The Kiss of the Dragon

by Lilburne, Guy

  “Nok, here is to you. Cheers.”

  “Cheers, tee rak.” Nok raised her glass and clinked it against Danny’s before they both took a sip of the fine brandy. They never mentioned Captain Morgan’s Bar, but they relaxed, chatted, drank wine and brandy and ate delicious Thai food. It was nearly another two hours before Danny paid the bill and they walked out, hand in hand, back onto Beach Road.

  “Tee rak, can we go and see Bangla Road?” Nok sounded excited.

  Danny laughed at her childlike enthusiasm.

  “How can I say no? Sure thing. Let’s go and have a look.”

  They were only yards away from the world famous Bangla Road and they walked hand in hand along the middle of the road taking in all the sights and sounds; the photographers with lizards and ladyboy’s, the bar girls dancing and waving to the passing farangs. the calls of ‘Hello, handsome man’, the music, the lights, the crowds of lone farang males mixed in with the crowds of holiday makers and families, all walking along Bangla Road, all looking for something.

  They got near to Moon’s Bar and Nok tugged Danny towards it.

  “We say hello to Moon.” Nok was eager to show Danny off to her old friends and, without thinking about it, she pulled Danny into Moon’s. The girls were all happy and excited to see their old friend. They all recognised Danny straight away as the ‘Great British Detective’, who had given Nok all the money just over a year ago to rescue her from her life as a bar girl. They all gathered around to hug and kiss her. Moon also recognised Danny, but she was not so happy. She just had questions.

  “Nok” she called out in Thai from her usual place at the end of the bar. “Come here, I want to talk with you.”

  Nok wai’d to her and turned to Danny.

  “Tee rak, you wait here. I get us drinks.”

  Danny lit up a cigarette, still surrounded by the crowd of smiling bar girls.

  Moon was not smiling when she spoke to Nok.

  “You better tell me what is going on. I get you job at Captain Morgan’s Bar because you say you have run out of money that the British Detective had given you, but then you turn up in my bar with him. I can see you have not run out of money. I recommend you for that bar job. Now, I think you had better tell me what is going on. I don’t want trouble with Fon. She has contacts that can make trouble for me. What have you done Nok and how does it involve me?”

  Nok knew that she had just made a big mistake bringing Danny into Moon’s bar, but she just did not think about it. Now she had to think of something to say and think quickly. Moon fixed her with a glare in the moment before Nok spoke.

  “Khun Moon, I never bring you trouble and nothing is going on. I did need the job in Captain Morgan’s Bar and I did run out of money. Maybe it is fate or maybe miracle from Buddha, but I only work two nights in Captain Morgan’s Bar and then

  Khun Danny came into the bar. He is not police anymore. Now he retire and here on holiday and he see me. He say that he did not want me to work in bar anymore and he will give me the money I need. So tomorrow I will tell Fon that now I do not need the job, but you help me more than you know Moon. I never do bad thing to you and I never lie to you. Ka.”

  Moon knew that Nok was telling lies and Nok knew that she knew. But, in Thailand, Thai people understand that sometimes it is better to just nod and accept with a smile until you have proof. So they both nodded and smiled and then hugged. For now, at least, it was not going to be mentioned again. Moon bought them all drinks and Danny returned the kindness by ringing the bar bell. Nok decided it was better not to tell Danny of her mistake and the concerns of Moon. She just smiled a lot, held onto Danny as if he was her boyfriend and enjoyed all the congratulations of the other girls.

  They stayed out drinking until late into the early hours of the morning. After leaving Moon’s Bar they walked back to the Lamai Hotel, stopping off at several other bars along the way. Too drunk to shower when they got into the room, they just undressed, fell into bed and fell into a drunken sleep in each other’s arms.

  Chapter 29: The morning after

  Danny was the first to wake up. The first thing he had awoken to was the realisation that, once again, he was naked in bed with Nok. He was not happy with himself.

  “Jesus Christ! Yer feckin eejit” he said under his breath, but it was loud enough to wake Nok. She reached out and laid her hand on Danny’s chest.

  “Good morning, tee rak” she whispered with her eyes still closed.

  “Morning. Jesus! My gob feels like someone shite in it while I was sleeping.”

  Danny got out of the bed and Nok watched him walk over to the dressing table to check the time on his watch. He then unscrewed the top from the Jack Daniels bottle and gulped back the last inch from the bottle. He walked into the bathroom and a moment later she was listening to him peeing in the toilet. When he came back into the room he had a towel wrapped around his waist. He picked up the little white plastic kettle from off the wardrobe shelf and shook it to check the water level, before putting it back on its base and clicking it on.

  “You want tea, do yer?”

  “Just water for me please. Ka.”

  Danny took a bottle of water from the fridge and handed it to Nok, then pulled back the curtains and opened a window before lighting up a cigarette. Nok could sense something was wrong with Danny and she guessed it was to do with Ling.

  “Tee rak, what time now?”

  “Ten o’clock.”

  She watched Danny drawing on his cigarette and blowing it towards the open window. He looked like a troubled man and she could feel his mood was dark.

  “Tee rak, I want to clean the air please.”

  “What?” Danny looked back at her and frowned.

  “I want to clean the air.”

  “Clear the air?”

  “Ka. Clear the air clean.”

  Danny could not help but laugh. Whether she meant to or not, she had just lifted his mood.

  “OK. What do you want to say?”

  “I think you angry because we sleep together. I think you love Ling and she loves you, but you not worry. We are just good friend. We not boom boom and you not do anything wrong. When you go back to Ling you go back a good man. But maybe not say we share a bed. OK?”

  “Thanks Nok. I don’t know why, but I do feel guilty about sleeping in the same bed with you, even though nothing happens.”

  “I understand. No problem. Ling never know and we not do anything wrong anyway.”

  “I feel guilty about you too.”

  “Jing jing?” (Really)

  “Oh Jesus! Yes.”

  “Why you feel this?”

  “Nok, I feel guilty because I think you like me, and I think you were disappointed when I told you that I had not come back for you. Then I told you about Ling. Then I asked you to help me and go back to work in a bar. We sleep together and I just feel guilty for what I am putting you through, because I worry that you might still like me. I don’t think I’m being very fair to you. I don’t know.”

  He looked at Nok and she smiled back at him and thought for a moment before she replied.

  “Tee rak, OK, I tell you true. I not like you. I love you. I cannot stop this, but I know that you love Ling and that is OK. I am very happy to help you with everything I can and I think we always be friends. I think I can be friends with Ling too. I not make you any problem and I not want you to do anything make you feel bad. I not say anything when you drink and smoke too much. I know you have sad life and carry a heavy heart, but you are very good man and I see you have big love in your heart, but need good person. I think Ling is good person for you. I think you can be happy when you find what you are looking for, but I think sometime you look in wrong place.” She did not mean to, but her eyes flicked towards the empty Jack Daniels bottle.

  “S
orry, tee rak. I should not say this.”

  “It’s OK. You are right. I’m just a fecking drunk.”

  “No, tee rak. You are many good things. You just have to find something.”

  “Yes, I have to find Jack Morgan.”

  Nok giggled.

  “After you find Jack Morgan, then you find something for you.”

  “OK. We’ll see. Nok do you really love me?”

  “Yes, tee rak. Did you not know this?”

  “I sort of guessed. But why, and after all this time?”

  “If you seduce a woman’s body she will love you all night. If you seduce a woman’s mind then she will love you forever. You seduced my mind. You gave me a dream and a new life. You gave me a future. You made me love you forever, but if we cannot be together, then that is because there is good reason that only Buddha knows. Maybe we have to wait until next life, but I am happy we are good friend. I not want you to worry about me or Ling. You are a good man Danny O’Brien.

  You ask me once about the Thai Dragon. I think what you are looking for is in Thailand. Maybe you need to feel the kiss of the dragon.”

  Danny stubbed out the cigarette.

  “I’m going to shower. Oh, and Nok, you cleaned the air good.”

  Nok beamed one of her wide smiles. She knew that everything between them was going to be OK.

  They ordered breakfast up to the room. Danny waited patiently for Nok to finish her shower before they sat on the floor and tucked into the spicy Thai omelette and fresh orange juice.

  “Nok, I need to know what you found out yesterday.”

  Nok hesitated and then took a deep breath before she spoke.

  “Tee rak, I have something to tell you first. I think you not like.”

  “Don’t worry, whatever it is. I am sure we’ll get round it.”

  “OK. But not yak yak me. OK?”

  “Yak yak?”

  “Yak yak.” Nok held her hand up in front of her face, opening and closing her fingers onto her thumb like a puppet mouth

  “Mean, keep telling off.”

  “OK. I won’t yak yak you” laughed Danny.

  “OK. Last night I make big mistake.”

  “Why, what did you do?”

  “I take you in Moon’s Bar when we go in Bangla Road. Big mistake. I not think very good and then every person remember the great British Detective. When Moon see me with you, she know I not speak true to her about needing to work in Captain Morgan’s Bar because I need money. So I have to tell more lie and say that I really did need job because I need money. And then, just by accident, you see me last night and again rescue me from bar work. She not believe, but I say this is true and that today I ring Fon and say that I cannot work in her bar anymore. You want to be my boyfriend now and not want me work bar. If I stay work bar, then Moon make many questions to find out what is really happen. I think questions make trouble for me. What do you think, tee rak?”

  Nok was looking worried.

  “Don’t worry about it. If it is too dangerous to keep on working undercover at the bar, then we’ll do something else. Tell me what you found out yesterday and we’ll plan around that. You said last night that you had a lot to tell me about Captain Morgan’s Bar. What did you find out?”

  Danny could see that Nok was suddenly excited again to tell him what she had managed to find out. He picked up his note book and pen and flicked the pages until he came to a clean page. He looked up at Nok and nodded, now poised and ready to take notes.

  “OK. Yesterday I make friends with Neung, work at bar same same sister me. She say everything about Captain Morgan’s Bar. Fon buy bar from farang Jack Morgan. She already know bar is not good business bar, but she still buy because she buy cheap. She never know Jack Morgan before but the farang need money quickly time because he owe money to Thai people. Not good Thai people and they can make very bad trouble for farang if he not pay. Jack Morgan owe money to one Thai business man called Sak Wannadee. Khun Wannadee have many business and he is nephew of Fon. He tell Fon that she can buy bar cheap, so Fon go to see bar and try to swap bar for her crocodile farm in Kanchanaburi, but farang think about this. He go to look at crocodile farm in Kanchanaburi, but then say he not want, but still sell bar cheap to Fon. Farang still owe a lot of money to her nephew and other bad people. He have friend from England who has very good bar in Pattaya and he ask him to help with money, but I not know if he help or not. I not know why he owe money or how much he owe, but I think he owe big money to bad people. Fon only buy bar a few weeks ago and she tell every person that farang Jack Morgan go back stay in England, but Neung not believe this is true. She say Fon just say this to stop gangster men coming to bar to find Jack Morgan. Jack Morgan just sell bar and disappear ………”

  “That’s all good stuff Nok. Where in Kanchanaburi did she have the crocodile farm?”

  “In Si Sawat.”

  “What’s the name of his friend in Pattaya?”

  “Not know.”

  “What’s the name of his friend’s bar?”

  “Not know.”

  “What area of Pattaya is his friend’s bar?”

  “Not know.” Nok was starting to look crestfallen, but then she remembered the photograph.

  “Oh! I remember. They have photograph of Jack Morgan with his farang friend behind the bar.”

  “That’s great.”

  “But they cannot find now, maybe put in rubbish.”

  Danny chuckled to himself and leaned back to open the bottom drawer of the dressing table. He pulled out a manila A4 envelope and pulled out some documents.

  “Don’t worry Nok. You did very good. I already have that photograph from the bar.” He showed Nok the photograph of the two men standing behind the bar at Captain Morgan’s with their arms around each other’s shoulders with a pint each in their hands.

  “Which one is Jack Morgan?” asked Nok.

  “The chunky monkey wearing the Captain Morgan’s Bar tee shirt.”

  Nok laughed at Danny’s ‘Chunky Monkey’ quip. Danny handed her the cropped close up photo of Jack Morgan that was given to him by Morgan’s Thai girlfriend, Nui, back in England.

  “This is a cropped close up version of him. I have also got his bank account details with the Siam Commercial Bank and his mobile phone number, but the number is no longer in use.”

  “So how do we find Jack Morgan now, if I cannot go work in bar?”

  “I think we need to find his friend in Pattaya first. He might be a little easier to find than Jack Morgan.”

  Nok was thoughtful for a few moments while she watched Danny light up a cigarette and stand by the open window to smoke it.

  “Tee rak, you think Jack Morgan is dead?”

  “I’m a detective. I think about everything, but still keep an open mind. I think he is missing and I think that there are people who don’t want him found. But why and where is he now? Or what’s left of him. That’s what we have to find out.”

  “Wow! Very difficult, I think. What we do now?”

  “Now we go to Pattaya and find his friend. I want to know what he knows about Jack Morgan.”

  Chapter 30: Building the house

  Ling felt a deep happiness and contentment since she had met Danny O’Brien. She thought that she loved him from the first moment she set eyes on him. She felt as though she already knew him, maybe from a previous life and she was certain that it was their destiny to be together again in this one. She had no question or doubt about her love and she was certain that Danny loved her too, but she didn’t think that he realised it yet. He had only been gone a few days, but she was missing him so much it was making her heart ache. He had no mobile phone and so there was no contact. Each day without him felt like a month.

  Her days were busy organising builde
rs, architects plans and building materials. Danny had told her to get busy building their dream house and she wasted no time. A lot of the people from the village were involved to various degrees in preparing the plot and labouring at the site. Already it looked like it was ready for a house to be built. Each day, after the sun went down, all the workers sat and ate with Ling, her little sisters Am and Om, and her Mama. Her sisters helped Mama prepare a feast of food each evening. Each afternoon they collected two boxes of beer and two bottles of rice whisky for the workers to enjoy with the food, as they all relaxed and chatted after another day working in the relentless heat of the Isaan sun. It was always a nice end to the day, as most of the people were related in some way to each other, however distantly. As the evenings got darker the noise from the crickets, gecko lizards and bull frogs got louder. 30 to 40 Thai people sat around eating, drinking and chatting about many subjects, but the most common theme was always Danny O’Brien and Ling, their new house and a future life in the village. The conversations were happy and sprinkled with lots of good humour, which caused many outbursts of laughter, which seemed to last longer as the bottles emptied. People didn’t stay late and, after clearing away and taking showers, Ling would lie in her Mama’s room and they would talk about Danny.

  Mama never said anything to Ling, because she had never seen her daughter so happy. But she was slightly concerned that he might not return. She still did not say anything when Ling said “Mama, I am having Danny’s baby.”

  “You mean you want to have his baby?”

  “No Mama. I already am carrying his baby.”

  Ling cradled her tummy in her hands as she lay on her back.

  “I can feel it growing inside me.”

  “Ling, this is impossible. You cannot feel anything after a few days, even if you were pregnant.”