. P. Tell me about the emotion and the pain you felt, the unimaginable force that drove you to kill. Tell me about the power of love, which drove you to do things that you would never have done otherwise. Describe the feelings that tore your world apart and turned your life upside down. Because, if you do that, then you will get the sympathy of the whole world, because we have all had these feelings. Everyone will understand what drove you to do what you did.”

  Bee was still looking into Danny’s eyes as the tears flowed from her own. The only thing she could see in his eyes now was a kindness and understanding. This tough Irishman who had always seemed so hard to her had a gentle heart. He passed her a tissue and she wiped her eyes. Danny pulled out the gold Buddha amulet that belonged to the third murder victim, Tuk. It was in a sealed evidence bag. He put it on the table in front of Bee.

  “Bee, this belonged to the girl that was found on the beach, the girl in the red dress. Her name was Tuk and it was given to her by her mother when she was still a child. The murderer pulled it from her neck after she was dead. We recovered it from your room Bee. You pulled it from her neck. I want you to tell me why.”

  Bee continued to sob almost silently and the tears streamed down her face. She avoided looking at the Chief, but found some strange comfort in looking at Danny, the man she had tried to hurt and embarrass. She was trying to decide what to do; whether to speak or remain silent. She listened carefully to his words and they all seemed to make sense. She didn’t want to confess, but she didn’t want him to prove her to be a liar. She didn’t want people to hate her.

  “Bee, listen to me. I have seen your baby daughter. Your friend Apple called her Pip and she has taken good care of her. She is a beautiful little girl. I have spoken to friends and family of all your victims; from the first ladyboy you killed in Bangkok, the second in Chiang Mai, then nearly ten years later the series of murders committed here in Phuket. I understand you Bee. I know why you killed these people. My wife and children were taken away from me and, if I could, I would hunt down and kill everyone who had a hand in ruining my life. But, I can’t. Most people can’t, even when they want to. But you did and now is the time to tell me why. Tell me what happened, Bee. Now is the time to explain to the world how a woman betrayed by the man she loves can lose all control, lose all reason and common sense. Explain that the only justice that can calm her raging heart is revenge; the need to try to hurt and destroy someone as much as they have hurt and destroyed you.”

  “You know how much he destroyed me?” asked Bee.

  “I can only imagine. I need you to tell me Bee.”

  “Do you hate me Danny O’Brien?”

  “No, I don’t hate you Bee. I want to understand you. I want to help you if I can.”

  “I am sorry for hurting you. I am sorry for introducing you to Simon Humphreys. I know he is a wicked person and I knew that it would shatter your love for your wife if you knew about him. I just wanted to hurt you because I wanted you to understand the hurt that I had felt. Even then, I knew that you would catch me and I just wanted you to know what it felt like to be betrayed. But I am sorry that I did this to you, I do not deserve your forgiveness, but I want to say sorry to you.”

  “Bee, I do forgive you and I understand why you did this. I do know what it is like to be betrayed. Are you ready to talk to me about the murders?”

  Bee nodded and wiped her eyes one more time.

  “I fell in love with Mr. P the very first time that I saw him and I knew there and then that this was the person who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Within days we were planning a future and I became pr
egnant almost straight away. This was a sign from Buddha……………..”

  Over the next three and a half hours Bee told the whole story of her life and confessed to all the killings. Danny questioned her on the fine detail in each case and she gave details that only the killer could possibly know. There was no sense of achievement or victory felt by Danny or the Chief. Just sadness at how one human being, with a broken heart and mental illness, could destroy herself and so many others along the way. At the end of the interview Bee again asked Danny for forgiveness.

  “I can forgive you for what you have done to me. But forgiveness for everything else has to come from others. However, now that you have explained when, where and why, at least there is a chance that people can forgive. Maybe people can see that you were a victim too.”

  Chapter 39 A price to pay

  It was already late into the evening when Danny O’Brien walked out of the police HQ. The air was humid and the black clouds in the night sky told him that another downpour was not far away, but he decided to walk back to the Holiday Inn Resort anyway. He didn’t notice the lone Thai male who picked him up outside the police HQ and followed him along the streets, speaking his position into a mobile phone. There were several small sois that Danny could use to cut through to the main Rat-u-Thit Road, which would take him back to his hotel, but he choose the first one. It was illuminated by a few lights from some bars, a few massage parlours and some of the make shift lights set up by the street vendors selling food. The rain started as he turned into the soi and, within seconds, it thrashed down, turning the soi into a mud track.

  Danny glanced up and screwed his face up against the rain beating down on it. Everyone in front of him was sheltering under cover, or looking for cover against the sudden downpour. Everyone, except two Thai men, who were leaning against the side of a pickup truck. They gave the impression that they were just standing there chatting, but they both had eye contact with Danny and his instinct told him it was trouble. Both men were lean, but well-muscled, and had the look of street fighters or Thai boxers. Danny could see that the younger of the two men had broken jagged teeth, like an opened baked bean tin. Danny instinctively looked behind him and saw a lone Thai male talking into a mobile phone. But again, the man had eye contact with him and now Danny was certain he had walked into some kind of ambush. He considered his options. Maybe they would be happy with his mobile phone or maybe they would want everything he had; cards, cash, wallet, everything. He considered escape routes but there wasn’t an obvious one, and it wasn’t Danny’s style to try to talk his way out of a situation. He decided that the element of surprise was on his side. These men were planning to mug an old farang and they wouldn’t be expecting him to fight back, let alone get in the first strike. He continued to walk towards the two men, as if he didn’t have a care in the world, other than getting soaked in the tropical Thai rain. As he approached the two men leaning on the pickup truck, the older Thai man murmured something and the younger man turned to face Danny, holding a soggy cigarette between his fingers. He smiled through broken teeth.

  “Hello Boss, you have light please?”

  Danny swung a well-aimed boot and caught the man in the testicles. He screamed and fell back, rolling on the ground holding himself. Danny felt a heavy blow to his right eye. It could have been a punch or an elbow, he didn’t see it coming. He focused on the older of the two men who was dancing around in front of him. He had the stance of a boxer and he managed to deliver two further kicks to Danny’s face, which told Danny that he was facing a skilled Muay Thai fighter. Danny threw a punch but the man fended it off and delivered another two blows to Danny’s kidneys. It winded him and Danny felt his legs buckle. He caught the man on the chin with a left hook and it caused the man to stagger back on his feet. Danny moved forward but was dropped from behind by the high voltage electric shock from a stun gun. He lay helpless on the floor, still shaking. His body was in shock. He was aware of the three men trussing him up. They tied his hands and feet and tossed him onto the back of the pickup truck. Two of the men sat on him and the truck drove out of the soi. His head was held face down into the metal and rain water that sloshed around as the vehicle negotiated the roads. The vehicle seemed to be going around in circles. Danny knew that there were only four roads that would lead out of Patong city and each of them would mean that the vehicle had to climb a steep winding road. He knew the roads and he thought that he would recognise the motion of the pickup truck and identify which road that he was being taken out along. But it never happened and he knew that he was still somewhere inside Patong.

  After about 15 minutes the truck did travel along some kind of bumpy unmade track and came to a stop. When he was pulled from the back of the truck he could see that he was on a building site. The grey concrete skeleton of a new seven story hotel was in front of him. There were a few men standing around watching the men untie him and they then watched him being dragged at gunpoint into the concrete maze of pillars and stairs and bamboo scaffolding. He guessed that they were Burmese labourers and they had no intention of getting involved. Danny was dragged up several floors. Some had partially built walls; others did not and were stacked with rusted steel rods and other building supplies. He was taken to a floor that was partially lit with naked light bulbs hanging from bare wires, which swung gently in the hot tropical night air. Danny was sweating and slightly out of breath from the climb.

  Danny saw the fat figure of Simon Humphreys at the same moment that he smelt his cigar smoke hanging heavy in the night air. Suddenly it all made sense. Danny knew this was serious and he decided there and then that, if he was going to die, then, at the first opportunity, he was going to attack Humphreys and take him with him. He thought that a charge at the big man, taking both of them over the side of the building, was probably going to be the only way. Humphreys smiled and Danny could see his black tooth even in the partial darkness.

  “Hello Mr O’Brien.”

  “Go and feck yerself.”

  “I was going to have you shot and killed in a drive by shooting, but I really wanted you to know that it was me who was having you killed. I wanted to watch you die. You fucked with the wrong man. I’m going to lose one of my testicles because of you, you fucking Irish bastard. Have you any idea who you are dealing with?”

  “A fat bloke with one bollock and bad teeth.”

  “Give me the gun. I want to shoot this fucker myself” Humphreys said to the older of the two men holding Danny, as he stepped forward towards the men.

  Danny sensed that this was going to be his only chance to go down fighting. He wasn’t afraid to die but he wasn’t going to be led to the slaughter like a sheep. He snatched his arms away from the two men and charged at Humphreys. He was a big man and a heavy weight to push, but the impact and the surprise of the attack worked in Danny’s favour. The fat man staggered back towards the edge of the dusty concrete floor, with Danny gripping him like a bear and pushing him backwards in a rugby tackle fashion. They were only feet from the edge before the two kidnappers had managed to react and come to Humphreys’ aid, bringing both Humphreys and Danny to the floor. Danny felt blows to his head and he was dragged back away from the edge and held firm.

  Humphreys was panting and sweating and hopelessly out of breath. He staggered to his feet, his legs bowed at the knees with the great weight they had to support.

  “Give me the gun.” He held his hand out and the older man handed him the revolver.

  “Tomorrow you will be in a concrete foundation and nobody will even remember you O’Brien.”

  The two men locked eyes. Humphreys held the gun with both hands and pointed it at Danny. He squeezed the trigger slowly and Danny could see the hammer pull back. Then, BANG! It was loud and echoed around the empty building. There was a flash and gun smoke. Danny and Humphreys looked at each other, puzzled, and Danny stood there with no injury. Humphreys fired again. The second Ba
ng echoed around the building and then there were the sounds of voices and running feet. The voices were shouting ‘POLICE’ and suddenly they were surrounded by uniformed officers pointing guns at Humphreys. Colonel Wattana walked from behind the officers.

  “Simon Humphreys, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of Khun Danny O’Brien.”

  “Colonel, there has been some kind of mistake. I’m sure we can sort this out.”

  “Not this time. Take him away.” The Chief turned smiling towards Danny.

  “Danny, meet Sgt. Choulee and Officer Zang. They are undercover officers. Humphreys tried to shoot you with blanks. When we heard that he was trying to hire someone to have you killed, we put a team in place for your protection.”

  The two men wai’d to Danny. Danny put his hand to his bruised face and thought about the kidnapping and the blows he had suffered at their hands. Now they were smiling fellow officers. Danny smiled back and then started laughing.