Table of Contents
Cocktails & Dreams
Chapter 1 Cocktails and Dreams.
Chapter 2 Just another day at the office.
Chapter 3 The crime scene.
Chapter 4 The postmortem.
Chapter 5 Identifying the body.
Chapter 6 The Great British Detective Agency.
Chapter 7 Udon Thani.
Chapter 8 Another headline in the news.
Chapter 9 Working together.
Chapter 10 The Day unfolds.
Chapter 11 A new beginning.
Chapter 12 Back to the farm.
Chapter 13 Patong.
Chapter 14 Meeting the Detectives.
Chapter 15 Thai lady and mosquitos like farang.
Chapter 16 Yupaporn.
Chapter 17 Patong nights.
Chapter 18 Love lies bleeding.
Chapter 19 Colonel Wattana is pleased to announce.
Chapter 20 This is a police matter.
Chapter 21 A chip on her shoulder.
Chapter 22 You handsome man.
Chapter 23 Office meeting.
Chapter 24 Building bridges.
Chapter 25 Pranee Seafood Restaurant.
Chapter 26 De-brief, HQ.
Chapter 27 Loving Mr. P.
Chapter 28 Another De-brief.
Chapter 29 Time to celebrate.
Chapter 30 Think it all through.
Chapter 31 A message for you Mr. O’Bline.
Chapter 32 I hope this helps.
Chapter 33 Sukhunvit Soi Registration Office.
Chapter 34 Chiang Mai.
Chapter 35 I will be paying cash.
Chapter 36 That sounds like a plan.
Chapter 37 Kathu Police District HQ.
Chapter 38 I understand you.
Chapter 39 A price to pay
Chapter 40 Time to go home.
About the author
Cocktails & Dreams
2nd edition 2013; ebook
Text by Guy Lilburne
eISBN 978-616-245-092-1
Published by www.booksmango.com
E-mail: [email protected]
Text & cover page Copyright All rights reserved. © Guy Lilburne
Edited by Burnie Sinclair
Also by the author:
The Kiss of the Dragon
My Thai Story
The Thai Dragon
The Flower Girl
Tika
This is a work of fiction. Characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
No part of this book may be reproduced, copied, stored or transmitted in any form without prior written permission from the publisher. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
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Chapter 1 Cocktails and Dreams.
As ladyboy bars go, the Cocktails & Dreams ladyboy bar was a good one, sensual, sexy and sleazy in equal measures. Sandwiched at the end of the road between Soi Vegas and Soi Tiger, and with access off both sois, it still didn’t get much passing trade, but was always busy. The men who went to Cocktails & Dreams knew exactly where to find the place and knew what they wanted when they got there. The ‘girls’ who worked there were stunning and when they weren’t outside the front of the bar dancing on the podium poles, they were dancing on the stage inside, or sitting along one of the bars, maybe playing pool or just applying makeup and adjusting bras and panties in one of the huge mirrors around the walls.
The ‘girls’ danced, pranced and preened while watching themselves constantly in any one of the huge mirrors, pouting and flashing nipples and breasts. The music was loud and constant. The cocktails were strong and the atmosphere was heavy. The men, either looking for love and romance or just sex, filled the bar and watched the ‘girls’, who smiled and posed and laughed and seduced, then, sooner or later, approached the men, sat on knees, rubbed legs, drank ‘lady drinks’ and agreed a price for their company for the night.
At 11:00pm every night they put on a show on the small stage at the back of the bar, so the place would fill up with a lot more people; usually couples who had just come to watch the free show. The lighting went down and the spotlight was lit up. The costumes were dazzling and sexy. Some of the girls had danced at ‘Simons Cabaret Show’ and were great on the stage, but, for just 200 baht (£4) extra in their wages for dancing each night, it was always better for the girls if they pulled a ‘punter’ before the show and earned the usual price of 2000 baht (£40) from the customer. This was just economic sense.
Daa was just 20 years old and had already worked in Cocktails and Dreams for the last two years. Her long hair was like black silk. Her soft brown eyes, flawless slim tanned body, large breasts, high cheekbones and wonderful full smile all went to make her one of the more popular ‘girls’ working in the bar. Daa had had her breasts done when she was just 16 years old and had then worked illegally in a bar in Bangkok. But now, it was her ambition to have the full sex change operation, just like her roommate ‘Tong’, the only ‘girl’ in Cocktails & Dreams who had had the full sex change operation.
It was 10:30pm, just half an hour before the show. As usual Daa had already pulled a customer, who had agreed with her that he would pay her bar fine and take her back to his hotel for 2000 baht. Daa rarely got to dance in the show. She loved dancing, but she needed the extra money the customers paid for her.
Her dress was gold and sparkling, tight and short on her thighs, cut low and loose on her breasts. The young German man who had been kissing her for the last ten minutes was so nervous and so excited at the same time that he couldn’t stop his legs from shaking. Daa giggled and put both her hands high up on his thigh and gently stroked his leg.
“You shake too much. You cold?” she laughed.
The big German forced a laugh and shook his head. He didn’t know what to say so he didn’t say anything. He looked at the beautiful Daa and flashed a quick nervous smile. His teeth were perfect and white. His hair was dark like his eyes. He was handsome, the only blemish was the big red birthmark on his right cheek, Daa liked his shyness. He was probably a few years older than Daa, but he was like a little boy. His first time in Thailand and he was out of his depth. He had heard the stories and he came for the experience. The girls dancing on the podiums outside had caught his attention and he had just wandered into the bar. The very moment he saw Daa she just took his breath away. He had never seen such a beautiful woman. He did not know that he was in a ladyboy bar. He did not know that Daa was a ladyboy.
The longer they kissed the higher Daa’s hand moved up the Germans thigh, and the more excited he became. His confidence was growing too and he pulled Daa closer to him, his big hands clamped on her slim body. Daa only pulled away from his kiss to sip her ‘lady drink’. As she sipped from the tall glass shaped like a nude female body, her eyes scanned the room.
The young German man felt Daa tense and for a moment she just seemed to freeze, but then turned back towards him. At the same time she pulled away from him, stood up from the bar stool and smoothed down her dress, then adjusted the loose fitting top so that it covered her breasts properly.
“What happened?” asked the German.
“Nothing happen. No prob
lem” she lied, but her body language was unconvincing.
Daa looked very guilty about something, but before the German could ask her anything else, she leaned over and kissed him quickly on the cheek.
“One moment please” she said.
The German watched her pushing through the crowd to the other side of the bar. He could just see the back of her head in the crowd. He tried to see who she was talking to, but the crowd was too thick and the lighting was too dark for him to see properly. He guessed that she was talking to either her boyfriend or her ex-boyfriend, and he felt a swell of jealousy and anger rise within himself.
Daa had seen her lover when she had looked over the top of the cocktail glass. Not just another customer, but her real lover, her new lover, and had been for the last few days. It was still a new love and still a secret. Neither Daa nor her lover wanted their love affair to be general knowledge. Daa was a bit shocked, a bit angry and a bit embarrassed to be seen by her lover while she was working the bar. They had agreed that it would be too painful for her lover to see Daa pulling other men for a night of sex. Daa managed to compose herself before she spoke. Even in times of anger or heightened emotions it was part of the Thai culture for Thai’s to keep jai yen (a cool heart). “Why you come to bar?” she asked.
There was no reply, just a look of hurt and disgust and a quick exit from the bar. Daa followed. The German saw Daa pushing through the crowd to leave the bar. He wasn’t going to lose his prize now. He was big and strong and fancied his chances against anybody in a fist fight. He slugged back his drink and clicked his fingers towards the little smiling Asian man behind the bar, and put 2000 baht under his glass; enough to pay for the drinks and Daa’s bar fine. He pushed his way through the crowd and out onto the soi. Suddenly the rain came thrashing down and cooled the night air. Streaks of forked lightning flashed overhead, lighting up the soi for a moment. The instant bang of thunder sounded as loud as a bomb and it shook glasses and made the bar girls scream. The thunder and lightning and constant heavy rain washed out the sounds of music and laughter: the noises of the night were lost in the tropical storm.
Chapter 2 Just another day at the office.
Darunee Khumsombot was one of the more experienced Murder Squad detectives working out of Kathu District Police station in Patong Beach. She had worked in Bangkok and Chiang Mai before transferring to Phuket six months ago. She was in her mid-thirties, but looked about ten years younger. Her appearance was immaculate and her clothes were expensive: all French and Italian designer. When it came to clothes there was nothing fake or copy about Darunee. She was attractive and slim, but a very private person - some would say aloof. She was very professional in her work, but distant and detached from her colleagues. She preferred to work alone.
The day had started out like every other day for Darunee, or ‘Bee’ as most people knew her. She was called Bee or ‘B’ because she was the second child born. Her older sister was called ‘A’. Today, like every day, Bee got up and showered at 6:00am. She had noodle soup and a cold glass of fresh orange juice for breakfast. She travelled from Kata Beach into Patong Beach on her Honda motorbike and parked her bike in the police station car park at 7:00am. She walked over the road to the hospital and donated 100 baht to the hospital in the Buddha prayer room, before writing down her wish on a prayer paper and setting fire to it. She prayed as the wish was sent on its way as the paper blackened and curled in the silver dish. As she walked back over to the police station the traffic was still not too busy at that time in the morning. She got cold water from the water cooler before she sat at her desk, turned on her computer, opened up and checked her emails and then went through the circulated crimes from the last 24 hours. Just another day at the office.
It was only 7:30am when the phone on her desk rang. She had just taken her first sip of water. It was still early, and it was half an hour before the other detectives were due to arrive at work. Bee knew that this was going to be a job. She lifted the receiver, swivelled around in her chair, crossed her legs and held a pencil poised to make notes, her fingernails perfectly manicured.
“Hello” she said.
“We have just had a body found in Soi Sunset; a stall holder called it in. The body was dumped in his stall. Uniform are there, confirm a body and are asking for detectives. Can you turn out?” asked the civilian operator from the control room.
“Do we know who the deceased is yet?” asked Bee.
“No, not identified yet, but believed to be the body of a young female, aged about 20 years. Looks like a bar girl.”
“Where is Soi Sunset?” asked Bee, still scribbling on her pad.
“It’s the road at the back of the Yorkshire Inn Hotel. It leads towards the Expat Hotel and runs parallel to Soi Sansabai.”
“Yes, I know it now.”
“The stall is on the left hand side as you turn into the soi.”
“Okay, I’m on my way. As soon as any ‘Scenes of Crime’ officers get in send them out to me.”
Bee put the phone down and grabbed her radio and note pad. She wrote on the office white board, ‘Body found in Soi Sunset 7:30am, Bee.’ and she took a set of keys to one of the squad cars. The keys all hung on the row of hooks by the door. Just another day at the office.
Chapter 3 The crime scene.
Soi Sunset was a cul-de-sac that led down to the Expat Hotel and there was also the rear entrance to the Yorkshire Inn Hotel spa and gym. There were a couple of stalls at the top of the Soi, near the junction with Rat-u Thit Road. The body was behind the counter in a stall that sold knock-off designer training shoes. When Bee arrived she was greeted by four uniformed police officers, who stood smoking with the stall holder while they waited for the detectives. Two police motorbikes were parked up in front of the stall. The four officers, in their tight brown uniforms and sunglasses, looked smart and official. The shiny black boots, and guns worn on the hip, gave them a military look. They saluted the detective when she arrived and Bee wai’d in return. The stall holder, a chubby middle aged Thai man, put his hands together high up in front of his face, thus giving the detective a very respectful ‘high’ wai. Bee returned with a much lower wai, her hands together low down on her chest. Both wais reflected their own and each other’s importance and social standing.
Bee pulled back the blue tarpaulin curtain to the stall and had a quick look at the body, but didn’t step inside the stall. She could see that there was a gunshot wound to the chest. Killed at close range, very close. By the blood splattering inside the stall she could tell that this was where the murder had taken place. The victim had not been murdered somewhere else and just dumped here. She stepped back and let the heavy plastic curtains fall together again. She turned to face the police officers and the stall holder, who were all waiting for her verdict.
“She was a pretty girl. Have you seen her before?” she asked the stall holder, who was now sweating in the sunshine.
“No, I have never seen her before.”
“I take it you left the stall secure last night?”
“Yes of course. When I got here this morning it was open just like this. Somebody has removed the padlock. I thought that thieves must have done it to steal my stock, but then I looked inside and saw the girl.”
“Ok, we can’t do anything until the forensic people get here. I don’t want to contaminate the scene.” She turned towards the police officers. “Can you take this man’s statement and can you visit the Expat Hotel and get a full list of staff and current customers staying there. Can you also do the same at the Yorkshire Inn? You stand at the top of the Soi and obtain the details of anyone coming in and out of the Soi and their reason for being here.”
The four officers nodded and dispersed to their duties. Bee looked around outside the stall. There were no obvious clues: no blood, footprints or marks. She wandered up and down the Soi, looking for something, anything, but there
was nothing.
A few minutes later the Crime Scene Investigators arrived. They had many names within the police, ‘forensics team’, ‘scenes of crime officers’, ‘the dead squad’, but they liked being called ‘CSI’ (crime scene investigators) after the popular USA detective TV series. They took over the crime scene, taking samples and photos. A small crowd started milling around at the top of the Soi waiting to get a glimpse of the body. The staff and customers from the two hotels did the same at the entrances to their respective hotels.
The body had nothing on her to establish identity; no handbag, no purse, no ID card, nothing. The car arrived to take the body away to the mortuary for the pathology examination and, at the same time, another murder squad detective, Pon, arrived at the scene.
Pon was 10 years younger than Bee and he was one of the few people in the office who really liked her. He more than liked her; he was in love with her, but that was his secret. He was handsome and taller than average. He was a good detective, and one of the few in the office who made an effort to connect with Bee. But Bee, as always, remained cool, professional and aloof.
“I thought you might like some help” smiled Pon as he walked up to Bee.
“You can take over here. I’m going to follow the body for the PM (post mortem).”
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