Somchai opened the door to find one of his men standing outside. His eyes were wide and his breaths short. In his hand, he held a tablet. Somchai glanced at the screen and saw that he had the game up and running.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Team Creeper. He’s… He’s activated the second Attraction.”
Chapter 38
I woke the following morning at a little after seven. With his back still facing me, Kang had his blanket wrapped tightly around his body. In Dreamland I supposed. I knew I would have to wake him soon, but I figured I’d let him catch a few more snores while I slipped out and got us some breakfast.
When I returned to the room twenty minutes later, I found Kang dressed and sitting in front of the laptop with the blackout curtains drawn open. He had yet to tame his bed head, sporting an off-kilter Mohawk. I figured he was checking email or looking at the game, but oh, how wrong I was.
“Kyle,” a woman’s voice whined. “Don’t you miss me? You were supposed to call me every day.”
Oh, you have got to be kidding me. I peeked at the screen and saw that Kang was Skyping with my nemesis, Suzi Zhang.
I placed a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich next him but said nothing, even though I could clearly hear her going on and on about how everyone in San Francisco was so happy that she had returned to anchor the nightly news. I knew for fact she was lying, because I wasn’t happy to see her plastic face on my television screen.
I took a seat on my bed and tried to ignore her, but my ears were kept wax-free and shutting her out was impossible. To top things off, all I had to drink was prepackaged green tea. My tin of loose-leaf, unfortunately, was back in my old room, and I had no choice but to stomach the generic stuff. I unwrapped the teabag and dunked it into my cup of hot water, wondering how long their conversation would continue. Fortunately, Kang had the presence of mind to end it quickly.
“Sorry about that,” he said, flashing me a crooked grin from his seat.
“Everything okay?” I asked, not really wanting to know the answer.
“Yeah.” Kang waved his hand at me. “Just checking in. You know…”
“Yeah.”
He turned to face me. “I heard you leave earlier, so I thought I should get up.” He must have noticed me wincing when I took a sip. “Slumming with prepackaged tea, huh?”
I didn’t want to chuckle, but he was right.
“By the way, thanks for this.” He unwrapped his sandwich and took a bite.
“So last night, you mentioned right before we turned in that you had unlocked the next task,” I said.
“I did. ‘Indulge in your favorite forbidden fruit,’” he said between quick chews. “Any immediate thoughts on the riddle?”
“Something sexual?” I grabbed my sandwich and unwrapped it.
“Those were my thoughts: Kill one of the many sex workers in Bangkok. Thinking about it makes my stomach turn.”
“Why’s that?” I asked before taking a bite. “The other tasks didn’t seem to affect you.”
Kang’s shoulders bounced once. “Eh, I think it’s because I’ve gotten to know some of the workers back in San Francisco. They’re my best source for what’s happening on the streets.”
“And…?”
“They’re normal people, just like you and me. I can’t help but think that the reason for targeting them is that the people creating the tasks think they’re disposable.”
“I don’t think these a-holes put that much thought into who is targeted.”
“Yeah, I know that’s not the reason, but it’s stuck in my head.”
I chewed quietly as I thought about the task. We needed to keep it simple and connected to someone in the sex business. “You know, I don’t think we need to do the whole crime scene thing anymore.”
A muffled grunt came from Kang’s busy mouth.
“It’s never really played a role in our advancement to the next Attraction. All the mastermind cares about is how creative we get with the kill.”
“And you said the investigation Artie performed was low-key. That it didn’t have an effect in closing out the first Bangkok Attraction.”
“Nope. Speaking of, we need to get a hold of Artie.”
Kang shoved the rest of his sandwich into his mouth and mumbled, “I have his number saved on this disposable.”
“What happened to your phone?”
“I think I lost it while playing motorbike daredevil.”
Kang called Artie and made arrangements for the detective to meet us at the Starbucks where we’d first met. We both agreed that Artie didn’t need to know we were staying at a new location. But he did need to be made aware of something very important: If we were being targeted, then we had to assume he was also.
Chapter 39
We arrived at the coffee shop first, as I’d expected we would; it was only a fifteen-minute walk from our new location. I secured a table in the back corner for privacy while Kang fetched us some drinks. I took the opportunity to text the kids from his phone. If my math was right, they should have been finishing with dinner. When I wasn’t at home, Po Po took it upon herself to slide the time from 6:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. So long as the kids ate, it didn’t bother me what time they chowed down. I just didn’t like having to rush home from work every night just to eat with everyone.
Ryan responded first. His judo class had been cancelled because of a water leak at the dojo, so he had spent the afternoon finishing his homework and reading. What more could I ask for? Lucy, on the other hand, told me she had watched TV all afternoon. I again had to remind Po Po to be more aware of the time Lucy’s butt spent parked in front of the TV. For a strong woman, she sure could be weak at times.
Over the last year, Lucy had developed her “sad look.” She had gotten the idea from Shrek’s Puss in Boots—and it made the old woman cave every single time. I told my mother-in-law repeatedly that she needed to be tough and not let it bother her. “She isn’t really sad. You know that, right?”
Of course, Lucy’s act didn’t cut it with me. I would shut the TV off after her allotted thirty minutes were up without warning. She would cry and say, “But don’t you love me, Mommy?” Sure, on the inside I was dying and wanted to snatch her up in my arms as she produced the most adorable pout on the planet, but I didn’t. On the outside, I was cold stone—Tiger Mom.
I sent a few more texts and then turned the mobile back over to Kang when he returned so he could message you-know-who. We only stopped texting when Artie seemed to appear out of nowhere.
“Abby. Kyle.”
We both looked up to see the smiling detective walking toward us.
“Do you want a coffee?” Kang offered.
Artie shook his head. “I’m fine.” He sat in the chair next to Kang. “Abby, I’m glad you’re okay. You had me worried.”
“Just a little kidnapping. Nothing too big.” I filled Artie in on what had happened.
“Wait. You’re telling me the men behind the game kidnapped you so they could help us catch the other player in town?”
“It appears that way. The masked man didn’t come outright and say that, but it was obvious he played some sort of significant role.”
“So your cover is blown.” Artie turned both palms up. “How long do you think they have known?”
“My guess is they knew all along.” I pressed my mug against my lips.
“So it’s over. That’s it.” Artie brushed his hands together.
“Not necessarily. If these men knew Kyle and I weren’t the real Team Carlson, why let us continue to play the game? They could have cut us off at any time.”
“Instead, they’ve turned this Creeper guy loose on you two.”
“Don’t discount yourself. We have to assume we’re all a target.”
Artie nodded in agreement. “So this arrangement is their idea of fun? They want to see who will win?”
“That’s one way to look at it.”
“But you think it’s something els
e?”
“I do,” I said, leaning back in my chair. This man risked a lot by attacking us and confronting me personally. What makes the game successful is the fact that no one knows who’s behind it.”
“Well, I’ve got news that can help us further unmask this man. My men were able to find a vendor who fingered one of your attackers.”
“Just like that?” Kang mentioned.
“My guys can be convincing.”
I’m sure a closed-off room with no cameras helped.
“We’re looking for a low-level Triad gang member,” Artie continued. “He hangs around Chinatown. Once we pick him up, we should be able to get him to tell us what he knows.” Artie smiled a smile that could convey only one thing—more closed-off rooms with no cameras.
I brought up the problem of my missing weapon. I could replace my cell with a disposable like Kang had, but securing a proper handgun was a larger issue.
“Can’t your liaison at the embassy help you out with that?” Kang asked. “You have to report that it’s missing, right?”
“Yes and yes, but I’m a little hesitant about involving him just yet. I want to get Reilly’s advice first.”
“If it helps, I can arrange to get you a weapon,” Artie said with a shrug.
Kang and I looked at each other before looking back at Artie. He took that as a yes and wrote down the name of a man at his station that I should see. “Give me two days to organize this. If you need it, it’ll be available.”
“Thanks. This is helpful.”
Artie smiled. “In the meantime, the two of you should lie low until I can get my hands on the guy who attacked you.”
Chapter 40
Before we parted ways, Artie offered to position a few men outside the Landmark Plaza. A nice gesture, but since we weren’t staying there, we declined. “We don’t want the attention,” Kang said.
I, on the other hand, wasn’t comfortable with the idea of waiting around. After Artie left, I turned to Kang. “There’s no way we’re sitting put until he produces this guy.”
“My thoughts exactly. Go after the Creeper?”
“It’s the only thing that makes sense. We’ve got a decent description of the guy. He’s bound to show up at Nana Plaza or Soi Cowboy.”
“You think he’ll disregard the task given him—you know, to come after us?”
“Not necessarily. But he’ll certainly prioritize. This city is like a candy store to him. There’s an endless supply of the right type of women to fulfill his desires. He’ll take full advantage of the situation and feed as much as he can.”
“Well, first things first; we need to get you a weapon and a phone.”
<><><>
Two days later, I was equipped with an unregistered Glock. I expected a lot of red tape, but the man Artie told us to see didn’t require my signature or any information. I told him who I was, and he handed me a shopping bag. Inside, I saw a firearm, a holster and a box of ammunition. That was it. Talk about low-key. Had I followed protocol and gone to my liaison at the embassy, I would instead be facing an inquiry about my missing weapon before anyone talked about replacing it. Reilly also knew that would have happened, which is why I had received his blessing.
The weapon was an older model that had seen better days. The handle had a small dent, but the piece looked to be in working condition. Nonetheless, Kang and I picked up supplies so I could properly clean the gun before we searched out a shooting range. It worked.
By then, we had moved all of our belongings out of the Landmark Plaza and over to the Sheraton. We debated whether we really needed to stay at the new location. Over the course of the last couple days, we had learned enough about the Creeper to know who we were dealing with. That had lessened the “unknown” factor for us, but still, why take the chance? We had a target on our backs. No sense in enlarging it.
While waiting on my weapon, Kang had picked up a tourist map of Bangkok so we could begin making plans to track the Creeper down before he got to us.
We marked both Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy as hot spots. Nana was a ten-minute walk from our hotel; Cowboy was less than five. We knew that, between those two locations, working women could be found in a bunch of bars, not to mention the sidewalk bars that popped up at night and the lobbies of most hotels. The Creeper had a lot of places he could go, and we couldn’t be in all places at once. We’d have to hedge our bets that he would troll the two entertainment centers.
“You know,” Kang started, “you could pass for a Thai, especially if you did that eye makeup thing they all seem to do.” He gestured vaguely to the outer corner of his eyes.
I knew what Kang was talking about. Since arriving in Bangkok, I had noticed that the women here applied their eyeliner in a very specific way; they drew it out to a point near the outer corners of their eyes. It was very characteristic of their look, but that’s not what he was really trying to say. “You want me to pose as a working girl?”
He shrugged. “Makes complete sense, considering where we’ll be. You might be the Creeper’s type. I can pose as a customer.”
“Why not pose as girlfriend and boyfriend?”
“You yourself said the Creeper has a fetish for working women.”
Kang was right. Posing as a bargirl would be the best approach, but I would most definitely draw the line at getting up on a stage and shaking my behind.
Once we had a plan in place, I popped over to the Terminal 21 shopping center for makeup and an appropriate outfit. I ended up purchasing a black cocktail dress, a pair of heels and a clutch.
When I returned to the room, I showed off my new look to Kang and got the thumbs up.
“Wow, you look hot!” Kang blurted. Immediately afterward his face turned beet-red. “I mean you did a fine job of mimicking that look.”
“Really?” I said as I headed back into the bathroom for another look in the mirror.
“Yeah, the makeup is dead-on,” I heard Kang call out.
“Is that what you’re wearing?” I asked as I exited the bathroom.
Kang nodded. “Why?”
He wore tan cargo shorts and a blue short-sleeved shirt, which worked. Most of the men we saw walking around town were dressed very casually. “It’s a good look,” I said. “You look just like a tourist.”
Kang smiled. “A customer,” he corrected as he gave me the thumbs up.
Chapter 41
We chose the closer venue, Soi Cowboy, for our stakeout that night. We arrived at the location a little after eight. The soi already had a good crowd of men milling about, and the hostesses for each bar were hard at work cajoling as many men as they could into their respective establishments.
The plan changed when we got there. It dawned on us that I wouldn’t be able to sit at a bar and pretend to be a working girl. The mama-sans would chase me off the premises in heartbeat if they knew a lady not associated with the bar was trying to work their territory, so to speak. Kang was now my date, and it wouldn’t matter if I were working or not.
Ideally, I would sit there by myself with a team of agents watching me, but we didn’t have access to that type of support, at least not without involving Artie. We had to make do and hope we could spot the Creeper.
We walked the length of the soi slowly before doubling back and sitting at an outdoor table in front of a bar called Tilac. We ordered a round of drinks and kept an eye out for our guy.
Twenty minutes had passed before I leaned in closer to Kang. “I’m not so sure this is the best possible use of our time. I mean, if we knew the Creeper frequented this bar, then yeah, but we don’t.”
Kang nodded in agreement. “You’re right. This guy could be anywhere. Ideally, we would have a few teams here and over at Nana Plaza. And even then, it could take a couple days, if we were lucky, for this guy to show up.”
I sat quietly, swirling the last of the Jameson in my glass. The men passing by in front of me all had large smiles stretched across their faces. Their heads swiveled from side to side like
they were watching a tennis match. They looked to be in their early forties and up and were an even mix of Asian and Caucasian tourists and businessmen. What I saw got me thinking.
“Take a look at the men here,” I said. “What do you see?”
Kang looked up and down the soi. “What do you mean? They’re guys.”
“The men here are older, dressed well. A lot appear to be businessmen. They have money.”
“What are you getting at?” Kang asked.
“The game. There’s a lot of travel involved. That takes money, a lot of money.”
“Rich killers?”
I swallowed the last of my drink. “They have to have some sort of decent cash flow coming in to support themselves.”
Kang shifted in his seat to face me. “I still don’t know where you’re heading with this line of thought.”
I tapped the table with my finger. “Our old hotel was closer to Nana Plaza. I noticed that the men around that area looked different than the men here.”
“They looked more budget-conscious,” Kang added, his head tilted to the side.
“Exactly. If we assume our Creeper guy has money, he might be more prone to come to this location. The women are younger here and much more beautiful, which means they cost a lot more.”
“So you think we can cross off Nana and focus on this place based on the theory that men with money tend to come here.”
“It’s a way to start narrowing it down.”
I watched Kang scratch at his chin, something he always did when he wasn’t sure if he agreed with me or not.
“You’re not buying it,” I said.
“Feels like a stretch. If we had a little history on his victims, it might help—Wait a minute. Artie mentioned the bar his victim might have worked at.”
“Do you remember the name?”
Kang kept scratching. “I think one of them was called the Shag Bar.”
Lumpini Park (Abby Kane FBI Thriller - Chasing Chinatown Trilogy Book 2) Page 12
