by Guy Lilburne
Blade came into the bar one day with Noy. She was beautiful. She was only 18 and new to the bar scene, having arrived from up country only the day before. She was shy and a bit awkward; hardly more than a child herself, but she had a calming influence on Blade. Day and night they were inseparable. Blade gave her everything, treated her like a princess and her confidence and taste in expensive things grew. She sent a lot of money home to her mama, who was looking after her baby son. Blade was the happiest man in the world; maybe he had found what he was looking for after a lifetime of searching! Everything in Lek’s Bar seemed to be getting back to normal and I think we were all slightly relieved. Blades big booming laugh would spill out as easily as his cash and everyone was happy.
After nearly a month of Blade being with Noy every day, he came in without her and his mood was different. Obviously we asked about her, but he didn’t want to talk about it. We were, of course, concerned for Noy’s safety and hoped that she had just had enough of him and left him. But we were also worried that he had done something really bad and we talked about where he might have dumped her body. We were hoping that Noy would turn up again or that we might hear some good news about her, but we didn’t. Lek said that she would ask around to see if she could find out anything. Blade just refused to be drawn into any conversations about Noy.
“I don’t want to talk about that little whore ever again.”
That is the only thing he ever said about Noy.
The rain was lashing down. After five minutes of deep, rolling thunder claps and lightning that lit up the night sky, the tropical storm started. In minutes all the sois around the bar were flooded. The bar was empty except for Lek, one of the girls, Blade, One Legged Phil, Old Bob, me and Vodka Dave, who was asleep slouched over the table. The bullfrogs, relishing the downpour, croaked so loudly that they sounded like a field of grunting water buffalo. Elvis Presley boomed out from the sound system, but did little to drown out the thunder and rain and bullfrogs. The mood in the bar was as sombre and damp as the night.
A lone woman walked down the soi, hunched up against the rain. She looked like a drowned rat. She came into the bar. At first I thought it was Noy, she looked so much like her.
“Good evening Missy” said Blade, welcoming her into the bar.
Without a word she pulled a knife and thrust it deep into his heart, as quick as any move I had ever seen Blade do himself. He collapsed onto the floor. It was the first time I had ever seen anyone die and it wasn’t as dramatic as I thought it would be. He moaned as he fell and then he was silent. His muscles flexed and then relaxed and he was dead. There wasn’t even much blood. Before anyone could move the woman tossed down some photos onto Blades body. They were photos of Noy. Her face and body had been stitched up like a patchwork quilt. Her face had become a mosaic of surgical stitches. Blade had cut her up bad and the repair work by the hospital was never going to make her beautiful again.
“She my daughter” screamed the woman. “Now, how she can take care of her baby?”
The woman sat on a bar stool and waited for someone to ring the police.
“Did you report the attack on your daughter to the police?” asked One Legged Phil.
“No. I not say anyone. I want to fix myself.”
“Well, you fixed it alright” said Phil, leaning over the body. He dug out Blade’s wallet from his trouser pocket and picked up the photos.
“Here take these and go. There is no point in you going to prison. You need to take care of Noy and her baby now. There is a lot of cash in the wallet, but don’t use the credit cards because the police might be able to trace you. OK?”
“OK!” The woman wai’d to One Legged Phil and the rest of us.
“One minute please” said Lek, taking the wallet and removing 1000 baht. “He has to pay bar bill.” Lek showed the woman out of the back door.
We told the police that he staggered in out of the tropical storm with the knife stuck in his chest and said that he had just been robbed. Then he collapsed and died and nobody saw anything.
Vodka Dave woke up and opened an eye.
“What’s going on?” he mumbled and went back to sleep.
About The Author
Guy Lilburne has been a Policeman for 30 years and a Detective for the last 27 years. He has worked in CID, Murder Squads, Drugs Squad, Vice Squad, Special Enquiries, and various Crime Squads. He has also worked in a specialist Covert Unit and more recently in a Cold Case Review Squad. He has been writing for over twenty years. Author of the book ‘My Thai Story’ and the best selling Detective, Murder/Mystery novels The Thai Dragon, and The Kiss Of The Dragon; Cocktails & Dreams; The Flower Girl and the short story TIKA.
