by Guy Lilburne
Yuda looked at it in the box. The metal was black and the grip was brown. It looked powerful and he liked it. He went to pick it up.
“Leave it, I’ll show you how to use it later.”
“Where are we going?” asked Yuda.
“It’s over 600km by road to Phuket. I’ll take you up towards the border today. Tonight we stay in a hotel and we will cross the border into Thailand tomorrow and head towards Wang Prachen and then Phuket.
You will be there by tomorrow afternoon. I’ll show you how to use the gun tonight.”
For the first time there seemed to be a friendly tone in Farhan’s voice and it made Yuda feel a lot more comfortable in his presence.
“One night with you……..” sang Elvis.
Chapter 11
As soon as Jaya had dropped Yuda off at Jakarta airport and started heading back towards the city he decided that he was going to go and see Tika’s mother, Bethari. She was staying with her niece in Bandung, which was over two hour’s drive away to the southeast of the city. He didn’t know what he was going to say to her; he didn’t even really know why he was going at all. His head was telling him to just stay out of it, but something was compelling him to go and see Bethari. It just felt like the right thing to do. As he drove there his head was filled with all the possible conversations that they might have; in some of them he even confessed to his part in the plot to kill her daughter. All these words and thoughts and emotions swirled around in his head and made him sweat.
He suddenly found himself parked outside Bethari’s niece’s address. The last few hours had gone in a flash and he must have driven on automatic pilot because he couldn’t remember any of the drive that he had just made to get there. Still not knowing what he was going to say he went and knocked on the door. It was answered by Bethari herself.
She smiled warmly at Jaya, as she always did. There had always been genuine affection between them ever since Jaya was a young boy.
Even at 60 years old Bethari was still an attractive and elegant lady. She was warm and charming and liked by everyone who knew her. There was a kindness in her soul that touched everyone.
“Jaya, I’m happy to see you, come in my son. Can I make you tea?”
“I am not worthy of your kindness.”
“Come in Jaya, sit with me. Tell me what I can do for you.”
They went into the house.
“You look troubled Jaya, what’s the matter?”
“Nothing is the matter. I was just worried about you. Yuda is looking for
Tika and I think that he knows that you are here. I think he may come to look for Tika here.”
Bethari cast her eyes down to the floor, the shame of her rape flooded over her again.
“He has already been here Jaya.”
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
Bethari was silent for a moment before she answered.
“No, no he didn’t hurt me. He wanted to know where Tika was, but I didn’t know so I couldn’t tell him anything.”
“I think he knows where she is now.”
“How can he know this Jaya? I don’t even know. She telephones me nearly every day but she won’t tell me where she is. She just tells me that she is okay.”
“Tika is in Phuket, in Thailand.”
“And Yuda knows this?”
“Yes he knows.”
“Is Tika safe Jaya?”
“Yuda is going to Phuket to find her.”
Bethari felt the panic rise inside her, she feared for her daughter. She knew the violence that Yuda was capable of. She looked at the sadness etched into Jaya’s face and she knew that he too was concerned for Tika.
“What do you advise Jaya?”
“What do you mean?”
“What can we do to help Tika?”
“You must speak to her.”
“She will ring me either today or tomorrow, what shall I say to her?”
“Just tell her that Yuda knows that she is in Phuket and he is coming to find her. Tell her to be careful, maybe get some help or something.”
“Help from whom?”
“Well maybe she could tell the police.”
“Tell the police that her husband is coming for her? Is that a crime?”
“Bethari, just tell her that I have come to see you and told you that Yuda is coming to find her and tell her to be careful. I’m worried that’s all.”
“You are a good man Jaya and Tika and I both thank you for your kind concern. Can I make you some tea now?”
“No thank you Bethari. I think I need to get back to Jakarta; just tell
Tika.”
“Yes Jaya I will tell her, thank you.”
Jaya left and drove back to Jakarta. He wanted to tell Bethari how much danger Tika was really in, but he couldn’t. He didn’t want Tika to die, but the only way to warn her was to implicate himself. He hoped and prayed that somehow his warning about Yuda would be enough to change her fate. He really wanted to be a better person then he was, but he couldn’t be; he didn’t think he was brave enough to change anything. His guilt continued to eat away inside him like a cancer.
Chapter 12
Tika had missed Simon for the last few days. She thought about him a lot. She just couldn’t understand why he had vanished. He seemed so gentle and tender and sincere and he had stolen her heart. Tika kept trying to find a reason. She kept trying to think of something that she must have done wrong, maybe something she said, or perhaps didn’t say.
She had thought back over every single moment of their short time together. He had made her forget all about Yuda and the troubles she had left behind in Indonesia.
During the first evening that Simon had gone away, Tika had wondered aimlessly along the Beach Road in Patong and at the north end of the road she was drawn to a bar called ‘Saxophone’. The gentle Jazz drifted out onto the street and pulled her inside. The musicians playing on the stage nodded to her as she walked inside. A row of single men and one woman sat along the bar facing the stage, each nodding along to the Jazz and clicking fingers, wallowing in the music the way only Jazz fans can. The rest of the bar was taken up with tables packed with couples eating fantastic looking sea food dishes. Huge paintings of jazz greats from a bygone age looked down from the wood panel walls. The place felt warm and the Jazz was cool. Tika loved this place from the moment she walked inside and she returned each night to eat and lose herself in the music. It was from here that she rang her mother that night. Bethari told her that Jaya had been to see her. Tika was instantly scared.
“How did he know where you are Mama?”
“Jaya came to tell me that Yuda knows where you are Tika.”
There was a long silence.
“Tika?”
“Yes Mama?”
“Yuda knows that you are in Phuket and he is coming to find you.”
The words thudded into Tika like punches from a boxer.
“Mama, what shall I do?”
“Jaya says that you have to be careful, he is worried about you. He says that you should get help”
“Help from whom?”
“Maybe you should tell the Police, Tika.”
“Tell them what Mama?”
“I don’t know dear, maybe you should come home now.”
“I have a friend who would know what to do; he’s a doctor and he knows a lot about life. He would know what to do, but I don’t know where he is.”
“Who is he Tika?”
“Oh Mama, it’s a long story, but he is a good man and I know he would help me, but I haven’t been able to get hold of him for a few days. I think he has gone somewhere, but I think he is still in Thailand. If he is here then I’m not afraid of Yuda. Okay Mama, don’t worry, I’ll try to speak with
Simon.”
“Who is Simon?”
“He’s a doctor, Mama. I will ring you again tomorrow. Don’t worry Mama. Everything will be okay.”
Tika wasn’t happy that Yuda had found out where she was, but she wasn’t surprised either; he had a way of finding out about things. She wouldn’t be scared if she could get to talk to Simon and now she had good reason to bombard his mobile phone with messages and texts. She needed his help and so she asked for it. She rang several times through the evening and sent text messages asking for help. The Jazz was now just a background noise to her and the call from her mother had taken away her appetite so she just picked at the huge crab on the plate in front of her. She went to the toilet and realised that she had picked up her bag but left her mobile on the table. She had been so distracted; it was something that she would never normally do.
She dashed back, but it was too late. The phone had gone.
She asked the waitress, but she had seen nothing. The waitress asked the rest of the staff and some of the customers, but nobody knew anything about the stolen phone. Tika couldn’t stop the tears, now she did worry about Yuda. Now she was in a panic. She had never bothered to make any separate notes of the phone numbers stored inside her mobile and without her phone she had no way to make contact with her mother or Simon. The bar wouldn’t accept any payment from Tika because of the theft of her phone and she left the ‘Saxophone’ numbed and dazed by her loss. Now she felt truly alone. She walked along the Beach Road back to her hotel. She cried again in the shower and then went to bed, but she didn’t sleep: a cold sweat and fretful mind kept her awake most of the night.
Chapter 13
Yuda’s journey and his illegal crossing into Thailand was uneventful. Farhan had taken him to stay in a hotel a few miles short of the border in the Malaysian province of Kedah. There he showed him how to cock and use the Browning semi-automatic pistol. The two men smoked cigarettes and drank rice whiskey, and a mutual respect grew between them as they exchanged their life stories.
The next morning Farhan drove Yuda along a quiet but well made country road and simply drove into the Thailand province of Songkhla. A couple of miles over the border Farhan drove off the road and went along a dry dusty unmade track, which took them to an old isolated farm house. There were a few old ladies with very young children all huddled under a shelter at the front of the house. Yuda was comforted that they were also Muslims. Two dogs took up what was left of the shade and couldn’t even be bothered to get up when Farhan’s truck drove up to them, threatening to run over them. Farhan got out and an elderly farmer came up to him and the two men chatted. Farhan handed over some cash, then signalled to Yuda to get out of the car and they transferred to the farmers Pick-up truck.
They then continued northeast in the general direction of Phuket. As promised, Farhan got Yuda to Phuket town just after midday. The two men shook hands and wished each other good luck as they parted. Farhan drove off leaving Yuda standing outside the front of the Phuket Merlin Hotel in Jawaraj Road. It looked like any other big modern hotel from the outside, but inside the reception area had a beautiful stained glass ceiling and the place felt light and airy. Yuda booked a room for the night and got a room on the fourth floor looking out over the front of the hotel.
Patong beach was only about 40 minutes’ drive from Phuket town and now the only thing that Yuda had to do was wait for a text message from Jaya telling him where to meet the contact in Patong. Yuda sat on the huge double bed in his room and held the gun. He liked the weight and feel of it. He practiced pointing it at himself in the mirror and then stood up and admired himself with it tucked into the waist of his trousers. He felt powerful: he liked having a gun.
Later that evening he went out into Phuket and explored some of the local bars. He had something to eat and watched the bar girls catching white foreigners like fish in a net. They didn’t pay much attention to an Asian man like him. It annoyed him. These stupid girls think that the white tourists have more money than him. Each bar he went into he looked around and decided that he was the richest man in there. After a few more drinks at different bars he started talking to one of the bar girls at a bar and then paid for drinks for her and one of her pretty friends. He paid their bar fines and the three of them spent the rest of the night together. The night receptionist at the ‘Phuket Merlin’ wasn’t going to let the girls into Yuda’s room but for 2000 baht he changed his mind.
Chapter 14
The sunlight crept through the gaps in the curtain and, together with the low humming noise of the air conditioning unit, it was enough to wake Simon. His mouth was dry and he could smell his own breath and it was bad. He lay on the bed in between Noy and her sister Ning in a tangle of naked limbs. He was hot and sweating. The two girls were still fast asleep. Their tiny breasts and hairless pussy’s making them look even younger than their actual 18 years. Simon had paid their bar fines and had spent all the time since in bed with them in a cheap hotel in Nanai Road, but he couldn’t remember if they had already been there for two or three days. It had passed in an orgy of sex, alcohol and soft drugs. Food was delivered to the room as and when it was required and they stocked up on bottles of Sangsom, beer and fruit flavoured vodkas. The room smelt of sex and stale alcohol. Simon untangled himself from the girls. He really liked both of them, because they smiled all the time and they were good at what they did. He walked to the patio and pulled open the curtains. One of the girls groaned and they both turned away from the light. Simon opened the patio doors. The air was hot but at least it was fresh. He turned the kettle on to make a coffee with the last sachet that was left on the tray and then walked into the bathroom to shower while it boiled. Simon had agreed to pay the girl 2,000 baht a day, about £40, so once he knew how many days they had been in bed he would be happy to pay them. They were cheap and they had worked hard for their money and, as far as Simon was concerned, they deserved every penny. The shower refreshed Simon and helped to clear his head of the alcohol and drugs. After a shave and cleaning his teeth he was ready to have another sex session with the girls, after they showered of course!
He didn’t put a lot of water into the coffee cup because he wanted it strong. His mobile had been turned off for days. He had no reason to leave it on, nobody ever rang him. He picked his mobile up from next to the television, where it had been sitting for the last two or three days, turned it on without really knowing why and sipped his coffee. After a moment or two the phone started bleeping. He had text messages, missed calls and a message on his answer machine from Tika. The messages seemed to be getting more and more desperate and he could tell that she was frightened. It was obvious that she thought she was in great danger. Simon found the messages chilling and he could sense how desperate and scared Tika must be. In the last message she just begged him to help her and he wasn’t going to let her down. He rang Tika’s mobile number. After a few rings it was answered and a lady spoke in Thai. She spoke no English and after a minute of not understanding what each other was saying she closed the phone. Simon shook Noy awake.
“I shower first,” she said rubbing her sleepy eyes.
“No, I not want sex. I want you to ring this number. It’s my friend’s phone, but some Thai lady answered it. My friend has rung me and left a lot of messages and texts saying she is in big trouble. I need to speak to my friend. I want you to ring the number and ask her where my friend is and why does she have my friend’s phone?”
Simon handed the phone to Noy and she rang the number and spoke softly and politely for several moments to the lady on the phone.
When she had finished she looked very concerned.
“Darling I very worry. Lady buy your friend phone on market yesterday.
Why she tell you she in big trouble and then sell phone? What you think?”
“I don’t know Noy, but you are right, she wouldn’t have sold it. Someone has taken it off her and sold it, or
the woman who answered it has stolen it, but she sounded as if she might be in trouble and now we have no way of contacting her!”
“You know her hotel?”
“No, it’s near the beach but I don’t know what it’s called. I picked her up from there once; I know which hotel it is but I don‘t know the name.”
“What you want to do darling?”
“Noy I’m worried about her too!” He told Noy about the day he met
Tika on the beach and the story she had told him about the beatings, rape, sexual and physical abuse, threats to kill her and her mother if she ever tried to show any resistance and how she had finally run away from him after contemplating suicide. Noy was shocked and was holding her breath for long periods as Simon told her Tika’s story.
They woke Ning from her sleep and the three of them washed and had sex in the shower before checking out of the hotel. Simon waved the two sisters off as they drove along Nanai Road on their motorbike. Simon drove off on his in the opposite direction to go to Tika’s hotel. Simon rode down into Patong Beach and straight to Tika’s hotel. He went up to the reception and asked about Tika. The receptionist told Simon that ‘Miss Tika’ had checked out of the hotel earlier that morning.
“Where did she go to?”
“Sorry I don’t know.”
“Did she leave any contact number or anything?”
“No sorry.”
“Did she leave a message for anyone, maybe for Simon?”
“No sorry,” the receptionist girl shook her head and smiled apologetically
“How did she leave?”
“What do you mean?”
“Who collected her?”
“She took a taxi.”
“Which taxi?”
“Sorry I don’t know.”
Simon turned to walk away but turned back and he dug out 100 baht from his pocket and handed it to the smiling girl who wai’d him in thanks.
