by Lauren Wood
“Well at least let me get her out on bond. We will stay here if that is what is required of us. It would look good for our countries if we did this in a better way. The treatment she has gotten since she has been here goes against several human rights.”
“It is the jail for everyone. Americans are no better when they come here and do crimes on our soil. This is our country, not America.”
The old judge had a hard look on his face and I was trying to figure out an angle. I am used to reading people, it’s what I did for a living, convincing people to see things my way. I just had to figure out how I was going to get this judge here in front of me to see things my way.
“You see Sir, it is not because she is better, in any way. If anything else, she is weaker than many of the women in there with her. She has a medical condition and the last thing either one of us wants is for something to happen while she is in jail. If she is out, I will make sure she doesn’t go anywhere, she will give up her passport until we have this all straightened out. I assure you that it will come to light that she had nothing to with the disappearance of her friend. There is no body, so there is no real proof of a crime.”
“She will not get out for free.”
“Naturally.”
“There will be conditions, but if you agree to them, I will go ahead with a temporary release.”
Relief flooded over me and I told him that I would agree to whatever I had to do to get her out of jail. She didn’t actually have a medical problem, but the fact that she was just so delicate should have been reason enough. A woman like Meri wouldn’t be able to survive in such a place for too long and I genuinely didn’t want to see her in that place another moment. It was no longer just about helping out Ashlyn. It was now about righting an injustice, the whole reason I became a lawyer in the first place.
Did it matter that my client happened to be young and absolutely beautiful? Well it certainly didn’t hurt anything.
Chapter 5
Meri
I didn’t hold much hope for Sam getting me out. When I saw him the next day, early in the morning, I was sure that he was going to tell me that it was hopeless. I wasn’t always pessimistic, but I just thought of it as being realistic. Sam told me that I would be getting out later today on restrictions. I didn’t even care what the conditions of the release were. They just didn’t matter as far as I was concerned. As long as I was able to leave this place and never come back, that was all that mattered to me.
“So when are you going to get me out of here?”
“There is going to be a hearing later with the judge, but I have already talked to him and he seems eager to strike a deal. You will be released from here and into my custody pending the trial. You will also have to give up your passport.”
None of that sounded like a problem, though the part about me getting released into my lawyer’s custody was not something that I had thought possible. Truth was that even though he was helping me and he knew Ashlyn, that didn’t mean that I really trusted the guy. I barely even knew him.
“Released to you?”
“Yeah, you need someone to vouch for you and I told him that I would make sure you went to all of the hearings and you weren’t going to skip town. They wouldn’t do it if I didn’t suggest it.”
“Oh, so what does that mean, I have to stay in Thailand?”
I was relieved, that was clear but it didn’t last long. I had other things on my mind. I was thinking about the job that I was going to lose and what was going to happen when I got back home? What about Carol?
“What is wrong? I thought you would be elated?”
“I am. I really am. I can’t thank you enough, but I am already several days late for a new job. I just graduated and I got a killer paid internship with a huge company in New York. I don’t want to miss this opportunity.”
“Well I can give them a call and let them know that you are here stuck with legal troubles. You can always call them when you get out later. I am hoping to have you out a little afternoon. I know this is not the conclusion that we are looking for, but it’s something and I am going to take this as a good sign.”
“What about Carol? Will I be able to look for Carol? I think something happened to her and if I find her, everything is dropped, right?”
“Yes, but you have to understand that this is a dangerous place. I know that they have beautiful beaches and it’s great for traveling, but there is also an underside to Thailand that I think Carol might have gotten wrapped up into.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. There are just a lot of things about this place that I am sure a lady like you wouldn’t know about.”
“I am a big girl Sam. You can tell me what it is you are thinking about.”
“Her friend Rico could have sold her into the sex trade. She could be into drugs or something even worse. All I know is that there is a big market for American women. None of the reasons are really that good.”
I blanched and I almost wished that I hadn’t have asked him to elaborate. Here I was thinking that she was on a bender and I was going to find her cuddled up with Rico or maybe even another man. It didn’t even occur to me that something like that could have happened.
“I am not saying that is what happened, I am just saying that it could have happened.”
I shook my head, not sure what to say. I was no longer so relieved. I came here with Carol and I intended to bring her back with me.
“I guess I just never thought about that as a possibility. We just came here to do some swimming, see the sights. This has turned into one of the worst month of my life. I wish I had never come.”
“I can see that. I am sorry this has happened to you, but we are going to get you out of this and I am going to help you find your friend.”
He pushed his hand through the bars and I took the offered gesture. A shiver ran through me and I pulled away from the comfort. I didn’t feel eased, I felt electrified and I met his dark blue eyes, not sure what to do next.
“Thank you Sam.”
***
Getting out of there was the single best moment of my life so far. It was extra special because for a while there, I really thought that I was ever going to leave that horrible place. I knew that I wanted to, that I hadn’t done anything to be there, but I had heard about several people that had come to a country for tourism and were never able to leave. I didn’t want to be another statistic and I wanted to kiss the ground when I got out of there.
Sam smiled at me. “Happy to be out?”
“You have no idea.”
“I spent a few days in a cell before, but not in a place like this. This is no place for you.”
“I never thought I would want to go home so badly in my life.”
He chuckled and told me that he was going to take me to the hotel. All I could think about was taking a shower and washing some of the grime off of me. When we got to the car, he opened the door for me and showed me my clothes in the trunk. I had everything that I needed, now all I needed was a bed and some dinner and I would feel better than I had in a week.
Sam talked on the way to the hotel. I only started to pay attention when he told me that it was booked up and since I had to stay with him, we were going to have to share the suite together.
“Share the suite?”
“Yeah, I have the top floor suite at the LaMark. It only has one bed, but I am pretty sure the couch folds out into a bed. I can sleep there and you can have the master bedroom.”
“I don’t want to put you out.”
“Don’t worry about it. You are not, trust me. I am just happy that I could get you out of there. For a while I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to. The laws are very different here than back home.”
“Well now that I am out, we have to find Carol. That will get us home faster and I am sure you want to get out of here as well. Thailand isn’t so charming anymore and we are about to be here for Monsoon season.”
“Yes, I w
ould like to get home soon, although I will not leave until you leave with me. I promise you that.”
I smiled at him and for some reason, even though I didn’t really know him, I believed what he told me. I wanted to believe it and the way he said it made me believe him. I didn’t say much as we made our way to the suite. I was more than a little concerned with how everything was going to work out, but when I got there, I no longer had any worries. The place was huge, more than enough room for the both of us.
“I am going to jump in the shower if you don’t mind.”
“Go ahead. You do whatever you need to, but can you please call Ashlyn first. She has been calling me nonstop and told me that she wasn’t going to stop until she talked to you.”
“That sounds like her. I will call her as I run some water.”
“I am going to order something for dinner or we can go out.”
I wasn’t feeling up to going out, so I just told Sam to order me whatever he wanted. I wasn’t very picky and after the food offered where I had been the last week or so, anything would be a step up. This must have been the nicest hotel around, which meant that they most likely had good food as well. This was my hope anyways.
I locked myself in the bathroom and started the water before I used his cell phone to call Ashlyn. I was happy to hear from her and I was still amazed that she had been able to help me so far away.
“Hey Ashlyn.”
“Meri! It is so good to hear your voice. I was worried about you. Sam hasn’t called me in hours.”
“Leaving the jail took some time. There was a lot of paperwork that had to be done before they would let me leave.”
“So you are out?”
“I am out in Sam’s custody. They took my passport, but Sam says that he is going to help me work it out. We have to find Carol so that they will drop the murder charges.”
“Murder charges?”
“Yeah, crazy right?”
We were quiet for a few seconds, both trying to figure out what to say.
“You didn’t have to do this Ashlyn, but I am so thankful that you did. I don’t think I would have been able to get out of this. I don’t think there is any way I could do it without Sam. He is great.”
Ashlyn agreed. “He really is the only one that I trust. He is crazy busy here, but he is a good friend.”
“He is also really cute, is he that kind of friend?”
“No, not like that. I introduced him to some people I know.”
“You should see this hotel suite we are staying in. It is like out of some movie or something. Way out of my league.”
“It doesn’t matter where we come from Meri. You know that.”
Ashlyn had come from nothing. When I met her for the first time, she had been as broke as I was, if not worse. Now she had made herself over and she was the perfect mentor. I was helped her with what I knew and Ashlyn was teaching me about the other side of life. I never thought I would need all of her training, but we had become fast friends.
“Well look, I hate to cut this short, but this bathtub is full and I haven’t had a decent bath in a week.”
“Okay Meri. Call me in the morning and we will go over the game plan. We are going to get you home.”
I thanked her again, still not sure how I was going to repay her. I moved into the water and moaned at the hot water encasing my body. This bath was almost worth all the money in the world at this particular moment. It was heavenly and I never wanted to leave.
Chapter 6
Sam
I started to get worried about my charge after an hour. The water had stopped running long ago, but the woman never reemerged. Dinner was here and it was one of those times when I ordered one of everything on the menu. I didn’t know what it was that she liked to eat and it just seemed like the safe way to go about it. It was all getting cold though, so I finally moved to the bathroom and knocked gently on the door.
There was no answer and I knocked a little louder, sure that she had heard me. I called out her name a couple of times. Finally I tried to the knob and it didn’t turn. I knocked louder and got even more anxious for a minute. I am not sure why, but I was really bothered by the idea that something had happened to her.
Finally I heard her call out. Her voice sounded sleepy and I felt relief flush over me. Why did I care so much? I don’t know why, but I knew that I had this strong sense of protection that I felt for her. I didn’t want anything to happen to her, no matter how far out of the way I had to go to make sure that happened.
“Sorry Sam. I can’t believe I went to sleep in there. I was just so tired and the water was so warm.”
She was casually talking to me as she moved to the bed where I had put her bags. She was rummaging through them, one hand holding up the towel while she dripped water on the plush carpet under her bare feet. She was a sight, a natural beauty and I had to kick myself for not seeing it before. Under all of that stress and dirt, Meri was absolutely breathtaking and my eyes took in the new woman in front of me.
“Are you okay?”
“Yea, I um, you look different.”
The woman giggled and I felt my face getting hot. Was it that clear that she had me all bound up and tongue-tied? I certainly didn’t like the idea of that.
“Well I feel like a human being again. I can only imagine what I looked like in jail. They don’t have any mirrors to worry about that kind of thing.”
“Yeah, I guess not.”
Her hair was already lighter as it dried. It was a strawberry blonde color now, when at first I had thought it as more brown. Her skin was light and freckled, her eyes lit up with the smile that came easy to her face. It was like she was a whole other person and I can’t say that this version was any easier to not stare at.
I stumbled over my words as her green eyes met mine. She wouldn’t let them go and the more I tried to get myself together, the worse off I was. She was beautiful, magical and I was afraid that I had lost it. It was like I had hit my head and now I was not even myself anymore.
“So are you hungry?”
“Yeah, let me just get some clothes on.”
She was still in her towel, a fact that I knew rather well since I was the one that couldn’t take my eyes off of her. The longer I stood there looking at her, the clearer it all was to me. I was here for a reason.
“Of course.”
I moved away and felt like a bumbling idiot. I was really off of my game at the moment and I tried to recover by taking the lids off of the plates I had covered the rest of the bed with. I didn’t know how to do anything half measured, so I wanted her to see that she had everything her heart could desire. It wasn’t part of the favor for Ashlyn, this was for Meri. The poor woman had a rough couple of weeks and I wanted to help her feel a little bit better. There was no telling how long we were going to be stuck here together, so the best way to assure that it wasn’t a total disaster was to make nice. Meri was the kind of woman that made it rather easy.
She came back out in a thin dress that I saw a lot of the locals in. The bright pinks and purples matched her hair somehow and made her look even more vibrant.
“You look beautiful.”
“Thank you Sam. Is that your professional opinion?”
I shrugged. “I have been off the clock for a while, so that was just a man’s opinion. Come eat before it gets cold.” And I put my on foot in my mouth again.
“Wow, I am not that hungry, but everything does look good.”
“I ordered everything they had. I didn’t know what it was that you liked.”
“You are very thoughtful Sam, thank you. I hope I can pay you back in some way.”
“No need. Really. I never get to do anything worthwhile anymore. I make a lot of money and I help rich people get richer, but this, helping you makes me feel like I did when I first started law school.”
“Well you should let me do your taxes, for free if you like.”
I chuckled and smile at the young woman. She was sitting in the
middle of the bed with a fork, trying a little bit off of each plate. She had no idea that I had a full staff of accountants to do my books. She had no idea how big I was back home and I liked the feeling of that. I wasn’t some big shot lawyer in her eyes. I was just a man that had saved her. I really liked being that man for her ad the simplicity of it all.
“I will think about it. You have a big job waiting for you when you get back.”
“I doubt it will still be there. It doesn’t look good to be away like this and not show up. I couldn’t even call. I don’t think I will ever show my face there again. I just won’t be able to.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“I am still going to New York. I have always wanted to live there. I will just have to figure something else when I get there. I am sure that there will be plenty of work.”
She was optimistic and in my line of life, it was too rare. No one looked at the bright side and Meri had every reason not to, but here she was talking about the silver lining of her arrest in Thailand.
“What do you want to do tomorrow? Are we going to look for Carol?”
As soon as I said the words, I regretted them. Her face crumpled and she was no longer looking so positive. It was as if I had reminded her of something that her mind had finally pushed away enough that she wasn’t constantly thinking of it. I took that away and I felt that the biggest doof for doing so. I knew that it was because of me that she was now sad. I wanted to change that for her. I wanted to make her smile again, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to do that.
“Sorry Meri. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
The words were out, but they felt so incomplete. I had made her cry. Not thinking again, something that was becoming a trend with being around her, I leaned in and lifted up her chin with my fingers. I made her look at me and I told her that everything was going to be okay. I didn’t know if that was true, but I sure hoped that it was, for her sake. For my sake as well. I never wanted to see this woman cry again.