“His essence?”
Alistair’s questioning had unsettled her. “He selects one of us every week to take his essence.”
“Come on, girl, tell us if what I’ve heard is true. One lucky girl sucks him off every week. Is that true?”
She lowered her eyes and nodded.
“Mmmh, how does he do it?” Alistair shook his head. “You should see this man, Tim. He’s fat, soft, with round glasses. Dresses like a monk and looks terribly holy. He collects money every week for teaching girls yoga, and gets a free blowjob thrown in. Must think he’s arrived early in heaven.”
“No,” cried Ranji, “It’s not like that. We do yoga and one of us is blessed afterwards. That’s all. He is very kind.”
“Kind? I’d be that kind to you any time you like, Ranji. So has Sherry been chosen?”
“Yes. Once. She was not very good at it.” She avoided Tim’s eye. “Papi said she must study more and asked me to help her.”
“Why you, Ranji? You some sort of professor on that subject?”
She let herself smile. “Alistair…”
“OK, maybe. So keep talking. What did you do to help her?”
“Well, we talked about it a lot, and we went out together to buy clothes. She looks really nice now when she tries.” That much is true, thought Tim bitterly.
“And? What else did you do?”
“I helped her practice,” she whispered.
“Now we’re getting to it. You helped her practice. More!”
“I found some of my friends to help, to let her practice. Now she’s good. Really good. Men think she’s fantastic, and she looks sexy too.”
“How many friends, Ranji? Ten? Twenty?” Ranji nodded.
Tim was stunned. Sherry had been studying oral sex? And she was good at it? He could not believe it. Ever since they had been together, her attempts on him had not amounted to much, and she had always stopped too soon. He couldn’t remember when she had last done it for him.
Ranji was holding back, not telling them something, but Alistair knew her too well. “Well, tell us the rest.”
She bit her lip and then blurted out, “I got paid for it.”
Tim shifted in his chair but Alistair reached across to restrain him. “So, your friends paid you to let Sherry practice on them?”
“Yes,” she said miserably.
“And how much of the money did you give to Sherry?”
“She didn’t know. I was going to tell her after the first one, but then I thought it would make her feel bad. After the others, it was too late to tell her. But we’ve stopped now. She doesn’t need any more practice.”
“Your student has graduated. Well, congratulations, Professor. Now tell us about the Irishman.”
Tim could see he had surprised Ranji. “How did you know?”
“Never mind. Tell me. Why did you go to him? More money?”
“No. Not that time. Papi Bombar asked us to go.”
“Come on, tell us. What made Papi Bombar offer his two most attractive girls to someone like the Irishman, and without charge?”
“I don’t know. Honestly. Something was late, I think. Papi and the others were delivering something for the Irishman but it was late. So he made a lot of trouble and said he would burn Papi’s school down. You know what he’s like, always making trouble. So Papi asked us to help.”
“Now we’re getting to it. What was the delivery? Something illegal, obviously or the Irishman wouldn’t be involved. Children? Drugs?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “I just don’t know. Not children. Papi and my father and the others would never do that.” She had started to cry.
“Did Sherry know?”
“She doesn’t understand. Papi just asked us to help, so she did it.” Her sobs made her difficult to hear. “He didn’t have her. I promise. He had me but not Sherry, and it was only to help. No money.”
Alistair thought for a moment and then looked across at Tim with a shrug. He went to Ranji and helped her up off the bed. “Here, come and say sorry to Tim. You shouldn’t have borrowed his wife without permission.” He led her to Tim and pushed her to her knees.
She pressed her hands together and lifted them to him. Tears ran down both cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Tim,” she sobbed. He took her hands between his own but said nothing.
Alistair brought tissues for her. “Do you want to say anything to her, Tim?” He shook his head.
Alistair helped her to her feet. “It’s over, Ranji. You are in Tim’s debt. You must make it up to him in the future. Now take your clothes to the bathroom and get dressed. Wait there until I call for you.”
Alistair sat down and looked across the table at Tim. “Well, a bad shock, my friend, but not too bad, I hope.”
“I can’t think of a worse one.”
“No, I think you’re wrong there. Sherry might be silly and easily led, but at least she’s not running around looking for men while you’re not here.”
“No, she seems to have Ranji to do that for her,” said Tim bitterly.
“Oh, Ranji. Don’t worry about her. She comes from a good family, in spite of her hobbies. You can’t expect a good Indian girl to turn down the chance of making some free money, after all. I think she really wanted to help Sherry. Has it helped, do you think?”
“I don’t know. She has some better clothes, I suppose, but what am I going to say to her when I get back home?”
“I’ve been thinking about that. Listen to me. I don’t know Sherry so I’m guessing, she wasn’t the best wife, am I right?”
“Well—but I like her. Love her. She’s a good person, it’s just that she has these ideas, crazy ideas… Like the yoga. That’s typical.”
“That’s what I thought. You know, Ranji might have been doing some good for her.”
“But I don’t like all these secrets. And what about this Irishman? What was all that about? Do you know about this delivery that was late?”
“That’s why I called you. If it had just been Ranji and her lessons on oral sex, I would have shrugged my shoulders and let you sort your own problems out. However, the Irishman is different. He’s very nasty. Dangerous. When I heard a blonde European girl had met him with Ranji, I started to ask questions. I think the delivery was guns, and you definitely don’t want to be mixed up with the Irishman and guns. That would be an invitation to a short life.”
“Sherry’s mixed up in all that?”
“No. I’m pretty sure she’s not. She was just a little easy amusement that the Irishman forced out of Bombar and his associates when the shipment got delayed. It sounds as if she came out of it intact, lucky for her, but I wouldn’t let her do it again, if I were you.”
“Oh God! What am I going to do now?”
Alistair reached across the chair to touch his arm. “My friend, when I was drowning, you pulled me out of the water. I owe you. Take my advice. Let me lend you an island to holiday on. Don’t say anything to her now but take her up there for a week, and if you can’t get her back under control I shall be surprised. Keep it a secret from her, and I’ll arrange it. You will be able to see just how successful Ranji has been.”
Tim must have agreed, because Alistair was saying “Good, good. Now, let’s release Ranji from the bathroom and send her on her way, and we’ll get down to organising your holiday.”
He brought Ranji to say farewell. She was properly dressed and her make-up had been repaired. She even looked cheerful as she shook Tim’s hand and left.
“Ah, Ranji. A really delightful girl,” said Alistair. “I like her and her father, but I wouldn’t trust them with money. You’ll have to try her one day. I can promise you’ll enjoy it.”
“Why did you make her undress?”
“Didn’t you like it?” he teased. “It’s hard to argue when you’re without your clothes, so I knew it would help her talk. But also because she looks so tasty.”
Chapter 14
Sherry felt happy to be driving through the Malaysian plantations again. L
eaving Singapore behind gave her a feeling of release, of having the cage door flung open. Tim drove quietly beside her, concentrating on the road. The sunlight and shadow of overhanging jungle was flashing over them and the rich smell of tropical vegetation hung in the air. She looked forward to another break on Pulau Kelapa.
Life felt good to her. Tim had come back again, and he was being unusually attentive to her. On his last break he had surprised her with flowers. He had stayed with her all the time, even taken her shopping for clothes. When he had returned last night, he listened with interest to her tales of everything she had done while he had been away. He had even asked if he could meet Ranji sometime, and now he looked as cheerful and excited about Pulau Kelapa as she felt herself. She sat back and enjoyed the humid air rushing past her.
The boat journey to the island seemed to take forever. They could see Pulau Kelapa clearly from the mainland, but the chugging fishing boat did not get there in a hurry. She shaded her eyes to peer for familiar places under the palms. The island appeared deserted. She willed herself to close her eyes and doze.
She awoke with a start and found the island jetty drawing near. The slowing of the boat’s engine must have woken her, and running down the jetty to meet them came Faith and Hope, waving and calling out to her. They helped her off the boat and dragged her off, Tim following behind with the bag over his shoulder.
The twins pulled her off to the side, missing the resort office. They wanted to take her to Alistair first. She found him sitting on the verandah of his cabin, reading the newspaper and drinking through a straw from a tall, red cocktail. A turbaned boatman with a twisted nose and broken smile was relaxing on the steps. He jumped up as they approached and came to take Tim’s bag.
Alistair set his paper aside and spread his arms. “Sherry, Tim, welcome to my kingdom! Come and take a drink. The sun is bad for you without internal support.” He shook her hand and kissed her before calling to the boatman, “Ahmed, drinks for our guests.” He turned to welcome Tim.
Sherry had just got comfortable at the table and set her sun hat under her chair when Ahmed came smiling and nodding to her elbow with an iced drink on a tray. “Memsahib…” was all he could manage.
She took the drink and raised it to Alistair. “What’s this, Alistair? I’m suspicious.”
“Oh, it’s a genuine Pulau Kelapa sling. Like a Singapore sling but better. You’ll like it.” He raised his own glass to her and pulled at his straw.
“Mother warned me about coloured drinks and strange men. Oh well, as long as you don’t have designs on my virtue.” Ahmed had brought Tim’s drink and together they tried it. Fruity, bittersweet. Probably stronger than it seemed, but very easy to drink. “Oh, I like that! You are such a kind host, Alistair.” Faith and Hope were chattering and laughing. They seemed to be drinking cold tea.
Sherry sat in silence, sipping her drink as Alistair asked Tim about their journey up. Ahmed was standing beside her again. Although she had not finished her drink, he had another on his tray and was offering it to her. She looked up at his friendly face. He was smiling and she wondered why he had let his teeth get so stained, and why the gap in his smile had not been bridged. He had come very close and she was staring at his face as if through a goldfish bowl. The chatter around her had changed into an enveloping buzz and she felt as if she was moving through treacle.
She woke abruptly. She looked up at a cabin ceiling, white with simple brown beams. She raised her head in confusion and tried to remember where she was. She lay naked on the bed. The cabin door hung open and she could look out over the beach to the sea, bright with sun flashes.
I was drunk, she thought. With just one drink, I was drunk. I must have fainted and they brought me here. Where is Tim? She lay back and examined herself. Her head felt heavy and her mouth was dry. She felt nauseous.
She forced herself to sit up and the silver chain cascaded onto the floor. She looked at the belt around her waist. A heavy leather belt, rich and moist with saddle soap and reinforced with the chain that held it closed. There was a small padlock at her hip, securing the chain that looped around her inside the belt. Disbelieving, she followed the chain down to the floor. It ended in a ring that had been threaded onto a thick wire that ran from the back of the room out through the door and into the sand.
Head still spinning, she looked around her. She was in a large room. The wide bed stood on one side, with the opposite wall taken up with a compact kitchen. There was a counter with a sink and a gas ring. Cupboards below and a small refrigerator. Pans hung on the wall and there was a rack of plates drying above the sink. Where was she? This was not like the cabin she had stayed in before. And why was she chained?
She stood up and felt her stomach rise. At the back of the room she saw an open door with a step down to a wet concrete floor. She rushed out into a simple toilet and shower room, and was violently sick. Cold and trembling, she rinsed her mouth and washed her face at the sink and returned to the room a little more in control of herself. At least whoever had captured her was reasonably humane. Her chain sliding along the thick wire would allow her to move around, even step outside. She went to the door and looked out.
Immediately, she knew this was not Pulau Kelapa. The beach was deserted. Only a small cove limited by black rocks. She stepped out onto the verandah. The cabin was built on stumps above the sand. To her left jungle came down to the sea. On the other side the beach graded into a rocky point. She went to the end of the verandah to look behind the cabin. It sat perched on a finger of land sticking out from the jungle. Coconut palms swayed over it and lent their shade.
She was alone in this strange place. There was no sign of other cabins. No people walking on the beach. No sound apart from the lazy ripples caressing the sand. In the distance, across the emptiness of the sea, the dark mainland hills watched her. Frantically, she looked around for help, for any sign of humanity. Then she noticed footprints on the sand. In front of the cabin the dry sand was a confusion of prints, old and new. Leading away, down the wet tide-washed sand, a single set of prints ran down to the sea. Sandals and a towel showed someone had gone swimming. She picked out a shadow in the water. A swimmer. She could see a snorkel sticking up at his head. The man dived, lifting his flippers up out of the water and disappearing. He was white and naked. It might be Tim.
A harsh snort came across the water to her as the man surfaced again and cleared his snorkel. She called to him. Tim lifted his head and saw her. He waved and swam back to shore. It was a relief to see him paddle out of the water and wrap the towel around his waist. He came to her carrying his flippers and still wearing his mask and snorkel in his hair. He had a wide smile on his face.
“Good morning, sleepyhead. What do you think of ParadiseIsland?”
“What’s happening? What’s this?” she lifted her chain to him. “Who put this on me?”
He looked at her with a half-smile. “I did.”
She felt furious and relieved together. “You frightened me. Now take it off.”
“No. I’m going to get a shower. Why don’t you make some breakfast? There’s bacon and eggs in the fridge.”
She could not believe him. “Tim, take it off right now. It’s not funny.”
“No. It’s not funny. So make the breakfast and we’ll talk about it.” He pushed past her towards the shower.
She ran after him and grabbed his arm. “I’m not making any damn breakfast until you get this thing off me.”
He seized her wrist and looking at her coldly, slowly tore her hand away. “Very well, I’ll make breakfast and then we’ll talk. First of all, I’m going to wash the salt off me.”
She sat on the bed, anger boiling inside her. She could hear the shower running and Tim humming to himself. The bastard! What was he thinking of? And where were her clothes? She looked for their bag but it was nowhere. The books she had brought with her lay on the bedside table, and she thought she remembered their shampoo and wash bags in the bathroom, but no clothes.
/>
Tim came from the shower wearing shorts and drying his hair with the towel. She stared venom at him, but he ignored her and went to hang the towel over the verandah rail.
“Now then,” he said complacently, “two eggs for breakfast?”
“I’m not eating anything until you get this belt off,” she spat.
“Oh well, I’ll breakfast alone. Can I offer you a coffee?”
She threw herself at him but he held her off with one hand. “I can make this chain shorter, you know. Sit on the bed until I’ve made breakfast, and then we’ll talk.” He pushed her back. The bed caught her behind the knees and she sat. Tim turned to the kitchen counter.
He seemed in no hurry but at last his meal was ready and he carried it out to the verandah. “Good. Now you can come outside and we’ll talk.”
Her mood had gone from fury to despair. “Why are you doing this to me, Tim?”
“Come outside and we’ll talk.” He took her hand and drew her off the bed. “Come on, sit down and be civilised.” He sat her at the table. He had piled his plate high with eggs and bacon, and she saw he had brought two cups of coffee. He pushed one over to her and went back for a plate and cutlery for her. He wanted to share the eggs and bacon but she stopped him.
“No! I don’t want anything. Why are you doing this to me? Where are we, anyway?”
“Where are we? This is a little island that Alistair has lent us. Pretty, isn’t it? I could retire here. We must enjoy it while it’s ours.
“Now, business. I know what you’ve been doing. I know about Ranji and her lessons. I know you’ve been giving blowjobs to her friends. I know about the Irishman.”
She could not believe what she had just heard. “But—but—how do you know?”
“Never mind that, but you know what really pisses me off? You’ve been pushing me away all the time. Talking about needing space, about being special friends, separate beds, no sex, the whole lot, and at the same time you’ve been sucking off half of Singapore. How am I meant to feel? You care more about Ranji and her friends than you’ve ever cared about me.”
Her Master's Voice Page 11
