The Thai Dragon

by Lilburne, Guy

  “What’s a Spirit House?” asked Danny.

  “It’s a house for spirits, so they don’t come inside your house. They are happy in a beautiful little house of their own. It looks like a very bright and beautiful bird table.”

  “Oh, right so! I’ve seen them all over the place. I actually thought that they were bird tables. Jesus! You’re never going to get one of those things on the aircraft.”

  Ying allowed herself to giggle.

  “No Danny, it’s okay. We are just going to buy a little one for the balcony.”

  Ying sat in the shade of some coconut palms with her favourite monk, Sak. Nobody knew how old Sak really was, but a guess would put him in the region of 77 years. He was skinny but not frail looking. He had a pointed chin and his glasses made his brown eyes look huge, almost like a cartoon character. He sat gracefully in the lotus position, his old robes now nearer to a brown colour then the bright saffron coloured robes of the younger monks. They watched Danny playing with the kids. The kids loved the old farang man with the funny accent and kids of all ages took great delight in teasing him by copying his ‘Holy Jesus!’ over and over again. Danny was laughing but he kept putting his finger to his lips ‘Shhhh’ to quieten them. He didn’t want them to get in any trouble. The kids liked him because he was different and they felt honoured that a farang would want to come and visit them, especially one who came loaded with fruit, food, Pepsi Cola and sweets. Danny was trying to play football with them, but the kids found it a lot more fun clinging on to his legs and in the end they all ended up rolling around in the red dust in a big play fight. Amongst the laughing and screeching of children’s voices, Ying and Sak could hear Danny’s voice

  “Holy Jesus! Get off me, will yer! Right now, you’ve had it!”

  “Ying, you were right to bring your farang detective here. In the last two hours he has lit up like a new day dawning.”

  “I think he has been lonely for a long time. He has such sorrow in his heart. His wife came to see me. He carries guilt in his heart for her death and it is not his guilt to carry.”

  The monk nodded and listened.

  “I haven’t asked him anything about his past and I didn’t tell him that I have seen his wife. There are other spirits, maybe children. I think Danny stopped living his own life a long time ago. There is a dark place inside him where he is hiding. I think maybe he is lost in there. What do you think? You know so much more than me.”

  “You came here with a man without love or hope in his heart. I too felt his loneliness and emptiness. You were right Ying when you said that his spirit was battered, and the children have certainly touched his heart. They have reached into his soul today, but you must take credit. Today you have made merit. I think you ignited something inside him. You have also reached his heart, enough for him to come here with you. I think he is a man who is angry with God and yet he came here and accepted blessings and sat in prayer. He did this for you Ying, not for himself. Maybe he is a tough man, but I think he has a delicate heart and I think you already know what I’m about to say………You can‘t play games with this man.”

  “Yes, I know. But he has reached into my heart too. I don’t want to love him and I don’t want him to love me, but I don’t want to be away from him. I think I can help him in a positive way. Maybe I can get him to finally let go of the past and release the ghosts that haunt him.”

  “But, what if the only reason he lets go of the past is to have a future with you? Are you prepared for that Ying?”

  “I don’t know.” She looked into the face of her monk friend and Sak smiled kindly back at her. She raised her hands and pressed them together in prayer at her chest, then raised them higher to touch the tip of her nose and then finally higher to her forehead, thus offering up the question and her own prayer to Buddha.

  It was almost midnight when they got back to the apartment and it had been another long day. The rains had started again on the flight back to Phuket. They got soaked through whilst carrying the Spirit House, the sand tray, the little wooden Buddha bust and the garlands of lotus flowers to decorate everything, from the taxi to the apartment. Ying wasted no time in setting the Buddha statue up high on top of a unit in the kitchen. She explained to Danny that Buddha should be above head height. She adorned the Buddha with a garland of lotus flowers and offered up a high wai in prayer. She then set up the brightly painted Spirit House and set down the sand tray on the floor underneath it to hold the candles and incense sticks. The Spirit House was also adorned with a garland of flowers, and the little figures she had bought were placed inside with a miniature Buddha shrine. Ying then placed an opened bottle of cola with a straw in it at the foot of the Spirit House, together with a banana. Another prayer from Ying and the apartment was fully protected. Danny poured himself a stiff Jack Daniels, it always helped him sleep.

  Chapter 13 Back to the Crime Scene.

  Ying’s presence in the apartment had had an immediate impact upon the place. Besides erecting the Spirit House and placing the Buddha statue, her gentle feminine charm seemed to fill every room. At least, that’s the way it felt to Danny.

  Danny had already been up for nearly 10 minutes, was out on the balcony smoking a cigarette and watching the heavy rain thrashing the earth below, when Ying came and said ‘good morning’. Danny couldn’t help but notice how fantastically sexy she looked in that little white silk Kimono. He watched her go into the kitchen area and search the cupboards and the fridge. He could have told her they were all bare. She didn’t complain that there was no food, she simply turned to Danny.

  “Danny, we need to do a big shop today.”

  “Okay.”

  “What else do you want to do today?”

  “I want to go and have a look at Sarah Appleby’s apartment.”

  “Okay. I’m going to have a shower.”

  Danny looked back out at the rain. The sky was unusually grey and overcast today, but at least the air felt a bit cooler and fresher. He waited for Ying to finish her shower.

  By the time they had reached the huge ‘Jungceylon’ shopping centre the rains had stopped, the sky was blue again and the sun was blazing. As the sun baked everything dry again, steam was rising from the roads and pavements, from the buildings and even from the people who had been wet by the rain. They sat at one of the tables in the open air centre of the complex and had breakfast and coffee. They watched the fountains dancing around the massive galleon with its sails set, as if ready to sail around the world discovering new lands. With the music and lighting this was an impressive centre piece indeed.

  They did Ying’s ‘big shop’ in the Carrefour Hypermarket. Danny pushed the trolley and said ‘yes’ to everything that Ying held up for approval. They both felt like a couple and they both enjoyed playing the role. They filled the fridge and the kitchen cupboards before they set off to Sarah’s apartment.

  Ying cut the seal, which still had her name signed on it from when she and Phong had sealed the place after the industrial cleaners, hired by the police, had cleaned and disinfected the place. She flashed in the key card and they went inside. Ying gasped when she saw that the place had been turned upside down. A very untidy and thorough search had taken place since she had sealed the apartment. She moved back around Danny and checked the seal again.

  “Danny, this is not my signature. It’s a fake. Somebody has been inside and searched the place. I did not leave it like this.”

  “Yes, I can see that. Don’t worry. Let’s have a look around.”

  “Who could have done this?”

  “Somebody with a key, I guess.”

  Even though Danny had seen the forensic photos, Ying showed him around the place and pointed out where the body had been lying and described the blood patterns. They went into the bedroom and Danny looked at the camera tripod.

  “I don’t know who came here sea
rching, just yet, but I know what they were looking for.”

  “A camera?” said Ying.

  “Yes.”

  “You think she was killed for a camera?”

  “I don’t know Ying, but somebody wants it. Maybe the killer took it with him, or maybe it was already hidden somewhere. Maybe there is more than one person after the bloody thing.”

  Ying jumped when the phone in the living area rang and the two detectives went to it. Danny stopped Ying from picking it up and let it go onto the answer machine.

  “Hello Sellah, I have your camera now. You have to come and collect it soon or I sell it for lot of money. Ha Ha, only joking. See you soon Sellah.”

  The answer machine clicked off.

  “Can you do a dial back on this thing?” asked Danny.

  “Yes of course.”

  “Ring him back and find out who he is. Don’t tell him we are Police. I don’t want to scare him off. Tell him Sarah asked you to collect the camera. He must be the only man in Patong that doesn’t know she is dead.”

  Ying did the call back and spoke in Thai for a few minutes before putting the phone back down. She flicked out the tiny cassette from the answering machine and handed it to Danny.

  “Sorry, Danny. I had to tell him that we are Police. He didn’t believe that I was Sarah’s friend and he wouldn’t tell me where he was, until I told him that she was dead and we were investigating her murder.”

  “And did he tell you then?”

  “Yes. He is Mr. Ching and he is at Ching’s motorbike repair shop off Nanai Road. I know where it is.”

  “Well done Ying. Good girl.”

  Ying smiled and blushed with the compliment.

  The big red and gold sign that hung on the front wall of his shop was unmistakable ‘Mr. Ching’s Bike Repair Shop.’ Outside the motorbikes were lined up, either having been repaired or waiting to be checked. Inside the shop was cluttered with tyres, plastic tubs of oil and bike

  parts. Mr. Ching came to greet the officers with a high wai.

  “Sawaddee khrap.”(Welcome)

  Ying returned the greeting with a low wai.

  “Sawaddee kha.” (Hello)

  Danny did the wai that Ying had taught him. Mr. Ching felt humbled to be wai’d so nicely by the farang and a beaming smile lit up his chubby face. He reminded Danny of the ‘Laughing Buddha’ statues that he had seen for sale in so many of the shops. Even to the farang detective, Mr. Ching’s Chinese roots were obvious.

  “Is this Sellah’s father?” asked Mr. Ching.

  “No. This is a detective from Scotland Yard, London. Can we speak in English?”

  “Yes, of course. I speak very good English.”

  “Hello, I am Jun Ching. Everyone call me Mr. Ching.”

  “Hi there, Mr. Ching, I’m Danny O’Brien. Delighted to meet you.”

  “Is Sellah really dead?”

  “Yes, I’m afraid so. How well did you know her?”

  “I know her very good. I not see her long time but we friends. I fix her bike long time ago. Very sexy lady. Everyone like Sellah, I think.”

  “You left a message on her phone, that you have her camera?”

  “Yes, I fix for her. See!” He held up a camera for inspection. “Now work very good as new.”

  “When did she bring the camera in for repair Mr. Ching?”

  “I look in book. She told me she drop camera on floor.” Mr. Ching leafed through an A4 size note book.

  “She bring camera in shop at 2:20pm on Tuesday 7th April.”

  “That was just less than 12 hours before she died” said Ying.

  Danny took the camera from Mr. Ching and switched it on. It read ‘No memory card’. He turned it off again and opened up the memory card slot.

  “Where is the memory card, Mr. Ching?”

  “Sellah take. She nearly forget and I call her back into shop. She slip it into pocket.” Mr. Ching did his impression of Sarah wriggling her bottom in order to slip the card into a very tight front hip pocket.

  “Can you remember what she was wearing?” asked Ying.

  “Yes. I always remember what she wear. Very sexy lady. She wear that day a pink tee shirt. It say ‘Boy Toy’ on front and she wear little white pants, very tight, very nice.”

  “We are going to need to take the camera Mr. Ching” said Danny.

  Mr. Ching said something to Ying in Thai and she turned to Danny.

  “The camera cost him 1,200 baht to repair. He had to get new parts.”

  Danny handed him 2000 baht.

  “Keep the change.”

  Mr. Ching held the money between his hands as he wai’d the officers again.

  “Come on Ying. We need to go back to Sarah’s apartment.”

  “Do you think the card will still be in her pants?”

  “With a bit of luck. Whoever was there searching was searching for the camera, not a memory card.”

  They found her pink ‘Boy Toy’ tee shirt lying on the floor near to the over turned laundry basket. They found her white hot pants and they found the memory card in the front hip pocket.

  Chapter 14 Murder Incident Room.

  Ying stopped to buy fresh garlands on the way back to Danny’s apartment and, when they got back, she made fresh offerings and prayers, lit candles and incense sticks. It was to become a daily routine, which Danny grew to love. It made the place feel very spiritual and relaxing. Danny updated the white board with Mr. Ching under witnesses and put 2:20pm on the time line ‘took camera for repair’.

  Danny and Ying sat together on the leather settee and Danny inserted the memory card into the camera. There were 244 photos on the card. The first 198 were of Sarah having sex in her apartment with different men, some farang, some Thai. The last 46 were of Sarah having sex in her apartment with Sir Anthony Armstrong.

  “Holy Jesus!……..” stammered Danny.

  “Mother of God!” completed Ying.

  “Jesus! She was on the game was she?” said Danny.

  “She is having sex with her uncle!”

  “If he is really her uncle. We’ll go and see Uncle Anthony again tomorrow.”

  Danny updated the white board again by adding Sir Anthony Armstrong’s name under the headings ‘LOVERS’ and ‘SUSPECTS’. It was already late into the afternoon. Without being told Ying settled down at the computer and carried on working on the translation of the remaining documents and reports into English. Danny studied his white board and made notes in his ‘KIV’ pad, in between freshening up his glass with brandy and ice. He couldn’t help but keep checking out Ying. She looked so cute and elegant perched over the computer keyboard. Her skirt had ridden up her thigh slightly and the way she leaned forward seemed to exaggerate the curves of her breasts and her bottom. If Ying knew that he was looking at her then she didn’t let on, but more often than she needed to, she stole a glance over her left shoulder. Each time their eyes met they smiled at each other like lovers. They just could not stop it.

  The afternoon turned into evening and the blackness of the night closed in quickly, as it always did this close to the Equator. Ying suggested ordering some food and Danny suggested a ‘Big Mac’. Ying persuaded him to try Thai food again and promised that she would order some food that he would be able to eat.

  “Not too spicy” she giggled.

  It was late into the night by the time Ying had finished the translations and she went and slumped, exhausted next to Danny on the Settee.

  “Danny, will you tell me about your wife?”

  Danny was slightly taken aback. How did she even know that he had ever had a wife?

  “I don’t want to talk about it, Ying.”

  “We all have to suffer in life. That is what life is about….suffering” smiled Yi
ng.

  “Maybe so, but some of us have suffered a lot more than others.”

  “Okay. Do you want to know about me?” She looked at him with beautiful oriental eyes. How could he say no?

  “If you want to tell me.”

  “I don’t come from Phuket. I come from a very poor village in Isaan, in the north east of Thailand. When I was born my sister was already ten years old. My father was a rice farmer, but the land kept getting divided up between brothers and it was too small to make good money. My father used to drink too much and I saw him beat my mother many times. Not just hit, but real beatings that would leave my mother bloodied and lying unconscious on the floor. When I was four years old my sister just disappeared one day. She was my best friend and she just went. I didn’t know it at the time, but my father had sold her to some sex traffickers that used to come around the villages every year for fresh young girls. My father was killed less than a year later. He was stabbed to death over a gambling debt. It was over two years before I heard from my sister again. She came back to the village and she had money. She put me into school and arranged for the monks to look after me. My mother was dying of cancer and I never saw her again. Years later my sister told me that my father had raped her many times from the age of 12. When he sold her she was taken to Singapore and, after about a year, she was swapped with a girl from a brothel in Malaysia. After another year or so she escaped and found her way across the border back into Thailand. She worked at a bar in Pattaya doing the only work she knew, the work of a whore. At just over 16 years of age she was already a hardened and experienced hooker. She came to see me whenever she could, but it was a long way. She paid a lot of money to make sure that I went to the best schools and got the best education. She was taking a lot of drugs. Yaa-Baa to give her the strength and energy to keep servicing ten or twenty men each day and opium to close her mind to the horror that she was subjecting herself too. All this, just to feed and educate me. As I got older I understood more about what she did and I always promised to pay her back, but she always said that her payment would be for me to escape the life that she had suffered. I graduated top of my class and she came to see me graduate. She also came along when I had my passing out parade when I joined the Police at 21 years old. Two years ago she was on top of a building in Bangkok. It was the brothel where she had started working, but the Yaa-Baa had got to her head. She was waving a gun around and threatening to shoot herself or throw herself off the building. The Police had already surrounded the place and closed off the road for half an hour before the Colonel in charge got fed up waiting and, in front of the TV cameras, he shot her off the building. I think she was dead before she hit the pavement and everybody clapped. Just another drug crazed dealer. That’s what the police had called her and, at the time, they were running an initiative to shoot dealers. She was just another number on the returns to them, but she was my sister and I loved her. I too know what it’s like to feel guilty Danny.”